Thursday, September 29, 2011

Liberan a jóvenes músicos de hip-hop y varios disidentes en La Habana


Liberan a jóvenes músicos de hip-hop y varios disidentes en La Habana


Por Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez/ Hablemos Press / robersm2007@gmail.com



La Habana, 28 de septiembre - Rodolfo Ramírez Hernández (El Primario) y Julio León Fonseca (Julito) cantantes del movimiento underground de hip-hop en La Habana, fueron liberados el martes en la tarde.


También los disidentes Rodolfo Ramírez Cardoso, René Ramón González Bonelli, Rances Miranda Camejo, Mari Blanca Ávila y Yoani García Martínez.

Este grupo junto a Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, Yaimara Pérez Mesa y Donaida Pérez Paseiro, los detuvo la policía política el lunes cuando se organizaban en Río Verde para realizar una manifestación frente al edificio de Seguridad del Estado-Sección 21, en el barrio de Marianao, para exigir la liberación de los disidentes Sara Marta Fonseca y su esposo Julio Ignacio León, arrestados el sábado.

Este miércoles al medio día se desconocía el paradero de Iris Tamara Pérez Aguilera, Yaimara Pérez Mesa y Donaida Pérez Paseiro.

Sara Marta Fonseca y su esposo Julio Ignacio León continúan detenidos. Las autoridades han informado a sus familiares que los van a enjuiciar por Atentado y Desorden Público.

Sara Marta y Julio Ignacio fueron detenidos luego de realizar una protesta a favor de los derechos humanos en Río Verde, donde protagonizaron un enfrentamiento con turbas progubernamentales y agentes de la policía política.

El Primario y Julito mostraron a periodistas de esta agencia los golpes que le propinaron agentes de la policía a la hora de arrestarlos.

Pulse el audio para escuchar las declaraciones de Rodolfo Ramírez Hernández

(El Primario) >> http://www.netforcuba.org/apps/podcast/podcast/152998









###

Monday, September 26, 2011

Pro Government Mob beats, bites, insults Ladies in White in Havana




September 25, 2011




On Saturday, September 24, 2011, an organized pro government mob of around 300 people, alongside State Security agents with loudspeakers that resonated speeches by Fidel Castro, and who were screaming slogans, insults, obscenities, and carrying flags and posters, surrounded the home of one of the representatives of the peaceful human rights group of women known as the “Ladies in White”. Some thirty five women from numerous provinces were gathered at Calle Neptuno #963, entre Aramburen y Hospital in Havana, home of Laura Pollán, to make their usual once a year pilgrimage by foot to attend mass at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, patron saint of all prisoners.



The women were brutally assaulted by plainclothes State Security agents when they tried to leave the house at 4:00 p.m. The mob pounced on them, hitting, twisting their arms, and even biting the women. The crowd kept screaming “they will not go through” (no pasarán) and “machete, they are only a few” (machete que son poquitas), implying that the women would never get through the crowd, and that, because the women were only a few, they were easy prey, implying brutal violence, at the hands of the mob.

Thirteen other Ladies in White, including Berta Soler in Havana, left from another location they had previously agreed on and were able to circumvent State Security agents and reach the Church of Our Lady of Mercy to attend mass.

Two supporters of the Ladies in White, Liudmila Rodriguez and Yanelis Delenka Despaigne, were taken down from the bus they were riding by State Security agents who took their personal documents to prevent them from continuing their journey on to Havana from Eastern Cuba. Doraysa Correoso and Annia Alegre also from Eastern Cuba, disguised themselves as beggars to be able to reach the house of Laura Pollan in Havana. Throughout the island there were activists, including Ladies in White, who were threatened and kept under house arrest to prevent their assistance to the mass at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy.

Numerous human rights activists also suffered short term arrests on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Among them were: human rights defenders Aimee Garces and Tania Montoya who were detained as they left Laura Pollan’s home to make their return trip back to their homes in Eastern Cuba and released after authorities took away all their money. In Havana, activist Eriberto Liranza, leader of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy was arrested, beaten and released, and so were Jorge Luis Garcia Perez Antunez and his wife Yris Tamara Perez Aguilera in Placetas. Manuel Cuesta Morua was detained and prevented from attending an independent cultural event in Havana and released a few hours later.

Sara Marta Fonseca a member of the Pro Human Rights Party Affiliated to the Andrei Sajarov Foundation and spokesperson of the Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Resistance Front, together with her husband, remain imprisoned since Saturday, accused of "public disorder".

The Coalition of Cuban-American Women will continue to denounce the escalating violence committed by the Cuban regime against peaceful human rights activists and makes an urgent call to the press and to non-governmental organizations dedicated to the defense of human rights worldwide, as well as to women in positions of leadership in religious, political, educational, social, and cultural institutions.

FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA: / Berta Soler + 53 52906820 / Laura Pollan + 53 7 8734165 or + 53 5 2457830/ Tania Montoya +53 53146329



Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Laida A, Carro / Joseito76@aol.com

Saturday, September 24, 2011

ARRESTADO DIRIGENTE SANTIAGO MEDINA Y AMENAZADO ACTIVISTA HANS DELGADO





ARRESTADO DIRIGENTE SANTIAGO MEDINA Y AMENAZADO ACTIVISTA HANS DELGADO




"El ex preso político y miembro del Comité Ejecutivo Nacional Santiago Medina Salabarría fue arrestado en horas de la mañana de hoy sábado 24 de septiembre a una cuadra de su casa en Centro Habana. Se desconoce su paradero..."

