" Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy. "
Jose Marti

If we limit the freedom of others in pursuit of our political ends, in this case a free Cuba, then we are committing the same crime as Fidel Castro and hurting our own cause for freedom. In 1959 when Castro promised freedom and elections he delivered censorship and summary executions. If our means are impure, then our ends will be impure. We salute Gloria Estefan and her defense of Peggi McKinley. She is a patriot in the truest sense of the word.We have seen her on CNN defending the Embargo and condemning the Castro regime to a worldwide audience. How many others in the Cuban community can take credit for such an accomplishment?

Although we disagreed with McKinley's position on the MIDEM controversy. We do not believe that she should lose her job over expressing her opinions.

The true test of respect for freedom of expression and of thought is how do we react to what we strongly disagree with. We believe that we have a moral obligation to criticize what we think is wrong in a civil manner, but we also have a moral obligation to protect those we disagree with from violations of their civil and political rights. Ms. Estefan has done that in defending McKinley and we honor her for her honorable act.

Mrs. Estefan we'd like to invite you to speak about freedom of speech and Cuba at Florida International University anytime.

Cordially,

John Suarez

FREE CUBA Foundation
http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/