Friday, November 20, 2009

The Cuban Liberty Council, off the reservation

Notimex: In a sign of tolerance for differing opinions, the Cuban Liberty Council is set to honor Yoani Sanchez with its “Heroes of Freedom” award at its annual dinner tomorrow night. This comes just after Yoani endorsed the proposal in the U.S. Congress to permit unrestricted travel by Americans to Cuba, a view the CLC doesn’t share. Previous recipients of the award are Vaclav Havel, former Senator Mel Martinez, and a former Uruguayan president.

7 comments:

brianmack said...

There will be some significant changes (IMO) between the USA and Cuba shortly after Jan. of 2010.
I am not Cuban but having known
many for over 30 years, it is time
to allow these brilliant people the opportunity to change the world!
Great News from Miami and best
to Yoani and her husband!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting everything going on. I believe that Yoani is legit and that she and her husband (and others in their group) have determined that the time have come to confront the Cuban regime head on for whatever reasons. Can we imagine the cost that they have paid for what they have done up to now in Cuba? Maybe they are hoping that others will follow? Can we imagine a Woman leading the movement? A combination of a Mariana Grajales y José Martí. Some cynics might even say that Yoani and husband might want to leave the country because they are beginning to fear for their life. I would not blame them. Can anybody leaving in the good USA? If you read the comments by readers in El Nuevo Herald today regarding the story about her husband, you’ll find that many (most) support Yoani and then there are the extremes (right and left) that either hate her with a passion or do not trust her. I believe that she represents what the average cubano (in Cuba or leaving all over the world) wishes for. ¡Adélante, Yoani! (Ah, y Zoe está celosa, la pobre.)

Brownie

Alex said...

Late to the Yoani party and trying to scoop leftovers.

leftside said...

This surely does not help Yoani. The Cuban Government could not have asked for a better organization to honor her than this fascist bunch. Not her fault I guess. But if she was really interested in showing herself as independent from the reactionary Miami crowd, she should make a statement repudiating the CLC's retrograde policy positions.

Anonymous said...

Given the CLC's history of authoritarian intolerance, this endorsement appears hipocritical to say the least. While their motivation may be an acknowledgement of their fear of becoming irrelevant (as some have intimated here)my real concern is that this is a "Judas kiss", one that will give the Castro's an excuse to crack down on this very astute dissident. Then again, as in the past,that wouldn't be surprising as another act that verifies the "quid pro quo" which has always existed between the Castros and their authoritarian brothers in Miami.

theCardinal said...

somebody in the CLC is smoking crack, that's my opinion.

leftside said...

The CLC realizes things have changed. And either they bend a bit to reality, or they are going to have no seat at the table when it really matters.