Sunday, April 15, 2012
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)
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
- Yaser Reinoso Ramos
LA HABANA: Most phone lines are cut off
- Sara Marta Fonseca Quevedo (released 3/28/2012)
- Julio León Fonseca (released 3/28/2012)
- Julio Aleaga Pesant
- William ( musician )
- Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto
- Ismael de Diego (poet and actor)
- Claudio Fuentes (photographer)
- Francisco Chaviano González
- Enrique Losada
- Julio Vega Santiesteban
- Roberto Tapia Ferrer
- Rubén Sanchez Vega
- Leidi Coca Quesada
- Omaida Padrón Ascuit
- Jennifer Fonseca Padrón
- Karen de Jesús
- Belkis Felicia Jorrín Morfa
- Lázara Mitjans Cruz
- Blanca Hernández Moya
- Ciro Díaz (blogger and guitarist of the group”Porno para Ricardo”)
- Naiyibis Corrales Jiménez
- Laura Elena Capote Loret de Mola
- Katia Sonia Martín Veliz
- Ricardo Salabarría
- Odalis Caridad Valdés Suárez
- Raúl Ramírez Puig
- Gerardo Páez Díaz
- Ulises Cintra Suárez
- Jerry Curbelo Aguilera
- Manuel Cuesta Morúa
- Alberto Méndez
- Ivonne Mayeza Galano
- Mercedes Fresneda
- Julio Regatillo
- Berta Soler Fernández
- Alejandrina García de la Riva
- Laura Labrada Pollán
- 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.
- Lucy Castermau
- Yesica Castermau Jorrín
- Belkis Jorrín Morfa
- María de los Angeles Rojas Pereira
- Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez- (Under arrest from March 27- 28, 2012)
- Magalys Norbis Otero- (Under arrest from March 27-28, 2012)
- René Rouco Machín
MATANZAS:
- Leticia Ramos Herrería (arrested March 26 and relased March 29, 2012)
- Emilio Bringas Evora
- Mercedes de la Caridad De la Guardia
- José Morejón Morejón
- Lázaro Díaz Sánchez
- Francisco Rangel Manzano
- Ysabel Marrero Burunate (golpeada)
- Carlos Orlando Olivera Martínez (violently arrested)
- William Acevedo Roque
- Rubén Montes de Oca
- Nelson Ruiz Alonso
- Félix Navarro Rodríguez
- Edelvis Granda Pérez
- Raudel García
- Nelson Acosta Ríos
- Iván Hernández Carrillo
CIENFUEGOS:
- Pablo González Villa (arrested March 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
- Justo Luis Alonso García ( arrested march 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
- Alexis Santana González (arrested March 27, still under arrest 3/30/2012)
- Yoel Morera Martínez (arrested March 25 Released March 28)
- Eduardo Cortés López, (arrested March 27 Released March 28)
- Ricardo Pupo Sierra, (arrested March 26 Released March 28)
- Juan de Dios Medina Vazquez (arrested March 26 Released March 28)
VILLA CLARA:
- Rolando Ferrer Espinosa,
- Maria del Carmen Martinez Lopez,
- Natividad Blanco Carrero,
- Leonardo Rodríguez Alonzo
CAMAGUEY:
- Virgilio Mantilla Arango,
- Elicardo Freire Jiménez
- Osmani Leonardo Fernández.
- Frank Adán de la Rosa
- Rudel Montes de Oca Quesada
LAS TUNAS
78. Ramón Velázquez Toranzo
79. Ismelis Quiñones Ortega
HOLGUIN:
- Luis Felipe Rojas Rosabal,
- Delmides Fidalgo López,
- Mariblanca Ávila Esposito,
- Anni Sarrión Romero,
- Juan Carlos Vázquez Osorio,
- Jorge Luis Freeman Palermo,
- Jorge Luis Claro Velazquez,
- Juan Oriol Verdecia, (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Rafael Meneses Pupo, (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Alexander Rodríguez Santiesteban (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Maritza Cardoso,
- Caridad Caballero Batista,
- Marta Díaz Rondón,
- Milagros Leiva Ramírez.
- Anyer Antonio Blanco Rodríguez
- Eliécer Aranda Matos
- Yeri Curbelo Aguilera
- Eliécer Palma Pupo
- Antonio Caballero Pupo
- Bernardo Torres Roldán
- Maira Guerrero Silva
- Bertha Guerrero Segura
- Marco Antonio Lima Dalmao
- Adis Nidia Cruz Sebré
- Isabel Peña Torres
- Judith Ferrer Segura
- Yosvany Anzardo
- Yoandri Naoski Ricardo Mir (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Delvis Martínez Albides (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Niober Cansino Acosta (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
- Ariel Cruz Meneses (Under arrest from March 24-28 2 PM)
GRANMA
- Emiliano González Olivera
- Léster Lora Carbonell
- Alexis Rivero Rodríguez
- Antonio Santí Soto
- Félix Rivero Cordobí
- Armando Pacheco
- Yaquelin García Hans
SANTIAGO DE CUBA:
- Misael Valdés Díaz, (under arrest from March 26-28).
