The international community must act against the undemocratic Cuban
regime as it increases its repression of dissidents, argues a member of
the European Parliament's human rights subcommittee

Who is responsible for the death of the Cuban political prisoner Wilman
Villar Mendoza on January 19? Why, on February 3, was blogger Yoani
Sanchez refused permission to travel abroad by Cuban authorities for the
19th time since May 2008? Why were opposition group Damas de Blanco –
Sakharov prize laureates – not allowed to travel to the European
Parliament in Strasbourg to collect that prestigious award for the
freedom of thought?

There are so many questions and almost no answers from the Cuban regime.
The situation of harassment and repression endangers the lives of Cuban
people who defend human rights and civil liberties. We are aware that
the regime is directly responsible for the death of four political
prisoners – Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, Laura
Pollan Toledo and Wilman Villar Mendoza – as well as thousands of
arbitrary arrests and hundreds of beatings, assaults, and acts of
repudiation.

The death of 31-year-old dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza on January 19
after a 50 day hunger strike highlights the continuing repression in
Cuba. Villar Mendoza was detained in November 2011 after participating
in a peaceful demonstration in Contramaestre calling for greater
political freedom and respect for human rights. He was charged with
'contempt' and sentenced to four years in prison in a hearing that
lasted less than an hour. He was not given the opportunity to speak in
his defence, nor represented by a defence lawyer.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a
human rights monitoring group that the government does not recognise,
classified Villar Mendoza as a political prisoner in December 2011. The
Cuban regime denies holding political prisoners and said in a statement
that Mr Villar "was not a dissident nor was he on a hunger strike". The
authorities did not even bother to tell Wilman Villar's wife about the
death of her husband, and she was informed by some human rights defenders.

Almost two years ago, political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in
similar circumstances, also on hunger strike, with the same demands.
Activist Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia died last year after receiving a
brutal beating from the political police at Leoncio Vidal Park, in the
city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara province. Less than three months ago,
Laura Pollan Toledo, leader of the Damas de Blanco, died under
mysterious circumstances that have still not been clarified. Numerous
reports issued from within the island over the past three months have
reported an increase in the regime's violence against opposition –
including cases of activists who have suffered fractured skulls after
machete blows, and members of the Damas de Blanco who have been pricked
with needles containing unknown substances while participating in
marches on the streets of Havana.

The regime in Havana and its prisons have a system devised to eliminate
those political and common detainees who protest against the injustice
and inhumanity of their captors by denying them water and medical care,
and confining them in freezing cells. Catherine Ashton, the European
Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
deplored the tragic death of Mr Villar and urged Cuba to continue
working to make progress on respect of human rights and freedom of
expression. "It's the second death in similar conditions in a very short
time and it poses doubts concerning Cuban's judicial system and
penitentiary," Ashton said.

According to human rights organisations, there is no way to know how
many government opponents remain in jail, as independent investigators
cannot visit prisons. In 2010, Raul Castro freed 52 prisoners who had
been arrested during a 2003 crackdown, but human rights defenders from
the island say that those releases have not changed the attitude by the
regime towards dissidents and repression continues. Last year the regime
decided to release 2,900 inmates, but following human rights defenders
information, the dissidents were not released.

Political prisoners must be released immediately. The persecution of
people for their legitimate demands for freedom of speech, thought and
assembly is unjust. The lack of fundamental rights contradicts the
principles of humanity and is a clear infringement of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, of which Cuba is a signatory.

One could get an impression that Cuban regime is making free-market
reforms which aim at reviving Cuba's socialist economy by boosting
private enterprise. But the reality is much darker. So-called
free-market reforms will not change much in relations between the state
and citizens: the regime will still control 99 per cent of the economy.
Moreover, those reforms will not provide Cuban citizens with their
fundamental rights, such as freedom of thought, freedom of speech and
freedom of assembly. It is not a surprise that most Cubans desire
economic opportunities and private property ownership, but at the same
time they closely tie these economic changes to political changes in the
form of free elections, free expression, access to information and the
right to dissent.

It is clear that the reality in Cuba is far from the state propaganda of
'reforms' and 'changes'. The regime deserves strong condemnation for
these crimes and persecutions of people. The international community
should take the necessary steps to prevent the further escalation of the
extrajudicial executions by the Castro regime. Any repressive and
undemocratic regime is similar to a dead man walking. The Arab spring
surprised the world in 2011 throwing away one dictator after another.
Spring is unavoidable and inescapable, in Cuba also.

Dr Laima Andrikiene is an MEP in the European People's Party and a
member of the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/1472/cuban-spring-unavoidable-amid-repression

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC STATEMENT

27 January 2012

AI Index: AMR 19/002/2012

Br azilian Government must d efend the rights of Yoani Sánchez , Cuban
blogger and all other dissidents, journalists and human rights activist s

The news that Brazil has issued a visa for Yoani Sánchez, the Cuban
blogger and human rights activist, to visit the country for a film
festival is an important step in recognising her right to freedom of
movement. The Cuban authorities must now grant her permission to travel
to Brazil to attend the screening of a documentary by Brazilian
documentary-maker Dado Galvão in Jequié, Bahia State, on 10 February.
The film features the story of Yoani Sánchez and other bloggers.

Amnesty International is calling on the Brazilian government to
intervene with the Cuban authorities so that Yoani Sanchez is given
permission to travel freely to and from Cuba. On 20 January 2012 Amnesty
International wrote to Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota,
calling on the Brazilian government to intervene in this case and to
discuss human rights violations in Cuba. (see letter
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR19/001/2012/pt)

President Dilma Rousseff will be visiting Cuba on 31 January 2012.
Amnesty International urges her to raise Yoeni Sánchez' case with the
Cuban authorities as well as the issue of freedom of expression,
association, assembly and movement which is of serious concern. The case
of Yoani Sánchez and her visit to Brazil gives the Brazilian authorities
an opportunity to engage on those issues with the Cuban government.

The Cuban authorities continue to severely restrict the freedom of
expression, assembly, and association of political dissidents,
journalists and human rights activists. Dissidents, journalists and
human rights activists are subject to arbitrary house arrest and other
restrictions to prevent them from carrying out legitimate and peaceful
activities. In addition, the Cuban government is using the denial of
exit permits as a punitive measure against government critics and
dissidents.

Amnesty International trusts that President Rousseff will use her
upcoming visit to Cuba to reinforce Brazil's increasing global influence
in the promotion and protection of human rights.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR19/002/2012/en/7f30eaf5-610a-4ebd-a9a5-f362238ad7bc/amr190022012en.html

Cuba, Where Sheep Are Trained To Venerate Wolves

With the death of Cuban dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza, Cuba has lost
one of its precious remaining brave souls. While a sputtering dissident
movement shows occasional signs of life, reminding us of the hell the
Cuban people endure, it casts a pale shadow compared to the fury of the
Arab Spring. How is it possible that the Castro brothers have been able
to run one of the world's most repressive and dysfunctional gulags for
so long without their meeting the fate of the Ceausescus by now?

Their technique of how to introduce communism on an island scale is
worth studying.

First, take a geographic area and build a firewall around it. Allow an
elite group of monomaniacal thugs to subject the people trapped inside
to five decades of brutal repression, privation, confiscation, and
humiliation, all bolstered by relentless propaganda designed to convince
victims and observers alike that this is necessary for the greater glory
of the revolution.

Second, enlist an army of global intellectuals to manufacture a
smokescreen of respectability for a governing philosophy that extols the
virtues of equality and sacrifice, despite the fact that it delivers the
equality of poverty and the sacrifice of self respect. Build a few
Potemkin village medical facilities to fool the gullible into believing
some noble purpose or higher achievement motivates the endeavor.

Third, make it is risky, but not impossible, for anyone who possesses
the ambition and courage to rebel to escape instead.

Finally, marinate for two generations as you chase off the best and the
brightest and observe what happens to the character of the people that
survive.

Welcome to Cuba, where the human spirit has been so thoroughly crushed
that a nation of sheep passively waits for their predatory wolves to die
of old age, safely in their beds, not a hand raised against them.

Given the Cuban people's apparent resignation to their own fate, is it
any surprise that the rest of us just shake our heads in wonder and go
about our business, our political leaders impotently decrying the
occasional human rights outrage that escapes the censors and makes it
into the news?

When the nightmare runs its course and the complete story is finally
told, there will be no redeeming chapters.

But what about the lower-than-average infant mortality and longer life
expectancy touted by the Castro regime's boosters, if such statistics
can be believed? Isn't living longer an end that justifies the means?
Think about what living longer implies if you're forced to live under
tyranny. America's founders—and indeed, the leaders of the Central and
South American independence movements—preferred death to that sort of
life, and said so with their words and deeds.

What about the famously low crime rate, where a midnight stroller is
safer in Havana than in Washington, DC? Yes, violent crime is a
government monopoly in a police state. Plus, in a country that has so
little, there is nothing much to steal. After all, how many iPhones can
get ripped off when nobody can afford one and posting the wrong thing on
Twitter can earn you a visit from state security?

It'll be interesting to see what happens to a demoralized people after
Castroism breathes its final breath. A new pack of wolves might try to
keep the workers' paradise going, but at this point even the most
devoted cadres may well be weary of the experiment. Look for them to
enrich themselves by "privatizing" the economy Russian oligarch-style,
as they carve up the island to remodel it into the Caribbean resort
destination it has every right to be—so long as the "right" people profit.

A brief vintage car export market will likely open up as the world's
largest living auto museum sells off its collection. Prostitution will
return, or more precisely come out of the shadows, perhaps along with
the revival of what once was a thriving pornography industry. It's hard
to imagine a manufacturing base springing up to take advantage of the
cheap labor as this needs to be coupled with a work ethic, something the
Castro regime has made every effort to destroy. Surely, some unique
comparative advantage will come to the fore. But having tolerated the
intolerable for so long, will the Cuban people know what to do with
their newfound freedom once liberated from their chains?

That is the experiment that awaits the return of capitalism.

One can imagine a scenario in which an influx of returning expats, rich
in both human and financial capital, blow past the locals as they
reintroduce the courage, entrepreneurship, and work ethic they took with
them when they escaped. A two-tier society could easily emerge, with
returnees and their children lording their success over the bewildered
and resentful locals. Petty theft likely will make a comeback, so expect
a vigorous market for alarm and security services.

Cubans who have managed to get an advanced education under Castro, like
the many doctors staffing its medical system, will probably do fine,
though many might move to the U.S. seeking better pay, filling our
looming doctor shortage. Cigar exports will spike, although once Cuban
cigars lose their naughty cachet they will have to compete with many
excellent products produced by Cuba's neighbors. And the music industry
will thrive once it is coupled with international distribution—some
talents just cannot be stamped out.

But what will happen to the rest of the populace? Many might go to work
as the cooks, dishwashers, waiters, and hotel maids that will surely be
in demand when Club Med comes to town. They'll be much better off than
they are now. But don't expect that to stop the mainstream media from
running nostalgic stories about the equality that should have, would
have, and could have been had Marxism only been implemented properly.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrezza/2012/01/31/cuba-where-sheep-are-trained-to-venerate-wolves/

“The responsibility for Wilman Villar Mendoza’s death in custody lies
squarely with the Cuban authorities, who summarily judged and jailed him
for exercising his right to freedom of expression.”
Javier Zúñiga, Special Adviser at Amnesty International
Fri, 20/01/2012

The death in custody of a Cuban prisoner of conscience after a hunger
strike is a shocking reminder of the Raúl Castro government’s
intolerance for dissent, Amnesty International said today.

Wilman Villar Mendoza, 31, died this morning in Juan Bruno Zayas
Hospital in the city of Santiago where he was transferred from prison on
13 January due to health problems allegedly arising from a hunger strike
protesting at his unfair trial and imprisonment.

He was serving a four-year prison term on charges related to his
participation in a public demonstration against the government.

“The responsibility for Wilman Villar Mendoza’s death in custody lies
squarely with the Cuban authorities, who summarily judged and jailed him
for exercising his right to freedom of expression,” said Javier Zúñiga,
Special Adviser at Amnesty International.

“His tragic death highlights the depths of despair faced by the other
prisoners of conscience still languishing in Cuban jails, who must be
released immediately and unconditionally.”

“The Cuban authorities must stop the harassment, persecution, and
imprisonment of peaceful demonstrators as well as political and human
rights activists.”

On 14 November 2011, police arrested Villar Mendoza and eight other
members of the Cuban Patriotic Union dissident group in the eastern town
of Contramaestre for taking part in a protest against the Cuban government.

While he was in detention, police intimidated Villar Mendoza, telling
him he would be disappeared or face imprisonment on criminal charges
stemming from an earlier arrest if he did not stop his protests and
leave the dissident group.

He was released after three days in police custody but was then summoned
to Contramaestre Municipal Tribunal on 24 November. Judges tried him in
private and refused to accept testimony from his wife or other defence
witnesses.

The judges sentenced the activist to four years’ imprisonment and
immediately transferred him to Aguadores prison, in the provincial
capital Santiago. The same day, he began a hunger strike in protest at
the ruling.

As Villar Mendoza’s health deteriorated over recent days, members of the
Cuban Patriotic Union and the Ladies in White opposition group organised
a vigil outside the hospital. On 18 January, state security officials
broke up the gathering and detained more than a dozen people.

Wilman Villar Mendoza is not the first prisoner of conscience to die in
Cuban custody.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a prisoner of conscience jailed after the “Black
Spring” crackdown on opposition groups in March 2003, died in prison on
23 February 2010 after several weeks on hunger strike.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/cuban-authorities-responsible-activists-death-hunger-strike-2012-01-20

Cuban women on a protest march say police harassed and detained them

They say they were trying to stage a march in the central Cuba city of
Santa Clara when police searched them for cellphones

By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Cuban dissidents say police beat, groped and detained seven women who
tried to stage a march in the central city of Santa Clara to demand the
release of an opposition couple jailed since early January.

In an audio recording provided by the dissidents, women were heard
screaming and repeatedly shouting "Don't stick your hands on my breasts,
murderer" — allegedly as police searched for the cellphones recording
the scene.

"He put his hands inside my blouse, then they lifted my blouse in the
middle of the street looking for my phone," said Idania Yánes Contreras,
who led the march and recorded a narration of the Wednesday
confrontation on her phone.

"We were all punched and had our hair pulled" as police carried the
women to waiting patrol cars, Yánes added. Police also seized a frying
pan the women had been banging on to attract attention.

Six of the women were freed Thursday and the seventh was sent home late
Wednesday, Yánes told El Nuevo Herald by telephone from her home in
Santa Clara.

Yánes said the seven members of the Rosa Parks Feminist Movement for
Civil Rights, all dressed in black as a sign of mourning "for the
victims of the dictatorship," launched the protest carrying a sign that
said, "For Freedom, Against Impunity."

The march was intended to protest the continued detention of independent
journalist Yazmín Conlledo Riverón and her husband, Rafael Álvarez
Esmoris, who were arrested Jan. 8 on what Yánes described as fraudulent
charges.

The women had gone only about half a block, shouting "Freedom" and "Down
with Repression," Yánes said, when uniformed police and State Security
agents in civilian clothes swooped down on them and began searching for
the phones.

One security official told another, "that person has a cellular there,"
according to a transcript provided by the dissidents. The actual
recording, posted on the blog of Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as
Antúnez, is sometimes difficult to understand.

