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Another answer to Mr.Bush.
Fidel Castro Ruz - 12.06.2002 23:49
Remarks by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Republic of Cuba, at a rally held in general Antonio Maceo Square.Santiago de Cuba,June 8, 2002.
Millions march for socialism.
REMARKS BY DR. FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AT A RALLY HELD IN GENERAL ANTONIO MACEO SQUARE. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, JUNE 8, 2002.
Compatriots from Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and all of Cuba:
I had said that we would all respond to Mr. W. Bush. Our children, our teenagers, our young students; our workers, farmers, professionals; our journalists, historians, artists, intellectuals, scientists; the fighters of yesterday and of today; the youths, the adults, the elders and especially the mothers, the sons and daughters, and the close relatives of all those who have suffered themselves and their loved ones during 43 years of brutal terrorism, aggressions and a murderous blockade maintained by successive U.S. Administrations against our people. They have all been tearing to pieces Mr. W. Bush’s statements in Miami.
He went too far in his speech. He was rude. He insulted, he lied, and he threatened. He would only need to add now that the heroic people he pretends "to free", have all been forcibly mobilized to take part in the huge and enthusiastic demonstrations of Sancti Spiritus and Holguin before, and in this enormous rally held today here, in Santiago de Cuba.
Perhaps no other country has ever witnessed such an imposing, combative and sound political movement. Perhaps, never before a small nation had the strength of character and the courage to resist such a powerful adversary. This is an unprecedented confrontation that is taking place in a new historical stage between the force of just ideas and the murderous ideas of the brutal force.
When the arrogant use of force is imposed in violation of every right, ethic and reason, demagogy and lies remain the only possible ideological support.
Hardly two thirds of a century has passed since Humanity went through the bitter experience of Nazism. Fear was Hitler’s inseparable ally against his adversaries. First, he was tolerated as a buffer and a potential ally against communism. Then, he was made concessions. He recovered the Ruhr, a crucial zone for military build-up, and went on to annex Austria to the German Third Reich. Then, without a shot, he conquered a large part of Czechoslovakia. Later, his fearful military force enabled him to strike a non-aggression pact with the USSR on August 23, 1939, that is, 9 days before the outbreak of a war that would inflame the whole world. The lack of vision and the cowardice of the statesmen in the strongest European powers of the time opened the way to a great tragedy.
I don’t think that a fascist regime can be established in the United States. Serious mistakes have been made and injustices committed in the framework of its political system --many of them still persist-- but the American people still have a number of institutions and traditions, as well as educational, cultural and ethical values that would hardly allow that to happen. The risk exists in the international arena.
The power and prerogatives of that country’s President are so extensive, and the economic, technological and military power network in that nation is so pervasive that due to circumstances that fully escape the will of the American people, the world is coming under the rule of Nazi concepts and methods.
I do not intend to exaggerate or dramatize. But, the truth is that there’s a growing tendency to question and override the very existence and the role of the United Nations.
Last September 20, 2001, when Mr. W. Bush proclaimed that those who did not support his war project against terrorism would themselves be considered terrorists and exposed to his attacks, he was overtly disregarding the UN prerogatives. At the same time, based on his military power he was assuming the role of world master and policeman. For those of us familiar with the Marxist literature, that day was the 18th Brumaire of Mr. Bush*. Future historians should take note of the political leaders’ reaction in most countries. It was panic and fear that came over most of them.
Such conceptions and methods contradict the idea of a democratic world order based on principles and norms that ensure safety and peace for all of the peoples.
Long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, Bush had promoted enormous budgets for the research and production of more deadly and sophisticated weapons, although the cold war was over, the old adversary no longer existed and the weakened State that replaced it lacked both the economic resources and the will to face up to the overwhelming force of the sole hyperpower.
Why was that colossal military build-up program conceived, and for what purpose?
In a recent speech made on the occasion of the bicentennial year of the West Point Military Academy, an institution well-known for its remarkable role in the military history of the United States, Mr. W. Bush threw a fiery harangue at the graduation ceremony of 958 cadets. However, his remarks were also addressed to the United States and the entire world.
Some of the ideas expressed there are a reflection of his thinking, and that of his closest advisors, long before the brutal attacks of September 11, which now serve as an excellent pretext to justify what was already then a rather dangerous, inadmissible, unsustainable and peculiar idea of the world. He said for example:
"If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long."
"In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act."
"Our security will require transforming the military you will lead, a military that must be ready
to strike at a moment’s notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require... to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives."
"We must uncover terror cells in 60 or more countries... Along with our friends and allies, we
must oppose proliferation and confront regimes that sponsor terror, as each case requires."
