sábado, 18 de abril de 2015

Temper hope with realism

CUBA: Temper hope with realism
Updated: Apr 17, 2015 7:46 PM
John David Dyche
By John David Dyche
WDRB Contributor

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some of the reactions to President Barack
Obama's decision to reform U.S.-Cuban relations has bordered on
idealization of that place 90 miles off Florida' shores that President
John F. Kennedy called "that imprisoned island." The reality is that
Cuba has an absolutely awful human rights record. It would be a big
mistake to minimize or ignore that in a well-intentioned rush to
normalized relations.
Kennedy's relationship with Cuba included one outright failure, at the
Bay of Pigs in 1961, and another significant concession to the Soviet
Union presented to the public as a success, in the Cuban Missile Crisis
in 1962. Since then, Cuba has peddled so-called Communist revolution
throughout the hemisphere, supported terrorism, harbored American
fugitives, welcomed hijacked airplanes, and kept his people poor and unfree.

One potential upside of Obama's action is that those who implausibly
blame the U.S. policy for oppression and poverty in Cuba may now have to
quit making excuses for the despotic duo of ruling brothers Fidel and
Raul Castro. There will be those, however, who will insist on blaming
America even if the Castros continue in their abusive ways.

While praising Obama's decision as "a crucial step toward removing a
major obstacle to progress on human rights on the island," the
organization Human Rights Watch reminds Americans that Cuba is by no
means a socialist workers' paradise. The group reports that "the Cuban
government continues to engage in systematic abuses aimed at punishing
critics and discouraging dissent" and "to repress individuals and groups
who criticize the government or call for basic human rights."

Those things are not, and never have been, a function of the American
economic embargo or travel restrictions. They flow directly from the
Marxist political philosophy that has controlled Cuba since 1959.

According to Human Rights watch, "Arbitrary arrests and short-term
detention have increased dramatically in recent years and routinely
prevent human rights defenders, independent journalists, and others from
gathering or moving about freely. … Detainees are often beaten,
threatened, and held incommunicado for hours or days."

Cuba released a few political prisoners in connection with Obama's
announcement. But the organization Amnesty International nonetheless
remains skeptical of real reform and cautions that much more needs to be
done.

"We have been receiving incredibly worrying reports about a rise in
harassment and short-term detentions of dissidents throughout 2014 which
has continued in recent weeks," Amnesty International says. "Prisoner
releases will be no more than a smokescreen if they are not accompanied
by expanded space for the free and peaceful expression of all opinions
and other freedoms in Cuba."

Human Rights watch concurs. "The government controls all media outlets
in Cuba and tightly restricts access to outside information, severely
limiting the right to freedom of expression." Yet some American liberals
seemingly cannot resist romanticizing Cuba despite its lousy human
rights environment.

Decades ago, some intellectuals and influential people in the American
Left naively ignored Stalin's murderous regime while proclaiming the
advent of the much-coveted classless society in the Soviet Union.
Wishing away or whitewashing brutality there did not make it go away,
however.

Americans enamored with the Cuban healthcare system or focused
exclusively or excessively on the material well-being of its people
should keep in mind that a tyranny is still in power there. No one
should assume that the Castros will do anything other than keep it that
way despite U.S. concessions.

None of this is to say that past U.S. policy premised on isolating Cuba
has been a success. It has not. So Obama's initiative is probably worth
a try, although its timing is questionable and America must insist that
Cuba expand freedom and respect human rights in exchange for better
relations.

An official in the Obama State Department recently told Congress that
she had "raised with the Cuban government our concerns about its
harassment, use of violence, and arbitrary detention of Cuban citizens
peacefully expressing their views." She did not report any affirmative
response from the Cuban government.

Critics like U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida
Republican and Castro opponent, complain that, "The U.S. is rushing to
embrace two decrepit tyrants in their twilight." She makes a decent
point, but there is really no way of knowing for sure whether the
prospects for improvement in Cuba will be better or worse post-Castros.

Two talented sons of Cuban refugees – Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio
– are running for president as Republicans. They will see to it that
Cuba and the actual conditions on the island stay on the American radar
screen.

Everyone agrees that the Cuban people are great in their own special
way. This applies to those who fled for freedom long ago, those who
still risk their lives to escape today, and those still there suffering
or enduring as if stuck in time.

Here's hoping Obama's gambit works, that the lives of the Cuban people
improve, and that America's national interest is served.

(John David Dyche is a Louisville attorney and a political commentator
for WDRB.com. His e-mail is jddyche@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter
@jddyche.)

Source: DYCHE | CUBA: Temper hope with realism - WDRB 41 Louisville News
- http://www.wdrb.com/story/28822748/dyche-cuba-temper-hope-with-realism

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