World

Obama-Castro Seek a New Dialogue and a New Reality

Published

9 years ago

April 21, 2015

Oakland Post

President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro (Courtesy of The Final Call)

by Askia Muhammad
Special to the NNPA from The Final Call

WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) – President Barack Obama added another notch to his diplomatic achievements-belt April 11, meeting for more than an hour in Panama City with Cuban President Raúl Castro, the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in more than 50 years.

Mr. Obama’s historic trip began in Kingston, Jamaica where he met with that country’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and the leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an organization made up of 15 Caribbean governments. The U.S. and its sole ally in the region have been isolated from most of the governments of the Western Hemisphere over the harsh U.S. sanctions against Cuba. This trip however seemed to right those past wrongs.

The atmospherics could not have been better for Mr. Obama. His weekend began with a visit and a wreath laying at Jamaica’s Bob Marley Museum. That visit, the president told Ms. Simpson-Miller, was “one of the more fun meetings I have had.” She told Mr. Obama, “You’re very loved in this country,” and she expressed her “gratitude” for American support.

The United States is Jamaica’s leading trade partner, main tourism market and chief source of foreign direct investment, she said. She also cheered Mr. Obama’s push to normalize relations with Cuba, saying to him, “You are on the right side of history,” according to White House reporters traveling with the president.

“What we want to do is find out how we can be an even more constructive partner” with Jamaica, the president said. He mentioned climate change, trade, security cooperation.

What Ms. Simpson-Miller did not discuss while reporters were present were calls from authors such as Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who wrote that the U.S. should “put an end to extreme austerity in Jamaica.”

The next day at the meeting of the seventh convening of the Summit of the Americas, Mr. Obama told the leaders from Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Uruguay: “I am proud to be with you at this first-ever official gathering of civil society leaders at the Summit of the Americas. And I’m pleased to have Cuba represented with us at this summit for the very first time.”

Mr. Obama emphasized his view that there is a “strong common agenda” among Western Hemisphere countries and stressed that what was good for the region is good for the United States, “not just because of proximity” but because of the “incredible bonds” between our peoples. “It is up to us to make sure the United States stands in solidarity and partnership with the countries around this table,” Mr. Obama said.

He noted criminal elements and narco-trafficking “thrives when people feel they have no other pathway to success.” Since he took office in 2009, Mr. Obama said that exports from the U.S. to Latin America and imports from Latin America to the U.S. are up 50 percent. That is “an indication not only of the recovery that was initiated by important policies that were taken, but the continuing integration that’s going to continue to be taking place in this hemisphere.”

There are four key areas on which success is to be built, Mr. Obama told the leaders: Education and worker training; Infrastructure; Broad-based economic development; and Governance. The highlight of Mr. Obama’s trip, however, was his hour-long meeting with Cuban President Castro. “This is obviously an historic meeting,” Mr. Obama said while reporters were present. The history between the United States and Cuba is complicated, he said. After 50 years of policy that had not worked “it was time for us to try something new.”

“We are now in a position to move on a path toward the future.” He said the majority of Americans and Cubans have responded positively to the policy change. Obviously there are going to be deep and significant differences between the U.S. and Cuba remaining, he continued. “Over time it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries,” Mr. Obama said.

The immediate tasks: opening embassies in Washington and Havana. After Mr. Obama spoke, he and Mr. Castro stood and shook hands. Then Mr. Castro spoke, and after his remarks, the men stood again and shook hands.

Mr. Castro spoke Spanish. His remarks as translated through his interpreter: He said he agreed with everything Mr. Obama said. He said they can have differences “with respect of the ideas of the others. We are willing to discuss everything but we need to be patient, very patient.

“We might disagree on something today on which we could agree tomorrow,” Mr. Castro said according to reporters present. He criticized past U.S. policies, but singled out Mr. Obama from previous U.S. presidents who enforced the embargo. He even admitted he has begun reading Mr. Obama’s autobiography.

A senior administration official later briefed the U.S. press pool saying, “The two presidents discussed the ongoing embassies in Havana and Washington.” The presidents committed to opening the embassies and directed their respective teams to resolve the lingering issues as quickly as possible so the embassies can open, the official said.

The two leaders discussed the completion of the State Department review of Cuba’s designation as a sponsor of terrorism, and Mr. Obama informed Mr. Castro that the next step, the interagency review, is near or is completed and that Mr. Obama would be making a decision in the “coming days.”

Mr. Castro did not extend an invitation to Mr. Obama to visit Havana during their talks.

They did express a real commitment to do something different and chart a new course. Mr. Castro spoke of that in the meeting. “There was a sense of the moment in the room,” the senior administration official said. “There wasn’t tension.”

