Veronica Guerin was slain, Leonel Morejon jailed, for saying truth.
The Cuban government has twisted itself into grotesque shapes in a futile effort to refute the International Civil Aviation Organization's justified condemnation of Havana's Feb. 24 downing of two unarmed American civilian aircraft.
But Castro's regime won't bother to counter Amnesty International's recent condemnation of its cruel treatment of prisoners of conscience who are leading the struggle for democracy in Cuba. One of these prisoners, Afro-Cuban lawyer Leonel Morejon Almagro, 31, is a brave national organizer of the umbrella group Concilio Cubano. Mr. Morejon's activities have earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Group of Seven, which has decried the Helms-Burton law, ought to offer support to Mr. Morejon -- and pressure Castro's regime into holding free elections.
While Mr. Morejon languished in prison, one of his soul- mates, Irish reporter Veronica Guerin, 33, was brutally murdered in Dublin this week. Ms. Guerin was Ireland's top investigative reporter and one of the most valiant journalists in the world. She probed Ireland's organized crime gangs for The Sunday Independent.
The Irish government ought to pull out all the stops to find Ms. Guerin's killers. Those who shot her in cold blood have struck a blow against the rule of law, freedom of expression, and journalistic integrity. Their villainy must not go unpunished.
© 1996 The Miami Herald. >