Cuba Pulls Diplomats Out of Libya

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES, Sept 4 — The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday the withdrawal of its diplomatic personnel from the island’s embassy in Libya. Cuba has strongly opposed the foreign military intervention in the North African nation.

In its statement to the media, the Cuban government maintains that “the foreign intervention and military aggression by NATO has worsened the conflict and kept the Libyan people from being able to work towards a negotiated and peaceful solution making full use of their self-determination.”

“Cuba does not recognize the National Transition Council or any provisional authority and will only recognize a government that is established legitimately and without foreign intervention, via the free, sovereign will of the Libyan people,” emphasizes the foreign ministry statement.

Cuba further accuses NATO of using the pretext of protecting civilian lives to intervene and then “preceding to kill thousands of civilians” while “not recognizing constructive initiatives off the African Union and other countries and even violating the questionable resolutions of the US Security Council, in particular with the attack on civilian objectives, the financing and supply of weapons to one party, as well as the deployment of diplomatic and operative personnel in the field.”

Cuba further denounced that the NATO is moving towards creating similar conditions for an intervention in Syria and demands an end to foreign interference in that Arab country.  Cuba “calls on the international community to prevent a new war, urging the United Nations to meet its duty to safeguard peace and back the right of the Syrian people to full independence and self-determination.”

Read the full Cuban Foreign Ministry statement (in Spanish).