A member of our group, Mark Gill, asked me to forward this to you. It is a
response to yesterdays Week in Europe posting. 

Amanda 

> > > For much of the last two years US contact with Cuba has been growing.
> > > However, the contradictions within the US and the need for a new
> approach
> > > could not have become more public than in the saga of Elian Gonzalez.
> > > Contrary to US and international law the boy was all but taken hostage
> in
> > > Miami until an extraordinary alliance between Cuba, the US
> Administration,
> > > US public opinion and the US Courts enabled the boy's dignified father
> to
> > > see natural justice restored and return home with his son. The effect
> was
> > to
> > > split the Cuban American community, cause the US electorate and many
in
> > > Congress to see the absurdities of the United States' outdated Cuba
> policy
> > > and Cuba to emerge strengthened and the moral victor.******this
analysis
> is just wrong.  everyone knows that Castro pulls these "public relations"
> stunts every so often for no other reason than to "rally" the Cubans
around
> the old, tired and dead "revolution"...why, most Cubans today dont
remember
> l960.....there have been numerous accounts like Elian over the years (I am
> from Miami, Florida) and the question is:  why did Castro jump on it now?
> for the reason i stated and this is common knowledge, at least in the
United
> States....we have known this for years....we know, for example, that he
used
> it at this time due to an effort to cover up the fact that he is being
> forced, due to the profound failure of marxist economics, to open the
doors
> in Cuba, and that he does not want his own people to focus on it......now
> look, Mr. Jessop....you need to have a better grasp of what is going on
> "behind the scenes", before you offer your opinions....even a novelist
like
> Martin Cruz Smith knew it when he published his novel on Cuba....in fact,
Mr
> Jessop should read it.....
>
> "the boys dignified father?"....Mr Jessop, what do you really know about
> Cuba?  i go there about twice a month, and have for several years....look,
> even the Cuban people in Cuba know that Castro forced the man to play the
> "patsy" for Castro, and that the man had NO choice....the "old timers" in
> both Miami and Cuba have been laughing, saying, "i must hand it to old
Jefe,
> he aint lost his touch.....he still knows how to rally the idiots in
Havana,
> eh?"....now, you dont hear the journalists report on this very much, since
> it is not sensational, but these "old boys" know exactly what is going
on...
>
> further, there is NO split in the Cuban community....come here and see for
> yourself.....and, the electorate in the US do not see what you call
> "absurdities"....this is quite silly and demonstrates little knowledge of
> voters in the US...the fact is, the "electorate" does not even care about
> Cuba....and, has not in decades....Mr Jessop must be reading the
> "polls"....well, be careful, for they always have skewed questions to
elicit
> answers the pollsters want....
>
> you completely miss the "real politik" behind allowing the embargo to
> continue....first, it plays more of a psychological role than anything
> else....why, for years, Castro traded with Canada and much of Europe and
> certainly all of the old Soviet Union...the idea that this tool has kept
> Cuba from "developing" is foolish.  the fact is, Castro spent his
resources,
> like most marxist countries, on keeping his repressive regime in
> place.....ie, lavish expenditures on the military, the Rapid Reponse
> Brigades, and the like....go into the sugar cane fields, which i have done
> countless times.....did Castro purchase modern machinery?  NO...talk to
the
> ones who run the "state farms" and ask them why.....they will tell you, in
a
> sheepish way, that El Jefe must keep things in order, that he must keep
the
> military modern, etc.....they are AFRAID to say it more clearly, due to
fear
> of death....which, by the way, still occurs and frequently....
>
> second, the US knows that when Castro dies, the "young turks", as happened
> in China, will want to move toward more of a free trade society....they
know
> quite well what happened in the old Soviet Union, and they know it would
> have happened in China, had not change occured after Mao died.....the
change
> being a move toward free trade and ending the failure known as marixist
> economics.....point - the embargo is being kept in place as a "bargaining
> tool" with which the US will deal with the future leaders of Cuba.....a
> carrot, if you will.....
>
> the only reason it appears that some change toward Cuba is happening is
due
> to Clinton's efforts to "make his place in history", in his huge effort to
> move attention away from his lack of basic morality and his personal
> integrity....and, the impeachmenet......that is it....read more into it if
> you will.....you will be wrong.....
>
> as far as pressure from agriculture boys re exporting food stuffs to
