Abajo Fidel!

The Associated Press: Anti-Castro Sign at Ballgame Causes Stir

While Cuba played the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, a spectator in the stands raised a sign saying: "Down with Fidel," sparking an international incident that escalated Friday with the velocity of a major league fastball.

The image of the man holding the sign behind home plate was beamed live Thursday night to millions of TV viewers _ including those in Cuba. The top Cuban official at the game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan rushed to confront the man.

Puerto Rican police quickly intervened and took the Cuban official _ Angel Iglesias, vice president of Cuba's National Institute of Sports _ to a nearby police station where they lectured him about free speech.

"We explained to him that here the constitutional right to free expression exists and that it is not a crime," police Col. Adalberto Mercado was quoted as saying in El Nuevo Dia, a San Juan daily.

The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident." Cuba's Revolutionary Sports Movement exhorted Cubans to demonstrate in Havana late Friday, saying U.S. and Puerto Rican authorities were involved in "the cynical counterrevolutionary provocations."

The man behind this, according to TheRealCuba.com, is "Enrique":

"I arrived at the park 3 hours before game time ... I had the opportunity to go down the right field side to watch closely the Cuban players warming up....They were throwing , some were running and others in the right field batting cage...This was about 1 hour before game time...... Some players were passing by me very closely and I had the opportunity to open one side of the sign that reads BASEBALL PLAYERS YES , TYRANTS NO.... One of them gave me a sarcastic laugh and then thumps up ... Other players did not show any emotion but at least six of them read the sign.....
A few moments later , Tony Castro (Castro's son) walked by and I told him Tony , Tony , he looked around and saw directly my open sign Baseball Players YES Tyrants No , he looked down and kept walking and I shouted Eso es para tu papa (That is for your dad)...... I know he heard that.
In the meantime I was just standing there and here comes my first encounter with the authorities....A white man walks to me and ask me what the signs said. I saw his badge clearly showing the words LAW ENFORCEMENT at that point I felt safe and secure because I realized it was not a Cuban G2 Agent ... I said to him Buenas noches first of all I am a professional, what can I do for you sir , why would you like to see my sign....he said to me he could take it away from me but that he preferred if I showed it to him which I did gladly... I said sir Here it is and if you think it is inappropriate you can take it .. He said to me , You are all right , you can keep it....Victory # 1. Law enforcement in English ( probably Homeland Security)"

It's sad that something as trivial (relatively speaking) as this is such a big deal, but the fact that is a big deal to the authoritarian collectivists in charge on that island brings a smile to my face.

Good one, dude. Good one.

Posted by Drizzten at March 11, 2006 01:15 PM