Did Cuba make mistake?
Enclosed is a letter to the editor written by a prominent
South Bay solidarity activist. After denouncing government
actions, he goes on to say that "Cuba made a mistake... by
shooting down the planes."
You present the shootdown as a positive act (March 11, 1996,
Militant, page 14).
Obviously there is a difference here. Do you consider this an
issue on which fair minded people can disagree or do you consider
this statement an unacceptable capitulation to bourgeois public
opinion?
I would appreciate a brief reply.
Kevin Kelley
San Jose, California
[Printed below is the letter Kelley refers to, which he sent us along with his note. This letter by Al Traugott was published in the March 4, 1996, issue of the San Jose Mercury News.]
Provocateurs from Miami, Brothers to the Rescue, have been flying over Havana, the seat of the Cuban government, on a regular basis. Imagine what the U.S. response would be to hostile foreign flights over Washington, D.C. Or, imagine what our response would be to an attempted invasion of our country by forces trained and armed by Cuba. How about contemplating over 10 assassination attempts on the president of the United States, approved at the highest levels of government, using the most heinous criminals to carry them out? Try even harder to imagine a 35-year blockade of the United States, supported by only two other countries in the world, aimed at impoverishing all the people of our country, causing many to suffer reduced nutritional intake and some to die. Would we be a little bit angry? I can almost hear the cries of "Nuke 'em." Cuba made a mistake in responding to provocations by shooting down the planes, but its response was modest in light of the diabolic war being waged against the people of Cuba by our government. Al Traugott
San Jose, California
Taiwan Straits crisis
I found the Militant's coverage of the crisis in the Taiwan
Straits very informative. However, I don't see any evidence for
the Militant's statement that "The Chinese people are trying to
take back what is rightfully theirs - Taiwan," (Militant no. 12,
page 2, in the subscription advertisement).
It is true that the conflict is rooted in China's right to
national reunification, and anecdotal evidence indicates that the
sentiment for national unity is strong in China. But I see little
to show that the fight for reunification of China is advancing
today - in comparison with, for example, Korea, where in recent
years there has clearly been a growing campaign for reunification,
taking many forms, on both sides of the 38th parallel.
The main evidence the Militant cites to back this assertion
is the coming return of the colonial enclaves of Macao and Hong
Kong. But I think the situation with Hong Kong is more
contradictory than that.
While the return of the political administration of Hong Kong
to China is indeed progress towards reunification, this coincides
with the rapid expansion of capitalist investment from Hong Kong
into southern China. If China is "taking over" Hong Kong
politically, economically Hong Kong is "taking over" southern
China. Won't this process inevitably lead to reactionary moves by
the capitalists of the "special economic zone" to buck control by
Beijing? There have been severe blows struck against the national
unity of the Yugoslav workers state under similar pressures.
One article in the capitalist press that I read suggested
that one of the main reasons China is taking a hard line with
Taipei is precisely to send a message to the increasingly strident
and defiant capitalists in southern China.
James Robb
Auckland, New Zealand
Oakland teachers strike
The month-long Oakland teachers strike ended with a
settlement calling for a 22 percent wage increase spread over the
next four years with a proviso of lowering it if the cost of
living doesn't rise the same. Efforts to achieve class size
reduction and cutback of a bloated administrative payroll achieved
only token attention.
The strike was a hard and militant struggle, resulting in the
sharpening of relations between the strikers and the estimated 30
percent who scabbed. In the school where I work (Oakland Technical
High) most of the scabs were Black teachers while many Black
teachers in turn formed a militant core of the strikers. The
intense month-long struggle shaped and built new friendships while
destroying old ones.
In Oakland Tech - in a manner typical of other schools
throughout the district - the strikers returned as a victorious
body. Forming 20 abreast, the day after the settlement was
approved, the strikers marched into school shouting militant and
at times anti-scab slogans. Buttons were worn by all proudly
acclaiming that they were strikers.
During the following week "Strikers Pot Luck Lunches" were
organized in the teachers' lunchroom. Students who had supported
the strike and helped in picketing were invited as honored guests
to these affairs.
In many ways the fight led by the teachers took on a form and
shape that were reminiscent of the militant struggles of past
decades.
Paul Montauk
Oakland, California
The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of general interest to our readers. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.