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Washington Post harshly criticizes Castro - really
EFL - They have a short gratuitous slap at BushA YEAR AGO Cubaâs Communist government cracked down on nonviolent dissidents..., 75 of them were in prison, sentenced to terms ranging from 6 to 28 years after one-day closed trials. Carried out while the worldâs attention was focused on the war in Iraq, this was President Fidel Castroâs attempt to destroy a pro-democracy civil society that had been peacefully emerging. A year later, the bad news is that those 75 political prisoners are still locked away, in many cases under inhumane conditions. The worse news is that Mr. Castro has gotten away with his crime: He has set back the cause of freedom in Cuba, and suffered few consequences... The European Union adopted some token sanctions. But European trade and tourists continue to provide the hard currency that props up Mr. Castroâs regime. More help has come from Venezuelaâs Hugo Chavez, a Castro wannabe who supplies his mentor with oil on sweetheart terms... [the NYTimes would never use these kinds of words] One of Cubaâs foremost dissidents, Oswaldo Paya..." Mr. Paya said of the prisoners. "But they have not given up, and we will not give up. . . . From the darkness of their cells, they are proclaiming the Cuban Spring, which is the hope of all people." The failure of the international community to hold Mr. Castro accountable for his crimes against some of Cubaâs best writers, journalists and teachers means that that spring probably will not arrive this year. But even Mr. Castro, feebly clinging to his failed ideology at age 77, must know in his heart that it is coming. Posted by: mhw 2004-03-25 |
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