Antúnez, whose wife Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera was one of the seven
women detained, writes the blog Ni Me Callo Ni Me Voy — I will not shut
up or leave.

The other women were identified as Yaité Diosnelly Cruz Sosa, Yanisbel
Valido, Xiomara Martín Jiménez, María del Carmen Martínez López and
Damaris Moya Portieles.

The Rosa Parks movement is named after the Afro-American civil rights
activist woman who sparked the bus boycott in Montgomery, Al.

Antúnez said police have subjected dissident women to sexual harassment
in the past, and that his wife was once threatened with rape if she
continued her activism against the government.

Dissident Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya, meanwhile, has started a hunger
strike in a police station in the eastern town of Palma Soriano to
protest his detention, his wife told Radio Martí. Yelena Garcés Nápoles
said Cabrera is under investigation for a robbery in Havana last year.
But he's not been in Havana in two years, she told Radio Martí.

In Washington, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution
condemning the Cuban government for the death of Wilman Villar, 31, a
political prisoner who died earlier this month after a long hunger
strike to protest a four-year-sentence.

The resolution also asks all governments to push Cuba to halt human
rights abuses and calls on the United Nations to suspend Cuba's
membership in its Human Rights Council.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/02/2621727/cuban-women-on-a-protest-march.html

Amnesty International said Monday that three Cubans held without charge
for 52 days following their arrest at a protest were released last week,
hours after the human rights group named them as prisoners of conscience.

The release of the three also came a day after a hunger-striking
dissident died, prompting condemnation from island dissidents, rights
watchers, the United States and other nations. Amnesty had planned to
designate Wilman Villar, 31, a prisoner of conscience but he died in
custody before it could.

Ivonne Malleza Galano, Ignacio Martinez Montejo and Isabel Haydee
Alvarez were set free Jan. 20 but threatened with "harsh sentences" if
they do not stop their anti-government actions, the human rights monitor
said in a statement Monday.

It said all three were detained at a Nov. 30 protest in Havana at which
Malleza and Martinez held a banner that read "Stop hunger, misery and
poverty in Cuba." Alvarez was arrested for objecting when security
forces took the other two into custody.

"Amnesty International had adopted them as prisoners of conscience, as
they were detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of
expression and freedom of assembly, and had called for their immediate
and unconditional release," the statement said.

Cuba considers dissident activity to be counterrevolutionary, and the
dissidents to be mercenaries out to bring down the communist-run
government. It denies holding any political prisoners in its lockups.

Amnesty, which has strict criteria for who constitutes a "prisoner of
conscience" including a history of nonviolence, had not recognized any
Cuban inmates as such since the previous spring, when the last of 75
dissidents jailed since a 2003 crackdown were freed.

Villar was arrested in November in the eastern city of Santiago
following an anti-government protest.

The Cuban government denied that he had been on hunger strike or was
even truly a dissident. It described him as a "common criminal" sent to
prison for domestic violence, said he received all the medical attention
he needed and alleged that his case was being manipulated for political
ends.

Authorities' indignation continued Monday as official newspapers Granma
and Trabajadores published an editorial titled "Cuba's Truths." Taking
up the entire front pages of both publications, it attacked critics' own
records on human rights and defended the island, citing achievements in
health care, education and literacy, and calling the accusations a smear
campaign by Cuba's enemies.

"The so-called political prisoner was serving a sentence of four years,
following a fair process … and a trial according to the rule of law,
for brutally and publicly beating his wife, threatening police and
violently resisting arrest," the editorial said

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which
monitors detentions of dissidents in Cuba, sent an open letter to the
government demanding access to the investigation.

It said it wanted to confirm or rule out its belief that Villar was
unfairly and disproportionately punished for his political activities,
held in solitary confinement and given inadequate medical care when he
went on hunger strike. Signed by Commission founder Elizardo Sanchez, a
dissident and former prisoner himself, the letter doubted that Villar
was truly imprisoned for beating his wife.

"The family incident from July 2011 should be clarified, as well as the
reasons why he would be freed and sent back to the family home despite
the possible risks from a supposed situation of domestic violence," it read.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/amnesty-cuba-releases-prisoners-conscience-15422861#.Ty7HQYF63To

Dissident blogger says Cubans wanted more from Brazilian visit

The Brazilian leader had vowed to make human rights a cornerstone of her
foreign policy pointed to the U.S. detention camp for suspected
terrorists at Guantánamo Bay on the island's southeastern tip.
By Matthew Bristow
Bloomberg News

HAVANA — Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez said her compatriots had hoped for
more from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who avoided criticizing
the human rights situation on the communist island during a state visit
to Havana this week.

Sanchez said she had looked for at least a "small wink" from Rousseff,
who was imprisoned and tortured for fighting Brazil's dictatorship in
the 1960s, after a jailed dissident, Wilman Villar, died last month
following a hunger strike and President Raul Castro vowed to maintain
single-party rule.

"It was pure chance that she came at this time, but people had hoped for
more," Sanchez said in an interview last night in Havana. "I would've
hoped for a small wink, a phrase with a double meaning that we could
interpret, and that the government could interpret too."

Rousseff, who concludes a three-day visit to Havana today, said that it
was an internal matter for Cuba to decide whether to allow Sanchez to
leave the island after Brazil last week granted the 36-year-old blogger
an entry visa to attend next month a screening of a documentary she
appears in. Sanchez, a critic of the Castro government on the Generation
Y blog, has been denied permission to leave Cuba for four years.

"Brazil gave the visa to the blogger," Rousseff, 64, told reporters
yesterday in Havana before meeting with Castro and his brother Fidel.
"The rest is not a matter for the Brazilian government."

Rousseff, who has vowed to make human rights a cornerstone of her
foreign policy, failed to comment on the Cuban government's record,
pointing instead to the U.S. detention camp for suspected terrorists at
Guantánamo Bay on the island's southeastern tip.

"He who throws the first stone has a roof made of glass," said Rousseff,
whose Workers' Party has long supported Cuba. "We in Brazil have our
problems too."

While critical of the Brazilian president's stance, Sanchez said
Rousseff's silence is preferable to her predecessor and mentor Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva's siding with the Castro government after the death
of another jailed hunger striker in 2010, she added.

"I wake up every day and say to myself, today I am going to behave like
a free person," Sanchez said. "Dilma once said the same. She paid a high
personal and physical cost, but in the end life proved her right and
Brazil became a democracy."

Julia Sweig, an author of publications on Cuba and Brazil, said
criticism of the Castro government is more widespread today than it's
ever been since the 1959 revolution and taking many forms that escape
the attention of foreign governments and media. As Cuba's second-biggest
investor, helping Castro ease state control of the economy, Brazil is
well-positioned to discuss the island's rights record behind the scenes
in a productive manner, she added.

"Yoani's situation bears zero comparison to what Dilma went through,"
said Sweig, director of the Latin America program at the Council on
Foreign Relations in Washington. "Unlike Dilma, she hasn't been and
won't be jailed or tortured and I seriously doubt she's going to be
president of Cuba."

Cuba's government relies on beatings, short-term detentions, forced
exile and travel restrictions to repress virtually all forms of
political dissent, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report
this month. Cuba denies it's holding any political prisoners and
considers dissident activity to be counterrevolutionary supported by
anti-Castro "mercenaries" in the U.S.

While blocked from traveling abroad, Sanchez has emerged as a leader
among a group of young dissidents who describe the daily travails of
life in Cuba through difficult-to-access social media. Many of her
chronicles are published by newspapers throughout Latin America. She has
also written a book, "Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth
About Cuba Today."

Sanchez said the visibility she has gained through blogging gives her
some protection from the Cuban government.

"The day I stop blogging, they'll put me on trial," she said.

Rousseff, who travels to Haiti today, discussed the possibility of
hosting Raul Castro at a future date, according to a Brazilian official
with the president who isn't authorized to comment on the two leaders'
talks publicly.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/02/2620793/dissident-blogger-says-cubans.html#storylink=misearch

HRW: "Cuba se mantiene como el único país de América Latina que reprime
virtualmente toda forma de disenso político"

En el informe anual publicado este domingo, Human Right Watch afirma que
"En 2011 el Gobierno de Raúl Castro continuó imponiendo el conformismo
político usando las detenciones temporales, golpizas, actos públicos de
repudio, exilio forzado y restricciones de viaje"

Agencias, Madrid | 22/01/2012

El gobierno de Cuba usó en 2011 las "detenciones temporales, golpizas y
actos públicos de repudio" para impedir expresiones de descontento en el
único país de América Latina que reprime casi toda forma de disenso
político, dijo la organización Human Rights Watch (HRW), informa este
domingo la AFP.

Según la agencia, en el informe anual publicado este domingo en El Cairo
la organización de derechos humanos afirma que "En 2011 el Gobierno de
Raúl Castro continuó imponiendo el conformismo político usando las
detenciones temporales, golpizas, actos públicos de repudio, exilio
forzado y restricciones de viaje".

"El Gobierno dependió crecientemente de los arrestos arbitrarios y las
detenciones temporales para restringir derechos básicos de sus críticos,
incluidos los derechos para reunirse y desplazarse libremente", agregó.

Indicó que "el Gobierno de Cuba también presionó a los disidentes a
escoger entre el exilio o la represión continua, e incluso el
encarcelamiento, llevando a grandes cantidades (de cubanos) a dejar el
país con sus familias durante 2011".

"Cuba se mantiene como el único país de América Latina que reprime
virtualmente toda forma de disenso político", afirmó HRW.

La organización denunció que una organización cubana de derechos humanos
divulgó, en junio de 2011, una lista de 43 presos políticos en el país,
pero esta entidad "estima que hay más presos políticos cuyos casos no
puede documentar".

Señaló HRW que las detenciones son usadas para impedir la participación
en "mítines o eventos vistos como críticos del Gobierno". "Las víctimas
de tales arrestos arbitrarios dijeron que han permanecido
'incomunicados' por varias horas o días, a menudo en cuarteles
policiales", precisó el reporte.

"Algunos han recibido un 'acta de advertencia', que los fiscales pueden
usar después en juicios penales para mostrar un patrón de comportamiento
delictivo", añadió.

Recordó que los últimos 12 disidentes del "grupo de los 75" —detenidos
en 2003 y condenados a largas penas de cárcel—, fueron excarcelados en
marzo de 2011, pero "la mayoría fueron forzados a escoger entre
continuar en prisión o el exilio forzado".

Human Rights Watch criticó además que el Gobierno cubano "mantiene el
monopolio de los medios en la Isla, lo que asegura que virtualmente no
haya libertad de expresión".

"El gobierno controla todo lo que difunden los medios en Cuba y el
acceso a la información del exterior está altamente restringida. El
acceso limitado a internet significa que solo una pequeña fracción de
cubanos pueden leer artículos publicados independientemente y blogs",
alertó HRW.

El informe, añade AFP, también destacó que el Gobierno cubano impide a
sus ciudadanos salir y entrar al país sin obtener un "permiso oficial,
que a menudo es negado".

"Por ejemplo, a la conocida bloguera Yoani Sánchez, que ha criticado al
gobierno, se le ha negado el derecho a salir de la isla para recibir
premios y participar en conferencias en al menos 16 ocasiones en los
últimos cuatro años", indica.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/cuba/noticias/hrw-cuba-se-mantiene-como-el-unico-pais-de-america-latina-que-reprime-virtualmente-toda-forma-de-disenso-politico-273162

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — A leading Cuban human rights campaigner said
yesterday that brief detentions of dissidents nearly doubled in 2011
compared to the year before.

The report released by Elizardo Sanchez, who monitors arrests as head of
the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and Reconciliation, said there
were 4,123 arrests of dissidents, nearly all of them lasting "for
several hours or days", up from 2,074 in 2010.

Cuba's government, which calls dissidents "mercenaries" in the service
of Washington, disputes Sanchez's statistics. A state-run website
reported last year that several names on his list were Bolivian and
Peruvian athletes and an 18th-century painter. He acknowledged the mistakes

but said his people had been tricked by security agents pretending to be
dissidents.

Sanchez also reported that arrests spiked to 796 in December, more than
any other month, even as President Raul Castro's government announced it
was releasing more than 2,900 prisoners, mostly common criminals serving
long terms.

Cuba no longer has any inmates considered "prisoners of conscience" by
Amnesty International after freeing the last of dozens of intellectuals
and social activists in 2011. Many of those left the country for exile.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Cuba-activist-says-brief-detentions-doubled-in-2011_10544328

HAVANA TIMES, 11 ene — Cuban political scientist and columnist Haroldo
Dilla recently published an essay on the need for a new left to be born
in our country.

Nevertheless for me, as someone who considers themself a member of that
political wing, those words (at least most of them) didn't resonate. Nor
did they resonate with most of the "new leftists" I know.

Haroldo's commentary invites us try to specify what is (and what is not)
the "new left," who belongs to it and who doesn't – a task that I leave
for the wisest among us.

Instead, I'm going to discuss the "new leftist spirit" that has been
astir here in Cuba.

In recent decades there has been born not one or two isolated groups,
but an entire spirit, a new (or deeper) consciousness among earthlings,
and also among Cubans.

This new awareness includes a lot of environmentalism, queerness, cool
solidarity (also with other species), pantheistic religion that
ubiquitously assumes a divinity threatened by the consumerist and
alienating praxis of the current regimes, and of politics in the sense
of activism from below against the established powers.

I would suggest, though not everyone will agree, that this is a left motion.

Like with the "indignados" at Puerta del Sol (Madrid) and elsewhere,
this new left is far removed from centralism, authoritarianism,
chauvinism, the traditional symbols of the left as well as
representative democracy. It distances itself from the spectacle of the
struggle between parties, elections, private ownership and other aspects
in common with the "Western" paradigm.
I don't deny that some people in this new wave (I'd say that only a
minority feel fairly strongly about this) still believe that this regime
is not beyond hope and that the "historic leaders" can lead the change.

Another minority (one that is given much attention and fanfare) consists
of those who only focus on the issues of civil and human rights, and who
believe that social democracy is a way out. (This is a minority within
this "new leftist spirit" to which I'm referring, though perhaps not
among the general population).

But back to Dilla. Later in his commentary he states: "But at the same
time, I think that this emerging left is facing several critical issues
that it must resolve if it wants to actually be a political alternative
in Cuban society."

A "political alternative in Cuban society"? What a joke! For the time
being, I don't think such a thing can be hoped for, and for several reasons.

Building from the ashes

In the first place this is because the movement is still very immature
and (in my opinion) too few in number. Castro Stalinism fell like an
atomic bomb on the left tradition, hurling people — by their natural
rejection — into the arms of capitalism and liberalism.

The left now has to reconstitute itself from the ashes and it must do it
at the rhythm of those who are little by little building a new paradigm.

Secondly this is because participating in the political struggle in the
traditional style would mean renouncing the essence of the movement. It
would involve, for example, the role of an "enlightened vanguard" and
everything derived from that: top-down "verticalism," internal police
organization, the frequent purging of heretics, demagoguery,
representativeness as a mode of relations between professionals and the
rest of the movement, and so on.

However, what's clear is that the new left should propose (explicitly or
by example) the alternative of "achievable good living" (i.e. not
committing the idealist's sin).

There is much talk of cooperatives but — be careful! — when some new
leftists suggest this as a way of organizing work (versus private
enterprise and wage labor), aren't they invoking another form of
totalitarianism where everything would have to be turned into
cooperatives, and where everyone would have to be connected to work in
that manner?

