Imperialism is not Invincible
COMRADE PRESIDENT
EXCELLENCIES
COLLEAGUES
COMRADES
Today is it a great privilege and honour for me to
deliver my
country’s maiden address to the Non-Aligned Movement on behalf of the
People’s
Revolutionary Government of Grenada and the people of Grenada.
We are particularly happy Comrade President to be
speaking right
after Comrade Ortega of Nicaragua, because the processes on 1979 that
had the
greatest impact and the greatest effect on our own Revolutionary
struggle in
Grenada were the Revolutionary struggles in Iran and Nicaragua.
In fact, we are happy to say that on 22nd
June this
year [1979] Grenada became only the second country in the world to
recognise
the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Nicaragua.
We in Grenada, Comrade President, have always had a
very deep
admiration for the Cuban people and their Revolution and as such it is
particularly appropriate that the first Non-Aligned Summit that we are
privileged to attend should be in the great Revolutionary country of
Cuba.
On behalf of our delegation, Our Government and our
people, I
extend out sincerest and most fraternal thanks to the Government and
people of
Cuba for the excellent and outstanding arrangements made for this
Summit and
for their warm and fraternal hospitality.
As always, the Government and people of Cuba have
demonstrated
yet again why their revolution is so highly regarded and so deeply
admired by
all truly progressive and democratic nations.
May I also join with other colleagues in expressing the
appreciation of our delegation for the important contribution made by
Sri Lanka
in coordinating all activities of our Movement since the Fifth
Non-Aligned Movement
Summit was held.
GRENADA’S LEGACY – TOTAL DEPENDENCE
As Grenada enters the Non-Aligned Movement, we do so as
one of
the smallest nations within this great Movement. Indeed we enter as a
small
island of only 133 square miles and with a population of just over
100,000
people.
Like almost all our Caribbean friends here today, we
have a
population that if overwhelmingly African in its descent, the product
of that
most gross and open form of exploitation – Slavery.
And for use, like many of the countries here today,
this was only
the beginning of our process of exploitation.
Hence from slavery we moved to the colonial experience
under the
head of European colonialism, an ordeal that saw us conquered, hounded
and
exploited by France and finally England – an ordeal that left us with
only one
Secondary School built by the colonialists after 300 years of colonial
rule.
From this form of open exploitation our country has
been shunted
into that second and perhaps more dangerous stage of the colonial
experience,
the stage that we recognise as Neo-Colonialism.
This stage saw us exposed to various constitutional
manipulations, a neat cover for the underlying reality of economic
bondage
shrouded by pretensions to constitutional independence.
Indeed, in the closing period of this neo-colonial
stage, we were
exposed to the ruthless neo-fascist dictator, Eric Gairy, whose closest
links
were with international imperialism and international criminal elements
as
represented by the Mafia and also with the openly fascist and
dictatorial
regime of Chile—a country with which we have since broken diplomatic
relations.
The legacy of this neo-fascist regime for the people of
our
nation was a total dependence on imperialism, a reality that meant
extreme
poverty, characterized by massive unemployment.
With more than half the work force out of work, high
malnutrition, illiteracy, backwardness, superstition, poor housing and
health
conditions, combined with overall economic stagnation and massive
migration.
“A BIG REVOLUTION…” – NEW DIRECTIONS
Such a situation was intolerable and as such the
progressive
forces of our nation got together in March 1973, under the leadership
of our
Party the New Jewel Movement, in order to take power so as to
revolutionise our
economy, our politics and our society.
And the most important stage in that process ended on 13th
March this year when our Party led a successful and popular revolution
to take
power in our country – a revolution that Comrade Fidel Castro has
referred to
both as “a successful Moncada: and “a big revolution in a small
country.”
And from that day, our people, our government and our
Party have
been trying to build a new, just, free and revolutionary Grenada.
Our Revolution is a people’s revolution and as such the
cornerstone of our revolution is the development of our people and hand
in hand
with this aim the establishment of the people’s rights – rights that
include
the right to social and economic justice, the right to work and the
right to
equal pay for men and women and the right to democratic participation
in the
affairs of our nation.
With these national aims, we also share a firm
commitment to the
establishment of an international community based on the principles of
opposition to colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racism
(including
Zionism), fascism and imperialism.
Comrade President, in fact, the fundamental principles
of the Non-Aligned
Movement.
We affirm before this great assembly, our resolute and
unwavering
opposition to imperialism in all its form.
