eleven years in a row
WORKERS, JANUARY 2003 ISSUE
FOR THE ELEVENTH year in a row, the United Nations has supported a motion condemning the US blockade of Cuba. In 1992 59 nations opposed the blockade, 3 nations supported it.
United States, Israel and the Marshall Islands. Israel as the US’s military gauleiter in Palestine is to be expected. But the Marshall Islands? An even sadder US ally, this was a US colony until 1986, with the dubious honour of being the US missile and nuclear test site. It is no more than a string of tiny islands totally dependent on US for trade, aid and defence, and following the piper’s tune.
This vote is more significant than in previous years because it shows that 90% of the UN reject the US position over Cuba. This must also include Bush’s continued accusation that Cuba is producing weapons of mass destruction including biological and chemical weapons – a lie that could be used to justify not only the economic blockade but also military intervention by the US.