El Hefe's Old Tricks

Fire of Liberty

El Hefe(In Spanish it should be spelled Jefe but I writing it the way The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board calls him) is up to his old tricks again with his most recent actions on July 20 when his security services arrested some 29 pro-democracy protesters outside the French Embassy in Havana. As of yesterday, The New York Sun has reported some 14 people have been released but the jury is still out on the fate of the remaining 15 pro-democracy activists. Upon hearing about such an outlandish disregard for man's God given rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, the US government called upon Cuba to release the remaining 15 and called on its fellow democracies in Europe to join them in this call. Here's what The New York Sun had to say about the whole situation:

According to an Agence France-Presse report out of Havana, the demonstration at the French embassy that resulted in Friday's crackdown was a protest of, among other policies, the French ambassador's decision to invite Mr. Castro's foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, to the embassy's Bastille Day celebration while excluding members of the opposition movement.

Within the European Union, the most vocal opponents of Europe's decision to engage Mr. Castro on equal footing have been the Czechs. The Czech ambassador to America, Martin Palous, said yesterday of the roundup: "The E.U. should send a very clear signal to the Cuban government that these types of actions are absolutely unacceptable, and that all of these people should be immediately released."

"I think it's very clear," Mr. Palous said, "that those who have been arguing in favor of more 'constructive' and 'outreaching' policies toward Cuba should learn their lesson."

In light of this weekend's crackdown, that policy, Mr. Diaz-Balart said, "has been shown to be the pathetic blank check appeasement of Castro that it is." As a result, Mr. Diaz-Balart said, much of the diplomatic effort in Washington to bring about the release of the dissidents in coming days "will be focused on Europe."

I'd say that now is the time for the US and Europe to pledge their full moral and political support to the pro-democracy movement in Cuba as they battle Castro and his tyrannous regime some ninety miles off the coast on Florida. After 46 years of hell, I think the people of Cuba are ready for their freedom to be handed back. Let's hope it happens soon.