We affirm equally resolutely and unwaveringly our
opposition of colonialism
and neo-colonialism in all their manifestations.
We affirm the strongest objection to racism including
Zionism and
racial discrimination.
We affirm our unrelenting opposition to the hateful and
despicable system of Apartheid which continues to hold millions of our
brothers
and sisters in South Africa in the most inhuman bondage.
We pledge our fullest continued support for the great
struggles
for national liberation now being waged at various levels through
Africa.
We affirm our resolute stand against economic
exploitation and
foreign occupation or domination in all parts of the world.
We affirm our rejection of all military pacts or blocs
designed
to bolster or defend imperialism, expansionism, fascism or racism.
We stand firmly on the side of national independence
and
sovereignty, territorial integrity and equality of all races and
peoples of the
world.
We also affirm our fullest support for an end to the
arms race,
completion of the process of decolonization and the achievement of
national
independence by millions of people in the Third World.
But there still remain areas under colonial rule in the
Caribbean, as in Africa, Asia and elsewhere and we must persevere in
our support
for the end of colonialism in these last enclaves of colonial rule.
…SOUTHERN AFRICA – MAXIMUM SUPPORT
It is for this reason that our delegation joins the
chorus of
support for the liberation Movements in Southern Africa which are
seeking to
free Zimbabwe, Namibia and the super-racist bastion of South Africa
from the clutches
of colonialism and imperialism.
We have also noted and wish to express our sincere
appreciation
for the courageous and principled stand of the Front Line States in
their
support of the people of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
We record with pleasure the start made at Lusaka at the
Commonwealth Conference last month and the United Kingdom’s acceptance
of her
responsibility to deal with the problem of Rhodesia.
We welcome the All Party Talks which are about to begin
in London
on Monday [10 September 1979].
We anticipate that there will be no great difficulty in
reaching
a constitutional agreement. But we feel and believe that we are obliged
to
mention here today that there are still key problems that will remain
even
after the critical question of the new constitution is settled. Two of
these
questions relate to the White Racist Army and the timing of and
conditions
under which new elections will be held.
We recall that as long ago as September 1977, two years
ago, the
Anglo American Proposals had already proposed that a new Army should be
constituted and based on the Patriotic Front Forces in Zimbabwe; had
already
made it clear that the people of Zimbabwe would have the right to build
their
own process free from outside interference. That, Comrade President,
was two
years ago.
But what we find in the interim is that after the
visits of Vance
and Owen to the Patriotic Front in early 1978 when they made “sincere”
promises
that within a matter of weeks everything would have been settled,
instead of
that, as a result of imperialist intrigue and manipulation we began to
hear
talk of a possible split in the Patriotic Front and we then saw sham
elections
being held in Rhodesia.
So we regard time as a potential problem, because time
allows
imperialism room to manoeuvre.
We do not feel that we can rest confidently and feel
greatly
optimistic just because of the talks next week, because our past
experience has
shown us that imperialism known how to manipulate and how to divide and
rule.
We want to issue the caution that it still remains
important for
the Non-Aligned Movement, for all progressive, democratic and socialist
countries to continue to maintain maximum vigilance and to give maximum
support
to the Patriotic Front and to the people of Zimbabwe in order to ensure
that
their victory come very soon.
We feel, Comrade President, that the Patriotic Front
must be
encouraged behind the slogan “Peaceful
means by elections if possible, revolution if necessary, if the
electoral
method does not or can not work.”
We express also our support for the peoples of Namibia
and lend
our unwavering support and solidarity to the authentic representative –
SWAPO.
We express our firmest solidarity with the people of
South Africa
and promise to give our continued firmest support to their
representative, the
ANC of South Africa.
THE MIDDLE EAST – AN AFFRONT TO THE MOVEMENT
Comrade President, our Government is firm on the
principle that
there can be no meaningful peace in the Middle East without an
acceptable settlement
of the Palestinian question.
It is on the basis of this principle that we reject and
forcefully condemn the Camp David Agreement. This Agreement was
engineered by
the United States imperialists in their continuing efforts to divide
the Arab
world.
We reject the Agreement because it offers no solution
to the
Palestinian people.
We reject the Agreement because United Nations
Resolutions have
made it clear that agreements can only be reached under the umbrella of
the
United Nations.
We reject the Agreement because nobody, except the PLO,
has the
right to negotiate on behalf of the people of Palestine.
We reject the Agreement because Camp David is against
the
interests of and is not supported by the Palestinians, by the PLO, by
the Arab
Nations and, indeed, by the entire democratic, progressive and
socialist world.
