Cuba's opposition needs exiles' support not a litmus test on U.S. embargo
BY JOE CARDONA
jccigar@aol.com
For the better part of my life, Cubans' struggle against tyranny on and
off the island has been unfairly undermined and dismissed by the
international community as an appendage of the Cold War battle between
Washington and Havana.
Given this association, it has been a struggle to get pop culture icons
to back the fight for liberty in Cuba. It was a pleasant surprise, then,
to hear that Bono mentioned Cuban opposition leader Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet at the U2 concert recently at Sun Life Stadium.
Cuban resistance to despotic regimes, which dates back to the colonial
period when Cubans waged wars to free themselves from Spanish rule, has
always been founded on an innate and sovereign desire to be free. It is
understandable why Cubans outside the country have hitched their cause
for a free country to the U.S. wagon — there weren't many countries
offering to stand against the Cuban dictatorship.
However, this sometimes incestuous association with the United States in
an effort to rid Cuba of Fidel and Raúl Castro has mostly been
counterproductive.
As someone who sustains a strong conviction that historical precedence
supersedes all flowery rhetoric and purple prose in determining the
intended goals of future political strategies, here's my sobering
conclusion: The current strategy is not working.
When analyzing the anti-Castro crusade one ominous fact has and
continues to cloud, even destroy many, if not all, efforts directed
against the Cuban regime: The interests of the U.S. government have
rarely if ever been synonymous with the aspirations of a free Cuba.
The vote-seducing jingle ( Cuba sí, Castro no) so many American
politicians predictably pronounce, while sipping a café at Versailles in
Little Havana, crumbles under the weight of historical evidence.
From the origins of independence, the nationalistic vision of a
sovereign Cuba held by revolutionary leaders, such as Jose Marti,
Antonio Maceo and Calixto Garcia, was at cross purposes with U.S.
government interests.
Since the 18th century, American policy toward Cuba has been based on
strategic, commercial and security issues, not on altruistic idealism.
The most resourceful island in the Caribbean, Cuba has always been the
dangling, succulent fruit on the tree that America has craved.
In no way is this an indictment of U.S. political leaders — their
responsibility is to protect the best interests of this nation, not one
90 miles from our shores.
Still, many Cubans don't make a distinction. No hay peor ciego que el
que no quiere ver. "No one is blinder than one who does not want to
see," cautions the old Cuban axiom. It is difficult for Cuban Americans,
who now pledge allegiance to the American flag, to understand that our
American brethren do not interpret the issue of freedom in Cuba the way
Cubans do.
U.S. aid is essential to fight the Castros' regime, but to what extent
should the U.S. government have such responsibility?
Cuban-American legislators are essential liaisons between the Cuban
people and the U.S. leadership, but to rely on Washington to
single-handedly remove the island from the throes of tyranny is
simplistic and illogical.
The cause of a free Cuba would be better served if it were distinguished
and disassociated from U.S.-Cuba relations and policies. The U.S.
economic embargo, for instance is an issue between the U.S. and Cuban
governments — not necessarily a primary topic for Cuban opposition
leaders to constantly have to respond to and be judged by.
Cuban opposition has significantly grown on the island during the past
20 years. Cubans everywhere must do more to promulgate the names of the
valiant fighters within the island and their cause for freedom.
That's not to diminish the contributions of Cuban exiles. Yet we have an
opportunity outside the U.S-Cuba status quo of stalemate after stalemate
to independently push forward the concept of liberty and justice within
the island nation. Today's brave Cuban opposition leaders don't need or
deserve a litmus test about where they stand on the U.S. embargo to be
respected — and helped — by those of us already enjoying freedom.
They deserve our embrace.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/08/2305936/cubas-opposition-needs-exiles.html
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