Wrong decision from European Union.
Last week European Union decided to lift sanctions against Cuban communistic regime, hoping probably so to encourage communist leaders to introduce democratic reforms. Such tactics has never worked with communists. They understand such gestures only as a signal, that they can do whatever they like. They demonstrated this faster as anybody expected. On the morning of Friday, June 20, former political prisoner and opposition leader Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez,” his wife, human rights activist Iris Pérez Aguilera, and other opposition activists from various regions of Cuba were violently arrested by political police forces in the Versailles neighborhood in the city of Matanzas. The Cuban Democratic Directorate calls on international public opinion, especially on the European Union’s member states who eliminated diplomatic sanctions against the Raúl Castro regime, to condemn this human rights violation committed against Cuban citizens peacefully demanding respect for their rights. More information on situation in Cuba on www.communistcrimes.org
Mister Laar,
I was inspired to come here after watching _Singing Revolution_. Of course, I had already known who you are. You are the man mainly responsible for Estonia now being one of the freest countries in Europe. You are a hero to the world, not just Estonia.
I live here in the United States of America. The USA has had an embargo on Cuba since the 1960’s. The embargo has accomplished nothing. In fact, it just gives the socialists an excuse for the failure of socialism.
I know Castro is a butcher. I know that Che Guevara was. And even the Haitians look down on the Cubans.
But I don’t think economic sanctions will bring down the regime. I actually think the reverse would improve conditions.
Bless you and bless the great people of Estonia. I have never been to Europe. Estonia is definitely on my list of places to visit.
Dear Mr. Laar,
I am a big fan of yours and have read all the books that have been published in Poland. I am currently about to buy Forest War which was also recently published. I have also written my master thesis about the political party system in Estonia. Currently I also co-operate with the internet service http://www.eesti.pl which is a polish-language site about Estonia. We try to bring Estonia closer to the Polish people because after all it is a not so far neighbor and has had similar historical experiences to our country. I would like to ask you if it would be possible for me to translate your blog and publish your blog entries on our page in Polish
Thank you very much and kind regards
Szczepan Witaszek
Chris is right. Sanctions rarely work. I believe Cuba will become free through its own momentum and the Promethean fire of technologies such as the Internet. It will take time, but this is a smart country. Of all the people in the Caribbean, this is the nation closest to Estonians in terms of the national character and their sense of mission (just with more Latin rhythm of course). The active exile community is one proof of this.
But Cuba has other, non-political problems to overcome as well. Racism is just one of them.
One more point: Castro is a butcher, Guevara was a Stalinist pig, Raul is a martinet … and Batista was just as bad as all of them put together. This should not be forgotten, either — ever. I’ll say it again: Batista was an extraordinarily decadent, cruel butcher. In fact, if I had the choice of being in a Castro prison or a Batista prison, I might pick the Castro one.
Dear Laar,
I have great respect for you, but on this issue I am afraid that you are completely mistaken. The US sanctions against Cuba are used by the Cuban communists to make excuses for the enormous economic problems of Cuba. Certainly Cuba would be nearly as poor without those sanctions, but without them they could not be used to excuse the poverty on Cuba.
West Germany did not impose any sanctions whatsoever against the East German government, and still or even thanks to that East German communism collapsed.
Sometimes people with personal experience of communism are to bitter to be able to deal with some issues in a rational manner because of the very well understandable bitterness they feel towards communism.
I also would like to say to you that it was not a wise decision with regard to Estonian prosperity and freedom to join the European Union. A Norwegian solution would have been much better for Estonia, but once again the inability to think rationally because of personal experiences made you and Estonia choose the wrong way. Estonia could have maintained it’s ultra-free market economy outside the EU, but inside the EU you will have to swallow just about any nonsense from Brussels.
Sorry for criticizing you, but real men can take critique!
Flavian, who did not have to live under the communist yoke