@AnieskaAgnes Kehres
“@nytjim: Cuba w/draws ambassador from #Libya, refuses to recognize transitional govt.bit.ly/r7zkeR”
Sunday, September 4, 2011 - 09:55 GMT+3 - Libya
Cuba has announced the withdrawal of its ambassador and diplomatic mission in Libya and reiterated that it does not recognise the transitional government.
It also has denounced the NATO military intervention that helped drive fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi into hiding, saying the bombing killed "thousands" of civilians, and said it "will only recognise a government established in Libya in a legitimate manner, without foreign intervention, through the free, sovereign, and common will of the brother people of Libya."
The announcement from the Cuban foreign ministry on Saturday continued:
"Under the grotesque pretense of protecting civilians, the NATO has murdered thousands of them, disregarded the constructive initiatives of the African Union and other countries, and even violated the questionable resolutions imposed at the Security Council, in particular by its attacks on civilian targets, by its financing and arming of one side, and by its deployment of diplomatic and operational personnel on the ground."
It warned that NATO's conduct could create similar conditions for an outside military intervention in Syria, which has been roiled by popular protests as well.
"Cuba calls upon the international community to prevent a new war, urges the United Nations to abide by its duty to safeguard peace, and supports the right of the Syrian people to full sovereignty and self-determination."
Cuba is a longtime ally of Libya, and former President Fidel Castro was outspoken in his criticism of the uprising against Gaddafi in the early days of the conflict. He has not commented publicly on Gaddafi's fall. - Agencies