SIGUE EN: http://cubacid.blogspot.com/

U.N./ Former Cuban prisoner of conscience delivers testimony






Testimony given by former Cuban prisoner of conscience, Fidel Suárez Cruz, before U.N. parallel summit in New York, on September 21, 2011:


 
 
"Good afternoon. I would like to thank UN Watch and the coalition of non-governmental organizations for the invitation which has made possible my presence here today. My name is Fidel Suárez Cruz. I am Cuban. I was condemned to 20 years of prison. I was kept in solitary confinement for seven years and seven months.

I was put under the cellular system which consists of living in a solitary cell without human contact. For two years and eight months I was kept in a walled-in or “tapiada” cell. Tapiada cells have a double-layered steel door instead of bars. The other walls are made of cement, without windows. This results in no ventilation.


According to the Regulations of Interior Order of Jails and Prisons in Cuba , a prisoner has a right to a daily hour of sunlight. During the time which I was confined to a walled-in “tapiada” cell, I was also denied sunlight and artificial illumination. The cell was dark at all times, and my family was prevented from bringing me a light-bulb or lamp to illuminate the cell.

In addition to this treatment, I also received terrible beatings for refusing to use the common prisoner uniform, as I was a prisoner of conscience. I was also brutally beaten for refusing to shave and stand up to salute the soldiers in the prison who would do the prisoner recount twice a day. In a time period of one month and nine days, I was beaten for these reasons 19 times while at Agüica prison in the province of Matanzas , between January and February 2005. This prison is located 525 kilometers from my house, in the town of Cayuco , province of Pinar del Río .

These beatings consisted of a group of military men entering my cell. Four of them would lift me up and throw me against the floor. Other times they would use tonfas, canes made of rubber on the outside with a steel rod on the inside. With these, they would beat my knees or lower extremities to force me to stand up and dress in the common prisoners clothing. They would punch me in the abdomen, ribs. They would kick me. They would beat my head, leaving me deaf from my right ear and almost deaf from the left. These continued beatings dislocated my right knee and affected my fifth lumbar vertebrae and first cervical vertebrae.

This beating was carried out in a special cell which has architecture that resembles a number five. It is a system of cells in which, upon entering, you have to pass three very narrow hallways and two barred doors. No one can hear or know anything of what happens there. I was kept in punishment for a month and nine days. The official who personally directed these beatings is the Captain who calls himself Emilio Cruz; these were ordered by the official of the political police who in charge of this prison who calls himself Peñate, who receives orders from Section 21 of the Council of State.

On July 27th of the same year, 2005, in the same prison, for continuing to refuse to shave, I was newly beaten by two prison officials who call themselves Dioval Gainza and Yusley alias “el jabao”. They punched me throughout my body and on my head, causing me multiple bruises. They did not beat me directly on my face, so as not to leave visible marks.


While confined in Kilo 8 Prison in Pinar del Río, I received other beatings. During one of these beatings, for protesting to demand medical attention for an inmate, I was violently dragged from the third floor of the prison down the stairs to the first floor, and later transferred to area #2 of the punishment cells in the bordering Kilo 5 ½ Prison. I was in this punishment cell for a period of 21 days. As a result of this treatment, they dislocated my right leg, which left me with one leg longer than the other.


In another beating for carrying out a peaceful protest because authorities denied giving me the hour of sunlight, they put the handcuffs on me in such a manner that they dug into my wrists, cutting my skin and circulation in my hands. On this occasion, they once again dragged me from the third floor to the first, as a habitual form of punishment.


The characteristics of the 21 days punishment cells in area #2 of Kilo 5 ½ are the following: one sleeps on the floor or in a cement slab that protrudes from the wall; without illumination; the rats, cockroaches, ants are the only company a prisoner has; in the summer months, the heat is asphyxiating to the point that the cell rather seems like an oven. One cannot sleep because of the discomfort and dehydration produced by these conditions.

The food, if it can be called food, was brought to my cell by a guard. This consisted of a small ration of badly prepared rice, potato, or sweet potato, on numerous occasions, accompanied by worms and weevils, which meant this food was in the process of putrefaction. Ninety percent of the diet was of these small quantities of carbohydrates and rarely an egg, or some sort of entrails.


It can be said that the sanitation and hygienic conditions of all the prisons where I was taken are nonexistent. First, the prisoner does not have a place to sit, only on the floor. To carry out physiological needs, there is a hole in the ground inside the cell. The spigot for drinking and bathwater can be found approximately 10 to 15 cm from this hole, where the remains of fecal matter linger. The so-called beds are constructed of corrugated steel bars, full of rust, and welded to the floor of the cell. In Agüica Prison, instead of corrugated steel, it is a cement bed.

All personal hygiene items must be brought by family members to the prisoner; that is when they are able to gain access to these products which ordinary Cubans lack.

