Cubans Booted Out of Their Hotel (Again) - in Norway
In a repeat of the Mexico City incident earlier this year, the US Government appears to be sending a message to Norway for their involvement in developing Cuban oil fields. Trouble is, Norweigens know better and will only rebel. And the US wonders why it is disliked.
Oslo, Norway --- An Oslo hotel owned by the U.S.-based Hilton Hotel Corp. faced protests, a boycott and a police complaint this week after refusing to book rooms for a Cuban delegation because of the United States' trade embargo against Cuba.
The Cuban delegation, set to attend a travel fair in Oslo this month, planned to stay at the Scandic Edderkoppen Hotel in the city center, as they had on five previous visits. However, the 140-hotel Scandic company was bought by Hilton in March, and the Cubans were informed in December that they would have to find another hotel due to the American boycott.
On Friday, the 300,000-member Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees announced that it was boycotting all Scandic hotels in Norway, joining a wave of protests that started when the ban on Cuban guest became news on Thursday.
"We are already looking for other hotels for planned conferences," said the union's deputy leader Anne Grethe Skaardal. "For us, it is unacceptable for the U.S. to dictate to the whole world. In addition, we strongly oppose the U.S. boycott of Cuba."
The Anti-Racist Center in Oslo filed a police complaint against the hotels, saying Norwegian law ensures that "no one can be denied access based on their citizenship or ethnic origin."
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posted by leftside at
10:14 AM
4 Comments:
And what of Cuban's own apartheid tourist destinations where cubans aren't allowed, foreigners only?
What of this?
Cuba has been forced to create a dual economy, with goods and services priced in Convertible pesos (Euros) for tourists and pesos for Cubans. This is so things will remain affordable to Cubans, but are priced at world market prices for tourists. The result is that yes, some hotels are for tourists and others for Cubans. There are plenty that allow both - I stayed in one amazing historic hotel where I paid 30$ a night and Cubanswere staying there for 30 pesos ($1.50). Try finding any poor or middle class Americans in our finest hotels.
"Cuba has been forced to create a dual economy,"
In other words, apartheid. What if a cuban simply wanted to stroll the beach in front of one of these tourist hotels, shouldn't that beach be accessible to all cubans even if they weren't staying at the hotel? Presently they're not. Reminds me of the segregation of the south as well as apartheid in S.Africa.
Your information is wrong. Though good information like this is hard ot prove on the web, I know because I have been there. The Revolution decreed for the first time in Cuban history that beaches were for all Cubans. Even in Veradero, the tourist mecca behind the supposed "security post" (really a toll booth) there were many Cubans on the beach - some selling things, others relaxing with family. There are hotels in Veradero that cater to Cubans as well. You can find documentation on the latter in the Moon Cuba guidebook (you can probably learn more about the REAL Cuba by reading that than anything else).
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