ALARMING INCREASE OF REPRESSIVE ACTS AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, INCLUDING A CHURCH SANCTIONED POLICE RAID

Former political prisoner of conscience, Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina calls on Cuba to be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council

March 18, 2012

The week of March 12-18, 2012, saw an increase in the government’s repression against Cuban civil society, particularly human rights defenders who, in larger numbers, are exercising their right to fundamental freedoms in the island. Mob attacks, death threats, arbitrary arrests, inhumane treatment in prison cells, homes under siege, intercepted phone lines, abandoned in remote areas far from their homes were some of the repressive tactics carried out by Cuban authorities.

Freedom of religion continues under attack, even as the visit of Pope Benedict XVI is one week away. The Cuban Catholic hierarchy’s actions coincided with those of the Cuban Communist regime when paramilitary forces evicted by force, mistreated and placed under surveillance, thirteen activists of the Cuban Republican Party who decided to peacefully occupy the Church of Our Lady of Charity in Campanario St. in Central Havana: Emilio Torres Pérez, Yudit Ferrer Segura, Pascual Pérez Sánchez, Mayelín Lázara Betancourt, Miguel López Santos, Orlando Corzo González, Dionis De la Caridad Piloto, Josiel Diaz Piloto, Vladimir Calderón Frías, Deixis Ponce Arencibia, Niola Camila Araujo Pina, Ferd Calderón Muñoz, and Roniel Valentín Aguillón The activists wanted, among other demands, that independent pro human rights groups in Cuba hold an audience with the Pope during his visit to the island on March 26-28 to inform him of the human rights situation in Cuba. This was part of a plan of coordinated protests that were to be carried out by activists in other parts of the island as well but which ended unsuccessfully. The Office of the Archbishop of Havana publicly said that this was “an illegitimate andirresponsible act” and called on the group to leave the church premises immediately. The activists held on for two days trying to negotiate their demands with high Church officials. The forced eviction took place on Thursday evening, March 15 after they were told by Church officials that they would secure their personal safety and that they would not be prosecuted. The parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Charity and Monsignor Polcari had informed them that a government official was coming to speak to them but, when the doors of the Sanctuary were opened, around 22 paramilitary agents entered the church. The activists said that they were dragged, beaten, taken to a police unit in Havana (located in Amenidad and Infanta) where they were fingerprinted, photographed, weighed and samples of their hair, urine and sweat were taken. The women were forced to undress. They were then transferred to the State Security headquarters of Villa Marista in Havana and were all threatened to be sanctioned with Law 88 ( Gag Law) after the Pope left Cuba. Repressive forces continue to harass these 13 activists withongoing surveillance to their homes and their activities. Vladimir Alejo Miranda declared that Cuban authorities are trying to isolate them. The official statement published by the Cuban Catholic Church contradicted the testimonies of the 13 activists: http://www.arquidiocesisdelahabana.org/contens/webs/ind_main2_hoy.htm

On Wednesday, March 14, the former Cuban political prisoner of conscience Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, gave his testimony as a survivor of Cuban prisons before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. On behalf of the Centrist Democrat International, Rodriguez Lobaina described how he suffered cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment during more than 10 years; giving as an example the mock execution he was subjected to in 1999 and called on Cuba to be expelled from the Human Rights Council.

TEXT OF NESTOR RODRIGUEZ LOBAINA’S SPEECH: http://cubanexilequarter.blogspot.com/2012/03/nestor-rodriguez-lobaina-calls-on.html

Three days before the ninth anniversary of the Cuban crackdown against prodemocracy activists known as the “Black Spring” that took place on March 18, 2003, around 80 human rights defenders were arrested. Members of the Ladies in White “Laura Pollan” from across the island began to gather at their headquarters located at Calle Neptuno # 963 between Aramburen and Hospital in Havana. The streets nearby were blocked off by authorities and on Saturday March 17 and an “act of repudiation” began at 2:30 p.m. as the house was surrounded by a police operative with a pro government mob that screamed “let’s get them with machetes, they are only a few !” . Of the more than fifty women, nineteen Ladies in White wearing masks with the face of their deceased leader Laura Pollan came out of their headquarters and were intercepted by authorities three blocks down. Whereabouts of the women were unknown to their families until they were released hours later, and reported that they were taken to the 4^th Police Unit in El Cerro, in Havana.

On Sunday, the crackdown continued, as dozens of arrests and acts of repression were reported in Villa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Bayamos and Matanzas. More than thirty members of the group “Ladies in White Laura Pollan” were arrested in Havana, among them their spokesperson Berta Soler, as they were marching down 5^th Avenue after Mass. Many were released in remote areas far from their homes.

Marco Antonio Lima Dalmau reported that paramilitary forces in Holguin Cuba arrested the Ladies in White Adisnidia Cruz Segredo and Nelida Molina Leiva when they left a Catholic Church in Holguin, as well as two activists. In Gibara, among those human rights defenders arrested were: Antonio Caballero Pupo, Magdaly Guerrero Silva, Jesus Frimas, Richard Duputel, Bernardo Torres Roldan, and Jesus Ferrer.

State Security placed guards at the entrance of the Catholic church in the city of San Juan y Martinez in the western province of Pinar del Rio, to prevent the Ladies in White from entering.

In the central city of Santa Clara, six Ladies in White were arrested as they were leaving their homes to attend Mass at the Church of La Divina Pastora.

Among the Ladies in White arrested on Saturday to prevent their attendance to Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity in the town of El Cobre in Eastern Cuba and who were mistreated physically by the political police in the 3^rd Unit of the PNR in Santiago de Cuba were: Aurora Martin, and Miraida Martin who declared themselves on hunger strike

Ten videos of inhumane prison conditions at the Combinado del Este Prison in Havana, were smuggled outside the island by the independent journalist, Dania Virgen Garcia who stated to the news agency CNN that the videos were shot in January 2012 using a camera smuggled into the prison. The videos show derelict cell blocks, thick grime on the walls, holes in the floor that serve as toilets. Prisoners, many of them foreigners, are heard speaking of rotten food, meager rations, dilapidated cells, moldy walls, overcrowding, limited exercise hours and persistent sewage leaks. Combinado del Este is a Cuban maximum security prison about 10 miles southeast of Havana that holds common prisoners (accused of drug trafficking and violent crimes) as well as political prisoners.

VIDEO 1 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado.html

VIDEO 2 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_17.html

VIDEO 3 – http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_3386.html

VIDEO 4 – http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_8814.html

VIDEO 5 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_7673.html

VIDEO 6 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_9531.html

VIDEO 7 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_4516.html

VIDEO 8 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_8305.html

VIDEO 9 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_840.html

VIDEO 10 - http://www.cubadentro.com/2012/03/camara-oculta-en-la-prision-combinado_575.html

Yasmin Conyedo and her husband, Yusmani Alvarez 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.

