The Free Cuba Foundation seeks a nonviolent transition to democracy in Cuba. One element towards achieving that end is holding the Cuban government accountable for its actions. The organizations has engaged in campaigns for the victims of the "13 de Marzo" tugboat massacre, the Brothers to the Rescue shoot down and the extrajudicial execution of Joachim Løvschall on March 29, 1997. Unfortunately, since then we have also added new crimes to denounce such as Orlando Zapata Tamayo's death on February 23, 2010 and the murders of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante on July 22, 2012.
Today, marks 16 years since Joachim Løvschall
was murdered by agents of the Castro regime and justice has still not been done in this matter.
We remember him and his family today on this sad anniversary. Below is
the article that first brought his case to our attention:
DANGEROUS VACATION
by Kim Hundevadt
Danish
newspaper:
Jyllands-Posten
September 28, 1997 (Translation)
Cuba has been recognized as a travel destination, since four of the
largest
charter companies have gone together by direct flight, to Havana. But
several
dramatic episodes have created doubt about tourist safety in Cuba. First
came
the 26 year old Dane who was shot and killed by Cuban soldiers in the
street.
And the latest, a series of bombing attempts aimed directly at the heart
of the
popular tourist destination. The travel industry continues to believe
however,
that Cuba has a future as a vacation paradise.
CUBA
On March 28, 1997 Joachim Løvschall ate a dinner with white wine
in the
little restaurant called Aladin, on 21st street in Havana. From there he
went
to the Revolutionary Plaza and bought a ticket to the Cuban National
Theater.
After the performance he went into the theater's bar, Cafe Cantate, and
met
Caroline and Jouni, two young Swedes, who had become a part of his new
circle of
friends in Havana. They drank a couple of beers each, but hurried up
because
Joachim did not like the music.
At 23:30, they said good bye to each other on the sidewalk in front of
Cafe
Cantate. The Swedes never saw Joachim again.
Four days later, on April 1, they went to the police in order to inform
them
about the 26 year old missing Danish person. Joachim had not returned
back to
the private room he had rented from the Garcia Llanes family. Both his
Cuban
landlord and his two Swedish friends were worried.
On April 4, in the evening, they were called to the legal medical
institute
in Havana, where they were able to identify the corpse of Joachim
Løvschall.
A day and a half later, the Danish authorities and the next of kin, at
home
in Denmark, were notified.
SHOT AND KILLED
In the meantime, over the last 6 months, Joachim Løvschall's
parents,
assisted by their own lawyer and by the Danish Foreign Ministry, have
attempted
to get an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the killing of the
young
market economist, who was traveling to Cuba in order to learn Spanish at
the
university and to experience the country as a tourist.
According to the Cuban inquiry, around 23:30, a person matching Joachim
Løvschall's description was in a bar named Segundo Dragon d'Oro.
The bar
lies
in the hopeless part of town, around the Revolutionary Plaza which is
dominated
by ministry and other official buildings of harsh concrete architecture,
and
lies empty in the nighttime.
At 2:45 he left the bar, after becoming intoxicated. Around 20 minutes
later, he was walking down the Avenue Territorial, behind the Defense
Ministry.
Joachim Løvschall walked, according to the Cuban authorities,
first on
the
sidewalk that lies opposite the Ministry. Midway he crossed over to the
other
sidewalk, considered to be a military area, though it is not blocked
off.
The Cubans have explained that Joachim Løvschall was shouted at
by two
armed
guards, who in addition fired warning shots, which he did not react to.
Therefore, one guard shot from the hip with an AK-47 rifle. The first
shot hit
Joachim in the stomach and got him to crumble down.
The second shot hit slanting down the left side of the neck.
The Cuban authorities estimate that Joachim Løvschall died of
blood
loss at
3:06.
INCOMPREHENSIBLE ACT
As not a word was mentioned for more than 8 days, before the Danish
Foreign
Ministry received word about the killing, the Cubans gave the excuse that
Joachim Løvschall did not have any papers on him.
Denmark's ambassador in Mexico, Martin Kofod, traveled immediately to
Havana
to get clarification of the circumstances.
After 4 days of meetings and investigations, Martin Kofod concluded in
a
letter that neither barricades nor signs clearly state that the sidewalk
in
question is a military area. He was astonished as well over the severe
methods
used by the soldiers and said: "I will reiterate, that to me it is
completely incomprehensible that it was not possible to employ methods
other
than `shoot to kill', in a situation like this," Martin Kofod wrote
in his
letter.
REASON TO KILL
The Løvschall family's lawyer, Bent Nielsen, said in a Danish
newspaper,
that as he understands it, one can call this a clear case of execution of
Joachim Løvschall.
Bent Nielsen has in his possession a video from the autopsy, and he has
gotten a Danish forensic medicine specialist, Dr. Markil Gregersen, to
examine
it: "It appears obvious and is clearly evident that the soldiers did
not
attempt to seize and restrain Joachim Løvschall. If so, there
would have
been
signs of a struggle. Nor did they attempt to shoot at his legs. In this
case,
two bullets were fired directly at the trunk and the head, from a distance
of
less than two meters (6 feet). Behind the shooting there must lie a reason
to
kill," said Bent Nielsen.
According to Joachim's two Swedish friends, he had about 80-100 dollars
in
his wallet, the night he was shot. This money disappeared. Because of
this,
common robbery is one of several theories.
"On the other hand, the money could have been stolen several days
after
the killing. I am perhaps more inclined to the opinion that this is a
case of
poorly trained soldiers who reacted in panic. Also, they most certainly
used
shooting regulations that are not tolerated in the daytime, out in the
open in
the street. Therefore, perhaps their superiors should be blamed. Under
all
circumstances, we must demand that the Cubans carry out a thorough
investigation, find out what wrongs were committed, and punish those who
are
guilty," said Bent Nielsen.
