Exile fireworks show off Cuba irks Castro govt
By PETER ORSI
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Fireworks shot from a flotilla organized by Miami exiles
exploded in red and white balls off the coast of Havana to call
attention to Cuba's human rights record. The stunt irritated Cuban
officials but drew few spectators.
The display was visible only intermittently Friday night at a distance
of a little more than 12 miles (19 kilometers) from where the exiles
anchored their boats just outside Cuban territorial waters under
overcast skies and sporadic rain.
Just a handful of people were out along the Malecon seaside promenade,
which normally is bustling with young Cubans who socialize along the
city's "great sofa" on weekends.
When an Associated Press team tried to interview the few who came out, a
pro-government crowd of more than 20 people ran across the wide
boulevard shouting "American press!" and demanding that a video camera
be turned over. Some were holding bottles of alcohol and appeared to
have been drinking.
The journalists identified themselves as accredited members of the press
with the right to work in Cuba. One cameraman was punched in the face,
another's thumb was sprained and a video camera was broken in the melee
before the crew managed to leave.
Exile organizers in Miami said the 18th protest flotilla over the years
was not meant as a provocation, though they also said they were trying
to coordinate the protest with actions by dissidents on the island on
the eve of International Human Rights Day.
The exiles said they were exercising their right to freedom of
expression, and the U.S. government said it couldn't legally stop them.
Cuban officials accused them of having malicious aims.
"There's a whole program of provocative acts," said Jose Luis Mendez, an
official at Cuba's Interior Ministry. "This is not just about innocuous
fireworks. It is subversive."
Before the fireworks, more than two dozen members of the Ladies in White
dissident group held a literary tea and discussion of the United
Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the house of former
leader Laura Pollan, who died last month.
A boisterous crowd of government supporters clogged the street outside
the house shouting epithets like "worms" and proclaiming support for
Fidel and Raul Castro in what is known in Cuba as an "act of repudiation."
The government says such counter-demonstrations are spontaneous
outpourings of revolutionary sentiment, despite thinly veiled
coordination with state security agents. The street outside the house
had been closed to traffic since Thursday.
"We cannot celebrate Human Rights Day here in Cuba. We can't because
they repress us and beat us. Right now there's an act of repudiation in
front of the Ladies in White headquarters," said Bertha Soler, one of
the group's founders. She accused police of blocking some members from
attending the meeting.
Other dissidents also reported that government opponents were briefly
held to keep them from gathering or protesting, though their accounts
could not be independently confirmed.
The government strenuously denies beating dissidents, whom it considers
common criminals. It accuses them of taking money from Washington to
destabilize the island and bring down its socialist revolution.
Flotilla organizer Ramon Saul Sanchez of the small nonprofit group the
Democracy Movement said about 50 protesters put on the fireworks display
from six boats, including an 85-foot vessel and a small security craft.
About a dozen members of the news media followed them.
State Department Spokesman William Ostick said U.S. authorities had met
with the organizers to ensure they complied with U.S. and international
laws. He said the organizers offered assurances they would not violate
Cuban territorial waters or airspace.
"The United States government does not promote or encourage this
activity," Ostick said in a statement. The U.S. Coast Guard said it
would patrol the area to ensure the protesters stayed more than 12 miles
off Cuba.
Nevertheless, Cuban authorities criticized Washington for not blocking
the protest.
"That the Obama administration did not refuse to allow this kind of
action is a very troubling sign, from the vantage point of it could
create situations that nobody wants," Mendez said.
An official in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Rene Mujica, said President
Raul Castro's government had communicated its concern to Washington but
declined to say whether it had sent a formal protest note.
"The United States is perfectly informed about the Cuban government's
concerns regarding this kind of provocations that have been repeatedly
made against our country," Mujica said.
Past exile actions have included clandestine missions on or near the
island. In 1996, the Cuban military shot down two planes carrying
activists from the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four
members. Cuba maintains the group flew into Cuban territory. The
activists deny the allegation.
Associated Press writers Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana and Laura
Wides-Munoz in Miami contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/10/2539883/exile-fireworks-show-off-cuba.html#storylink=misearch
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