"We will send diplomats where they are needed, and we will send you, our soldiers, where
you’re needed."
"We will not leave the safety of America and the peace of the planet at the mercy of a few
mad terrorists and tyrants. We will lift this dark threat from our country and from the world."
"Some worry that it is somehow undiplomatic or impolite to speak the language of right and
wrong. I disagree. We are in a conflict between good and evil, and America will call evil by its name. By confronting evil and lawless regimes, we do not create a problem, we reveal a problem. And we will lead the world in opposing it."
"Generations of West Point officers planned and practiced for battles with Soviet Russia. I’ve
just returned from a new Russia, now a country reaching toward democracy, and our partner in the war against terror."
As you can see, he doesn’t mention once is his speech the United Nations Organization. Nor is there a phrase about every people’s right to safety and peace, or about the need for a world ruled by principles and norms. He only talks of alliances between powers, and of war and more war. He speaks of war on behalf of peace and liberty, words that coming from him sound as meaningless and empty as soap bubbles. His entire speech is no more than a sweetened exaltation of chauvinism, and of the superiority of his country’s culture, glory and power.
The miserable insects that live in 60 or more countries of the world chosen by him and his closest assistants --and in the case of Cuba by his Miami friends-- are completely irrelevant. They are the "dark corners of the world" that may become the targets of their unannounced and "preemptive" attacks.
Not only is Cuba one of those countries, but it has also been included among those that sponsor terror. And, on top of it all, the cynical fabrication that Cuba produces bio-weapons; they simply overlook the fact that the entire world knows it is a colossal lie.
What is the difference between that philosophy and methods and those of the Nazis? Why is it that so many governments are trembling with fear and keeping silent?
It is not a simple coincidence that the fascist right forces are gaining ground in various European countries.
The American people will refuse to educate their children in such a philosophy.
In the face of such cowardice, many peoples of the world will look hopefully to the American people as the only one capable of putting a straightjacket on, or stopping, the bigots in their lust for power, abuse and conflict. Many peoples in the world showed their unanimous solidarity with the American people after the attacks of September 11; our noble and generous people did too, and certainly not out of hypocrisy or fear.
We would like for those West Point cadets to come to Cuba as tourists some day, when Americans are again free to travel, but not as invaders.
Who has actually reaped the benefits of the terrorist attacks of September 11? Those that President Eisenhower defined as the military-industrial complex; those whose authority had been called into question by the electoral fraud; the Miami terrorist mob; those who want to destroy the United Nations; those who advocate the predominance of hegemonic policies and who want to reshape the world as they wish.
I don’t believe for a second that anyone --whatever his position-- who could have prevented the obnoxious crime of the Twin Towers deliberately allowed it to happen in a yearning for popularity and power or for any other purpose.
But, calling things by their name, as Mr. Bush said in West Point he likes to do, I’d say that I think the President of the United States has made serious mistakes in the way he has handled the situation after the tragedy. I shall mention only a few made both domestically and overseas:
He should have never implanted fear in the minds of the American people.
He should have kept calmed.
He should not have adopted hasty decisions without even considering other possibly more promising options, which would have been unanimously supported by all governments, by the most influential religions and by the fundamental political trends, from both the left and the right.
He should not have identified over half of the countries in the Third World as his enemies, much less as terrorists.
He should not have pursued a path that will have the effect of multiplying the number of bigots and suicidal persons in the world, thus seriously complicating the struggle against terrorism. The Palestinian’s is a case in point: for every Palestinian that has been murdered, the number of walk-in suicide bombers has markedly increased, which has led to a predicament with no way out in sight.
He should not have concealed the intelligence reports he received, particularly that of August 6, which has given rise to all sorts of doubts and guesses. It is necessary to be valiant and transparent with the people. No one can believe that this is impossible for security reasons. Those of us who have lived and struggled for decades against thousands of terrorist plans and actions originated in the United States are perfectly familiar with the nature of such intelligence reports, whose sources need to be highly protected by those who draft and forward them.
He should not have met with, or accepted the presence at that meeting in Miami of, well known characters that have organized, directed and carried out thousands of terrorist attacks against Cuba and other countries, including several hundreds inside the territory of the United States.
For many years and until September 11, the Cuban American National Foundation financed, organized and publicized countless terrorist actions and plans to murder Cuban leaders. Today, that same organization continues to fund the defense, protection and impunity of the worst terrorists while waiting for the Cuban Revolution to be destroyed by the United States. Everybody knows this, both in Miami and the White House. Mr. Bush’s intimate relationship with these terrorists completely undermines his moral authority and disqualifies him as a world leader to fight against terrorism.