For a prisoner of conscience like myself, who also refused any so-called reeducation plan, which is nothing more than a political indoctrination plan for the prisoner to regret defending the cause of defending human rights, family visits were every three months under normal conditions. This is to say, when I was not in a punishment cell or having problems with the prison authorities, I could see only 2 adults (during each visit and they could only be members of my immediate family) and minors. My family members had to travel approximately 525 kilometers in order to visit me. Taking into account the difficult conditions for travel in Cuba , this was a problem for my family, although they always went to visit me despite much hardship and difficulties.

At the moment, the current situation in Cuba is quite worrisome. On the one hand, there are many ordinary Cubans who are identifying with the internal resistance and their struggle for the human rights of the Cuban people, and on the other hand the opposition is protesting on the streets demanding freedom. What does the tyranny do? As methods of terror, they are repressing with beatings, detentions, tear gas. They are also using a strategy of detaining human rights defenders and releasing them after various hours.


In Cuba , all of the rights contemplated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are violated, despite Cuba being a signatory. In regards to article 13 of this declaration, in Cuba , one cannot enter and leave the country freely, nor can one move freely within the national territory. Cubans who are allowed to leave the country need the White Card, a document emitted by the Ministry of the Interior, without which one cannot leave the country. Also, to enter the country, any Cuban citizen or person born within the country, needs to solicit an entry permit or visa from Cuban authorities which is also granted by the Ministry of the Interior, and depends on his/her political behavior abroad in regards to the dictatorship.

In Cuba , parents do not have the right to choose the education their children with receive. Education is controlled and directed by the regime, and children are indoctrinated with communist ideology, to form men and women who will respond to the regime’s interests. This violates section 3 of article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom of speech does not exist in Cuba . The mass media is in the hands of the tyranny. In other words, a human rights activist cannot have access to these means. If a person publicly expresses an opinion related to politics or economics, contrary to that of the regime, they can be processed for “enemy propaganda”, a criminal offense according to the current Cuban Penal Code.

There are also other offenses considered criminal in Cuba , such as “pre-criminal social dangerousness”, which has been used to imprison people who are opposed to the dictatorship, or people who are unemployed and are considered dangerous by the regime.

There is a growing number of youth and blacks imprisoned under “dangerousness”. Ninety percent of the Cuban prison population is black and young, this is how the tyranny controls any social explosions, using coercive methods.

I consider that at this moment, the revolutions in the Middle East have had an impact in Cuba , despite censorship. This is why the dictatorship on the Island has increased repression. The result of these revolutions will continue to impact and encourage the Cuban people in their struggle for freedom.

I speak of censorship because for example, in Cuba there is no free-uncensored access to the Internet. Only regime elite, governmental institutions, and tourist centers have official access. Internet access is practically impossible in Cuba ’s provinces, it is only in Havana where it is possible with effort and restrictions. When I entered the prison in 2003, the existence of bloggers in Cuba was unthinkable, and even more so, Internet access.

The only alternative media which is currently functioning is twitter, which can be used through text messaging. However, this is too expensive for Cubans because you need to use a cellular phone. In addition to this, cellular phones and phone lines are hacked by the regime, as it controls the communications network on the Island . The dictatorship even uses the cellular phones of opposition activists to send death threats to fellow activists. This is done to generate division and paranoia between those who oppose the system.


The international community is not doing enough with respect to the subject of Cuba . Many governments remain silent in regards to the human rights violations in Cuba . Some international news media have also been accomplices of this silence. I consider that the tyranny should be accused in all International forums as a violator of the human rights of Cubans, as this is the essence of the tyranny.

A one party system, such as that which exists in Cuba , must murder, repress, torture, exile, and incarcerate its people to remain in and consolidate power for 52 years.

I would like Cuba not to be forgotten. I would like freedom and democracy for Cuba . I dream of a country where all Cubans can enjoy the freedom for which so many have died. I would like Cubans to be able to travel in and out of their country without having to ask for permission. I would like Cubans to have a political model which will allow them to develop their intellectual capacity and in this way help in the country’s progress.

In conclusion, I ask the international community for support for the internal resistance and the Cuban people in order to be able to obtain freedom.


Thank you very much.



------------------------------



Testimony of former Cuban prisoner of conscience, Fidel Suárez Cruz presented on September 21, 2011, at the global summit of democracy activists, human rights defenders and non- governmental organizations, about human rights violations in Cuba. Suarez Cruz called for greater support for the island’s pro-democracy resistance movement. The Summit is taking place in New York on September 21-22, 2011 parallel to the U.N. General Assembly, and the 10th anniversary commemoration of the UN’s Durban conference on racism. Fidel Suarez Cruz addressed the Summit during a panel entitled "Dictatorship to Democracy: Dissidents Speak", which also feature democracy activists from Burma, Tibet, and North Korea.



