Axis of Evil
1. The opening plenary of the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana yesterday was a strange experience. We were informed at the outset that while Fidel was recovering well (obligatory applause), he was following doctors' order not to attend the summit. His brother, Raul, the acting President, took the chair.
2. Raul Castro, Ahmedinejad of Iran, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Lukaschenka of Belarus took turns lashing out at the US. I felt as if I was still a student in the UK in the 70's listening to student radicals. But the edge was not there. Maybe it was because, with high oil prices, Iran and Venezuela were riding high and able to support friends like Hezbullah and Cuba. Maybe it was because Israel was not able to destroy Hezbullah during the recent war which meant to them that the US lost. Chavez was a captivating orator, playing the full keyboard, going on and on. Raul signalled him to wind up but he would not. Chavez argued that if Fidel was there, he would have made a long speech so could he not take some of Fidel's time? Raul bore with him patiently but had the last word. When Chavez finally finished, Raul thanked him sarcastically for covering so much in such a short time.
3. Chavez was funny. He proudly included Venezuela in Bush's axis of evil. When Lukaschenka spoke, he volunteered Belarus as well. When Chavez visited Singapore a few years ago as the new President of Venezuela, PM Goh hosted him to lunch at the Istana. I was lucky to sit next to him and got a measure of the man. He had led a failed coup before and spent some time in prison. He has since become much more self-confident.
4. In the afternoon, I flew out of the time warp into Panama for a short bilateral visit.
George Yeo
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