By NNN-KUNA
United Nations : Cuba, chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), has rejected Israel’s accusation last week in the Security Council monthly meeting on the situation in the Middle East that the movement supports terrorism and that its actions are motivated by political aversion towards the Jewish state.
In a letter to the council president circulated Tuesday, Cuban envoy Rodrigo M. Diaz said the Israeli envoy, Dan Guillerman, “falsely accused the movement, among other things, of supporting terrorism and of action motivated by political aversion towards the state of Israel”.
“We express the hope that instead of distorting and ridiculing NAM,” which is composed of 118 sovereign states, “the government of Israel will focus from now on on demonstrating a real commitment, not only in words and rhetoric, but with genuine actions to advance the peace process,” Diaz wrote in his letter.
Diaz also complained that he was not allowed to participate in the debate in which only council members and the interested parties spoke.
He said NAM “did not have the opportunity to respond immediately to those remarks because our legitimate request to participate in (that) meeting was rejected by certain members of the council. Nevertheless, the truth should and will be said and the record will be set straight”.
He circulated as a UN document the NAM speech that he would have read in the council last week had he had a chance to do so.
In the meantime, a delegation of the Arab group, including the representatives of Algeria, the group’s current chairman, Saudi Arabia, the group’s chairman last month, Libya, the council’s only Arab member, Palestine, the Arab League and others were scheduled to meet later Tuesday with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
They will explore with him the options to act on the situation in Gaza after the council failed last week to issue a presidential statement on the issue.
The group was scheduled to meet with him prior to his African trip 10 days ago, but could not because it put in its request just one hour before his departure, his press office explained.
Ban told reporters earlier in the day in answer to a question “my message is quite clear that while I appreciate and understand the security concerns of the Israelis, the rocket firing should be stopped, and at the same time, the Israeli government should also take the necessary measures to ease these humanitarian difficulties brought by (closure of) crossings. They should not take this as collective punishment”.