Comrade President, as I stand here and look around this
assembly,
I reminds me that the PLO is here, it reminds me that in the third row
the
leadership that signed the Camp David Agreement is also here.
And if we were to ask this assembly to indicate who
they regard
as the authentic spokesmen for Palestine, the only people who could
stand up
would be the comrades in the seventh row – the comrades of the P.L.O.
And, Comrade President, the problem of Palestine goes
even
deeper.
What is at stake here is not just a great betrayal, not
just a
major sell-out of the principled support of the Egyptian people under
Nasser
for many years, but also an attempt to compromise the integrity of an
attack on
the credibility of our Movement.
How can we be comfortable about the presence of the
present
leadership of Egypt here with us as a member of this assembly?
How can we be comfortable with any agreement of this
character
between the leadership of Egypt and Israel and the U.S.A., particularly
as it
provides for the supply of arms?
Any such agreement must be in the interests of
imperialism.
It our Movement therefore no longer anti-imperialist?
Are we to continue to accommodate Egypt and their Camp
David
Agreement?
And when you add a combination of the U.S.A. and
Israel, you must
come up with South Africa, the super bastion of racism and Apartheid.
And is not one of the fundamental principles of our
Movement that
we are anti-racist?
Consider further, that any agreement which sells out
the rights
of the Palestinian people must amount to a form of colonial subjugation
and
domination.
Yet our Movement is anti-colonialist.
Consider again that when you affront the Arab
countries, most of
which are members of the Non-Aligned Movement, it is an affront to the
Movement
itself.
Comrade President, the present leadership of Egypt has
willingly
and consciously assisted the U.S. imperialists in undermining the unity
of the
Arab world and in threatening the unity of the Non-Aligned Movement and
they
must therefore stand before the bar of the Movement for these acts of
treachery
and betrayal.
KAMPUCHEA – BRUTAL CRIMES
When today we think of Kampuchea, the deepest feelings
of revulsion
and disgust some to us.
All of us know of the massacres that are part of the
shameful
history of Kampuchea; the whole world including the imperialists
condemned
these mass murders.
Who were responsible for these acts?
Who are the guilty ones – condemned by all mankind just
months
ago?
The only answer must be the Pol Pot Regime.
But now that the people of Kampuchea have risen and
liberated
their country from this tyranny of naked brutality; now that they have
toppled
the brutal Pol Pot Regime, you hear reactionaries screaming.
They forget all their condemnation of the same regime
which they
now support—condemnations which they made only recently.
Today they are in the same track as they tried in
Angola and
Ethiopia when they shouted interference in internal affairs.
They used this slogan then, as they are using the
slogan now, in
order to divide us.
Not once did they remind themselves today of the brutal
crimes of
the Pol Pot Regime.
But Comrade President, just as in the cases of Angola
and
Ethiopia, foremost in our minds must be the justice and well-being of
the
Kampuchea people.
Should we not breathe a sigh of relief now that the
mass murders
have come to an end?
Given the untold crimes that the Pol Pot Regime is
guilty of, can
we freedom-loving peoples ever dream of permitting them to retain a
seat
amongst us in the Non-Aligned Movement?
Comrade President, this would be no different to
accepting the
Zionist Israeli regime in our midst and in our Movement.
Why should be keep out the legitimate representatives
of the
Kampuchea people, when the only crime they have committed is to put an
end to
the gross brutality of the Pol Pot regimen and this gang of murderers?
Can we succumb to imperialism when its aim is to divide
us on all
world issues—Middle East, Kampuchea, South Africa and so on?
We in Grenada say “no” – we say very boldly that the
only
legitimate representative of the Kampuchea people is the Heng Samrin
regime, the
government which we recognised on the 20th (sic*) of September last.
*NOTE: The People’s Republic of Kampuchea was formed
10
January 1979. September last (in 1978) appears misdated. Hughes put the
recognition of Kampuchea on 1 September 1979. This speech was given on
6
September 1979.
WESTERN SAHARA – JUST CLAIMS
Comrade President, when the Spanish withdrew from the
Western
Sahara, they carved up the area distributing it to Mauritania and
Morocco, in
the usual colonialist/imperialist fashion.
Today I congratulate Mauritania for recently renouncing
all
claims to Western Saharan territory and we call on Morocco to do the
same and
to cease all colonialist ambitions in the area.
Morocco must, we feel, respect the United Nations and
OAU
mandates.
