Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cardinal Jaime Ortega at Harvard: "low class delinquents."

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JOSE DANIEL FERRER: “Me están asesinando”





“Me están asesinando”




Ferrer confesó a su mujer, la Dama de Blanco Belkis Cantillo, que percibe “me están matando lentamente con la comida que me están dando aquí”. Todo parece indicar que están agregando sustancias nocivas para su organismo en los alimentos y/o agua, que le están provocando fuertes dolores estomacales, malestar generalizado y una importante pérdida de peso en tan sólo una veintena de días.


Cantillo también recordó en un comunicado como el 2 de Abril «fuerzas de la Policía y grupos paramilitares asaltaron nuestra casa sin orden judicial ni motivo legal, en Palmarito de Cauto, y confiscaron equipos, bienes de la familia, libros y documentos», además de generar todo tipo de destrozos en el inmueble. Después de golpearlos en presencia de sus tres hijos menores, denunciaron en ese momento defensores de derechos humanos, el matrimonio fue detenido. Belkis Cantillo fue liberada dos días después, pero Ferrer continúa detenido hasta el día de hoy.


Ferrer ha tomado la decisión de realizar una huelga de hambre. Ésta podría evitar la ingesta de veneno en la comida, pero no tiene control del agua, por el cual teme que podrían seguir con su envenenamiento.



Amnistía Internacional y la OMCT han solicitado la acción urgente ciudadana y política mundial



A través de sendos comunicados, y conscientes de la realidad de la situación, tanto Amnistía Internacional como la OMCT han solicitado la acción urgente ciudadana y política para la liberación inmediata de José Daniel Ferrer.

Gerardo Dukos, investigador para Cuba de Amnistía Internacional, declaró que esta entidad exige que sea puesto en libertad inmediatamente.




Comunicado de Amnistía Internacional: http://www.amnesty.org/es/library/info/AMR25/015/2012/es



Comunicado de la OMCT: http://www.omct.org/es/urgent-campaigns/urgent-interventions/cuba/2012/04/d21748/







El Departamento de Estado de EEUU solicita la liberación de José Daniel Ferrer



Así mismo, el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos, informado por los familiares del activista de Derechos Humanos José Daniel Ferrer, instó este martes en la noche al Gobierno de La Habana a liberar inmediatamente al prisionero de conciencia. William Ostick, vocero de la cancillería estadounidense para América Latina, aseguró que Washington está siguiendo de cerca la situación de Ferrer.




Sobre la Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU)

La Unión Patriótica de Cuba está formada por cientos de miembros que espontáneamente se han unido en la lucha pacífica por la libertad de Cuba y agregan a decenas de organizaciones civiles pro-Derechos Humanos en Cuba.




UNPACU, o Unión Patriótica de Cuba, es una organización civil nacida en el seno de la represión política imperante en Cuba que aboga por la lucha pacífica pero firme en contra de cualquier represión de las libertades civiles en la isla de Cuba.


El actual Presidente de la Unión Patriótica de Cuba es José Daniel Ferrer, exprisionero de conciencia que pasó más de 8 años en prisión por la recogida de firmas para elevar a la Asamblea Nacional un proyecto de Ley, tal y como contempla, y en teoría permite, la Constitución Cubana en su articulado. José Daniel fue uno de los pocos prisioneros llamados “Grupo de los 75” que se negó a salir de la cárcel a cambio de ser desterrado a España. Fue el último en ser excarcelado el día 23 de Marzo de 2011.



José Daniel Ferrer nació en Santiago de Cuba el 29 de julio de 1970. Fue condenado en 2003 a 25 años de prisión. Es uno de los líderes más destacados de la oposición pacífica cubana, el más notorio en 2011 y 2012 por su incesante activismo pacífico y, aún a pesar de haber sido considerado por todas las Organizaciones mundiales de Derechos Humanos y la mayoría de los países democráticos como prisionero de conciencia, en el año 2003 la fiscal solicitó la pena de muerte que finalmente no fue llevada a cabo.


Actividades y Contacto de UNPACU



La Unión Patriótica de Cuba es un movimiento conformado por cientos de personas tanto dentro de la isla de Cuba como en Europa y América que recopila casos de denuncia, realiza manifestaciones públicas y lucha, en definitiva, por los cambios hacia la libertad en Cuba.



Si quiere saber más sobre las actividades de la UNPACU, puede visitar sus sitios web en:


Sitio web: http://www.unpacu.org/


Canal de Youtube Oficial: http://www.youtube.com/user/UNPACU



Para más información sobre esta nota de prensa y la UNPACU, puede dirigirse a:








EEUU:


Luis Enrique Ferrer
Estela Barreras
+1 786 304 6303

info@unpacu.org


luisenriqueferrer@gmail.com


Sitio web: http://www.unpacu.org/






Europa:

Javier Larrondo
+34 647 564 741
info@unpacu.org

jlarron@gmail.com

Sitio web: http://www.unpacu.org/
























"La Iglesia Católica Cubana como Brazo del Castrismo"

La Iglesia Católica Cubana como Brazo del Castrismo


Jorge Hernández Fonseca



25 de Abril de 2012



Después de la visita del Papa Benedicto XVI a Cuba se ha producido un verdadero asalto a las posiciones opositoras por parte de las huestes de la dictadura cubana usando a la Iglesia Católica como brazo ejecutor. Tal parece como si la visita papal a la isla hubiera dado luz verde para el ataque coordinado en forma de conferencias, eventos y reuniones excluyentes, que han tomado como tema aparente la “reforma migratoria” anunciada por los oficiales castristas, pero lo que en realidad han hecho es dar un recado directo a la oposición: El castrismo raulista será el que encabece la transición a cualquier tipo de sociedad futura, con el apoyo de la Iglesia.



Una sucesión de noticias, frases y posicionamientos surrealistas han corrido a raudales por las páginas de Internet y las cadenas de noticias, pronunciadas en los eventos políticos organizados por la Iglesia dentro y fuera de la isla --controlados por el castrismo y sus colaboradores externos-- donde se han expresado conceptos que van desde afirmar que “la apertura política no es necesaria”, hasta que “Raúl Castro es la persona indicada para encabezar las reformas que la isla necesita”, una verdadera barbaridad para el futuro de Cuba.



Hasta el presente, el esquema de análisis colocaba a la jerarquía de Iglesia Católica Cubana como siendo controlada por personeros afines a negociar con el castrismo un apoyo interno, a cambio de ganar determinado espacio para expandir su credo, en fase a lo que se podría imaginar de una Iglesia que hasta ahora era sometida a un aislamiento limite dentro de la sociedad cubana, donde los valores políticos priman por sobre cualquier tipo de creencias.



La Iglesia Católica Cubana nos ha demostrado en estos días que en realidad el castrismo ha conseguido convertir a la Iglesia Católica Cubana en una correa de transmisión más para el control de la sociedad cubana y ahora la lanza al exilio como parte de la campaña de cooptar la oposición externa, basado en que los mensajeros son religiosos y no políticos, ni “del partido”.



La Iglesia Católica Cubana, junto a los Sindicatos, los CDR y las Brigadas de Respuesta Rápida, cumplen su misión dentro de la isla de manera similar, tal es la penetración que los cuerpos de espionaje cubanos han conseguido hacer entre sus laicos y religiosos. No se trata del posicionamiento de grupos o de tendencias de subsistencia lo que se observa. Es un control claro y determinante en cuanto a ideología política, línea de procedimientos y ejecutoria, tratando de minimizar la oposición interna y denigrando al exilio que lucha por la libertad.



No es --como se podría imaginar-- una traición a los principios cristianos de libertad para el pueblo cubano oprimido. Es el accionar de marxistas infiltrados en el aparato religioso, controlándolo, discursando y llamando a la unión con la dictadura, para “dentro de 5 años tener algo mejor”, como descarnadamente propagandizan en el seno de nuestro exilio, atónico ante una realidad que sobrepasa la imaginación más atrevida: La Iglesia Católica Cubana, ya no está plegada a Raúl Castro, sino, incluida totalmente dentro de la nómina de sus aparatos.



