Fidel Castro, the totalitarian dictator of Cuba, has stepped down. The secret police and other apparatus of his oppressive police state are still in place. There is still no freedom of the press and people are still afraid to publicly criticise their glorious government.
I was in Cuba a few years ago and underneath the smiles and the sunshine there was an undercurrent of real fear. It was next to impossible to engage people in conversation about their past and their concerns for the future. The few people who did speak did so in hushed tones in quite corners.
So why is it that this morning on RTE, and I am sure it's the same in the rest of the left wing media, Castro was referred to as the Cuban President and the Cuban head of state? Why was he not referred to as one of the last Marxist dictators? Why was nothing said about his oppressive regime? I know that RTE in particular and the Irish media in general are very anti-American but there is no excuse for the way in which they hero worship this violent and oppressive man.
I was in Cuba a few years ago and underneath the smiles and the sunshine there was an undercurrent of real fear. It was next to impossible to engage people in conversation about their past and their concerns for the future. The few people who did speak did so in hushed tones in quite corners.
So why is it that this morning on RTE, and I am sure it's the same in the rest of the left wing media, Castro was referred to as the Cuban President and the Cuban head of state? Why was he not referred to as one of the last Marxist dictators? Why was nothing said about his oppressive regime? I know that RTE in particular and the Irish media in general are very anti-American but there is no excuse for the way in which they hero worship this violent and oppressive man.