28 Oct 2009

GA / CUBA

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the 18th year in a row to end to the 47-year-old United States imposed trade embargo on Cuba. US ambassador Susan Rice defends the embargo and says that “cold war rhetoric” must be left behind. UNTV

Posted at: October 28, 2009 4:04 pm

Duration: 02:32

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: GA / CUBA
TRT: 2.32
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 28 OCTOBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

28 OCTOBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY

2.Zoom in, General Assembly podium
3.Med shot, Cuban delegation 
4.SOUNDBITE (English)  Maged Abdelaziz, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations:
"The economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against the Republic of Cuba has been in place for fifty years, thus making seventy percent of Cubans born under this embargo. The Non-aligned Movement expresses its concern over the continuation of this long-standing unilateral policy, especially after the overwhelming majority of states has consistently rejected it."
5.Med shot, member of US delegation
6.Wide shot, Rodriguez walks to the podium
7.SOUNDBITE (Spanish ) Bruno Rodriguez, Foreign Minister of Cuba:
"Since the election of President Obama there have been no changes in the implementation of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. It remains intact. It continues to be an absurd policy which causes suffering and need. It is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of human rights."
8.Pan left, audience
9.SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"Here we go again. I suppose old habits die hard. The hostile language we just heard from the Foreign Minister of Cuba seems straight out of the cold war era and it's not conducive to constructive progress. We will not respond in kind to painfully familiar rhetoric that we've heard in years past. Rather I am here to acknowledge that there is a new chapter to this old story."
10.Various shots, voting board
11.Various shots, audience applause

STORYLINE:

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the 18th year in a row today to end to the 47-year-old United States imposed trade embargo on Cuba.

187 member countries of the General Assembly's 192 members voted in favour of the draft resolution. The United States, Israel and Palau voted against it while Micronesia and the Marshall Islands abstained.

Egyptian Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz speaking on behalf of the Non-aligned Movement expressed concern over the continuation of "this long-standing unilateral policy", noting that seventy percent of Cubans were born under the embargo.

Cuba's Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, lamented that since the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States "there have been no changes in the implementation of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba" which he said "remains intact" and  continues to cause "suffering and need".

He added that the embargo constitutes "a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of human rights."

American Ambassador Susan Rice exclaimed "here we go again" and said that  "the hostile language" heard from the Cuban Foreign Minister "seems straight out of the cold war era and it's not conducive to constructive progress".

She went on to detail steps taken by the Obama administration to ease restrictions affecting the Cuban people.

The US President has said the embargo will be maintained until Cuba frees political prisoners and improves its human rights record.

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