Most definitely the U.S. needs to release the land occupied by
Guantánamo Naval Base”. But beyond that, Cubans should be reminded of
the old children's story of the Fox in the Hen house.
While I'm certain that I do not need to shout out a warning, I just
can't help myself.
Cuba! Never Never Ever do as Greece did, and accept a loan from the
Universal Corporate Banks.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/15/15, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://themilitant.com/2015/7925/792502.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 79/No. 25 July 20, 2015
(lead article)
In victory for revolution,
Cuba, US to open embassies
BY NAOMI CRAINE
Cuban President Raúl Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama exchanged
letters July 1 confirming the agreement of the two governments to
re-establish diplomatic relations and open embassies in their respective
capitals on July 20.
The opening of embassies “completes the first stage of what will be a
long and complex process towards the normalization of bilateral
relations,” said a statement issued by the Cuban government July 1.
This marks another victory for revolutionary Cuba in the process
announced last December of moving toward normalization of relations
between Washington and Havana, registering the failure of the U.S.
rulers to overturn Cuba’s socialist revolution despite more than five
decades of economic and political warfare.
As long as Washington’s “economic, commercial and financial blockade
continues to be fully implemented” against the Cuban people, and until
“the territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base” is
returned, there can’t be normal relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the
Cuban government stressed. (The full text of the statement appears below.)
Washington has maintained a naval base at Guantánamo Bay since the
Spanish-American War, in which the U.S. rulers occupied Cuba just as
Cuban fighters were on the verge of winning independence from Spanish
colonial rule. A U.S.-imposed treaty dating to 1903 gave Washington a
“perpetual lease” on this part of Cuban territory. Since 2002, the base
has been used to imprison indefinitely hundreds of men Washington
claimed were “enemy combatants” in the so-called war on terror.
Since the 1959 revolution, the Cuban government has insisted that the
U.S. occupation of Guantánamo and violation of Cuban sovereignty must end.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter responded July 1, saying there is “no
anticipation and no plan” to give up the base.
Cuba defends sovereignty, principles
Obama pressed to rapidly open embassies following the Dec. 17
announcement that Washington and Havana would seek to resume diplomatic
relations. While he admitted that Washington’s harsh embargo and efforts
to isolate Cuba had failed, he made clear the U.S. rulers’ goal of
overturning Cuba’s socialist revolution and restoring capitalist
relations there hadn’t changed. But he recognized Washington’s growing
isolation in Latin America meant the imperialists’ tactics had to
change. There is broad bipartisan support for this course within the
U.S. ruling class.
The Cuban leadership’s response has been to take the time to work
through each issue, defending Cuban sovereignty and principles at every
stage. Cuban officials repeatedly explained the onus is on Washington to
change. Washington broke diplomatic relations and has carried out
decades of attacks against the Cuban Revolution. Cuba has no bases on
U.S. soil, wages no embargo against the U.S. economy.
They insisted that embassies couldn’t be re-established as long as Cuba
remained on Washington’s self-proclaimed list of “state sponsors of
terrorism,” nor while Cuba’s diplomatic mission was denied access to
banking services under the embargo. Washington has now met both of these
conditions.
Throughout the talks, the Cuban government has continually reiterated
its defense of Venezuela’s sovereignty, condemning U.S. threats and
sanctions against that country, and spoken in support of other
anti-imperialist struggles, such as the fight for Puerto Rican
independence.
In his July 1 announcement of the agreement to reopen embassies, Obama
said he has “called on Congress to take steps to lift the embargo that
prevents Americans from traveling or doing business in Cuba.” Formal
diplomatic relations will allow Washington to “substantially increase
our contacts with the Cuban people,” he said. “We’ll have more personnel
at our embassy. And our diplomats will have the ability to engage more
broadly across the island.”
Castro’s July 1 letter to Obama stated that Cuba is guided by
international law requiring, among other things, respect of “sovereign
equality, the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, to refrain from
the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of any State, non-interference in matters which
are within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, the development of
friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and cooperation in
solving international problems.”
The letters from both Castro and Obama stated a commitment to abide by
Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations that date to the
1960s. “I am pleased to confirm the understanding of the United States
that these agreements will apply to diplomatic and consular relations
between our two countries,” Obama wrote.
Cuba has insisted Washington break from its long history of using
diplomatic personnel to interfere in the internal affairs of Cuba and
many other nations, as well as financing covert operations aimed at
destabilizing the Cuban government and fomenting “dissident” groups
within the country.
Related articles:
Relations require ‘respect for independence and sovereignty’
Cuban 5 in South Africa: ‘We are soldiers of revolution’
Cuba helps push back Washington’s attacks on Venezuela
Build on revolutionary Cuba’s victory
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home
