Correspondence: Letters from Nottingham, Lockwood, and Salonen/Baicich/Font
Correspondence To the Editor: Roger Rosenblatt, take heart! Due to the good wishes of my father, who gave me a gift subscription so I could see how the other half writes. The Alternative now has...
...It is absurd to consider these Cubans in the same category as Americans who can secure legal passage to Cuba, via Canada, Mexico, Spain, etc., if they so desire...
...Their arrival coincided with the incipient phase of negotiations between the United States and the Cuban government regarding the treatment of hijackers...
...The old must wait a minimum of 24 months under the most humiliating conditions, and the young, between the ages of 14 and 35, are completely forbidden to leave...
...An accord which fails to recognize this distinction would stand in blatant contradiction to the fundamental principles which the United States has thus far upheld...
...Some would say that the so-called Freedom Flights offer an alternative...
...We hope that this position will go beyond mere pragmatic expediency, to a fair alternative which will scorn a sacrifice of the innocent...
...On Thursday, December 7, three Cubans, aged 19, 20 and 25, arrived on American territory after having compelled two Cuban fishermen to give them passage...
...Alexander Lockwood Los Angeles, California To the Editor: The following is a position paper submitted by three organizations representing young Cuban activists and Americans of a moderate, and democratic socialist stand...
...Ken Nottingham Anderson, Indiana To the Editor: I wish to thank you for Charles A. Moser's article on "Democratic Totalitarianism...
...The actions of the United States government in the present case, magnified by its secretive approach to the whole question, requires, at the very least, some clarification...
...Both the Cubans and concerned Americans are entitled to a firm statement of position from the Nixon Administration concerning this particular case and its implications...
...Since all formal means of transportation are the property of the Cuban State and are under its strict supervision, it is easily understandable that a Cuban should find himself forced to seize property in order to gain freedom...
...At present, they are appealing an executive judgment of "illegal entry without proper documentation," with a possible maximum sentence of deportation requested by the prosecution...
...This is ridiculous...
...Castro has demanded from the United States, as a precondition for negotiations, that citizens who are forced to flee his regime, and criminals who forcefully seek its protection be placed in the same light...
...It is clear from its actions over the past fourteen years that Fidel Castro seems interested only in the survival and propagation of his peculiar brand of Latin totalitarianism...
...Moser has succeeded...
...Neil Albert Salonen, President The Freedom Leadership Foundation Paul J. Baicich, Chairman Washington Chapter Young People's Socialist League Jose Antonio Font, for the President Abdala Cuban Movement Washington, D.C...
...Having followed the same sea route travelled by 13,000 of their compatriots fleeing Castro's totalitarian system, these young men today find themselves under detention by American authorities...
...Their detention marks the first time that Cuban refugees have been held for more than screening purposes and, in effect, imprisoned...
...The United States government, aware of a history which consecrates the principles of refuge for the oppressed, should not accept, even tacitly, conditions which do it violence...
...Its purpose is to bring to light what the undersigned believe merits the concern of the American public: the arrest and subsequent hearing, on charges of illegal entry, of three Cuban youths who recently escaped to the United States...
...The Cuban people, both in this country and in their homeland, are tired of being unwilling pawns to great power machinations...
...We (also) understand the difficulties faced by the government of the United States as it deals with a government which has not - over the years - complied with its international responsibilities...
...It is gratifying, although paradoxical, that Castro's regime, noted for its violation of these basic human rights, should find itself attempting to foster international cooperation...
...It must be recognized that Cubans who leave their homeland are escaping a totalitarian system where no legal means of departure are either offered or available...
...Most all of what is transpiring in our society under the euphemism of "Civil Rights" has long cried out for someone with the courage to place it in perspective...
...Our opposition to the crime of hijacking is clear...
...A remedy must be found to stop the hijacking of interstate carriers of goods and persons...
...The Alternative now has FOUR flabby liberal readers...
Vol. 6 • March 1973 • No. 6
