//CORRECTION// CUBA: Government Provides Proof of Airspace Violation

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Feb 26 1996 (IPS) - The Cuban government said it had conclusive proof its airspace was violated by the two civilian planes shot down by its airforce Saturday.

“We have with us one of the pilots from this group of violators who have taken so much action against our country,” read a communique from the Ministry of Foreign Relations, published Monday in Cuban official weekly “Trabajadores.”

The second official declaration on the shooting-down of the two planes was published in answer to US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who labelled the act “totally unjustified.”

Christopher said “the attack took place in international waters,” and not within Cuban jurisdiction Sunday.

“Cuba is, and always will be responsible for its action” the nation knows how to defend its sovereignty and is not afraid of any multilateral action the United States and the UN Security Council might come up with, said the Foreign Ministry statement.

The US must take the responsibility, added the statement, as they have repeatedly allowed planes leaving the nation to change route, violating Cuban airspace.

Since the first reported case last July, the Cuban government warned “there is a limit to our patience,” adding the island had all the necessary means to put an end to this sort of occurance.

“Any boat which forcibly enters territorial waters can be sunk and any plane shot down,” warned the Cuban authorities last Jan. 15, when US planes distributed anti-government pamphlets in several parts of Havana.

“We are the champions of patience,” said Cuban President Fidel Castro at the time, “but our patience has come to an end,” vowing to take whatever action necessary to end acts of this type.

Patience was out of the question Saturday when “the Cuban government decided to interrupt the flights of aircraft which breached Cuban sovereignty and endangered the lives of Cuban citizens.”

An official message from the Foreign Ministry published Monday said the planes were shot down between 15:21 and 15:28 (20:21 and 20:28 GMT) Saturday, at between five and eight miles from Baracoa beach, west of Havana.

The information indicates that three Cessna aircraft penetrated Cuban airspace on Saturday, and that they made off when a Cuban air force plane went to investigate.

They approached each other again and when the pilots were informed that they were breaking the rules, one of them answered that “he knew he could not fly in the area but that he would continue to do so,” said the Foreign Ministry.

Saturday was also the celebration of the 101st anniversary of the second Cuban War of Independence against Spain, and a meeting of 130 opposition groups had been suspended for lack of official approval.

The Catholic Church in Cuba stressed its sadness at the loss of life and called for an end to blood-spilling and violence between Cubans.

In a press conference Cardinal Jaime Ortega called for good sense, moderation and restraint, to open the way for dialogue and harmony to help resolve diagreements without violence.

Evidence presented by the Cuban Foreign Ministry Monday, included the official admission of US coastguard units into its territorial waters to work with the frontier guards in the resue operation.

Other exhibits included minute to minute radar maps, recordings of conversations with the pilots and objects found in the sea north of the capital.

“No self respecting nation could tolerate what has been happening to Cuba with ever more shameless and humilliating action,” read the report from the Foreign Ministry, adding that “the United States would not have admitted such behaviour even once.”

The document cited declarations from president of the Association of Cuban-American pilots, Jorge Dorrbecker, who said all the pilots were aware that if they crossed the 24th parallel, the Cuban government would not be responsible for their personal safety.

“Enough of opportunism, cowardice and attempts to mix Cuba up in the electoral politicking of the Unitedd States,” said the document, ended with the statement: “we are prepared to fight, no one must forget that.”