They must understand that today the vast majority of
the world’s
people recognize the just claim of the people of Western Sahara for
their
territory.
We are happy to announce that the People’s
Revolutionary
Government recognises the Democratic Republic of Western Sahara under
the firm
revolutionary leadership of the Polisario Front.
THE COLLAPSE OF COLONIALISM
All of these fundamental principles of the Movement
have had a
most dramatic impact on the development of our own Revolution in
Grenada.
Indeed, the underlying principles of the Non-Aligned
Movement
have had a significant process of which we in Grenada are a small party.
This revolutionary process which has seen the emergence
of
successful and progressive revolutions in countries like Angola,
Mozambique,
Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea and, most
recently,
Nicaragua and Iran, has had a vital impact on the balance of forces in
today’s
world.
Gone are the days of unbridled imperialist control and
domination
of the world.
In place of this anachronism we have now the emergence
of the
Third World as an important force in the world of today and this
development
has been significantly sided by the assertive role of the Socialist
world under
the leadership of the U.S.S.R., and for this we in the Third World must
express
our fraternal thanks.
There are also signed of the collapse of colonialism in
the
region.
St. Lucia and Dominica, which we welcomed this week as
observers to
the Non-Aligned Movement, have gained their independence within the
past twelve
months.
Antigua, St. Vincent and St. Kitts are about to gain
theirs.
We resolutely support independence with territorial
integrity for
the people of Belize.
We also wish to express our strongest solidarity with
the Puerto
Rican Socialist Party and the people of Puerto Rico in their struggle
for
independence.
Our profound solidarity goes to the Government and
people of
Panama in their just struggle to recover the Panama Canal and to the
Government
and people of Cuba in their continuing fight to regain control over
Guantanamo
Bay.
We express also our deepest desire for the peaceful
re-unification of Korea.
We congratulate Malta on the removal of NATO bases from
its
territory, in keeping with the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The example of Malta is a good reminder to us that
there are
still some 20 Army, Navy and Air Force bases in the area.
Just in Puerto Rick/Panama/Guantanamo Bay area there
are 30,000
men stations, and now they are even taking over tiny Dog Island in the
Caribbean.
The excuse they are using today is the same they have
been using
over the years – strategic global considerations.
And when we examine these considerations we find that
first and
foremost the question of profits from the more than US$48,000 million
investment in the Latin America area arises.
They also continue to exploit the resources of the
people of our
area—bauxite, oil, copper, gold and so on, and on top of this, there
are
geo-political considerations.
And when they speak of this last consideration, what
they
primarily have in mind is fear of Cuba.
And the main fear of Cuba is that another Cuba may
arise in the
region.
IF THERE WAS NO CUBA….
This fear of Cuba has led to attempts to derail and set
back the
Cuban Revolution.
Remember 1961, when direct invasion via the Bay of Pigs
was
attempted; we recall too the numerous attempts on the lives of Comrade
Fidel
Castro and other Cuban Comrades; we recall the cowardly and blatant
attempt at mass
murder, one of them being successful, when in 1976 a Cuban Plane was
blown up
off Barbados, killing all passengers; we recall numerous attempts at
blockades,
barricades and isolation.
But it is fortunate that there was a Cuba.
If there was no Cuba, the world would not have seen the
first
Socialist Revolution in the West in this Century.
If there was no Cuba, we would not have been reminded
of the very
important lesson that blockades, barricades and isolation cannot stop a
serious
and determined people from consolidating their revolutionary process.
If there was no Cuba, we would not have been reminded
that
imperialist and reactionary forces or their attempt at murder and
sabotage
could never stop a people fighting for their freedom and liberation.
Cuba laid the basis for Grenada, Nicaragua, Vietnam,
Cambodia,
Laos, Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique.
The example and spirit of the Cuban Revolution has
therefore had
international impact.
But, perhaps, most important of all is the fact that it
is now
the best example of what Socialism can do in a small country for
health,
education, employment, for ending poverty, prostitution and diseases.
It is now the best example in the world of what a small
country
under socialism can achieve.
This is what Socialism is all about.
The Colonialists have spent several centuries dividing
our region
as all other regions of the world.
They have spent centuries developing the fine art of
dividing
peoples of the same area.
The French, English, Spanish and Dutch came.
They carved up the area, taught us different languages
and
cultures and then turned around and got us to hate each other.
They told us that those who speak English must regard
those who
speak Spanish and Dutch as enemies and vice versa.
