 Fidel tells Obama to give back Guantanamo Bay
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-31 07:31
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded on Thursday that US President Barack Obama return the US naval base at Guantanamo to Cuba without conditions, and he accused the new US leader of supporting "Israeli genocide" against Palestinians. Castro, who had recently praised Obama as "honest" and "noble", lashed out at his administration for stating that Washington will not return Guantanamo if it has any military use for the US and without concessions in return. "Maintaining a military base in Cuba against the will of the people violates the most elemental principles of international law," Castro wrote in a column posted on the government-run website www.cubadebate.cu. "Not respecting Cuba's will is an arrogant act and an abuse of immense power against a little country," Castro said, resorting to a charge he has leveled against the 10 previous US presidents since he came to power in 1959. Cuba indefinitely leased Guantanamo to the US in 1903 after the US occupied the country during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Castro charges that the base was taken over illegally. Earlier on Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, also urged Obama to return the Guantanamo base, after applauding his decision to close the prison camp for terrorism suspects there. "Now he should return Guantanamo and Guantanamo Bay to the Cubans because that is Cuban territory," Chavez, Cuba's closest ally, said in Brazil. Agencies
(China Daily 01/31/2009 page5) |
