Analysis Of Che Guevara's Speech at the UN GA

This speech was delivered at the United Nations General Assembly at New York. It was against the sanctions the US imposed on Cuba. It was a very strong speech. The fact that the sanctions still exist show us how incompetent a body the UN is and how shrouded the entire world is by the country we call United States of America.
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As soon as he starts to speak, Che Guevara makes his purpose very clear-‘ Cuba comes here to state its position on the most important controversial points and will do so with the full sense of responsibility which the use of this rostrum implies, while at the same time responding to the unavoidable duty of speaking out clearly and frankly.’ Such an aggressive tone and style would make sure the diplomats are all tuned into listening his speech. Had he started on a softer note, his speech would probably not have been as effective as it was. It shows his intrepid and passionate approach to this issue.
He is a powerful orator and this is apparent from the line ‘We should like to see this Assembly shake itself out of complacency and move forward’. His views to stop the dilettante at the conference as expressed very clearly through his fluency and accurate word choice. He is brave enough to call the conference a ‘pointless oratorical tournament’ organised by the Imperialism, directly attacking the US. His chary approach is not insulting but nonetheless effective.
The phrase ‘constant points of friction’ gives a vivid overview about his country’s current situation. This phrase is very effective as it shows the turmoil that the Cuban economy is looming through. Had he used a simpler term like- “our country is suffering”, the impact would be lost. His sporadic attacks on the US government are hidden behind his words. ‘Of course, there is now a socialist camp that becomes stronger day by day and has more powerful weapons of struggle. But additonal conditions are required for survival: the maintenance of domestic cohesion, faith in one's own destiny and the unrenounceable decision to fight to the death for the defense of one's country and revolution. These conditions exist in Cuba.’ By the socialist camp, he refers to the US, but he does not phrase is directly so as to offend the US. This is an example of how his emotions amalgamate with his diplomatic language. He uses the phrase ‘weapons of struggle’. This phrase accuses the US of possessing WMDs, but in a subtle and hidden manner. In diplomatic terms he is not allowed to condemn the US. However with this phrase, his message is put across effectively and he does not bend any law. There is no alternative to this phrase- no other phrase would do equal justice to the effect this phrase has on the Assembly.
‘But imperialism, particularly U. S. imperialism, has attempted to have the world believe that peaceful co-existence is the exclusive right of the world's great powers.’ Attacking remarks like these have a great degree impact. The surging hatred seems flagrant from this remark. Such a sharp remark cannot be made in any other way, as it would lose its steam. “We are made to believe that only strong powers like US have right to peace”. Imagine Guevara’s line to be replaced by this line of mediocre standards. The effect would be nullified and his purpose diminished.
‘As Marxists we have maintained that peaceful co-existence among nations does not encompass co-existence between the exploiters and the exploited, the oppressor and the oppressed..’ His blatant remarks show his courage to stand up against the General Assembly, in New York, and insult the US for the right reasons. His view his true- it was not fair for US to infringe upon the sovereignty of another nation in this way. Che Guevara is standing up for the right of each and every Cuban. His emotive language represents his fury, and this cannot be paralleled by alternative language.
His description of the freeing of Albizu Campos is termed ‘another act of hypocrisy’ purposely to show games the US plays to fool the world. His description of Campos’s physical state was- ‘age of 72, after spending a lifetime in jail, now paralytic and almost unable to speak’. It is an apt description of his physical state. Such a description clearly highlights the ‘hypocrisy’, and such an emotive line would arouse clamour among the General Assembly. There is no substitute to such a line. In no other way can such an effect be replicated. “His state now is pathetic, and this shows how hypocritical the US can be.” This line would ruin the effect of the entire speech.
The phrase ‘mirror of hybrid culture’ is a harsh phrase denoting very clearly to what extent the US can go to get their way. His language is very crisp and impactful and yet not demeaning in a direct sense. He could have stated –‘made Puerto Rico the way it is’ however, were such lose language used, the meaning of this speech would be in shambles. His examples of the effect of English on the Spanish language and on its vernacular is evident to his case and presented very powerfully. His analogy of Puerto Rican soldiers to those in Korea gives more meaning to his case, which would otherwise seem very plain.
His stand is made crystal clear in the least complicated of words- ‘we express our support of general and complete disarmament’. This would make sure that the thoughts are not convoluted before the General Assembly. Again we see the hidden confrontation of the US when he says- ‘There are new atomic powers in the world, and the possibilities of a confrontation are grave.’ Such a comment is not read directly as an insult; however as one pays close attention to the words they would get the explicit message fairly easily.
He makes it clear to the entire committee that all he wants is respect of Cuba from superior powers like the US- ‘there must clearly be established the obligation of all states to respect the present frontiers of other states and to refrain from indulging in any aggression, even with conventional weapons.’ Had he suggested this using a different approach, which may have been more aggressive and less diplomatic, his view would not have been accounted for. He has contained the formality of speech even when he is passing powerful assertions like these. He has nothing to shy away from- what he is asking of the United Nations is what an entire nation is pleading for. He knows that the United Nations is shrouded by the influence of the same ‘imperialistic power’, but yet he is not daunted by that fact.
And Cuba reaffirms once again the right to maintain on its territory the weapons it wishes and its refusal to recognize the right of any power on earth - however powerful - to violate our soil, our territorial waters, or our airspace.
He reiterates his main point again and again to make sure Cuba is heard-‘territorial integrity of nations must be respected and the armed hand of imperialism held back.’ He refers to the US as the ‘armed hand of imperialism’, which shows the GA the effect a super power has on the world. They are being projected as being notorious power who boast about their powers. His indirect insults are cleverly framed and are unquestionable. Had this been reflected in another way, his point would not have been brought across as well as it has been. He could have said-“The US is infringing upon our sovereignty and trying to take control of matters that concern us and our government”. This would have been powerful, but it is too direct and would undoubtedly spark flames and make sure that no compromise is reached. His sole purpose being to compromise with the States would be lost.
His last lines are very powerful. It says that Cuba would do as it pleases so long as it supports world peace. They make sure that weapons are used for safety purposes and solely for the use of defence. He expresses that they are not intimidated by any nation that ties to ‘violate our soil, our territorial waters, or our airspace’.
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Personally I feel that this is a very powerful speech and shows us how courageous and patriotic Che Guevara was. Few men fight for the rights of people and make the desired impact. He is one of these distinguished few.