He should not have allowed the fabrication of that stupid lie about Cuba developing bio-weapons. As for the alleged theoretical capacity to produce them, needless to say that even when all governments could lie that doesn’t mean they all do.
He should not have politically challenged the Cuban revolutionary leadership because he is in no position to respond to the political challenges that Cuba could throw at him. It is like sailing on a big paper boat --full of lies and demagogy-- that cannot endure the wind or the waves.
He should not have made demands on matters that are the sole concern of our sovereignty, nor launch threats against Cuba because the Cuban people have never been nor will they ever be forced to give in. This is the people that did not hesitate for a moment when hundreds of nuclear weapons were aimed at this island on October 1962, threatening to wipe them off Earth. No one remembers a single Cuban patriot who lost heart.
Now, Mr. Bush could find himself in the dilemma of either rectifying or trying to wipe Cuba off the map, which is not all too easy.
Mr. Bush should be better informed about what the Cuban people is today and of how it feels; its degree of unity, its political culture and its unmovable strength.
Other things could be said in addition to these reflections on the unfortunate May 20 speech and on other issues, but I don’t wish to expand any further.
As we had promised, our people with their talents, their truths and their patriotism have been giving the right response. But the task is not over yet, since our mass organizations will also respond. On Monday 10, their national leadership will meet in the country’s capital. Also, the National Assembly, supreme body of the State power, will respond in due course and it will certainly do so with all courtesy.
Thank you, Mr. Bush, for you have honored us with your recognition that such an institution exists here and that in the year 2003 there will be elections for deputies.
There is just this one point to clarify: if, as you have indicated, all elections in Cuba have been rigged, how could the National Assembly have any authority to adopt the amendments to the Constitution that you have demanded? The solution might be that the Cuban Supreme Court validates our deputies. That would be most democratic!
Compatriots from Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, unforgettable comrades-in-arms in the Moncada, on the mountains and in the cities, comrades from yesterday, today and tomorrow:
On behalf of those who have given their lives for Independence and the Revolution, to whom we will be loyal up until our last breath, I congratulate you on this gigantic demonstration.
Long live Socialism!
Homeland or death!
We will overcome!
Reference to the book The 18th Brumaire of Napoleon Bonaparte, by Karl Marx. (Note of the Translator)
 Website: http://www.granma.cu/
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| supplements | | | aardige inschatting | Anonymous - 13.06.2002 01:42
Ik weet niet veel over het huidige Cuba, (een nogal onschuldig vacantieland?), maar Castro´s kritiek op het huidige leiderschap in de US klinkt redelijk.
Weet er iemand waar "Miami" voor staat?
Is dat een aanduiding voor "Maffia" of zoiets?
| | Miami | Ernest Hemingway - 13.06.2002 09:02
"Miami" staat voor aanhangers van de vroegere rechtse Cubaanse dictator Batista, die met name naar Miami vluchtten, toen Castro en de zijnen Batista omver wierpen. Zij hebben organisaties als de Cuban American National Foundation, en zijn inderdaad nogal eens betrokken bij drughandel en andere mafia praktijken
| | Van pot en ketel | Dubya - 13.06.2002 09:45
"When the arrogant use of force is imposed in violation of every right, ethic and reason, demagogy and lies remain the only possible ideological support."
Is Castro eindelijk tot inkeer gekomen? Of gaat het niet over hemzelf?
| | Miami Maffia | Arie Waarheid - 13.06.2002 10:34
Raul Cantero, een neef van de ex-Cubaanse dictator Fulgencio Batista, hoopt rechter te worden bij het Hooggerechtshof in Florida. Weet u het nog? Florida is de staat waar zo met de stemmen geknoeid is tijdens de laatste presidentsverkiezingen in de VS (over democratie gesproken). Hierdoor werd George ´War´ Bush ´president select´ in plaats van ´president elect´. In datzelfde Florida is Jeb Bush gouverneur. Jeb Bush is de broer van de Amerikaanse ´president select´.
---
AFP. 11 June 2002. Nephew of ex-Cuban dictator hopes to become Florida Supreme Court judge.
MIAMI -- A Spanish-born nephew of Cuban ex-dictator Fulgencio Batista is campaigning to become a Florida Supreme Court judge, according to his law firm.
Raul Cantero, 42, currently works as a lawyer in Miami.
He was born in Madrid in 1960, just over one year after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro ousted Batista, who had been in power since 1952. Cantero´s mother, Elisa, was one of Batista´s eight children.
Cantero moved to the United States with his family before his first birthday.
Florida Governor Jeb Bush -- a brother of President George W. Bush -- is due to designate a new Supreme Court judge in the coming weeks, to replace one who will retire in August.