Una sucesión de acontecimientos confirman lo dicho: primero, la dictadura anunció la reunión de representantes del régimen con exiliados seleccionados por su comportamiento dócil ante el castrismo, pero antes de producirse, una avalancha organizada por la Iglesia Católica Cubana --asociada al mismo tema-- ejecutó una reunión excluyente y a puertas cerradas dentro de la isla; celebró una conferencia en Nueva York invitando a un vocero de la nueva tendencia castrista de la Iglesia Católica Cubana, que vino al exilio a decirnos algo así como “perded toda esperanza”; hasta que finalmente el Cardenal Ortega en persona viajó a Estados Unidos para pronunciar el “úkase” definitivo: “hay que apoyar a Raúl, con mucha tolerancia y paciencia”.


El descubrimiento ahora es que estamos ante una Iglesia Católica Cubana que actúa como un brazo más del partido comunista de Cuba --ni más ni menos-- basado en la penetración profunda que el aparato de espionaje castrista ha logrado tejer en estos últimos 50 años dentro de sus esquemas jerárquicos y de mando, tanto religiosos como laicos. Todo con vistas a utilizarlo precisamente ahora, cuando es evidente el fracaso socialista. No se trata de una iglesia colaboracionista, se trata de una Iglesia penetrada, que cumple órdenes del partido.




Es la única manera de explicar lo sucedido desde que Raúl se vio en la necesidad e reunirse con la Iglesia como Institución --aparentemente independiente-- para resolver la crisis generada por la muerte del máritr Orlando Zapata, la huelga de hambre de Guillermo Farías y las manifestaciones de las Damas de Blanco. Es la explicación al silencio cómplice por la represión durante la visita del Papa. Es la explicación al espacio limitado que la dictadura ha ido dando a su nueva “organización de masas” y es la explicación más en fase con lo que hemos escuchado y leído en las últimas dos semanas y lo que probablemente todavía falta por escuchar y leer.



Este procedimiento de una dictadura derrotada en el aspecto ideológico, sometiendo a sus órdenes a la dirigencia católica cubana, puede producirse únicamente debido a que todavía mantiene dentro de la isla un control total de la información y los acontecimientos y quiere con esta nueva imagen (del apoyo católico a su régimen) ganar cierta credibilidad, para de esa manera continuar en las riendas del gobierno, que de otra forma sería imposible, en función del descalabro social, político, económico y moral al que ha sometido a la sociedad cubana.



Es posible que exista algún tipo de diferencia aleatoria entre los dirigentes católicos de la Iglesia cubana penetrada y la línea futura determinada por Raúl y sus generales, pero nada diferente a los enfoques diversos que hay entre el propio Raúl y alguno de sus asesores, en cuanto a conveniencias o no de algún aspecto secundario de lo que debe hacerse. Independiente de detalles más o menos importantes, lo cierto es que estamos ante un brazo más de la dictadura que nos oprime desde hace medio siglo y que pretende continuar oprimiéndonos.



De manera que, la Iglesia Católica Cubana ha pasado --debido a su compromiso castrista de dependencia-- a ser una Iglesia apócrifa, no importa el apoyo que el Papa le ha dado recientemente. La dictadura seguramente no tomará decisiones en el aspecto interno doctrinal y probablemente tampoco en cualquier otro aspecto que pueda lesionar la acción católica como comprometida con la religión y al mismo tiempo con los valores comunistas de la dictadura (cosa difícil) pero que en la Iglesia de Cuba no parece serlo, por su compromiso castrista.



Los católicos de dentro de la isla deberían tomar providencias, sabiendo separar los aspectos asociados a la fe y los asociados a los deberes con una patria libre, que en este caso deben estar por encima de cualquier mandato institucional eclesiástico, ya que nunca estará claro el objetivo de cada pronunciamiento que provenga de los dirigentes católicos cubanos de dentro, sean religiosos o laicos, pues este pudiera haber sido elaborado en los laboratorios de la policía política del régimen, para ir llevando el rebaño al matadero. Oswaldo Payá denunció adecuadamente estos procedimientos espurios, pero ahora se trata de algo más serio, la Iglesia Católica Cubana como Institución actúa como brazo de la dictadura en sus planes de dominio.



Dos aspectos quedan claros: primero, Raúl Castro pretende liderar la transición de Cuba hacia el capitalismo que sus generales imaginan (conservando las riendas del poder) y segundo, para esta aventura innoble cuentan con la iglesia Católica Cubana, ya “destapada” como uno de sus “organizaciones de masas”. Lo anterior luce muy bien en el contexto de apoyo latinoamericano y de sectores estadounidenses. Solamente no “cierra” por la oposición monolítica del exilio, de la oposición interna y de los millones de hombres y mujeres dignos dentro y fuera de la isla.



Artículos de este autor pueden ser encontrados en http://www.cubalibredigital.com/



"The Catholic leaders of Cuba need to stand with their people"

By Derek J. Bekebrede


Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012



Today, Cardinal Jaime L. Ortega, the head of the Catholic Church in Cuba, will speak privately with a group of undergraduates and publicly in the JFK Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics. The Cardinal, only the second in Cuba’s history, was criticized recently in a blistering editorial in The Washington Post for being “a de facto partner of Raul Castro,” but based on the advertisements for today’s event, you wouldn’t know why. Cardinal Ortega, in the publicity materials sent out by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Student Association, was described in a rosy biography as “instrumental in opening a dialogue with the Cuban government [and] negotiating the release of political prisoners.” The description failed to mention that the Cardinal did not object to the prisoners’ forced exile to Spain, nor did it mention his other failures to protect political dissidents in Cuba. The full story ought to be told.

Las Damas de Blanco, or The Ladies in White, is a group of wives and mothers of political prisoners who take to the streets in Cuba to spread their message and call for freedom. Their message is honorable, but their courage must be strong. In a communist nation known for systematic abuses of civil liberties and human rights, they are often met with violence by the government, and many end up in prison with their sons and husbands. The Cuban government imprisoned The Ladies in White the week before the papal visit. They had publicly asked for a few minutes to speak with Pope Benedict XVI during his three-day trip to Cuba in late March. The Catholic Church in Cuba led by Cardinal Ortega refused to schedule a meeting with them or any dissidents, saying that the Pope didn’t have enough time. However, Cardinal Ortega was able to find time for Pope Benedict to meet with Raúl Castro twice and Fidel Castro once. The day following the arrest of the Ladies in White, a handful of other peaceful political dissidents sought sanctuary in a Cuban Church. Breaking with Church precedent, Cardinal Ortega called the government to arrest the political dissidents, arguing that “Nobody has the right to spoil the celebratory spirit of Cuban Church-goers.”



The Cuban government imprisoned the Cardinal during the 1960s, and he has called for limited reforms as he works with Raúl Castro. However, Castro has made clear that true political reforms and the recognition of human rights are not part of his plans. As one political dissident put it, “The rumors fly but the locks never open.” To continue trading human rights in exchange for the false hope of limited reforms is to abandon the people of Cuba. Per Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”



When Pope Benedict XVI visited Cuba in late March, many saw it as an opportunity to continue potentially the most important and lasting cause of his predecessor: advancing the cause of human freedom. When Pope John Paul II visited his native Poland in 1979, millions came to see him, and with his words they found their voice. In the words of Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity movement instrumental in bringing down the Soviet government, “The Holy Father, through his meetings, demonstrated how numerous we were. He told us not to be afraid.” During the reign of Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet, the Catholic Church saved hundreds who sought sanctuary in their churches. Throughout their struggles, those with the courage to take a stand knew that the Church had their back. Today, at least in Cuba, they see a Church without a spine.



Harvard provides us with amazing opportunities to engage with world leaders and learn first-hand about changes occurring around the globe, but we waste these opportunities if we are not willing to engage with the truth. Avoiding the full truth at today’s event teaches us nothing; engaging in an honest and respectful dialogue makes everyone wiser. We, as individual students, are not in positions to potentially bring real change to Cuba, but Cardinal Ortega and the Catholic Church are. So, ask the Cardinal the tough questions, because those are the ones worth answering.



