Via Granma, ‘Reflexiones del Compañero Fidel’
Translation by Miguel Gutierrez, worldmeets.us

“Forty-eight years ago, mercenary forces in the service of a foreign power invaded their own homeland, escorted by a U.S. squadron that included an aircraft carrier and dozens of fighter aircraft. This date cannot be forgotten. The great power of the North is capable of applying the same formula to any Latin American country. This has occurred on many occasions throughout the history of our hemisphere. Has any promise been declared that such an actions will never be repeated, directly or via indigenous armies, as have occurred in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and other countries?

The cunning and devious attack on Girón Beach [the Bay of Pigs] cost us more than 150 lives and hundreds of seriously wounded. We should like to hear some self-criticism from that powerful nation – and a guarantee that such events will never happen again in our hemisphere.

April 13th marked the seventh anniversary since the failed coup against the Revolution in Venezuela.

For the sake of democracy and human rights, we need a voice in Washington to tell us that the School of the Americas, which specializes in coup and torture, will be closed forever.

We cannot forget that right now, this April, the leader of ARENA [Rodrigo Ávila], Bush’s oligarchic ally in the Iraqi genocide, continues to govern El Salvador. With a million human lives sacrificed [in Iraq], there is enough blood to drown all of Bush’s accomplices.

Does this recollection offend anyone? Or is mentioning this prohibited in the name of decency, ingenuity and complicity?

The [Obama Administration] measure to ease restrictions on travel is itself positive – albeit minimally. We need many others, including the elimination of the murderous Cuban Adjustment Act [and the Helms-Burton Act], which is applied exclusively to our country alone. [Cuba]. We would like a response to the question of whether the immigration privileges used to combat the Cuban Revolution and strip it of human resources shall be granted to all Latin American and Caribbean people. But everything in Port of Spain [site of the Fifth Summit of the Americas] will be secret. Listening to the debate will be prohibited, as will discussing the pronouncements of heads of state and government. In any event, we will learn what each of them says.

We don’t want to hurt Obama in the slightest, but he will be president for one or two terms. He has no responsibility for what happened in the past, and I am convinced that he would not commit the atrocities that Bush did. After him, however, may be someone else the same or worse than his predecessor. Men come and go; peoples endure.

There are other extremely grave problems such as climate change, and the current president of the United States has decided to cooperate on this issue , which is so vital for humankind. We must acknowledge this.

Enough for today. I don’t want to add another word.”

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2. 5th Summit of the Americas: New leaders, fresh hopes and the question of Cuba
3. While Latin American leaders bite, Obama keeps his cool at Fifth Summit
4. US: White House confirms change in Cuban policy but trade embargo remains

Jovan Reid · Bridgetown, Barbados

Jovan Reid is a communications professional and social policy analyst, with research interests in social policy, gender and sexuality. As Executive Editor, he coordinates content and advocacy campaigns on each of The Antillean's thematic areas.

editor@antillean.org