Website: http://www.DeWaarheid.nu
| | Meer dan ZEVEN MILJOEN mensen voor SOCIALISME | Arie Waarheid - 13.06.2002 10:56
Granma. 12 June 2002. More than seven million Cubans take to the streets.
HAVANA -- Cubans filled the streets, from one end of the island to the other, to say "yes" to the constitutional reform proposed by representatives of civil society declaring the socialist system untouchable, and pronounced a loud "no" to the fascist methods outlined by George W. Bush under the cloak of the anti-terrorist crusade, in a speech made at West Point.
At 8:00 a.m. today, June 12, President Fidel Castro set off with more than one million residents from Havana and other cities, the packed throng taking four hours to pass in front of the U.S. Interest Section.
It was an impressive display of unity, in a world where representative democracies have become demo-injustice, demo poverty, demo-malnutrition.
Throughout the rest of the country, in all municipalities, provincial capitals and rural settlements, the march was irrepressible. According to Prensa Latina, it is calculated that more than seven million people took part in 800 marches and 2,230 rallies.
The march´s size is without precedent in the world, fruit of a high level of culture, patriotism, awareness and knowledge, as the Cuban president affirmed in a TV appearance last night (June 11), as preparations for the march were being completed.
In the face of possible heavy rainfall, Fidel showed his concern for the
well-being of young children, pregnant women and senior citizens with
health problems, advising others to take umbrellas or raincoats to
protect themselves from the rain.
| | trop is te veel | vdb - 13.06.2002 12:11
7 miljoen op een bevolking van nog geen 11 miljoen? kom nou. Mooi propagandaartikeltje, overigens, daar heeft de auteur zeker een extra kippebil voor gekregen bij zijn maandelijkse aalmoes, sorry, salaris.
| | Prachtig! | Rob Swolfs - 13.06.2002 15:46
Dat is toch fantastisch om zo´n beelden te zien, niet waar? Na al de berichten uit de VS over Cuba rond armoede, geen vrije meningsuiting, geen democratie,...noem maar op!
Hoe hypocriet is het trouwens, dat uitgerekend George "War" Bush de Cubanen de les wil lezen op gebied van democratie, op gebied van meer-partijenstelsels?
Democratie in de VS :
*een twee-partijenstelsel waar beide partijen in dienst staan van het allesverslindende oorlogsapparaat en van de multinationals.
*steeds meer beknotting van de vrijheden na 11 september, waar meer en meer aan het licht komt dat de Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten ervan wisten, of er zelfs de hand in hadden.
*Machteloze vakbonden, geen sociale zekerheden, alles geprivatiseerd,...
*een allesvernietigend oorlogsarsenaal met nooit eerder geziene, destructieve wapens, die in dienst staan van het grootkapitaal. Amerika werpt zich nochtans nog steeds op als het onschuldige slachtoffertje....
*Staatsgrepen in Latijns Amerika met de royale hulp van de CIA en andere inlichtingsdiensten die democratisch verkozen presidenten koudweg vermoorden, aan de deur zetten of opsluiten (Nicaragua, Chili, Venezuela,...)
*45 miljoen armen in de VS zonder ook maar enig toekomstvisie. Dit zijn vooral Immigranten.
*Meer en meer evolueren ze naar een politiestaat, binnenkort ook met een Super-inlichtingendienst, machtiger dan de CIA en de FBI samen...
*en zo kan je nog uren doorgaan...
Cuba heeft inderdaad een 1-partijstaat, maar er is wel meer democratie dan er in de VS ooit geweest is!
Democratie in Cuba:
*Elke 6 maanden moeten 14.500 gemeenteraadsleden zich verantwoorden aan de burgers.
*Directe democratie
*Op 11 januari van dit jaar waren er parlements- en provincieraadsverkiezingen. Dat is hier onopgemerkt voorbijgegaan, want het past niet in het cliché van de ‘communistische dictatuur’
*Van de 601 kandidaten vervullen in totaal 145 (of 24,12 procent) een taak in de productie of de dienstensector. Machinist op een kreeftenschip, gemeentewerkman, arbeider in een coöperatie, operator van landbouwmachines, frezer, telefoonhersteller, specialist in maagziekten of onderwijzer in de lagere school. Hier zie je dus voor wie het parlement en de regering daar werkt, van wie ze in dienst staan...Niet zoals in de kapitalistische wereld waar je er donder op mag zeggen dat de politici een mooi postje hebben bij een of ander groot bedrijf, of dat ze advocaat zijn, of dokter,of...
* 46 % van de kandidaten vertegenwoordigen het bestuur aan de basis
*In het nieuwe Parlement zetelen 28 % vrouwen
* CDR-comité´s in de volkswijken die mee het beleid bepalen.