Derek J. Bekebrede ’13 is an economics concentrator in Winthrop House. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

"The hit teams that carried out Castro’s vendettas

"In an excerpt, the first of three, from his new book, ‘Castro’s Secrets: The CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine,’ Brian Latell a retired CIA agent now with the University of Miami, discloses how a Cuban intelligence defector "


Read article here.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Salir del atrincheramiento y hacer política

Por Dr. Darsi Ferret


La Habana, Cuba. 16 de abril de 2012.


La recién concluida Cumbre de las Américas fue una buena ocasión para discutir con veracidad el asunto de la oveja negra cubana. Pero se quedó en el tintero. Otra vez se puso en práctica los remanentes de la vieja política trasnochada de la Guerra Fría, para intentar manejar a este díscolo sujeto descarriado en el hemisferio desde hace más de medio siglo.

Son numerosas las aproximaciones desajustadas con el obtuso régimen que no da señas de asumir la necesidad de adoptar reformas verdaderas. Por un lado, Estados Unidos con su embargo comercial transformado en una práctica de consuetudinario "jab" para mantener la distancia, y sin efecto pretende aislar al totalitarismo antillano; por otro, la Unión Europea con su frágil valladar de la Posición Común, que no pasa de ser un reproche moral muy comedido hacia la dictadura, mientras permite que desde su zona les hagan llegar solapadamente financiamientos y tecnologías; que decir de los países latinoamericanos, simpatizantes abiertos, disimulados o indiferentes de las violaciones a los Derechos Humanos que a diario pone en práctica el régimen cubano, se desgastan en el intento de ponerle colorete a la única y más vieja dictadura militar del continente, y pujan por recibirla como un invitado más en las reuniones democráticas.

Todas estas políticas parecen resistirse al cambio de enfoque y de aproximación a los problemas irresolutos que imponen en la época actual las modernas dinámicas de la Globalización. Sencillamente, el mundo marcha aceleradamente hacia otra fase comunicativa, de interrelación cada vez más profunda y activa entre las naciones. ¿Cómo justificar la insistencia en el aislamiento a la antigua para tratar el caso cubano? Y a la vez, ¿cómo persistir en ver a la dictadura militar cubana como un país común y corriente? La inclusión también va con Cuba, pero no como una nación estable, democrática y en el camino de la integración con el resto del mundo. Hay que incluirla en todas las esferas de interrelación global, pero para esperarla en la puerta con escoba democrática en mano y todo el tiempo que dure cada evento pasarlo dándole escobazos democráticos con ella a los ilegítimos representantes isleños, recordándoles que no son iguales al resto de los presentes y que no se les acepta su constante metedura de forro.

Los detentores del poder de la presente Cuba son miembros de una casta depredadora que hace más de medio siglo mantiene secuestrada la soberanía mediante el uso de la fuerza y que ejercen un total desprecio por la voluntad popular. Por tanto, en el marco del escenario nacional, continental y mundial no tienen legitimidad alguna, y esa incómoda verdad hay que reprochársela cada vez que haya oportunidad de hacerlo. Gobiernan a base de intereses y antojos con el único fin de conservar sus privilegios y obligar al pueblo cubano a vivir en la miseria bajo el prisma de su estrechísima visión del mundo. El cubano es un pueblo secuestrado, similar a las victimas que sufren a manos de las FARC u otro tipo de delincuentes. Lo único que acumula es creciente sufrimiento, constantemente arreado hacia la explotación por dictadores que se han adueñado del país y lo utilizan como una finca familiar.


Aceptar a la dictadura de los Castro en todos los escenarios políticos no está mal, siempre que no se lleve a la mesa como un invitado más y que se sientan a gusto para desatar sus andanadas de insultos, o ataques contra el sistema democrático que sí ha elegido al resto de los presentes, y convertir esos sitios en tribunas desde donde acusar a su eterno enemigo a muerte, al que sin embargo le compra comida, medicamentos y le suelta el excedente poblacional que no tiene cómo mantener y, para colmo, le acepta subvenciones, los Estados Unidos de América. A esa Cuba que se quiere aparecer en esos sitios hay que tratarla como se merece: como peligroso derrelicto que intenta siempre sabotear el proceso democrático e integrador. Hay que aprovechar todos los encuentros para zarandearla con las verdades que se acomoda en no escuchar.

Pese al esquema que parece flotar como certeza de Perogrullo de que el presente gobierno de la Habana no constituye un peligro para la estabilidad del continente, tal como activamente persistiera en serlo antes, la verdad está a la vista. La dictadura isleña ha promovido y promoverá todo tipo de organización regional o gobierno que enfrente al Norte de América con el resto de las naciones del continente, cuestionando o emponzoñando desde dentro de los marcos democráticos de la región, similar a lo ocurrido en Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras y Haití. Así también remacha los viejos clichés de desconfianza, odio y temor hacia unos Estados Unidos diabolizados. Se ha visto que esto es algo que parece muy oportuno para personales intereses en determinadas élites gobernantes de América Latina. Por lo cual, comienzan a surgir como hongos en el panorama político del área instituciones sin verdaderos ánimos de integración económica incluyente, sino politizadas como la CELALC, ALBA, UNASUR y otras que deben andar aun cocinandose, francamente exclusivas del miembro más poderoso e influyente, los Estados Unidos, lo que es un absurdo criminal para sus propios pueblos.

No obstante, los gobiernos que apoyan estos experimentos, presentados como cumbres de los países del Sur realmente integradoras se autoengañan. La presente debilidad del régimen cubano no le permite hacer su vieja política de intervencionismo armado y subversión violenta, pero la metástasis de su naturaleza destructora del Estado de Derecho sigue viva y se filtra en cancillerías, partidos, instituciones y supuestas políticas nacionales, en donde constantemente intenta poner en práctica la trasnochada intentona de excluir a los Estados Unidos, a nombre de una unidad latinoamericana sin visos de conformación económica real, y donde más bien se ponen en activo viejos rencores y desconfianzas hacia el mayor mercado del mundo en bienes, servicios y proyectos materiales para el desarrollo. Esas acciones irresponsables, practicadas por no pocos gobiernos, ponen bajo una cruda luz los enormes defectos institucionales de las democracias y sistemas políticos del área Latinoamericana.


Lo que debe quedar claro es que los actuales y autoproclamados representantes del archipiélago cubano NO representan la voluntad del pueblo, sino a ellos mismos. Y gozan de tal grado de ilegitimidad como el que tuvieron en su momento Trujillo, los Somoza, Duvalier, Pinochet, Velazco Alvarado, los generales de la junta militar argentina y todo el resto del club de los regímenes que se han encargado de estrangular el respeto a las libertades y derechos fundamentales de sus pueblos.

CUBA:AT LEAST 1,600 ARBITRARY ARRESTS FOR THE YEAR 2012

AT LEAST 1,600 ARBITRARY ARRESTS FOR THE YEAR 2012




“…in my country, the exercise of internationally recognized fundamental freedoms is penalized.”

Jorge Luis Garcia Perez “Antunez”/ Placetas, Cuba / April 9, 2012/ Letter to the VI Summit of the Americas

April 9-15, 2012



Cubans who dissent in the island continue to be subjected to systematic acts of intimidation, threats, surveillance, beatings, mob attacks, to being kidnapped to remote areas, to house arrests, arbitrary short term detentions in inhumane prison cells as well as to hours of cross examination. They are denied access to a lawyer and their families, including minors, are harassed and physically mistreated. In addition, their homes are arbitrarily raided with violence and their belongings are confiscated. In Cuba, the five fundamental freedoms of religion, movement, association, assembly and speech continue under siege.



The Independent group in Havana, Cuba, CIHPRESS recorded 1575 arrests for political reasons for the first three months of 2012:http://www.cihpress.com/2012/04/informe-mensual-de-violaciones-de-los.html and on April 2, 2012, forty three human rights defenders were violently arrested in Eastern Cuba, adding the total number of Cuban citizens arrested this year to more than 1,600. Most of these detentions are of short duration but they constitute a form of torture carried out by Cuban authorities to dissuade anyone in the island from exercising or expressing their free, independent ideas.



