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Magazine

i of base fo Cuba fully justified

he Cuban government
has repeatedly made it
ear that, though it has
0 intention of doing it by
orce, it aims to reinstate
he inalienable right of
He Cuban people to the
ercise of full jurisdic-
m and sovereignty over
Guantanamo base.”
To learn how the Ameri-
S seized this base and
the people of Cuba re-
ed it from’ the beginning,
needs to go back a hit in
ory.
By 1825 all that weakening
Pain had left of her vast
quests following Cclum-
* discovery wére her is-
d colonies of Cuba, Puer-
Rico and the Phillipines.
he next 75 years of Cu-
history are a record of
froic resistance to the Span:
yoke and savage repres-
mn of revolt after revolt.
In 1895 another indepen-
ce rebellion began, led by
Met Jose Maria Marti and
Neneral Maximo Gomez. De-
© all Spanish brutalities,
1898 Spain was on the
ge of defeat.
t was this moment that
young expansionist Am-
Can imperialists chose to
a war against Soain to
b her remaining colonial

_The mysterious sinking of
U.S. battleship Maine in
Ravana Harbour gave the
‘Mericans the sought-for er-
Se to declare war.
Nobody knows how the
ine blew up; a Spanish
gestion for an impartial
estigation was turned
Wn >by the United States.

Shortly before this event, the
U.S. newspaper publisher,
Mr. William Randolph
Hearst, sent a reporter to
cover ‘the war in Cuba’. The
reporter on arrival reported
that there was no war in
Cuba. Mr. Hearst cabled
back: ‘‘You provide the story;
we'll provide the war.”

U.S. INVADES CUBA

So-the U.S. invaded Cuba
— and when the Cuban Gen-
aral Gomez got to Havana
at the head of his troops in
1899 the Stars and Stripe2
was flying there instead of
the Spanish flag.

For appearances sake the
U.S. declared it did not want
Cuba — or Puerto Rico or
the Phillipines — anc that

they would be given indepen- |

dence as
against Spain was won.

But that was just for show.
In fact, the Phillipines and
Puerto Rico became outright
U.S. colonies.

And Washington forced on
Cuba the notorious Platt
Amendment to the new Cu-
ban constitution, giving the
U.S; the “right” to intervene
in Cuba — and obliging Cu-
ba to ‘lease’ naval! or coaling
stations to the U.S.

In Cuba, still occupied by
American troops, the U.S.-
proposed constitution amend-
ment set off massive opposi-
tion.

A great 30,000-strong dem-
onstration against it and the
“doaling station” marcned
through the streets of Ha-
vana. Similar demonstrations
took place in towns all over
the island.

UNDER DURESS

The Cuban constituent as-
sembly, though told brutally

Background to

here does India end and
China begin? The fron-
YT between China and India
tetches for about 2,000
‘Wes. along some of the
/orld’s most mountainous re-
Sl0ns, The Indian government
its that this border has
Ver been marked ‘on the
Sund,”’ but claims that its
"OSition has been agreed in
faties adopted by the prede-
_ sors of the two present

-oVernments.
It turther claims that these
he did not establish a
tim W frontier, but merely con-
€d boundaries which had
ady been fixed by history,
Stom and geography (moun-
N passes, watersheds, etc.).
The Chinese deny that
€re has ever been any valid
faty or other agreement be-
€en governments of the two
Mntries which has defined
~ horder. They agree that
€re is an historical and cus-
™-fixed frontier, but differ
om the Indians as to its ex-

~ Position,
Such differences are only to
€xpected in view of the
Ory of the region, with

imperialism for two centuries,
during which the colonialists
were for ever striving to ex-
tend their hold — as in the
famous song, “Wider still and
wider, shall thy bounds be
set.”

soon as the war -

Considered the best natural harbour in the
Guantanamo shown
above, was seized by the U.S. in the worst

Western Hemisphere,

Section

low U.S. stole Guantanamo at gun point

imperialist tradition. The Cuban people are
exercising their sovereign right by demand-
ing it be returned to them.

by the Americans,, “Accept
or we won't withdraw our
occupation army,” heard im-
passioned complaints that
this amendment was an
fringement of Cuba’s prom-
ised sovereignty, and de-
manded at least three chang-
es.

Back came the answer
from Washington: “The Pres-
ident cannot change it.”

