Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The fascist coup d’état against President Zelaya is an insult to all the peoples

Speech by President Raúl Castro Ruz in the extraordinary session of the Rio Group Summit, Managua, June 29, 2009
Distinguished presidents and ministers:
I shall be brief; there are many heads of state and high-ranking representatives of our governments here who also wish to speak.

A serious and extremely significant event for Latin America and the Caribbean has brought us together here. We all know about the mistreatment and abuse to which the president and foreign minister of Honduras, and the ambassadors of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba were subjected. The right of the Honduran people to express themselves politically has been trampled on.

Our first message to the Honduran people is one of solidarity and support.

Cuba strongly condemns the brutal coup d’état against the constitutional government of Honduras and its legitimate president and rejects the criminal attack on that nation’s popular sovereignty.

Aggression against the political constitutionality of any member country must be unanimously rejected by the Rio Group and in the most forceful terms.

As President Chávez rightly said last night, this is the moment to act according to one’s beliefs, wasting no time and unmasking those who condemn the coup, but then applaud under the table, as has happened so many times in our common history.

In Honduras, there is and can only be one president. José Manuel Zelaya must return immediately and unconditionally to the performance of his duties (Applause).

We believe that there can be no negotiations whatsoever with the perpetrators of the coup, nor any condition or demands of any kind for the legitimate government of President Zelaya.

The conflict between the people’s aspirations for a better future and the interests of the oligarchic sectors in perpetuating an unjust and unsustainable order will be decided there. It is a conflict that transcends Honduran borders and is an expression of the danger of a return to the past of military dictatorships which, in the recent past and with the support of the U.S. government, terrorized for decades the Latin American peoples – particularly those of Central American and the Caribbean – but virtually without exclusion.

We recall the most recent attempts: Bolivia, with Evo threatened by separatism. Friendly governments rallied to his defense, undertook their role, halted that variety of aggression against a sovereign government and a president who, for the very first time, represents those born on this continent who have taken on their shoulders most of the burden of exploitation (Applause).

Before that, it was with Chávez, the double coup, the typical coup d’état, and shaking up the whole of the population and restoring President Chávez to his rightful place once again; the oil coup that cost Venezuela millions of dollars.

And now with Zelaya in Honduras. I don’t know if it is just by pure chance that the three individuals mentioned form part of the nascent ALBA which, although they are not saying it, is worrying many persons.

These three examples alone demonstrate that the oligarchy and exterior forces that accompany them still have a lot of influence in terms of holding back history.

I ask myself what they will do with Correa in Ecuador. I fear that he is the next candidate and the next meeting of the Rio Group will be to congratulate Correa for successfully defending his country and revolutionary process (Applause).

I have only mentioned a few countries; I could mention some others that belong to the ALBA. For that reason, the fascist coup d’état against President Zelaya is an affront to all the peoples and governments of Latin America and the Caribbean, and cannot not go unpunished. Its masterminds will have to take responsibility for the crimes and outrages that have taken place in this sister nation.

The mass media will also be responsible as accomplices, for lending themselves to the coup faction’s aims and for confusing the people. At least we were able to find out what was happening through the vital work of Telesur (Applause).

Equally responsible are the oligarchic groups that are trying to legitimize a criminal act of this magnitude, and reactionary sectors in the hemisphere that are backing the transgressors of constitutionality.

The U.S. government must act in line with its declarations and assume them with all seriousness. I believe in the sincerity that President Obama and his secretary of state can demonstrate, but they must demonstrate it with actions, not with words.

Without popular support, with the total rejection of Latin American and Caribbean governments, no coup perpetrators can last. As Fidel said in his reflections of yesterday, those in Honduras can’t even breathe without the support of the United States or some of the forces with power within the government of the United States.

To the Honduran people, campesinos, workers, professionals, teachers, health workers, the business sectors, and to all the sons and daughters of the homeland of Morazán, I reiterate the message of solidarity and support of the Cuban people, and our commitment to accompany you in this battle for justice and dignity.

Honduran interim government faces domestic protests, international pressure

(L-R) Bolivian President Evo Morales, Honduran ousted President Manuel Zelaya, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Ecuador's Rafael Correa pose for a picture during an emergency meeting of Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) in Managua, capital of Nicaragua on June 29, 2009. The ALBA presidents met here on Monday to discuss the Sunday coup in Honduras. During the meeting, they ordered the withdrawal of their ambassadors from Honduras until ousted President Manuel Zelaya is returned to office in the nation. (Xinhua/Cesar Perez))

TEGUCIGALPA, June 29 - The interim Honduran government rising from a military coup has been caught in fierce protests at home and mounting international pressure.
On Monday, at least two people died and 60 others were injured as protesters clashed with military troops outside the Palace of Government in Tegucigalpa.

VIOLENCE AT HOME

Soldiers used tear gas and opened gun fire to disperse demonstrators who were in defiance of a martial law imposed by Roberto Micheletti, the interim president appointed by the Congress after President Manuel Zelaya was toppled.

A man died from his injuries in protest against the change of leadership at the state-run Honduras Telecommunications Corp, ordered by Micheletti on Monday.