Belkis Cantillo, the wlfe of former prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, requested world solidarity for her husband whom she reported continues under arrest, without charges, under very difficult conditions at the provincial headquarters of the Department of State Security in the neighborhood of Versalles, on the outskirts of the Eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, since April 2nd when their home in Palmarito de Cauto was violently attacked by paramilitary forces. According to Cantillo, this State Security Center is used to imprison murderers. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action alert on April 13, 2012 that calls for the unconditional release of Ferrer Garcia (in attachment)



Members of the peaceful feminine movement, “Ladies in White Laura Pollan” continue under very strict surveillance in Eastern Cuba and only 17 of them were able to reach the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity and attend Mass this Sunday, April 15, 2012 while 13 were intercepted by the political police. These women walked kilometers through mountainous countryside to evade the police control points set up to prevent them from reaching the Sanctuary of El Cobre. Police agents have repeatedly threatened the Ladies in White that only a very small group will be allowed to assist Sunday Mass at El Cobre.



The Lady in White and independent journalist, Caridad Caballero Batista reported the violence against members of the Ladies in White in the Eastern province of Holguin began on Friday, April 13. Caridad, her husband Esteban Sandez and her son Eric Sandez, as well as Isabel Peña, have been blocked by authorities from attending Mass during 14 consecutive Sundays in the city of Holguin. In the town of Velasco, Mariblanca Avila Esposito was violently arrested. “She was dragged” informed Caballero Batista. Romelia Batista Gonzalez was arrested on Saturday, April 14. In Banes, Marta Díaz Rondón, Gertrudis Ojeda Suarez and Miladis Rosa were under surveillance since Friday and were prevented by authorities from attending Mass this Sunday, April 15 in the city of Holguin.

Andrés Carrión Álvarez, a Cuban citizen whose protest and arrest were caught on tape by the international media on March 26, 2012 as he cried out, “down with communism!” and “freedom!” just minutes before the Pope’s Mass in the Eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, was released on April 13 under “conditional freedom”. According to an activist of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UMPACU), Carrion was “forced to sign a document that, among several restrictions, he is prohibited from traveling outside of the province of Santiago de Cuba”. Carrion was described as physically well though “very nervous and dazed” as a result of his confinement in an isolation cell and due to the countless cross examinations he was subjected to. [1]




The Coalition of Cuban-American Women alerts the international community that the lives of those members of Cuban civil society who are actively and publicly struggling peacefully on behalf of fundamental freedoms are in danger. We are particularly concerned with the mental and physical well-being of the following human rights defenders arbitrarily held under arrest: Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Sonia Garro and her husband Ramon Muñoz, Niurka Luque, and the brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz, and with the continued physical and mental harassment against all members of the Ladies in White, Laura Pollan throughout Cuba. International recognition of the peaceful resistance and solidarity for these human rights defenders is crucial. We make an urgent call on religious, civic, political, and cultural entities and its leaders, as well as to non-governmental human rights organizations worldwide.


Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Joseito76@aol.com / Laida A.Carro Blog: http://www.coalitionofcubanamericanwomen.blogspot.com/

Facebook Page: Coalition of Cuban-American Women

Twitter: @COCAW1

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Fallece en Miami el Monseñor Agustin Roman



Mujeres exiliadas cubanas marchan en Cartagena en apoyo a las Damas de Blanco




CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, COLOMBIA. 13 de abril de 2012. Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana. Mujeres cubanas representantes de MAR por Cuba y la Asamblea de la Resistencia realizaron en horas de la tarde de este 13 de abril de 2012 una caminata simbólica que atravesó las principales calles del centro histórico de la Ciudad de Cartagena de Indias durante la celebración de la VI Cumbre de Las Américas. Vestidas de blanco, con gladiolos rosados en las manos, las fotos de las Damas de Blanco y un afiche con el lema “Por las Damas de Blanco Cubanas”.




Las mujeres de la Resistencia conmovieron a los transeúntes quienes se unieron a sus oraciones frente al Iglesia de la Trinidad y las aplaudieron en su caminata de regreso cuando hicieron declaraciones públicas a la policia al ser cuestionadas sobre el motivo de su actividad (ver video y escuchar audio adjuntos).



“Nosotras hemos venido aquí, como las Damas de Blanco, de forma pacífica y cívica, que caminan por las calles de Cuba para reclamar la libertad de los presos políticos, y son reprimidas, vejadas, golpeadas, y encarceladas. En estos momentos hay dos de ellas en prisión. Son mujeres cívicas y pacíficas que valientemente defienden las libertades y los derechos fundamentales del pueblo cubano”, dijo Sylvia Iriondo durante la caminata.



Las participantes de la delegación, presidida por Sylvia Iriondo, fueron: Elizabeth Trelles Alvarez, Anolan Ponce, Isela Fiterre, Marianne Coto, Georgina Shelton Prats, Fifi Pérez Echemendía, Georgina Chirino Hurtado, Susana Shelton, Thais Sánchez y Livia Periú.



Para más información comunicarse al 305-220-2713, Asamblea de la Resistencia y al 305-934-7302, MAR por Cuba.

CUBA:Víctimas de la represión del régimen en VI Cumbre de Las Americas

CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, COLOMBIA. 12 de abril de 2012. Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana. Impactantes imágenes de la represión en Cuba, así como las voces de las Damas de Blanco y miembros de la Resistencia cubana fueron escuchadas por la comunidad internacional durante una rueda de prensa realizada esta mañana en el Salón Cacique del Hotel Dorado Plaza en la Ciudad de Cartagena de Indias por miembros de la organización exiliada MAR por Cuba, en representación de su organización y de la Asamblea de la Resistencia Cubana.




“Incluir al régimen de los Castro en la Cumbre de Las Américas es excluir al pueblo cubano y a la Resistencia cívica que representa el futuro de la nación cubana en libertad. El debate no debe ser sobre la inclusión de la dictadura más longeva de nuestro hemisferio en la Cumbre, sino sobre la ausencia de derechos humanos y libertades en Cuba donde el pueblo se encuentra sometido a una férrea represión”, afirmó Sylvia Iriondo durante la conferencia quien agregó que la presencia de la delegación en Cartagena tiene el objetivo de hacer sentir la voz de las víctimas de la represión.



Más de una docena de medios de prensa internacional fueron testigos de las impactantes imágenes mostradas en la conferencia donde pudieron apreciar las medidas represivas incrementadas en los últimos meses por el régimen de Raúl Castro, especialmente contra mujeres pacíficas organizadas en las Damas de Blanco o el Movimiento por los Derechos Civiles Rosa Parks. Asimismo se escucharon los mensajes de voz desde Cuba de Berta Soler Frenández, líder de las Damas de Blanco, Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez”, secretario general del Frente Nacional de Resistencia Cívica Orlando Zapata Tamayo, y Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo, secretaria ejecutiva del Partido Pro Derechos Humanos Afiliado a la Fundación Andrei Sajarov.



Durante la conferencia se hicieron públicas las cartas dirigidas desde Cuba a los Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno presentes en la VI Cumbre de las Américas por parte de las Damas de Blanco y el Frente Nacional de Resistencia Cívica y Desobediencia Civil Orlando Zapata Tamayo.



Al finalizar se realizó una sesión de preguntas y respuestas.



Para más información comunicarse al 305-220-2713, Asamblea de la Resistencia y al 305-934-7302, MAR por Cuba.

CUBA: ' I'm desperate because I fear for my son's life ' / URGENT




April 12, 2012




INTERVIEW of MIRTA ALVAREZ BESTARD, mother of Andres Carrion Alvarez, a young Cuban man who cried out “down with communism!” and “freedom!”, minutes before the Papal Mass in the Eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on March 26, 2012. Amnesty International issued an URGENT ALERT since he is being held without charges since this date, for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/013/2012/en/e475f9f7-94f8-4c0a-b155-390cbad6bb1e/amr250132012en.pdf




The mother informs below of the following alarming facts:



1. The family was not told of the whereabouts of Andres Carrion until a week after his arrest (March 26, 2012). The first family visit lasted 15 minutes (Friday, April 6, 2012) with a guard watching. Mirta Alvarez Bestard is not being guided or informed by authorities about her son's case.



2. Andres Carrion is prohibited from discussing his case with his family who's been threatened that if they do speak about what happened; the prison visits will be suspended.



3. The mother is concerned for the mental well-being of his son whom she described as "desperate" and 'traumatized".



4. Andres Carrion is being held in inhumane conditions; in isolation, exposed to cold temperatures, in a ward not for prisoners accused of 'public disorder", according to his mother.