FURTHER INFORMATION: Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana/

MIAMI: Presentación de libro: "690 VIVENCIAS DE TERRIBLES PESADILLAS"





Instituto de la Memoria Histórica Cubana Contra el Totalitarismo



Invita a la presentación de libro



“690 VIVENCIAS DE TERRIBLES PESADILLAS “



de



Antonio Díaz Sánchez


Este libro recoge testimonios escritos en prisión en el que se puede apreciar la valoración personal de los acontecimientos por parte del autor y los sucesos relacionados con la Primavera Negra de Cuba en el año 2003. Describe detalladamente el proceso de detención, interrogatorios y el falso proceso judicial al que fueron sometidos los acusados. Además se describen las tenebrosas cárceles cubanas.


El libro incluye detalles poco conocidos del trabajo realizado en pro del Proyecto Varela y las estrategias de movilización y organización de un sector de la ciudadanía por parte de los gestores del Proyecto.


Una información a destacar es que es uno de los pocos libros publicados mientras el autor estaba en prisión. El autor permaneció casi ocho años en prisión y fue deportado para España. En la actualidad reside en Estados Unidos.


MODERADOR: Pedro Corzo, periodista, director del Instituto de la Memoria Histórica Cubana Contra el Totalitarismo



PRESENTACIÓN: Julio Hernández, Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación



Manuel Vázquez Portal, periodista y ex prisionero de conciencia


AUTOR: Antonio Díaz Sánchez, ex prisionero político que permaneció casi ocho años en prisión y fue deportado para España. En la actualidad reside en Estados Unidos.


FECHA: Lunes, 26 de septiembre de 2011 a las 7:00 p.m.


LUGAR: Casa Bacardi/Instituto de Estudios Cubanos y Cubano-Americanos



Universidad de Miami



1531 Brescia Avenue, Coral Gables



RSVP: Para reservar llamar al Instituto al (305) 284-CUBA (2822). Espacio limitado.
















MODERADOR: Pedro Corzo, periodista, director del Instituto de la Memoria Histórica Cubana Contra el Totalitarismo







PRESENTACIÓN: Julio Hernández, Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación







Manuel Vázquez Portal, periodista y ex prisionero de conciencia







AUTOR: Antonio Díaz Sánchez, ex prisionero político que permaneció casi ocho años en prisión y fue deportado para España. En la actualidad reside en Estados Unidos.







FECHA: Lunes, 26 de septiembre de 2011 a las 7:00 p.m.







LUGAR: Casa Bacardi/Instituto de Estudios Cubanos y Cubano-Americanos



Universidad de Miami



1531 Brescia Avenue, Coral Gables







RSVP: Para reservar llamar al Instituto al (305) 284-CUBA (2822). Espacio limitado

MIAMI: Honran los Florida Marlins a ex presos politicos cubanos.





Ex presos politicos cubanos fueron honrados por los Florida Marlins poco antes de iniciarse el juego de ayer martes 20 de septiembre entre el equipo de Miami y los Atlanta Braves, en el Sunshine Stadium de Miami.



Doce ex presos fueron invitados a estar presentes, desde el terreno de juego, desde las 5:00 P.M. durante las prácticas, pudiendo recibir los saludos de varios peloteros hispanos y de figuras de los Marlins, como Tany Pérez y Felo Ramírez, entre otros y del manager del Atlanta, el cubano-americano Fredi González.


Luego a punto de comenzar el partido, designaron al ex preso politico y uno de los Directores de Plantados, Eleno Oviedo, para lanzar la primera bola y reunieron a los doce ex presos junto al home plate, acompañados por Tany Pérez, para realizar una ceremonia en la cual se explicó, siempre en ingles, a los más de 20,000 fanáticos asistentes quiénes eran esas doce personas, todos ex presos politicos cubanos. Se leyó una lista con los nombres y años de condena cumplido de todos ellos, e incluso de algunos otros ex presos que se habían relacionados y que no asistieron. Algunas palabras se pronunciaron también en español para agradecer a los ex presos politicos su entrega a la libertad y la democracia. Todo esto estaba siendo visto por todos los fanáticos en las dos pantallas gigantes que existen en el stadium.


La ceremonia concluyó con el anuncio de que la Fundación de los Florida Marlins estaba haciendo una donación de $5,000 a Plantados hasta la Libertad y la Democracia en Cuba para su programa de apoyo económico a los actuales presos politicos en Cuba.

Los ex presos que participaron, de izquierda a derecha, según aparecen en la foto que se adjunta:

Edel Rabelo -15*, Miguel Angel Alvarez Cardentey -27, detrás de Tany Pérez, quien bloquea su imagen, está Antonio Cuesta Valle (el Pichi) -29, Jorge Guzmán Chaple -12, Tebelio Rodríguez San Román -15, José Oscar Rodríguez Terrero (Napoleoncito) -20, Basilio Guzmán Marrero -22, Servando Infante Jiménez – 18, Angel De Fana Serrano -20, Rodolfo Rodríguez San Román – 15, Eleno Oviedo Alvarez – 26 y Felipe Alonso – 15. Aparecen también en la foto Mirta Chang, esposa de Eleno Oviedo y empleados de relaciones públicas de los Florida Marlins: Adrián (sobrino de Rino e Ileana Puig) y Alfredo Mesa, éste ultimo a quien Plantados agradece la coordinación de este evento.

