[NYTr] Cuba Advocates Cultural Diversity at Non-Aligned Meeting

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Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN)
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Cuba Advocates Cultural Diversity at MNOAL Meeting in Tehran

Havana, September (acn) "Defending cultural diversity also means 
defending our right to preserve the future of humankind," said Cuban 
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Monday during the opening 
session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Movement of Non-Aligned 
Countries (MNOAL) on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity that concludes 
on Tuesday in Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Perez Roque and his Iranian counterpart preside over the meeting that 
follows on the agreements reached during the 14th Summit of MNOAL held 
in La Habana in September 2006.

Speaking to ministers and heads of delegations participating in the 
meeting, the Cuban top diplomat stressed that culture is an essential 
element of sovereignty and recalled: "President Fidel Castro already 
said it a few years ago: What is homeland but our own culture?"

Perez Roque also warned that "the cultural heritage of our nations is 
in danger and it is our duty to fight for our peoples' right to 
preserve the legacy of our history and our culture for the future 
generations."

The Cuban high-ranking official condemned xenophobic, discriminatory 
and racist conceptions about the superiority of races, cultures or 
nations, which, he said, "have been one of the main causes of painful 
conflicts throughout history." "It is our duty to prevent these 
conflicts from taking place again," he added.

Perez Roque urged participants to promote dialogue among cultures and 
civilizations and to work "for the establishment of cultural policies 
that defend our national identities and protect our heritage."

"In this, as in other struggles for the aspirations of the nations of 
the South, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries can always count on 
Cuba," concluded the Cuban official.

The first session of the meeting was attended by Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.