In any case, I'm not denying that this movement has before it plenty of
dilemmas constituting veritable mountains in its path. It wouldn't be
bad to hear "And you, on your tiptoes!"(*), but maturity can't be rushed.

As for the question of time running out, I think the left can take it
easy regarding this point: there will always be plenty of work for it.
—–
* In Mambi mythology, when one of the Maceos died in combat with the
Spanish, the mother, Mariana Grajales, said to another of her sons who
was still a minor "And you, stand on your tiptoes so that you can head
for the jungle to fight." Maybe that wasn't the exact expression – but
who really knows?

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=59550

Members of dissident group "Ladies in White" pray after a Mass and
before the group's weekly march at Santa Rita church in Havana, Cuba,
Sunday Oct. 16, 2011. The group continues to face harassment by
government officials and pro-government groups.

In an ideal world, the Cuban government would adopt "respect human
rights" as its New Year's resolution. Alas, the Cuban government remains
stubbornly opposed to democratic principles, human rights, and
fundamental freedoms.

New incarcerations for political dissent have not stopped. In December
2011, The Government of Cuba used harassment, detention and assault to
block dozens of human rights activists, journalists, and others from
observing International Human Rights Day. Members of the Damas de
Blanco, winners of the Department of State's 2011 Human Rights Defenders
Award, continue to face harassment by government officials and
pro-government groups. Despite government claims to the contrary,
independent human rights groups estimate that more than 60 political
activists remain in Cuban jails.

There have been a few positive glimmers: Cuba's year-end release of 2900
prisoners and the announcement of some economic measures that could
provide a greater degree of economic independence and relief to the
long-suffering Cuban people. However, Cuba still has a long way to go.
When it comes to human rights, the basic outline of Cuba's political
system has not changed. One party rule brooks no dissent and jail awaits
those who dare speak out.

http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/Human-Rights-Still-Suffer-Despite-Change-In-Cuba–136973043.html

CUBA

Former spanish ambassador to Cuba to head relations with Latin America

Jesus Gracia Aldaz was ambassador in Havana when Cuban government jailed
75 dissidents
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

A Spanish diplomat who served as ambassador in Havana from 2001 to 2004
was appointed Thursday to head the Foreign Ministry section that handles
Spain's relations with Latin America.

Jesús Gracia Aldaz, named as Secretary of State for Iberoamerica, was
Spain's ambassador to Cuba when Havana courts sentenced 75 dissidents to
lengthy prison terms during a crackdown in 2003 known as "Cuba's Black
Spring."

He was appointed to the Cuba post in 2001 by the conservative People's
Party government of Prime Minister José Maria Aznar and left the island
in 2004, when socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero succeeded Aznar. PP
leader Mariano Rajoy took over as prime minister after his party won the
November elections.

Joaquin Roy, who heads the European Union Center at the University of
Miami, noted that while Gracia is experienced in Spanish-Cuban
relations, he will have to follow the policy guidelines set by Rajoy and
Foreign Minister José Manuel García Margallo.

"Everything depends on how active Rajoy and García-Margallo want to be
on Cuba. I would be surprised if they start any 'harassment' (against
the Cuban government) … that goes beyond the verbal," Roy wrote in an
email to El Nuevo Herald.

After Cuba's crackdown in 2003, the Aznar government helped push member
nations of the European Union to adopt sanctions on Havana, such as
cutting back on government-to-government contacts and inviting
dissidents to embassy functions.

Rodríguez Zapatero and his foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos,
reversed course by pushing the EU nations to abandon the 2003 sanctions
and trying unsuccessfully to lift a EU "Common Position" that loosely
links EU assistance to Cuba's human rights record.

The socialist government also eliminated the title of Secretary of State
for Iberoamerica in 2010. Gracia Aldaz' appointment to the resurrected
title points to Rajoy's stated goal of warming up relations with Latin
America.

The 51-year old Gracia Aldaz is currently the No. 2 at the Spanish
embassy in Argentina and has served in top positions in the government
agencies that are in charge of assistance to Latin American and other
nations.

A post Thursday in the Spain-based blog CubaEncuentro argued that Cuba
issues have a low priority for the Rajoy government because of Spain's
many domestic problems and the hefty Spanish investments in the Cuban
tourism and oil industries. The Spanish Repsol company is spearheading
the island's offshore oil exploration efforts.

But Rajoy also is unlikely to continue the Rodriguez Zapatero
government's strong push to drop the EU's Common Position, and trouble
may lie ahead, added the post, signed by Tony Gonzalez.

"Somewhere along there will be confrontation, and diplomatic notes with
insults and apologies," the post noted.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/05/2575578/former-spanish-ambassador-to.html#storylink=misearch

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)
said the Smithsonian Institution's plan to chaperone Americans on four
visits to Cuba this year amounts to licensed tourism of Cuba that will
help give the "Castro dictatorship" access to much-needed hard currency.

"It is deeply disappointing that the Smithsonian Institute, primarily
funded by American taxpayers, is facilitating access to U.S. dollars,
which enables the Castro regime to make a hefty profit," Ros-Lehtinen
said Tuesday. "The trips not only illustrate a blatant disregard for
human rights conditions on the island by an entity that receives U.S.
government funding, but provide the deplorable Havana tyranny a sense of
legitimacy."

Supporters of tough travel rules related to Cuba have argued for decades
that easing travel to the island will only encourage Americans to spent
money in Cuba that will mostly end up in the hands of the government,
given the amount of control the government has over economic activity.

Ros-Lehtinen stopped short of saying she would move to block the
Smithsonian trips but said the visits would do nothing to help Americans
to see the brutality of the Cuban regime. "Instead, these tourists will
experience a false depiction of Cuba through a biased and censored
'tour' of the island," she said.

"The Smithsonian's 10-day trips to Cuba will amount to little more than
a tropical vacation," she said. "Americans participating in these trips
will not see the brutal reality of the Castro dictatorship."

The Smithsonian is offering several trips to Cuba this year under a
license issued by the Treasury Department. According to the Smithsonian,
the trips start at $5,450 and will run from May 4-13, May 11-20, Nov.
9-18, and Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/202333-ros-lehtinen-says-smithsonian-trips-to-cuba-a-cash-gift-to-castro

Cuban prisoner dies during hunger strike
The Associated Press

HAVANA — A leading human rights activist says a Cuban prisoner who
launched a hunger strike because he was not part of a large prison
amnesty has died of an apparent heart attack.

Rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said Monday that Rene Cobas died Sunday
in the Boniato prison near the western city of Santiago. Sanchez says
Cobas was a common criminal and not jailed for political reasons.

Sanchez says Cobas and about 20 other prison inmates launched a hunger
strike after learning they were not part of a massive amnesty announced
by President Raul Castro on Dec. 23. He says Cobas died after exhibiting
symptoms of a heart attack for two days.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/02/2570884/cuban-prisoner-dies-during-hunger.html#storylink=misearch

Editorial 24
The Catholic Church and the official press have announced that His
Holiness the Pope Benedict XVI "is considering visiting Mexico and Cuba
during the spring of the year 2012". At the same time, the spokesman of
the Holy See has declared that the State Department of the Supreme
Pontiff has told the Papal Nuncios in each one of these countries to
inform the respective ecclesiastical and civilian authorities about the
expected visit.
This news which was published at the beginning of November has aroused
numerous expectations and possibilities. More than a half of the
Catholic Church one thousand million members live in Latin America so
the visit of the Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church is always a
momentous event that does not leave indifferent either the visited
Church or the civilian authorities or a great part of the people that
declares itself a believer from a Christian matrix.
It's about two things at the same time which are inseparably mixed in
one person: the visit of the head of one church and the head of a small
State which symbolizes the sovereignty of this religious denomination to
be able to exercise its evangelizing mission, without interference or
manipulation. That is why whether we want it or not, every visit of one
Pope has a religious dimension and another political and social
dimension. For this reason it brings spiritual and political
expectations in a wide sense though his visit is essentially religious.
However, the visit of a head of State should not be compared or likened
to the visit of the Pope; if we do that we would be making a mistake in
perspective, in interpretation and expectations.
Cuba already had a papal visit 14 years ago. His Holiness the Pope John
Paul II who has been declared blessed and has been venerated as a saint
by millions of persons around the world, carried out an unforgettable
pastoral visit to our Island which lasted five days, from the 21st to
the 25th of January 1998. It's impossible not to bear this in mind and
it's very probable that some try to make comparisons with the announced
pilgrimage of Benedict XVI. Though it is natural that we remember and
evoke that historic event the best thing we should do is to be aware of
the fact that any visit of this kind can't be likened to another one
because they are different Pontiffs, because this is a different time
and because Cuba in 1998 was a different one in many aspects compared to
the Cuba of 2012.
THE RESULTS OF A PONTIFICAL VISIT DEPEND ON THE PROTAGONISTS.
However, we wish to be participants in this stage of preparation of the
possible Pope's visit so we wish to tell some expectations and
possibilities shared by some Cubans, women and men, not necessarily
Catholics. There is an old Latin saying though it's not always exact and
it goes: "what goes to Rome comes from Rome". This generally means that
the expectations of the Church are very important and so are the
expectations of the rest of the Nation that the Pope will visit; the
view of the local reality that will be informed to the Pope and the
characteristics of his pastoral pilgrimage as desired by both parties.
That is why it is logical and good that the Holy Father should listen to
what the Church and the people wish from his visit. But it is also
logical and good that the Pope should wish to convey his message without
distorting his mission and being at the service of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, his only paradigm and source of inspiration. The results of a
Pontifical visit depend essentially on the smooth communication and the
consistence with the identity and the mission of all the protagonists of
such event: the Church, the people and the authorities.
The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cuba who is Dionisio
García, Archbishop from Santiago de Cuba has stated that the Pope will
come mainly to participate, as a pilgrim, in the celebrations of the
discovery of the Virgin of Charity image from El Cobre: the mother,
queen and patron of the Republic of Cuba. Thus the center of the Pope's
presence in Cuba will be the visit and the Eucharist that will be held
in the National Sanctuary-Basilica of El Cobre. And though the itinerary
has not been announced, and it appears to be short, we expect he will
visit the Capital too in order to have another religious celebration and
pay his greetings to the authorities of the country. We cannot either
rule out that the Pontiff would have encounters with more specific
sectors of the Church, for example, young people, laics, bishops,
priests and nuns.
SOME EXPECTATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES.
It is a responsibility and a duty of each citizen not to stay
indifferent toward the national events. The preparation of a papal visit
does not belong exclusively to the Church; it is a civic and religious
task. All of us should express our opinion, suggest things and show what
we feel inside us. We should show our souls because above all it is the
visit of a spiritual leader and we all have a soul and we all share the
Nation's soul. Here are some of our expectations and opinions:
1. Charity unites us. Unity is inclusion.
"Charity unites us". This is the slogan that summarizes the spirit of
the celebrations of the 400 years of the discovery of the Virgin of
Charity image which is at the same time, the end and the center of the
papal visit. Then charity is the Christian name for love that makes us
give ourselves to the others so it should unite all Cubans and that's
why our expectation in that sense is that this unity will not be
uniformity in thinking, believing in options and in acts. We believe
that this unity should not exclude the different ones and the ones that
upset the government or the Church. We believe that this unity is not
unanimity or unity around one only option. Any way, in only one phrase
which is, at the same time, our main expectation regarding this topic:
Unity is inclusion. Thus the Pope's visit should include all the
representatives of the Cuban nation, all of us children of the Virgin of
Charity: the believers, the non-believers, the government, the
opposition and the civil society, the ones who live in the Island and
the ones who live in the Diaspora. If any of these groups is left out of
the papal visit and out of the life in Cuba the unity in charity would
not be possible. The degree of inclusion before, during and after the
visit could be one of the expectations and opportunities for the
preparation and the evaluation of the visit.
2. The spirit that will promote the pacific and gradual structural changes.
The pacific and gradual structural changes in the political, economic,
social, cultural and anthropologic environments are not the purposes of
the Pope's visit but they are an urgent need of the people that the Pope
will visit and a need of the Church that will receive him. These changes
are not a task that the Pope should carry out or a task that should be
carried out by the Church in Cuba exclusively but each substantial
reform has its foundation in the soul of the people and in the spirit of
the citizens. Thus, everything that strengthens the spirit of Cubans,
men and women; everything that nurtures the Nation's soul; everything
that opens up the nation to the best motions of the Spirit of Truth,
Good and Beauty will revitalize the changes that have been patiently
expected for a long time. The degree of spiritual depth before, during
and after this visit can be one of the expectations and opportunities to
prepare the visit, to experience it and evaluate it.
3. The promotion of the sovereignty of citizens and a national inclusive
dialogue about essential topics.
The people that the Pope will visit and even the Catholic Church that is
preparing his visit which is a part of that people have had a deficit in
citizen education and ethical education to live in freedom,
responsibility, participative democracy and fraternity during more than
half a century. This civic and moral illiteracy is one of the greatest
shortages of the people and the Church the Pope will visit. It's a
pastoral and evangelizing duty of the Church to contribute, with its
educative mission, to the education for citizen sovereignty, responsible
civic participation and the inseparable coherence between ethics and
politics without choosing any ideology or partisan political option. One
of the expectations and opportunities to prepare this visit, to
experience it and evaluate it is the endeavour for an ethical and civic
education that may be present before, during and after the visit. This
education would lead to an authentic national dialogue without
exclusions in order to deal with every essential topic.
4. The reconstruction of the sovereign fabric of civil society.
The reconstruction of the sovereign fabric of civil society is a
long-term task and a consequence of the education of each person as a
citizen, of the ethical responsibility and a spiritual mystique in order
to achieve that the discouragement, the human miseries and the
materialist and hedonistic interests do not destroy this task for the
present and the future of Cuba. The Pope's visit, the way of life and
work of the very Church as a paradigm of one of the communities in civil
society could be a view, a motion and a possibility of work on the
occasion of the Pontiff's visit. The preparation, the carrying out and
the ecclesial style that the Pope's visit to Cuba will leave can be a
testimonial and prophetic school for the reconstruction of a sound civil
society. At the same time that life school for civil society can be an
expectation and an opportunity to prepare the visit, to experience it
and to evaluate it before, during and after the visit.
5 The decriminalization of discrepancy.
Cuba needs, above all, to live in the respect and the agreement of
diversity which is natural and desirable in a sound society. Cuba needs
to decriminalize discrepancy, such as a relevant journalist in Camagüey
has said. The mission of Christianity is, according to the Gospel of
Saint Luke in its chapter 4, 18-21: To preach the Gospel to the poor; to
proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to
set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord".
That's to mark the visit of the Pastor of the Church we can expect: an
amnesty for all the political prisoners or prisoners of conscience,
rather than pardon; the cessation of all repression and to change the
climate of exasperation we find in the media and on the streets: an
environment of war, conspiracy and espionage that harms the Nation's
soul and the spirit of Cubanhood: to change all that toward an
atmosphere of confidence and fraternity. This good news, guaranteed and
consolidated by the complete decriminalization of discrepancy, before,
during and after the pontifical visit can be one of the expectations and
opportunities to prepare the visit, to experience it and evaluate it.
6. Toward a true religious freedom.
The true religious freedom in a modern laic State is not "the permit"
for each action or work by the churches and it is not having a special
office to control their activities or to exclude some works, persons and
groups from the Church in order to obtain "the normalization" of the
relations between the Church and the State. These relations will only be
normal when the Churches enjoy a true religious freedom guaranteed by
law or Concordat, by the renewal of mentality and by a social
environment of freedom and respect for all the believers. The religious
freedom is not a privilege for the ecclesiastic institutions but a right
of each citizen and each community of believers. To take care of this
right is a responsibility of the Hierarchy of the Church and the civil
Authority as well. There cannot be religious freedom if only one of the
believers is pursued, discriminated, excluded or repressed for his faith
and for the consequences of his faith regarding his political, economic
and social options. The purposes of the Gospel are not exclusively the
good relations between the Church and the State but and above all, the
good relations among all citizens and the State. To promote this more
holistic concept of religious freedom can be a support and a source,
inspiration and complement of all the other liberties, human rights and
expectations regarding the life of the Churches and the Pope's visit.
The degree of true religious freedom achieved before, during and after
this visit and for each Cuban can be one of the expectations and
opportunities to prepare this visit, to experience it and evaluate it.
7. National reconciliation: truth, justice, amnesty and magnanimity.
Another expectation about the papal visit is that it should contribute
to the long and necessary process of national reconciliation. For more
than five decades confrontation among Cubans that think and act
differently has been stimulated. Persons that love Cuba and work
pacifically for it have been unfairly called "warms", mercenaries,
traitors and all kinds of degrading damaging remarks. Informers and
oppressors have done a lot of physical and psychological harm. The
pontifical visit should use a strong spiritual and ethical motivation to
make this mania of discrediting the person instead of disagreeing with
serenity about his ideas stop. Weak must be the arguments against these
ideas when discredit is used against this person. The people that the
Pope will visit needs a deep process of national reconciliation that
necessarily should include these four steps: a commission of truth,
legal processes with all the guarantees, an amnesty without amnesia not
to fall in the same hole ever again and a spirit of magnanimity which is
the mix of forgiveness and fraternity. The degree in which the
preparation of the papal visit, the visit itself and what comes
afterwards contribute to the process of national reconciliation can be
one of the expectations and opportunities to prepare the visit, to
experience it and evaluate it.
8. The opening-up to the world strengthens the cultural identity and the
national sovereignty.
"May Cuba open- up to the world and may the world open-up to Cuba" was
one of the most stunning messages of the visit paid by John Paul II to
Cuba 14 years ago. Quickly, many of us in Cuba added that together with
those two openings and as a consequence of them the government should
open-up mainly to the very Cubans so that all of us can enjoy all the
rights. Unfortunately the three openings are still unresolved, some are
not started, and some are not completed. The world has changed since 14
years ago: it is more independent, more supportive, more conscious and
sensitive to the violations of the Human Rights and to the use of
violence in any ways and places. The opening up and the interdependence
do not degrade or harm but strengthen the cultural identity and the
national sovereignty if the citizens have an ethical and civic education
to start a dialogue with other cultures and other nations. Paternalism
thinks that by locking up their children at home as if they were little
and by giving them a simplified version of the world will result in the
children's fidelity and purity. The very life denies the efficiency of
being so enclosed regarding information, media, interpersonal relations,
travel and interchange among countries. The degree of opening to the
world, to Cubans and to all of human rights for all achieved before,
during and after this visit can be one of the expectations and
opportunities to prepare this visit, to experience it and evaluate it.
9. The transition from fear to hope and from hope to the reconstruction
of the Country.
Cuba needs a deep transition but not only a political and economic
transition. Cuba needs, above all and first of all, to transit from fear
to hope. This indicator of the situation in our country and the life
quality we have in this Island is indeed measurable by all of us: Cuba
will not really change if you find fear around you. If television
threatens and attacks; if the newspapers are libels that denigrate the
different ones; if your neighbourhood is a nest of distrust and
informers; if your job is a pack of envy and corruption. If all this
happens then something is wrong in Cuba and it must change. There is no
life quality where fear is present. If there is no hope the future moves
away from each one of us and from the country. A country where the hope
of persons lies in the possibility to travel to any other country in
order to improve has to change substantially. The Pope's visit, its
preparation and its continuity can be evaluated by the concrete steps in
this urgent itinerary of transition from fear to hope and from hope to
the reconstruction of the Country with freedom and responsibility.
10. We Cubans, women and men are and should be the protagonists of our
own personal and national history.
Another unfinished legacy of the visit paid by John Paul II is that
message three times repeated by the venerated Pontiff: "You are and
should be the protagonists of your own personal and national history".
This is maybe the foundation, the key and the guarantee of all the
expectations and possibilities related to the visit of Benedict XVI:
Only if we Cubans, women and men accept our personal and civic
responsibility the changes in Cuba will be implemented with depth and
peace. The Pope will not turn all of our expectations into realities but
the prominence and the responsibility of all Cubans will do it; and we
will be able to do it and we should do it counting on the supplement of
the soul that religions can give through their mystique, their
spirituality, their ethics and their liberating and holistic view of
reality.
The visit of every religious leader is always a call and a spiritual
encouragement for all who want to listen and accept the Pope's wise
suggestions and advices. That is why the visit of His Holiness Benedict
XVI can be a magnificent catalyst in this gradual but irreversible
process in which each Cuban, woman and man should accept our
responsibility, our social and historic prominence to implement, all of
us without exclusion or violence, the changes that only we Cubans should
do for Cubans.
This will depend on each one of us but very especially on the
authorities and the faithful of the Catholic Church and also on the
authorities and followers of the Country's government. It will also
depend on the contribution of those Cubans, women and men who have
decided to exercise their citizen sovereignty in the every day national
events.
This is the time for every one to contribute what he thinks, what he
expects, what he will decide to do on the occasion of the Pope's visit
during the next spring in Cuba.
Pinar del Río, November 20th 2011
22nd Anniversary of Father Varela's Birth.