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, and with the continued physical and mental harassment against 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

FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA:

Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia + 5353631267 / Berta Solerl +5352906820 / Antunez +53 52731656 / Alejandrina Garcia de la Riva +53 52737663 / Martha Diaz Rondon + 53 52771639

Líder de amotinados en iglesia de La Habana concede entrevista a Cubanet

Escrito por Aini Martín Valero el 15/03/2012 en Breves desde Cuba

^[1]LA HABANA, Cuba, marzo (Aini Martín Valero, www.cubanet.org) – Varios miembros del Partido Republicano de Cuba (PRC) tomaron desde el martes la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, en la capital, con el fin de llamar la atención del papa Benedicto XVI para que se reúna con la oposición durante su visita a Cuba el próximo 26 de marzo.

Trece miembros del PRC se mantenían la tarde del jueves en el interior del templo. La decisión de los opositores fue duramente criticada por la Iglesia en un comunicado difundido en la isla.

Cubanet pudo entrevistar a Vladimir Calderón, Presidente del Partido Republicano de Cuba, quien se encuentra entre los ocupantes de la iglesia de Centro Habana, una acción que ya comienza a conocerse como “La protesta de los 13”.

CN: ¿Cuáles fueron las demandas presentadas por ustedes a Roberto Betancourt, párroco de la Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, y qué los motivó a quedarse dentro del templo?

Calderón Frías: Nuestras demandas son de corte social, con el objetivo de que la Iglesia las haga llegar al Gobierno. Estas son: Libertad para los presos políticos, cese la represión contra los opositores al régimen, libertad de movimiento, libertad de asociación, libertad económica, acceso a la propiedad privada, acceso a Internet, aumentos de salarios, alimentos para los niños y también proponemos un diálogo entre el Gobierno y la oposición.

Cuando le entregamos las demandas al párroco, este dijo que él no sería el trasmisor o mediador de estas demandas, que eso había que entregárselo al Nuncio Apostólico en el Arzobispado de La Habana. Esto, más el operativo que está suscitándose en las afueras del templo, nos hizo tomar la medida de no salir de aquí.

Llamamos al Arzobispado y estos mandaron al Monseñor Suárez Polcarí, el cual no estuvo de acuerdo con que nosotros hiciéramos esto, ya que (según dijo) el Papa Benedicto XVI venía de visita a Cuba y no venía a atender ningún asunto político.

Nosotros manifestamos que no estamos en contra de la Iglesia, ni de la visita del Papa, ni estamos tratando de boicotear su visita, sino que sencillamente estamos aprovechando esta visita importante para el país de forma que (el Papa) medie para que el gobierno imperante reconozca la oposición en Cuba.

Pero monseñor Suárez Polcarí nos sacó un documento donde decía que hemos cogido a la Iglesia de frontera política, y que somos unos irresponsables.

No creo que eso sea así. Hay muchas personas que nos han llamado. Unos no están de acuerdo con la posición que hemos adoptado y otros sí nos apoyan, como es el caso de Guillermo Fariñas, Félix Navarro, Marta Beatriz Cabello, JoséDaniel Ferrer. Es decir, hemos tenido contacto con varias personas que nos apoyan.

Hemos decidido que venga un funcionario en representación del Gobierno, que ese funcionario venga en un contacto inicial, para nosotros crear condiciones para que haya un diálogo entre la oposición y el gobierno de Cuba, con la participación de las agencias noticiosas de Cuba al servicio del régimen y las agencias de prensa extranjeras acreditadas en la isla.

Debe participar en este diálogo una representación notable de la oposición de toda Cuba y también deben participar movimientos de opositores radicados en el exilio y que se les permita la entrada al país.

CN: ¿Hoy, después de casi tres días, que respuesta han tenido?

Hasta el momento no ha venido nadie a dialogar con nosotros. No hemos recibido respuesta a nuestras demandas. Lo que hemos recibido es la conformidad de monseñor Suarez Polcarí.

CN: ¿Por qué están en la Iglesia de la Caridad?
Nosotros utilizamos la iglesia de la Caridad porque esta iglesia la escogimos los opositores del PRC para realizar nuestras actividades todos los días 13 de cada mes. Aquí nos reunimos para orar por los muertos del Remolcador 13 de marzo.

El párroco de esta iglesia ha mantenido una atención con nosotros, nos ha dejado bañarnos, nos deja tomar agua.

CN: ¿Y cómo es la situación con respecto a la alimentación?

La alimentación se nos acabó ayer (miércoles) al mediodía. Esto será hasta donde nosotros aguantemos. Nosotros no vamos a desistir de nuestra posición, porque no tenemos garantías de seguridad ninguna. Esto está rodeado aquí, está lleno de policías. La iglesia no ha cerrado, se mantiene abierta, los feligreses vienen, hacen sus ofrendas a la patrona Lo único que no se ha dado es la misa porque nosotros estamos en el interior del templo.

Ellos (la Seguridad del Estado) no entran porque no se les permite la entrada, pero las personas del pueblo que van a entrar a la iglesia son controlados y registrados por la policía política que está afuera. Les piden identificación, les registran las jabas, para que no introduzcan alimentos.

Han querido entrar algunos colegas nuestros que nos apoyan de diferentes movimientos. También han intentado llegar algunos familiares de los que estamos aquí y han sido detenidos, pero les han quitado unos simples panes y otros alimentos, o sea que nos quieren vencer por hambre.

Ayer a las 12 de la noche el hermano de Frei Calderón, quien está aquí con nosotros, intentó llegar con una jaba de panes. Fue detenido y golpeado por la policía política. Ha sido liberado have unos minutos y nos llamó para informarnos.

Al parecer el párroco está siendo presionado por la Seguridad del Estado para que no nos de alimentos. El párroco tiene alimentos limitados dentro de la iglesia y (se complicaría la situación) si no le permiten salir a buscar comida, pues él tiene que alimentarse y nosotros somos muchos.

CN: ¿Cuál es la posición de ustedes si las autoridades no toman en cuenta sus demandas?
La posición de nosotros es que no podemos salir de aquí porque no tenemos una garantía. Si salimos de aquí por nuestros pies, nos caerán a golpes y estaremos presos al momento. Por tanto, de aquí no nos vamos a mover hasta que no haya una respuesta por parte del Gobierno.

Aquí estamos ocho hombres y cinco mujeres. De los hombres hay dos muy mayores, uno de 82 años y otro de 64, y dos que son diabéticos.

Esto lo hicimos a manera de iniciativa del PRC, pero no para instaurar un protagonismo de la organización en ningún lado. Nosotros hemos hecho esto para que la oposición se una, para que sea este el momento de consenso de la oposición en Cuba.
ainimv@yahoo.com
Artículos relacionados:

La Iglesia cubana condena ocupaciones de varios templos^[2]

Opositores amotinados en varias iglesias de Cuba^[3]

Cuban inmates complain of poor conditions, food in video smuggled from Havana prison

View video here.