Che Guevara's Speech at the United Nations

At the United Nations

In addition to being a military leader, President of the National Bank, and Minister of Industries, Guevara layed an important role in Cuban diplomacy. In 1959 he made a tour of Afro-Asian countries; in 1960 he headed an economic delegation to the Soviet-bloc countries, China, and North Korea; in 1961 he represented Cuba at Punta del Este; in 1962 he headed another economic mission to the Soviet Union; in 1968 he attended a conference on economic planning in Algeria; in March, 1964, he represented Cuba at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, then went to Algeria again on an official mission, made a third trip to the Soviet Union in November, and represented Cuba in the 19th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The following are excerpts from his speech to the UN on December 11, 1964.
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(...) Cuba comes here to state its position on the most important controversial points and will do so with the full sense of responsibility which the use of this rostrum implies, while at the same time responding to the unavoidable duty of speaking out clearly and frankly.
We should like to see this Assembly shake itself out of complacency and move forward. We should like to see the committees begin their work and not stop at the first confrontation. Imperialism wishes to convert this meeting into a pointless oratorical tournament, instead of solving the grave problems of the world. We must prevent their doing so. This Assembly should not be remembered in the future only by the number 19, which identifies it. Our efforts are directed to prevent that.
We feel that we have the right and the obligation to do so, because our country is one of the most constant points of friction. It is one of the places where the principles upholding the rights of small peoples to sovereignty are being tested day by day, minute by minute. And at the same time, our country is one of the entrenchments of freedom in the world, situated a few steps away from United States imperialism, showing by its actions, its daily example, that peoples can liberate themselves, can keep themselves free, in the present conditions of mankind.
Of course, there is now a socialist camp that becomes stronger day by day and has more powerful weapons of struggle. But additonal conditions are required for survival: the maintenance of domestic cohesion, faith in one's own destiny and the unrenounceable decision to fight to the death for the defense of one's country and revolution. These conditions exist in Cuba.
Of all the burning problems to be dealt with by this Assembly, one that is of special significance for us and whose solution we feel must be sought so as to leave no doubt in the minds of any, is that of peaceful co-existence among states with different economic and social systems. Much progress has been made in the world in this field. But imperialism, particularly U. S. imperialism, has attempted to have the world believe that peaceful co-existence is the exclusive right of the world's great powers. We say here what our president said in Cairo, and which later took shape in the Declaration of the Second Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries: There cannot be peaceful co-existence only among the powerful if we are to ensure world peace. Peaceful co-existence must be exercised among all states, independently of size, of the previous historic relations that linked them, and of the problems that may arise among some of them at a given moment (....)
We must also say that it is not only in relations in which sovereign states are involved that the concept of peaceful co-existence must be clearly defined. As Marxists we have maintained that peaceful co-existence among nations does not encompass co-existence between the exploiters and the exploited, the oppressor and the oppressed (....)
We express our solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico and their great leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, who, in another act of hypocrisy, has been set free at the age of 72, after spending a lifetime in jail, now paralytic and almost unable to speak. Albizu Campos is a symbol of the still unredeemed but indomitable America. Years and years of prison, almost unbearable pressures in jail, mental torture, solitude, total isolation from his people and his family, the insolence of the conqueror and lackeys in the land of his birth - nothing broke his will. The delegation of Cuba, on behalf of its people, pays a tribute of admiration and gratitude to a patriot who confers honor upon our America.