Translation from the Convivencia website.

December 1 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=13513

There are expectations on Cuba's "multiple shores" regarding the new
immigration law that the government of Raul Castro is working on. It's
not the first time we've heard about it; it's already been alluded to
more than once and the news has leaked out that it is in advanced
stages. I wonder how much so. Because there is a precedent in a "memo"
published by a news agency a few years ago about the sale of Russian
Lada cars, which turned out to be a fiasco.

It's likely that this trick to learn about public opinion on a topic is
part of the strategy of the administration that took the helm in 2006.
It's a recourse that is becoming repetitive and that arouses suspicions.
Perhaps he's waited so long to make reforms that now he turns to tactics
to tranquillize and entertain the population in order to gain time for
his team to move the pieces of the legal framework to arm the new
puzzle. How to return to Cubans the travel rights they enjoyed before
1959 that were violated? Therein lies the dilemma.

They have scammed us so many times for so long that people wonder
whether the new measures won't also be saddled with restrictions. Most
of the people you talk to about the issue display their skepticism
regarding a right. If they don't publicly and legitimately respect all
the rights of Cubans, it would be discriminatory, unfair and misleading
— repeating the historic error of droit de seigneur in the matter —
leaving it to State's different agencies of control to decide what to
implement and what not to.

Thus, they would establish a legislation of doubtful guarantees of the
capabilities and dignity of Cubans in opposition, relative to the known
and accepted norms of the international community, in which they
selectively support the authorities when and how it corresponds to their
interests.

On the other hand, Cubans need to be educated on this fundamental topic
to establish a culture of rights in our society — contrary to the
intolerance and outrage fomented — and this is achieved by recognizing
and respecting everyone. This happens, as is natural, by implementing
human rights, which are inalienable and indivisible and which the
government has "no right" to continue violating. They cannot legitimize
some few without transgressing others.

They have subjected people to so many abuses of power, that we are
justified in distrusting reforms in general and those relating to the
new immigration law now in progress. I hope they won't repeat the old
carrot-and-stick trick where, in Cuba, the carrot is usually rotten.

They have subjected people to so many abuses of power, that we are
justified in distrusting reforms in general and those relating to the
new immigration law now in progress. I hope they won't repeat the old
carrot-and-stick trick where, in Cuba, the carrot is usually rotten.

Translator: Unstated

December 27 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=13494

Thousands of eyes were glued to national television screens this last
Friday. The social networks and text messages also vibrated nervously. A
strong rumor had been growing all week, feeding the hopes of Cubans on
and off the island, killing sleep. Initiated and fed by official voices,
the speculations centered on the possibility of the National Assembly
announcing travel reforms.

In a country where citizens face severe limitations on leaving and
entering their own territory, such suspicions are too important not to
pay attention. Bags packed, airplane tickets reserved, and long-delayed
hugs between relatives not seen for decades about to be realized. But
the illusion lasted only a few days and was deflated with the same haste
with which passports are stamped "denied."

Instead of proclaiming the end of the demeaning Exit Permit — also known
as the "White Card" — Raul Castro reported on a pardon for more than
2,900 prisoners. People sentenced for diverse crimes, among which were
some against State Security. In the words of the official press release,
it affected prisoners, "older then 60, sick, women, and also young
people with prior criminal histories." A gesture that could be aimed at
paving the way for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI this coming March.

The General thus preferred to open the doors of the small prisons,
seeing that he is still not disposed to pull back the bureaucratic bars
of the great prison. The island as a penitentiary and the immigration
officials as stern gatekeepers with a bunch of keys hanging from their
belts.

Although the president reaffirmed his "unchanging will to gradually
introduce the required changes" in the current migratory policies, he
could not prevent a snort of frustration bursting forth from the mouths
of those who listened at home. For the umpteenth time hope withered and
the embrace of an uncle or brother who would not be returning remained
annoyingly locked in the trunk of the postponement.

The family and friends of the newly pardoned, however, did have reasons
to prepare a Christmas with greater happiness. Although the penal code
keeps intact that crimes that led them to prison, those released this
Christmas feel themselves to be the beneficiaries of a magnanimous wink
from the seat of power.

The presidential indulgence has touched them this time, but thousands of
Cubans wait for a similar gesture in matters of basic human rights: A
pardon that manages to open the heavy gate that blocks free travel,
coming and going from one's country without having to ask for permission.

30 December 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=13451

It has now been 63 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was adopted by the United Nations, in 1948. Both the United States and
Cuba ratified it, and neither has withdrawn its consent.

The declaration sets out a list of human rights that signatory countries
agree to respect. One of them, Article 13(2), states that, "Everyone has
the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country."

As the Castro dictatorship celebrates 52 years in power, both Cuba and
the United States are embroiled in domestic controversies over the right
to leave and return to one's own country without having to ask for
government permission.

The Castro brothers — Fidel, 85, and Raul, 80 — have exercised rigid
control since 1959 over Cubans' ability to leave the island and return.
No Cuban can leave, even when another country has authorized a visit,
unless Communist bureaucrats issue a permit known as "the white card."
Similarly, to travel to Cuba, Cubans living outside the island must
request an entry permit.

In August, Raul Castro announced that he was going to review and
possibly modify "the reigning migration policy." While those words
evoked hopes of liberalization, on the day before Cuba's annual
"Nochebuena" (Christmas Eve) family holiday, he threw the proverbial
bucket of cold water over those expectations. The issue is "complex," he
said, and requires further study.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the embargo commenced by President
Kennedy in 1960, after Fidel Castro "nationalized" (i.e., stole) the
properties of United States citizens and corporations in Cuba without
compensation, in violation of international law, continues to affect the
ability of United States citizens and Cubans who live in this country to
travel to Cuba. By law, all those wishing to travel to Cuba must request
U.S. government permission. Unlike the situation in Cuba, the United
States government does not attempt to totally control egress and
ingress, but it imposes burdens on the exercise of those rights when the
destination is Cuba.

Current policy regarding travel to Cuba has been criticized on many
grounds, including that it violates U.S. citizens' constitutional "right
to travel." While such a right is not found explicitly in the U.S.
Constitution (as it was in the Articles of Confederation of 1781) the
courts have found that such a right indeed exists, by implication.
Nonetheless, in decisions in 1965 and 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that travel restrictions to Cuba are valid.

I am not among those who hold the naïve belief that allowing free travel
to Cuba from the U.S. will make the Castros embrace democracy. Millions
of Canadian, European, Mexican and other tourists have traveled to Cuba
for five decades, and all they have accomplished is helping finance the
dictatorship.

However, if Cuba and the U.S. mutually agreed to honor their promises
from 1948, everyone in both countries could at least make his or her own
free decision regarding travel in or out of Cuba. Raul Castro and Barack
Obama should include such a pledge among their New Year's resolutions.
Angel Castillo Jr., a former reporter and editor for The Miami Herald
and The New York Times, practices employment law in Miami. © Florida Voices

http://www2.tbo.com/news/opinion/2011/dec/31/meopino1-on-travel-to-cuba-think-liberty-first-ar-342186/

Raul Castro Releases 2,900 Common Prisoners But Holds Onto His 11
Million Cuban Hostages
Posted: 12/30/11 08:39 AM ET

Thousands of eyes were glued to national television screens this last
Friday. The social networks and text messages also vibrated nervously. A
strong rumor had been growing all week, feeding the hopes of Cubans on
and off the island, killing sleep. Initiated and fed by official voices,
the speculations centered on the possibility of the National Assembly
announcing travel reforms.

In a country where citizens face severe limitations on leaving and
entering their own territory, such suspicions are too important not to
pay attention. Bags packed, airplane tickets reserved, and long-delayed
hugs between relatives not seen for decades about to be realized. But
the illusion lasted only a few days and was deflated with the same haste
with which passports are stamped "denied."

Instead of proclaiming the end of the demeaning Exit Permit — also
known as the "White Card" — Raul Castro reported on a pardon for more
than 2,900 prisoners. People sentenced for diverse crimes, among which
were some against State Security. In the words of the official press
release, it affected prisoners, "older than 60, sick, women, and also
young people with prior criminal histories." A gesture that could be
aimed at paving the way for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI this coming
March.

The General thus preferred to open the doors of the small prisons,
seeing that he is still not disposed to pull back the bureaucratic bars
of the great prison. The island as a penitentiary and the immigration
officials as stern gatekeepers with a bunch of keys hanging from their
belts.

Although the president reaffirmed his "unchanging will to gradually
introduce the required changes" in the current migratory policies, he
could not prevent a snort of frustration bursting forth from the mouths
of those who listened at home. For the umpteenth time hope withered and
the embrace of an uncle or brother who would not be returning remained
annoyingly locked in the trunk of the postponement.

The family and friends of the newly pardoned, however, did have reasons
to prepare a Christmas with greater happiness. Although the penal code
keeps intact that crimes that led them to prison, those released this
Christmas feel themselves to be the beneficiaries of a magnanimous wink
from the seat of power.

The presidential indulgence has touched them this time, but thousands of
Cubans wait for a similar gesture in matters of basic human rights: A
pardon that manages to open the heavy gate that blocks free travel,
coming and going from one's country without having to ask for permission.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cuba-prisoner-release_b_1175447.html

Jailing of Cuban dissidents denounced
By Juan Carlos Chavez
jcchavez@elnuevoherald.com

Activists and groups advocating individual freedom in Cuba denounced the
jailing in maximum security prisons of three peaceful opponents,
including Ivonne Malleza Galano, who this year carried out a series of
daring street protests.

The arrests coincide with the massive amnesty announced by Cuban leader
Raúl Castro of about 2,900 Cuban prisoners. Five political prisoners
were also released, according to information given on Tuesday by
Elizardo Sánchez, director of the illegal but tolerated Cuban Commission
of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, based in Havana.

