According to an article published in the El Nuevo Herald, it was a decision by US State Department to keep going with preparations for programs on Cuba and thus not to wait for the democrat Senator John Kerry to lift the withholding of US$ 20 million allocated-according their terms- “for programs that promote democracy in Cuba ” which really means to finance subversion in the Island. The U.S. not only makes its purpose to fund actions against the Cuban revolution public, but also publishes the figures allocated to do it.
As normally happens in these kinds of procedures, the request for proposals establishes items, which should be allocated to the initiatives of the organizations based in U.S. and abroad, and invites them to suggest concepts of innovative implementation including, among others, distribution of “small cash donations”, a strategy that is the way of the Empire.
This document refers to –as far as possible- the journeys by the U.S. citizens should be limited. Those people should fluently speak Spanish, have a solid knowledge of the cultural context in Cuba and have some previous experience in the island, with a view to increase efficiency in this operational environment, but it is the other way around. They have been sending people to Cuba who do not know the island, its history or its people, what it means is that they do not come to Cuba to share strategies of development, but to impose their new type of domination plans.
The document also states that US $ 200,000 will be allocated to strengthen the inclusion of persons with disabilities. That plan is absurd since such rights are expressed in the Cuban legislation and in the international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, of which Cuba is party.
Among elements proposed in the document is that of including work with local associations to promote and carry out activities in remote areas as well as participate in sponsored events such as the Special Olympics. Only those people, who do not really know about the Cuban society, might affirm that Cuban disabled people need the support of the U.S. State Department to participate in international sports competitions.
Before issuing any document, the U.S. State Department should know the statistics relating to Cuba better, but their obstinacy makes them believe in a reality invented by themselves using convenient disinformation channels. According to a report by ACN (The Cuban News Agency) –they certainly omitted or were silent about there being only eight special schools in January 1959 with an enrollment of 134 children, looked after by 20 education specialists in Cuba. Now, there are 4,249 such schools, including 21 homes for children without parental protection.
According to the website of the Study Center for the Improvement of Higher Education at the University of Havana (CEPES), over 10,000 disable people took Computing courses at Computing and Electronics Clubs, and the deputy director of Computing Clubs in Cuba Ernesto Rodriguez reported to Prensa Latina news agency that they prioritize the inclusion of people with some disabilities into the more than 600 facilities of this type in Cuba.
As part of the budget requested in the document, an amount of US $ 600 000 has been allocated to the professional support of the journalists. This section states that illustrative activities of the proposal can include strengthening the organizational capacity of journalists and independent journalists unions in order to enable them to improve the quality of coverage of the media. The statement is misleading because it is not clear which media are referred to: those based in Cuban territory responding the interests of the Cuban government and national organizations -disinterested and responsible- or the media like Radio and TV Marti.
Their “intention” is to help the journalists to raise the awareness about their professional and ethical obligations is a kind of confusion. Does it refer to the Ethics Code and the Status approved by the Union of Journalists of Cuba or a new code of “Independent reporter” we do not know?
Those preparing the reports of alleged violations of the human rights in Cuba from the Documentation on Human Rights do not know how to draw up the documents or how to put reliable data in them, and then they deliver these reports to the attorneys – already known- for them to bring lawsuits against the island.
One of the objections presented by the State Department to submit proposals to participate in civic activities in Cuba states that the Bureau of Human Rights and Democracy will not consider proposals that show any kind of support for any member, affiliate or representative of a designated terrorist organization, whether or not they are elected members of the government. Various readings can emerge from that statement. For example, the U.S. acknowledged the existence of terrorist organizations within its territory interested in the Cuba, and some time ago, these organizations submitted or were awarded budgets to engage in “civic” and “democratic” activities in the island.
We do not know for sure if it is due to persistent ignorance of some sectors of the US government or they just have the desire to waste money by still approving funding to incite the people against the Cuban revolution. Despite the failures in such efforts over 50 years, they do not quit. We could say: “this is a very long series, in which new chapters will probably be added.”
A translation by: Silke Paez Carr