* Años cumplidos de prisión política.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Marcha de Ciudadanos por un Cambio Pacifico (ACCP) en La Habana

From Facebook:


Time Wednesday, September 28 · 4:00pm - 7:00pm


Location La Habana, Cuba

Created By Por el levantamiento popular en Cuba



Un grupo de cubanos anuncian su intención de realizar marchas pacíficas los días 28 de cada mes en una céntrica zona de La Habana.

La primera de estas marchas, “a realizarse el 28 de septiembre, a las 4:00 pm, marcaría el nacimiento de la Asociación de Ciudadanos por un Cambio Pacífico (ACCP), actualmente en fase organizativa”, d...ijo José Alberto Álvarez Bravo, uno de los organizadores.

Álvarez explicó “estas marchas, de carácter civilista, tienen como propósito ejercer el derecho de todo ser humano a expresar sus opiniones por cualquier medio, siempre que no lesione el legítimo derecho de los demás”.

Los organizadores de la marcha enfatizan su determinación y responsabilidad en mantener la disciplina por parte de los manifestantes, por lo que solicitarán el correspondiente permiso a las autoridades policiales del área en cuestión, “a las que corresponde garantizar la protección y seguridad de la actividad”.

Agrega que responsabilizarán al gobierno cubano “por cualquier incidente que pudiera suscitarse antes, durante y después del evento, así como de la actividad represiva que suele desplegar la policía política” en situaciones semejantes.

“Si las autoridades policiales denegaran el correspondiente permiso, no podrán imputarle ilegalidad a la actividad cívica, pues la solicitud se hará en el plazo y los términos que fija la ley”, aseguró.

La ACCP “agrupa a cubanos y cubanas sensibilizados con la necesidad de que en Cuba se produzcan cambios sustanciales y urgentes en las condiciones de vida del pueblo, pero evitando en lo posible la efusión de sangre, algo muy difícil de lograr dada la naturaleza represiva del gobierno de la isla”, agregó.

“La ACCP se propone contribuir, en la medida de sus posibilidades, a la instauración en Cuba de un estado de derecho moderno y pluralista, donde solo se criminalicen la corrupción y el terrorismo de estado, causas primarias de los grandes males que aquejan a la sociedad cubana actual”.

EL PRESO

Entre dos hombres la reja,
uno el guardia, otro el reo,
la pregunta nos confunde
¿cuál de los dos es el preso?


Uno el guardia del tirano,
otro reo de conciencia,
y seguimos preguntándonos
¿cuál de los dos es el preso?


El de afuera omnipotente
piensa que es libre, el muy necio,
sin que pueda darse cuenta
que de cruel doctrina es preso.


El de adentro, con sapiencia,
pasando mil sufrimientos,
sabe que mientras pensar pueda
es tan libre como el viento.


No hay cárcel en este mundo
que atrapen el pensamiento
de quien, detrás de una reja,
piensa en su causa sufriendo.


Preso es aquel, él que piensa
atado a un adoctrinamiento,
su controlada conciencia le impide
que tenga un libre criterio.


Después de este corto análisis
muy simple y sin más rodeos,
encontramos la respuesta
a cuál de los dos es el preso.


Cástulo Gregorisch
11/9/02

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

CUBA: Entrevista a ex-prisionero de conciencia, Dr. Biscet / TORTURAS

ENTREVISTA COMPLETA:


http://www.elnuevodia.com/delcalabozoalaluz-1071008.html




Cómo recuerda los últimos ocho años?


Me maltrataron bastante, me torturaron. Una de las torturas usadas en las cárceles cubanas son los solitarios en unos calabozos minúsculos, totalmente aislados y oscuros. Ahí me tuvieron una vez durante cinco meses ininterrumpidos, sin salir ni un segundo. Ahí mismo hacia mis necesidades, junto al agua que bebía y los pocos alimentos que recibía una vez al día, apenas para mantenerme con vida.

¿A qué otro tipo de tortura lo sometieron?

Me encerraron con enfermos mentales a quienes privaban de sus medicamentos y más desquiciados se ponían ahí. Se sabía que había casos en los que estos enfermos asesinaban al que estaba con ellos mientras dormía. Lo recuerdo ahora y sigue siendo como una pesadilla. También eran comunes los casos de hombres esposados de pies y manos, tirados boca abajo en el piso durante 24 y 48 horas continúas… y las descargas eléctricas en los genitales.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"Wild" Bill Richardson snubbed and "stunned" by Cuban officials

Let's see here is "Wild" Bill in 2010:






and here is "Wild" Bill after his recent Cuba fiasco:

6.0 earthquake off the coast of Cuba

"[Updated at 5:20 a.m. ET] A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit off the southeastern coast of Cuba early Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.







The quake was centered 77 miles north of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 370 miles southeast of Havana, Cuba. It hit at 4:43 a.m.






Forty-three minutes earlier, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake rumbled off the east coast of Japan, the USGS reported. No tsunami warning was issued."






Both quakes were shallow, striking at a depth of six miles.






And seven minutes before the Japan quake, a magnitude 6.0 quake was recorded off the coast of New Zealand, according to the USGS.





