5-11-05, 6:10pm
Cubans will stage on May 17 a giant march passing by the United States Interests Section headquarters in this capital to demand the US administration to arrest the terrorist of Cuban origin Luis Posada Carriles.
The march -announced Tuesday night by Cuban President Fidel Castro in a televised address to the nation- will take place next Tuesday when Cuba celebrates Farmers Day. Over a million people are expected to join march along Havana´s waterfront drive. They will march by the US Interest Section.
We cannot stand with our arms crossed; we cannot remain silent. We are going to mobilize World opinion, assured the Cuban leader who a month or so ago challenged the US government to come forth and say what it plans to do with the notorious terrorist.
The George W. Bush administration, however, has denied having any knowledge of the presence in US territory of the murky figure, when even Posada Carriles´ lawyer made public his client had sneaked into the US and was officially requesting political asylum.
'Let´s see if this gentleman does what is most convenient for him and does what he must', Fidel Castro said referring to the silence and lack of action by Bush on this case.
Among other crimes, Posada Carriles is responsible for blowing up in the sky a Cuban commercial airplane off the coast of Barbados in 1976, killing 73 persons. He's also behind several other bomb attacks on tourist resorts in Havana in 1997 and 1998. In one of the explosions a young Italian tourist, Fabio di Celmo, died. He was also involved in the assassination of former Chilean foreign minister Orlando Lettelier and was arrested and convicted for attempting to kill President Fidel Castro while in Panama in November in 2000. He was later pardoned by ex president Mireya Moscoso. The Cuban leader also demanded from the Organization of American States and the Chilean government, whose Interior Minister is the new OAS Secretary, to take a position on this matter. President Fidel Castro said that the said march would serve to 'demand punishment for the murderers' and said one of the march´s purposes was to prevent similar bomb attacks and tortures as those suffered by Iraqis from repeating themselves.
We will demand justice to be served, that US support to terrorism stops. It will be a battle against terrorism, a protest against injustice, a battle for truth, said Fidel Castro, visibly angered while the audience gave him a standing ovation.
The head of state called 'infamous' and a 'great imprudence' the silence of US authorities regarding Posada Carriles. They don´t even acknowledge being informed', he stressed and insisted the Bush administration is lying about Posada Carriles.
He remembered the United States has encouraged terrorism against Cuba for a long time.
In that context, he recalled the hijacking of civil Cuban planes and the so-called Cuban Adjustment Act, which encourages illegal immigration to US territory, causing 'countless deaths' among those who dare to cross the Florida strait in precarious boats and flimsy rafts.
The Cuban leader said the march will serve to show Cuba is also protecting World peace, preventing neofascist theories and incidents as those who brought about the Second World War from spreading.
In a clear reference to Bush, he said Adolf Hitler was the 'predecesor and inspirer' of those who hold a greater and more dangerous power. About the march, he advanced 'we will do like the 1st of May, show the world what the revolution is and the force of the revolution.'
We will be denouncing them (US government) to the world. Let´s see what they will fabricate next, he asked.
On the International Workers´Day celebration, about one million 300 thousand Cubans flooded the Revolution Square and there they heard Fidel Castro come out once again demanding the US government to take action against Posada Carriles. mh/ef/lam/asg