This has been the second death arising from the protests against the coup-installed new government led by Micheletti, who was appointed president hours after Zelaya was seized at his residence by hooded and heavily armed troops and whisked to Costa Rica.

Sixty people were injured and one died in clashes between Honduran troops and Zelaya's supporters outside the Palace of Government, local television channel Canal 51 reported earlier.

Hundreds of protesters, their faces covered in red masks, blocked the roads around the presidential residency with iron boards and stones. They waved the national flag, chanting slogans calling the army "betrayers that have toppled the nation."

A Union leader told Xinhua by telephone that he saw several people with bullet wounds, adding that two ambulances have been sent around.

The interim government has tightened control over foreign reporters, and several of them have been arrested.

MOUNTING PRESSURES

The coup was widely condemned by Honduras' neighbors and regional groups in Latin America.

El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua have decided to halt cross-border trade with the country for 48 hours as part of a broader effort by the Central American Integration System (SICA) to help Zelaya return to office.

The SICA also suspended financing to Honduras by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.

SICA leaders were joined by their counterparts from the Group of Rio on Monday in a meeting held to discuss the Honduran coup. They urged Honduras' Supreme Court to restore Zelaya to power immediately, saying that they would not recognize anyone or any government rising from the coup.

Meanwhile, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), a trade group led by Venezuela that Honduras joined last month, issued the strongest statement defending Zelaya.

Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba formally withdrew their ambassadors and issued a statement saying "the only diplomatic representation in our nations is staff appointed by Zelaya."

Mexico used its consular services in Honduras to provide safe passage for Zelaya's Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas to travel to Managua where she represented her nation at the regional summits.

Meanwhile, the United Nations invited Zelaya to address its General Assembly and U.S. President Barack Obama called the coup "not legal" at a press conference.

Micheletti was appointed president in a legislative session that began with the reading of a resignation letter, which was alleged to be from Zelaya but denounced as fake by the president himself.

Micheletti said the country will go ahead with plans for November presidential elections.

Sunday's coup began just hours before Honduras was set to start a non-binding referendum on whether to appoint a constituent assembly to write a new constitution promoted by Zelaya.

Zelaya said a new constitution was essential to mend some "historical wrongs" in the nation, but opponents said he was only using the process to seek a second term which is not allowed under the current constitution.

(courtesy : Xinhua)

Chinese Communist Party chief stresses inner-party democracy

BEIJING, June 30 -- Hu Jintao, chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC), has called for a vigorous improvement of inner-party democracy in order to enhance the Party's ruling capacity and leadership in the development of China.

Hu, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. The digest of his speech at the meeting was published Tuesday, one day ahead of the party's 88th birthday.

Hu said the CPC must pay greater attention to inner-party democracy and actively promote it, because this will help the CPC perform its duty as the ruling party in more scientific and democratic ways and in accordance with the law.

"We must converge the wisdom and strength of the Party to an utmost level; we must fully inspire the creativity and vigor of the Party, and we must spare no efforts to consolidate the unity of the Party," so that the Chinese people can be united under the CPC leadership to carry forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Hu said.

The realization of inner-party democracy must rely on the guarantee of all Party members' democratic rights to know, to participate, to vote and to supervise in all internal affairs of the Party, Hu said.

CPC members, nearly 76 million out of the 1.3 billion Chinese population, should be encouraged to supervise and suggest on all matters concerning inner-party democracy, such as the work to fight corruption inside the Party.

Hu said mechanisms to ensure the inner-party democracy must be improved, such as the CPC congresses at all levels, and the system to elect, supervise, evaluate and promote officials.

The CPC Central Committee Political Bureau decided Monday that the Party will reform its appraisal system on officials on the basis of merit and transparency.

The assessment system will put more emphasis on achievements made in "coordinating economic and social development, maintaining social stability, and improving people's livelihoods".

(Courtesy : Xinhua)

China's communist party members near 76 Million

BEIJING, June 30 -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has increased to nearly 76 million members over the past 60 years, according to official figures Tuesday.

As of the end of last year, the number of China's ruling CPC members stood at 75.931 million, 17 times the 1949 figure when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced.

Last year more than 2.8 million new members were recruited, up 25,000 from the previous year, it said.

Of the new members, 2.268 million, or 80.8 percent, are under 35 years old, it added.

"Recruits from students saw the biggest surge in 2008, up 71,000 from the previous year," it said.

When asked at a separate press conference how to handle the problem of some college students joining the CPC to facilitate their job hunting, Li Zhongjie, an official studying the party's history, said most applicants' motivation was to play their roles in building the nation and the society.

"We have more than 10 million applicants every year, 19.5 million in 2007 for example," said Li, deputy director of the Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee. "With so many people, it's inevitable and understandable that some of them will have their own reasons for joining, including finding jobs."

"Overall, they're joining the party to serve the nation and people," he said, noting that the party will respect the members' reasonable private interests, and the members should also observe laws and party disciplines when using the power derived from being ruling party members.

Li said over the past decades, the CPC has learned lessons and accumulated experience and now its governing capacity has won world recognition.

"I believe our party will have a long life cycle," he said.

(couertesy :Xinhua )