By Juan O. Tamayo

jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Ten videos smuggled out of Cuba’s biggest and reputedly worst prison, in an unusually daring operation by a dissident, show grotesquely dirty toilets, grimy walls, leaking sewage and food described as worse than “animal feed.”
“Show this video to the international community, how this miserable dictatorship commits cruelties against humanity,” says the videos’ main narrator, an India citizen serving a 30-year sentence in Havana’s high security Combinado del Este prison.
Havana dissident journalist Dania Virgen García, who writes the blog “Cuba por Dentro” — Inside Cuba — said the videos were shot in late January with a digital camera smuggled into the prison “so that everyone can see Cuba’s reality.” They were provided exclusively to El Nuevo Herald.
The videos — which also showed several inmates, including a U.S. citizen complaining about prison conditions — appeared to be the first ever smuggled out of Cuba’s 200-plus prisons. Their views of prison buildings matched those of the Combinado del Este prison.
Human rights activist Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz said the prison is “one of the worst in sanitation” in a system marked by “inhuman and degrading conditions” that is one of Latin America’s worst because Cuba is the only nation in the region that does not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to inspect its prisons.
Built by prisoners in 1975 with deficient construction materials, Cuba’s largest prison at an estimated 5,000 inmates has many broken pipes that spew raw sewage, said Sánchez Santa Cruz, who spent nearly three years in Combinado del Este.
The videos show a string of almost unimaginably filthy toilets, little more than holes on the floor of prisoners’ cells, many of them with walls so moldy from the humidity of the leaking sewage and water that they were nearly black.
One inmate used a blue plastic 55-gallon drum in his cell to capture the leaking water and use it to flush the toilet and bathe. He also had rigged an electrical wire to heat up a five-gallon bucket of water for his bath.
Also shown were a couple of empty six-man punishment cells known as tapiadas, or sealed, because their doors are solid steel rather than bars and they have no windows, just a row of slits about two inches wide and two feet high.
Several clips show a prison yard described as “dirtier than a chicken house floor” and dotted with pieces of masonry that fell from the surrounding cells. One narrator says inmates are allowed outside for only one hour Monday through Friday.
The prison hospital, shown only from the outside, has no medicines at all and is known as “the slaughter house,” says Dalvinder Singh Jagpal, who appears to have been the main videographer and narrator.
Singh describes Fidel and Raúl Castro in several clips as “worse than al-Qaida” and adds, “They are anti-human. They are monsters.”
The videos also showed several prisoners, including a dreadlocked inmate who talks to himself incessantly. “This man is completely crazy,” says the narrator. “He came in healthy, and this miserable dictatorship ruined the life of this man.”
A U.S. citizen who identifies himself only as Douglas Moore and said he was jailed since 2003 on a drug conviction, is seen walking slowly with a cane, showing bruises on his left leg and calling prison conditions “subhuman” and the food “unfit for humans.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/14/2694164/havana-prison-inmates-complain.html#storylink=cpy

ONG piden expulsar a Cuba del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU

ONG piden expulsar a Cuba del Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU

Agencias / Ginebra / 14-03-2012 - 12:33 am.

Unas 20 organizaciones no gubernamentales reunidas en la Cumbre de Derechos Humanos y Democracia, pidieron al Consejo de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas (ONU) expulsar a Cuba del organismo, reportó Notimex.

La resolución adoptada en la cumbre, que tuvo lugar en Ginebra, fue enviada al Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU y solicita la expulsión de Cuba "por seguir cometiendo graves y sistemáticas violaciones a los derechos humanos".

El disidente y ex-preso de conciencia Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina afirmó que Cuba debe ser expulsada por no cumplir con los compromisos que hizo al formar parte del máximo órgano de derechos humanos de la ONU.

"Cumplí 10 años y cinco meses de cárcel por oponerme a la violación de los derechos de expresión, asociación y movimiento en mi país", dijo Rodríguez Lobaina, al intervenir en la sesión del Consejo en nombre de la Internacional Demócrata de Centro.

"Sufrí tortura, tratos crueles, inhumanos y degradantes en la prisión de Guantánamo", agregó el ex-preso de conciencia, que afirmó haber sido "objeto en 1999 de un simulacro de ejecución extrajudicial efectuado por oficiales de seguridad del estado en la Sierra Maestra".

"Sufrí fracturas en dos huesos de mi rostro (...) fui confinado tres años y seis meses en celdas de aislamiento y castigo, entre ellos 47 días sin ropas y en condiciones infrahumanas en una celda oscura", describió.

"Mi caso no es aislado, allí existe un sistema de aniquilamiento contra quienes se atreven a pedir cambios. En el último año, tres defensores de derechos humanos fueron asesinados por ese sistema", afirmó.

"Juan Wilfredo Soto García, fue asesinado a golpes por policías el 8 de mayo de 2011, Laura Pollán Toledo, líder de las Damas de Blanco, murió en condiciones sospechosas el 14 de octubre de 2011 y Wilman Villar Mendosa falleció tras una huelga de hambre en enero pasado", refirió.

Rodríguez Lobaina es Fundador del Movimiento Cubano de Jóvenes por la Democracia y fue adoptado por Amnistía Internacional como preso de conciencia.

Fue excarcelado en abril de 2011 y llegó a España junto con otros 37 ex presos tras un proceso pactado entre el régimen de Raúl Castro y la Iglesia cubana, con el respaldo del Gobierno y la Cruz Roja de España.

Además, el disidente denunció que "en lo que va del año pasan de mil los arrestos arbitrarios, las golpizas y los asaltos sexuales contra las mujeres defensoras de derechos humanos se multiplican por días".

Por su parte, utilizando su derecho de réplica en la sesión sobre asuntos que preocupan al Consejo, La Habana afirmó que había una "campaña bien orquestada y financiada" para alcanzar objetivos "que no estaban en armonía con los derechos humanos".

Afirmó que Rodríguez Lobaina "no era un preso político y no había sido exiliado de Cuba", ya que el gobierno español se vio obligado a excluirlo del programa de la Cruz Roja "por acciones inapropiadas en su contra".

CUBA'S CONSCIENCE: Dr. Oscar Biscet in his own words

CUBA'S CONSCIENCE: Dr. Oscar Biscet in his own words

March 12, 2012 by Jordan Allott / Catholic World Report

 

 

 

Dr. Biscet, who had spent all but 36 days of the past 11 years in a Cuban prison cell, was negotiated with the help of the Catholic Church and the government of Spain. Dr. Biscet has been called the number-one enemy of the Castro brothers for his non-violent opposition to the Cuban government’s human rights violations and its systematic use of forced abortion. In 2007, Dr. Biscet received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States, and he is a finalist for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Because the Cuban government allows its citizens only very limited use of the Internet and other technologies, this interview with CWR was conducted over several weeks and has been translated from Spanish into English.