> Cuba....why, that has been going on for years and years....nothing new
> here....and, if you knew your history on the subject, you would know that
> while "Miami Rice" is being shipped to Haiti (where i also lived), tons of
> it goes to Cuba and has for many years.....
>
> geesh, i could go on and on.....but, i have no more time......may i
suggest
> that Mr Jessop find out more, at least before he publishes articles that
> Americans read...
>
> Dr Mark Gill
> Envoy to Caribbean  - IAEWP - (NGO)  -
>   UN (UNESCO, UNICEF, ECOSOC)
> Caribbean College, Trinidad WI
> Albert Schweitzer Society, Int.
>
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
> > >
> > > As the year goes on, the need for a new approach will be emphasised by
> two
> > > further Cuba related developments.
> > >
> > > At about the same time that the Elian Gonzalez case was being
resolved,
> > the
> > > US House of Representatives and Senate, under pressure from powerful
> > > agricultural interests, voted, against all precedent, to approve bills
> > > lifting the US embargo on food and medical sales to Cuba. While it is
> > still
> > > far from clear whether the House and Senate versions can be married
> > together
> > > and negative amendments stripped out by the time the bill comes to a
> vote
> > > later this month, the fact that it has proceeded so far says much
about
> > the
> > > changing climate on Cuba in the US.
> > >
> > > US policy on Cuba, or more specifically the approach of the US
Congress,
> > > will again be tested later this month in Europe as the World Trade
> > > Organisation's (WTO) disputes settlement body deals with Europe's
> request
> > > for a panel to consider its complaint against the US over a law
> stripping
> > > the French liquor company Pernod Ricard of the rights to use the
Havana
> > Club
> > > trade name in the US market.
> > >
> > > The case is complex but revolves around whether section 211 of the US
> > > Omnibus Trade Bill of October 1998 violates a WTO agreement on
> > intellectual
> > > property rights by treating some foreign brand name owners less
> favourably
> > > than those in the US.  While there is a view in parts of Europe that
the
> > > case is really about adding to the EU's portfolio of transatlantic
> dispute
> > > which can be used as bargaining chips once a new US President is in
> > office,
> > > it is another symbol of the apparent willingness of the US Congress
when
> > it
> > > comes to Cuba to legislate without concern for the international
> > > consequences.
> > >
> > > From Cuba's perspective much of what has happened in the last few
> months -
> > > but most importantly not its enhanced relationship with the rest of
the
> > > region - is a part of a new phase in its ongoing war with the US.
> > According
> > > to Raul Castro, who leads Cuba's armed forces, Cuba is now engaged in
a
> > > battle of ideas. It is a war in which the dilemmas posed by moral
issues
> > in
> > > cases such as that of Elian Gonzalez or the sale of medicines will,
> Havana
> > > believes, lead opinion and particularly that in the US, to conclusions
> > about
> > > who is right and who is in the wrong.
> > >
> > > For the Caribbean the closer integration of Cuba into the region
carries
> > > with it the real possibility of adding weight to the region's presence
> in
> > > international bodies and negotiations. It turns a region of 5.5m
English
> > > speakers into a grouping of around 32m once Haiti, the Dominican
> Republic
> > > are also included. Together the grouping now accounts for 21 votes in
> > > international institutions such as the United Nations, has serious
reach
> > > outside of the Americas to other parts of the developing world and the
> > > possibility of real weight in dialogue with the nations of the future:
> > > China, south Africa, India and Brazil, as well as a basis for enhanced
> > > leverage in dialogue with the EU and the US. Cuba's significantly
deeper
> > > relationship with the rest of the region also offers a wide range of
new
> > > economic opportunities. At its most obvious there are opportunities
for
> > > trade with and investment in a vastly larger partner. But more
> creatively
> > it
> > > offers potentially new types of structures involving joint ventures
and
> > > production sharing with larger regional partners and European or
> Canadian
> > > companies interested in manufacture of supply of goods to for instance
> the
> > > regional tourist industry
> > >
> > > This is of course not to pretend that all is well inside Cuba or that
> its
> > > system has relevance to the rest of the region. Rather it is to
suggest
> > that
> > > there are sound political, economic and geo-strategic reasons why the
> > > integration of Cuba at a time when US policy may be subject to
revision,
> > > will enhance dramatically the Caribbean's place in the world.
> > >
> > > David Jessop is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Council for
> > Europe.
> > > July 7th, 2000
> > >
> > >
> > >


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