In interview with Mona Sewilam, , foreign minister of the Republic of Cuba, looks ahead to when the US embargo on Cuba will end and real change gain meaning Guantanamo Bay detention camp has been operating on Cuban land since 2002, but that does not necessarily mean that Cuba supports what has been happening there. In fact, there has been a long conflict of interest between the United States and Cuba over Guantanamo Bay. Could you brief us on that? It is not properly a conflict of interest. It is a matter of illegal occupation of Cuban land in a very illegitimate way. The Cuban people proclaimed the right to self-determination in 1959. They decided in a very independent and sovereign sense. This military naval base is absolutely obsolete. It is a remnant of the Cold War, and there is no military justification for having this enclave. I feel that it is a violation of international law and I reiterate our position in order to return this land to the Cuban people. The United States assumed territorial control over Guantanamo Bay under the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty that granted the US a perpetual lease of the area for the purpose of coaling and naval stations. Guantanamo Bay detention camp was never meant to be there. Cuba has a very critical position on the use of torture and these violations of international humanitarian law and the so-called "illegal combatants", military tribunals or commissions, etc. It is part of a very dark period of US history -- the Bush administration term. Right now, the United States has a new president, but the naval base is still there and the detention centre is still functioning. In 2009, US President Barack Obama announced that the detention facility would be shut down within a year, and one challenge is what to do with, and where to place, the detainees. What's Cuba's position on that? I think that is a minimal step by a person of goodwill -- a smart and hardworking president. Internationally, I see a wide and enchanting effect by the new US president. I could say for Cubans, we see Obama's government as an opportunity, but we are waiting for facts. If you ask me about US policy towards Cuba, I could say that there is maybe a small change in rhetoric. Obama could try to achieve change, but in the case of Cuba he is trapped in the past. Will the closure of the detention camp help ease tensions or resolve part of the problem between Cuba and the United States? The key issue in bilateral relations between the United States and Cuba is the embargo policy -- the economic, financial and trade embargo on Cuba, which is a gross and brutal violation of the human rights of the Cuban people. It is done in a very massive, flagrant and systematic way. The embargo is the keystone of the failed US policy against Cuba. I am sure that it should be changed in the near future. The United States has been reiterating that it will continue the embargo on Cuba "so long as [Cuba] continues to refuse to move towards democratisation and greater respect for human rights". The European Union has accused Cuba of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms". But in February 2009, Cuba was commended by the UN Human Rights Council for its efforts and achievements in the promotion and protection of human rights. How would you explain that? The only systematic, flagrant and massive violation of the human rights of the Cuban people is the embargo that remains intact with the new US government. The only portion of Cuban territory in gross violation of human rights is the Guantanamo naval base under US control. There are terrible double standards and a high level of hypocrisy on the human rights issues. And I could not recognise the European Union in terms of having any moral or ethical authority to make judgements on Cuba's situation. The only international body devoted to the elements of the international agenda related to human rights is the UN Human Rights Council. There is the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism, a sort of comprehensive account of the human rights situation. We received several recommendations -- most of them very generous about recognition of the full exercise of human rights for every human in Cuba. We also received many commending considerations on the Cuban contribution to international cooperation. Venezuelan President Hugo Chàvez has been recalling how the leader of the Cuban Revolution, former president Fidel Castro, has been warning of the current international economic and financial crisis. Cuba's economy has gone through very hard times. How is the economy faring today? It is a very difficult situation. First of all, there is the huge impact and damage of the embargo policy during 50 years. Our very conservative calculation of the economic damage of the embargo is beyond $90 billion during the 50 years. Second, there has been a terribly hostile international environment, not only about energy, but food. And food prices climbed two or three years ago; that was very harmful to the Cuban economy, which is a very open one. After that, there was the huge impact of the global economic crisis. It is very severe. In the early 1990s, we lost 35 per cent of our GDP because of losing our markets, etc. One year ago, and after three hurricanes in a row devastating Cuba, in only one month we suffered three very intense hurricanes, we lost the equivalent of 20 per cent of our GDP. It means a concrete impact, but I could say that there is a crystal clear trend in the recovery of our economy. There are no typical problems of poverty of the Third World countries. We feel optimistic and have our eyes set on a very concrete future. Diplomatic ties between Egypt and Cuba date back to 1949, the Cuban embassy opening in Cairo in 1959, during the first visit of Ernesto Che Guevara. How do you rate bilateral ties today? We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of this special bond beyond diplomatic relations because we have many cultural ties, common international positions and many common challenges. I feel very comfortable. Relations are in excellent shape between both countries. They