------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Nov. 2, 2000 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- A MILLION MARCH IN CUBA: MASS ACTION COUNTERS U.S. THEFT By Gloria La Riva In response to the latest U.S. actions against their socialist island, over 1 million Cubans marched on Oct. 18 to demand an end to the U.S. blockade. The march was called on 24 hours' notice and ended in front of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. The size and spirit of the rally reflected the anger Cubans feel towards the U.S. policy of blockade and sabotage that seems to have no end. The tumultuous rally was held to denounce the granting by a U.S. judge of $58 million in Cuban assets to the survivors of Cuban-American right-wing pilots shot down by Cuban air defense in February 1996. The Miami-based pilots had deliberately invaded Cuban air space, despite repeated warnings. Cuban authorities had warned the U.S. government that it would not tolerate the illegal incursions by "Brothers to the Rescue," a Miami-based terrorist group that has engaged in confrontational actions against Cuba for years. Communiqués from the Cuban government to the U.S. were ignored, and in February 1996 the Cuban air force shot down the invading planes. Four of the pilots were killed. This incident provided the Clinton administration with a ploy for tightening blockade regulations on Cuba and signing into law the Helms-Burton legislation. Among other provisions, Helms-Burton threatens sanctions on any country that trades with or invests in Cuba. The $58 million was confiscated from $162 million in Cuban resources that the U.S. government has illegally frozen in banks here since 1966. This money is due Cuba for its share of telephone calls made between the two countries. STEALING CUBA'S ASSETS In the same judgment, U.S. Circuit Court Judge James Lawrence King also awarded the right wing another $35 million in sanctions against Cuba and $137.7 million in punitive damages, also to be taken from Cuban assets. The latter two sums have not been released yet but would exhaust all Cuban revenues held by the U.S. To add fuel to the fire, a new reactionary bill in the U.S. Congress accompanied the $58-million action against Cuba-- the so-called "Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act." It will enable Washington to more easily seize assets of Cuba and any other country that the U.S. government deems a target. After the court ruling, a Miami press conference was held by the same right-wing forces that had surrounded Elián González during his ordeal. They declared that a third of the $58 million would be used to fund anti-Cuba activities, including a nefarious campaign to indict Cuban President Fidel Castro. This unprecedented theft and the handing over of tens of millions of dollars to Cuban counter-revolutionaries was condemned by the Cuban government, which took immediate action to counter the stealing of the people's rightful resources. CUBA TO TAX PHONE CALLS TO RECOUP MONEY On Oct. 20, the Cuban Council of State passed a law to immediately tax all future U.S.-Cuba telephone calls by 10 percent, including calls made to or from the U.S. through third countries. The taxation will be in effect until the equivalent of Cuba's confiscated money is raised. The law reads in part, "Article 11: The funds collected by these means will be set aside for the purchase of medical equipment, medicine and raw materials for their production, separately from the annual expenditure in foreign currency that our nation devotes to the medical attention of our people. "Article 12: In the face of any attempt on the part of American authorities to block, freeze or confiscate the revenue raised by this tax, the government of Cuba reserves the right to adopt whatever means it deems pertinent, including the total cutoff of telephone communications, direct and indirect, between Cuba and the United States." Despite Washington's denial of Cuba's share of telephone revenue for decades, from 1966 to 1994, Cuba allowed communications between both countries to continue. In 1994, under a new arrangement finally allowed by the U.S. government, and based on pressure from U.S. telecommunications giants who sought profits from calls to Cuba, a limited amount of revenue was allowed to Cuba. This income generated by present U.S.-Cuba calls-roughly 45 percent of about $130 million raised yearly--is the revenue that Cuba proposes to tax. However, the State Department has announced it will prohibit U.S. companies from paying that tax. This latest U.S. action must be seen in light of legislation passed by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 18 and soon to be signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The bill ostensibly allows the sale of food and medicine to Cuba. However, the provisions for these sales are so restrictive that Cuba in reality could not purchase the goods. The bill denies Cuba any financial credits, which are a necessity in international trade. The Cuban government condemned the bill, saying that unless this restrictive legislation is removed it refuses to buy any items from the U.S. Why does Washington have to disguise legislation that actually tightens the blockade as though it is instead easing the sanctions? Obviously, because the sentiment among a large segment of the people here and around the world is increasingly against sanctions, blockades and other acts of economic warfare on small countries. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
