National Post. September 15, 2000
As many as 75 members of the NDP Socialist Caucus are planning their first ever tour of Cuba, one of the world's last Communist dictatorships, to "breathe the fresh air of a workers' state" and "experience the achievements of a workers' society and government."
Instead of spending their days like most other foreign travellers, that is to say on a sunny beach far from impoverished Cubans, the NDP tour will "witness and experience gains made by the Cuban people" and "return to Canada with lessons and examples for the NDP." Highlights
include Havana's Lenin park, the AIDS sanatorium, a sugar cane fibre cardboard factory, and an "overview of Cuban political system (presented by Cubans)."
In the past, NDP members have suggested many foolish ideas, but flirting with Fidel Castro's one-party authoritarian state, with an eye to influencing Canadian politics, takes the cake. Cuba is a country where people cannot afford to buy basic goods, children are forced into labour fields and
AIDS victims are assigned to leper colonies. Every year thousands of Cubans risk imprisonment and death to escape their island prison.
Before any New Democrats pack up their bags, they might want to check out Cuba's notorious human right's abuses. A good start would be either the Human Rights Watch World Report or Amnesty International's Annual Report. According to Amnesty, "Freedom of expression, association and assembly
continued to be severely limited in law and in practice" and several hundred political prisoners are currently locked away in Cuban jails. HRW says that in order to find companies to invest in Cuba, the government has "restricted labour rights by banning independent labour groups and
harassing individuals attempting to form them." Is this a workers' paradise?
If New Democrats are serious about experiencing Cuba's warmth we wish them a safe trip. No doubt it will be an eye-opening experience. Of course, we also hope they announce similar missions to Burma and North Korea. The climate may not be as pleasant, but their brutality is certainly comparable
to Castro's.
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