Faith groups tell Bush to 'love thy neighbor'

As the United States again toughens its sanctions against Cuba in what the government of Fidel Castro says amounts to a "declaration of war," another caravan organized by the inter-faith foundation Pastors for Peace arrived in the island nation's capital with over 100 tons of humanitarian aid. After passing through 124 communities in Canada and the United States promoting an end to the four-decade blockade against Cuba imposed by Washington, more than 90 "caravanistas" crossed the US border into Mexico on July 6, and reached Havana on July 8, without applying for the permits that the US government requires of its citizens to travel to this socialist-run country. Caravan number 17 crossed the US-Mexico border and, unlike several other occasions since the first such caravan in 1992, no one was detained and nothing was confiscated, Reverend Lucius Walker, the director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization Pastors for Peace, said in Havana. "They have arrived at a deeply significant time," just as President Bush approved a new plan on July 10 that is seeking, among other things, "to support a group of people who want a different Cuba," Baptist pastor Raúl Suarez, the director of the non-governmental Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Havana, told IPS. A pastor for more than 60 years, the founder of one of the most active ecumenical agencies in the Cuban arena, and a deputy in the island's parliament representing his social sector, Suárez stated that the new report from Washington shows "not one iota of respect for Christian ethics." The report by the inter-agency Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, made public on July 10 as a complement to the plan for a transition in the island approved by Bush in 2004, calls for the creation of an $80 million fund to support civil society, over the next two years. This initial injection of funds, which is intended exclusively for organizations opposed to Castro's government, is to be topped up with at least 20 million dollars a year until the "fall" of the present regime in Cuba. The report recommends tracking the destinations of Cuban exports, prohibiting remittances sent via third countries, curbing travel by religious groups and revising sales regulations of US medical equipment to Cuba so that it cannot be used in the country's numerous health assistance programs abroad. It also suggests creating a working group to ensure stricter enforcement of economic sanctions, forming a coalition of countries to foment transition in Cuba, and contacting donor countries and multilateral credit institutions to set up a "multi-million dollar fund" to support a future democratic government on the island. As a final comment, the document acknowledges that there is an annex that remains secret for "reasons of national security" and to ensure its "effective implementation," which has awakened grave suspicions in Cuba's official circles. "What can they have to hide, at this point, that is top secret?" wondered president of parliament Ricardo Alarcón in an article published by the official newspaper, Granma. "More terrorist attacks? Further attempts to assassinate Fidel? Military aggression?" In Suárez's view, the new report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba is an attempt to "apply the devilish philosophy of the end justifying the means." "The end they want is the liquidation of the Cuban Revolution, or rather its example and significance in Latin America and the Caribbean. The means are to starve the people, restrict the country's economic activity, block access to medicines and worsen the transport situation," he said. "All this, to get the people to start demonstrations that would justify military invasion, with other countries participating, as happened in the case of Iraq," the pastor said, adding, "Far from conquering the people, Washington is actually strengthening our national identity." "It is a far cry from the Christian principle of loving one's neighbor," he said. The Pastors for Peace caravan's arrival coincided with a protest in Miami against US restrictions on travel to Cuba, the fourth demonstration in the last eight weeks in this southeastern US city, organized by the Christian Women's Association in Defense of the Family, a group made up of Cuban immigrant and Cuban-American women. Meanwhile, the academic Latin American Studies Association announced that it would move its next international congress from the US city of Boston, where it was initially planned to be held, to Montreal in Canada, so that Cuban researchers and professionals would be able to attend. A communiqué from the US-based ecumenical humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) said on July 10, in response to a draft of the Commission report, that the new hardening of US policy against Cuba is an "assault on religious freedom" that would curtail their ability to deliver humanitarian aid to Cubans in need. If the Commission's recommendations are enforced, "[it is likely that] we will no longer be allowed to provide humanitarian aid through the Cuban Council of Churches, our agency's partner in Cuba for 60 years," said CWS executive director, Rev. John L. McCullough. The Cuban Council of Churches was mentioned in the report as a "regime-controlled organization." "The report is an assault on ecumenical relations not only in Cuba, but internationally and sets a dangerous precedent," by dictating ways in which humanitarian aid can be delivered to people who need it, he added. The report's implied criticism of the Cuban Council of Churches, made up of 22 churches and 12 ecumenical movements, was deplored by Suárez. The Council, which has been in existence for 65 years, has worked as a "counterpart" of the government and has helped to "create a climate of confidence and respect" in the country, said the director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center.