South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Editorial Board. Posted September 17 2001
When Ramón Saúl Sánchez and two boatmates entered Cuban
waters in July, they were commemorating a tragedy. In 1994, the 13 de Marzo
tugboat carrying defectors from Cuba was rammed off the Havana coastline by
state patrol boats.
Forty-one people
including children drowned.
On the day they sailed toward Havana, the three Cuban activists tossed
flowers into the ocean near where the tugboat sank. And they did something else:
Violate a presidential order meant to keep peace between the United States and
Cuba.
President Clinton signed the order shortly after Cuban MiGs shot down two
Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue planes, killing four men. President Bush
reaffirmed the order in February. It establishes a security zone around Florida,
excluding the Panhandle, and prohibits any private boat under 165 feet from
sailing toward Cuban waters without Coast Guard permission.
Now Sánchez, the leader of the Miami-based Democracy Movement, and
members Alberto Pérez and Pablo Rodríguez, face up to 10 years in
prison and hefty fines for leaving the zone. The three activists who tossed
flower bouquets into Cuban waters are not criminals and sending them to prison
for a long time would not serve justice, but they deserve some type of
punishment. Failing to prosecute them would send the wrong message: That
presidential orders can be ignored.
They cannot be ignored, especially at a time when the nation is recovering
from terrorist attacks and authorities are working on new security measures.
When Sánchez and his companions violated a presidential order, they
knew there would be legal consequences. Such is the nature of civil
disobedience. Sometimes acts of civil disobedience are merited when the law is
unfair or authorities abuse power. This is true of the 1960s civil rights
movement against segregation. But even then, activists knew they were taking
risks when they stood up for their principles.
Some argue the security zone violates the activists' and others' rights to
freedom of expression. Another argument is that the zone's enforcement has been
selective and discriminatory. The Coast Guard has allowed more than 3,000
pleasure and fishing boats to sail to or near Cuba. But it has never allowed the
Democracy Movement to do this. Yet the Coast Guard has been consistent in not
allowing any group, including pro-Cuba ones, to sail into Cuban waters for a
political purpose.
There is good reason to keep the Florida Straits free of demonstrations. A
Democracy Movement flotilla in July 1995 ended when a Cuban cutter rammed an
exile boat. Miami-Dade Commissioner Pedro Reboredo lost a toe in the scuffle.
Someone could have lost a life.
Keeping peace between the United States and Cuba is a presidential
prerogative. While the security zone exist, it must be enforced. To do otherwise
would only invite trouble, even from well-intentioned people.
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel | 
