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Letters of 300-400 words are preferred.

Letters to the Editor:

Message from Cuban Institute of Friendship
with the Peoples (ICAP)

It will soon be 45 years that our small country has been under 
imminent thread, facing an extraordinary cruel blockade and 
sanctions imposed by the super power. Arbitrarily, we have been 
included in the list of states that supposedly sponsor 
international terrorism.

At this time, the US imperialist forces are preparing more wars, 
declaring that now is the turn of Cuba, looking for a pretext 
with flagrant lies against our country, so as to intervene with 
their military troops, in order to destroy the process of the 
Revolution. It will produce unimaginable human suffering.

Cuba knows and understands what terrorism means and Cuba condemns 
terrorist acts, methods or practices. There are many evidences 
and manoeuvres that make us think of the aggressiveness [and its] 
escalation against our nation.

Even now, tens of thousands of our friends overseas have a 
permanent movement and action plans against the recently measures 
adopted by Bush Administration, and a gigantic representation of 
solidarity is taking place all the world over to express 
unconditional support to the Cuban people. Many documents have 
been published, declarations have been signed by thousands of 
anti-imperialist people, and they all strongly reject the 
manoeuvres of US Government.

Nowadays as never before, the moment has come for greater amount 
of participants as members of the XXII Contingent of the Southern 
Cross Brigade. Unsuccessfully, the international order is in 
great confusion with the so many violations committed every day 
in Iraq and everywhere. This catastrophe should never be 
repeated! The economic and social environment is also in real 
chaos throughout the world.

We Cubans only possess our ideas and at the same time we fully 
understand this situation is affecting all our friends and 
supporters of the Cuban Revolution. Nevertheless, the Brigade is 
one of the most important events of solidarity with Cuba, and 
truly a tradition in the unbreakable solidarity movement between 
our people and the peoples of Australia and New Zealand; for that 
reason, the Cuban people needs your support.

Therefore, we call on all members of the ACFSs and NZCFSs 
[Friendship Societies] to do their very best and take immediate 
steps. In spite of false accusations, and inhumane hostile 
policy, our duty is to be prepared to allow entering all those 
who bring ties of friendship and solidarity to learn about our 
people, the Revolution and our realities.

Alicia Corredera Morales
Director Asia-Pacific Division ICAP

The US Embarrasser, Tom Schieffer, continues to interfere in 
Australian politics. Wasn't he the same Tom Schieffer who hurried 
to Wollongong to chastise the elected Green Member for 
Wollongong, for daring to express public opposition to the 
illegal invasion of Iraq?

Mr Embarrasser, you are so embarrassing!

Denis Kevans
Wentworth Falls, NSW

Labor supports the Coalition in charging the poor and sick 
more for their drugs while Defence Minister Hill is about to sign 
a 25-year agreement committing Australia to tens of billions of 
dollars of taxpayers' money to a Star Wars "defence system" 
around our population centres.

What Hill is not telling us is that the anti-ballistic missile 
system is part of America's nuclear-backed pre-emptive strike 
doctrine.

It's objective is to give the US the ability to strike anywhere, 
anytime with nuclear tipped missiles if necessary, while 
disabling any missile retaliation.

This lunatic policy will only drive a new arms race to develop 
MIRVd (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) 
missiles to overwhelm any defensive system.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the first population centres 
"protected" will be Alice Springs and Pine Gap, Kirribilli, 
Sydney and Parliament House, Canberra.

Gareth Smith
(NDP candidate for Richmond)
Byron Bay, NSW

How much are our democratic systems corrupted by the interests 
of corporate wealth? Private negotiations, never ratified by the 
people, allow global corporations the power to override our laws 
and whole cultural system.

The very future health of our political system will be measured 
by the health of our community, our soil, water, air, 
conservation of our unique flora and fauna and the education that 
may be available to the next generation.

What is the ALP prepared to offer voters if they sign the Free 
Trade Agreement? Has the ALP the courage to stand up for the 
people? This is the burning question? Can they offer job 
security, real future abundance with sustainable enterprise? Or 
are they going to hand over responsibility to the FTA 
colonialists and the Howard Government at the next election?

Mary Jenkins
Australian National Organisation of the Unemployed (ANOU WA)

Spearwood, WA

Where is the National Trust? Where is an enterprising tourist 
company? We have memorials to the Howard Years that should be 
preserved.

Do not let them pull down the detention camps. It is part of our 
history. Art lovers want to look at the marvellous murals painted 
on the walls of Port Hedland by a man now locked in Baxter.

Historians will want to read the names written in blood in the 
suicide watch room.

When there is a Royal Commission into the terrible abuses, I want 
them to be able to see where it all happened.

International tourists will want to wander the football field in 
Nauru where over a thousand people were kept, hundreds are still 
there.

I want to see where the kids played, where the babies learned to 
walk, where the young men cried. For many years we Australians 
thought we were not capable of such things. Now we need to walk 
around our "sites" in order to see ourselves truthfully, and 
remember the Howard Years.

Lest We Forget.

Elaine Smith
West Haven, NSW