Garzon speaks
Baltazar Garzon, the Spanish investigating magistrate who become something of an international celebrity some years back when he pushed for the extradition of Augusto Pinochet, has had something to say about Cuba.
Garzon is visiting Chile, where he has been hailed as a hero by relatives of former victims of the Pinochet dictatorship.
In an interview with the daily La Nacion, he calls for “change from within” in Cuba towards “freedom and democracy”, arguing that the Castro regime is “insupportable” because it restricts freedom of speech, freedom of association, etc, etc.
And just so you don’t think he is biased, the magistrate also suggests, unprompted, it would seem, that the US commercial embargo on the island should be lifted at once.
So, here is my point: Yes, we could spend the next week or so arguing about the US embargo and how effective or otherwise it has been. It’s a legitimate debate. But why the connection? Is Garzon implying that the lack of basic political rights in Cuba under Fidel Castro is the result of the US embargo?
Anyway, I bet Garzon won't get an invitation to visit Havana in a hurry.
Garzon is visiting Chile, where he has been hailed as a hero by relatives of former victims of the Pinochet dictatorship.
In an interview with the daily La Nacion, he calls for “change from within” in Cuba towards “freedom and democracy”, arguing that the Castro regime is “insupportable” because it restricts freedom of speech, freedom of association, etc, etc.
And just so you don’t think he is biased, the magistrate also suggests, unprompted, it would seem, that the US commercial embargo on the island should be lifted at once.
So, here is my point: Yes, we could spend the next week or so arguing about the US embargo and how effective or otherwise it has been. It’s a legitimate debate. But why the connection? Is Garzon implying that the lack of basic political rights in Cuba under Fidel Castro is the result of the US embargo?
Anyway, I bet Garzon won't get an invitation to visit Havana in a hurry.
posted by Luis M Garcia at 12:07 pm
1 Comments:
Of course everyone brings up the embargo as if it were some sort of justification for political repression, firing squad executions, 20 year sentences for doing things such as carrying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nothing new to report there.
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