[Editor's Note: This interview originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Catholic World Report.]


Six months have now passed since you were released from prison. Can you tell us what this time has been like for you and your family, both spiritually and in terms of everyday life?

Oscar Biscet: You mention two important terms in this question—one is freedom and the other one is the family. Both of them are the product of God’s boundless love for human beings. In the Book of Genesis it says: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’… male and female he created them.” This poetic expression encompasses a profound philosophy and a scientific approach to understanding the world, so necessary nowadays for the behavior of the human race. God is the father of the human family and a paradigm of absolute freedom in the universe. For that reason I positively value having been released in order to be able to live daily life, good [and] bad, with my wife and with the rest of my family—and above all to be able to [work for] fundamental rights for my family and for my people.

Of the 75 opposition leaders, journalists, and librarians arrested during Cuba’s 2003 Black Spring, you were one of the last prisoners of conscience to be released. Can you describe the process of your release? During this process, you consistently refused release in exchange for exile. Was that a difficult decision?

Biscet: The process for my release was long, traumatic, and distressing for many.… The institutions involved were not able to carry out a balanced negotiation to benefit the political prisoners while they were waiting to be released. I had made the decision not to leave my country 14 years ago, when in 1998, I was expelled from the hospital where I was working for the mere fact that I peacefully defended the life of the unborn children. They also retaliated against my family. Friends from other nations offered me political asylum but I rejected their proposals. This was very hard because at that time my relatives were being tortured by the Castro regime.

Can you describe your emotions after finally being released in March?

Biscet: It was very pleasant. I was happy and calm because I was returning to my home. At the same time, I was worried, as I had my hopes pinned on [securing] human rights and the freedom of the Cuban people.

How are inmates, both political prisoners and general prisoners, treated inside Cuban prisons? Do you have any stories to share from your time as a prisoner of conscience?

Biscet: The penitentiary system in Cuba is a clear reflection of the socialist society. They violate all the international agreements on human rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. In Cuban prisons [the government] tortures [inmates] and provides cruel and inhuman treatment to the prisoners. There are many horrible and shameful stories regarding the attitudes of the military staff within the prisons. Usually in prisons we find drug trafficking. One of the ways to obtain [drugs] is to [procure] them from the treatment of sick inmates. On one occasion a prisoner claimed [he needed drugs] for his medical treatment and they denied it. His way to protest was to inflict damage to himself. He cut a small artery of his hand and blood gushed out. The authorities were aware of this case but they did not pay any attention. Given this difficult situation I protested vigorously and only then was he taken to the hospital.

How did you spend your time in prison? How were you able to nourish your spiritual life? How did you remain strong?

Biscet: Before being imprisoned I was a man with a deep love for the God of the Bible. The Jewish-Christian philosophy was part of my daily life and this enabled me to resist with dignity the hard times in prison. I was able to know in practice the merciful love of God through the forgiveness of sins, upholding the humble in spirit over the arrogant, and searching for the best of the human being. Only my faith and hope in that loving God who wants the good for all his sons enabled me to grow in spirit and strengthened me for the ups and downs of life. That is why I was able to succeed and I thank my Lord again and again. Hope is what fills people with optimism and this is what I transmitted to all the inmates. Those who were imprisoned for having committed crimes I encouraged to change their way of life and to be good citizens, which will eventually help to change the nation for good. With reference to the prisoners of conscience, the hope that we would soon be released and that then we would be followed by our people was the conviction that kept [us] happy in that dark world. This state of happiness was reflected in my face, and this was visible and contagious. This profound feeling prevented me from abandoning my homeland and thus destroying the hopes of my people.

After having spent the better part of the last 11 years in prison, do you believe the Cuban government has made any substantial changes in the way it treats its citizens?

Biscet: Currently in Cuba we have the same dictatorship we’ve had during the last 52 years, Castro’s Stalinist dictatorship. What we’ve seen in the country’s government is the succession of one ruler to another. Recently, Fidel Castro was [succeeded] by his brother, Raul. Since then, state terrorism has also increased. They have even beaten women, and they have murdered people, like Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Juan W. Soto, who were [working] in a peaceful manner for human rights. The communist regime is the same as in 1959. It’s repressive, unproductive, and corrupt. Its governor, Raul Castro, has the same characteristics as five decades ago. He’s perverse, cruel, and a murderer.

How do you interpret Raul Castro’s recent decisions to allow limited private jobs and private land?

Biscet: These decisions are due to a profound economic crisis through which his system is going. Don’t take this as a sign of economic freedom, because this process is reversible; besides, there are other cruel dictatorships that have also had private firms, and this has not led to the respect of civil or political rights.

Churches in Cuba are restricted in many ways. Have you witnessed any new opportunities for churches to reach the people with the word of Christ? What is the state of the Cuban people’s faith?

Biscet: Cuba does not have a real religious freedom. You can’t build temples freely. You cannot broadcast the biblical message autonomously. Religious schools are forbidden. Cuban printers have never printed the Bible, and you cannot preach in parks and open spaces. Priests who [object to] their social status are expelled from their institutions due to the pressure exercised by the government. Cuban people desire significant changes in their lives, not just from the economic point of view, but also from a perspective [of] human dignity. That is to say, they desire to have civil and political rights. Until now state terrorism has held back their dreams, but this will not last for a long time. Many of us have [prayed] for the favor of the God of the Bible to accomplish this liberating venture, and we have faith that we will be able to make these dreams come true.

What would you suggest the international community—the US government, the EU—do to help bring about democratic change in Cuba? Also, what can the leadership of the Catholic Church (both in Cuba and at the Vatican) do to support Christians and those working non-violently for freedom in Cuba?

Biscet: Freedom is the most precious asset that human beings have because it…makes them independent both individually and socially. For this reason, free countries should clearly support people, groups of people, or institutions that [work] for human and fundamental rights. Solidarity with human beings who suffer a dictatorship is ethical and fair, and their support is indispensable. An action like the one carried out for racist South Africa is ideal to help the Cuban people.

I believe that if the Catholic Church honors the legacy of Pope John Paul II…and works together with the long-suffering Cuban people and puts aside the favoritism toward the government of Havana, it would greatly contribute to the freedom of its people. I would very much like [to see] the leaders of the Catholic Church, both in Cuba and the Vatican, encourage the government of [Cuba] to sign and put into practice the international agreement on civil, political, and human rights. They should also urge them to hold free and democratic elections.

What can Christians around the world do to support your cause?

Biscet: The first action of any Christian is to show their solidarity through prayers to the Lord God in favor of all those who suffer. Next, they should inform [others], through any means of communication, [about] the lack of freedom and the violation of basic human rights [in Cuba].

What are your plans for the future? Do you have any initiatives forthcoming?

Biscet: [I will continue to find] feasible ways for my people to live in freedom, peace, and prosperity. This can be attained through the civil nonviolent struggle. That is to say, massive, nonviolent political action that disintegrates the dictatorship and establishes democracy and freedom guaranteed by the democratic rule of law.

