World
Cuba Sees Obama Terror Promise as Healing of Historic Wound
In this Dec. 19, 2014 file photo, a U.S. and Cuban flag hang from a balcony in Old Havana, Cuba. As the two countries to end a half-century of acrimony, President Barack Obama has made clear that he is moving quickly to take Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terror, saying in a televised address on his new Cuba policy in late 2014 that “at a time when we are focused on threats from al Qaeda to ISIL, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces the use of terrorism should not face this sanction.” (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)
MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press
HAVANA (AP) — A year after he took office, President Ronald Reagan placed Cuba on a list of state sponsors of terror for backing leftist guerrilla groups in Central and South America.
Cuba remained on the list as the Soviet Union fell, Fidel Castro stopped aiding insurgents and the global focus on terrorism turned to the Mideast. For outside observers, Cuba’s place on the list was a Cold War relic that showed the power of the communist government’s enemies in Congress. For Cuba, it became the most potent symbol of what many here call five decades of bullying by the superpower to the north.
Now, as the two countries move to end a half-century of acrimony, President Barack Obama has made clear that he will take Cuba off the terror list, saying in a televised address on his new Cuba policy late last year that “at a time when we are focused on threats from al Qaeda to ISIL, a nation that meets our conditions and renounces the use of terrorism should not face this sanction.”
Cuba’s top diplomat for U.S. affairs heads to Washington next week for a second round of talks on restoring ties. Cubans ranging from President Raul Castro to ordinary citizens describe their country’s removal from the list as one of the most important elements of that detente, one that could help heal a great injustice. In Cuban eyes, they are the victims of terror, not the U.S.
For Cubans, the worst act of aggression against the island since its 1959 revolution occurred when 73 people aboard a Cuban passenger flight from Barbados to Havana died in a 1976 bombing blamed on exiles with ties to U.S.-backed anti-Castro groups. Both of the men accused of masterminding the crime took shelter in Florida, where one, Luis Posada Carriles, lives quietly to this day.
“This is a small country and everybody knows somebody who knows someone who was on that plane,” said Juan Carlos Cremata, a film and theater director who was 13 when his father, a 41-year-old airline dispatcher, was killed in what Cubans call “the Crime of Barbados.”
“The U.S. is going to show that it’s an intelligent country because the most absurd, the most stupid thing in the world, is to put Cuba on a list of terrorist nations,” Cremata said.
Removal from the U.S. list could provide Cuba protection against lawsuits inside the United States because inclusion on it strips countries of important immunities that U.S. courts normally grant to foreign governments.
With Cuba and the U.S. moving to tighten trade ties, protecting Cuba and any U.S. corporate partners from lawsuits by people claiming to have been harmed by the Castro government could prove essential.
“From the Cuban point of view, resolving this problem of the list also resolves this type of concern,” said Jesus Arboleya, an international relations professor at the University of Havana who served as Cuban consul in Washington from 1979 to 1982. “It isn’t convenient for anyone that they call Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism.”
While removal from the terror list would have no direct impact on U.S. sanctions against Cuba, it could also make it easier for international banks to justify doing business with Cuba, said Robert L. Muse, an attorney specializing in U.S. laws on Cuba.
The bank that handled transactions for Cuba’s interests section in the U.S. closed its account last year, leaving its diplomats dealing almost exclusively in cash. The ability to reopen a U.S. bank account is one of Cuba’s most urgent demands in the negotiations to reopen embassies. While that decision falls to individual banks, removal from the terror list will make it easier.
“Its continuing presence on the list harms U.S. national interests because it prevents a rapprochement,” Muse said. “Cuba should be taken off the list because it doesn’t belong.”
The other countries on the list are Iran, Sudan and Syria. Removing Cuba requires Obama to send Congress a report certifying that the island hasn’t supported international terrorism for the past six months. Forty-five days later, Cuba will be taken off unless the House and Senate pass a joint resolution to block the move. Such a resolution appears highly unlikely, although Cuban-American legislators in Congress remain vehemently opposed to taking Cuba off the list because they say Havana’s behavior hasn’t changed, even if circumstances have.
“Cuba continues to harbor members of foreign terrorist organizations as well as fugitives from US justice who are responsible for the deaths of Americans,” said Brooke Sammon, a spokeswoman for Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. “Senator Rubio has seen no indication that the Castro regime has fundamentally changed its behavior and is deserving of being removed from the list.”
Recent State Department reports on the list mention Cuba’s sheltering members of the Marxist guerrila group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the Spanish Basque separatist group ETA. They make little pretense that the U.S. actually considers Cuba to be a state sponsor of terror.
“There was no indication that the Cuban government provided weapons or paramilitary training to terrorist groups,” the State Department said in 2013.
Cuba is sponsoring ongoing peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government in Havana. And Spain’s interest in members of the Basque group living abroad has dwindled considerably in the last decade, given a definitive ETA cease-fire in 2011 and the rising threat posed by Islamist radicals.
The biggest potential problem for Cuba is posed by black and Puerto Rican militants who fled there after carrying out attacks in the United States. The fugitives include Joanne Chesimard, who changed her name to Assata Shakur and was granted asylum by Fidel Castro after she escaped from the prison where she was serving a sentence for killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.
Cuba has made clear that it has no intention of returning Chesimard, particularly since the man it accuses of orchestrating the “Crime of Barbados,” Posada Carriles, has been living in Miami since a Texas federal jury in 2011 acquitted him of lying to U.S. officials about his role in a string of 1997 Havana hotel bombings that killed an Italian tourist. The U.S. government has refused to turn him over for trial in the Cubana bombing.