They told us that those who developed one particular
cultural
background must despise and hate those with a different cultural
background.
They created regional boundaries and established
different border
lines and even ensured that some countries had no right to access to
the sea,
thus giving birth to territorial disputes in our region.
But one of the historic tasks of the Non-Aligned
Movement in the
late seventies must be to help to break down and destroy all these
artificial
boundaries – language, culture, or physical partitioning – created by
colonialism.
We must begin to find a solution that would create one
people and
one region.
And Grenada strongly pledges to struggle as hard and
seriously as
we can to build one Latin American Movement.
We need the support and solidarity of the Non-Aligned
Movement to
build our process in Grenada.
From the earliest days of our Revolution we found
ourselves
threatened, we found ourselves bombarded by threats of force and
destabilization.
After the first weeks of the Revolution, after Gairy
fled to
America to recruit mercenaries to attempt to come back, we put out
signals; we
requested assistance by way of arms, calling on America, Britain and
Canada.
We also made similar requests of our neighbours in the
Caribbean –
Jamaica, Guyana, Cuba.
THE LOUDEST RESPONSE
U.. Ambassador Frank Ortiz then came to Grenada to
advise us that
any attempt on our part to build close links with the Government of
Cuba would
be severely frowned upon by the United States.
And we had to remind the Ambassador that, although we
are a small
country and although we are a poor country, the people of our country
had spent
several years fighting dictatorship.
We reminded him that many of our patriots had been
brutilised and
murdered fighting the dictatorship, and now that we had won our
freedom, we
would not give up that freedom because the United States or any other
foreign
power wishes us to do so.
We had to remind them that all countries had the right
to build
their own way, free from outside interference and free from the use or
threat
of force, that we were not in anyone’s backyard and they we were not
for sale.
Today we have found that these threats have continued;
these
attempts to try to set us back have continued.
Just before coming to this Conference we received a
cable from
the U.S. Secretary of State [Cyrus Vance] telling us that if we were
going to
the Non-Aligned Summit we would be in the forefront of resisting
further
attempts being made by countries like Cuba to try to destroy, to try to
divide
the OAS.
They were saying that there were efforts to destroy the
OAS, to
destroy the peace-keeping role of that Organization; and what was
expected of
us was to join other forces to make sure that did not happen.
There were several options open to us.
We could have replied saying that we have never tried
to give any
advice to any country and, certainly, not the U.S.A. about how they
should
conduct their affairs in any organization they belong to.
But we did not adopt this course.
Instead, we decided to come to this conference to speak
out
loudly and clearly on the side and in the interests of the suffering
and
oppressed people of the world and of those countries and regions
fighting for
their freedom, independence and national liberation.
We feel that the presence of Grenada and the other 90
full member
countries here is the loudest response we could make to the suggestion
that we
should try to set back the advance of the Non-Aligned Movement.
A NEW WORLD
Comrade President, it is a changing world.
We know that imperialism is not invincible.
We know that the balance of forces in the [world] is
changing.
We know that today there is being built a new Caribbean
–
Jamaica, Guyana and now Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia – Governments
attempting
to build new societies with the people’s support; Government that
progressive
forces have rallied behind.
We also see a new Latin America emerging – Cuba in
1959,
Nicaragua now, Chile a few years ago.
We understand today, Comrade President, how imperialism
used the
Inter-American Treaties to allow for interventions in Guatemala and
Dominican
Republic.
Today, when a similar attempt was made in a vain effort
to stop
the revolution in Nicaragua, that attempt was killed because of the new
consciousness, cooperation and solidarity of the people of Latin
America.
The emerging new Africa is evidenced by Guinea-Bissau,
Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Benin, Madagascar, Congo, Sao Tome,
Seychelles.
The new Asia can be seen from Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea,
Afghanistan,
Democratic Yemen.
We can also see slowly developing a new Europe.
We can see this from Malta’s courageous decision to
remove NATO
bases from its territory; from workers’ struggles in Europe and the
growing
emergence of progressive sections and groups in France, Italy and Spain
even in
the face of aggressive manoeuvres by imperialism.
There is also proof of a new world emerging at this
time.
The struggle for a New International Economic Order is
part of
the proof.
The grouping together of oil producing countries into
OPEC is a
further testament to this development.
So, Comrade President, all around we see evidence that
the world
is changing. A new world is truly being built and now, more than ever,
the
Non-Aligned Movement has to address itself to the economic aspect of
the
struggles against imperialist domination.
