|
Hostile words play into
Castro's hands
By Andres Oppenheimer,
aoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on
Thu, Aug. 03, 2006 in The Miami Herald.
If there was any question that the Bush
administration and Cuban exile leaders should
avoid aggressive statements following Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro's apparent decision
to hand over power to his brother Raúl,
an hourlong conversation with one of Cuba's
leading dissidents removed any doubts.
I caught up with Oswaldo Payá late
Wednesday. Payá, as leader of the
Christian Liberation Movement, made headlines
by collecting 25,000 signatures on the island
for a referendum on democratic freedoms
in the late '90s.
Payá told me that Castro's transfer
of power to his brother has had ''a real
impact'' on average Cubans.
''It's a new situation, in which there
is a possibility of the end of an era in
Cuba,'' which leads to ''a variety of feelings,
because there are many people who are identified
with the government,'' he said. The climate
on the streets is one of ''caution, and
a certain silence,'' he said.
Asked about the Bush administration's statements
following Castro's announcement, Payá
praised the U.S. government for its ''caution''
and ''prudence'' so far.
But he said that statements such as those
by Miami Republican Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart
on Tuesday, saying, ''The time has come
in Cuba for a campaign of civil resistance,
civil disobedience,'' and a recent Bush
administration report from its Commission
for Assistance for a Free Cuba, which outlines
U.S. plans for a post-Castro Cuba, can do
more harm than good.
MYTHS FEED ON FEAR
In addition to meddling in Cuba's internal
affairs, they give the Cuban regime much-needed
ammunition to continue perpetuating the
myth that Washington wants to invade Cuba,
and that Miami exiles are intent on evicting
Cubans from their homes.
''We're in a very complex, very tense situation,''
Payá said. 'The U.S. message should
be to ratify that there is no such thing
as a U.S. threat on Cuba, that there is
no intention to intervene. It should say,
'Look, the Cuban process must be defined
exclusively by the Cuban people.' ''
Asked about Díaz-Balart's statement,
Payá said that he doesn't want to
get involved in any ''domestic U.S. political
debate,'' but added that "a congressman
from another country, whatever his origin,
and without being disrespectful, should
not call on the Cuban people to do this
or that. That's meddling in another country's
affairs, and it's irresponsible.''
(Diaz-Balart says he wasn't meddling in
Cuba's internal affairs, but only relaying
and supporting a petition by Cuban dissidents
on the island, who don't have access to
the media, and who were participating at
his press conference via telephone from
Cuba.)
''The United States, which I think has
good intentions, should become aware that
the leading role in Cuba's change does not
lie with them,'' Payá continued.
"Creating a commission that does a
program that defines what must happen in
Cuba should not be the U.S. role. . . .
What the United States should do is wait
for the Cuban people to ask for the help
it deems necessary, in the form it deems
necessary.''
What about the argument that democracies
should help freedom-loving people everywhere,
I asked.
A TIME FOR CALM
''There are moments, and moments,'' Payá
responded. "Now, the message should
be of calm and nonintervention. These are
very tense days in Cuba, and the most important
thing is that there be peace, because there
is a danger of [government] repression,
and repression would bring about confrontation,
and that could open up a process which nobody
knows where it could end.''
In a separate telephone interview earlier
this week, another well-known peaceful oppositionist,
Vladimiro Roca -- the son of Cuba Communist
Party founder Blas Roca -- told me that
the Bush administration and Cuban exile
leaders ''should send a positive, nonthreatening,
reconciliation message'' to Cuba.
My conclusion: I agree. Fortunately, polls
have shown that most Cuban exiles agree,
too, and that they are not looking for revenge
nor financial gain. But many Cubans on the
island, bombarded by the regime's propaganda
machine, still believe they are potential
victims of a U.S. threat. That's why hostile
noises from Washington, or from Miami politicians
seeking headlines ahead of the November
elections, play into Castro's hands.
|
