Evening star., 1961-04-20

EdttOTS at the StdLLeT HOtet
The President of a great
democracy such as ours, and
the editors of great newspapers
such as yours, owe a common
obligation to the people, an
obligation to present the facts,
to present them with candor,
and to present them in perSpec-
tive. 1t is with that obligation
in mind that I have decided in
the last "a hours to discuss
briefly at this time the recent
events in Cuba,
. On that unhappy island, as
in so many other arenas of the
contest for freedom, the news
has grown worse instead of bet
ter. I have emphasized before
that this was a struggle of
Cuban patriots against a Cuban
dictator.
While we could not be ex-
pected to hide our sympathieS,
we made it repeatedly clear
that the armed forces of this
country would not intervene in
any way.
Any unilateral American in
tervention. in the absence of an
external attack upon ourselves
or an ally, would have been
contrary to our traditions and
ITO our international obligations.
But let the record show that our
restraint is not inexhaustible.
Will Meet Obligations
Should it ever appear that
the inter- r-American doctrine of
non-interference merely con-
cealS or excuses policy of non-
action-if the nations of this
/ hemisphere should fail to meet
their commitments against out
side Communist penetration
( then I want it clearly under
stood that this Government will
not hesitate in meeting it's pri-
mary obligations which. are to
the security of our Nation.
Should that time ever come,
we do not intend to be lectured
on Intervention" by those
whose character was stamped
for all time on the bloody
8 streets of Budapest.
, Nor would we except or ac-
cept the same outcome which
this small band of gallant
Cuban refugees must have
known they were CHANGING, de-
termined as they were against
heavy odds, to punrsue their
courageous attempt to regain
their islands freedom.
ts Cubans Not Alone
But Cuba is not an island
unto itself, and our concern is
not ended by more expressions
Of non-intervention and re-
gret. This is not the first time
in either ancient or recent
history that a small band of
! freedom fighters has engaged
the armor of totalitarianiSm.
1t is not the first time that
the Communist tanks have
rolled over gallant men and
women fighting to redeem the
independence of their home
land. Nor is it by any means
the final episode in the eternal
struggle of liberty against
tyranny anywhere on the face
of the globe, including Cuba
itself.
Mr.. Castro has said that
these were mercenaries. Ac-
cording to the press reports the
final message to be relayed
from the refugee forces on the
island came from the rebel COM
mander when asked if he
wished to be evacuated. His
answer was, II will never leave
this country"
That is not the reply Of a
nercenary. He has gone now
to join in the mountains count
less other guerrilla fighters
who are equally determined
that the dedication of those
who gave their lives shall not
be forgotten, and that Cuba
must not be abandoned to the
Communists.
And we do not intend to
abandon it either.
Episode Is Not Over
The Cuban people have not
yet spoken their final piece
and I have no doubt that they
and the Revolutionary Coun-
Gil led by DR.. Cardona-and
members of the families of the
Revolutionary Council, am in
formed by the doctor yesterday,
are involved themselves in the
island-will continue to speak
up for a free and independent
Cuba.
We will not accept Mr.. Cas-
tro's attempts to blame this
Nation for the hatred with
which his one-time supporters
snow regard his repression. But
there are from this SOLDERING
episode useful lessons for all to
learn. Some may still be OBJ
scure, and await further in
formation. Some are clear to-
day.
First, it is clear that the
forces of communism are not
to be underestimated, in Cuba
or anywhere else in the world
The advantages of a police
state-its use of mass terror
and arrests to prevent the