by Rick Lowe
As previously discussed here and here Mr. Felix Wilson, Cuban Ambassador to The Bahamas, has been on a roll disseminating information in support of Castro and the Cuban regime since Castro's illness.
However, the Saturday, August 26, 2006 edition of The Tribune indicates that Mr. Wilson is now suggesting that the "US is trying to promote an "international crusade" against Cuba and wants the rest of the Caribbean to join."
It is quite possible that the US is on a crusade, but in the minds of freedom loving people like this blogger, it is against the Castro regime but it is in support of the Cuban people, so they might come to enjoy some of the benefits at home that Ambassador Wilson enjoys while living here in The Bahamas.
The Tribune states further:
"Commenting on the US hopes that Cuba will release political prisoners, and improve its human rights situation, Mr. Wilson said the US was in no "moral position" to make such requests in light of Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and its support of Israel."
While the US is far from perfect, Mr. Wilson should have choked when he suggested that the US is less moral than the Castro regime he serves.
As pointed out in this commentary by The Nassau Institute back in November 2003, "In the meeting with representative’s of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, the public and the press, Minister Perez Roque seemed a little disingenuous when he advised that some business people like doing business in Cuba, because the government hire’s the employee’s and if the company wants to downsize, they simply send them back to the government office…no strings attached. Furthermore, the system has the employer pay the government the wages who in turn pays less to the worker. It has been reported that take home pay is $5 per month for a labourer and $12 per month for an accountant."
"In response to questions, the Cuban Minister informed the audience at the Chamber that neither individuals nor businesses can own property. This is hardly an incentive for freedom loving people to invest in Cuba. In fact the Minister insinuated, that if Bahamians wanted to invest in Cuba they would have to adapt to the “Cuban way.” The only thing missing was the Defense Committee for the Revolution guards to emphasize that point."
And this does not include the people that are allegedly in prison for simply expressing views in opposition to Castro and his outdated economic and political policies. Where people live in fear on a daily basis, but have to show support for Castro just so they do not end up in trouble with the regime.
Oh, and don't forget the people that have to risk their lives to leave Cuba because the regime does not allow them to leave or even travel of their own free will.
This leads me to The New York Times Bestseller by Natan Sharansky with Ron Dermer titled THE CASE FOR DEMOCRACY: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny & Terror. While the book focuses on his experience with Russia and the Middle East, you can see the experiences he outlines in Cuba.
In Chapter two titled A Free Society and a Fear Society Sharansky talks about "Doublethink", where people no longer believe "in the prevailing ideology, but who are "afraid" to accept the risks associated with dissent. They are the "doublethinkers". And there are lot's of these people in Cuba today.
In Chapter four titled Mission Possible he discusses how Russia had to keep tightening the grip on its subjects while scaring them that the US was the ideological enemy.
In discussing when Russia was collapsing Sharansky indicates that "...the Soviets were confronting a problem faced by all fear societies. On the one hand, they need a lifeline from the outside, which necessitates cooperation with other states. On the other hand, maintaining a fear society almost always demands external enemies."
When reading this book, it is so clear what Castro, and his Ambassador to The Bahamas are doing.
So as Cuba collapses internally, which is heightened with Castro's illness, this presents an excellent opportunity for the US to negotiate treaties with Cuba. They can use the lifting of the embargo as the carrot. These treaties could include human rights, and opening up to more freedom for the Cuban people etc, just as the world, and the US in particular, did with Russia.
I would suggest that in this day and age the only ideological enemy Cuba has is the Castro Regime itself. The sooner they allow freedom for the Cuban people, their citizen's in Cuba and other parts of the world, will respond positively to the challenges, just as other persecuted people have done in the past.
When British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke to a joint session of the US Congress in 2003 he reportedly said the following:
"There is a myth that though we love freedom, others don't; that our attachment to freedom is a product of culture; that freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law are American values, or Western values.... Ours are not western values, they are universal values of the human spirit. And anywhere, any time ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same: freedom, not tyranny; democracy, not dictatorship; the rule of law, not the rule of the secret police."
I suspect Mr. Wilson and his other regime members are afraid the Cuban people will choose freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law over his masters dehumanizing policies.
Let's hope the Cuban people get the opportunity to choose whether or not they wish to live in fear or freedom in the near term. Preferably with Castro watching.
