A Friendly Crowd in Manhattan Provides Castro With a Soapbox
By Edward Wong And Chris Hedge. The New York Times. September 9, 2000
resident Fidel Castro of Cuba stepped away from the formalities of the United Nations summit meeting and back into his familiar battle fatigues last night to address a crowd of flag-waving supporters who hung on his every blistering criticism of the world's superpowers.
"We shall be entering the 21st century, and that will happen in extremely hard conditions for the world," Mr. Castro said in a hoarse voice to about 2,400 listeners at Riverside Church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. "The world is undergoing a catastrophic
situation. Don't believe the experts who feign optimism and ignore the cruel realities of the developing world."
Mr. Castro called the United States' economic sanctions against Cuba a "criminal embargo" and "a violation of human rights."
He arrived shortly after 9 p.m., an hour later than scheduled, and began his speech around 10 p.m. Dressed in his signature olive military uniform, he strode confidently to the lectern, surrounded by guards in dark suits. Cheers and screams rose to the dark heights of the church, and hundreds of
arms fervently waved Cuban flags. In some ways, the scene echoed the mass rallies that took place in the streets of Havana during the international struggle over Elián González last spring.
In his lengthy lecture, Mr. Castro decried the globalization of economic markets and criticized what he called a lack of effort by wealthy nations to battle disease in poorer countries. He pointed to the doctors that Cuba has sent to developing nations like Angola, and said Cuba is ready to
offer inexpensive medical training to 250 Americans each year, as long as they return to the United States to practice in poor areas.
Citing a series of figures that show a decline in living standards in much of the world, he said, "As time passes, the rich nations become richer, and the contribution they make to the huge numbers of poor decreases."
The organizers of the event called it "an evening of solidarity with the Cuban people." Those political sympathies were worn on sleeves, collars and T-shirts, as pins of the Cuban flag and of Che Guevara, the guerrilla leader who became a symbol of the Communist revolution, abounded.
Outside the church, dozens of protesters waved placards and shouted anti-Castro slogans.
Most of those who attended the speech, including Representative Jose E. Serrano, Democrat of New York, and Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, denounced United States policies toward Cuba. The United States imposed the economic embargo shortly after Mr. Castro took power in
1959.
"The American people view Cuba very differently from its government," Mr. Serrano told a group of reporters in Spanish. He said he and those present only wanted Cuba to be "treated equally."
"If Cuba discovered oil tomorrow, my country would be its greatest ally," he said. "If Cuba had, and I don't want it to have, military arms that could create terror in the world, we would be allies."
Mr. Castro had visited Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods twice previously since 1960. He was invited by the New York Welcoming Committee for the Cuban Delegation for the Millennium. People wanting to attend were asked to fax requests. Last night, about 2,100 of them sat in the main chamber,
while 300 sat in a side room watching on television.
The organization, made up of various grass-roots groups, asked Riverside if they could use the church.
"We hope to show tonight how many people there are who oppose the embargo," said Aleeka Wade, a spokeswoman for the group.
Mr. Castro was in New York this week to attend the United Nations summit. On Wednesday, he stirred the political winds when he shook hands with President Clinton during a luncheon — the first time that Mr. Castro, 74, had ever locked hands with a sitting American president.
Describing the moment, Mr. Castro said he was walking along a hallway to have an official photograph taken when he saw President Clinton ahead of him shaking the hands of several world leaders. "I couldn't run away," he said. "In two minutes or less, I arrived at the place where
he was standing. I stopped for a second, and with great dignity and courtesy we shook hands. He did exactly the same thing. It would have been rude for me to act differently. It all lasted for 20 seconds."
Last night, as she was waiting for Mr. Castro to arrive at Riverside, a supporter named Ellen P. Bernstein reflected on the Communist leader's role in the world even as she sang the Cuban national anthem.
"The U.S. people need to hear that he is not a devil, not the devil he is said to be," she said. "They need to hear he has important ideas for the same goals we all aspire to: world peace and security and the proper treatment of the poor."
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company | 