-DATE-
19621027
-YEAR-
1962
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
INTERVIEW
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
CASTRO PROTESTS ROLE OF COLD WAR PAWN
-PLACE-
CUBA
-SOURCE-
PARIS AFP
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19621029
-TEXT-
CASTRO PROTESTS ROLE OF COLD WAR PAWN

Paris AFP in English to Africa 1900 GMT 27 October 1962--E (OFFICIAL USE
ONLY)

(Text) Tunis--Cuban Premier Fidel Castro said in an article published today
in a Tunisian weekly that Cuba was ready to negotiate an end to the present
crisis but it wanted "concrete guarantees of nonaggression, supported by
acts, and not oratorical assurances."

Castro, in the interview with JEUNE AFRIQUE, said that Cuba had always
called for negotiations but the United States had rejected the proposals.
"Cuba did not and does not intend to be in the middle of a conflict between
the East and the West," Castro said. "Our problem is above all one of
national sovereignty. Cuba did not mean to get involved in the cold war."

He said that Cuba was ready to negotiate for a real peace but the Cuban
people were preparing themselves every day to fight with arms for their
independence. There is no intention of threatening the security of any
country, nor that of the American continent, he said.

The real problem of the Western Hemisphere was underdevelopment. Castro
said. The United States did not fear Cuba's armed forces nor its planes and
tanks. "They fear above all the consequences of the Cuban revolution on
their economic monopolies in Latin America," Castro said. "For the
oppressed peoples, the Cuban revolution signifies hope in a better future
of dignity and freedom."

Castro said the American arms blockade of Cuba was "not only an outrage to
the principle of commercial freedom, but also a flagrant violation of the
U.N. Charter. It is an act of war in time of peace," he said.

"But Cuba is not alone. We have friends and we are counting on
international solidarity," Castro said.
-END-