- Jorge Cervantes García, (violently arrested, a hand required 8 stitches)
- Guillermo Cobas Reyes
- Liudmila Rodriguez Palomo,
- Angel Verdecia Día
MONS. WENSKI A SU LLEGADA A MIAMI DE CUBA:
Abajo un articulo sobre la llegada de Cuba del ArzobispoThomas Wenski de Miami y sus palabras a la prensa a su llegada a EEUU. Considero una falta de respeto todo lo que dijo, particularmente las palabras que abajo destaco. He sido testigo del sufrimiento y el dolor de mi pueblo desde 1959 cuando era una nina y mi contacto con familias de martires ( soy sobrina de un fusilado, comandante del Escambray ), con cientos de presos politicos cubanos y hoy con los valientes defensores de los derechos humanos en la isla, me obliga a hablar en nombre de hombres y mujeres, ejemplos del sacrificio de una nacion por la libertad de Cuba durante mas de medio siglo.
El papel de la jerarchia de la iglesia catolica en estos momentos, tanto la del Vaticano como la de la Iglesia Cubana, no es el de estar del lado de los discipulos de Jesus Cristo en Cuba. Sus intereses son crear "sus espacios" en colaboracion con una dictadura totalitaria compuesta de ladrones y criminales.
Los cubanos seguiremos luchando por esa ansiada LIBERTAD, siempre con la guia y ayuda de Dios.
Laida A. Carro
defensora de los derechos humanos
---------------------------------------------------
MONS. WENSKI A SU LLEGADA A MIAMI DE CUBA:
"...el papa no va a poder hacer en un día lo que los cubanos no han podido hacer en 50 años"
Arzobispo de Miami dice que el papa deja al pueblo cubano "más reconciliado"
29-03-2012 / 23:50 h EFE
El arzobispo de Miami, Thomas Wenski, afirmó hoy que el legado que dejó el papa Benedicto XVI a Cuba es una iglesia "quizás con más confianza" y un pueblo "más reconciliado", que puede emprender el camino hacia un "futuro de esperanza".
Wenski aseguró en una conferencia de prensa al regresar de Cuba que la iglesia está tratando de ayudar al pueblo cubano a adquirir los valores necesarios para ese futuro.
"Pero el papa no va a poder hacer en un día lo que los cubanos no han podido hacer en 50 años", enfatizó en referencia a una transición democrática.
Por ello, agregó, el pontífice también habló durante su visita de paciencia, de valores morales, de la reconciliación y del respeto mutuo.
El religioso, que encabezó una peregrinación de más de 300 personas de EE.UU., consideró que los cubanos vivieron "una primavera de fe" con la presencia del papa, que coincidió con el Año Jubilar 2012 para festejar el IV Centenario del hallazgo de la imagen de la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, la patrona de Cuba.
Con respecto a las críticas del exilio cubano a que Benedicto XVI no se reuniera con las Damas de Blanco y otros disidentes, pero sí con los hermanos Castro, aseveró que el papa tiene pleno conocimiento de las "preocupaciones" de la oposición interna.
"Have un mes las Damas de Blanco fueron recibidas por el nuncio en La Habana, y el nuncio es el representante del papa. Ellas presentaron una lista de sus preocupaciones (...). Estoy seguro que el papa, a través de él, está muy al tanto de esas preocupaciones y de lo que ellas necesitaban decirle", subrayó.
Destacó que cuando se analizan los comentarios del papa en las dos homilías que ofició, "creo que él se dirigió a muchas de esas preocupaciones, así como trató las preocupaciones de todos los cubanos, especialmente cuando dijo que Cuba es el hogar para todos los cubanos".
También aclaró que la Iglesia no prohibió la entrada a las misas que oficiaron, tanto el papa como él, en Santiago y en La Habana.
"Hay que recordar que no fue la Iglesia la que prohibió la entrada de nadie. Tengo entendido que en mi misa del miércoles había disidentes que estaban presentes porque las puertas estaban abiertas", dijo el arzobispo.
El religioso se refirió a las duras palabras que pronunció en esa misa en la catedral de La Habana y que fueron acogidas con júbilo por algunos exiliados cubanos del sur de Florida.
"Diría que no dicen nada más que lo que estaba diciendo el papa y los obispos cubanos, o sea, que las palabras mías estaban muy en sintonía con las palabras y pensamientos" de ellos, expresó.
Wenski criticó el comunismo durante esa misa al manifestar que el materialismo ideológico representado "en este país y en aquellos del bloque soviético", negó la transcendencia del ser humano.
"Como el papa comentó en su vuelo a México, el marxismo es una ideología ya desgastada (...). A la vez que Cuba espera una transición, el papa y la Iglesia cubana quieren una transición que sea digna del ser humano, digna del cubano", dijo el arzobispo en la misa, según el discurso divulgado por la Archidiócesis de Miami.
Al ser preguntado sobre qué le hubiera dicho a Fidel Castro si se hubiera reunido con él, comentó que "ante la presencia del santo padre le hubiera dicho que oiga bien lo que dice el santo padre".
El arzobispo se manifestó confiado en que la visita del pontífice "rendirá frutos y (éstos) serán importantes"."Me gustaría ver lo que el papa estaba diciendo: que nos moviéramos hacia una Cuba donde sus ciudadanos están reconciliados entre ellos, donde la gente tiene la posibilidad un futuro dentro de su propia patria", agregó.
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