Tuesday, September 13, 2011

TWO EX-PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE REMAIN ARBITRARILY ARRESTED

CUBA




TWO EX-PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE REMAIN ARBITRARILY ARRESTED

Beatings Against Ladies in White continue / September 12, 2011

Cuban authorities informed Belkis Cantillo that she will be able to see her husband, ex-prisoner of conscience, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, on Monday, September 12, 2011 for five minutes at the 3rd Police Unit in Santiago de Cuba. The whereabouts of Ferrer Garcia were unknown to his family since September 9 when he and three other human rights defenders were taken away from the house of Raudel Avila in Palma Soriano by two patrol cars. Also arrested were Angel Moya, another ex-prisoner of conscience, as well as Raumel Vinajera and Raudel Avila. All remain under arrest except Mr. Avila who was released on September 10.

These arrests were preceded by a call for all activists to participate in the “Marcha Nacional por la Libertad, Boitel Zapata Viven” that would advance from Eastern to Western Cuba to demand freedom for the island and was to begin on September 8, commemorative date when the Cuban people honor the Patroness of Cuba, “Our Lady of Charity.”

The government placed checkpoints throughout Cuba with the purpose of locating, repressing, and arresting activists. The following is a summary of some of the reported arrests and acts of repression:


Sept. 7, 2011 – Arrested in Guantanamo, from where the Marcha Nacional por la Libertad, “Boitel Zapata Viven” was supposed to take off, Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina, coordinator of the Alianza Democratica Oriental, group that is part of the Frente Nacional de Resistencia Civica y Desobediencia Civil Orlando Zapata Tamayo. He was released hours later, Sept 7.

Sept. 8, 2011 – Arrested in Eastern Cuba: Reinaldo Rodriguez, Guillermo Cobas, Yimi Cantillo, Rene Hierrezuelo, Marino Antomarchit, Julio Cobas, Jose Batista Falcon, Hector Felix Labrada, Elena Garces, Carlos Alberto Reyes, Abraham Cabrera, William Cepeda, Prudencio Villalon. Of all these activists, it is certain that William Cepeda, Prudencio Villalon and Marino Antomarchit were released. In Camaguey, the activists Virgilio Mantilla, and Elicardo Freire were arrested.

Twenty two Ladies in White were violently intercepted and forced into a bus after attending mass at the Sanctuary of “Our Lady of Charity”, in the town of “El Cobre”, in Eastern Cuba, and were later released in different locations. Some had to walk kilometers to their homes. The women are: Laura Pollan and her daughter, Laura Labrada Pollan, Aimee Garces, Belkis Cantillo, Tania Montoya, Yoelis Gonzalez Pavon, Mildred Noemi Sanchez Infante, Julia Cairo, Milagros Lieva, Maritza Cardoso, Yanelis Despaign, Annis Sarrion, Julia Casanova, Doraisa Correoso, Annia Alegre Pecora, Liusmila Rodriguez, Yanisleidis Rodriguez,Yusileisis Vazquez, Vivian Peña, Eudice M. Fernandez, Luz Maria Parada, Juana I. Parada.

As reported by Mildred Sanchez, she and two other women who were on their way to participate in the mass at the Sanctuary of “Our Lady of Charity” with the Ladies in White, were intercepted by the police and taken to the town of Baragua where they were subjected to an “act of repudiation”. They were beaten and insulted by a mob. Mildred fainted and had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for the physical and psychological traumas.

Sept. 9, 2011 – Activists arrested in Eastern Cuba: Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Angel Moya, Raumel Vinajera, Tania Montoya, Francisco Castellanos, and Maximiliano Sanchez. The latter two have been released.

Marta Diaz Rondon was beaten, detained and released with threats from the police that she cannot leave her house in Banes.

In Havana, the ex-prisoner of conscience, Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique, 69 years of age, was arrested in the vicinity of a Pentecostal Temple that the police has surrounded since Friday, for reasons not yet clear. The Pastor and more than 70 members of this church will not come out of the building. Lauzurique was taken handcuffed to the police station of Zanja and Dragones, where he was interrogated and his camera and cell phone confiscated. He was released around 2:30 a.m. when he had to walk 3 kms. to his get to his home.

Sept. 11, 2011 – Arrested in Holguin, human rights defender, Caridad Caballero Batista with her husband, Esteban Sander and two other activists.

Six activists who were violently arrested on August 28, 2011, following a raid with tear gas to the home of Marino Antomarchit have been acused of “disorderly conduct” and the Provincial Court of Santiago de Cuba has placed them under “provisional imprisonment”. They are: Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya, Bismarck Mustelier Galán, José Enrique Martínez Ferrer, Alexis Aguirrezábal Rodríguez, Alexis Kuan Jerez and Víctor Campa Almenares. Nibaldo Amelo Ramirez, coordinator in eastern Cuba of the organization, “Cuba Independiente y Democratica”, under the umbrella, Frente Nacional de Resistencia Civica y Desobediencia Civil Orlando Zapata Tamayo, and who was also part of this group of activists arrested on August 28, 2011, was released from the hospital where he was treated for affectations following the raid and is presently under house arrest.

