U.S. Should Be Included on List of Terrorist Countries
The United States should appear on the list of sponsors of international terrorism. It shelters criminal organizations in U.S. territory and has a history of relations with other terrorists around the world, according to a statement made today by a recognized curator and philanthropist.
American Gilbert Brownstone, president of the foundation of the same name, denounced the state department’s decision to keep Cuba on its unilateral list as irrational and absurd. In a message to Prensa Latina, he expressed his opinion that Washington should have to explain to Havana the reasons for the inclusion of Cuba on the list.
Brownstone condemned “the United States’ total hypocrisy and double standard.” He recalled the thousands killed and the damage caused to the island by plots organized and financed from Florida by criminal organizations while the authorities in Florida turned a blind eye in the majority of cases.
The controversial annual State Department report for 2012 names Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as nations that allegedly shelter individuals with links to extremist organizations. The black list, released annually since 1979, also includes a total of 51 foreign organizations. Its content has been rejected by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs as deliberately untruthful.
Brownstone is one of the public figures taking part in the second “Five Days for the Cuban Five” event in Washington D.C., during which representatives from 23 nations are calling on the White House to change its policy toward Havana and release the Cuban anti-terrorists still behind bars in federal prisons.
This friend of Cuba and supporter of the cause of the Cuban Five — Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez* — drew attention to the thought-provoking activities taking place, particularly to the rallying of hundreds of people in front of the White House and an ecumenical event featuring the legendary African-American activist Angela Davis.
Brownstone, a museologist, graduated with a degree in Art History from the Paris-Sorbonne University alongside Pierre Francastel (1900-1970). He stressed that the “United States government’s double standard is boundless,” and the real terrorists are treated as heroes in the United States, while the Cuban Five are subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment.
This humanist donated works by 20th century artists to the Cuban people in 2010. The Brownstone Foundation, founded in 1999, is devoted to the support and promotion of social and solidarity initiatives favoring cultural and educational development.
“The time to act is now,” says Brownstone, who donated more than a hundred pieces including works by Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Georges Roualt, Donald Judd and Joan Miro.
The valuable collection is stored in the vaults of Havana’s National Museum of Fine Arts and is the most significant donation to the museum since it was reopened in 2001. In an earlier interview with Prensa Latina, Brownstone affirmed that “my heart is Cuban” and that his links “with Cuba go back a decade and, after visiting Gerardo [Hernandez], there is nothing I wouldn’t do for the Cuban Five.”
* Rene Gonzalez was released in 2011 and ordered to serve three years parole in Florida. He was permitted to return to Cuba for his father’s funeral in April 2013 and has since been allowed to remain in Cuba without completing his parole in exchange for voluntarily renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
American Gilbert Brownstone, president of the foundation of the same name, denounced the state department’s decision to keep Cuba on its unilateral list as irrational and absurd. In a message to Prensa Latina, he expressed his opinion that Washington should have to explain to Havana the reasons for the inclusion of Cuba on the list.
Brownstone condemned “the United States’ total hypocrisy and double standard.” He recalled the thousands killed and the damage caused to the island by plots organized and financed from Florida by criminal organizations while the authorities in Florida turned a blind eye in the majority of cases.
The controversial annual State Department report for 2012 names Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as nations that allegedly shelter individuals with links to extremist organizations. The black list, released annually since 1979, also includes a total of 51 foreign organizations. Its content has been rejected by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs as deliberately untruthful.
Brownstone is one of the public figures taking part in the second “Five Days for the Cuban Five” event in Washington D.C., during which representatives from 23 nations are calling on the White House to change its policy toward Havana and release the Cuban anti-terrorists still behind bars in federal prisons.
This friend of Cuba and supporter of the cause of the Cuban Five — Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez* — drew attention to the thought-provoking activities taking place, particularly to the rallying of hundreds of people in front of the White House and an ecumenical event featuring the legendary African-American activist Angela Davis.
Brownstone, a museologist, graduated with a degree in Art History from the Paris-Sorbonne University alongside Pierre Francastel (1900-1970). He stressed that the “United States government’s double standard is boundless,” and the real terrorists are treated as heroes in the United States, while the Cuban Five are subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment.
This humanist donated works by 20th century artists to the Cuban people in 2010. The Brownstone Foundation, founded in 1999, is devoted to the support and promotion of social and solidarity initiatives favoring cultural and educational development.
“The time to act is now,” says Brownstone, who donated more than a hundred pieces including works by Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Georges Roualt, Donald Judd and Joan Miro.
The valuable collection is stored in the vaults of Havana’s National Museum of Fine Arts and is the most significant donation to the museum since it was reopened in 2001. In an earlier interview with Prensa Latina, Brownstone affirmed that “my heart is Cuban” and that his links “with Cuba go back a decade and, after visiting Gerardo [Hernandez], there is nothing I wouldn’t do for the Cuban Five.”
* Rene Gonzalez was released in 2011 and ordered to serve three years parole in Florida. He was permitted to return to Cuba for his father’s funeral in April 2013 and has since been allowed to remain in Cuba without completing his parole in exchange for voluntarily renouncing his U.S. citizenship.