The short night of long knives
Yoani Sanchez, writing in her blog Generación Y:
People waiting, with a stick or a knife under the bed for a day to use them. Entrenched hatred against those who betrayed them, denied them a better job, or made sure their youngest child couldn’t study at the university. There are so many waiting for possible chaos to give them the time necessary for revenge, that one wishes to not to have been born in this age, when one can only be a victim or victimizer, when so many yearn for the night of the long knives.
H/T: Penúltimos Días
The irony is that many of the CDR leaders will flee to the U.S. after the fall.
It is unfortunate - the general feeling in Yoani's post is something I've sensed on many trips to the island. The idea that some folks are going to have to "pay the piper" is perhaps one of the most lamentable aspects of the end of a dictatorship like that in Cuba. One might hope that cooler heads will prevail. But that hope doesn't always take into account, the pent up frustrations of many decades and the power it could unleash when it's suddenly uncorked.
JSB's comment is right on the money. The United States will no doubt, have to make a decision as to whether or not to allow regime collaborators across it's southern border should violence take root.
The best outcome however, would be for those who have been the guilty parties for so long, to simply be marginalized and forgotten - to die in anonymity and have their perverse ideals relegated to the dusty shelves housing old history books. Those men and women are the product of hubris and jealousy - let their punishment be the inability to take part in the reconstruction of a grand society - let them sit on the sidelines and watch as their deeds are deconstructed, denounced and forgotten . . . forever.
-AB
I disagree with Anastasio. Although I don't want to see a blood bath any more than you, I do believe justice must be served in order to start a new democratic era for a republic in Cuba to rebuild its entire society. Those who victimized their fellow citizens with the backing of the present government (jail and police officials, the DTI, political police, etc.) should be tried, with all the guarantees of the a fair trial, and if found guilty by a jury of their peers, should be punished for their crimes. It will likely be up to the US government to guarantee the fairness of these trials, but we and the entire world must insist that justice be carried out, just as in the Nurenberg trials after WWII. The victims must have justice, or they and/or their families will never be able to have peace, and private revenge will indeed go on forever.
elemeza,
While those in positions of power - ala DGI and individuals holding ministry posts, etc, should indeed be tried - trying every single CDR member would be counterproductive and only keep us going in circles. The little guys responsible for a variety of offenses would best be marginalized and pushed aside. I don't believe turning the island into one enormous court would serve any purpose. Those who need to be tried and imprisoned - if found guilty - are more the architects of a variety of measures and those who upheld those crimes from the higher levels of office.
IMHO
Anatasio, of course I don't mean every neighborhood chivato should be tried, but ordinary policemen and jail officials who abused and beat (and have at times murdered) their fellow citizens with impunity should certainly be brought to justice. These people do not "set policy" but are responsible for criminal behavior just the same. In a law-abiding society such people would ordinarily be held accountable by their superiors and removed from positions of authority as well as punished.
I agree with elemaza. Everyone who has blood in their hands (directly or indirectly) should be tried in a court of law. I don't care if it ties up the legal system for years to come. There can only be peace after justice is served.
How would you feel if the local CDR "chivato" is indirectly responsible for the death of your 16 year old son? Would you want justice done or would you let him get off free?
As it is, I don't believe we can stop the blood bath that will take place.