*gratis onderwijs, gezondheidszorg,...
Zo zie je maar wie wie nog iets kan leren over democratie! Het is wat je met de stem van het volk doet dat telt. In Cuba is dat een maatschappij opbouwen waar iedereen meetelt, waar iedereen gelijke kansen heeft. In Amerika is dat oorlog voeren, democratisch verkozen presidenten omverwerpen,...en dat is dan de grootste democratisch macht...
Leve de Revolutie!
Rob
Website: http://belgium.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=25579&group=webcast
| | In Paradisum | Paul - 13.06.2002 16:23
Toch raar, dat er in de VS Cubaanse vluchtelingen zitten en in Cuba geen Amerikaanse. Je zou nochtans anders verwachten als je die vergelijking leest.
Wat zou je er trouwens van vinden Robje als je in België alleen op de VLD zou kunnen stemmen of in Nedrland alleen op de VVD. Zou je zo´n eenpartijsysteem dan nog een modeldemocratie vinden?
| | oorlogstokers | heiweer - 13.06.2002 16:33
Ach man, dat van dat oorlogszuchtige VS tegenover dat vredelievende Cuba dat is toch gezwam. Alsof Cuba nooit militaire avonturen in Afrika heeft gehad. Remember Angola, waar de Sovjets hun bondgenootje ter hulp hebben mogen snellen. Het enige verschil tussen Cuba en de VS is het schaalverschil. Hou nou toch eens op met Cuba als een paradijs en grootvadertje Fidel als de ideale leider voor te stellen. Alsof daar niks zou mislopen zeker. Alle sociale vooruitgang en sponsoring van de vroegere Sovjet-Unie ten spijt blijft Cuba na 40 jaar communisme nog altijd een ontwikkelingsland. Communisme of niet, een ideologie kan daar niet veel aan verhelpen. Zolang de wereld verdeeld blijft in staten zal het gehommeles nooit ophouden. En als die staten dan nog een ideologische basis hebben ook dan is het helemaal prijs.
| | Over Angola gesproken. | Thalif Deen. - 13.06.2002 16:44
De VN spreken tegen dat ze niet tijdig hebben gereageerd op de humanitaire noodsituatie in Angola. Nu de burgeroorlog in dat land voorbij is, komt aan het licht dat honderdduizenden mensen in afgelegen gebieden honger lijden. De voedselcrisis zou al aan duizenden mensen het leven hebben gekost. De hulporganisatie ´Artsen zonder Grenzen´ stelde dinsdag dat de VN de alarmsignalen genegeerd hadden en veel te traag in actie komen.
Erick de Mull, humanitair coördinator van de VN in Angola, noemt de aantijgingen van Artsen zonder Grenzen ´onjuist en misleidend´. Volgens hem doet de VN in moeilijke omstandigheden al het mogelijke om de crisis te bezweren. In het verleden werd de aandacht al vaak gevestigd op de dreigende catastrofe in Angola, en de VN heeft voortdurend steun gezocht voor humanitaire operaties. Zo werden drie speciale alarmsignalen uitgestuurd, en waren er regelmatig vergaderingen met donoren om fondsen te mobiliseren en prioriteiten vast te leggen. Volgens de Mull is het echte probleem de lauwe reactie van de internationale gemeenschap en mogelijke donoren op de vraag om geld. Daardoor beschikken de VN-programma´s over onvoldoende middelen om de crisis afdoende aan te pakken. De Mull stelt ook dat de VN wel onmiddellijk na de demilitarisering van de vroegere oorlogsgebieden het terrein is gaan verkennen. AZG zou zijn kritiek beter sparen en zelf zijn inspanningen beter coördineren met zijn partners op provinciaal en nationaal niveau.
Dr. Morten Rostrup, de voorzitter van de Internationale Raad van AZG, had dinsdag tijdens een persconferentie in Luanda verklaard dat "honderdduizenden Angolezen slechts kunnen worden gered indien de Verenigde Naties en de Angolese overheid hun noodhulp drastisch opschroeven." Rostrup was daarbij niet mals voor de VN. "Sinds het staakt-het vuren van 4 april kunnen we ons eindelijk op het terrein begeven: sinds dag 1 geven we onze zorgwekkende gegevens door aan de Verenigde Naties, de Angolese overheid en andere hulporganisaties, maar hun reacties blijven beschamend traag en onvoorstelbaar ontoereikend. De VN-agentschappen zien de urgentie van de huidige crisis niet in en moeten in tal van gebieden waar we werken nog starten met algemene voedseldistributie."
