Veterans object to sister-province ties with Cuba

Veterans object to sister-province ties with Cuba

Pelz supports idea of cultural exchange, but Pullen wary of Castro's 'tricks'

Thursday, December 27, 2001

By MARGARET TAUS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A King County plan to pursue a sister relationship with a Cuban province has inflamed some local military veterans, who say the county has no business dealing with a communist country that the United States lists as a sponsor of terrorism.

The County Council is exploring the idea of a sister relationship with the province of Granma, which is about the same geographic size as King County and is on a saltwater bay. The Cuban province was named after the yacht that Fidel Castro used to return to Cuba from Mexico in 1956.

County Councilman Dwight Pelz introduced the idea last April after the Seattle Cuba Sister City Association approached him. The council recently agreed to pursue it.

The arrangement "just opens an avenue between two communities so they can visit each other and learn about each other," said Pelz, a Seattle Democrat.

Eleven cities including Tacoma already have sister relationships with counterparts in Cuba. So does Pennsylvania. And Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods started a sister relationship with Havana's Department of Urban Agriculture about two years ago.

A delegation of Seattle students and artists went to Havana last spring to help build a community hall for urban gardeners.

But some, including Republican County Council members Rob McKenna, Kent Pullen and David Irons, oppose relations with Cuba.

The argument for cultural exchange is "one of the tricks that Castro and leaders like him have used for years," Pullen said. "Tricking Americans into thinking this is a cultural connection or some sort of a trade connection to get the dollars they need to prop up their decaying regime is exactly what they have in mind ... It's trying to take advantage of American good-heartedness."

Earlier this month, about a dozen veterans waited for hours in dress uniforms, hoping to dissuade the council from considering the sister arrangement. The council's 8-3 vote came over the group's written protest.

Richard Carrier Sr., a 67-year-old Korean War veteran, said establishing a relationship with Cuba is "a slap in the face of guys that died fighting communism."

Carrier, who lives south of Covington, also said the county should spend money on needs at home instead of visiting Granma, "which would cost us thousands of dollars."

Pelz said the council hasn't decided if county funds would pay for trips to Cuba, but he's already decided he will pay his own way. The first chance could come in February during a national conference in Havana sponsored by the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association.

Pelz disagrees with the veterans' concerns.

"I think it's time for the United States to open the door with Cuba, just as we've opened the door with China and Russia," said Pelz, noting recent thawing of relationships, such as Sen. Maria Cantwell's trip to Cuba next month. Cantwell plans to meet with Cuban trade officials to talk about technology, intellectual property and buying agricultural products from Washington state.

King County already has sister county relationships with Kaohsiung County in Taiwan and Hwasong County in South Korea.

When the Tacoma City Council unanimously approved becoming a sister city with Cienfuegos in Cuba last year, no one spoke against it, said Councilman Bill Evans, who seemed surprised by the King County opposition.

"I don't want to make it sound fairy tale-ish, but it's been very positive," Evans said. "We've stressed since day one that it's an attempt to connect with people."

A delegation of 21 people from Tacoma traveled to Cuba in February, and some Cuban artists visited Tacoma last fall.

The city hopes to bring the mayor of Cienfuegos here in May.

"It's an artist coming here, it's schoolchildren doing an essay for children in Cienfuegos, and them responding back," Evans said. "Once we make it political, then we will not interconnect with anybody."

But some cities have hit resistance in establishing such relations, said Lisa Valanti, president of the Pittsburgh-based U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association. Opposition was so vocal in St. Augustine, Fla., for example, that the idea was withdrawn by the city and pursued instead by a community group.

The national group, formed in 1999, grew out of problems that other cities had in dealing with the U.S. trade embargo and foreign policy toward Cuba.

"It's a new way of relating to Cuba for Americans," Valanti said. "Intercultural exchange is really the backbone of civilization."

Richard Ludwig, chair of the honor guard units that serve at Tahoma National Cemetery, said he is contacting other veterans groups about King County's action.

"We are not letting this (lie) low," said Ludwig, who served in the Marines in World War II. "We should not be recognizing any local officials in Cuba who certainly have to be responsible to that dictator called Castro."