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Posada must be punished “with the
full force of the law”
• On a visit to Havana, Panamanian
National Assembly President Carlos Alvarado condemns
the press campaign attempting to convert the
international terrorist and his accomplices into
“Robin Hoods”
BY JEAN-GUY ALLARD
—Special for Granma International—
 MIAMI’s
anti-Cuban circles are trying to convert
international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his
accomplices into “Robin Hoods,” but the people of
Panama know who these men are and justice must keep
them imprisoned and punish them with the full force
of the law. These words were spoken by Carlos
Alvarado, president of Panama’s National Assembly,
in an interview with Granma International.
The distinguished Panamanian politician participated
in the last two days of the 8th Cuba-Panama
Interparliamentary Meeting, held in Havana.
When asked about his country’s trial of
international terrorists Luis Posada Carriles, Pedro
Remón, Guillermo Novo Sampoll and Gaspar Jiménez
Escobedo, the Democratic Revolutionary Party deputy
recalled that “despite all the appeals lodged by
lawyer Rogelio Cruz, the Supreme Court of Justice
has decided that there are sufficient elements to
try these men.
“There is enough proof for this” he added. “We
believe that in spite of existing pressures on the
part of the inflamed Cuban-American community,
Panamanian justice must act strictly according to
law and evaluate the intentions and measures it is
going to utilize.”
Posada, Remón, Novo and Jiménez were arrested in
November 2000 for attempting to place an explosive
device in the University of Panama amphitheater
where the Cuban president was going to address
thousands of Panamanian students, workers and native
peoples.
Alvarado remarked that “if the attempt had
succeeded, there would have been very great mourning
and suffering in our country and for the Cuban
people.
“At the time, the location held between 3,000-4,000
people — our finest intellectuals,” indicated the
Panamanian deputy, affirming, as is well known, “the
majority of our intellectuals sympathize with the
Cuban people.
“I think that Mr. Carriles had neither the scruples
nor any concept of what he was going to do, and also
at an event that Panamanians had been preparing for
many years, the first Summit of Ibero-American
Presidents held in our country.”
Alvarez considers that Panamanian justice must keep
international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles behind
bars. “We want him to receive the full force of the
law, although our legislation does have some
safeguards or consideration for persons aged over
75. But as this concerns a man who has been accused
of crimes of lèse humanité who is going to be tried
for a terrorist attempt, I hope that the agreements
we’ve signed and the new law (against terrorism) we
are currently signing — although it’s not
retroactive — will be the point of reference for him
to be severely punished. Nobody in our country, be
they national or foreign, can possibly imagine what
a crime of this nature could have caused.”
“THE PEOPLE KNOW FULL WELL WHO THESE GENTLEMEN ARE”
Regarding the media campaign set in motion by
Miami’s extremist circles in order to create a new
image for Posada and his cronies, Alvarado
highlighted that some of these men “are linked to
the Letelier case; others to crimes in El Salvador
and other countries...so honestly, to try and make
them Robin Hoods now, well I think our people are
sufficiently mature and know who these gentlemen
are.
“They want to present them now as painters,
sculptors, cultivators of the arts. This is part of
the psychological work that they want to undertake
on behalf of individuals who have unscrupulously
murdered many people.”
Alvarado referred to the recent meeting in Miami
between Panama’s First Lady Ruby Moscoso de Young
(the president’s sister) and the head of the
Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF). He
pointed out that he preferred to reserve any
comments. However, he did affirm that during “in the
times of the military”, both the first lady and the
current president spent many years exiled in Florida
where they maintained social relations.
“But the state is one thing and our judicial bodies
are another, and I hope that they act in strict
accordance with the law...and the law states that
there are sufficient elements to find these men
guilty,” he commented.
The 8th Cuba-Panama Interparliamentary Meeting ended
with the signing of a joint statement in which both
parties condemned international terrorism.
At the close of the event, Panama’s president of the
Legislative Assembly expressed sympathy with the
situation of the five Cubans imprisoned in the
United States.
“We are
confident that U.S. justice will allow them a new,
fairer trial in a territory where passion allows
justice to speak for itself,” Carlos Alvarado
stressed.
The delegations also stated their will to defend
Panama’s rights concerning its differences with the
United States concerning clearing the territory
utilized by U.S. soldiers for training and
experimentation. These areas are currently
contaminated with conventional and chemical
materials, thus endangering the lives of Panamanian
citizens. |
-- NEW
YORK’S CASA DE LAS AMERICAS
Terrorism knocks on
its doors
June
3,
2003
FOR
almost half a century, the Casa de las Américas in
New York has maintained its honorable position of
defending the Cuban Revolution despite suffering
aggression and attacks by terrorist groups of Cuban
origin, as well as threats from the U.S. government.
--
Campaign
to release Cuban-American terrorists
May
12,
2003
LAST Saturday,
Panamanian television’s Channel 4 transmitted an
extensive report on the "injustice" being
committed in the case of Luis Posada Carriles
"the persecuted politician of the Castro
regime," an old man suffering from various
illnesses who will have to wait, as the presenter
stated at the end of the documentary, "for the
conclusion of the legal procedure delayed by the
prosecuting party."
--Introducing
Héctor Pesquera — gangsters’ buddy, protector
of terrorists and FBI special agent
It
sounds like something out of a third-rate B-movie: Héctor
Pesquera, in the role of "incorruptible"
FBI chief for South Florida pays a friendly visit to
the Miami police chief, accompanied by Camilo
Padreda, ...
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