5. The family cannot find a lawyer that will take his case - all those contacted say that they are "too busy", "on vacation" or simply give no answer.



6. Mirta Alvarez Bestard is so afraid for her son's life that she stated in this interview that if he stays in Cuba she knows it's going to be the "end of him."



Mirta Alvarez Bestard is a 58 year old resident of Jiguani, a town located in the Eastern province of Granma, who is the mother of Andrés Carrión Álvarez, a young Cuban man who cried out “down with communism!” minutes before the Papal Mass took place in the Antonio Maceo Plaza. Carrion remains under arrest at the State Security headquarters of Santiago de Cuba.




How is your son? What is his situation? I understand that you have not been able to see him…



He looks desperate, because he is there, they have him there you know, he’s very cold, they don’t provide him with any sheets, not one, he is not allowed to be transferred to another prison ward and it seems that the preventive measure against him was withheld because we (the family) were not informed that we had to pick it up. We were given the document after we demanded it. Up to now, we have not been able to get a good lawyer. I’m desperate because I fear for my son’s life. If he is accused of public disorder there is no reason for him to be shut up where he is. I don’t know what to do, I beg that he receive assistance. I have had to struggle to become strong and thus be able to to give strength to my son.



Have you been able to discuss his case? Did your son express any type of concern in this regard?



(We had) 15 minutes for everything. Only three are allowed inside (the prison visit): mother, sister, and when the mother is present, the father cannot be present. Nothing can be discussed with him. We only greet him and have some small talk; we are not allowed to discuss what happened.



Who does not allow you to speak of the case? The warder or the person who is present during the prison visit?



Those who are guarding him, the prison officer standing there during the visit. His presence is obvious. There was one with him there who prohibited that we speak about the case or else we would be denied the visit.



How do you see his son health-wise?



He appears physically well, though mentally I see him a bit desperate, traumatized. Imagine, to be shut up in there without any information, it’s not easy. He’s isolated. We were only able to see him for 15 minutes on Friday (April 6, 2012). And I really don’t know what is going on with him inside that place, no one guides you, they don’t tell you anything.


Are you afraid for your son’s mental health?




For his life, for his mental health, for everything, because I don’t know what they are doing to him. I don’t know, I imagine bad things, but I don’t know anything, Do you understand?



Did you observe some sort of strange gesture, movement or behavior in your son?



As a mother, I believe so, but he is not able to tell me. I noticed he wanted to tell me something but cannot. He looks desperate.



Tell me something about your son, who si Andres Carrion Alvarez?



He studied a beautiful career during six years and he graduated with honors. But that has never been useful for him here in any way. He is an honest and quiet man without a criminal record. Nevertheless, in his preventive measure they documented that he does have a criminal record, which I objected. The lawyer we find will have to see that because he doesn’t have a criminal record.



He was unemployed, what did he do for a living?



Yes, due to a reduction of employees, you know, he was left out and he applied for a leave.



Then, what did he do?



Take photographs, he was a photographer.



Did you know that your son was going to do at the Pope’s Mass in Santiago de Cuba and that he had decided to do this? Did he share that idea with you?



Not at all, not at all. It was something that surprised me and I’m still surprised that he did that because he’s a quiet person…



How did you find out that your son was arrested and learn about all that happened at the Antonio Maceo Plaza?



I found out after a week had passed because I live in Jiguani. My daughter called my sister and told her. I am his mother, and I have to see how I get my son out.

Isn’t the family able to find anyone who can defend him, a lawyer who can represent your son?




We are looking for a lawyer who can defend him. But, when we particularly discuss what it’s all about, they refuse, saying that they have too much work. Others say that they are on vacation. No one wants to do it, I have no answer.



Did you already see the video where your son appears at the Antonio Maceo Plaza?



No, I was told about it. I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to see it. They tell me it’s horrible, I don’t want to see it. He was beaten, they say he was beaten. The Red Cross beat him and now they blame the people there. It was not the people (at the Mass).



Your request is that Andres Carrion Alvarez be helped…



That he is given help, that he is helped. And if there is a way of getting him out, that someone get him out, please.



Are you asking that Andres be taken out the country?



Yes



Why?



Because I feel that that would be the best for him after all that’s happened. If he remains here it will be the end of him. I am afraid for my son’s life. Please I need help.



Have you or any other member of the family gone to the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba asking for help?



To tell you the truth, I have not gone to the Church. I have faith, I’m a believer, but I have not gone. I have asked so much and can’t sleep, praying, asking so that nothing happens to my son. Asking God that nothing happens to him.



Original in Spanish: http://www.diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/10589-temo-por-la-vida-de-mi-hijo



Journalist who did the interview: Jose Luis Ramos, Radio Marti



Translation to English: Laida A. Carro/ Human Rights Defender/ Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Joseito76@aol.com

Thursday, April 12, 2012

CUBA: "Desesperado y traumatizado" joven que gritó ¡Abajo el Comunismo!

"Desesperado y traumatizado" el joven que gritó ¡Abajo el Comunismo! durante visita de Benedicto XVI en Stgo. de Cuba


La madre de Andrés Carrión, el joven que llamó la atención de numerosos medios de prensa cuando gritó “Abajo el Comunismo” durante la misa de Benedicto XVI en Santiago de Cuba, concedió una entrevista a nuestro colega José Luis Ramos donde le expresa su creciente angustia por el destino de su hijo.

(AUDIO)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Cuba:Video/ testomonies of raid of April 2, 2012





Daughter of former Cuban political prisoner of conscience, JOSE DANIEL FERRER GARCIA, provides a brief description of the violent raid against her home. Ferrer Garcia continues under arrest since April 2, 2012 when he was violently arrested with his wife, the Lady in White, Belkis Cantillo (released April 6, 2012), on the same day their house was ransacked by the Cuban political police. Two other minors were present as was the mother of Belkis Cantillo. All were subjected to terror tactics and were physically mistreated.

CUBA: THREATS, BRUTAL BEATINGS, ARBITRARY ARRESTS, AND HOME RAIDS CONTINUE

CUBA




THREATS, BRUTAL BEATINGS, ARBITRARY ARRESTS, AND HOME RAIDS CONTINUE AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS



“I was dragged, and beaten repeatedly over the head, the stomach and breasts, just about everywhere…but they could not silence me … I cried out “down with the dictatorship!…”

Belkis Cantillo, Leader of the Ladies in White in Eastern Cuba

April 2- 8, 2012



On April 2, 2012, just a week after the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba, the regime in the island further escalated the brutal repression it had unleashed before and during the Pope’s visit by violently and arbitrarily arresting, and taking to unknown locations, 43 peaceful human rights defenders in Eastern Cuba where at least three homes were raided. These activists are members of the following pro democracy groups in that region: National Front of Civic Resistance Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the Eastern Democratic Alliance, the Ladies in White Laura Pollan, and the Patriotic Union of Cuba.



Most of these human rights defenders were released on Friday, April 6 but among some of those who still remain under arrest are: Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Dani Lopez de Moya, Adriana Nuñez, Santiago Castellanos, Raumel Vinajera, Juan Carlos Vazquez Osoria, and Jorge Cervantes.



Amnesty International released an Urgent Action document on April 4 denouncing the acts of repression as “…a clear attempt to crush the emerging peaceful movement in Eastern Cuba”: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/012/2012/en/58fa0ee4-5a4d-416e-b573-efa139b8a72b/amr250122012en.html , while the Organization Against Torture (OMCT) expressed its concern in a press release of April 5, 2012 about the ongoing violence against Cuban activists (see document in attachment in Spanish).