Faced with this ultimatum,
the constituent assembly,
rather than begin another in-
dependence war, this time
against the U.S., accepted the
-amendment under duress.

Two years later, in 1903,
the U.S. tock up the “coaling
station” clause, and forced
the Cuban Government to
sign a “treaty” leasing about
33 square miles round Guan-

in-.

tanamo Bay to the U.S. \for a
rent of $3,386.00 per year -—
a.mere’ 1% cents: per acre.
(Since the Cuban revolution,
Premier Fidel, Castro has
centemptuously sent back to
Washington the annual $3,-
386.00 rent.)

By the mid-30’s_ feeling
throughout Latin America
was so strong that President
F. D. Roosevelt, who was busy
promoting his ‘‘'Geod Neigh-
bor” policy, felt something
had to be done about rela-
tions with Cuba.

TREATY BROKEN

So for the Platt Amend-
ment to the Cuban Constitu-
tion was substituted a
“friendship” treaty between
the two countries — which,
however, fully maintained
the ‘American? base.

A force of American war-
ships was anchored in Ha-
vana Harbour until the then
Cuban Government had sign-
ed and sealed the new treaty.

The 1903 Guantanamo Bay
treaty svecifies clearly that
“it shall be used only as a
coaling station or naval base
and for no cther purpose.”

So the Americans have
broken the treaty many times
over. They have spent over
76 million dollars on bulid-
ing up the base, making two
airfields, one for use by the
largest jet planes, and have
made it an army base as well,
with a force cf marines sta-
tioned there.

Now, having broken every

rule in the book, the US.

claims it still has the right
to keep. “its” base.

the India-China dispute

Besides, the character of
the mountainous and remote
terrain would be bound to
produce differences as to the
exact location of a boundary
based on custom.

For these reasons, the Chin-

CHL N A. Longiys*
i
ee
Tawang*,

BHUTAN

%0 Rupa

Gauhati _ (851)

“i
“aie Jorhat 5
| A~ A M ; °

* *

This top map,
published in The
Times (London) on
November 21, 1962,
‘}. shows the frontier
before the McMa-
hon Line was
drawn. This rough-
ly corresponds to
the line China has
always acce pted.
The McMahon

ay
Lf Vherita
Py >

URMA

Milesee-00)
2

ae

Line, roughly 100

LEH (Laddxm)
°
TANKSE & @

KONGKA PASS

' miles to the north,
China has always
repudiated.

*

The map _ below
shows the Ladakh
(Indian sou rces)
area shaded ard
the Chinese road
(continuous — thick
and thin line) ac-
ross it,

The broken dou-
b’e line shows the
approximate posi-

_ tion to which the
Chinese will with-
draw.

HOT SPRING!
TSOGST SAL
PHOBRANG

ese have constantly pressed
India for negotiations to de-
fine the whole frontier clear-
ly and precisely.

In the meantime, and while
negotiations are proceeding,
they have proposed that both
sides withdraw an agreed dis-
tance from the line of actual
control, so that military clash-
es are avoided.

The Indian government has
has maintained all along that
India’s position on the frontier
is the only correct one and
that Chinese must accept it.
Premier Nehru has stated in
the Indian parliament: ‘The
McMahon Line is our bound-
ary, Map or no map...”

With both sides holding
strong views on the position
of the frontier, a solution is
possible in only one way —
negotiation. Any other meth-
od means war, which is
against the interests of India
and China alike, and only
helps the enemies of both.

The McMahon Line first
appeared in British and In-
dian maps in 1936, though it
was drawn up in 1914. Up to
1953 it was still described as
“undemarcated.”’ Every Chis.

3 me

ese government has repudiat-
ed it, and there was no Chin-
ese signatory when the origin-
al map was drawn.

Some 210,000 square miles
are in dispute. In the west,
India claims part of the La-
dakh area. The essential Chin-
ese route from its province

of Sinkiang passes through
this area to Tibet.

In 1956 and 1957 China
converted this traditional
route into a 750-mile arterial
highway. The Chinese say
that, although some 3,000
workers were building the
road, there was no complaint
from India until afterwards.

The Chinese point out that
this area has never been
under Indian administration
and their maps roughly cor-
respond with that made for
the British East India Co. by
John Walker in 1854.

India’s claim is based on
history, custom and a treaty
of 1842 between the authori-
ties of Kashmir and Tibet —
a treaty which has never been
ratified by any centr’ “hin-