U.S.-led campaign against Cuba encounters fierce protest at UN - Xinhua | English.news.cn

19.10.18

U.S.-led campaign against Cuba encounters fierce protest at UN - Xinhua | English.news.cn: UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A United States sponsored campaign aimed to criticize the human rights situation in Cuba on Tuesday encountered strong and fierce protest at the United Nations (UN).

"Cuba yes! blockade no!" chanted the participants in Spanish at the "Jailed for What?" campaign in a rhythmic voice with hands pounding the desks and feet stamping on the floor while U.S. envoy to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Kelley Currie, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro and others were speaking.

The United States launched the campaign in a bid to hold Cuba's authorities accountable for human rights violations in the ECOSOC chamber -- UN's central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.

The in-door protest, launched mostly by Cuban and some other Spanish-speaking diplomats, lasted for more than half an hour.

The moderator finally gave up the Q&A sessions due to the unexpected roaring protest rarely seen in the UN history.

In a statement issued after the event, Cuban UN ambassador Anayansi Rodriguez Camejo told reporters that "the United States lacks the morals to give lessons, much less in this matter."

"The event, as we had foreseen, was a political comedy staged on false arguments," she added.