Dear Sir,

I refer to a letter in the Saturday 25th February edition of The Tribune, letters to the Editor Column by an alien who lacks the guts to sign his/her name, but has the gall to use the pseudonym "Concerned U.S. Travel Agent" of Manchester, N.H. (New Hampshire). I would like to point out to this busy-bodied U.S. citizen the following facts:

i) The Bahamas is a free and sovereign state and is not a satellite of the U.S.A.

ii) As such, it is a member of the U.N. and has the right to vote as it sees fit on any issue that comes before that Body (U.N.) without the permission of the U.S.A. or any other nation.

iii) The Hon Fred Mitchell, the Hon Leslie Miller and yours truly – Errington W. I. Watkins, J.P., are all Bahamian citizens by birth, Mitchell and Miller were born in New Providence and yours truly in Deadman's Cay, Long Island of second generation Bahamian parents. That being the case, Messrs Mitchell, Miller and Watkins have not only a natural right, but a God-given right to participate in or pontificate on any and all issues that concern this nation and, like in your case, to express our concerns about the arrogant, bigoted, intimidating and threatening attitudes of U.S. citizens and the U.S. Government in the internal affairs and governmental decisions of other nations, including The Bahamas.

Americans and their government believe that America is God's gift to the world. But there are many persons (including myself) and nations world-wide who do not agree with that! If and when the despots in the U.S. Government come to their senses and realise that there is nothing that they (the U.S.) can do to coerce, intimidate, victimise or threaten President Castro and the majority of the population of Cuba to bend to their (U.S.) will or dictates, and decide to lift the illegal, inhumane and brutal embargo that has created so much hardship on so many innocent people and which was designed to bring not only misery and hardship on Cubans but to spread discontent, unrest and create rebellion in order to destabilise the legitimate government of Cuba and oust its President. Then they would see the wisdom in using those funds to alleviate some of the problems of deserving U.S. citizens. It would appear that the writer (U.S. concerned Travel Agent) is consumed with and driven by his/her demented capitalistic market mentality and has already set his/her mind on the financial spin-off from the lifting of the horrific blockade by his/her heartless government which was condemned by so many members of the U.N., including The Bahamas, for their action (blockade). If the writer of that article is so proud of the actions of the Great U.S.A. against so small, though strong, defiant and determined a neighbour, how about using the media to explain the following declassified information found in a publication "Cuba", the untold history, which gives vivid accounts of terrorists acts carried out by CIA trained terrorists from South Florida on Cuban civilian targets such as merchant ships, sugar mills, airlines, embassies and the assassination of Cuban diplomats in South American countries including representatives to the U.N. in New York, and the murder of persons who disagreed with the embargo.

The following was taken from a memo written by the President of the Council of the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces on April 11th, 1962 sent to Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, "What Didn't We Do To Get Rid of Castro?" i) Stimulate an attack on the Guantanamo Naval Base.

ii) Blow up a ship without crew close to a major Cuban city.

iii) Sink a ship loaded with Cubans heading for Florida.

iv) Introduce weapons into a Caribbean country and send planes disguised as Migs giving the appearance of a subversive act backed by Castro.

v) Blow up a U.S. plane without crew or passengers, with a false list of passengers. Cubans would be blamed for bringing the plane down. (Printed in the U.S.A. World Journal, October 8, 1998).

On Sunday, November 29, 1979 in the presence of his 12-year-old son, the Cuban émigré, Jose Negrim Santos was assassinated in Union City, New Jersey. He had been working for the lifting of the blockage imposed on Cuba and for family reunification. FBI Investigators File 11217-11221 Internal dated 9th September, 1982, in Newark, New Jersey by Detectives Robert Brandt and S.A. (Special Agent) Larry E. Wack/Lew: memo F.B.I. Investigations dated 30th September, 1982.

My dear writer, space does not allow for the giving of more horrible acts of atrocities carried out by C.I.A. trained terrorists against defenceless Cuban nationals. You would do well to use your writing skills for your Government so that they can see some wisdom in the scrapping of their disastrous foreign policies and seek a new and more PEACEFUL approach to resolve conflicts.

Yours, etc.,

ERRINGTON W.I. WATKINS