Rostrup stelde dat in het bijzonder het Wereldvoedselprogramma (WFP) en het Bureau voor de Coördinatie van Humanitaire Zaken (OCHA) onaanvaardbaar traag reageren. De VN zouden nauwelijks weet hebben van de toestand op het terrein in de pas gedemilitariseerde gebieden, terwijl AZG in tien van de achttien Angolese provincies in 44 voedselcentra al veertienduizend mensen helpt. Meer zelfs: in sommige gebieden wordt de hulp verminderd om in pas toegankelijke gebieden de nood te kunnen lenigen, waardoor er nu 350.000 mensen zonder hulp zitten.
Een andere VN-vertegenwoordiger, ondersecretaris-generaal van de VN Ibrahim Gambari, gaf vorige maand toe dat de situatie in Angola ´ernstig en potentieel destabiliserend´ is. Het einde van de burgeroorlog die het land vijfendertig jaar heeft gegeseld, heeft voor onverwachte problemen gezorgd. Na de dood van Jonas Savimbi, de charismatische leider van de rebellenbeweging UNITA, ondertekenden de regering en de rebellen in april een staakt-het-vuren en een vredesplan met vijftien punten, dat ook opriep tot een ´uitgebreid programma van humanitaire bijstand´. Maar daarvoor bleken meer kandidaten op te dagen dan verwacht: ongeveer 55.000 rebellen en 300.000 familieleden. De verwerking van zo´n onvoorziene toevloed hulpbehoevende mensen blijkt nu problematisch, zeker in moeilijk toegankelijke gebieden met slechte wegeninfrastructuur en beperkte transportmiddelen.
| | intriest | heiweer - 13.06.2002 16:50
Intriest is dat. En dat allemaal omdat enkele ideologisch verblinde staten (zowel de VS als Cuba en de USSR) het nodig vonden om hun vete in een Afrikaans land uit te vechten.
| | indruk | Anonymous - 13.06.2002 19:18
Als ik bovenstaande bijdragen zo lees kan ik me toch niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat er tegenwoordig een wezenlijker verschil is dan schaalgrootte.
Het ene land lijkt -om wat voor redenen dan ook- steeds milder, socialer en democratischer te worden en geen militaire invloed meer op andere landen uit te oefenen, terwijl het andere land juist -om wat voor redenen dan ook- steeds hardvochtiger, a-socialer, ondemocratischer en militaristischer lijkt te worden.
Wel ironisch eigenlijk: een "democratisch" Cuba en een "Stalinistisch" Amerika.
Maar goed, eigenlijk ging het (mij) nu niet om de beoordeling van Castro/Cuba maar om de in diens toespraak beschreven inschatting van het huidige Amerikaanse leiderschap en de dramatische veranderingen die dat voor de wereld met zich mee brengt.
De Miami-uitleg (mijn dank daarvoor) maakt het nog wat duidelijker hoe het morele gezag beoordeelt kan worden.
Maar verder ziet het er naar uit dat zich niemand de vingers wil branden aan de inhoud van het stuk óf dat iedereen het er eigenlijk wel mee eens is (afgezien van de propaganda voor het Cubaanse socialisme natuurlijk)?
| | The Miami Connection. | JEAN-GUY ALLARD - 14.06.2002 12:55
• The anti-Cuban Miami Mafiosi — the same groups that sponsored the crimes of Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles 40 years ago — charge with impunity for their electoral services by blackmailing both a president and a people.
IT would seem that George Bush was left with no other option than to pay his electoral debts and, at the same time, resolve in advance those of his brother Jeb. But when he offered a finger, they grabbed a whole arm. And it is thus that, in the Washington of the War on Terrorism, the Miami terrorist mafia — the same individuals that sponsored the crimes of Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles 40 years ago — have shamelessly grabbed the best seats.
While devoting themselves to internal fighting in their teeming Miami ghetto, which is seriously threatening their image, the capos have managed to impose on the federal capital the most powerful political network to have invaded the highest echelons of the U.S. governmental apparatus to date.
As the president has clearly acknowledged them as his past and future guides, they have crudely occupied the most strategic posts in relation to U.S. Latin American policy, even utilizing the most disparaged mercenaries in recent history for this task of infiltration.
Now in strong positions of power in Washington are those same people who organized a hysterical campaign to prevent Cuban Juan Miguel González recover his son Elián from distant relatives in Miami; the same individuals who have always stood by the authors of acts of terrorism against Cuba, by paying for their lawyers and applauding their most irresponsible statements; those Mafiosi who have converted blackmail, threats and violence into a lucrative business in the most retrograde city in the United States.
Since their participation alongside the CIA in all types of trafficking, in the dirty war in Nicaragua, as well as in terrorist conspiracies from Central America to Chile and Argentina, the Miami mafia have constantly penetrated federal circuits of power and now, with the George W. Bush as president, the peak of their power.