stand on a very solid foundation. At the same time, I see huge potential in, for instance, the economic and cultural fields, pharmaceutical and biotechnological products, or medical research. Cuba handed over the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Egypt during the XV NAM Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in July 2009. What did NAM achieve during Cuba's chairmanship, in the period 2006-2009? It has been a very long process from laying down the NAM principles to updating them in the Havana Summit three years ago. I feel comfortable about the outcome. I think that the NAM is revitalised right now through a long process, not only during Cuba's chairmanship. And Egypt will chair the movement participating in international debates and answering important challenges like the economic global crisis, and I feel that NAM is absolutely alive. What do you think of the 2009 Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration? I think it covers the main international issues like the Palestinian issue, the Arab-Israeli conflict -- an important priority for NAM. I feel comfortable with this document. It is modern, action-oriented and consensus- friendly. It deals with international junctures and the most important challenges. There had been claims that through its NAM chairmanship Cuba would be pushing to influence the agenda and performance of the movement in a way that serves Cuba's interests. How would you respond to such claims? Cuba's international performance is very well known as solidarity-oriented and international cooperation-oriented. It has been a tradition of Cuban foreign policy to subordinate national interest for the sake of the NAM and the international cause of Third World countries. What indicators do you have? As for Cuban international cooperation, for instance, we currently have more than 50,000 Cuban workers in more than 70 countries, most of them medical doctors. We offer around 30,000 scholarships in Cuba for students from low-income families from the countries of the global south. We conducted "Operation Miracle" for ophthalmological surgeries and we performed in a short period 1.7 million eye surgeries. We are handling worldwide around 600 hospitals and ophthalmological centres. It means an important commitment to the cause of the countries of the south, and a humble contribution to people of different latitudes. How is your country contributing to the NAM troika? The troika has a traditional role in the NAM. Like Egypt, we could contribute in a very prudent way and transparent manner, always consensus-oriented, and in fluent and permanent consultations with the whole composition of NAM. What are your ambitions for, and expectations from, the NAM during Egypt's chairmanship between 2009-2012? I feel that humankind faces very important challenges from the economic global crisis to food security and energy crises. I feel that only through international cooperation and integrating the efforts of countries of the south could we meet these important challenges. Secondly, there is a very peculiar international political juncture with threats, and at the same time opportunities, for Third World countries. I am sure that NAM can address that. In American filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial 2007 documentary, Sicko , we saw a segment showing 9/11 rescue workers getting treated in Cuba instead of the United States. To what extent is Cuba's healthcare system better? We have a very powerful healthcare system based on solidarity and social investment for many years -- for the whole period of the revolution. As I mentioned, our international cooperation includes contributions in the field of healthcare, especially for low-income people. At the same time, we have one of the most advanced medical research systems worldwide. And our healthcare is ranked among the best worldwide and satisfies a fundamental right of every human. Is Cuba's healthcare system more humane? It is absolutely humane and absolutely not commercial. It is painful to see a commercialisation process of healthcare, education or basic needs like water underway elsewhere. Latin America is one of the regions with the worst patterns of the distribution of welfare. In this part of the world, in Egypt specifically, Cuba may bring to mind several things: excellent Cuban cigars, Che Guevara and his iconic image, Guantanamo Bay prison, the best known Cuban song, "Guantanamera" ("Girl from Guantanamo"), the Soviet bloc, and defiance to US dominance. What image of Cuba are you trying to promote today? The real one: a small island that sustained huge damage and with maybe the most idealistic people worldwide, this is considering that Che Guevara is still alive. A country that is very proud of Fidel Castro and Ra�l Castro's contributions to the international agenda, and that is considering that the most important values are spiritual and that we need to protect our environment. We need more rational patterns of production and consumption in industrialised countries. A country that is very close to a big neighbour, the United States, with which we have cultural bonds. And I am sure that the legacy from the past, the embargo policy on Cuba, must cease in a few years. We could re-launch our relations with the American people in a sense of hospitality and neighbourhood. Fifty years of revolution in Cuba "I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country's policies during the Batista regime. I approved the proclamation which Fidel Castro made in the Sierra Maestra, when he justifiably called for justice and especially yearned to rid Cuba of corruption. I will even go further: to some extent it is as though Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States. Now we shall have to pay for those sins. In the matter of the Batista regime, I am in agreement with the first Cuban revolutionaries. That is perfectly clear." -- US president John F Kennedy, interview with Jean Daniel, 24 October 1963 * The interviewer is senior international correspondent and alumni ambassador at the European University Centre for Peace Studies, Austria