The Cuban regime continues its pattern of escalating violence against the peaceful human rights defenders who demand fundamental freedoms in the island. The Coalition of Cuban-American Women makes an urgent call to the press and to non-governmental organizations dedicated to the defense of human rights worldwide, as well as to individuals in positions of leadership in religious, political, educational, social, and cultural institutions to denounce these cruel and degrading acts committed by the Cuban regime against its own people.



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FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA: Belkis Cantillo + 53 53790867 / Berta Soler + 53 52906820 / Marino Antomarchit - + 53 53361741 / Laura Pollan + 53 7 8734165 or + 53 5 2457830

INFO IN SPAIN : Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia + 34 - 691 803 955



Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Laida A, Carro / Joseito76@aol.com

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Our Lady of Charity




Today's events:

Solemn Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Charity


Thursday, September 8, 2011

University of Miami – Bank United Center
1245 Dauer Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33146

5:00 pm – Our Lady of Charity leaves the Shrine
6:00 pm – UM doors open
6:30 pm – Rosary
7:00 pm – Our Lady of Charity arrives at UM
8:00 pm – Solemn Mass

"Illinois lawmakers in Cuba to press for more trade"





Illinois lawmakers arrived in Cuber yesterday and right off  the bat, calling for a lax in trade restrictions. Ilinois already does $700 million a year in business with the Cuban dicatorship. Is it Pam or Pand?

....meanwhile the video above shows what happened this week in Cuba....wonder if the Illinois lawmakers care about that?

El cardenal Ortega "I see nothing"




While praising the so called changes in the current communist dictatorship, he conveniently "sees nothing" concerning all the atrocities.

Friday, September 02, 2011

Be very, very, quiet!




Be very, very, quiet! No, no, we must read this post in a very small whisper...rumors from several days ago were that the dictator was dead...now the rumor mill says the adidas clad dictator is very "ill" and unconscious. No way of confirming this, plus the dictator has died 1,000 times already. One thing for sure the Cuban people are restless, and the dictatorship is worried about an uprising by the Cuban people.


We will see...

"LA BIENVENIDA DE MONTANER A MILANES"

From Joseito:





LA BIENVENIDA DE MONTANER A MILANES

Por Alfredo M. Cepero



Director de http://www.lanuevanacion.com/




Me había hecho el propósito de no opinar sobre la presentación de este personaje en Miami porque—aunque ha ocupado la atención y dividido literalmente en dos a la comunidad cubana del sur de la Florida—no me parecía un factor determinante en la lucha por nuestra libertad. Pero cuando un periodista y político de la notoriedad de Montaner le da la bienvenida al apologista y alabardero de una tiranía que ha destruido tantas vidas no podía quedarme callado so pena de convertirme en cómplice de esta inaudita falta de sensibilidad ante el dolor del exilio cubano.


No voy a especular sobre los motivos del periodista para extender una bienvenida a este sujeto ni a negarle el derecho a expresar su pensamiento. No siempre he estado de acuerdo con lo que considero su enfoque conciliador con respecto al régimen de La Habana. Ahora bien, había mantenido silencio en consideración a su trayectoria como activista en la lucha por nuestra libertad. Pero esta vez el señor se pasó de la raya y mi abuelo guajiro me enseñó que, con el perdón del pintoresco animal, donde se cae el burro se le dan los palos.


Empecemos por Pablo Milanés. Este es un músico cuyo arte supuestamente nada tiene que ver con la política pero que en noviembre de 2003 declaró al periódico El Universal, de México: “El Presidente Fidel Castro representa un ejemplo para América Latina”. Que el 17 de agosto de 2006, dedicó a Fidel Castro su concierto en el Auditorio Nacional de Ciudad México. Que, con motivo de la renuncia del tirano moribundo, declaró: “La acción de Fidel demuestra grandeza…Me recuerda a la renuncia de Nelson Mandela”. Y que en época tan reciente como hace menos de cuatro años, en diciembre de 2007, cantaba las loas al tirano en el Teatro Mella de La Habana.

Ahora veamos algunos segmentos del mencionado artículo. El periodista cita una entrevista de Milanés con Univisión donde éste último dice que no tiene inconveniente en cantarle a las Damas de Blanco y que es un revolucionario crítico comprometido con el sistema socialista. Expresión hipócrita de un ente que no es revolucionario, ni crítico, ni socialista sino un oportunista despreciable que ha echado una panza grotesca disfrutando de las prebendas y privilegios que trae aparejado arrodillarse ante los tiranos.


Sin embargo, el articulista utiliza una exclamación de Bravo cuando se refiere a las declaraciones del cantante y apunta que Milanés acepta la pluralidad y las diferencias dentro de una sociedad en la que muchas personas honorables tienen opiniones distintas. No caben dudas de que Montaner le ha extendido un certificado de honorabilidad a un esbirro que, a manera del Flautista de Hamelin, ha utilizado su talento y su guitarra para encantar multitudes y contribuir a mantenerlas en la esclavitud. Ignoro que sustancia alucinante habrá ingerido Montaner para decir tamaña barbaridad pero no tengo dudas de que si la sigue ingiriendo perderá todo vestigio de credibilidad.