It needs to be reiterated that, important as political,
racial
and cultural liberation are, they need to be buttressed by higher and
higher
levels of economic liberation.
For although the world is changing, the present
distribution of
economic power and living standards still remain manifestly unjust.
This derives from the long history of imperialist
expansion and
control of the Third World.
We seek to change this order and substitute for it the
New
International Economic Order.
And we give our whole hearted support to the efforts of
progressive and Third World countries that are fighting for a new world
based
on social and economic justice for the poor of the world.
SPECIAL PROBLEMS
Comrade President, before ending, I should like to say
a word or
two about some of the special problems which are faced by small island
and
other specifically disadvantaged states.
These include problems of limited markets, limited
populations,
limited resources, lack of skilled in key areas, heavy dependence on
one or two
raw materials for export earnings, lack of capital formation,
undeveloped money
markets and inadequate infra-structure.
These problems affect most small island and other
specially
disadvantages state countries like Dominica, St. Lucia, Seychelles, Sao
tome,
Grenada and so on.
And for countries like us, we find ourselves doubly hit
by
imperialism.
Whereas the larger countries of the Third World are
today
fighting for the right to achieve a better balance in their terms of
trade, for
many of us the fight is for the right to trade in the first place.
And whereas the larger states in the Third World are
fighting to
have established an international regime which would exploit the
resources of
the deep sea for the benefit of all mankind and not just for one or two
multi-nationals;
for many of us, the first problem is to have agreed and demarcated our
200
miles economic zone.
Our problems are compounded by the inadequacy and
inappropriateness of the criteria that are used to determine whether
loans can
be made, or said, or other forms of co-operation or assistance can be
given.
The Balance of Payments Test is unfair for these small
states.
Many do not have their own Central Banks, so what
passes as a
balance of payments deficit is more often than not really only a
budgetary deficit.
The per capita test is also grossly unfair.
When you see that test you are taking into account the
earnings
of the millionaires and other big shots so that when you come to divide
your
G.D.P. by the total population, the majority of whom live in conditions
of
abject poverty, you can get a very inaccurate picture of the earnings
of the
average citizen.
Likewise, the requirement of pre-financing costs which
requires
that the local government purchases out of its own resources the
required
materials for the particular project, to be reimbursed thereafter, also
works
very unfairly because very often the initial money cannot be found.
LONG LIVE THE MOVEMENT
We will of course continue to struggle with larger
states in the
Third World to bring pressure for the creation of the New International
Economic Order.
But we must point out that, even what might appear to
be
relatively minor assistance for a larger Third World country can have a
tremendous impact in a smaller and poor society.
For example, when we requested assistance from the
Revolutionary
Government of Cuba and they sent us twelve doctors, this very generous
assistance immediately had an overwhelming impact on our country.
I am sure you will understand the extent of the impact
of 12
additional doctors spread throughout an island as small as Grenada
would have.
I do not want to be misunderstood.
Obviously, the loan of even one doctor is an extremely
valuable
contribution even if made to a fairly developed country.
But the point is that the impact that 12 doctors can
made in a
small state, as contrasted to their impact is, say, a vast country as
Ethiopia
where almost literally they could be swallowed up, bears no reasonable
comparison.
For a small state Comrade President, relatively minor
assistance
of all kinds can make an enormous difference and have an enormous
impact.
In this connection, we want to express our appreciation
to and
voice our support for the proposals made by President Saddam Hussein of
the Republic
of Iraq at this Summit for the creation of a long term world fund to
help the
developing countries to combat the effects of inflation.
We must now organise to pressure the developed
capitalist world
to contribute meaningfully to this fund.
We want finally to formally support the appeal earlier
brought to
this distinguished assembly concerning the devastation done to our
Sister
Caribbean island of Dominica by Hurricane David.
We are confident that the statement of solidarity from
this Conference
and the firm offers of support already pledged by Cuba, Sri Lanka,
P.L.O.,
Cyprus, Iraq, Kuwait and others will be tremendously appreciated by our
sisters
and brothers in Dominica.
We thank the Government and people of Cuba for their
gracious
hospitality.
We thank the people of Cuba for maintaining and
consolidating
their revolution.
We thank the people of Cuba for their revolutionary
example, for
their courage, for their discipline and for their many successes.
We salute the indomitable leader of the Cuban
Revolution, Comrade
President Fidel Castro.
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
Long live the struggle of working people throughout the
world for
peace, freedom, justice and social progress!
Long live the Non-Aligned Movement!