The U.S. had other reasons for wanting to deflect attention away from past hostilities with Cuba, according to Miguel Rinker Salas. “Well, a list that the U.S. created, and the U.S. put Cuba on it. I think it’s really a political fig leaf on the part of Obama,” Mr. Salas told “Democracy Now!”

“He wants to be able to hide behind something, come to the summit, deliver something. The reality is that the U.S., for—Cuba, for the U.S., really became an impediment. It creates its isolation in the region. The U.S. has other interests in the region.

“They would really like to have a discussion about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. They would like to have an alliance about the free trade for the Americas. They would like to promote what are really their economic interests, so that the issue of Cuba is really a vestige of the past. It is part of a Cold War legacy. It has both national implications in the U.S., but it has, more importantly, international implications.

“The U.S. is isolated on Cuba in the UN. Only two countries vote for its support of an embargo. It’s isolated in Latin America. It’s isolated in Europe, Africa, Asia. So, really, the Cuba issue has become really an impediment, a block for the U.S. in the region,” said Mr. Salas, who is professor of Latin American history at Pomona College. His new book is called Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know.

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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.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“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.

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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.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Herbert Wigwe with his wife, Chizoba Wigwe, left, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, right. ENigeria Newspaper image.

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.

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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Activism

No Valid Reason for Failing to Condemn Hamas’ Act of Terrorism

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed the Israel-Gaza border and indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli civilians in their homes. They killed nearly 300 young people at a music festival and took at least 200 hostages including 30 children. The atrocities they committed included massacres of families, abduction of the elderly and children, burning of babies and rapes of women.

Published

6 months ago

November 3, 2023

Oakland Post

iStock image.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr.

California Black Media

OPINION

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists crossed the Israel-Gaza border and indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli civilians in their homes.

They killed nearly 300 young people at a music festival and took at least 200 hostages including 30 children. The atrocities they committed included massacres of families, abduction of the elderly and children, burning of babies and rapes of women.

The horrific surprise attack deserves universal and unequivocal condemnation. President Joe Biden called what Hamas did “an act of sheer evil” and pledged to defend the lives of Israelis and Jewish Americans.

He said, “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have.”

Hamas killed approximately 1,400 people including 32 Americans. Citizens from 40 different countries including the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Thailand were killed or reported missing.

Hamas fighters breached Israel’s border defenses on the final day of Sukkot while soldiers were away due to the holiday and launched attacks on 22 towns outside the Gaza Strip. This security lapse has been described as a catastrophic failure of Israel’s intelligence agencies..

Hamas is an extremist Islamist militant organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is recognized as an Iranian-backed terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union and has a long history of violence against Jews and Palestinians, the latter of whom they often use as human shields.

While there have been plenty of groups who have unequivocally condemned the massacres, there are a number who haven’t, including organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Black Alliance for Peace, Red Nation, and independent Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapters (excluding the national Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation).

The DSA San Francisco chapter put out a statement on Oct. 9 that said, “Socialists support the Palestinian people’s, and all people’s, right to resist and fight for their own liberation. This weekend’s events are no different.”

Student organizations at a number of universities and colleges in California signed a solidarity statement titled “Resistance Uprising in Gaza” from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The statement attributes the violence of the Hamas attack to what it refers to as Israeli apartheid and occupation.

The SJP statement written by Bears for Palestine at UC Berkeley says, “We support the resistance, we support the liberation movement, and we indisputably support the Uprising.” Essentially, these students are indirectly associating themselves with Hamas’ barbaric acts under the guise of “resistance.”

Signing the statement were 51 student organizations including those from Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC San Diego, CSU Sacramento, and USC.

A statement signed by 34 Harvard student organizations said, “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Many university leaders, where these students are enrolled, have been guilty of failing to unequivocally condemn Hamas and for inadequately addressing their students’ expressed support for Hamas.

Several Stanford faculty members, including three Nobel laureates, condemned Stanford’s administrators’ weak response to acts of terrorism and the expression of pro-Hamas sentiments by students on campus.

Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005. It dismantled 21 Israeli settlements in the territory and handed them over to the Palestinian Authority.

The assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 was not an ordinary clash with Israel. Hamas’ actions resulted in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

While there are valid reasons for protesting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and a real reckoning with the Israeli government on its policies is long overdue, nothing justifies Hamas’ attack.

Israelis who were killed largely had nothing to do with the conditions of Palestinians in Gaza. Some of the victims weren’t even Israeli — they were just tourists.

The students blaming Israel for the atrocities committed by Hamas have faced criticism. Some groups have withdrawn their endorsements because of the backlash aimed at them. Others have doubled down on their activism. SJP held a “National Day of Resistance” on several campuses.

Several CEOs have asked Harvard to disclose a list of members from the organizations assigning responsibility to Israel to insure they do not hire any of their members. A Berkeley law professor has also urged firms not to hire his students who have publicly blamed Israel for the war.

This California Black Media report was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.