Demonstrations in U.S. planned in anticipation of Elian hearing
By I. J. Toby Westerman. © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com. May 10, 2000
According to official Cuban government sources, "Cuban solidarity activists in the United States are gearing up for demonstrations" for the return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba in anticipation of the May 11 hearings in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Peace for Cuba Appeal, the International Action Center, and other groups have targeted the Federal Building in Los Angeles for demonstrations today, Wednesday, May 10. The National Committee for the Return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba plans demonstrations for several U.S. cities, including San
Francisco, to coincide with the May 11 court date.
Radio Habana Cuba, the official broadcasting service of the Cuban government, carried the report on the activists' plans.
Though pro-Cuban demonstrations are not new to the U.S., they are more visible now that Cuban President Fidel Castro has stated that U.S. public opinion must be "taken into account" and "deserves much more consideration."
Castro will be counting on friendly media coverage of the demonstrations, since the media in the U.S. has consistently reported Cuba's position in the Elian Gonzalez case in a positive light, despite deep divisions in the U.S. over the issue.
The Cuban government is also set to take aim at the Cuban Adjustment Act, the 34-year-old law that allows Cuban refugees immediate political asylum in the United States.
Charges have been made by an advisor to the Cuban parliament that the act exists in an "attempt to destabilize and destroy the Cuban revolution," according to Radio Habana Cuba.
Reports of "roundtable discussions" on the Cuban Adjustment Act were also carried by the same broadcast, beginning what is a concerted effort to influence legislation in the United States to revoke the measure.
"Round table discussions" include first-hand, personal statements from individuals claiming to be refugees rescued from the sea and brought back to Cuba.
One emotionally-charged testimonial came from a group of 15 men and five women who spoke of the terror they faced at sea, each declaring that they left Cuba solely for economic reasons -- "attracted by the lure of material goods in the world's richest nation."
In his recent May Day speech, Castro declared that emigration to the United States was due to the attraction of the "ostentatious luxury and extravagance" of the U.S. consumer society.
The recent resolution of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights condemning Cuba for political and religious human rights abuses gives a starkly different account of why so many Cubans risk their lives to get to the United States.
Conclusions of the "roundtable discussions" and Castro's ongoing campaign to destroy the Cuban Adjustment Act will be echoed on U.S. soil. Despite official U.S. sanctions against Cuba, many American socialists travel to Cuba and return to the U.S. reflecting the latest Cuban line.
Demonstrations by Cuban "solidarity groups" will likely call for an end to the Cuban Adjustment Act.
I. J. Toby Westerman is a contributing editor to WorldNetDaily.com and WorldNet magazine.
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