 

CUBA

SYSTEMATIC ACTS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST CUBAN CIVIL SOCIETY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE VISIT OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

“The Cuban regime will try to manipulate the Pontiff’s presence in Cuba. We are calling on the support of the international community and of our exiled brothers, so we, the outcast, the persecuted, are able to meet with Pope Benedict XVI and tell him what is really happening here on the island…”

Angel Moya, former Cuban Political Prisoner of Conscience

March 11, 2012

This week (March 5-11) throughout Cuba, police and State Security operatives prevented members of the Ladies in White from attending Mass in their respective cities by way of threats of being beaten or sentenced to prison terms. Several were summoned to appear at local police unit as was the case of Alina Fonseca and Eduviris Isaac Rodriguez. Both were forced to appear at 10:00 a.m. at the Palma Soriano Police Unit in Eastern Cuba. Others were placed under house arrest with State Security agents posted around their homes, while some were subjected to short term detention in prison cells as was the case in Banes of Marta Diaz Rondon, Gertrudis Ojeda, and Miladis Rosa. In Holguin, for the 12^th consecutive Sunday, Caridad Caballero Batista and her family were prevented from going to Mass; Caridad and her son Eric were arrested, while her husband, Eric Sande was prevented from leaving the house. In Havana, Yanelys Cabrera Bourzac was arrested in her home and was taken to an undisclosed location. In addition, church entrances in the island were blocked to prevent the Ladies in White from entering. In the cities of Guantanamo and Santa Clara (central Cuba) members of the Ladies in White were also harassed when they tried to reach a Church.

Berta Soler, leader of the peaceful human rights movement Ladies in White Laura Pollan, declared in Havana that Pope Benedict XVI should meet with the excluded and marginalized sectors of society adding that they, the Ladies in White, are part of that sector.

The independent Information Center Hablemos Press (CIHPRESS) reported from the island that during the first two months of 2012, they have documented 815 arrests for political reasons.

The Father of Ernesto Borges declared that on March 8, 2012 his son ended the hunger strike he had initiated on February 10, 2012, to demand his release under parole (listen to audio). Cardinal Jaime Ortega met with the political prisoner on February 28, 2012 at the Combinado del Este Prison in Havana where he is confined, and it appears that Ernesto stopped his hunger strike because he is considering what the Cardinal told him that the Cuban government will review his case. Borges was accused of espionage and has served 14 years of a 30 year prison sentence. AUDIO of Raul Borges: http://networkedblogs.com/uYYp2 (1:47 min.)

Yasmin Conyedo and her husband, Yusmani Alvarez 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.

Below are some of the human rights violations reported during the week of March 5 – March 11, 2012:

MARCH 6, 2012- On March 9, 2012 fifteen human rights defenders, members of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy and of the Democratic Eastern Alliance who had been dragged, beaten and arrested on March 6, were released in Antilla. The activists are: Cristian Toranzo Fundichely, Mildred Noemí Sánchez Infante, Hans Pedro Buenamor Fundicheli, David Givert Durand, Carlos Antonio Losada Legrat, Rafael Meneses Pupo, Miguel Santana Bres, Braulio Azcuy Castañeda, Amada Pileta, Víctor Kindelán, Yadira Martínez, Eusebio Martínez Fundichely, Eliso Castillo González, Leonardo Pérez Rojas and Wilbert Rivas Marín. The success of the pro human rights activism of these groups in Eastern Cuba, among the population, provoked the violence that was perpetrated by authorities against these Cuban activists.

Eriberto Liranza Romero, president of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy (MCJD), was beaten by a supposed dissident when he was on his way to the US Interests Office in Havana this past Tuesday, March 6^th. Liranza denounced his aggressor, Carranza Lopez, as an “infiltrator from State Security“, for, in the last few days, he has started to publish a pamphlet to discredit numerous activists with the objective of creating divisions amongst the human rights movements in the island.

UNPACU member, Juan Carlos Vazquez Osoria was violently arrested this past March 6th as he was traveling from Moa to Palmarito de Cauto in Eastern Cuba. Osoria was detained until March 8th. Within the past few months, Osoria and has wife Anni Sarrion Romero have suffered countless acts of aggression at the hands of Cuban state police. In fact, Sarrion has been beaten, threatened, and suspended from her job just for publicly demanding freedom for Cuba.

MARCH 8, 2012- Lady in White and activist, Mayra Morejon was picked up by an official in a patrol car at her house and taken to the National Revolutionary Police Unit (PNR) in Alamar in Havana were she was threatened, considering the possibility that she might hold a public protest displaying a sheet on Women’s Day, March 8. Officials warned her that if she carried out any such act, alongside Ivonne Malleza, her husband Ignacio Martinez, Mercedes Fresneda and Julio Regatillo, everyone would end up at the Prison of Manto Negro (women) and the Combinado del Este (men). AUDIO of Mayra Morejon: http://origin.martinoticias.org/audio/audio/5681.html

MARCH 10, 2012 – From Santa Clara in Central Cuba, Guillermo Fariñas reported that Ricardo Arrechea Gomez, husband of the Lady in White, Nuria Perez Martinez, was beaten by the police.

In Havana, Yusleidis Ramos Barrios reported the arrest of her husband, Pedro Garcia Hernandez who is an independent trade unionist.

MARCH 11, 2012 - Human rights defender Rene Fernandez Quiroga from the National Civic Resistance Front Orlando Zapata Tamayo in Santa Cruz del Sur, Camaguey (central Cuba) was brutally beaten by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) around 1 a.m. and arrested while attending a party on March 11, 2012. The police incited others at the party to also beat Fernandez Quiroga.

Jorge Luis Garcia Perez‘Antunez’, General Secretary of the National Civic Resistance Front Orlando Zapata Tamayo was arrested near his home in Placetas (central Cuba) and taken to an unknown location. Eriberto Liranza and Rene Rouco were arrested in Havana late in the evening.

Yris Perez Aguilera, who is the leader of the Rosa Park Femenine Movement for Civil Rights reported that all the homes of activists in Sagua la Grande in central Cuba were surrounded by paramilitary forces.

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 and with the continued physical and mental harassment against 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

FURTHER INFORMATION IN CUBA:

Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia + 5353631267 / / Caridad Caballero Batista + 52629749 / / Angel Moya + 53 53820595 / Berta Soler +5352906820 / Yris T. Perez Aguilera + 5352731656

RE: Article "In Mexico and Cuba, papal trip to highlight local and regional issues"

Catholic New Service

Washington DC


RE: Article "In Mexico and Cuba, papal trip to highlight local and regional issues"

It is misleading and inaccurate to state that the Cuban "Catholic Church has enjoyed relatively tranquil dealings with the civil authorities".