The North Americans, for many years, have tried to convert Puerto Rico into a mirror of hybrid culture - the Spanish language with English inflection, the Spanish language with hinges on its backbone, the better to bend before the U. S. soldier. Puerto Rican soldiers have been used as cannon fodder in imperialist wars, as in Korea, and have even been made to fire at their own brothers, as in the massacre perpetrated* by the U. S. army a few months ago against the helpless people of Panama - one of the most recent diabolical acts carried out by Yankee imperialism.
Yet the people of Puerto Rico, despite the terrible attack on their free will and historic destiny, have preserved their culture, their Latin character, their national feelings which, in themselves, give proof of the implacable will for independence that exists among the masses on that Latin American island (....)
One of the essential items before this conference is general and complete disarmament. We express our support of general and complete disarmament. Furthermore, we advocate the complete destruction of thermonuclear devices and the holding of a conference of all the nations of the world toward the fulfillment of this aspiration of all people. In his statement before this Assembly, our Prime Minister said that arms races have always led to war. There are new atomic powers in the world, and the possibilities of a confrontation are grave.
We feel that that conference is necessary to obtain the total destruction of thermonuclear weapons and, as a first step, the total prohibition of tests. At the same time, there must clearly be established the obligation of all states to respect the present frontiers of other states and to refrain from indulging in any aggression, even with conventional weapons.
In adding our voice to that of all the peoples of the world in their clamor for general and complete disarmament, the destruction of all atomic arsenals, the complete cessation of thermonuclear devices and atomic tests of any kind, we feel it necessary to stress, furthermore, that the territorial integrity of nations must be respected and the armed hand of imperialism held back, for it is just as dangerous with conventional weapons. Those who murdered thousands of defenseless citizens in the Congo did not use the atomic weapon. They used conventional weapons, and it was these conventional weapons, used by imperialists, that caused so many deaths (....)
And Cuba reaffirms once again the right to maintain on its territory the weapons it wishes and its refusal to recognize the right of any power on earth - however powerful - to violate our soil, our territorial waters, or our airspace.
If, in any assembly, Cuba assumes obligations of a collective nature, it will fulfill them to the letter. So long as this does not happen, Cuba maintains all its rights, just as any other nation.
In the face of the demands of imperialism, our Prime Minister posed the five necessary points for the existence of a sound peace in the Caribbean. They are as follows:
1) Cessation of the economic blockade and all economic and trade pressures by the U. S. in all parts of the world against our country.
2) Cessation of all subversive activities, launching and landing of weapons and explosives by air and sea, organization of mercenary invasions, infiltration of spies and saboteurs, all of which acts are carried out from the territory of the U. S. and some accomplice countries.
3) Cessation of piratical attacks carried out from existing bases in the U. S. and Puerto Rico.
4) Cessation of all the violations of our airspace and our territorial waters by aircraft and warships of the U. S.
5) Withdrawal from the Guantanamo naval base and restitution of the Cuban territory occupied by the U. S.

Truth Quote

"Begin by believing with all your heart that belief is true so that it will work for you, but then face the possibility that it is really false so that you can accept the consequences of the belief."

