Signs of the times: U.S., Cuba take down 'duelling billboards'

Signs of the times: U.S., Cuba take down 'duelling billboards'
Jul 28, 2009 04:30 AM

WASHINGTON–Officials at the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Havana have taken
down an electronic sign that infuriated the government, the latest
evidence of a partial thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations.

Officials confirmed they last month dismantled the 1.5-metre-tall
electronic sign, which for three years displayed messages that were
critical of Cuban authorities to passersby.

In return, the Cuban government has taken down some nearby billboards
condemning the United States.

"These duelling billboards, if you will, were not serving the interests
of promoting a more productive relationship," said Ian Kelly, a U.S.
State Department spokesman.

The U.S. sign was erected in 2006 at a time when the two countries were
at odds over a Cuban government crackdown that had swept dozens of
dissidents into jail.

Its messages including a quote from former U.S. president Abraham
Lincoln: "No man is good enough to govern another without that other's
consent."

The Cuban signs included pictures of U.S. troops mistreating Iraqi
prisoners, a practice it compared to Nazi tactics.

"A kind of propaganda war had been gathering steam between the U.S. and
Cuba over several years," said Dan Erikson of the Inter-American
Dialogue think tank in Washington.

The electronic sign, he said, "was the pièce de résistance."

TheStar.com | World | Signs of the times: U.S., Cuba take down 'duelling
billboards' (28 July 2009)
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/672705