Manuel E. Yepe: The Beginning of the End of an Immoral Policy (January 2014)

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF AN IMMORAL POLICY
By Manuel E. Yepe
http://manuelyepe.wordpress.com/

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann

According to the prestigious Venezuelan intellectual Luis Brito "the openness towards Cuba is a desperate measure by the US to recover its presence in an international arena that is slipping out of its hands".

Brito based his viewpoint on concrete elements such as the creation of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, which includes the economies of countries representing more than half of world trade; the foundation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a virtual counterbalance to the International Monetary Fund; and China's decision to invest $40 billion in "The Silk Route", a colossal network of ports, trains, energy pipelines and technology which will connect Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Indian Ocean, and European cities at the expense of the "Pacific Alliance" which Washington promotes with the goal of blocking the progressive American governments from Asia.

To these colossal developments –which aim at breaking the blockade of the US dollar as the dominant currency and replacing it with the yuan– we must add the canal being built by Nicaragua, which will provide unrestricted and unlimited access to the Caribbean and Cuba for a great number of Asian interests. Therefore, pursuing the policy of blockade against Cuba would represent a self-blockade for the US.

The fact that President Obama has not attributed the failure of his policy toward Cuba to the poor ethical and moral content of the US foreign policy applied to relations with its near neighbors is revealing. The president acknowledged that, by normalizing relations with Cuba, the United States seeks to end "an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests".

This amounts to a confession –uttered by the President of the United States– that the many illegalities and vile acts which the superpower has carried out against Cuba have always served the interests of the United States and not the promotion of democracy, human rights, the fight against terrorism, or any other excuse to justify interference in the internal affairs of Cuba, and the violation of the essential principles of the United Nations Charter.

The blockade against Cuba –euphemistically called an "embargo"– has been applied for over half a century, not only as unjustifiable punishment against a sovereign country, but also against US foreign trade companies; and has had global reach considering the important place the United States occupies in the world economy.

The ban on travel by US citizens to Cuba; the continued US occupation of the portion of Cuban territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base; the promotion and tolerance of hundreds of terrorist acts against Cuba which have caused thousands of victims; the maintenance of the Cuban Adjustment Act, intended to promote illegal emigration by Cubans to the US –for propaganda purposes– and the stealing of talent from the island which has caused so many deaths; the absurd inclusion of Cuba on a list of countries which sponsor terrorism so as to undermine Cuba's ties with third countries; the hostile campaign by the US corporate and global media; and many other abuses against the Cuban people committed for over half a century, constitute hostile acts against the Cuban people and are still officially part of current US policy, and obviously should be eliminated without delay.

The US offer to restore diplomatic relations –which is to be discussed in Havana these days– is called to open the way to a future of peace between the two neighboring countries that both peoples anxiously look forward to. However, not everybody predicts such a future.

The many Americans who, jubilant, have been coming to Cuba or sending messages of congratulations after the simultaneous presidential announcements of December 17, 2014, insist on a danger that Cubans should beware of.

"Beware of Corporate America," they warn their Cuban neighbors. They fear that the voraciousness of "corporate America" could fall on the social gains of the Cuban revolution in the new situation they envision. They do not realize that the Cuban revolution is not going to deal with capitalism as something new. The island has maintained cordial relations with businesspeople from almost all capitalist countries in the world –except the United States– without ever admitting interference into the internal affairs of the country. There is no reason to think that American capitalists are worse or better than others.

January 17, 2014.

		THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF AN IMMORAL POLICY By Manuel E. Yepe http://manuelyepe.wordpress.com/ A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann According to the prestigious Venezuelan intellectual Luis Brito "the openness towards Cuba is a desperate measure by the US to recover its presence in an international arena that is slipping out of its hands". Brito based his viewpoint on concrete elements such as the creation of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, which includes the economies of countries representing more than half of world trade; the foundation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a virtual counterbalance to the International Monetary Fund; and China's decision to invest $40 billion in "The Silk Route", a colossal network of ports, trains, energy pipelines and technology which will connect Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Indian Ocean, and European cities at the expense of the "Pacific Alliance" which Washington promotes with the goal of blocking the progressive American governments from Asia. To these colossal developments –which aim at breaking the blockade of the US dollar as the dominant currency and replacing it with the yuan– we must add the canal being built by Nicaragua, which will provide unrestricted and unlimited access to the Caribbean and Cuba for a great number of Asian interests. Therefore, pursuing the policy of blockade against Cuba would represent a self-blockade for the US. The fact that President Obama has not attributed the failure of his policy toward Cuba to the poor ethical and moral content of the US foreign policy applied to relations with its near neighbors is revealing. The president acknowledged that, by normalizing relations with Cuba, the United States seeks to end "an outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests". This amounts to a confession –uttered by the President of the United States– that the many illegalities and vile acts which the superpower has carried out against Cuba have always served the interests of the United States and not the promotion of democracy, human rights, the fight against terrorism, or any other excuse to justify interference in the internal affairs of Cuba, and the violation of the essential principles of the United Nations Charter. The blockade against Cuba –euphemistically called an "embargo"– has been applied for over half a century, not only as unjustifiable punishment against a sovereign country, but also against US foreign trade companies; and has had global reach considering the important place the United States occupies in the world economy. The ban on travel by US citizens to Cuba; the continued US occupation of the portion of Cuban territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base; the promotion and tolerance of hundreds of terrorist acts against Cuba which have caused thousands of victims; the maintenance of the Cuban Adjustment Act, intended to promote illegal emigration by Cubans to the US –for propaganda purposes– and the stealing of talent from the island which has caused so many deaths; the absurd inclusion of Cuba on a list of countries which sponsor terrorism so as to undermine Cuba's ties with third countries; the hostile campaign by the US corporate and global media; and many other abuses against the Cuban people committed for over half a century, constitute hostile acts against the Cuban people and are still officially part of current US policy, and obviously should be eliminated without delay. The US offer to restore diplomatic relations –which is to be discussed in Havana these days– is called to open the way to a future of peace between the two neighboring countries that both peoples anxiously look forward to. However, not everybody predicts such a future. The many Americans who, jubilant, have been coming to Cuba or sending messages of congratulations after the simultaneous presidential announcements of December 17, 2014, insist on a danger that Cubans should beware of. "Beware of Corporate America," they warn their Cuban neighbors. They fear that the voraciousness of "corporate America" could fall on the social gains of the Cuban revolution in the new situation they envision. They do not realize that the Cuban revolution is not going to deal with capitalism as something new. The island has maintained cordial relations with businesspeople from almost all capitalist countries in the world –except the United States– without ever admitting interference into the internal affairs of the country. There is no reason to think that American capitalists are worse or better than others. January 17, 2014.
		EL PRINCIPIO DEL FIN DE UNA POLITICA INMORAL Por Manuel E. Yepe http://manuelyepe.wordpress.com/ A juicio del prestigioso intelectual venezolano Luis Brito “la apertura hacia Cuba es una desesperada medida de Estados Unidos para recuperar presencia en un tablero internacional que se le escapa de las manos”. Brito fundamenta su criterio en elementos tan concretos como la creación de la Zona de Libre Comercio Asia-Pacífico, que incluye las economías de los países que representan más de la mitad del comercio mundial; la fundación del Banco Asiático de Inversiones en Infraestructura, virtual contrapeso del Fondo Monetario Internacional, y la decisión china de invertir 40.000 millones de dólares en “La Ruta de la Seda”, colosal red de puertos, trenes, ductos de energía y tecnología que conectarán Rusia, Irán, Turquía, el Océano Índico, y ciudades europeas, en desmedro de la “Alianza del Pacífico” que Washington anima con el propósito de bloquear a los gobiernos progresistas de América de Asia. A estos colosales desarrollos, que apuntan a romper el bloqueo del dólar como divisa preponderante y a sustituirla por el yuan, se agrega el canal interoceánico que se construye por Nicaragua, que dará acceso irrestricto e ilimitado a este cúmulo de intereses asiáticos al Caribe y a Cuba, razón por la cual proseguir la política de bloqueo por parte de Estados Unidos a la isla equivaldría a auto bloquearse. Es revelador, sin embargo, que el Presidente Obama no haya atribuido el fracaso de su política hacia Cuba al escaso contenido ético y moral de la política exterior estadounidense aplicada a las relaciones con sus cercanos vecinos. El mandatario reconoció que, al normalizar las relaciones con Cuba, Estados Unidos busca poner fin a “una política anticuada que por décadas no ha podido promover satisfactoriamente nuestros intereses”. Esto equivale a una confesión en boca del Presidente de que tantas ilegalidades y vilezas que la superpotencia ha llevado a cabo contra Cuba han respondido siempre a la proyección de intereses propios de Estados Unidos y no a la promoción de la democracia, los derechos humanos, la lucha contra el terrorismo o cualquier otra parábola para justificar la intromisión en los asuntos internos de la isla violando principios esenciales de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas. El bloqueo a Cuba, eufemísticamente calificado de embargo, se ha aplicado durante más de medio siglo no solo como castigo injustificable contra un país soberano sino también a empresas estadounidense de comercio exterior, y ha tenido alcance global aprovechando el importante lugar que ocupa Estados Unidos en la economía mundial. La prohibición de los viajes de sus ciudadanos a Cuba; la persistencia de la ocupación por Estados Unidos de la porción del territorio cubano que ocupa la ilegal Base Naval de Guantánamo; la promoción o la tolerancia de cientos de actos de terrorismo contra la isla que han dejado miles de víctimas; la vigencia de la Ley de Ajuste Cubano destinada a promover la emigración ilícita de cubanos hacia Estados Unidos con fines propagandísticos y de robar talentos a la isla que ha provocado tantas víctimas fatales; la absurda inclusión de Cuba en un listado de países promotores del terrorismo para perjudicar los nexos de Cuba con terceros países; la campaña hostil en los medios de prensa corporativos estadounidenses y globales, y tantos otros abusos contra el pueblo cubano durante medio siglo, constituyen actos hostiles contra el pueblo cubano que aún forman parte oficialmente de sus políticas vigentes y que obviamente tendrían que ser levantados sin demora. El ofrecimiento de Estados Unidos de restablecer las relaciones que por estos días se discute en La Habana está llamado a abrir el camino a un futuro de paz entre los dos países vecinos que ambos pueblos desean vivamente, aunque no todos lo auguran. Los muchos estadounidenses que, jubilosos, han estado llegando a Cuba o enviando mensajes de felicitación a los cubanos luego de los anuncios presidenciales simultáneos de diciembre 17 de 2014, insisten en un peligro del que los cubanos deben cuidarse. “Beware of the Corporate America”, advierten a sus vecinos cubanos, temerosos de que la voracidad de la “América corporativa” caiga sobre las conquistas sociales de la revolución cubana en la nueva situación que ellos avizoran sin advertir que la revolución cubana no se va a enfrentar al capitalismo como algo novedoso porque la isla ha mantenido relaciones cordiales con empresarios de prácticamente todos los países capitalistas del mundo, excepto con los de Estados Unidos, sin admitir jamás injerencias en los asuntos internos del país. Y no hay motivo para pensar que los capitalistas estadounidenses sean peores ni mejores que los demás. Enero 17 de 2014.