Reflections by Comrade Fidel
A FIRE THAT COULD BURN
EVERYONE
You may agree or not with Gaddafi’s
political ideas, but no one has the right to question the existence of
The world has not yet reached the point
which, in my view, is an essential condition for the survival of our human
species: access by all the peoples to the material resources of this planet.
There is no other in the Solar System that we know that has the most elemental
conditions for life.
The United States itself always tried to
be a melting pot of all races, all beliefs and all nations: white, black,
yellow, the Indians and mixed races, with no other differences than those
between the masters and slaves, the rich and poor; but all within its borders:
To its North was Canada; to the South, Mexico; to the East, the Atlantic Ocean
and to the West, the Pacific Ocean.
What makes the issue complicated is that
it does not imply the noble wish of those fighting for a better world, which
deserves as much respect as the peoples’ religious beliefs do. It would only
take some kind of radioactive isotopes that stemmed from the enriched uranium
used by thermonuclear plants in relatively small amounts—since they do not
exist in nature—to put an end to the fragile existence of our species. Keeping
those wastes in increasing volumes, under reinforced concrete and steel coffins,
is one of the major challenges for technology.
Events like the
This is not the issue I’d like to address
today, but how amazed I was yesterday to see, on Walter Martinez’s show
“Dossier” on Venezuelan television, the filmed images of the meeting between
the chief of the US Department of Defense Robert Gates and the U.K. Defense
Minister, Liam Fox, who visited the United States to discuss the criminal war
unleashed by NATO against Libya. It was something difficult to believe, the
British minister won an “Oscar”; he was a bundle of nerves, he was tense and
spoke like crazy; and he gave the impression that he was just spitting out the
words.
Of course, he first got to the entrance of
the Pentangon, where Gates was awaiting him with a smile. The flags of both
countries, the one of the ancient British colonial empire and that of its
stepson, the United States Empire, flew high on both sides as the two national anthems
were played. Right hand on chest, the rigorous and solemn military salute of
the ceremony given by the host country. This was the initial act. Later, the
two ministers stepped into the US Defense building. They are supposed to have
spoken for a long time, given the images I saw, as each of them returned with a
speech in hand, undoubtedly prepared in advance.
The context of this entire scenario was made
up by personnel in uniform. On the left I could see a tall, slim young soldier,
who seemed to have a shaved redhead, wearing a cap with the black peak pulled
nearly down to his throat, presenting his bayoneted rifle. He did not blink nor
seem to breathe, like the figure of a soldier ready to shoot a rifle bullet or
a nuclear rocket with a destructive capacity of 100 thousand tons of TNT. Gates
spoke showing the smile and natural manners of a host. The British man,
however, did so in the way I explained.
I have not often seen anything more
horrifying than this; he was releasing hatred, frustration, fury and using
threatening language against the Libyan leader and urging his unconditional
surrender. He looked indignant because the powerful NATO warplanes had not been
able to crush the Libyan resistance in 72 hours.
He was only missing the exclamation: “blood,
sweat and tears,” just like Winston Churchill when he calculated the price to be
paid by his country in the fight against the Nazi warplanes. But in this case,
the Nazi-fascist role is being played by NATO with its thousands of bombing
missions by the most modern aircraft ever known by the world.
To cap it all came the decision by the US
administration to authorize the use of drones to kill Libyan men, women and
children, like in Afghanistan, thousands of kilometers from Western Europe, but
this time against an Arab and African country, before the eyes of hundreds of millions
of Europeans and no less than in the name of the United Nations Organization.
The crude attacks against the Libyan
people, which have taken on a Nazi-fascist character, may be used against any
I am really amazed at the resistance posed
by
The belligerent organization now depends
on Gaddafi. If he resists and does not yield to their demands, he will enter
history as one of the great figures of the Arab nations.
NATO is poking a fire that could burn
everyone!
Fidel Castro Ruz