- John Reseck

John Reseck has very beautifully laid down that truth like perception can be subjective and your beliefs if strong enough might be what is the truth for you. A belief is something your mind views as the truth. He encourages one to be open-minded and develop beliefs and faiths. It speaks about how knowledge can also be personal.
For example I am in an unknown city and a local behaves in a particularly harsh or abrupt manner my belief will be that the people of that city are rude and unkind. That belief can also be translated into personal knowledge. On the contrary the people there might actually be very pleasant and good-natured on the whole. But my belief has biased my knowledge and hence my personal knowledge for that particular place is that the people there aren't very friendly. For someone else who hasn't visited that city they might not agree with me or believe me cause they haven't shared the same experience and hence their knowledge about this place is different from mine. This shows to a large extent that someones personal experiences and opinions can be translated into their personal knowledge but this knowledge may only hold true for them and them alone as someone else may not share the same opinion or have shared that experience or similar experiences for them have inculcated that belief.

Reseck then also goes on to say that when you believe in a belief so sincerely you should also take into consideration of that belief being false. Firstly a belief is a personal opinion and anything that is personal cannot be questioned so as to whether it is right or wrong, in my opinion. Similarly because the belief is personal you can't impose them on anyone. You can't force someone to adopt your beliefs and agree with your opinions. When I believe in something I have my own justifications for why it is so but someone else might differ with me completely. Hence when you take a belief into consideration there isn't anything as right and wrong and because a belief doesn't appeal to someone it can't automatically be considered wrong.

Language

This is a speech made by Marcus Antonius to the people of Rome where he is trying to provoke them the point where the are driven to mutiny. This speech is an excellent example of how language can be used effectively to convey a message effectively.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault;

And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, --

For Brutus is an honorable man;

So are they all, all honorable men, --

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honorable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome.

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honorable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honorable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, --not without cause:

What cause withholds you, then, to mourn for him?

O judgment, thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason! --Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must pause till it come back to me.

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But yesterday the word of Caesar might

Have stood against the world: now lies he there,

And none so poor to do him reverence.

O masters, if I were disposed to stir

Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,

I should do Brutus wrong and Cassius wrong,

Who, you all know, are honorable men.

But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar, --

I found it in his closet, --'tis his will:

Let but the commons hear this testament, --

Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read, --

And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds,

And dip their napkins in his sacred blood;

Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,

And, dying, mention it within their wills,

Bequeathing it as a rich legacy

Unto their issue.

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Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it;

It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you.

You are not wood, you are not stones, but men;

And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar,

It will inflame you, --it will make you mad:

'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs;

For, if you should, O, what would come of it!

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Will you be patient? will you stay awhile?

I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it:

I fear I wrong the honorable men

Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar; I do fear it.

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You will compel me, then, to read the will?

Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar,

And let me show you him that made the will.

Shall I descend? and will you give me leave?

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Nay, press not so upon me; stand far

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If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.

You all do know this mantle: I remember

The first time ever Caesar put it on;

'Twas on a summer's evening, in his tent,

That day he overcame the Nervii:--

Look! in this place ran Cassius' dagger through:

See what a rent the envious Casca made:

Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed;

And, as he plucked his cursed steel away,

Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it,

As rushing out of doors, to be resolved.

If Brutus so unkindly knocked or no;

For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:

Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!

This was the most unkindest cut of all;

For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,

Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,

Quite vanquished him: then burst his mighty heart;

And, in his mantle muffling up his face,

Even at the base of Pompey's statue,

Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.

O what a fall was there, my countrymen!

Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,

Whilst bloody treason flourished over us.

O, now you weep; and I perceive you feel

The dint of pity: these are gracious drops.

Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold

Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here,

Here is himself, marred, as you see, with traitors.

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Stay, countrymen.

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Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up

To such a sudden flood of mutiny.

They that have done this deed are honorable; --

What private griefs they have, alas, I know not,

That made them do it; --they are wise and honorable,

And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you.

I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts:

I am no orator, as Brutus is;

But as you know me all, a plain blunt man,

That love my friend; and that they know full well

That gave me public leave to speak of him:

For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,

Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,

To stir men's blood: I only speak right on;

I tell you that which you yourselves do know;

Show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor poor dumb mouths,

And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,

And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony

Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue

In every wound of Caesar, that should move

The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.

- Antony

Authored by William Shakespeare.