The Cuban communist regime established its relationship with the Catholic Church by deporting, confiscating church property and closing Catholic schools all across the island. In 1961, when the regime outwardly declared itself Marxist Leninist, one hundred and thirty two Cuban parish priests throughout Cuba were ordered to go to Havana, on false premises, and forcibly placed on a ship named "Covadonga" (without any personal documents or possessions) that deported them to Spain. I have friends who are still affected by their childhood memories of how the militia men, in the name of the Cuban Revolution, expropriated Catholic schools, vandalizing and breaking images of saints before the student body.

To say that the fifty three year old Cuban communist regime has now "a growing respect for Church authority" is also misleading and inaccurate to say before your readers for in Cuba's totalitarian state, all is controlled by a military regime that manipulates social institutions to benefit their only goal: to stay in power. Cardinal Jaime Ortega was used by the Cuban regime to get rid of and deport around 100 citizens whom it considered an "international nuisance". These representatives of independent Cuban civil society such as journalists, doctors, poets, teachers, union leaders etc. suffered cruel and degrading treatment during an eight year unjust imprisonment for defending fundamental freedoms in the island. The release of each and everyone of these men was offered by Cardinal Ortega with one condition: that they had to leave Cuba . In violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all of these Cuban political prisoners' passports, as well as their families', have a stamp on them that denies their return to their country: "SALIDA DEFINITIVA" (DEFINITIVE EXIT). Today, the eleven men who refused forced exile and remained in Cuba, are under a parole that could send them back to prison anytime if they attempt to exercise independent ideas. All of them, as well as their families, are under surveillance and are victims of sinister tactics of harassment.

The power of the media is enourmous. The news media is supposedly guided by an ethical responsibility to report information that is backed by documented data. When it is not, more often than not, it undermines the investigative work of human rights groups whose main objective is to defend the victims of oppression.

Laida A. Carro

Human Rights Defender

Coalition of Cuban-American Women


http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1200992.htm

Bishop Agustín Román, Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

CUBA: Cardinal Ortega meets with Ladies in White/ AUDIO

CUBAN CARDINAL JAIME ORTEGA INFORMED BERTA SOLER, WHO IS THE LEADER OF THE PEACEFUL HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT " LADIES IN WHITE" IN THE ISLAND, THAT POPE BENEDICT'S XVI AGENDA IS "TOO BUSY" AND DOUBTS THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO MEET WITH THEM DURING HIS VISIT TO CUBA ON MARCH 26-28, 2012.


click here for audio.


LAIDA A. CARRO


Human Rights Defender

Coalition of Cuban-American Women

Tel: + 305 662-5947

Email: Joseito76@aol.com

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

Facebook Page: Coalition of Cuban-American Women

Twitter: @COCAW1


 
 

CUBA: Regimen detiene desalojos en El Cobre por denuncias

Detienen desalojos en El Cobre


Escrito por CubaNet el 07/03/2012

[1]LA HABANA, Cuba, 7 de marzo,2012 (Agencias, www.cubanet.org) –Reportes de la prensa internacional obligaron al Gobierno cubano a paralizar los desalojos de unas chozas ubicadas cerca de la carretera que lleva al Santuario de la Virgen de la Caridad, en la región oriental de El Cobre, según informó el martes la agencia ACI Prensa.

Líderes de la disidencia dijeron que los desahucios son parte de un plan de las autoridades para ocultar la pobreza en la zona durante la próxima visita del papa Benedicto XVI a Cuba. “El Gobierno ha estado dándole al recorrido que va a tener el Papa ciertas condiciones, es decir tratar de dar la mejor imagen en el área o en la carretera por donde se va a mover el Santo Padre” camino al santuario, José Daniel Ferrer, coordinador de la Unión Patriótica de Cuba (UNPACU).

Ferrer dijo que el objetivo era ocultar a la prensa internacional y al mundo la pobreza en la isla, pues según expresaron funcionarios gubernamentales a los moradores, el desalojo respondía a que “el Papa venía a Cuba y sus casas estaban en muy mal estado, muy cerca de la carretera”.

Por su parte, Oswaldo Payá, coordinador del Movimiento Cristiano Liberación (MCL), explicó que El Cobre “es uno de los poblados de mayor pobreza y mayor miseria, lleno de casas muy humildes y de chozas, donde los habitantes con un alto nivel de desempleo viven en una pobreza verdaderamente escandalosa (…), mientras el Gobierno proclama en el mundo las supuestas bondades del socialismo”.

Según la información, cuando los activistas de la UNPACU tomaron los testimonios de las personas que serían desalojadas y los filtraron a la prensa internacional, el Gobierno dio marcha atrás “ante un posible mayor escándalo por esta actitud arbitraria de querer desalojar a las personas que tienen viviendas en muy mal estado en esa zona”, aseguró Ferrer.

Hasta el momento dos residentes han recibido multas de 500 pesos (un poco más de $20) por las condiciones de sus chozas al borde de la carretera. “Ponerle esa multa a personas tan pobres, que tienen tantas necesidades de por sí es excesiva”, denunció Ferrer. Explicó que en Cuba hay médicos que ganan 500 pesos (al mes), es decir que la multa impuesta equivale “al salario de cualquier profesional, no de un obrero”.

Code words: Glossary of terms for El Cafe Cubano

Alfredo, who are you talking about concerning Mini-me #2 or #3? Well guys here is a Glossary of terms for El Cafe Cubano speak. Now you can dissect my anti-communist blog with fervor!We Cubans or at least here at El cafe Cubano love to use nicknames when describing the colorful cast of oppressive regimes! We have added a few lately, hey that's the least I could do because the propaganda of the dictatorship has had the media using "Mafia" and "gusanao" for 53 years! Now would a blog like El Cafe Cubano and those to my right be responsible if we did not return the favor?

Glossary(Now repeat after me):

El Cafe Cubano:-- Translation:



**** New Addition: Reconciliation----Term used by those who WANT to forget ALL the atrocities committed by the castro dictatorship, yet blame exiles for everything and paint exiles as bad.


The Dictator -----Castro

Mr. Evil----- ----- Castro

Raulita------------Raulita Castro

El mariachi--------Manuel Zelaya

Lap Dog-----------Felipe Perez Roque

Tricky Ricky------Ricardo Alarcon

Mini-me #1 or (thing 1)--- Hugo Chavez

Oil Pimp-------------------- Hugo Chavez

Mini-me #2----------------- Diego Maradona

Mini-me #3 or (thing 2)------ Evo morales

Cocaine---------------------Evo Morales

Acid Ventura...........................José Ramón Machado Ventura

Commie--------------------- Communist

lefty 666 --------------------play in the communist playbook

Cuber-----------------------Cuba

Anita "snow job"-------------Anita Snow

Jose"can't see you see I am communist"--------Jose Serrano

"Raspy Rangel"--------------Charles Rangel

ramon "el jamon"...............Ramon Castro


Ramiro"cuidado que te voy a dar un tiro"-------Ramiro Valdez

Uncle Buck--------------------Buck

Leche Guevara----------------Che guevara

Pastors for the dictator----------Pastors for Peace

Code Commies------------Code Pink

Michael "el gordo mierda" -------Michael Moore

Matt ‘DQ” -----------------Matt Lauer

Kumbaya concert..............Juanes concert in Cuba

El Cafe Cubano slogans:

" If Cuba is so great, why do they all want to vacate."