While few Cubans expect the U.S. to extradite Posada Carriles, many call removing Cuba from the terror list a welcome measure nonetheless.
“It would be an extraordinary event for me, for my family and I think for all the relatives of the victims,” said Camilo Rojo, a lawyer who was 5 when his father, an airline security guard, died on the flight.
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Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana, Ciaran Giles in Madrid and Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.
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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Activism
Oakland Ambassadors Strengthen Ties and Aid Efforts in Ghana
Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana. This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.
By Post Staff
Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana.
This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.
Upon their arrival at Katota Airport in Accra, Ghana, the Joneses were warmly received by His Royal Majesty Okatakyie Asafo Boakye III, the distinguished king of Sanzule Kingdom in the Eastern Nzema, and Etse Nyamedi of World Martial Authority, Ghana.
Nyamedi accompanied the Joneses to the city of Mepe, which had recently experienced flooding, to assess damages and engage with local leaders, elders, and youth regarding the city’s urgent needs after major floods last fall.
Key concerns and priorities identified by the community include comprehensive flood mitigation measures, agricultural support, housing initiatives, educational enhancements, improved healthcare access, and the development of communal recreational spaces.
The Joneses were also graciously invited to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their headquarters in Accra. This meeting provided insights into ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ghana and explored avenues for collaboration to further assist Ghanaian communities.
The LDS leaders shared their prompt response to the recent flood, demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian aid by dispatching substantial supplies including medical provisions, sanitation items, blankets, and food to assist flood victims just four days after the disaster.
Additionally, Boakye extended a special invitation to the Joneses to his palace, where they were pleasantly surprised with a heartfelt recognition ceremony. Maritony Jones was honored as the Queen Mother of the Sanzule Kingdom in acknowledgment of her dedicated work, while Jonathan Jones was lauded and welcomed as the ambassador of the Sanzule Kingdom, symbolizing a meaningful homecoming to their ancestral land.
The visit not only strengthens ties between Oakland and Ghana but also underscores the collaborative spirit and commitment to meaningful progress and humanitarian endeavors shared by all involved parties.
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
By California Black Media
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).
“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.
The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.
Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.
“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.
Bay Area
Nigerian Bank Chief Killed in Helicopter Crash on Way to Superbowl XVIII
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept., the crash occurred near Nipton, on the edge of the Mojave Desert Preserve. The poor weather conditions — rain, wind and snow showers—may have contributed to the accident, although the investigation is not complete. All six aboard were killed. Herbert Wigwe, 57, founded Access Bank in 1989, and it became the country’s largest competitor, Diamond Bank in 2018.
By Post Staff
The co-founder of one of Nigeria’s largest banks died with his wife, son and three others when the helicopter transporting them from Palm Springs, Ca., to Boulder City, Nev. to attend the fifty-eighth SuperBowl at the stadium outside Las Vegas crashed on Feb. 9.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept., the crash occurred near Nipton, on the edge of the Mojave Desert Preserve. The poor weather conditions — rain, wind and snow showers—may have contributed to the accident, although the investigation is not complete. All six aboard were killed
Herbert Wigwe, 57, founded Access Bank in 1989, and it became the country’s largest competitor, Diamond Bank in 2018.
More recently, Wigwe was planning to open a banking service in Asia this year after making successful expansions to other parts of Africa, including South Africa, Kenya, and Botswana.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described Wigwe’s death as an ‘overwhelming tragedy.”
Oakland resident and Nigerian immigrant Kayode Gbadebo agrees with Tinubu. He met Wigwe in Nigeria but crossed paths with him in London in 2006. Wigwe, he said, “took risks.”
He was young and people thought he couldn’t do what he intended, which was not so much about money but community.
“He was more like Jesus in washing the feet of the poor– Wigwe was culturizing community,” Gbadebo said.
“There will never be another like him. This is a deep, deep loss” and he hopes everyone will eventually “be comforted.”
He was also disappointed that a replacement has already been named even before Wigwe is buried. “It is not reasonable. You don’t want a vacuum, but it’s” not fair to the family, Gbadebo observed.
Wigwe had also been working to solve the migration issues from African countries, believing that “investing in higher education was key to controlling mass migration, which “is destabilising countries across the world,” BBC News reported.
“We need to take a holistic approach to address global migration, starting with our traditional framework for international development,” Wigwe wrote.
To that end, according to BBC News, Wigwe was preparing to open Wigwe University in Niger, where he was from.
“The best place to limit migration is not in the middle of the Mediterranean or the English Channel or the Rio Grande. It is in the home countries that so many migrants are so desperate to leave,” he wrote, saying his university was an opportunity for him “to give back to society.”
Besides Wigwe and his wife, Chizoba Nwuba Wigwe, and one son, two crew members and Bimbo Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, were also killed in the crash.
According to Wikipedia, three other children survive Wigwe.
In his statement reported in People magazine, Tinubu described Wigwe as “a distinguished banker, humanitarian, and entrepreneur.”
“I pray for the peaceful repose of the departed and ask God Almighty to comfort the multitude of Nigerians who are grieving and the families of the deceased at this deeply agonizing moment,” the president said.
He added, “Their passing is an overwhelming tragedy that is shocking beyond comprehension.”
Besides feeling the tremendous loss, Gbadebo fears the disorder and greed that will follow. “It’s a mess,” he said.
People magazine, BBC News and Wikipedia were the sources for this report.
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