Response to The Guardian article about Cuban cars

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Here is the original article which this reponse relates to: Cuba's classic cars are icons of oppression that deserve scrapping

This is an anti-communist diatribe, without a single fact but full of distortions and outrights lies. Not even Amnesty International claims that Cuba’s prisoners are tortured – or in any other way abused. In fact, the only place where there is torture in Cuba is in the US base on illegally occupied Cuban territory at Guantanamo.

The last journalist to be tortured and assassinated in Cuba was under the Batista dictatorship in the 1950s. The so-called ‘dissidents’ in Cuba, are free to travel into and out of the island, speaking freely to the international media and returning to Cuba without any threat or detention. This, even though the Cuban government has demonstrated in many cases their links to US government or right-wing terrorist organisations from which they receive money. Indeed the US Congress approves an annual ‘investment’ of $20 million to generate and prop up such ‘dissidence’. Can you imagine the US tolerating this type of regime-change programme by Cuba, or any other country in the world?

Meanwhile in other Latin American countries journalists are threatened, ‘disappeared’, tortured and killed on a daily basis. Just look at the reality for journalists in Colombia, and Honduras following the coup of 2009. What about Julian Assange, also a journalist, forced to hide out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Certainly the author’s description of ‘extensive censorship of the media, vast police surveillance, near-total restrictions on freedom of assembly and speech, arbitrary arrest…’ Have all been suffered in Britain by any one who ‘dissents’ of the system here. The Guardian knows this is true – having had the police storm into their offices to smash up their hard drives!

In case any readers where wondering – there is participative democracy in Cuba, which local, regional and national elections had regularly, and had under a secret ballot. The 612-seat National Assembly of Cuba – not the Castro brothers – is the highest decision making body in the country.

Cubanos en UK

Nación y Emigración