Having just resumed my subscription to the Mercury after almost four months in protest against the excessive preference given to SACP/ANC propaganda news and views, it is shameful that despite the Mercury’s historic tradition in support of liberal democracy it continues to publish communist falsehoods exemplified by the article eulogising Cuba as a “beacon of hope to the world” (April 6).
The sycophantic outpourings of the likes of Phatse Piitso praising the educational and medical services available in Cuba can in no way mask the reality of life in Cuba. As a recent article in the left-leaning Guardian newspaper of London conceded, Cuba remains a one-party police state.
The communist Cuban regime does not tolerate dissent or democracy. Human rights of freedom of speech, the press, association and mobility that conflict with communist ideology is brutally repressed.
If Cuba was truly a “beacon of hope,” the question to be asked is: why do Cubans continue to try to escape from it? The ANC is entitled to delude itself about Cuba. But in publishing those delusions, the Mercury should feature counter articles in the interests of factual balance and truth.
Sent into The Mercury and published, 8 April 2020.
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