<html>
<body>
<font size=3>
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/alarcon10072009.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/alarcon10072009.html<br><br>
</a></font><font face="Verdana" size=2 color="#990000">October 7,
2009<br><br>
</font><h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><b>The Untold Story
of the Cuban Five <br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Cherry Blossoms
</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By RICARDO
ALARCÓN de QUESADA<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">A</font>
<font face="Verdana" size=2>ttracting foreign tourism was at that time –
mid and late nineties – one of the few possibilities to earn much needed
hard currency. Knowing that, Washington reinforced its sanctions and
threats against foreign companies investing in Cuba or having any
transaction with the island. Coincidentally the so-called Cuban American
National Foundation (CANF) and other anti-Cuba terrorist groups openly
declared such visitors “enemies” and justified violent attacks against
them. <br><br>
As tourists were arriving to the island in larger numbers a series of
bombs exploded and others were found at our hotels and beach resorts in
1997 and 1998.<br><br>
From April to September 1997 such attacks had the city of Havana as its
main target. As a result, four people were wounded on July 12 when bombs
exploded at the Nacional and Capri Hotels. On September 4 explosions
occurred almost simultaneously in the Copacabana, Chateau and Triton
Hotels and at a Havana restaurant. In the Copacabana, Fabio di Celmo, a
22-year-old Italian tourist was killed.<br><br>
On August 11, 1997 in the middle of that terrorist campaign CANF
made public a statement describing it as “incidents of internal
rebellion which have been taking place in Cuba over the last few weeks”
and stating that “the Cuban American National Foundation supports these
without hesitation or reservations.”<br><br>
These acts were not “internal” much less a “rebellion”. Some
Central-American mercenaries arrested in Havana had admitted that they
were acting under instructions of Luis Posada Carriles, a fugitive
criminal who had escaped from trial for masterminding in 1976 the first
midair destruction of a civil airplane ever. Posada now enjoys total
impunity in Miami. On July 12, 1998 in a front-page interview with the
<i>New York Times,</i> Posada Carriles admitted full responsibility for
the new terrorist attacks, recognized that he was financed by CANF and
cynically referred to Fabio di Celmo as a person “at the wrong place at
the wrong time” whose death didn’t disturb him. Posada said he was able
to “sleep like a baby”. He repeated similar words in front of a TV camera
on a programme broadcasted through the United States. <br><br>
Between March and April 1998, Cuba was approached several times by the
State Department and their representatives in Havana to share with us
some sensitive information they had gotten, the gravest of all related to
possible attacks on civilian airplanes flying to the island. We spent
hours jointly examining intelligence that the Americans considered so
credible that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a special
warning to air companies.<br><br>
In view of those positive exchanges Fidel took a very important
initiative. Gabriel García Márquez, a well recognized friend of Cuba and
of the leader of its Revolution, was travelling soon to attend a
conference at Princeton and expected to meet President Clinton, a reader
and admirer, like many millions, of the Nobel Laureate in Literature.
<br><br>
On April 18, Fidel personally drafted a message to Clinton and gave it to
the Colombian writer who arrived to the US Capital on May 1st. García
Márquez waited for several days “in my impersonal room at the Washington
hotel where I spent up to 10 hours a day writing. However, even if I
refused to admit it, the true reason for my confinement was the custody
of the message lying in the safety box … I devoted myself to its custody
while I continued to write, to eat my meals and to receive my visits in
the hotel room.” <br><br>
Unable to receive Gabo personally, President Clinton arranged for some of
his closest associates to meet him at the White House on May 6. According
to Gabo’s report Fidel’s message was taken very seriously.<br><br>
One after the other, they read it with keen interest. Richard Clarke, a
senior official at National Security Council, said “that they would take
immediate steps for a joint US-Cuba plan on terrorism.” James Dobbins,
also a senior at NSC, “concluded that they would communicate with their
embassy (sic) in Cuba to implement the project.” Mack McLarty “expressed
his appreciation for the great importance of the message, worthy of the
full attention of his Government, of which they would urgently take
care.” <br><br>
In closing the White House meeting McLarty said, “Your mission was in
fact of utmost importance, and you have discharged it very well.”
<br><br>
Both Fidel’s message and García Márquez's entire and fascinating
description of his mission were published, unedited, by Fidel Castro in a
special public address on May 20, 2005
(<a href="http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/2005/ing/f200505i.html">
“A Different Behaviour”</a>,
<a href="http://www.antiterroristas.cu/index.php?tpl=./interface.en/design/reading/news-update.tpl.html&aNews_lang=en&aNews_obj_id=1002042">
www.antiterroristas.cu</a>).<br><br>
Having concluded such a delicate task, Gabo was happy, almost completely
happy: <br><br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>"My only frustration on the way back to the hotel was not having
discovered and enjoyed till then the miracle of the cherries in blossom
during that superb spring season. <br><br>
<dd>I barely had time to pack my bags and catch the flight at five that
afternoon. The plane that had brought me from Mexico fourteen days
earlier had had to return to base with a broken turbine and we waited for
four hours at the airport till there was another available flight. The
one I took back to Mexico, after the meeting at the White House, was
delayed in Washington for an hour and a half while they repaired the
radar with the passengers on board.<br><br>
<dd>Before landing in Mexico, five hours later, the plane had to hover
over the city for almost two hours due to an out of service runway. Ever
since I began flying fifty two years ago, I never had gone through
anything like this. But then, it couldn’t be any other way, for a
peaceful adventure that will forever hold a privileged place in my
memories."<br><br>
</dl>Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada</b> is president of the Cuban National
Assembly.<br><br>
<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>