"Suddenly the signs are very negative," Sánchez told El Nuevo Herald.
"Because while there is an amnesty of criminal and political prisoners,
three people who simply staged a small peaceful protest on the streets
without any kind of force or violence are being jailed."

Malleza was transferred to Manto Negro women's jail in Havana together
with dissident Isabel Hayde Alvarez Mosqueda. Both could be sentenced to
five years in prison. The third opponent jailed is Malleza's husband,
Ignacio Martínez Montero.

Malleza, a member of the group the Ladies in White, began to draw
attention in the last few months because of her work in the opposition

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/27/2563791/jailing-of-cuban-dissidents-denounced.htmlmovement.

Translator's note: Asclepius is the ancient Greek god of Healing and
Medicine

If you are moderately well-informed you know that we 11 million Cubans
living in Cuba are subject to a ban on free travel abroad. In this case
it's not about a personal decision, but requires that you be invariably
authorized by an arm of the Ministry of the Interior with discretionary
power to say yes or not to your "permission to leave"; a privilege that
becomes the stuff of blackmail, with perks awarded to those who remain
"quiet" and refusals as punishment for the irreverent, to set an example
to others. This general prohibition is contained in the Ministry of
Public Health (MINSAP) Resolution 54, specifically designed for those
who work in Public Health, and which presents a bleak picture.

But returning to our mental exercise, here we have our thoughtful doctor
who is forbidden to travel abroad, who can't support his family on his
evanescent salary, who can't go to work in another better paid sector
because the Resolution prohibits it, with a purely decorative Union that
bows to the orders of the Administration and the Party, through which he
can't channel any solution to these basic problems, nor will it
acknowledge his starvation wages, nor the terrible conditions of hygiene
and good, coupled with the lack of resources and medications which, save
in happy exceptions, he passes his medical shifts in our polyclinics and
hospitals; shifts for which our doctor, incidentally, does not receive
even a penny.

Then our thoughtful physician has only one way out, and resignedly
chooses the only door left open; he applies to be part of some medical
mission that our supportive government sustains in some dozens of
countries. He just has to fill out the rigorous documents, and spend a
few months or years, and then our doctor leaves his office or hospital
to care for the poor of the world.

I believe in human solidarity like I believe in the light of the sun,
but in life you have the discern the luster of gold from the shine of
the mirrors. When a doctor, dentist or other Cuban health professional
leaves to work on a foreign mission, regardless of any moral valuation,
he does it under indisputable circumstances. This worker, until now
deprived of a decent wage, will from this moment forward receive 300 or
400 dollars a month, while his family in Cuba – which under no
circumstances Is allowed to accompany him — will receive his full wages
in Cuban pesos along with 50 convertible pesos every month.

Although under certain circumstances it can come to more depending on
the destination country, it will never exceed 15% to 20% of what the
host country is paying Cuba for his services. This is an estimate, as
this information is practically inaccessible, but it's true that around
80% of what our doctor generates in his contracted wages — not taking
into account extras for additional tests, radiology studies, etc., which
are generously covered — goes directly to the coffers of the Cuban state
to be administered by human functionaries.

Meanwhile, the Cuban health workers abroad receive a wage that in many
cases is less than the legal minimum wage for a native of the country
they are working in. When the worker returns to Cuba on completing his
mission, he is once again subject like any good Cuban to the travel ban.
Any professional that abandons his mission is invariably treated like a
traitor, and is never permitted to enter Cuba again and will not be able
to see his children grow up; he will not even be authorized to come in
the case of an illness or death of a loved one.

Now let's look at a revealing fact: over the last decade contracting for
medical services has brought the Cuban government tens of billions of
dollars, and has become the country's largest source of export earnings.
The selfless medical missions which our government exports to the
world's poor, in the last decade, have generated between five and eight
billion dollar annually; tourism is a distant second at two billion.
This number accounts for the export of services only; our professionals
in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are third in line,
surpassed only by the nickel industry and the petroleum products.

Note, first, the enormous economic dividend this implies, and secondly
the obvious, and no less important, political benefit, that makes our
leaders smell like Messiahs and garners votes for them in international
forums. Add to that, thirdly, the escape valve it provides for the mood
of the worker, who knows if he waits patiently for a mission abroad he
can multiply his salary by 20 to 40 times during the two or three years,
on condition he remain silent.

For the protestors, the outlaws, they will never join this mass of
internationalists who now amount to about half of our practicing
physicians who, clearly, resent the quality of medical care offered to
the Cuban population.

Every human society is a complex system of relationships that require
adjustments in their mechanisms and which should reward personal effort,
because this will encourage respect for the value of honest labor. In
this system, each one should have a well-defined place. While it is the
role of the doctor to safeguard health and human life, that of the
senior leaders of this country should be to guarantee the strategic
design of a balanced and functional society and this, without a doubt,
they have not managed to accomplish after 50 years of projects and
conferences.

Not only did they fail in their design, but they did so resoundingly.
The apologists talk about "free" education and health, but without
attempting to complain of the sun for its spots, I suggest that this is
relative, because the money they don't charge me at school or at the
hospital, bleeds from my fingers in the hard-currency stores with their
absurd policy of extremely abusive prices, where things are marked up
500% or 1000% over their wholesale price. Also, to guarantee an
education and people's health is not a gesture of goodwill, but an
obligation of the State. We mustn't forget that over his whole life a
worker salary is cut by 33% to guarantee his Social Security. This
gloomy subject is rarely spoken of in my country.

I have clean hands and I like to play it straight, so someone who's
playing a game can save the lectures on patriotism. I believe the
necessary Revolution of 1959 was right and authentic, but I can't
applaud what it has condemned us to, because if there is no respect for
the rights of man, there is nothing left to defend.

I am with the Revolution, but will never resign myself to its errors,
nor with the acts of demagogues and opportunists. I am a doctor, a
Cuban, I live in the real and difficult Cuba, not in the TV newscasts
and I do not wish to emigrate. I graduated in 1994, and since 1998 have
had a specialty in General Medicine. I was a third-year Resident in
Internal Medicine until April 2006 when, in my last year, I was
suspended from the study of this specialty and then disqualified from
the practice of medicine in Cuba, for an indefinite time in October
2006, along with a colleague, Dr. Rodolfo Martinez Vigoa.

The ancestral intolerance to which we were already accustomed made the
powers-that-be react as if we had thrown a Molotov cocktail. Terrified
by that tiny consensus, they did what they do best: put down by force
and show of dissent. They never responded, they were unscrupulous and
brutal. The details of this injustice are fully known by all the
relevant central agencies including the Attorney General's Office,
without anyone doing anything to fix it.

I am one more among tens of thousands of Cuban doctors who live every
day under this outrageous reality. I live under a government that
deprived me of the right to exercise my profession for political
considerations, that systematically censored my opinions, that took away
my right to travel freely, that doesn't respect my right to receive
information first hand and that denies me 21st century Internet access,
all of which give an idea of how retrograde they are when topic is man's
right to think freely.

The government that commits this flagrant violation of the rights of
millions of Cubans now occupies no less than the Vice Presidency of the
Human Rights Council of the UN. If you had the patience to read this
far, you already have a rough vision of what our professionals in Public
Health experience. If you belong to the group of apologists or those
with clenched fist, know that this is the Cuba that you applaud or
condemn so fervently as your conscience dictates.

August 19 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=13051

HAVANA – Prominent Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas was released
without charges several hours after his "violent" arrest in the central
city of Santa Clara, his family and colleagues said Monday.

Fariñas was headed for church on Sunday together with a group of 10
opposition members when "three (police) patrol cars blocked their way
and the cops began to push and shove them inside," Ramon Jimenez,
spokesman for the dissident group United Anti-Totalitarian Forum, told Efe.

"The police were violent with them and Guillermo was treated worst of
all," Jimenez said.

Fariñas' mother Alicia Hernandez confirmed Monday the account of her
son's detention and said that, after returning home around 7:30 p.m. on
Sunday, he had to go to the doctor "because he was in a lot of pain."

The 49-year-old psychologist and independent journalist went on a hunger
strike last year for more than four months following the death of
opposition prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, to demand the release of
political prisoners suffering severe illnesses.

Guillermo Fariñas, recipient of the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov
Prize for the defense of human rights, was arrested briefly on several
occasions this year, the last time in mid-September during a wave of
detentions of dissidents in Santa Clara and other towns in central Cuba.

According to the opposition Cuban Commission on Human Rights and
National Reconciliation, the Communist government has intensified the
"interior repression" against dissidence over the last month, and
estimates that 380 people were arrested for political reasons in
December. EFE

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=456174&CategoryId=14510

For some time here the leaders of the Cuban government have been given
to talking about diversity and defending the importance of respecting
this in different groups of people in our national home. It's a positive
discourse, of course, but something rather "tricky" if we take into
account that it only refers to the social and cultural which in our
country is always imposed with militaristic criteria from the seats of
power. But perhaps it is the sowing of a seed — I tell myself — of the
context for a transition towards which Cuba seems to be beginning to
"crawl," toward a society of openness in which we all can walk. I don't
want to be too innocent, but neither do I want to be too skeptical about
some curtains that seem to be moving, although they still won't let us
open the window.

The Cuban government is going to integrate "in its own way" into the
world and needs to legitimize itself with slow and calculated steps,
into the community of democratic nations in the world, most concretely
in Latin American, where it is the only one that currently has a
single-party system. With its radar focused on this hemisphere — keeping
in mind the recent creation of the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States, CELAC; its partial reconciliation with the Catholic
Church which covers the majority of the continent and is a force for
action — although with great fear of losing power; timidly instructing
and ordering as Party concession the spaces and socio-economic
achievements and policies we used to enjoy in society and that they took
from us on violently coming into power.

After almost fifty-three years, these steps are the tacit acknowledgment
that their model failed and they are preparing the society for its
incorporation into the democratic world when they are no longer.
However, it is illogical to talk about diversity only for a part of the
social fabric. For a people subjected for decades to assimilate this
concept, it should cover the entire spectrum of national life, including
the political. It should legitimize political parties and respect for
the human rights established by the United Nations. Diversity in
everything and for everyone should be the motto, which is synonymous
with pluralism and rule of law; if not it is a euphemism for the
repression of progress. To offer it in a partial sense, according to the
interests of the state is demagoguery, at least I think so.

December 13 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=13058

Cuban-Americans stream to the island for holidays
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer

MIAMI — Deborah Labrada was giddy as she stood in line at Miami-Dade
International Airport, waiting to fly to the town of Guantanamo, Cuba.

It is the place she visits roughly once a year to see her grandfather,
aunts and uncles and cousins. She still considers it a second home, even
though she has lived nearly all her 17 years in South Florida.

"The first thing I'm going to do when I get there is cry, and then give
everyone hugs," she said Monday, as she leaned against her cart of bags
secured in the festive, neon green airport plastic wrap. The duffel bags
- cheaper to ship through than heavier, traditional luggage – bulged
with food, over the counter medicine, toys and other necessities hard to
obtain in Cuba's struggling economy.

Labrada was among thousands of Cuban-Americans flying to the island this
week to celebrate the new year. These types of annual pilgrimages would
have been sharply curtailed if two South Florida, GOP Cuban-American
congressmen had succeeded in returning to the Bush-era limit of once
every three years. The measure backed by U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart
and David Rivera was tucked into the congressional spending bill, but
Republican leaders jettisoned it last week as part of a last minute
compromise.

Labrada said Monday she didn't appreciate the effort to restore the old
restriction.

"I think it was very disappointing, because the least we can do is help
our own families," she said. "We should go and take advantage of the
opportunity to bring them things and help any way we can."

President Barack Obama allowed unlimited family visits by
Cuban-Americans shortly after taking office and removed the $1,200
annual cap on remittances. Exact numbers are difficult to come by, but
the Cuban government said earlier this year it expected about 500,000
U.S. visitors annually, the vast majority of them Cuban-Americans. Cuban
officials did not immediately respond to requests for corresponding
statistics from past years, but they have previously said there were
nearly 300,000 visits from Cubans living outside the island in 2009. It
was not immediately clear whether that included repeat travelers.

Many Cuban-Americans, like Labrada have already been traveling to Cuba
for years. They just had to go through special church trips or through a
third country to get around the three year ban.

Of nearly a dozen families interviewed at the Miami Airport, all but two
said they'd last visited the island in the last year or two.

"I don't think it should be any different for us than it is for anyone
else going to visit family in any other country," Labrada said.

Except it is different.

Most Cubans who come to the U.S. are able to immigrate here as a result
of U.S. policy that views them as victims of political oppression. And
as Diaz-Balart is quick to note, not everyone can travel. While average
Cubans may be able to visit family off the island, their visa requests
can easily be denied. The Cuban government has refused to allow blogger
and internationally renowned activist Yoani Sanchez to travel to the
U.S. and Europe to accept human rights awards.

But Professor Andy Gomez of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuba
and Cuban-American Studies says the flood of travelers isn't likely to
stop any time soon, and he says trying to stem the flow makes no sense.

"I was at the Miami airport last week, and there were flights on the
hour," he said. "Stopping it? Impossible. It is the people-to-people
contact we want and need, and it is already happening."

Most of the flights to Cuba still originate from South Florida, with
nearly 300,000 people departing to the island just from Miami
International Airport in 2010. Numbers for 2011 were not yet available.
But they also now leave from places such as Tampa, Fla.; Oakland,
Calif.; Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta and Puerto Rico.

Flights to Cuba from the Tampa International Airport began in early
September after a 50-year hiatus, and local officials are banking on it
as a new source of revenue. Airport officials said about 45,000
passengers will travel the route in 2012.

Manny Martinez, a 21-year-old Tampa resident, was standing at the back
of the long line four hours before Tuesday's flight. He said he's
spending two weeks on the island and staying with family. Like Labrada,
he said Cuba still feels like home, even though he's lived in the U.S.
for 11 years.

When asked to name the first thing he would do once he arrived, he laughed.

"Party," he said. "Just go out with my old friends and have fun."

Not everyone goes just to see family.

Gomez said his maintenance man just returned from a trip to Cuba to
visit his dentist because he has no health care insurance in the U.S.
and can't afford the visit here. Meanwhile, media reports are on the
rise in South Florida about Cuban-Americans involved in Medicare fraud
fleeing to the island.

Back at the Miami airport, Isabel Baez, 39, teared up as she talked
about visiting her family in Santiago de Cuba. Yet, she said she knows
of people who also go as "mules," taking much needed provisions for
others on the island who are not relatives, sometimes even for resale.

"But most of those people still go to see their family," she said. "They
bring the packages as a way to get a free ticket."

Associated Press writer Tamara Lush contributed to this report from
Tampa, Fla.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/23/v-fullstory/2558933/cuban-americans-stream-to-the.html

On learning of the death of Kim Jong-il, Cuban authorities immediately
declared three days of official mourning. Their action underscored
longstanding ties of intimacy between two of the world's most
oppressive, most anti-American regimes.

The death of North Korea's tyrant also evoked a feeling that the Cuba of
Fidel Castro, age 85, and reigning leader Raul Castro, age 80, will soon
be overtaken by the passage of time, ushering in fresh and similar
regime uncertainties.

