Karl Marx's Camel
25th December 2005, 16:40
The showcase trial of Huber Matos and his officers opened on December 11 before fifteen hundred spectators - mostly soldiers - in the Camp Columbia theater where Batista's men had once watched movies. Matos would "die on his knees," predicted a gleeful Raul Castro. From the outset it was apparent that the prime minister would allow nothing short of a conviction on all counts. The verdict had been dictated well beforehand, in Castro's speeches and in the editorials of newspapers and commentaries on radio and television networks. Few Cubans doubted the major's guilt. Castro had tried to whip up a national frenzy with alarms of attacks against the revolution. Facing charges of treason, sedition, and "collaboration," Matos was tried by a military court under the penal code decreed in the Sierra Maestra. Castro chose the judges and the prosecutor, all close associates from the days of the guerilla fighting. Major Sergio del Valle, a medical doctor, served as president of the court. The other judges included two peasants, Universo Sanchez and Guillermo Garcia, and Dermidio Escalona, at the time the military commander of Pinar del Rio. Only the prosecutor, who was the provincial chief in Las Villas, had any legal training. The witnesses for the prosecution were also handpicked by the prime minister. Matos was forbidden to call witnesses in his own defense, and only rarely could he interrogate those who testified for the prosecution. A few deponents were brought in late to support the other defendants, but they could testify only about character, not the "facts" of the case. This information was provided almost entirely by the Maximum Leader.
On the first day Huber Matos talked for three and one-half hours, insisting on his innocence. His testimony was calm, logical, and coherent. It was also convincing to foreign observers. His intentions should have been no surprise to the prime minister, he said. He had written several letters, and not just the single one read over the television. These clearly showed that he planned to resign in time to take part in the competitive examinations for secondary school teaching positions. His lawyer introduced documents from the Ministry of Education that substantiated this testimony. Matos insisted that he had never intended to precipitate a crisis. The exchange of letters had been made public by Castro, not by him. Had his resignation been accepted, that would have ended the matter. Matos maintained that his sole difference with the prime minister had been ideological, not personal. And he had always respected the communists. He had simply not wanted them in his government.
"I consider myself neither a traitor nor a deserter," Matos said. "My conscience is clear. If the court should find me guilty, I shall accept its decision - even though I may be shot. I would consider it one more service for the revolution." As he completed his testimony, a large number of soldiers rose spontaneously and applauded him. Castro demanded that they be thrown out. Later he denounced them as "degenerates and traitors," and they were subsequently discharged from the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/castro_year1/huber.matos.yr1fc.html
True, or not?
On the first day Huber Matos talked for three and one-half hours, insisting on his innocence. His testimony was calm, logical, and coherent. It was also convincing to foreign observers. His intentions should have been no surprise to the prime minister, he said. He had written several letters, and not just the single one read over the television. These clearly showed that he planned to resign in time to take part in the competitive examinations for secondary school teaching positions. His lawyer introduced documents from the Ministry of Education that substantiated this testimony. Matos insisted that he had never intended to precipitate a crisis. The exchange of letters had been made public by Castro, not by him. Had his resignation been accepted, that would have ended the matter. Matos maintained that his sole difference with the prime minister had been ideological, not personal. And he had always respected the communists. He had simply not wanted them in his government.
"I consider myself neither a traitor nor a deserter," Matos said. "My conscience is clear. If the court should find me guilty, I shall accept its decision - even though I may be shot. I would consider it one more service for the revolution." As he completed his testimony, a large number of soldiers rose spontaneously and applauded him. Castro demanded that they be thrown out. Later he denounced them as "degenerates and traitors," and they were subsequently discharged from the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/castro_year1/huber.matos.yr1fc.html
True, or not?