In Palma Soriano, in the suburb of La Concepcion, paramilitary forces broke into the home of human rights defender Raumel Vinajera as well as his mother’s, destroying everything in sight and beating and arresting 23 activists who had gathered to carry out a peaceful march to protest the repression and arbitrary detentions that were taking place in Eastern Cuba. According to Tania Montoya, a Lady in White and the wife of Raumel Vinajera, one of the officers even took out a gun to shoot Vinajera’s brother who had come to the aid of his 65 year old screaming mother who had been pushed down to the floor. Those arrested in Palma Soriano on April 2 were: Ania Alegre Pécora, Adriana Núñez Pascual, Pedro Campa Almenares, Andrés García Almenares, Misael Valdez Díaz, Héctor Félix Labrada Muñoz, Omaidis González Leiva, Dany López de Moya, Darmis Agüero Zaldivar, Arnaldo Losada Igarza, Rulisán Ramírez Rodriguez, Raimundo López Landazuri, Enrique Losada Agüero, Goyres Enrique Galano Oriza, Doraisa Correoso Pozo, Raumel Vianjera Estibe, Yunier Echevarria Izá, Víctor Campa Almenares, Dorislandis Morin Alvarado, Roberto de la Rosa Estrada, Luís Enrique Losada Igarza, Alexis Yanchoi Kuán Jerez, Pedro Daniel Borja Igarza, Julio Cesar Vinajera Reyes, Denis Vinajera Jardines, Froilán Vinajera Estibe.[1]




Also on April 2nd, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the home of the Lady in White Aurora Martin and her husband Antonio Gonzalez Bordonado was also ransacked by Rapid Response Brigades who broke down the fence in the front of the house; brutally beating all activists who were inside as well as destroying and confiscating personal belongings, papers, books, etc. Tania Montoya declared that a sister of Aurora Martin was beaten so badly that she fainted and that a 3 month old child present was also hurt. The activists arrested in Santiago de Cuba were: Roberto Herrera Terrán, Carlos González Martínez, Antonio González Bordonado, Carlos Martín Calderín, Ovidio Martín Mena, Ovidio Martín Castellanos, Lázaro Mejía Cúrvelo, Alexei Pécora Rabelo, Rolando Cala and Iraida Martín Calderín.[2]



According to Maria del Carmen Hernandez Martinez, her husband, human rights defender Jorge Vazquez Chaviano, is serving a one year and five month sentence in La Pendiente Prison in the province of Santa Clara where he was transferred two days after his arrest on March 27, 2012. Vazquez Chaviano was detained to prevent his assistance to the papal Mass in Havana.

In Havana, the Lady in White, Sonia Garro, who was violently arrested at her home alongside her husband, Ramon Muñoz on March 18, 2012 when they were remembering the 9th anniversary of the Black Spring, was transferred from a Police Unit to the Women’s Prison “El Guatao”, while her husband, Ramon Muñoz, was taken to the Combinado del Este Prison. Neither are formally accused. During their violent arrest, Muñoz was thrown down from the roof of his house by paramilitary forces and his wife was shot with rubber bullets.

Norma NIurka, Lady in White and member of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy in Havana, also arrested on Sunday, March 18, 2012 was transferred from a Police Unit to a Women’s Prison in Havana known as “El Guatao”. She is being held under “provisional detention” and accused of committing “assault”.




Andres Carrion Alvarez, a 40 year old Cuban who cried out “freedom” and “down with communism” at the Pope’s Mass in Santiago de Cuba is still detained since his arrest on March 28, 2012 at the Special Police Unit of Versalles in Santiago de Cuba. Carrion was violently beaten by plain clothes government agents; including a man wearing the Red Cross emblem who used the stretcher to beat him brutally over the head. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action on his behalf on April 4, 2012: https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/013/2012/en/5ce2aace-8d4e-4363-be42-cd8d400d916b/amr250132012en.html



Former political prisoner of conscience Angel Moya Acosta remains under arrest since April 6, 2012. He was detained in the town of Pedro Betancourt, in the province of Matanzas when he was going to visit his mother’s tomb with a group of friends.



Prisoners of conscience arbitrarily detained since January 8, 2012, Yasmin Conyedo and her husband, Yusmani Alvarez were released April 6, 2012.



The Lady in White, Magaly Norvis Otero reported the arrest of 28 activists on April 7 in the Municipality of Pedro Betancourt in the province of Matanzas. The arrests were related to a visit to the tomb of the mother of Angel Moya Acosta.



In Havana, independent journalist Julio Beltran Iglesias was arrested alongside several bloggers, librarians and intellectuals who intended to attend a gathering at the independent Project “Estado de SATS”. The librarian Omayda Padron and her daughter were among those detained, as were the dissidents Juan Antonio Madrazo and Leonardo Calvo.



On Easter Sunday, April 8, dozens of Ladies in White were detained throughout the island to prevent their assistance to Mass. Among the women arrested are: Niurki Rivera Despaigne (Havana), Adis Nidia Cruz (Holguin), and Caridad Caballero Batista (Pedernales),

Independent journalist Luis Felipe Rojas Rosabal denounced that, according to Yaquelin Garcia Jaens her husband, the political prisoner Ariel Arzuaga Peña is being harassed by the political police in the Prison of Las Mangas located in Bayamo (Eastern Cuba). Authorities are depriving him of his medication for hypertension, gastritis and chronic faringitis or of any literature and are inciting the common prisoners against him.


The Coalition of Cuban-American Women alerts the international community that the lives of those members of Cuban civil society who are actively and publicly struggling peacefully on behalf of fundamental freedoms are in danger. We are particularly concerned with mental and physical well-being of the following human rights defenders arbitrarily held under arrest: Andres Carrion Alvarez, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Dani Lopez de Moya, Adriana Nuñez, Santiago Castellanos, Raumel Vinajera, Juan Carlos Vazquez Osoria, Jorge Cervantes, Angel Moya Acosta, Sonia Garro and her husband Ramon Muñoz, Niurka Luque, and the brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz, and with the continued physical and mental harassment against all members of the Ladies in White, Laura Pollan throughout Cuba. International recognition of the peaceful resistance and solidarity for these human rights defenders is crucial. We make an urgent call on religious, civic, political, and cultural entities and its leaders, as well as to non-governmental human rights organizations worldwide.


Coalition of Cuban-American Women /



Joseito76@aol.com / Laida A.Carro

Blog: http://www.coalitionofcubanamericanwomen.blogspot.com/

Facebook Page: Coalition of Cuban-American Women

Twitter: @COCAW1

FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA:


Tania Montoya +535 3146329 / Belkis Cantillo Ramírez – +535 3790-867 / Eriberto Liranza Romero +535 3341682 / Luis Felipe Rojas Rosabal + 535 2771487 / Berta Soler + 535 2906820

Apology?

Saturday, April 07, 2012

"I love Fidel Castro," Blurts Ozzie Guillen



















"I love Fidel Castro," Blurts Ozzie Guillen, the new manager of the Miami Marlins, in his Jupiter, Fla., spring-training office before an early-March team workout. During a typically stream-of-consciousness Ozzie oratory, he has covered some favorite topics, such as his passion for bullfighting ("You're giving the animal an opportunity to kill you"), disdain for sports shrinks ("You're 4 for 4, you don't need psychology. You're 0 for 4, you need a f---ing guy to get you ready to play?") and the benefits of brutal honesty ("I told my wife, 'I don't like the perfume you're wearing.' She was mad, but meanwhile,...


I just don't understand.....





53 years of  a dictatorship, executions, tortures, and lack of FREEDOM for the Cuban people ,and this is the message from the papal authorities?

As a Catholic I am deeply disturbed and very, very, down. Not even in Rome do they care about the Cuban people!

Esposo e hijo de Dr. Drasi Ferrer llegan al exilio

Yusnaimy y el niño viajaron ayer para EEUU




Hola amigos:

Yusnaimy y nuestro niño Dariel llegaron ayer a Miami sobre las 5 de la tarde. Hoy desde temprano debían volar para Orlando, luego hacia Nasvill y por último a Chattanogga, en Tenesís, que es donde residirán. Ellos fueron acogidos por el programa de refugiados políticos. Como algunos conocen Yusnaimy padece de un trastorno cerebro vascular que le ha provocado cuadros de hipertensión endocraneana y otros síntomas preocupantes para su salud. Aquí ni siquiera le hicieron un diagnóstico en todos estos años ni tiene un tratamiento médico adecuado. Dariel también ha sufrido bastantes traumas psicológicos debido a la represión de la seguridad del estado. Espero que puedan asentarse bien por allá y que tengan oportunidad de conocer a la mayoría de nuestros amigos que tanto se han preocupado por nuestra situación siempre. Cuando tenga detalles de las vías para establecer comunicación con ellos los envío.

