Former Al Gore press secretary slams plans to honor Che Guevara

Lawrence Haas the latest to criticise Guevara tributes in West of Ireland

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The proposed Che Guevara monument in Galway

Photo by National Review

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Another American commentator has put the boot into Irish plans to commemorate Marxist activist and South American born Cuban rebel Che Guevara.

Lawrence J. Haas, a Communications Director and Press Secretary for Vice President Al Gore, has joined the condemnation of plans to honor Guevara in the West of Ireland.

Writing on the website thecommentator.com, Haas has criticised the proposal to hold a festival commemorating Guevara in the County Clare resort of Kilkee.

He has even quoted IrishCentral in his piece which also mentions the plan to erect a statue in honor of Guevara in Galway.

“The West has long had a thing for Che Guevara, a doctrinaire Marxist and homicidal maniac of particular note,” writes Haas.

“In the more than four decades since his death, his iconic countenance has adorned tee shirts, caps, and mugs, and companies have used his face to sell their products.

“Still, the news that a town in Ireland – a land better known for shamrocks and Saint Patrick – has fallen victim to Che’s ghoulish appeal reminds us just how much historical ignorance and moral confusion plague the West, and it should prompt sober-minded people of all stripes to voice their displeasure.

“At the seaside resort of Kilkee, in the city of Galway, planning is underway for a festival in September that will celebrate the life and times of Che, whose grandmother was born in Galway and who spent time there in 1961, according to reports from IrishCentral.com and other outlets.

“Che’s eldest daughter will be the guest of honor and Galway plans to unveil a statue in his honor. The embassies of Cuba and Argentina, where Che was born, have offered financial help to build the statue.”

Haas then quotes a spokesman for the Clare event from an article on IrishCentral.

The spokesman said: “The Che Guevara image created by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick has become as famous as the Coca Cola logo and is recognized as one of [the] enduring images of the 20th Century. We are proud to say that this image was the product of that fateful meeting between Guevara and Mr. Fitzpatrick in Kilkee.”

Haas then added: “True, Fitzpatrick has done as much as anyone to make Che a figure of enduring Western fascination. But, that’s hardly a reason for Che-worship by the good people of Kilkee or Galway or Ireland – or anywhere else.

“For those who need a refresher, Che Guevara was born in Argentina, radicalized by the poverty he witnessed during his early travels across Latin America, joined Fidel Castro’s revolutionary movement, and rose to second-in-command in the effort to topple Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.

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