arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

AP. 29 September 2001.

Castro : Peaceful Response Possible.

Cuban President Fidel Castro suggested the United States
should steer clear of military retaliation to the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, calling for a U.N.-led response that would not risk innocent
lives.

"A peaceful solution could still be possible," Castro told tens of
thousands of people at a state-sponsored rally in the central Cuban city
of Ciego de Avila.

The Cuban leader called the attacks on the United States "insane" and
emphasized that "under no circumstances should those responsible for the
brutal attacks against the American people be allowed to go unpunished
-- if they can be identified."

But he accused U.S. officials of warmongering and insisted the United
Nations should be given the leading role in a worldwide effort to
eradicate terrorism "with total and unanimous support of world opinion."

"The unanimous shock suffered by all nations of the world ... has
created exceptional conditions for the eradication of terrorism without
the need to unleash a useless and perhaps endless war," Castro said.

"But the main obstacle is that the most notable political and military
leaders in the United States refuse to listen to any word said against
the use of weapons and in favor of a truly effective solution to the
worrisome problem," he added.

"One wonders: Why this obstinate course of starting a complicated and
open ended war? Why are the American leaders showing such arrogance when
their enormous power gives them the privilege of showing some
moderation?" Castro said.

Castro, whose communist country has been squeezed by U.S. sanctions for
four decades, spoke a day after the U.N. Security Council approved a
sweeping U.S.-sponsored resolution requiring all 189 U.N. member nations
to deny money, support and sanctuary to terrorists.

Cuba is on the list of countries the United States accuses of sponsoring
terrorism, but Castro said a week ago that "Cuba will never be used for
terrorist actions against the American people and we will do everything
within our reach to prevent such actions against that people."