Denmark has officially protested. This protest took place formally in
the
form of a letter which was sent to the Cuban government, at the beginning
of
August. "In it we ask the Cubans a series of critical questions.
More
specifically, we have criticized the lack of barricades at the military
area.
We have also written, that we find it absolutely incomprehensible that it
was
necessary to shoot directly at the trunk of the body, to restrain Joachim
Løvschall," said Department Director, Nina Jaquet, of the
Danish
Foreign
Ministry.
Simultaneously with the protest to Cuba, the Foreign Ministry also sent
a
travel directive to the Danish travel industry, regarding travel to Cuba.
The
directive urges Danish tourists to keep at a safe distance from all
military
areas, and it underlines that these are not always effectively marked off.
"People
who do not immediately obey and react correctly to the orders from Cuban
military guards ... risk being shot without further warning," the
travel
directive says.
Nina Jaquet said that in addition to this, the Foreign Ministry
presented
Joachim Løvschall's case at the EU Community meeting of consulate
matters.
"We
urged the other EU nations to add information to their travel instructions
to
Cuba. Germany has already done so, and other countries considered this
immediately," said Nina Jaquet.
OVER 5,000 DANES
For the Danish travel industry, this case comes at the worst possible
moment. Larsen Travel was one of the first agencies to have success in
sending
charter flights to Cuba. In June, the four largest travel agencies
decided to
jointly add Cuba as a new destination. Tjaereborg, Spies, Ving and Star
Tours
together use a DC 10 from Premiair, which flies directly from Copenhagen
to
Havana every other Friday. This means that Cuba, which for many years was
reserved for a small crowd of young and adventurous backpacking tourists,
has
been recognized as a charter, travel destination resort.
"Interest in Cuba has become very big and trips are sold out a
long
time in advance," said Administrative Director, H. P. Anderson, of
Tjaereborg agency. Other agencies give similar reports. If Cuba can
maintain
its good reputation, more than 5,000 Danish charter guests will visit the
country within the next year.
THE FAMILY IS OUTRAGED
Joachim Løvschall's family and friends accuse the charter
industry of
minimizing the new travel directive - out of fear that it will miss out on
sales
of trips to Cuba. Jesper Sorensen, a former schoolmate and best friend,
said
that he inquired within a number of travel agencies about the conditions
in
Cuba. They all replied that there are no problems with safety, and that
the
Dane who was killed was just a `drunken idiot' who had gone to a military
base,
in the middle of the night.
Joachim's father, Export Executive Christian Løvschall, is
outraged at
the
manner in which the charter agencies continue to market Cuba as an ideal
vacation paradise. "It is irresponsible and shows that it is only
what
profits, that matters," believes Christian Løvschall. He has
received
information from various sources, that also a Brazilian, a Bulgarian, a
Mexican
and the latest, a Colombian tourist, have been killed by Cuban soldiers
under
similar circumstances.
ORIENTATION ON THE SPOT
The travel agencies said that their clients get a thorough orientation
when
they arrive at their accommodations in Cuba. However, the travel
directive is
not mentioned when the clients buy their tickets. "Ideally, perhaps
we
ought to mention it, but in that case we could do nothing but refrain from
selling tickets. And that after all is not our business," said Sales
Director Stig Elling, from Star Tour. He added that the killing of
Joachim
Løvschall is a tragic, but isolated incident that could happen
anywhere in
the
world, including Cuba.
"Star Tours clients are very pleased with the new destination to
Cuba,"
said Stig Elling. Both Star Tour and the other charter agencies have
increased
attention about travel to Cuba nevertheless, after a series of bomb
explosions
in the heart of Cuban tourist destinations.
On September 4, three and possibly as many as nine hotels and
restaurants in
Havana were hit by explosions which took the life of a 32 year old Italian
tourist. No one has claimed responsibility, but presumably anti-Castro
groups
based in USA are behind the bombings. The aim is to destroy Cuba's
economy by
paralyzing its tourism, which has had strong growth over the last couple
of
years and now brings in income of more than one billion dollars a
year.
"Of course, the bombs mean that we follow the situation in Cuba
very
closely. But we do not think, at the present time, that there are grounds
for a
drastic reaction that would close the travel destination," said
Larsen
Rejsers Administrative Director, Jens Veino. "There are explosions
all
over the world, most recently in Stockholm and Cairo. If we said we will
not
travel where bombs occur, then gradually we would only have places in
Denmark
left as destinations. Therefore, we try to avoid reacting before it is
necessary," he added.
CAREFREE VACATION
The probability that people would experience anything dramatic on a
vacation
to Cuba is very small, maintains Arthur Monsted, whose company Monsted
Security
Management advises companies and organizations about safety, in connection
with
travel to foreign countries. "On the other hand, taking into
consideration
the situation as it is for the time being, one cannot totally ignore the
possible risks. There is no doubt about the fact that the bombings in
Cuba are
directed at high profile tourist destinations," he believes.
"For me
personally, I would certainly go some other place. When I am on vacation,
I
generally like to relax and be quite carefree, totally without worries - I
would
almost say that I like to be careless. A person fortunately can do this
in many
places. But I do not believe a person can do this in Cuba," said
Arthur
Monsted.
~ A FINAL NOTE FROM THE FAMILY OF JOACHIM OGNER LØVSCHALL ~
Terrorism occurs all over the world and is carried out by terrorists.
In
Cuba, inhumane and inexcusable acts of lawlessness and injustice are
carried
out, not by terrorists, but by the Cuban government.
Jyllands-Posten -
(http://www.jp.dk/
