WNYC; United Nations; Ernesto Che Guevara
- Collection
- WNYC
- Series
- United Nations
- Episode
- Ernesto Che Guevara
- Contributing Organization
- WNYC (New York, New York)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/80-70msc48f
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- Description
- Description
- When he appeared before the 19th UN General Assembly, Che took pains to groom himself for the occasion: His boots were polished, his olived-green uniform oressed, and his hair and beard were neatly combed. Nevertheless, he presented a striking contrast to the conservatively attired diplomats who filled the hall to hear him speak, and his defiant speech did not disappoint those who had anticipated a harangue worthy of the famous apostle of revolutionary socialism. Che had come to sound the death knell for colonialism, to decry American interventionism, and to applaud, on Cuba's behalf, the "liberation wars" taking place in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In a bitter reference to the Congoleges conflict, he took the United Nations to task for having allowing itself to be drawn in and used there as an instrument of Western imperialism--"a conivorous animal feeding on the helpless." As for the latest Belgian-US operation in Stanleyville, which had given the city back to Tshombe's troops at a cost of hundreds of dead, Che declared: "All free men throughout the world must make ready to avenge the Congo crime." He then proceeded to link the "white imperialist" action in the Congo with Western indifference to the apartheid regime in South Africa and the racial inequalities in the United States. "How can the country that murders its own children and discriminates between them daily because of the color of their skins, a country that allows the murderers of Negroes to go free, actually protects them and and punishes the Negroes for demanding respect for their lawful rights as free human beings, claim to be a guardian of liberty?" Addressing one of the main themes of the assembly --a debate on global nuclear disarmament - Che expressed Cuba's support for the concept but stressed its refusal to ratify any such agreement until the United States had dismantled its military bases in Puerto Rico and Panama. Che's speech also reiterated Cuba's determination to follow an independent course in global affairs. While reaffirming that Cuba was "building socialism," Cuba considered itself a "nonaligned country" because it identified with those in that new community of states in Africa, Asia and the Middle East that were "fighting against imperialism." Under the circumstances, this could be taken as an implicit dig at Soviet inaction on behalf of those struggles. In separate references to the feuding socialist superpowers, Che said Cuba strongly supported the Soviet stance over the Congo -- while on behalf of China, he argued for its inclusion in the United Nations and the ouster of the US supported Nationalist Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek. Not surprisingly, Che's words provoked vigorous denunciations by US Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and some of the Latin envoys present, while outside the UN building Cuban exiles angrily protested his appearance. Some went considerably further. Several "gusanos" were arrested after firing bazookas at the UN building from across the East River. Elsewhere, a woman was prevented from trying to stab Che with a knife as he entered. Throughout the ruckus, Che maintained his composure and seemed delighted at the anger he had aroused. To the shouted insults of the gusano protestors, he raised his hand in the universally understood gesture meaning "Fuck you". ---From "Che: A Revolutionary Life" pages 617-618 Grove Press1997 (A transcript of Che's speech and later response to his critics is available.)
- Genres
- Event Coverage
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Media type
- Sound
- Credits
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: Guevara, Ernesto, 1928-1967
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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WNYC-FM
Identifier: 54801.1 (WNYC Media Archive MDB)
Format: Data CD
Generation: Copy: Access
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- Citations
- Chicago: “WNYC; United Nations; Ernesto Che Guevara,” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 25, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-70msc48f.
- MLA: “WNYC; United Nations; Ernesto Che Guevara.” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 25, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-70msc48f>.
- APA: WNYC; United Nations; Ernesto Che Guevara. Boston, MA: WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-70msc48f