From a Chavez
interview during his visit to London:
“I
don’t think in Cuba
there is a lack of freedom of speech,” he says with worrying speed. ”
If you approach Cuba
from the perspective of the Western world, you might think so. But there, you
have the people who express themselves on many matters. There is no repression in Cuba.”
“What
you have in Cuba
is a very specific model of revolution. We are very respectful of the
revolutionary people of Cuba
and its institutions. In the grassroots in Cuba, there are constant elections
that take place. Is it true that by electing a President or Prime Minister
every five years you have democracy? Is it because you have press and TV
channels that you have freedom of speech? There’s a lot of cynicism behind
that. So many lies behind that. Every country has its own model.”
What about
Robert Mugabe? Does he regret calling him a ” freedom fighter”?
“He is my friend. I think he has been demonised too much. Have
you met him?” No, I say – but I have met many of his victims. “We all
make mistakes. I think you should interview Mugabe yourself so you have a
better idea who he is and what he’s about. You have to understand history of
colonialism in Zimbabwe
against the black people, he wants a world where people are equals without
racism, that’s my opinion.”
“Freedom”
in Cuba
and genocide as a Mugabe “mistake”, The autocrat himself has clearly spoken to the
world!