Saludos y cosas buenas,

Darsi

Oscar Biscet says religious freedom does not exist in Cuba

April 4, 2012


Havana, Cuba, Apr 4, 2012 / 04:09 pm (CNA).- Cuban doctor and former political prisoner Oscar Elias Biscet noted that while Pope Benedict's recent visit to the country was a success, religious freedom among the island's people remains stifled.

In an interview with Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, Biscet said the Pope's March 25-28 trip to Cuba was immensely beneficial “from a spiritual and religious point of view.”

But he argued that the Communist regime in Cuba manipulates circumstances in their favor and will most likely “ensure this visit benefited them more than those who are suffering.”

Biscet, who was imprisoned for more than a decade over his opposition to abortion, said that although government has shown a slight amount of “permissiveness” in recent years for Catholics who wish to practice their faith, “you still have to be careful about what you say in church.”

Ultimately, “there is no religious freedom because it is forbidden to preach in public,” he said.

Biscet recalled Blessed John Paul II's visit to the country in 1998, saying that the “government took advantage of it and did not follow through on its word to the Pope.”

“During these fourteen years, the world has opened up to the Cuban government, but this government has not opened up to the world or to its people.”

The Cuban doctor also criticized the Raul Castro government for misinforming the people by claiming there are similarities between Marxism and Christianity, when they are both “polar opposites.”

Communism, he said, “is hatred for religion, for God and for God’s creation. The foundation of Communism is atheism.”

“They claim to be defending the poor and that is totally false,” Biscet continued. “One of the pillars of Communism is taking away the freedom of citizens.”

“If you take human rights and basic freedoms away from citizens, you transgress God, because God is freedom,” he said. “God is total justice, he is love in all it magnitude. Christianity and Communism have nothing in common.”

Biscet was arrested in 1999 for denouncing abortions in Cuba. The practice is legal there in cases of fetal deformation, rape or life of the mother, “but they violate this law and abortion is seen as a contraceptive,” he said.

“I conducted a study on one type of abortion that is performed after the 16th week and in 9 percent of the cases, the babies were born alive and they were killed. I recorded the testimonies of the mothers, I brought them to the government and Fidel Castro became furious.

One month later he ordered I be put in prison and even claimed I was mentally ill,” Biscet recalled. In 2011 he was finally freed due to the mediation of local Church leaders.

Biscet said that although political change in Cuba is very difficult, advancement for the country is still possible after decades of Communist rule.

“For 53 years fear has been instilled in the people and they have not expressed themselves, but when there is a double mindset: one real and one based on fear, it’s only one more step to freedom and to acquire one’s true personality, because when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. When you know the truth, you change,” Biscet said.

FORMER CUBAN HISTORICAL POLITICAL PRISONERS ORG.

PRESIDIO POLITICO HISTORICO CUBANO-CASA DEL PRESO- FORMER CUBAN HISTORICAL POLITICAL PRISONERS ORG.


1140 SW 13 AV. M,IAMI, FL. 33135 TELEF: 305-858-3789 FAX: 305-858-3778

DESDE/SINCE: 02/1980


COMUNICADO

Por este medio comunicamos a nuestros miembros que debido a las nuevas modificaciones que se están realizando en nuestra organización les informamos que el nuevo e-mail oficial del PPHC es:


ppchistorico@gmail.com



Esta dirección de e-mail, junto con la página en facebook Presidio Politico Historico-Casa del Preso y el boletín El Intransigente pretenden establecer un vínculo más fluido con la membresía, por lo que les invitamos a que cualquier inquietud o sugerencia nos sean trasmitidos. Les solicitamos que quienes quieran nos envien un mensaje por esta via para confirmar la efectividad de la comunicacion y si conocen a algún miembro que posea e-mail, déjenlo saber para contactarlo, o se lo digan para que nos contacten y añadirlo a esta relación.


También les informamos que en la Asamblea del pasado 31 de marzo fue aprobado en segunda lectura el reglamento que regirá los destinos de nuestra organización. El Ejecutivo realizará su mejor esfuerzo para que esté publicado en la Asamblea de este mes de abril a celebrarse el día 28.

El día primero se conmemoró el Día del Preso Político del cual estaremos informándolos.


Felipe Alonso,



Sec. de prensa e información del PPH

Monday, April 02, 2012

A CRACKDOWN ON FIVE FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF RELIGION, MOVEMENT, ASSOCIATION, ASSEMBLY AND SPEECH

POPE BENEDICT XVI’S VISIT: A CRACKDOWN ON FIVE FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF RELIGION, MOVEMENT, ASSOCIATION, ASSEMBLY AND SPEECH
“The government filled its dungeons with Ladies in White and human rights defenders as it concentrated atheists in both plazas where the Holy Father celebrated Mass”
Berta Soler, leader, Ladies in White/ April 1, 2012
April 1, 2012
List at the end of over 200 members of Cuban civil society arrested
More than 300 human rights defenders and members of Cuban civil society were threatened, arrested or held under house arrest before and during the 72 hour visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba. The whereabouts of a large number were unknown. Activists reported cities “militarized” and that members of the political police were posted outside their windows. Most arrests took place in Havana and the Eastern cities of Santiago de Cuba, Holguin and Guantanamo. Several dissidents, such as the former Cuban political prisoner of conscience, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, declared that the Cuban regime used the Pope’s visit as a “dress rehearsal” to try out its repressive strategy in the event of a future national crisis.
Andrew Johnston, advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide denounced in a press release on March 30, 2012 the violent repressive tactics carried by the Cuban regime against “men and women who are members of the Catholic Church and derive deep strength and inspiration from their faith.” http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/article.asp?t=press&id=1341
The state control of the Pope’s visit began with the lists that were handed to the government of those who had to register their names in the parishes if they wanted to participate in the Masses. Public transportation all provided by the regime, to and from the Masses, was supervised by members of the Communist Youth and the Communist Party. The days of the Masses in Havana and Santiago de Cuba were “days off’ for Cubans who, in spite of their indifference or lack of interest in the Catholic Masses, had to sign in at their workplace and were transported to the Plazas in their respective cities.
The Cuban blogger and independent journalist Luis Felipe Rojas resident of the city of San German in Eastern Holguin, remained under arrest the entire time of the Pope’s visit (March 24-28), and his wife and son remained under house arrest in spite of the fact that he and his family had signed up in his parish to attend the Mass in Santiago de Cuba. Rojas denounced that the telephone and communication companies in Cuba: ETECSA and CUBACEL, lent themselves to cut-off the cell phone and landline communication of all those targeted by the communist regime during the Pope’s visit to Cuba.
Activists throughout the island also denounced that whenever they received a call, either from abroad or from others in the island, a Havana phone number would appear on their phones: +72041234, a number that connects to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior.
James Burke, the Cuba Campaigner at Amnesty International declared that: “As our efforts to communicate with government critics, human rights activists and independent journalists across Cuba are continually frustrated, it becomes clear that repression of dissent by the Cuban authorities during the Pope’s visit has become increasingly Orwellian. http://livewire.amnesty.org/2012/03/30/smoke-signals-to-cuba/langswitch_lang/es/#more-5368
The political police knocked on activists’ doors with summons that ordered them to appear at police units during the days of the Pope’s visit. Fines would be applied to those who did not show up. In attachment are copies of these official forms with the stamp of the Ministry of the Interior for: Margarita Aleman Mederos, Raul Caraballo Pereira, Antuan Clemente Hernandez and Armando Lorenzo Collado Batista.
Human rights defender, Niurka Luque, under arrest since March 18, 2012 for trying to attend the Ladies’ in White “Literary Tea” (held on the 18th of every month) was transferred on March 30 to the Maximum Security Women’s prison of Manto Negro.
Andres Carrion Alvarez, a 40 year old Cuban who cried out “down with communism” at the Pope’s Mass in Santiago de Cuba is still detained at the Special Police Unit of Versalles in Santiago de Cuba. Carrion was violently beaten by plain clothes government agents; including a man wearing the Red Cross emblem who used the stretcher to beat him brutally over the head. The International Red Cross is investigating this incident.
Amnesty International declared Yasmin Conyedo and her husband, Yusmani Alvarez prisoners of conscience. Both remain under arrest since January 8, 2012 in the central city of Santa Clara. Yasmin Conyedo is an independent journalist of the group, United Antitotalitarian Front and a Lady in White. Her husband, Yusmani Alvarez is an activist of the Young Democratic League of Las Villas. They are both falsely accused of attacking the home of a communist party official in their hometown of Villaclara who had initially subjected the couple’s home to a pro government mob attack the same day of the arrest. Yasmin was transferred to the Prison of Guamajal and Yusmani to the Prison of La Pendiente on January 16, 2012.
Amnesty Int’l also declared prisoners of conscience brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz who are serving a three year prison sentence since Christmas Day 2010 for singing a protest song in the street.
Amnesty Int’l Report on Cuba/ Yasmin Conyedo, Yusmani Alvarez, Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/007/2012/en/16f0c0fe-c76b-428e-9050-bc9eb2ea95f7/amr250072012en.pdf
The Coalition of Cuban-American Womenalerts the international community that the lives of those members of Cuban civil society who are actively and publicly struggling peacefully on behalf of fundamental freedoms are in danger. We are particularly concerned with the cases of the activist couple Yasmin Conyedo and Yusmani Alvarez, the brothers Antonio Michel Lima Cruz and Marcos Maiquel Lima Cruz, Andres Carrion Alvarez, Niurka Luque and with the continued physical and mental harassment against all members of the Ladies in White, Laura Pollan throughout Cuba. International recognition of the peaceful resistance and solidarity for these human rights defenders is crucial. We make an urgent call on religious, civic, political, and cultural entities and its leaders, as well as to non-governmental human rights organizations worldwide.
Coalition of Cuban-American Women / Joseito76@aol.com / Laida A.Carro Blog: www.coalitionofcubanamericanwomen.blogspot.com
Facebook Page: Coalition of Cuban-American Women
Twitter: @COCAW1
MEMBERS OF INDEPENDENT CIVIL SOCIETY ARRESTED BY PROVINCE: JOURNALISTS, ACTIVISTS, BLOGGERS, MUSICIANS, WRITERS. LIST COMPILED BY ASSEMBLY FOR THE RESISTANCE: + (305) 220-2713 / asambleadelaresistencia@gmail.com

