Posted on Mon, Jan. 02, 2006
Speech stirs up conflict in Cuban relations
By Gary Marx
Chicago Tribune
1/83/8
HAVANA | After months of relative calm on the U.S.-Cuba diplomat front, the two nations have returned to the caustic rhetoric that has often characterized their relationship since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
The brief period of calm coincided with the replacement of James Cason, the tough-talking former top U.S. diplomat in Havana, with Michael Parmly, an experienced career diplomat who spent his first three months in Cuba quietly meeting with fellow diplomats, opposition figures and others.
That changed when 54-year-old Parmly delivered a speech in which he criticized Cuba for being out of step with the global shift toward democracy.
"The Cuban regime does not represent the people, nor does it have any interest in bettering their lives," Parmly told a crowd of 100 gathered at his residence Dec. 10. "Rather, the regime is obsessed with self-preservation."
In the speech marking International Human Rights Day, Parmly compared the practice of Cuban government supporters surrounding the homes of dissidents and hurling insults to tactics used by Nazi "brown shirts" and Ku Klux Klan members.
Cuban officials reacted with indignation.
"To compare Cuba to the worst fascism, and the worst racism of the United States ... it is very hurtful," said Randy Alonso, moderator of state television's nightly "Round Table" program, which reflects the view of the Cuban government.
In December, Castro referred to Parmly as "that little gangster" and Cason as the "former gangster."
He later called U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a "madwoman" after she reconvened a U.S. government commission whose stated goal is to assist Cuba's transition to democracy.
"I am going to tell you what I think about this famous commission," said Castro, who then used vulgar language to describe the group to the Cuban National Assembly.
The return of mutual enmity does not surprise diplomats and other observers who say officials in Cuba and the U.S. often appear more comfortable confronting each other than trying to resolve their differences.
Although the two nations cooperate on issues such as migration and anti-narcotics operations, experts say Castro goes out of his way to portray the U.S. as Cuba's mortal enemy in order to tap into Cuban nationalism and rally support around his government.
President Bush's confrontational approach toward Castro garnered votes among some Cuban exiles in South Florida and may have helped secure his re-election in 2004.
Bush also appears to hold a deep antipathy toward Castro, experts say.
"It goes beyond the benefit of the Florida vote," said Mark Falcoff, a Latin American scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington.
Cason became the very public face of a toughened U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Parmly, a specialist in post-conflict situations with stints in Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, has pledged to bring a lower profile to the job than his predecessor. But he vowed to continue implementing Bush administration policy, whose stated goal is to speed the end of Cuba's one-party system of government.
"Cuba's future will be determined by Cubans," Parmly said in his Human Rights Day speech. "Our role is to support those working for democratic change."
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/13532904.htm
Speech stirs up conflict in Cuban relations
By Gary Marx
Chicago Tribune
1/83/8
HAVANA | After months of relative calm on the U.S.-Cuba diplomat front, the two nations have returned to the caustic rhetoric that has often characterized their relationship since Fidel Castro took power in 1959.
The brief period of calm coincided with the replacement of James Cason, the tough-talking former top U.S. diplomat in Havana, with Michael Parmly, an experienced career diplomat who spent his first three months in Cuba quietly meeting with fellow diplomats, opposition figures and others.
That changed when 54-year-old Parmly delivered a speech in which he criticized Cuba for being out of step with the global shift toward democracy.
"The Cuban regime does not represent the people, nor does it have any interest in bettering their lives," Parmly told a crowd of 100 gathered at his residence Dec. 10. "Rather, the regime is obsessed with self-preservation."
In the speech marking International Human Rights Day, Parmly compared the practice of Cuban government supporters surrounding the homes of dissidents and hurling insults to tactics used by Nazi "brown shirts" and Ku Klux Klan members.
Cuban officials reacted with indignation.
"To compare Cuba to the worst fascism, and the worst racism of the United States ... it is very hurtful," said Randy Alonso, moderator of state television's nightly "Round Table" program, which reflects the view of the Cuban government.
In December, Castro referred to Parmly as "that little gangster" and Cason as the "former gangster."
He later called U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a "madwoman" after she reconvened a U.S. government commission whose stated goal is to assist Cuba's transition to democracy.
"I am going to tell you what I think about this famous commission," said Castro, who then used vulgar language to describe the group to the Cuban National Assembly.
The return of mutual enmity does not surprise diplomats and other observers who say officials in Cuba and the U.S. often appear more comfortable confronting each other than trying to resolve their differences.
Although the two nations cooperate on issues such as migration and anti-narcotics operations, experts say Castro goes out of his way to portray the U.S. as Cuba's mortal enemy in order to tap into Cuban nationalism and rally support around his government.
President Bush's confrontational approach toward Castro garnered votes among some Cuban exiles in South Florida and may have helped secure his re-election in 2004.
Bush also appears to hold a deep antipathy toward Castro, experts say.
"It goes beyond the benefit of the Florida vote," said Mark Falcoff, a Latin American scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington.
Cason became the very public face of a toughened U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Parmly, a specialist in post-conflict situations with stints in Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, has pledged to bring a lower profile to the job than his predecessor. But he vowed to continue implementing Bush administration policy, whose stated goal is to speed the end of Cuba's one-party system of government.
"Cuba's future will be determined by Cubans," Parmly said in his Human Rights Day speech. "Our role is to support those working for democratic change."
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/13532904.htm
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