May 16
LAST WEEK, while the United Nations humanitarian aid chief, Baroness Valerie Amos, was pleading for at least a pause in hostilities in Libya to help “ease the humanitarian crisis”, NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was arrogantly boasting – amid continuing bombing strikes – that President Moammar Gadaffi’s “days are numbered… There is no future for him or his regime…” ..
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The Battle for Libya: Up in Smoke Larbi Sadiki, Al-Jazeera
The Libyan War that should not have been Thomas Walcom, thestar.com
LIBYA AS PRECEDENT In yet another cogent analysis (see article below), Marjorie Cohn makes this point that I think is especially important:
“The military action in Libya sets a dangerous precedent of attacking countries where the leadership does not favor the pro-U.S. or pro-European Union countries. What will prevent the United States from stage-managing some protests, magnifying them in the corporate media as mass actions, and then bombing or attacking Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, or North Korea?”
In fact, for half a century Washington has been trying to stage-manage protests against the Cuban government in order to create a “provisional government” that would be aided by any means. Washington has been supporting terrorist attacks against Cuba and supplying arms, infiltrators, propaganda, and money in various ways throughout the history of Cuba since the Revolution.
Recently Washington has frozen Libyan assets with the possibility of transferring that money to the rebels Washington has helped to create. Note that Washington has been freezing Cuban assets for decades and transferring that money to right-wing Cuban-Americans to use against Cuba (or to line their own pockets).
And let’s not forget that the U.S. government and major media were backing the Venezuelans who kidnapped President Chavez and tried to overthrow the Venezuelan government nine years ago. Suddenly the Venezuelan opposition became admirable in major media like The New York Times. It can happen fast and we here in the belly of the beast (to borrow from Jose Marti) need to be constantly aware of that.
Hillary Clinton thought President Zelaya of Honduras should go. She thinks Muammar Gaddafi should go. She thinks President Castro and President Chavez should go, too. The problem is we never know what is going to happen next as the Empire expands exponentially, every which way.
Jane Franklin
janefranklin.info
The issue that Rickey Singh raises is of utmost importance for all regions of the world, using any pretext such as ” protecting civilians” for the purpose of regime change. I think that one should not underestimate the importance of the CARICOM. Along with that of the AU, the Alba countries and others in Latin America and the Caribbean have also been speaking out right from the beginning. With the increasing opposition of China and Russia (even though I am sure that we all had hoped that it would have been stronger), this adds up to quite a big clout”¦.even though CNN and others like them such as Fox news completely black out the growing opposition. No country is small enough to oppose what is happening, and in fact given the importance of the repercussion on a world scale, especially on small countries of the ” third word”, every voice counts. For example, Cuba has recently raised the issue through the official newspaper Granma.
I read with a great deal of interest and enthusiasm the Granma newspaper Editorial entitled Fabricating Pretexts, dated May 15, 2011. I was following with much concern the latest provocations from Madrid, Miami and Washington. On April 1, 2011 Aznar, whose roots are to be found in the worst of the Franco tradition, was complaining according to Europa Press that ” it is not fair to do one thing in Libya and the opposite in Cuba”¦ to protect lives.” Cuba”™s enemies never have let up in their pernicious activities against the Cuban people. However, since this latest statement, a new series of equally aggressive actions just as defamatory has begun. For example, the program of Telephone Without Fear (Háblalo Sin Miedo) was set up by mercenary bloggers in the US and Cuba in order to give the impression that ” disturbances” are taking place in Cuba and that ” the Cubans” are clamoring for help from Washington and its allies.
There is also the latest program of ” civic activism” being developed by mercenaries in Madrid, Miami and Cuba. Some of its representatives had recently visited Washington to solicit support. The goal is to create incidents in Cuba. Amongst those most involved are those who had recently been released from prison and their collaborators.
Who can believe that in Cuba there are pacific ” dissidents” or mercenaries? In the first place the violation of Cuban laws has the objective, as they themselves have openly declared on more than one occasion, of ” regime change” in Cuba. This is far from constituting a pacific goal. Secondly, the participation of almost all the tendencies in the ” opposition” in one way or another in this ” civic activism” activity shows that there exists a new phase of provocation which is characterized by a danger of violence. And so the Granma newspaper has every right to ask the following:
” In the past, there have been attempts to isolate Cuba or provoke internal disorders in order to create a pretext for U.S. intervention. What is the object of these campaigns? Just to denigrate or something worse? Could it be that those pulling the strings and their paid internal agents would be delighted to invoke the “˜protection of civilians”™ in order to bomb Havana?”
Based on 52 years of experience and heroic struggle, Cuba knows how to respond with serenity and firmness in the face of mercenary actions. In the same manner, honest people throughout the planet support the right to self-determination of Cuba, an entitlement which should apply to any nation in the world even though this displeases the heads of the Imperial powers.
These questions raised by Granma, which are crucial for Cuba, are also fundamental for the world: there is no room for vacillations with respect to the defense of Cuba in the confrontation with the forces of the Imperial powers.
Washington and its allies must respect the sovereignty of Cuba and all other countries of the world including Libya.
Arnold August
Montreal, Canada
Arnold,
All of what you say sounds sensible when viewed from one particular prism. But I’d probably take people like yourself a bit more seriously if you walk the walk, instead of only talking the talk. I guess it all looks from the vantage point of Montreal like Imperialist aggression and no doubt history shows that its not just a figment of lefwingers’ imagination. Its true as you rightly say. On the other hand the idea that people in Cuba agitating more more democracy can be characterized as ‘mercenary’ smacks of the hypocrisy you accuse the other side of.
I guess that sitting in Montreal where all of life’s material comforts are at hand makes it much easier to be an armchair revolutionary. I’m sure you’re a pretty decent and nice human being, but lets just say that I’d be even more convinced by your arguments about ‘mercenary bloggers’, conspiracies and the like when I hear of a leftwing guy like yourself leaving the comforts of the developed world, going to Cuba and settling to experience the life for himself for 2-3 years minimum – without any special favours doled out by the State and then let us know how it was for him.
Don’t get me wrong – I liked Cuba, I liked that the revolution happen, but lets not pretend that 52 year old parties on a One-Party State have the solutions to 30-something Cuban youths’ problems. Lets not also pretend that any dissent means that you are a CIA-funded mercenary. This blinkered view does not belong in sensible debates. Being half-right opens the possibility that it could also be half-wrong.
Canada just had elections and a new government sworn in. It was free and fair by all accounts, and you had a choice of parties to choose from of your own free will. How can wanting more democracy be termed ‘mercenary’?
I’ve always praised primary health care in Cuba. But the days for nostalgia I’m afraid are long long gone.
Hi Norman,
Just to demonstrate that I can appreciate the myriad sides and a good argument, here is a pretty good take on an alternative African view from Mahmood Mamdani in the East African newspaper this week:
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/An+African+reflection+on+Tahrir+Square/-/434746/1162822/-/487k86/-/index.html