After Elian's return, Castro now targeting entire refugee community
By I. J. Toby Westerman. © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com. July 3 2000.
Flushed with victory in the case of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban government of President Fidel Castro is now taking aim at the entire Cuban refugee community in the U.S. with its continued demand for the repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act "which encourages illegal departure" from the
communist state, according to official Cuban sources.
While attacking the Cuban Adjustment Act, Castro's government has received widespread editorial support from some of the most influential sectors of the established U.S. media on the Elian Gonzalez case. The Cuban government cited "major news dailies in the U.S." that "applauded"
the return of Elian and "blasted" Cuban Americans in the United States.
The remarks were carried by Radio Habana Cuba, the official broadcasting service of the Cuban government.
The Cuban government cited a recent editorial in the New York Times condemning the Cuban Americans in Miami for their "belligerence," and accusing them of seeking to destroy the bond between a father and his son, and using Elian as a political tool.
Radio Habana also cited the Washington Post, which echoed the Times' assertion that the Elian case weakened public support for the Cuban American community, and the Los Angeles Times, which called for "open debate" on U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Throughout the Elian case, Castro's government has received, and acknowledged, a large measure of support in the U.S. establishment media for its position.
"This is a lesson for us," said Castro in a statement made in late April, and reported in WorldNetDaily, that "U.S. public opinion must be taken into account."
While conventional media wisdom holds that the Elian case has drastically affected the political position of the Cuban American community, there is evidence that official U.S. government support for Cuban Americans has been declining for some time.
Over a year ago, Cuban Americans decried an agreement between the Clinton administration and the Castro government that stipulated U.S. patrol vessels would seek to intercept and return Cuban refugees found in the straits between Cuban and the United States.
U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., had condemned the agreement as serving to "punish innocent victims of the Cuban dictatorship."
Pressure from farm and business interests has also been growing for access to Cuban markets.
The Castro government remains a firm supporter of Marxism, complete with universal indoctrination and an intricate informer network. Though Cuba is seeking increased capital investment, the Cuban president called for "Nuremberg trials" for those who lead "the current economic
world order," during his opening speech to the G-77 summit meeting of under-developed nations held in Havana in mid-April.
Cuba was recently condemned by the United Nations for human rights abuses, and for limitations on freedom of expression and religion.
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