Philip Agee: escalation of tensions is preparatory for aggression
• International Peace Workshop convened in Havana
BY ORLANDO GOMEZ BALADO
PHILIP Agee - director of the Internet travel agency Cubalinda and a former CIA official from the 1950s to the 1970s – and Orlando Fundora, president of the Cuban Movement for Peace NGO announced the decision to organize a weekly International Peace Workshop in Havana from May 26 until October.
The representatives explained to the national and international press that the principal aim of the event – to which the "whole world" is invited – is to allow specialists on the subject to directly explain in English the current situation regarding the U.S. government’s threats of aggression against Cuba.
Before answering journalists’ questions, Agee affirmed that he didn’t believe the recent expulsion of 14 Cuban diplomats in the U.S. had anything to do with espionage: it was simply another pretext to justify toughening Washington’s policy towards the island. He added that he expected additional and even more severe measures against the Cuban people, including an intensification of the blockade that this small and dignified country has suffered for more than 40 years.
The former CIA official also recalled how, in the past, that agency manipulated civil organizations (political parties, trade unions, and groups of business people, intellectuals, students, women, religious communities and the media) in order to provoke wars against alleged enemies of U.S. interests, and through such campaigns had managed to topple governments in nations such as Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Guyana; as well as last year’s attempted coup in Venezuela.
With respect to Cuba, he commented that the same methods are being applied in order to encourage and support civil groups opposed to the Cuban government and the Revolution. As an example, he mentioned the so-called independent journalists, independent libraries and civil rights activists, stating: "they are not, nor were they ever, independent in any sense whatsoever."
Agee added that he believes the escalation of tension by the U.S. government against Cuba is preparatory for a war against the country.
To register for the International Workshop for Peace in Havana, go to the www.cubalinda.com website, where all the necessary information is available.