The picture is a frightening one and is even shocking the most hardened analysts of the U.S. "big media."
Below are 10 of the most visible capos in the conspiracy.
OTTO REICH, THE KING OF DECEPTION
First on the list must feature Otto Reich, the Cuban son of Austrian émigrés who left the island as an adolescent. Throughout his career, Reich has demonstrated total contempt for his country of adoption by specializing in the dirtiest political maneuvers without the merest hint of ethics, having blatant recourse to lies so as to develop his plans, and deceiving the Senate when necessary. His ultra-right exploits are so numerous and have been listed so many times that it is only necessary to mention a few of the grossest ones. Under Ronald Reagan’s administration, he headed the Public Diplomacy Office, an outfit engendered by his CIA partners to shamelessly manipulate U.S. public opinion concerning the illegal activities comprising the misnamed Iran-Contra scandal, really the Central America-Contra scandal.
Nevertheless, Reich’s infamy is even more closely linked to his period in Venezuela as the U.S. ambassador, during which time he devoted most of his energies to securing the release of CIA agent and arch-terrorist Orlando Bosch, who masterminded the explosion in full flight of a Cubana passenger plane, provoking 73 fatalities.
Subsequently, Reich secured entry into the United States for Bosch — without any doubt the most dangerous of the Miami terrorists together with his accomplice Posada Carriles — and, eventually, a presidential pardon, with the assistance of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) and Congressman Lincoln Díaz Balart (Republican, Florida), head of the anti-Cuban gang at the Capitol.
They then used their authority over Governor Jeb Bush to get him to ‘move’ George Bush senior.
Reich’s new position as under-secretary of state for Western Hemispheric Affairs; in other words, chief of U.S. Latin American policies, was also the result of maneuvers by the anti-Cuban group, which once again "leant" heavily on Jeb Bush to make his presidential brother see reason.
THE NOSTALGIC LINO GUTIERREZ
Number two in the White House Latin American apparatus, Lino Gutiérrez, acted as temporary under-secretary of state for Western Hemispherical Affairs from June 4, 2001 until Bush forced through Reich’s appointment, against the clearly expressed will of the Senate. He is now Reich’s confidante, given that he has clearly demonstrated his aptitude for exercising the maneuvers of his chief. Born in Havana in 1951, Gutiérrez likewise left the island at an early age. He "distinguished" himself for the first time during the U.S. invasion of Grenada in October 1983. He then reappeared as head of the political section at the U.S. embassy in Porte-au-Prince, Haiti. He headed the Nicaragua desk at the State Department during the time of the dirty war against the Sandinista Revolution. In December 1996, he took on the post of ambassador in Managua until July 1999. Like his boss, he has always been openly associated with conspiracies hatched by the CANF and other fanatical Miami groups that have sustained him in his career.
During the Bush administration, he was the strategist behind the latest anti-Cuban maneuvers at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. He has publicly described his work as "extraordinary." He conspired against the Chávez government in Venezuela. Last July he directly participated in the Nicaraguan elections, crudely threatening voters with reprisals in the case of Daniel Ortega being elected to the presidency.
Gutiérrez is a fanatical partisan of the blockade against Cuba. When Cuba recently made the first purchase of foodstuffs from the United States for many years, he rushed off to Miami to calm apprehensions in Mafiosi circles and to assure that this purchase did not constitute a change of U.S. policy toward Cuba.
ELLIOT ABRAMS, SHAMELESS LIES
Another figure in the service of the Miami Connection is Elliott Abrams, who hatched the Iran-Contra scandal and who, thanks to a presidential pardon by George Bush senior, escaped a prison term. He is now a member of the National Security Council, responsible for "promoting democracy and human rights." This is as if nobody would remember that he was the evil brain of the dirty policy on Central America, who promoted the aggression against Nicaragua and Panama, and who, facing Senate investigation committees, defended the worst excesses of the death squads, denied the massacres that occurred and lied over clandestine support activities for the Nicaraguan Contras. And all this with his characteristic arrogance.
EMILIO "ESPECIALLY CUBA" CONZALEZ
Another Mafiosi candidate, product of the fanatical anti-Cuban Miami circuits, is Emilio González, colonel of the U.S. armed forces and nominated aide to his partner Abrams on the very same National Security Council. Colonel González was an instructor at the famous West Point military academy and later in the high command of the Miami U.S. Southern Command, the "southern" leadership of the imperial army. Of Cuban origin, his brief on the National Security Council is attending to the Caribbean region, including Cuba.
And according to a recent comment in The New York Times, especially Cuba.