Independent-minded Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez sees deep parallels:
"genealogy has been more determinate than ballot boxes, and the heritage
of blood has left us—in 53 years—only two presidents, both with the same
last name. The dauphin over there is named Kim Jong-un; perhaps soon
they will communicate to us that over here ours will be Alejandro Castro
Espin [Raul Castro's only son and possible heir]."

Unlike North Korea, which remains remote and distant from the U.S. and
the West, Cuba continues to enjoy the benefits of travel and tourism
despite its inhospitable political climate. According to Cuban
authorities, the island will receive more than 2.5 million visitors in
2011, many from the U.S., who have taken advantage of Obama-era travel
concessions.

Yet, the stagnant and repressive political system grinds on, and the
regime shows no signs of loosening its grip. It lashes out viciously at
small groups of activists who dare protest the absence of democracy,
such as a December 2 roundup of 46 dissidents, and complains loudly
about intrepid protesters who pulled off a fireworks display off the
coast of Havana to protest human rights violations.

Sadly, friends of Cuban liberty mourn the passing of former Czech
anti-Communist dissident and ex-President Vaclav Havel, the antithesis
of a Kim Jong-il or a Castro.

In a full lifetime, Havel never shied away from support for dissidents,
democracy, and freedom in Communist Cuba. On travel to Cuba, he was
firm: "I don't think we can go to Cuba and lie sunning on the beach,
having a good time and enjoying a drink, without noticing what is going
on around us."

Today's neo-realists in the White House and State Department prefer
relative silence when it comes to Cuba's 50-plus years of dictatorship.
They seek good relations with a regime that admires the regimentation of
North Korea rather than the freedom of the United States. Yet, as former
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright observed in eulogizing Havel's
life and actions, "the urgency in his [Havel's] voice came less from
lofty expectations of human character than from the distress he felt at
those who accepted injustice simply because it was easier to look away
than to resist."

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/12/21/cuba-north-korea-and-vaclav-havel/

Amistades peligrosas: Cuba-Norcorea

Por la muerte de Kim Jong-il, el Gobierno de Cuba decretó duelo oficial
los días 21, 22 y 23, posiblemente un gesto superior al de los amigos
chinos, y que incluso opacó al verbo fluido de Hugo Chávez

Miriam Leiva, La Habana | 22/12/2011

Kim Jong-il, falleció el 17 de diciembre después de permanecer 17 años
como el "Querido Líder" del pueblo de la República Democrática Popular
de Corea (del Norte), heredero de su padre Kim Il-Sung ("Gran Líder" de
1948 a 1994) y legando al "Brillante Camarada" Kim Jong-Un, su hijo
menor de unos 27 años. El Gobierno de Cuba decretó duelo oficial los
días 21, 22 y 23, posiblemente un gesto superior al de los amigos
chinos, y que incluso opacó al verbo fluido de Hugo Chávez.

"Los cubanos no llegan o se pasan", se dice expresó el Generalísimo
Máximo Gómez, dominicano buen conocedor de los subalternos mambises,
frecuentemente exagerados. Mientras tanto, el mundo se preocupa por la
incertidumbre sobre la aceptación por los militares norcoreanos del
brillante heredero, con su hermana Kim Kyong-Hui, y el esposo, Chang
Song-Taek, también promovidos previamente por el fallecido, y la
eventualidad de que el triunvirato promueva una acción bélica contra
Corea del Sur y Japón para demostrar que son duros.

Los medios de difusión y particularmente los noticieros de televisión
han encumbrado al ilustre fallecido y resaltado las honras fúnebres del
embalsamado Kim Jong-il, con coreanas llorosas presumiblemente al
recordar las consecuencias del incumpliendo de órdenes, sobre todo en
circunstancias tan graves. Los nexos con Kim Il-Sung fueron estrechos y
continuaron con el siguiente dictador. Varias veces al año se publican
las visitas de altos funcionarios, recibidos por la máxima dirigencia
cubana, así como se envían delegaciones a Pyongyang, y se celebran
rimbombantemente las fechas relevantes, con reportajes sobre la
resistencia de los heroicos norcoreano frente a las supuestas amenazas
de Estados Unidos y Corea del Sur.

Nada se dijo sobre el reinado del déspota Kim Il-Sung en el país más
cerrado y represivo del totalitarismo comunista. Lejos de atenuarse con
Kim Jong-il, tan solo por hambruna se estima que en la década de 1990
fallecieron entre varios cientos de miles y dos millones de personas, y
la malnutrición crónica afectaba al 37 % de los menores; problemas que
se han mantenido. A pesar de haberse comprometido a suspender el
programa nuclear a cambio de alimentos, combustible y la construcción de
dos reactores nucleares, sistemáticamente no autorizó las inspecciones
del Organismo de la Energía Atómica de la ONU, en enero de 2003 abandonó
el Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear, en febrero de 2005 anunció la
posesión de armas nucleares, y en octubre de 2006 efectuó una prueba
nuclear subterránea. Nuevamente en 2007, en conversaciones con Corea del
Sur, Estados Unidos, China, Rusia y Japón, accedió a cerrar las
instalaciones nucleares a cambio de ayuda energética y económica. Las
conversaciones a seis bandas se han roto asiduamente por no honrar los
compromisos y las pruebas de cohetes de mediano y largo alcance, entre
otras razones. En 2010 hundió la corbeta Cheonan con 46 marineros a
bordo y atacó la isla Yeonpyeong, por lo que Seúl cortó los lazos
comerciales y desplegó su Ejército. Mientras Estados Unidos, Sudcorea y
Japón han sido grandes donantes de alimentos para la famélica población,
Norcorea mantienen el cuarto ejército mayor del mundo con 1,1 millón de
soldados en activo y 4,7 millones en la reserva. Dedica al gasto militar
del 33 % del producto interno bruto.

Kim Jong-il, encabezó la Comisión Nacional de Defensa y fue Comandante
Supremo del Ejército, pero no era el presidente del país, pues el título
fue concedido de manera póstuma para la eternidad al padre. Su mando se
caracterizó por la hambruna, el agotamiento físico, las torturas y las
ejecuciones, incluidas las de los familiares de los condenados. En un
informe reciente de la ONG Amnistía Internacional sobre los desmanes
cometidos en los últimos 10 años se denuncia la existencia de unos 6
campos de concentración con 200.000 prisioneros políticos, de ellos
Yodok, el mayor, retiene alrededor de 50.000 hombres, mujeres y niños.
Señala además que existe un sistema de reeducación para toda la
población con el fin de ejercer un control permanente. Para Reed Brody
de Human Rights Watch, Corea del Norte se destaca por ser el "régimen
más cerrado y represivo que se pueda imaginar en el mundo", y Kim será
recordado como uno de los líderes más brutales, responsables de
centenares de miles de muertos y una serie de atrocidades que
constituyen el antítesis de la dignidad humana.

Por otra parte, en Cuba, el fallecimiento de Václav Havel el pasado 18
de diciembre, solo recibió una escueta mención en la pequeña Sección
Hilo Directo del periódico Granma. Al disidente y ex presidente checo
sistemáticamente se le atacó durante decenios; primero por ser un
opositor al homólogo régimen de la Checoslovaquia llamada socialista,
luego por mandatario electo de la república democrática surgida como
resultado de la Revolución de Terciopelo y finalmente por solidarizarse
con la disidencia cubana. Sin embargo, se ocultan todos los "defectos"
de los amigos, y se compromete a la población con el apoyo a aliados
como el régimen Sirio que está masacrando al pueblo.

La sucesión del sanguinario Kim Song-il creó una tensa incertidumbre
mundial por el imprevisible desenlace interno, así como la eventual
agresión a los países vecinos, incluida la amenaza nuclear. Estados
Unidos, Corea del Sur y Japón han mantenido sus tropas en alerta. La
gravedad del problema con posibles implicaciones serias para China, la
lleva a mediar ante sus protegidos de Pyongyang. Estas circunstancias
deberían ser conocidas por el pueblo de Cuba, manchado por un bochornoso
duelo oficial.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/opinion/articulos/amistades-peligrosas-cuba-norcorea-271879

HAVANA – The opposition Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National
Reconciliation said Monday that in December there have been 388
temporary detentions for political reasons in Cuba.

"We are very disturbed by the increase of what is called 'low intensity'
political repression consisting of being kept in custody for hours, days
or weeks," Elizardo Sanchez, spokesman for the illegal but tolerated
commission, told foreign correspondents.

"We have absolutely confirmed – up to yesterday, Dec. 18 – 388
detentions for political reasons, many of them violent," he said.

Sanchez said that the political, economic and cultural situation and
that of civil rights in Communist-ruled Cuba "continue to deteriorate."

As an example of his complaint he presented the case of Henry Perales,
who appeared at the same press conference to report that he was
violently arrested and jailed by police together with a group of
dissidents when they tried to carry out a peaceful march on Dec. 2 in
the eastern town of Palma Soriano.

Perales, 27, said that he and his friends were beaten by security agents
and, in his case, by the driver of the bus they put him in.

"When I got on (the bus) I yelled 'Long live human rights!' The driver
had a tool in his hand, he struck me with it and when I called him a
murderer he hit me again," Perales said.

He said police took him to a medical post where he was given nine
stitches to close the wounds caused by the blows. Afterwards he was
jailed for nearly five days and was later released without charges.

Perales said he intended to present a "formal accusation" against the
bus driver, and Sanchez confirmed that the commission will aid the
dissident in his efforts to obtain justice. EFE

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14510&ArticleId=453903

(Reuters) – The United States believes increasingly warm ties between
Venezuela, Iran and Cuba do not benefit the Venezuelan people, U.S.
President Barack Obama said in an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper
published on Monday.

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, have expanded the two OPEC nation's close business and
political relations in recent years, exacerbating tensions between
Caracas and Washington.

In May, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state oil
company PDVSA for defying U.S. law by sending at least two tankers
carrying $50 million in oil products to Iran.

"Venezuela is a proud, sovereign nation … The U.S. has no intention of
intervening in Venezuela's foreign relations," Obama said in the email
interview with El Universal newspaper. "However, I think the
government's ties with Iran and Cuba have not benefited the interests of
Venezuela and its people.

"Sooner or later, Venezuela's people will have to decide what possible
advantage there is in having relations with a country that violates
fundamental human rights and is isolated from most of the world. The
Iranian government has consistently supported international terrorism."

Chavez denounced the PDVSA sanctions as "gringo aggression."

His alliance with Ahmadinejad, as well as other anti-U.S. leaders, is a
source of pride for the socialist and a central part of his efforts to
build alternative axes of power.

Since coming to power in 1999, Chavez has sought to project himself as
the head of a global "anti-imperialist" movement inspired by his
ideological mentor former Cuban president Fidel Castro.

Chavez lauds Castro's communist-led revolution and underwent cancer
surgery in Cuba in June. After recuperating from that and several
subsequent sessions of chemotherapy in Havana, Chavez is now focused on
winning a new six-year presidential term in an election next October.

'IDEOLOGICAL BATTLES'

In the interview, Obama said the U.S. administration was closely
watching the run-up to the Venezuelan vote.

"We felt great concern to see that measures have been taken to restrict
press freedom and to erode the separation of powers that are so
necessary for a democracy to flourish," he said.

A year ago, the U.S. government revoked the Venezuelan ambassador's visa
in retaliation after Chavez rejected Obama's choice of envoy to Caracas.
That appeared to bury any lingering hopes of a rapprochement between
both men.

But most analysts say neither will risk jeopardizing trade ties,
principally Venezuelan oil exports that amount to about 1 million
barrels per day and are crucial to both economies.

There was a window to improve ties after Obama took office in January
2009 and promised more engagement with foes. Chavez toned down his
tirades against the "Yankee empire" and shook hands with the new U.S.
leader at a summit.

But within months, Chavez said Obama was disillusioning the world by
following his predecessor George W. Bush's foreign policies, and the
rhetoric from Caracas cranked up again.

In his interview, Obama said most people in the region were worn out by
the war of words.

"I think most people in Latin America are tired of refighting old
ideological battles that contribute absolutely nothing towards improving
their daily life. Our people want to know what we promote, not just what
we oppose," he said.

"I look forward to the day when the governments of the United States and
Venezuela can work together more closely."

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; editing by Anthony Boadle)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/19/us-venezuela-usa-obama-idUSTRE7BI14H20111219

U.S. defends $3.4M grant to Cuba program

A grant to a Miami nonprofit that supports democracy in Cuba ignited
critics who argue the money was given to reward Obama's cronies.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

The U.S. Agency for International Development is strongly rejecting
complaints of political favoritism in its grant of $3.4 million to a
human rights group closely linked to the Cuban American National Foundation.

USAID this summer approved the three-year grant to the Foundation for
Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC), a Miami nonprofit created by CANF members,
to help support civil society and democracy on the communist-ruled island.

News of the grant drew complaints from critics who allege that FHRC has
little experience with such grants and point to the warm relations
between CANF, the premier exile organization, and the Obama administration.

South Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart complained last week
that U.S. funds for democracy programs in Cuba "should be provided only
to organizations with strong experience and proven track records" on the
island.

"It would be a disgrace if the Obama administration broke with tradition
and used a penny of that critical funding to reward political cronies,"
Diaz Balart added in a statement emailed.

Mark Lopes, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and
the Caribbean and a former aide to Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said a
"technical evaluation committee" made up of officials from government
agencies is in charge of reviewing grant applications and selecting winners.

"The criteria for competing for USAID funds is included in the grant
application … This is a technical process based on the merits of the
proposals submitted," Lopes added. "No political appointee had any role
in the selection process."

Washington's Cuba democracy programs have been criticized as inefficient
and that they only provoke Havana authorities, who outlawed any
cooperation and view the programs as "subversive" attempts for "regime
change."

USAID subcontractor Alan Gross is serving a 15-year prison sentence in
Havana on charges of undermining the island's national security by
providing a satellite telephone to Cuban Jews so they could connect to
the Internet more easily.

CANF members established the FHRC in 1992 to receive tax-deductible
donations for its work with dissidents and human rights activists. It
shares CANF's street address and phone number, and its president, Tony
Costa, sits on CANF's board of directors.

Several hard-line members split from CANF after founder Jorge Mas Canosa
died in 1997. They founded the Cuban Liberty Council. The council backed
Sen. John McCain in the 2008 elections, and CANF leaders now have the
ear of the Obama administration.

The FHRC grant appeared to be particularly annoying to critics because a
CANF report in 2008 criticized the Cuba democracy programs, and because
it came at a time when the U.S. government was cutting funding to other
exile groups in Miami.

The CANF report alleged that less than 17 percent of the $65 million
that Washington spent on Cuba programs between 1998 and 2008 went to
"direct, on-island assistance." The rest, it claimed, was spent in the
United States on salaries, other expenses and academic studies.

FHRC executive director Jorge Alvarez said USAID "has emphasized to all
partners that most of the funds should be spent on the island, and we
will follow that guidance." He declined any other comment, citing FHRC
policy on U.S. grants.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/17/2551467/us-defends-34m-grant-to-cuba.html

WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Cuba in the spring will have
multiple layers of meaning for the church and for Cuban society, said a
U.S. archbishop who pays close attention to Cuba.

The pope will go there as a symbol of peace and hope, as a pilgrim
participating in "a springtime of faith," and as part of the church's
efforts at creating the climate for a "soft landing" for the country to
come out from under 50 years of communist rule, said Miami Archbishop
Thomas G. Wenski in a Dec. 14 interview with Catholic News Service.

