By Jim Burns, Senior Staff Writer. January 14, 2002.
CNSNews.com
www.CNSNews.com - (CNSNews.com) - The Cuban government is treading gently on
the U.S. decision to transfer Afghan prisoners to the U.S. Naval Base at
Guantanamo Bay, located in the eastern part of Cuba.
According to Radio Havana, the government of Fidel Castro expressed "its
willingness to preserve the atmosphere of detente and mutual respect that has
prevailed in that area over the past several years."
The statement said Guantanamo "is the exact place where American and
Cuban soldiers stand face to face. Therefore, it is the place where serenity and
a sense of responsibility are most required."
"While the Cuban people have always been willing to fight and die in
defense of the island's sovereignty, the most sacred duty of our people and
their leaders has been to preserve the nation from avoidable, unnecessary and
bloody wars," the statement said.
However, the government again called on the U.S. to return the base to Cuba.
"Conditions have never existed for a calm, legal and diplomatic
analysis to the illegal occupation of the base. It should be returned to Cuba
because it is a portion of its national territory," the statement said.
The statement acknowledged that the U.S. presence on Guantanamo is a "bizarre
and potentially dangerous problem" between the two countries, but the
Castro government promised not to make it a major issue.
"Cuba will make every effort to preserve the atmosphere of detente and
mutual respect that have prevailed in that area over the past several years,"
the statement concluded.
Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center For A Free Cuba, thinks
Castro is taking the diplomatic approach because George W. Bush is president of
the United States.
"What has changed is not Castro's view of the world. What has changed
is the presidency of the United States. If something like this would have taken
place under the previous administration, Mr. Castro would have threatened to
unleash -- as he did many times in the past eight years -- thousands of refugees
into the Florida Straits as a matter of blackmailing the United States,"
said Calzon in an interview with CNSNews.com .
Calzon added, "Apparently he (Castro) takes the president's commitments
and statements a lot more seriously these days." President Bush refuses to
lift the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba unless and until Castro allows his
country to hold free and fair elections and releases all political prisoners.
The Guantanamo Base covers about 45 square miles and there are presently
about 2,900 military personnel, civilian employees and dependents there. The
base was ceded to the United States in 1903, following the Spanish-American war.
It contains an outdoor movie theater, bowling alleys, a McDonald's and a
mini-mall, yet it is extremely isolated. Visitors can reach it only under strict
military escort and with prior permission from the Pentagon.
On rare occasions, Cuban defectors reach there by swimming through dangerous
waters or by traversing a Cuban minefield.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a Cuban exile, supports the idea of using
Guantanamo Bay to jail the al Qaeda and Taliban suspects. She believes it would
underscore the base's strategic importance at a time when some members of
Congress have urged returning the base territory to Cuba.
"It's an excellent location," she said. "It gives new life to
Gitmo," the nickname for the base.
During a news briefing several weeks ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
brushed aside any concerns about the Castro government over Guantanamo, "We
don't anticipate any trouble with Mr. Castro," said Rumsfeld. | 