Porque este Pablo no es un Pablo cualquiera que se sometió porque le faltó el valor para enfrentar el tsunami totalitario del castrismo. Es Pablo Milanés, el ídolo de multitudes que ha puesto su popularidad al servicio del holocausto que ha destruido a nuestra patria. Y afirma estar dispuesto a cantarle a las Damas de Blanco porque es una rata que, como tantas otras por estos días, está abandonando el barco antes de que llegue el inminente naufragio. Se prepara para utilizar la moneda de cambio de su sumisión para preservar privilegios en un futuro gobierno. ¡Que asco!


Mas adelante el articulista analiza las declaraciones de Milanés diciendo: “Mi impresión es que por la boca de Pablo están hablando cientos de comunistas cubanos que se consideran verdaderos reformistas”. Y sin dudas habrá muchos mas reformistas cuando se acerque la hora del ajuste de cuentas. Junto a muchos de ellos tendremos que trabajar para superar esta tormenta de odios de más de cincuenta años y poner fin a la orgía de opresión y de sangre. Pero esa rama de olivo no puede ser extendida de manera indiscriminada a los principales responsables de nuestra tragedia entre quienes se encuentran tipos de la mala calaña de Pablo Milanés que, aunque no fueron gobierno, contribuyeron a su permanencia.


En otro párrafo, el periodista se dirige a los opositores internos y manifiesta: “Los demócratas de la oposición deberían hacer un esfuerzo por entender el fenómeno. Pablo Milanés y con él seguramente cientos de miles de personas que se consideran ‘revolucionarias’ no son enemigos”. Muy bien, ya es hora de que esos cientos de miles que no son enemigos empiecen a demostrar su amistad protegiendo a las Damas de Blanco y a los cientos de opositores que son hostigados y encarcelados todos los días ante la indiferencia de la mayoría del pueblo. Sin esa indiferencia hace rato que la tiranía habría desaparecido.


Por otra parte, son muchos los opositores demócratas de la oposición interna que no creen en la amistad de los comunistas. Me remito solamente a dos que han vivido y padecido el aparato de represión de la tiranía. El primero, el Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet se refirió al tema en un artículo publicado en esta página bajo el título de El Proyecto de Nación de la Fundación Lawton donde afirma: “Por eso les digo a los cubanos que se resistan a los cansados, a los fracasados, a los débiles en amor patrio, a los carentes de esperanzas y de amor propio, a los traidores, y sean protagonistas de su propia historia para ser un pueblo libre.”

Otro opositor de los que no claudican, Jorge Luís García Pérez (Antúnez), formulo unas recientes declaraciones que publicamos en esta pagina bajo el título de Cuestiona Antúnez ‘El Camino del Pueblo’, donde dice: “Pero reitero que un dialogo sin voluntad política de la otra parte es estéril e inútil, un dialogo con quienes no nos reconocen como entes sociales, ni como personas, es como decía Bolívar ‘arar en el mar’.”

No puedo concluir sin diferir de la interpretación dada por el articulista a la alianza de conveniencia entre los comunistas y Fulgencio Batista en su primer período de gobierno. En este sentido le dice a los cubanos de la nueva generación que: “En esa época, de impetuoso crecimiento por cierto, los comunistas batistianos defendían la pluralidad y así llegaron al gabinete de gobierno dos ministros de esa cuerda política”. Esta falsa interpretación de nuestra historia es negada de manera rotunda por la realidad de aquel momento y por la conducta posterior de los comunistas en su alianza con Fidel Castro.

Quienes no somos tan jóvenes y hemos leído algo sobre nuestra historia política no nos dejamos engañar por el cuento de Montaner. Sabemos que esto es una fábula para justificar su bienvenida a Miami a este cipayo de los Castro. Que Batista se paró sobre las bayonetas para chantajear a los dirigentes políticos y obligarlos a que respaldaran sus aspiraciones a la presidencia en 1940. Y que los comunistas, por otra parte, se vistieron de ovejas democráticas porque no tenían apoyo popular y carecían del respaldo militar para llegar al poder por la fuerza.

Andando el tiempo, el dictador y los comunistas contribuyeron al ascenso al poder de los demonios de Biran y su cohorte de vándalos. Batista aferrándose primero al poder y después huyendo como un cobarde. Los comunistas mostrando sus colmillos de lobos esteparios cuando el tirano pactó con Moscú para neutralizar cualquier ataque procedente de Washington y ya no necesitaban llegar al poder pretendiendo ser ovejas. Atribuir a Batista y a los comunistas respeto a los principios democráticos es una farsa que no se la traga nadie. La Cuba futura merece mejor suerte que la sufrida a causa de la conducta destructiva y nefasta de nuestros dictadores y sus lacayos comunistas. Milanes es hijo putativo de todos ellos y Montaner lo defiende a sabiendas en un acto que merece el desprecio imperecedero de los cubanos que amamos la libertad.

VISITENOS: A los efectos de tener acceso a comentarios como el que usted acaba de leer y a otros temas y noticias de actualidad internacional lo invitamos a que visite http://www.lanuevanacion.com



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ARTICULO DE CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANER
www.elblogdemontaner.com/bienvenido-pablo-milanes