Archbishop Wenski said the pope's visit to Cuba for the 400th
anniversary of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre — the country's
patroness — is primarily as a messenger of peace and hope.

Over the past year, events around Cuba that are part of the anniversary
celebration have reflected a resurgence of faith, said Archbishop
Wenski. Huge crowds have turned out at every procession, Mass and prayer
service for "La Mambisa," a touring replica of "La Caridad," as Our Lady
of Charity is known to Cubans.

"Even the Cuban bishops have been surprised by the fervor with which the
people have received the statue of Our Lady of Charity in their villages
and towns," the archbishop said. "It really represents a new springtime
of faith in Cuba."

In the early days of the revolution, the church suffered greatly, the
archbishop said. Schools were dismantled; clergy were sent into exile.
Open religious practice often led to discrimination in the workplace and
for benefits such as housing.

In the 1980s, Cuban church leaders began aiming to be "a more
evangelical presence," said Archbishop Wenski. That led to the
conditions for Pope John Paul II to visit in 1998, which itself has led
to more openings for the church's pastoral work.

"In recent years the relationship between the church and the government
has improved," he said. "It's not all that people think it should be but
it's better than what it used to be."

He said that means there's been "a genuine softening of attitudes that
has everybody looking for a new 'modus vivendi,'" or agreement between
those who disagree.

That's not to say the Cuban government has totally changed. The same day
Archbishop Wenski spoke with CNS, the State Department issued a
statement by spokeswoman Victoria Nuland decrying new reports of
repression by the Cuban government, including against the "Damas de
Blanco." Several members of the Ladies in White, a group of women who
have for years held silent marches after church each Sunday in protest
of their relatives' imprisonment, were arrested after Mass Dec. 4.

It said there are reports that more than 300 activists of various groups
have been detained in recent weeks, some without charges or judicial review.

"At a time when citizens around the world are marking Human Rights Week,
we call for an immediate end to the harassment and violence against
Cuban citizens who are peaceful critics of the government," said
Nuland's statement.

Archbishop Wenski said Cuba is "still a long way from being a normal
country."

But he thinks participation in the papal visit and celebrations for La
Caridad by Cuban expatriates or the diaspora, as he called it, should
not be viewed as an endorsement of the Castro regime.

"I don't think you have to be afraid that the government is going to try
to manipulate that," he said. "The people who travel there now do not do
so to endorse the regime but to visit their family members. As a church
community we are brothers and sisters and that's a reason to celebrate
our unity in our Lady of Charity."

Since the Obama administration earlier this year relaxed parts of the
50-year-old trade embargo to allow Americans to visit their Cuban
relatives as often as they wish, about 340,000 Cuban-Americans have
traveled to their homeland, said Archbishop Wenski.

There are many critics among the immigrant community, particularly in
Miami, of any travel to Cuba. The loosened restrictions were the target
of efforts by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., to roll them back, with
an amendment he attached to the House version of an omnibus spending
bill being finalized Dec. 16. The amendment was removed in negotiations
to craft a bill that could pass in the Senate.

"Some have expressed some opposition or hesitancy to the idea of going
to Cuba to see the pope because of the longstanding political divisions
between the exile community and the Cuban government," said Archbishop
Wenski. "But this is not anything to do with the government. It is to go
see the pope."

"The Cuban bishops have always said Cubans are one people, no matter
where they are, so they are encouraging the Cuban diaspora to
participate" in the pope's visit and in observing La Caridad's
anniversary, he said.

"Once again the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Charity, is opening the
world of Cuba to hope and therefore to a future," the archbishop said.

"It's the bishops as pastors of the people who are inviting them to
celebrate with Mary and find that unity in charity that she can give
us," he said.

In fact, Archbishop Wenski said, "the Cuban government is right now
between a rock and a hard place because of economic challenges that it
has. Everybody knows there have to be some changes both in the economics
and also in the politics."

"Whatever happens after the Castro regime disappears into the ash-heap
of history, I think it's in everybody's best interests that there be a
soft landing and that whatever transition comes does not come in the
midst of chaos," said Archbishop Wenski.

The Cuban bishops are looking, as pastors, to be agents of
reconciliation, he added.

"Nobody can predict how the politics of Cuba will evolve in the next
months and years, but evolve they will. That we can be sure of. There's
going to be a biological solution if not an electoral solution.
Therefore the church's role is critical."

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/popes-trip-cuba-holds-layers-spiritual-political-hopes

CUBA
Dissidents send out images of police crackdown

One dissident got nine stitches, another one
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Cuban dissidents have sent out photos and videos of a large police
crackdown in the eastern town of Palma Soriano that left at least five
government opponents with head wounds, black eyes and other injuries.

One photo of the Dec. 2 roundup of 46 dissidents shows Henry Perales
with two wounds on his shaved head that required nine stitches to close.
Another shows AbrahanCQ Cabrera with one stitch on his forehead.

"That wound bled a lot because it was on a blood vessel, but it was a
kick to the ribs on the right side that made me fall to the ground … It
still hurts," Cabrera told El Nuevo Herald Friday by phone from Palma
Soriano.

The images were sent to the newspaper by Luis Enrique Ferrer Garcia,
U.S. representative of the dissident Cuban Patriotic Union. His brother,
former political prisoner Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, heads the Union and
was one of the men arrested in the Palma Soriano crackdown.

Union members and supporters took two weeks to smuggle out the photos
and videos, via emails, because they had to work slowly and carefully to
avoid police agents who were trying to find and seize the images, Luis
Enrique said.

The Palma Soriano roundup was one of the largest and harshest police
crackdowns on dissident in recent years. All were freed hours or days
later – one of them 12 days later – without charges.

Forty-six men had gathered in a Palma Soriano house starting on Nov. 30
with plans to stage a street protest two days later to demand the
release of all political prisoners and respect for human rights.

Cell phone videos shot inside the house showed many of the dissidents
saying they wanted to show they were not U.S. paid "mercenaries," as the
government brands them, but rather "defenders of human rights."

The unidentified narrator of some of the videos referred to the police
already deployed outside "and the repression that awaits us."

Police indeed arrested the dissidents as they left the house in groups
of four and five, and a video taken from a second-story balcony showed
them punching some of the protesters and forcing them onto a U.S.-styled
yellow school bus parked at the end of the block.

Cabrera said the bus driver, dressed in civilian clothes, hit him as
well as Perales and several other dissidents with a wrench once inside
the bus. A police officer in uniform later ordered the driver to stop
hitting the detainees.

Other photos show dissidents Misael Valdes Diaz and Alexis Yanch OiCQ
with black eyes and Emilio Dinza with a large bump on his forehead.
Other dissidents reported black and blues from police strikes.

Angel Moya, a former political prisoner who was reported beaten in a
police station after his arrest in Palma Soriano Dec. 2, said police
punched him on the way from the house to the school bus but not afterwards.

Moya said Friday that he spent 12 days in a police lockup, in a cell
that was smelly and had no water or lights and that he shared with
common criminals.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/17/2550399/dissidents-sent-out-images-of.html

HRW: 'Un derecho fundamental no es una moneda de cambio política'
Agencias
Washington 15-12-2011 – 11:31 pm.

La organización pide a los republicanos retirar la enmienda legislativa
que revertiría los cambios de Obama.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) llamó hoy al Congreso estadounidense a retirar
una iniciativa que revertiría los cambios del presidente Barack Obama,
para volver a limitar estrictamente los viajes y envíos de remesas de
cubanoamericanos a la Isla, reportó DPA.

"La capacidad de cubanoestadounidenses de visitar a sus familias es un
derecho fundamental, no una moneda de cambio política", sostuvo el
director para las Américas de HRW, José Miguel Vivanco.

En 2009, Obama revirtió las restricciones impuestas por su predecesor en
la Casa Blanca, George W. Bush, y liberó los viajes y envíos de remesas
y divisas.

Ahora, congresistas republicanos están tratando de incluir en las
negociaciones sobre limitación de gastos una cláusula que volvería a
limitar a un viaje cada tres años los desplazamientos a la Isla y a
1.200 dólares el máximo en remesas anual.

"Las restricciones propuestas reforzarían una política de embargo que ha
fracasado durante cinco décadas en su intento de frenar los abusos del
gobierno cubano y de promover los derechos", advirtió Vivanco.

"Y los que cargarán con el costo (de esto) serán los
cubanoestadounidenses y sus familias cubanas", agregó.

El propio Obama ya ha advertido en contra de incluir la iniciativa en
las negociaciones presupuestarias.

En un comunicado emitido la víspera, con ocasión de un premio otorgado
en Washington a la fallecida fundadora de las Damas de Blanco, Laura
Pollán, advirtió a los republicanos que su "compromiso" con el apoyo a
una "sociedad civil" en la Isla "incluye proteger la capacidad de los
cubanoestadounidenses a apoyar sus familias en Cuba a través de visitas
y remesas familiares".

http://www.ddcuba.com/cuba/8601-hrw-un-derecho-fundamental-no-es-una-moneda-de-cambio-politica

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 14, 2011

We are deeply troubled by reports of increased repression by the
Government of Cuba against Cuban citizens peacefully expressing
themselves. Of particular concern are reports that government officials
and government-organized groups detained, harassed, and assaulted dozens
of human rights activists, journalists, and others to prevent them from
marking Human Rights Day on December 10. President Obama has declared
Human Rights Week from December 10 to December 17.

Members of the Damas de Blanco, winners of the Department of State's
2011 Human Rights Defenders Award, faced harassment by government
officials and pro-government groups over the past week and were arrested
after attending Mass on Sunday December 4. Several activists, including
one detained November 30 for demonstrating peacefully in a Havana park,
have been held without charges or judicial review. Over the last month,
dozens of other activists have faced repression throughout the island.
Reports put the number of detentions in December at more than 300.

At a time when citizens around the world are marking Human Rights Week,
we call for an immediate end to the harassment and violence against
Cuban citizens who are peaceful critics of the government.

President Obama has focused our policy toward Cuba on increased
engagement with the Cuban people to promote democratic ideals and
improve human rights conditions on the island. As he said during his
March address in Chile, "Cuban authorities must take some meaningful
actions to respect the basic rights of their own people – not because
the United States insists upon it, but because this is what the people
of Cuba deserve." We call on the Cuban government to respect all
peaceful activities related to the commemoration of Human Rights Week.

PRN: 2011/2140

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/12/178852.htm

Congress may tighten travel, remittances to Cuba
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

An effort to harshly tighten restrictions on Cuban Americans' travel and
remittances to Cuba has come down to last-ditch negotiations in Congress
over a huge government spending bill.

It remains unclear exactly how the restrictions would be tightened if a
rider attached by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart to the spending bill is
approved by Congress, as members of Congress and news reports are
predicting.

Congressional aides say travel and remittances would be returned to the
level set by President George W. Bush in 2008: only one trip every three
years for "family reunifications," a cap on remittances of $1,200 per
year and a tighter definition of "family." Other analysts of sanctions
on Cuba say travel and remittances would return to the slightly easier
Clinton-era level, which allowed one trip per year and more cash assistance.

But it was clear that Diaz-Balart's rider was worrying supporters of
President Barack Obama's decision in 2009 to lift virtually all
restrictions on Cuban American travel and remittances to the island.

"My concern is that this [measure] is very much alive," said Rep. José
E. Serrano, a New York Democrat who has fought for years to relax or
abolish all U.S. sanctions on the Cuban government.

"Some Democrats backing the administration policy [on Cuba travel]
seemed resigned to defeat," noted an Associated Press story on the
closed-door negotiations over the massive compromise spending bill.

Some Democrats in the House and Senate don't want to be seen favoring
increased travel to Cuba at a time when Havana has been cracking down on
dissidents and is holding U.S. government contractor Alan Gross in
prison, said a Republican senator's aide.

"Alan Gross and beatings of dissidents make it difficult for the average
member of Congress to endorse gestures to Cuba," said the staffer, who
asked for anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment on the issue.

Gross is serving a 15-year sentence on charges of violating Cuba's
national security laws by delivering a satellite telephone to members of
the island's Jewish community so they could have better access to the
Internet.

Diaz-Balart's rider must survive the tough negotiations between the
Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate, expected
to be concluded before the end of the year.

Obama also has threatened to veto any rollback of his Cuba policies.

Some of the more controversial riders on the spending bill already had
been dropped by Tuesday as the negotiations moved forward. But Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that "some major issues [remain]
to be resolved, some foreign policy issues, including Cuba."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said there remains "issues to be
resolved with the spending bill," including "attempts to attach riders
on our foreign policy goals, the environment and other areas."

Diaz-Balart's measure was approved by a House committee this summer as a
rider to a Treasury spending bill that was later rolled with eight other
spending bills into the one massive measure now under negotiation.

Legal travel to the island by Cuban Americans exploded after Obama
lifted the restrictions in 2009, although many Cuban Americans had been
going to the island illegally through third countries.

Miami attorney Aidil Oscariz said the Diaz-Balart move "is against my
constitutional rights to travel, rights to association and it violates
very basic human rights. I have a real problem with it."

Oscariz, 35, said she was born in Cuba and moved to Miami when she was 3
years old. She has returned nine or 10 times to visit aunts and a
now-deceased uncle.

But during the Bush administration, the aunts and uncles did not fall
into the definition of family, and she could not visit. Since Obama took
office, she has been back twice.

"I was hoping to go soon. I guess I better go right away," Oscariz
noted. "Changing [the regulations] back would be cruel. It's not fair to
Cubans: No other people are told what family members they can visit."

Passengers on legal direct flights from U.S. to Cuban airports rose by
60 percent from 2009 to 2010, said Armando Garcia, president of the
Miami-based Marazul travel agency.

Diaz Balart's measure, Garcia added, "is going to have a devastating
impact on this community. This is going to bring back cruelty."

Vivian Mannerud, founder and president of Airline Brokers, which also
charters flights to the island, added that the Diaz Balart rider would
cost the South Florida economy millions of dollars in lost travel
industry jobs and fees collected in Miami.

Tightening the restrictions will only force Cuban Americans to travel
illegally through third countries, she added, pumping more money
directly into the coffers of the Cuban-government-controlled Havanatour
agency.

Under the Obama administration, Cuban Americans can currently travel to
the island and send as much money to relatives as they wish. Some have
been going there once a month and more to take care of sick relatives.

Ironically, the Diaz-Balart rider would have no impact on the number of
non-Cuban Americans traveling to the island because such "people to
people" trips are covered by a different section of the U.S. sanctions
on Cuba. "They are going to limit Cuban American travel, and what
happens to the people-to-people travel?" said Teo Babun, who runs a
nonprofit that organizes humanitarian visits to Cuba. "They'd be letting
Americans go but not Cubans?"

Miami Herald staff writer Frances Robles and Washington Bureau reporter
Erika Bolstad contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/13/v-fullstory/2544390/cuban-americans-could-travel.html

UA: 355/11 Index: AMR 25/006/2011 Cuba Date: 9 December 2011

URGENT ACTION

CUBAN ACTIVIST in incommunicado detention

The whereabouts of Cuban human rights activist Ivonne Malleza Galano are
unknown after police detained her during a peaceful demonstration on 30
November in Cuba's capital, Havana City. Her husband , Ignacio Martínez
Montejo, has also been detained after participating in the same protest.

