Madam, - My congratulations to Conor O'Clery on his excellent report from Cuba (Weekend Review, January 27th). His highlighting of "the punitive US embargo" is to be commended. This hostile action, known as "the blockade", has done untold damage to the economy of Cuba and the welfare of its people for over 40 years.
It is deplorable that the world's wealthiest and most powerful nation, so-called leader of the "free world" should continue to act in this harmful and spiteful way towards a tiny, peace-loving neighbour. But it is a fact that the US has harboured imperial designs on Cuba for more than two centuries.
The illegal occupation by the US of Guantanamo Bay and the inhuman treatment of prisoners held there are a violation of the sovereignty of Cuba and a blatant abuse of international human rights laws. I wish that all fair-minded Irish people would join with me in calling on our Government to take a long-overdue stand against these shameless US activities. For a start Ireland has to close its airports to CIA and US military flights and stop facilitating international bully boys. That is the least we could do. - Yours, etc,
GEAROID KILGALLEN, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Madam, - As a US citizen long resident in Ireland, I have grown accustomed to the tenacious scepticism with which any pronouncement or policy of the American administration is greeted by Irish Times journalists and the Irish media as a whole, and I admit that this is in itself not wrong: the media should be agnostic at best when it comes to critiquing the powerful. I do, however, expect the incisive swords of our fearless crusading journalists to cut both ways.
The recent coverage of the impending demise of Fidel Castro suggests there needs to be some serious sharpening on the left. Every utterance by President Bush et al, on topics from Aids to Yemen, is doubt-quoted, italicised or downright mocked into oblivion, yet Conor O'Clery, without any apparent sense of irony, quotes a fawning appraisal of Castro's "evolution of democracy".
Democracy? Or is that "democracy"? "Freedom" is perhaps understandably double-quoted when it is uttered grandiloquently by President Bush, but does that mean the Cubans' inability to work, vote, worship, assemble, travel and speak "freely" should not be quoted at all? - Yours, etc,
CHARLES LATVIS, Clogherhead, Co Louth.