IN a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement made public on December 8, Cuba has condemned a campaign unleashed by US political circles against the UN and its Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"This hysterical campaign against the United Nations has reached the point where voices in the US Congress are demanding the resignation of the secretary general, suspiciously echoed by certain mainstream media," the text reads.

It goes on to specify: "the most conservative elements in the U.S. Congress are attempting to hold the UN secretary general responsible for mismanagement of the so-called Food for Oil program."

Pointing out that it is not coincidental that the charges against Annan are being made at this juncture, the statement observes that "it would seem that the George W. Bush government is angered by Annan’s recent comments stating that the war on Iraq was "illegal."

The text claims that "an attack on Annan at this point is, in truth, an attack on the UN and multilateralism in general."

"The US government does not have the moral or any other authority to judge the UN secretary general," it underlines.

That asseveration is based on the fact that Washington has "undermined the very existence of the UN with its unilateral policy, its total disregard of international law and moreover, its constant financial pressure on this institution," from a position of principal contributor.