Posted on 03/02/2002 9:43:03 AM PST by Corazon
By Andrew Cawthorne HAVANA, March 2 (Reuters) - Mexico's envoy to Havana, Ricardo Pascoe, defended the eviction by Cuban special forces of 21 men who stormed his embassy this week, saying it was the best way to decisively resolve the crisis despite some rights' concerns. "I am absolutely convinced it was necessary to conclude the process as quickly as possible, whatever the consequences," Pascoe, who witnessed the operation as a guarantee against excessive violence, said in an interview with Reuters late on Friday.
INTERVIEW-Mexico envoy defends Cuba embassy eviction
By Andrew Cawthorne
HAVANA, March 2 (Reuters) - Mexico's envoy to Havana, Ricardo Pascoe, defended the eviction by Cuban special forces of 21 men who stormed his embassy this week, saying it was the best way to decisively resolve the crisis despite some rights' concerns.
But, Mexico broke many treaties including Convention on Diplomatic Asylum (A-46)
Convention on Territorial Asylum (A-47)
"I am absolutely convinced it was necessary to conclude the process as quickly as possible, whatever the consequences," Pascoe, who witnessed the operation as a guarantee against excessive violence, said in an interview with Reuters late on Friday.
Whatever the consequences? Well one of them will be the negative claim of the 3 million of mexicans ilegal in the United States.
"I am actually very reluctant to accept the idea offhand that they are going to be tortured, mistreated. I just somehow don't perceive that as the tone of the Cuban government," said Pascoe, who spoke with President Fidel Castro minutes before and after Friday's pre-dawn operation at the Mexican Embassy.
The ambassador might not perceive in his marxist brain how those freedom seekers will be tortured, even it has been done in the past.Their relatives have not heard about them.
The men crashed a bus through the embassy's perimeter gate on Wednesday night after false rumors Mexico was offering entry visas to all Cubans who wanted them.
It was not a false statement it was said by Castañeda " the doors of the embassy and Mexico are opened for all cubans." He did not mentioned visas, since they are not giving visas to cubans to enmigrate to Mexico, just to those under cuban government contract to work in Mexico and collect just 1/4 of the salaries paid to the government of Cuba.
That sparked mayhem and at least 150 arrests outside the mission, where hundreds of youths seeking to follow the vehicle into the compound clashed with police.
After the 21 men had holed up for 30 hours and refused Mexican officials' attempts to talk them out, unarmed agents went in before daybreak on Friday at Mexico's request to fetch them. Surprised as they slept, only one resisted as they were marched out and off to an unknown destination.
He does not say that one of them Osvaldo Ineraity Calvo was able to talk to Radio10 in Buenos Aires Argentina and said the mexican ambassador told them not to worry, police was not going to get them. They were negociating with the Cuban Government and all they wanted was to leave Cuba to any country in the world, since in Cuba they do not have humans rights.
"They all walked out almost like they had expected it. I think there was an element of being demoralized," Pascoe said, looking exhausted but relieved after rushing back to Cuba from the United States to help manage the crisis.
Another lie, reporters heard their scream.
Many fellow diplomats in Havana applauded Mexico's handling of the situation as likely to help deter similar dangerous break-ins of foreign premises, of which there have been numerous in the last two decades by Cubans seeking to leave.
Any one can say that, which fellow diplomats? Also in the last four decades many countries honored the Diplomatic Asylum and thousand were able to save their life by living the country.
But some anti-Castro Cuban Americans were furious, saying the men's right to asylum was violated, while local dissidents were worried they may face severe reprisals.
Some Mexican commentators also said President Vicente Fox's government had made itself look hypocritical by championing human rights on the world stage while giving short shrift to a group of Cubans who appeared desperate to exit their country.
CUBANS' FATE UNKNOWN
Mexico has said it would not press charges, but Cuba was expected to try the men for public order offenses. It has not said where they were being held or what their fate would be.
Pascoe noted that Mexico had agreed beforehand directly with Castro that the eviction would be carried out with a minimum of force by unarmed officers, and had urged the Caribbean island's communist authorities to treat them "very fairly and very legally" after their detention.
"You make recommendations but you can't set conditions," he said.
He also stressed none of the men, 13 of whose criminal records were released by Cuba in a bid to demonstrate they were "lumpen" and "anti-socials," had asked for asylum, and suggested they were probably set up by others.
It is know how cuban government made up instant criminal records in the case of Michel Iroy Rodriguez Ruiz, published on the print edition only of El Nuevo Herad 03/02/02 page 23 A. Michel is a 24 years old , who was in jail once for trying to leave Cuba in a raft in 1994 but not for arms or violation of a foreing embassy like the instant record created by communists was given to the mexican diplomats. Michel is 24 yeard old, then years ago he was 14, and was jailed for trying to leave the country in a raft.
"They carried out a relatively audacious and sophisticated operation which, in my opinion, was a situation where they were being exploited. ... I don't think those people by themselves would have been capable of it," Pascoe said, noting the low intellectual level of the 21 men.
He would not say whether those he believes planned the incident were abroad or in Cuba.
Traditionally Cuba's strongest ally in Latin America, and the only nation not to break relations with Castro after the 1959 revolution, Mexico has had a strained relationship in recent times as President Vicente Fox's government has openly expressed concerns over human rights and democracy.
But Fox recently met Castro on the island, and the embassy incident seems ironically to have further helped improve ties.
"Curiously enough, it has been a step forward in my opinion, although maybe it's a little early to evaluate," Pascoe said. "A situation that was potentially very destructive for the relationship actually ended up being a source of very close collaboration."
After the men were evicted without bloodshed, "Fidel's attitude afterwards was one of relief, not joy," he added of his conversation with Castro at 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) Friday morning. "That was the reaction of us all."
09:52 03-02-02
This Castro’s puppet does not realize that the average Cuban has a higher I.Q. that any intellectually challenged Marxist such as he.
"He would not say whether those he believes planned the incident were abroad or in Cuba."
But the Mexican Ambassador, Pascoe, in an interview transmitted on the Spanish TV on Friday afternoon accused the U.S. government of planning the whole operation. This guy is the scum of the earth. He also added that after this incident the ties between Castro and Mexico have been reinforced even more.
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