guno
Gold Member
- Banned
- #21
Cuban opposition leaders from the island joined Cuban American politicians and activists on Saturday, pledging to oppose President Barack Obama's plan to normalize relations with the communist nation and disputing the notion that their community is split by a generational divide.
"The opposition will continue fighting, with or without Barack Obama," Cuban activist Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, known by his nickname "Antunez," said to cheers.
The gathering at a Little Havana park drew more than 200 people, largely older Cuban exiles who chanted "Obama, traitor!" and waved U.S. and Cuban flags. Some expressed disappointment that the protest was not larger; the demonstrators filled about half the park.
"The mentality is, 'Hey, we're going to be able to buy Cuban cigars and rum.' Well, it's not a happy thing for us," said Armando Merino, 68, who came to the U.S. at age 14. "I'm here because for the Cuban people, my family in Cuba, they are not able to protest."
The protest featured two high-profile Cuban dissidents: Garcia Perez, who spent 17 years in jail for his activities and has gone on hunger strikes to protest the treatment of political prisoners, and Berta Soler, spokeswoman for the island-based Ladies in White, a group of Cuban mothers and wives of dissidents arrested in the 2003 government crackdown there.
Soler said a normalized relationship between Cuba and the U.S. would "perfect the repressive mechanism of the Cuban government."
Protesters Against Cuba-U.S. Plan Gather In Miami
I just don’t understand these people. Why are they protesting? What is wrong with relations between two countries getting better? Or do they want the Iraqi scenario instead? And how can the relations with US provoke the repressions?
Yes, it may seem that US is going to give money to the Cuban government, not to the people. But you’ve got to start somewhere. And being friends with the government is a good start. Much better than sabotaging it. When you are friends with some government and give money to it, it’s a leverage to influence the decisions it makes. And if US government does want to help the people of Cuba, that’s one of the civilized ways to do it.
So why are those people protesting?
The Cubans in Miami are mostly those that came after Bastista the Butcher was overthrown. There are three waves of Cubans. They used to be quite powerful up until the demographic change. They want nothing less than overthrow of the government. Which most Americans are gearing up for as well in many different ways. But, because there weren't any stipulations placed on the Cuban government they are pissed.
yes the old gusanos in Miami are pissed
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