" Free healthcare, so why all the despair."

"Castro lives like a king, but the Cuban people have nothing."


" Everyone wants to trade, but no one wants to aide"


" Florida recount, Carter is in Venezuela one day and out"


" Castro supporters how you flex, where did you get your rolex."


" Many have tried to shut us up, but we will never give up!"


"Rafters are intercepted at sea, yet are returned to Cuba with glee"


"What happens in Havana, stays in Havana especially if you speak out against the dictator"


"Everyone knows about cuber's trials, except the cuban exiles?"


"so what about the two-way radio, I'm just a collaborator"



Suggestions for new trendy restaurants:

Adolph Hitler Beer House

Sandinista Surprise Nicaraguan Food

Evo's Cocaine house of pancakes

Castro's Buffet(Ration cards required)

Red China's Diner(Sorry, couples with more than 2 kids not allowed-children must be boys)

Ted Turner's Southern Cooking (Sorry, No Cuban-Americans allowed, only commies, Castro-VIP)

21st Century Socialism Venezuelan Food(Park your car in back and leave your car and house keys for the "Land Reform" operative)


Journalist Beer and burger joint(no cuban exile writers or journalist allowed in or allowed to give an opinion)


T-shirt ideas for Code Pink:

I am a communist

Beheadings are cool!

I am wearing a Guevera t-shirt, but I am so ignorant of the facts of the butcher.

"Havana and Caracas are my kind of towns!

What happens in Havana, stays in Havana especially if you speak out against the dictator

We say no to torture and war, but not counting communist revolutions!

Killing is O.K. for dictators.

 Just say no to torture, but abortions are just fine and dandy

Saltar del corralón castrista a la Globalización

Por Dr. Darsi Ferret


La Habana, Cuba. 1 de marzo de 2012.

El campo de concentración de Auschwitz tenía su propia lógica. En su diseño todo encajaba. Los cautivos que no morían a la llegada sólo duraban un promedio de seis meses. Se aprovechaban todas sus pertenencias, reciclándolas entre la población aria del Tercer Reich. Además, les extraían las piezas dentales de oro y se recuperaban las prótesis. Con la grasa humana se hacía jabón. Algunas pieles tatuadas terminaban en pantallas de lámparas y como petacas para tabaco. Los cabellos eran utilizados en la fabricación de zapatillas especiales para las tripulaciones de los submarinos. Las cenizas de los crematorios resultaban abundante abono… En fin, todo era productivo, racional… hasta que los tanques de guerra aliados abrieron aquella realidad al mundo exterior.

Una pertinaz visión esquemática, también con su propia “lógica” sobre el futuro próximo de Cuba, ha sentado sus reales tanto en ingenuos como defensores de la actual dictadura militar desgastada en el poder. Hasta lo que da la vista, toda valoración crítica a los asuntos nacionales marcha casi siempre a la saga y en la estela de las intentonas del régimen por hacer sobrevivir, y no cambiar, el sistema imperante en la isla.

Se concede demasiado crédito a un régimen totalitario que, de por si mismo, es un absurdo. De un sistema dictatorial como el que rige el destino de la nación cubana resulta disparatado esperar sensatez. Así se aceptan las premisas de lo irrazonable. Si la junta militar gobernante amaga en una u otra dirección se le ensalza o se le critica, mas ambos criterios aceptan la “lógica” de los acontecimientos. Denominadas “actualizaciones” por el oficialismo, “reformas” por los optimistas y "pasos insuficientes" por adversarios, se llega al extremo de valorar esas medidas como promovidas por una sincera y pragmática voluntad de transformación. Y hasta cuentan con un persistente optimismo alucinado y solidario de analistas y de diversa prensa que otorga virtudes de progreso a lo que no es otra cosa que un desmontaje totalitario de la responsabilidad, con el cínico objetivo de la brutal y más que aburrida perpetuación de los Castro en el poder.

Aceptar sus designios sobre cualquier asunto, el que sea, es un trastornado error de encantamiento político, si no se trata de medidas que impliquen cambios estructurales que modifiquen la esencia de su modelo totalitario, como podría ser el reconocimiento a la libertad de expresión, reunión y asociación, el derecho de huelga, la garantía del pleno ejercicio de la propiedad privada, y otros…

Sin embargo, para evaluar un panorama que continúa su tránsito a la ruina, amigotes, simpatizantes y cubanólogos de todas las vertientes, se aferran a lo gastado en el análisis. Por malas o buenas razones, se excluye aceptar como método de escrutinio de la sufrida realidad nacional las nuevas reglas de transformación política, social, económica, cultural y de cuanto hay que se están imponiendo a diario en el mundo. De un modo u otro, se evita proyectar la situación de la isla contra el telón de los recientes acontecimientos mundiales.

Es preocupante que el mensaje oficial de conceptuar la Globalización como algo peligroso para el futuro, maquinado como una conjura gigantesca desde los centros financieros mundiales, también parezca haber calado entre los que proponen un paulatino establecimiento del Estado de Derecho y la democracia en Cuba. La Globalización es una fase nueva de civilización y un aliado formidable para los pueblos oprimidos bajo la bota represiva de cualquier índole. Todo el que ahora de alguna manera acceda a un computador, un teléfono celular, reciba email, vea en DVD o transporte en una memoria accesible a puerto USB cualquier información liberada de la férrea censura del régimen, ya está navegando en la espuma de la modernidad.

Para los fundamentalismos, populismos, autoritarismos y regímenes totalitarios, así como las sociedades conservadoras y con desconfianza del caos incontrolable y creativo que trae el mundo, las tecnologías, sobre todo de comunicación, les están dando un inesperado vuelco a sus viejos esquemas sociopolíticos y económicos. Y para mayor estímulo de posibilidades, hace que todos los fenómenos contemporáneos se liguen de una manera increíble: la crisis financiera y económica de buena parte del Occidente industrializado, el triunfo electoral del Partido Popular en España, la situación de salud del gobernante Hugo Chávez, las limitaciones de la política del Estado de Bienestar, el desarrollo del programa nuclear iraní, la Primavera Árabe. Influyen directamente en la repentina transición hacia la democracia en Myanmar, la incipiente crisis geopolítica de potencias emergentes como China, con una estructura de hegemonía trasnochada, o de Brasil, con la futura gran zona de desarrollo mundial, la cuenca del Pacífico, colocada justo a sus espaldas… Todo lo conocido de repente se vuelve convulso, buscando un nuevo acomodo, una nueva fase de imparable desarrollo.

