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It is in the breaking news sidebar!
Posted on 04/12/2003 7:09:42 AM PDT by Luis Gonzalez
The summary trials and executions of three accused Cuban hijackers Friday by the Cuban government were predictably condemned across the board by Miami's Cuban exile community. But there may be a local casualty that's less obvious: moderate viewpoints among many exiles, who until Friday had been leaning closer to dialogue with Cuba. ''We didn't shut the door, Castro did,'' said Carlos Saladrigas, chairman of the Cuba Study Group, a moderate exile group that encourages increased communication between Cubans on the island and in Miami. ``All I'm saying is that we are not going to shut the door. Let the Cuban government shut the door. And they have.'' The executed men were arrested last week aboard a ferry that they tried to hijack in Havana and sail to Florida. SWIFT TRIALS In swift trials that took place behind closed doors, three of the eight hijackers were convicted of terrorist acts and were killed Friday morning by a firing squad. Another four hijackers received life sentences and a fifth was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Many exiles believe the hijackers were simply seeking freedom. ''It is a total violation of international law and one that should not go unpunished,'' said Andy Gomez, senior fellow at the Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami. ``With an issue like this, I think the Cuban community will unify, whether they have become more tolerant, whether their positions have changed politically.'' Miami Commissioner Tomás Regalado, an anti-Castro hard-liner, said the Cuban government has sent out a clear message that there is nothing to talk about. ''Any form of dialogue with the Cuban government is dead because the Cuban government killed it,'' Regalado said. ``It's going to recharge the Cuban exiles. Those who were indifferent are going to be incensed, and the passion is going to come back.'' STANCE NOT CHANGED But not everyone was ready to dismiss the concept of dialogue. Silvia Wilhelm, founder of Puentes Cubanos (Cuban Bridges), an anti-embargo group that works to form people-to-people contacts on the island, said she condemns the executions, but they do not affect her stance that economic sanctions against the island must end and travel restrictions must be lifted. ''Absolutely, there has to be an opening,'' she said. ``This policy of isolating Cuba has not helped in 43 years.'' Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said he wants to focus on raising awareness of Cuba's human rights abuses around the country and internationally. He said many people outside Miami have forgotten how brutal the Cuban government is. ''People need to open their eyes to the kind of system in Cuba,'' Diaz said. ``Right now, we're thousands of miles away toppling a dictator, but yet there is a dictator 90 miles away who has done the same things.'' The Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) called a press conference to get the word out. CANF Chairman Jorge Mas Santos said Castro government officials have made it clear that they are not interested in any kind of change. ''He has done this at a time when world attention is on Iraq,'' Mas Santos said. ``He did this as a way to literally get away with murder. . . . We call on the world to condemn and criminalize them and hold them responsible for what happens on the island.'' Cuban radio stations were abuzz with news of the executions, with listeners calling in to blast the Cuban government. Some callers were furious, others nearly in tears. They called the executions inhumane, uncivilized and a travesty of justice. ''I would expect these people to be punished or to be jailed, but to kill them without any kind of justice?'' asked Rick Sanchez, a national television anchor who hosts a daily show on the Spanish-language station WQBA-AM (1140). ``That's not something you do in a civilized country.'' CONDEMNATION U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, also condemned the executions, saying while she does not condone hijacking as a method of fleeing Cuba, the country should not have retaliated so harshly. ''These people were killed simply because they were trying to leave the country,'' she said. ``That's an injustice.''
Communists: "If I can't have them, nobody will!"
It's our fault
Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release July 16, 1997
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Today I am notifying the Congress of my decision to suspend for 6 more months the right of U.S. citizens to file suit against foreign firms trafficking in confiscated properties in Cuba. This decision is consistent with my strong commitment to implement the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (LIBERTAD Act) in a way that best serves our national interest and hastens a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
I have invoked this waiver for the past year in order to continue strengthening cooperation with our friends and allies toward our shared goal of ending Cuba's 38 years of oppression. Thanks to the efforts of Stuart Eizenstat -- my Special Representative for the Promotion of Democracy in Cuba and now Under Secretary of State -- we have made significant progress. We are forging an international consensus on concrete steps to clear the way for a new era of democracy and prosperity for the people of Cuba(Clinton admin lies, how we don't miss them).
The bill is an Act of Congress introduced by Sen. Jesse Helms (R, NC) and Rep. Dan Burton (D, IN) that formalizes US sanctions against Cuba.
A provision of the act that would allow American companies and individuals to sue in US courts foreign companies benefiting from confiscated American property in Cuba has been prevented from being implemented since the acts adoption into law in 1996.
Six month "exemptions" of the above provison have been allowed by Presidential order all through the Klintoon administration and unfortunately up until now, the Bush administration.
In light of recent events, it is clear that the upcoming deadline in July for implementation of the law of the land be allowed to proceed unhindered.
Castro wants to piss on the USA and freedom, and if W grants another exemption, Castro will be literally getting away with murder once again.
This must not stand.
The exemption expires in July.
This needs publicity.
That of course should have read "which is why I haven't spoken out against the extension in the past."
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