GREEN BERET ROGELIO PARDO-MAURER
The anti-Cuban "coverage" of the U.S. state is total. Rogelio Pardo-Maurer, son of a Costa Rican father and a U.S. mother, was born in the United States but quickly identified himself with the most right-wing Latin American "causes"...to the point of becoming virtual spokesman for the Contras in Nicaragua. A reservist in the 20th Special Forces Group (Green Berets), he recently announced that he was thinking of leaving his post to return to military life. Secretary of Defense attaché, Rogelio Pardo-Maurer, the former Contra, is in charge of Latin America.
JOHN NEGROPONTE, AMBASSADOR OF TERROR
In the 1980’s, John Negroponte was U.S. ambassador to Honduras, and there — where he applied the methods he had learned in his years as a CIA agent in Viet Nam — he sponsored the most savage military terrorism, covering the persecution and execution of tens of thousands of persons in that country, Nicaragua and El Salvador. During his period in office in Tegucigalpa, U.S. personnel at the embassy increased tenfold and the most important CIA "command" in Latin America was located there.
He has been designated by Bush as none less than U.S. ambassador to the United Nations!
ROGER NORIEGA, MEDIOCRE BUT "TRUSTWORTHY"
A man of trust was needed within the Organization of American States. And for such a post, how about the principal Latin American collaborator of semi-retired Jesse Helms, champion of the blockade against the island? It is a fact that Roger Noriega is a mediocre official and has had a disastrous reputation in diplomatic circles for some time now. On the other hand, he does possess verifiable ultra-right convictions in terms of Cuba (and Haiti).
MAURICIO TAMARGO, WOLF ADVISOR
Is there someone missing in the Justice Department? No, Mauricio J. Tamargo, new president of the Federal Claims Committee, is on guard there. A pure-bred Miami Cuban American, legal advisor to "Big Bad Wolf" Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican, Florida) — another eminent member of the conspiracy — from his position Mauricio J. Tamargo can intervene in all legal matters relating to Cuba. In the case of the total application of the Helms-Burton Act, Tamargo is already at his "combat" post, ready to serve the Miami terrorist capos.
ADOLFO FRANCO, THE SUBVERSIVE
Adolfo Franco is to assume the central post for Latin America within the so-called U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). His appointment responds to a clear will to intensify subversion against Cuba by expanding funds to fabricate, finance and direct tiny groups of Cuban traitors in the service of the United States: the so-called dissidents, paid a dollar-cash wage. Born in Cárdenas in Matanzas province, Franco is a "well-integrated" Cuban American like the others in this brigade. He studied in Iowa and worked in Missouri prior to joining the anti-Castro terrorist industry in Washington DC. One important detail: he is also one of Ros-Lehtinen’s cubs.
10. JOSÉ CÁRDENAS, THE MAFIOSO AMBASSADOR
A high-ranking member of the anti-Cuban "cause" in Washington, José Cárdenas is the son of Colombian parents, natives of Medellín. He has been in the trust of the Miami mafia since 1986 for his ultra-conservatism and was offered the highest responsibility: CANF "embassy" chief in Washington, in a complex purchased for $1.7 billion USD by the Jorge Mas Santos gang.
Closely linked to Lincoln Díaz Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Colombian is moving to a strategic post in the Capitol building itself, where he is the principal advisor for Latin America to Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. What are his objectives? We want to advance beyond sanctions to a more active policy, an offensive strategy, Cárdenas affirmed recently.
From the mouth of a representative of the friends of terrorists Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, such a declaration is more than worrying.
And one wonders: to what point have the Miami capos been able to charge with impunity for their electoral services, not only blackmailing a president but the entire U.S. people?
The power held by these 10 persons in the defense, justice and diplomatic sectors is vast. Moreover, there is an 11th individual "infiltrated" into the cabinet, Cuban-American Mel Martínez, secretary of housing and urban development.
When life sentences are handed down to persons like the five Cubans in Miami who were trying to neutralize the terrorist acts of these characters and their associates, while the latter are elevated, it is very difficult to believe in the good faith of the so-called war against terrorism.
| | een opmerking. | eräs vaan. - 15.06.2002 01:32
Een Finse jongen die door Latijns Amerika rond reisde vorig jaar (2001) beschreef eens het verschil van politiek/sociaal/economisch systeem:
"In Nicaragua zat ik in cafétjes te eten en zag ik kinderen eten uit de afval-containers van het cafétje en bedelen om de etensresten van je bordje. - In Cuba zat ik in cafétjes te eten en zag ik kinderen die om kaugom, of een dollar bedelden, en hondjes eten uit de afval-containers van het cafétje."
| | Ernest Hemingway | 15.06.2002 05:37
Wat meot je met die types?
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