Son irrupciones tan sorprendentes que aún están por definir la amplitud que podrá alcanzar sus posibilidades, pero sin dudas en estos mismos momentos prosiguen transformando, cada vez más acelerada y totalmente, la realidad global y los patrones de análisis a futuro.

Permanecer encallado en el mismo arrecife de clichés históricos de hace una década conduce a conceptuaciones de un presente y futuro sin vínculo alguno con la realidad contemporánea. Todos los casos recientes son trascendidos y mutados por eventos asombrosos, revueltos por las fuerzas globalizadoras que se aceleran por día. Han sido y serán protagonizados por los que se identifiquen, entiendan y utilicen sus modernos instrumentos, sin la presencia predominante de élites profesionales, líderes carismáticos y personalidades políticas o morales que no se hayan actualizado como protagonistas de esta transformadora visión.

Pese al esquema consolidado del aislamiento geográfico, carente de libertades y en plena práctica de un empecinado apuntalamiento, Cuba está incluida en esa vorágine. El régimen, que tiene cada vez un espacio más reducido de maniobra, apuesta porque la población no se percate de su protagonismo. Pero más allá del arrollador movimiento invasivo de los medios de comunicación y las redes sociales, imposible de detener sin tener la certeza de quedar fuera de conexión con el mundo, el aumento de los intercambios interpersonales conforma profundos cambios sociológicos y culturales en la población.

Gracias a la concatenación con la ola liberadora que sacude al mundo los cubanos vuelven a redescubrir su maltrecha y secuestrada pertenencia a la cultura occidental, abandonando los gastados ropajes del pobretón y pusilánime Hombre Nuevo que aún se les intenta hacer portar.

¿Podría alguien explicar por qué en un país totalitario, donde se supone que todo está controlado al dedillo, funciona el juego prohibido de la lotería a todo lo largo y ancho del país? ¿Daría alguien una pista de cómo el mercado negro, esa paradójica área clandestina de libertad económica y corrupción desenfrenada, sigue coleteando ante las narices de un Estado prohibitivo y represor? ¿Cómo se conjugan estas circunstancias con la supuesta particularidad del caso cubano?

El argumento de que el pueblo cubano es cobarde, o que ha perdido el “órgano de la rebeldía” es de una manoseada simplicidad que evita analizar los hechos. Confirma el poco o ningún vínculo serio que se establece con las revueltas triunfantes en la antigua Checoslovaquia, Rumanía, Polonia, Alemania, la desintegrada URSS, y recientemente en Túnez, Egipto, Libia, Siria, y otros. Todos esos pueblos, ya se sabe hasta la saciedad, aguantaron atropellos e injusticias de todo tipo, sus regímenes no eran más “suaves” que el cubano y parecían condenados a un inmovilismo de por vida. Pero aceptar valorarlos diferentes al de la isla es una forma de pensar enfermiza, circunscrita a los términos y límites impuestos por un pensamiento retrógrado interesado en la auto-anulación. Es quedarse voluntario en el razonamiento del platanal castrista.

En la medida que los cubanos logren vincularse con la realidad global, con las nuevas corrientes libertarias de la modernidad, el régimen se volverá menos creíble y más frágil. Sus premisas de supervivencia como única solución se derrumbarán ante el fárrago cambiante de un mundo que llega impetuoso a las fronteras del país. No es algo que pueda ser detenido ni manipulado por estrechos intereses. Mucha razón tenía el papa Juan Pablo II cuando proclamó “¡Que el mundo se abra a Cuba y Cuba se abra al mundo!” Pues bien, esa premisa está llegando. Se debe aprovechar en favor de la libertad y el progreso.

"Cuban activists urge the pope to reconsider his planned visit"

The activists, including Martha Beatriz Roque, sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI stating that his planned visit will lead to further repression.


By Juan O. Tamayo


jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Nearly 750 Cuban activists have signed a letter to Pope Benedict XVI warning that his planned visit to Cuba will “send a message to the oppressors that they can continue” to abuse Catholic opponents, dissidents reported Thursday.

“We would be very happy to receive you in our country, if the message of faith, love and hope that you could bring us also would serve to halt the repression against those who want to go to church,” the letter said.

It did not directly urge the pontiff to cancel his planned March 26-28 visit to Havana and Santiago de Cuba, but added, “May the Holy Trinity illuminate your mind so that you can make a correct decision.”

The letter was the latest word from those Cuban dissidents who are concerned that the pontiff’s visit will only legitimize Raúl Castro’s government and do little or nothing to improve human rights on the communist-ruled island.

A column by popular blogger Yoani Sánchez published Thursday in Spain’s El País newspaper noted that while Cubans enthusiastically welcomed Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998, today “a dose of national cynicism conspires against any enthusiasm.”

Havana dissident Martha Beatriz Roque said the idea for the letter popped up several weeks ago among activists, some Catholic and some not, from various groups who know each other and talk regularly about island issues.

“This does not come from any specific group, but rather from many people who are in contact with each other, and then each group sought the signatures in the provinces,” Roque told El Nuevo Herald by telephone from Havana.

Roque emailed the letter to contacts abroad, along with the list of 749 names of people who signed it and their respective Cuban identity card numbers.

Among the signers were some of Cuba’s best-known dissidents, such as Roque, Guillermo Fariñas, Sara Martha Fonseca, Vladimiro Roca, Jorge Luis “Antunez” García Pérez and his wife, Iris Tamara Perez Aguilar.

Other dissidents have cautiously welcomed the papal visit as a ray of hope for the Cuban people and the Catholic church. Not signing the letter were Catholic activists Oswaldo Payá and Dagoberto Valdés, Ladies in White leader Bertha Soler and her husband, former political prisoner Angel Moya, and dissident Oscar Elias Biscet.

Roque said that she has been asking for an interview with the Vatican’s diplomatic envoy in Havana, Msgr. Bruno Musaro, for the past month to hand over the letter but has received no reply.

The letter argued that since abuses against Catholics only increased after the papal visit was announced, Benedict’s presence in Cuba “would be like sending a message to the oppressors that they can continue to do whatever they want, that the church will allow it.”

It cited three cases in which government-organized mobs harassed or threatened dissidents who had gathered in churches, including one Feb. 19 in which the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba had to intervene to protect 14 Ladies in White surrounded at the Our Lady of Charity shrine in El Cobre.

“One should add that on top of all that, some of the faithful are visited by the political police between Friday and Saturday of each week, to be warned that they will not be allowed to attend mass — and indeed they are arrested on Sunday,” the letter added.

It also noted that the government alleges the dissidents go to church only “to provoke and engage in politicking” and added that “some non-official people” have repeated that line. “May God not hold that against them,” it added.

The letter did not identify them, but dissidents have complained in the past that some church officials have warned they cannot use churches as safe havens.