PINAR DEL RIO: All phone lines were cut off
  1. Yaser Reinoso Ramos
LA HABANA: Most phone lines are cut off
  1. Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo (released 3/28/2012)
  2. Julio León Fonseca (released 3/28/2012)
  3. Julio Aleaga Pesant
  4. William ( musician )
  5. Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto
  6. Ismael de Diego (poet and actor)
  7. Claudio Fuentes (photographer)
  8. Francisco Chaviano González
  9. Enrique Losada
  10. Julio Vega Santiesteban
  11. Roberto Tapia Ferrer
  12. Rubén Sanchez Vega
  13. Leidi Coca Quesada
  14. Omaida Padrón Ascuit
  15. Jennifer Fonseca Padrón
  16. Karen de Jesús
  17. Belkis Felicia Jorrín Morfa
  18. Lázara Mitjans Cruz
  19. Blanca Hernández Moya
  20. Ciro Díaz (blogger and guitarist of the group”Porno para Ricardo”)
  21. Naiyibis Corrales Jiménez
  22. Laura Elena Capote Loret de Mola
  23. Katia Sonia Martín Veliz
  24. Ricardo Salabarría
  25. Odalis Caridad Valdés Suárez
  26. Raúl Ramírez Puig
  27. Gerardo Páez Díaz
  28. Ulises Cintra Suárez
  29. Jerry Curbelo Aguilera
  30. Manuel Cuesta Morúa
  31. Alberto Méndez
  32. Ivonne Mayeza Galano
  33. Mercedes Fresneda
  34. Julio Regatillo
  35. Berta Soler Fernández
  36. Alejandrina García de la Riva
  37. Laura Labrada Pollán
  38. Niurka Luque Alvarez (detained, beaten and on hunger strike from March 18, 2012. Taken to the máximum security Women’s Prison of Manto Negro on March 29, 2012.
  39. Lucy Castermau
  40. Yesica Castermau Jorrín
  41. Belkis Jorrín Morfa
  42. María de los Angeles Rojas Pereira
  43. Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez- (Under arrest from March 27- 28, 2012)
  44. Magalys Norbis Otero- (Under arrest from March 27-28, 2012)
  45. René Rouco Machín
MATANZAS:
  1. Leticia Ramos Herrería (arrested March 26 and relased March 29, 2012)
  2. Emilio Bringas Evora
  3. Mercedes de la Caridad De la Guardia
  4. José Morejón Morejón
  5. Lázaro Díaz Sánchez
  6. Francisco Rangel Manzano
  7. Ysabel Marrero Burunate (golpeada)
  8. Carlos Orlando Olivera Martínez (violently arrested)
  9. William Acevedo Roque
  10. Rubén Montes de Oca
  11. Nelson Ruiz Alonso
  12. Félix Navarro Rodríguez
  13. Edelvis Granda Pérez
  14. Raudel García
  15. Nelson Acosta Ríos
  16. Iván Hernández Carrillo
CIENFUEGOS:
  1. Pablo González Villa (arrested March 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
  2. Justo Luis Alonso García ( arrested march 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
  3. Alexis Santana González (arrested March 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
  4. Yoel Morera Martínez (arrested March 25 Released March 28)
  5. Eduardo Cortés López, (arrested March 27 Released March 28)
  6. Ricardo Pupo Sierra, (arrested March 26 Released March 28)
  7. Juan de Dios Medina Vazquez (arrested March 26 Released March 28)
VILLA CLARA:
  1. Rolando Ferrer Espinosa,
  2. Maria del Carmen Martinez Lopez,
  3. Natividad Blanco Carrero,
  4. Leonardo Rodríguez Alonzo
CAMAGUEY:
  1. Virgilio Mantilla Arango,
  2. Elicardo Freire Jiménez
  3. Osmani Leonardo Fernández.
  4. Frank Adán de la Rosa
  5. Rudel Montes de Oca Quesada
LAS TUNAS
78. Ramón Velázquez Toranzo
79. Ismelis Quiñones Ortega
HOLGUIN:
  1. Luis Felipe Rojas Rosabal,
  2. Delmides Fidalgo López,
  3. Mariblanca Ávila Esposito,
  4. Anni Sarrión Romero,
  5. Juan Carlos Vázquez Osorio,
  6. Jorge Luis Freeman Palermo,
  7. Jorge Luis Claro Velazquez,
  8. Juan Oriol Verdecia, (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  9. Rafael Meneses Pupo, (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  10. Alexander Rodríguez Santiesteban (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  11. Maritza Cardoso,
  12. Caridad Caballero Batista,
  13. Marta Díaz Rondón,
  14. Milagros Leiva Ramírez.
  15. Anyer Antonio Blanco Rodríguez
  16. Eliécer Aranda Matos
  17. Yeri Curbelo Aguilera
  18. Eliécer Palma Pupo
  19. Antonio Caballero Pupo
  20. Bernardo Torres Roldán
  21. Maira Guerrero Silva
  22. Bertha Guerrero Segura
  23. Marco Antonio Lima Dalmao
  24. Adis Nidia Cruz Sebré
  25. Isabel Peña Torres
  26. Judith Ferrer Segura
  27. Yosvany Anzardo
  28. Yoandri Naoski Ricardo Mir (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  29. Delvis Martínez Albides (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  30. Niober Cansino Acosta (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
  31. Ariel Cruz Meneses (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
GRANMA
  1. Emiliano González Olivera
  2. Léster Lora Carbonell
  3. Alexis Rivero Rodríguez
  4. Antonio Santí Soto
  5. Félix Rivero Cordobí
  6. Armando Pacheco
  7. Yaquelin García Hans
SANTIAGO DE CUBA:
  1. Misael Valdés Díaz, (under arrest from March 26-28).
  2. Jorge Cervantes García, (violently arrested, a hand required 8 stitches)
  3. Guillermo Cobas Reyes
  4. Liudmila Rodriguez Palomo,
  5. Angel Verdecia Día