Reacting in anger to the news that the Cuban detainee abuse hearings have stalled until at least the new year, Cuban Americans yesterday vowed to take renewed action in response.
Calling the continued delays evidence of “a cover-up”, Democracy Movement president Ramon Sanchez said his group will now meet to discuss their next move.
“This issue of postponing the trial and possibly not allowing independent observers to be present, nor the press, is obviously a part of a cover-up from the government of the rape, the abuse, the potential manslaughter and other serious issues that have taken place,” he said. “This makes them an accomplice to the abuse.”
His statements came as Wayne Munroe, the lawyer representing officers accused of beating several Cuban nationals held at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, revealed that several weeks after the hearings were announced, nothing has happened.
When he learned the news, Mr Sanchez said he was disappointed, but not surprised, given his experience with the way the Bahamas government operates.
Mr Sanchez said before the announcement of the hearings at the end of September, his group had been planning to take their issues with the Bahamas government to international forums, but had placed those plans on hold “to give the government a chance to do what is needed since it looked like they were going to conduct proper proceedings.”
Now, he said, he will have to meet with the members of his group and determine what their next step will be.
“It looks very, very bad for the Bahamian government. We’ve seen this is a government that works in slow motion for almost everything. This is obviously a cover up – we will not be quiet,” he said.
Click here to read the complete article at www.tribune242.com