On 30 November, Ivonne Malleza Galano, a member of the Ladies in Support
(Damas de Apoyo) to the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), and her
husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo were arrested by police officers while
they were staging a peaceful demonstration against hunger and poverty
and holding a banner with the slogan "Stop hunger, misery and poverty in
Cuba" in Fraternity Park (Parque de la Fraternidad) in Havana City.
Ivonne Malleza Galano was handcuffed and pushed into a police vehicle.
Two police officers arrived, tried to confiscate the banner and detained
her, along with Ignacio Martínez Montejo. Video footage posted on the
internet shows Ivonne Malleza Galano being arrested by the police
officers at Fraternity Park while the crowd gathered round her and asked
the officers to let her go.

The whereabouts of Ivonne Malleza Galano are unknown and the authorities
have not told her relatives whether she is still in police custody,
whether she is facing charges, and where she is held. Ignacio Martinez
Montejo is still being held at the Ninth Police Station (Novena Estación
de la Policía) on Acosta Avenue, Diez de Octubre Municipality, in Havana
City. It is not known if he has been charged with any offence.

Since the beginning of the year, the Cuban authorities have detained
hundreds of people for short periods, to prevent them from taking part
in peaceful demonstrations.

Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of
Ivonne Malleza Galano, and to ensure that she has immediate access to
her family, lawyer and any medical assistance she might require;

Asking for details of any charges they face to be made public, and
calling on the authorities to ensure that any legal proceedings against
them conform to international fair trial standards;

Urging the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of
expression, association and assembly in Cuba.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 JANUARY 2012 TO:

Head of State and Government

Raúl Castro Ruz

Presidente de la República de Cuba

La Havana, Cuba

Fax: +53 7 83 33 085 (via Foreign Ministry); +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban
Mission to UN)

Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)

Salutation: Su Excelencia / Your Excellency

Interior Minister

General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra

Ministro del Interior y Prisiones

Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba

Fax: +537 85 56 621, +1 212 779 1697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)

Email: correominint@mn.mn.co.cu

Salutation: Su Excelencia / Your Excellency

And copies to:

Attorney General

Dr Juan Escalona Reguer

Fiscalía General de la República, San Rafael 3, La Habana, Cuba

Salutation: Señor Fiscal General / Dear Attorney General

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above
date.

URGENT ACTION

CUBAN ACTIVIST IN INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR25/006/2011/en/217701e4-328f-46f1-b1e0-89f472785a94/amr250062011en.html

FREEING all political prisoners in Cuba before Pope Benedict XVI's visit
next year would be "a great gesture", the cardinal who heads charity
group Caritas International says.

"If the political prisoners could be released, it would be seen as a
sign of appreciation of the visit," Honduran Oscar Andres Rodriguez
Maradiaga, president of the Catholic charity network, said at a press
conference today.

"That would be a great gesture," he said.

Human rights groups estimate there are around 50 political prisoners
still languishing in Cuba's jails, despite several high-profile releases
in recent years as the country's communist regime embarks on liberal
reforms.

The Pope announced on Monday that he will travel to Cuba and Mexico just
before Easter next year, saying his visit would be part of a drive for
evangelisation and hailing Latin America as a new global player.

Benedict's predecessor John Paul II made a historic visit to Cuba in
1998 in which he was warmly welcomed by the population and the
authorities alike.

Vatican officials say the visit helped the regime open up to the outside
world.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/cuba-urged-to-free-political-prisoners/story-e6freuyi-1226221335694

In the long list of the words forbidden in my childhood, there were two
in particular that were censored: "Christmas" and "Human Rights." The
first I heard from time to time, in a whisper, from the lips of a
grandmother who had known the trees with garlands, the traditional
nougat candy and turkey. But the other, the second, was muttered
disparagingly to allude to someone who — it was said — was involved in
counterrevolutionary acts, enemies. And so I grew up, oblivious to the
festivities of the last week of the year, and believing that evil lurked
in that statement adopted by the United Nations. My compartmentalized
vocabulary ended up conditioning me to a civic attitude full of fears
and led me to fall into line with so many prohibitions.

This December the stores display twinkling lights and trees loaded with
ornaments. A Santa Claus with hardly any belly smiles in the window of
an important commercial center in the city. People run into each other
and delight in every syllable of expressions such as "Merry Christmas";
"I'm shopping for Christmas"; "drop by to celebrate Christmas." The
reduced vocabulary of my childhood has given back a word, a term cursed
for decades. But my next door neighbor still says, "Careful, don't get
too close, they're 'human rights people'." At some repudiation rally —
across the country — someone might now scream, "Down with human
rights!" and the political police stationed on the corner confirm on
their radios, "Yes, here comes a little group of 'Human Righters'." And
there's always a friend who asks us to whisper, "because if you're going
to mention such 'things' it's better to turn the music up."

A fake snow falls on the red Christmas hats, but a huge downpour
dissolves it; the rain of intolerance, the big fat drops of the arrests,
the gales created on this Island when someone dares to barely pronounce
the phrase "human rights."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/cuba-christmas-human-rights_b_1141195.html

In the long list of the words forbidden in my childhood, there were two
in particular that were censored: "Christmas" and "Human Rights." The
first I heard from time to time, in a whisper, from the lips of a
grandmother who had known the trees with garlands, the traditional
nougat candy and turkey. But the other, the second, was muttered
disparagingly to allude to someone who — it was said — was involved in
counterrevolutionary acts, enemies. And so I grew up, oblivious to the
festivities of the last week of the year, and believing that evil lurked
in that statement adopted by the United Nations. My compartmentalized
vocabulary ended up conditioning me to a civic attitude full of fears
and led me to fall into line with so many prohibitions.

This December the stores display twinkling lights and trees loaded with
ornaments. A Santa Claus with hardly any belly smiles in the window of
an important commercial center in the city. People run into each other
and delight in every syllable of expressions such as "Merry Christmas";
"I'm shopping for Christmas"; "drop by to celebrate Christmas." The
reduced vocabulary of my childhood has given back a word, a term cursed
for decades. But my next door neighbor still says, "Careful, don't get
too close, they're 'human rights people'." At some repudiation rally —
across the country — someone might now scream, "Down with human rights!"
and the political police stationed on the corner confirm on their
radios, "Yes, here comes a little group of 'Human Righters'." And
there's always a friend who asks us to whisper, "because if you're going
to mention such 'things' it's better to turn the music up."

A fake snow falls on the red Christmas hats, but a huge downpour
dissolves it; the rain of intolerance, the big fat drops of the arrests,
the gales created on this Island when someone dares to barely pronounce
the phrase "human rights."

Translator's note: These photos from Havana are of the greeting in
fireworks for Human Rights Day from a flotilla of Cuba exiles, who
remained in international waters as they showed their support for Cubans
on the island working for freedom and democracy.

December 10 2011

http://translatingcuba.com/?p=12905

HAVANA — Cuba’s Ladies in White dissident group paid homage to their
late leader while observing International Human Rights Day at her home
Saturday, surrounded by a jeering pro-government crowd for a second
straight day.

Photos of Laura Pollan and messages of condolence adorned the wall of
the house where she lived in central Havana and that served as a
headquarters for the Ladies since the group was formed in 2003.

Next to a lit candle, an empty chair was draped with white clothing that
belonged to Pollan. A single gladiola and a tiny Cuban flag rested on
the lap.

“Laura Pollan lives!” the Ladies cried, and “Freedom for political
prisoners!”

Outside, dozens of supporters of President Raul Castro’s government,
many of them students, massed at the front door and shouted
revolutionary slogans and insults at the women inside.

“Viva Fidel! Viva Raul!” they chanted, draping huge Cuban and
revolutionary flags from the roof.

Bertha Soler, one of the founders of the Ladies and its unofficial
leader since Pollan’s death in October, blamed authorities for the crowd.

“We want to go into the streets, which is the right of the Cuban people,
but the Cuban government prevents us from doing so with these organized
mobs,” Soler said. “The aggression is psychological, not physical, and
it’s a demonstration of the Cuban government’s intolerance.”

Authorities insist such counterprotests known as “acts of repudiation”
are spontaneous acts by citizens disgusted by the dissidents, whom
authorities accuse of being mercenaries paid by the U.S. to destabilize
the island. Little is done to hide coordination with state security,
however.

It was the second counterprotest outside Pollan’s home in as many days.

On Friday, a crowd gathered there as the Ladies held a “literary tea”
inside and a flotilla organized by Miami exile groups parked in
international waters off Cuba, setting off fireworks in solidarity with
the Ladies and other dissidents.

The exiles had also urged acts of protest by Cubans such as banging on
pots and pans, though there was no sign that many people heeded their call.

The Ladies in White was founded in 2003 by Pollan, Soler and other wives
of government opponents who were rounded up and given long prison terms
in a crackdown on dissent.

The last of those prisoners still behind bars were released earlier this
year, and many left the island for exile with their families.

Those still remaining in the Ladies in White have vowed to press for the
release of other inmates who are serving time for politically motivated
but violent crimes like hijacking and sabotage. Because of the violence
tied to their acts, those inmates are not recognized as prisoners of
conscience by outside human rights groups like Amnesty International.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/cubas-ladies-in-white-dissidents-honor-late-leader-on-human-rights-day-amid-counterprotest/2011/12/10/gIQAPO38kO_story.html

HAVANA — Dozens of slogan-chanting Cuban government supporters faced
off with dissident women on Friday and prevented them from marching in
the street on the eve of international Human Rights Day.

About 200 backers of Cuba's communist government crowded a street in
central Havana where 20 women of the Ladies in White dissident group had
assembled in a house.

They carried signs of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and yelled
pro-government and anti-U.S. slogans.

"They're mercenaries," government supporter Elvira Gonzalez said of the
dissident women, who had planned a march to demand the release of
political prisoners.

Cuba's government routinely calls the island's dissidents "mercenaries"
and claims they are on the payroll of its long-time ideological foe, the
United States.

The Ladies in White group was formed by the wives and mothers of 75
dissidents jailed in a 2003 crackdown on Castro's opponents. The women
dressed in white to march silently along Havana streets seeking the
release of the prisoners.

The women were expected to try to march again on Saturday, the
anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

All 75 Cubans jailed in Havana's so-called Black Spring of 2003 have
been freed, most of them following a deal between the Catholic Church
and President Raul Castro in 2010.

Dissident protests are regularly confronted by hostile mobs backing the
government, which says the free education and health services it
provides show its respect for human rights.

"There are no human rights here. They don't respect them," said Ladies
in White leader Berta Soler. "We can't go out to walk on the streets of
Havana because the government has these mobs and they won't let us
pass," she said.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2011/12/11/325528/Govt-supporters.htm

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban dissidents said on Saturday that about 200
people were temporarily detained by the Communist-run island's security
services in the days leading up to an international human rights
celebration.

Government supporters danced salsa and chanted political slogans in a
Havana square to mark the 63rd anniversary of the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.

Opposition members who had planned to celebrate Human Rights Day in the
same place, and protest against abuses in Cuba, were blocked from going
to the square, dissidents said.

"Some 200 detentions for political motives have taken plan in the last
nine days in the lead up to the international Human Rights Day," said
Elizardo Sanchez of the independent Cuban Commission of Human Rights said.

"Authorities use a tactic of short-duration arrests, who are released a
few hours or days later, to impede protests."

International rights groups say Cuban laws virtually prevent all forms
of protest and dissent while the government says the free education and
health services it provides show its respect for human rights.

On Friday, government backers blocked the dissident group Ladies in
White from marching in the street.

The women were heckled again on Saturday by a crowd of government
supporters and prevented from leaving a house were they had gathered in
central Havana.

"Here come the people to fight for what is ours. These streets are ours
and that's why we defend them," shouted government sympathizer Mirta
Sosa outside the house.

"The government has prevented us from exercising the right of free
movement in the streets. Here in Cuba, human rights are violated daily,"
said Ladies in White leader Berta Soler.

The Ladies in White group was formed by the wives and mothers of 75
dissidents jailed in a 2003 crackdown on Castro's opponents. They have
since been released by President Raul Castro's government.

Havana's "Black Spring of 2003" caused a major fallout between Cuba and
the international community, and while some European nations have begun
a rapprochement since the prisoner release, relations with long-time
ideological foe the United States remain in a deep freeze.

Opposition protests in Cuba are exceedingly rare. Cuba's government,
which came to power in a 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, accuses
dissidents of being on the payroll of the Washington, which has imposed
a trade embargo on the island since Castro embraced Soviet communism in
the early 1960s.

On Saturday, state media was filled with stories and commentaries for
the anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948.

"The fulfillment of international commitments … has been implicit in
the work of the Cuban Revolution despite the economic war … and also
the systematic plots to destroy it," Jose Luis Mendez Mendez, an analyst
at the research arm of the Interior Ministry, wrote in an opinion piece
on cubadebate.cu.

(Additional reporting by Reuters TV; editing by Anthony Boadle)

http://news.yahoo.com/cuba-dissidents-200-detained-u-n-rights-day-170003989.html

Cuba's 'Ladies' mark Human Rights Day amid protest
By PETER ORSI
Associated Press

HAVANA — Cuba's Ladies in White dissident group paid homage to their
late leader while observing International Human Rights Day at her home
Saturday, surrounded by a jeering pro-government crowd for a second
straight day.

Photos of Laura Pollan and messages of condolence adorned the wall of
the house where she lived in central Havana and that served as a
headquarters for the Ladies since the group was formed in 2003.

Next to a lit candle, an empty chair was draped with white clothing that
belonged to Pollan. A single gladiola and a tiny Cuban flag rested on
the lap.

"Laura Pollan lives!" the Ladies cried, and "Freedom for political
prisoners!"

Outside, dozens of supporters of President Raul Castro's government,
many of them students, massed at the front door and shouted
revolutionary slogans and insults at the women inside.

"Viva Fidel! Viva Raul!" they chanted, draping huge Cuban and
revolutionary flags from the roof.

Bertha Soler, one of the founders of the Ladies and its unofficial
leader since Pollan's death in October, blamed authorities for the crowd.

"We want to go into the streets, which is the right of the Cuban people,
but the Cuban government prevents us from doing so with these organized
mobs," Soler said. "The aggression is psychological, not physical, and
it's a demonstration of the Cuban government's intolerance."

Authorities insist such counterprotests known as "acts of repudiation"
are spontaneous acts by citizens disgusted by the dissidents, whom
authorities accuse of being mercenaries paid by the U.S. to destabilize
the island. Little is done to hide coordination with state security,
however.

It was the second counterprotest outside Pollan's home in as many days.

On Friday, a crowd gathered there as the Ladies held a "literary tea"
inside and a flotilla organized by Miami exile groups parked in
international waters off Cuba, setting off fireworks in solidarity with
the Ladies and other dissidents.

The exiles had also urged acts of protest by Cubans such as banging on
pots and pans, though there was no sign that many people heeded their call.

The Ladies in White was founded in 2003 by Pollan, Soler and other wives
of government opponents who were rounded up and given long prison terms
in a crackdown on dissent.

The last of those prisoners still behind bars were released earlier this
year, and many left the island for exile with their families.

Those still remaining in the Ladies in White have vowed to press for the
release of other inmates who are serving time for politically motivated
but violent crimes like hijacking and sabotage. Because of the violence
tied to their acts, those inmates are not recognized as prisoners of
conscience by outside human rights groups like Amnesty International.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/10/2540542/cubas-ladies-mark-human-rights.html

Exile fireworks show off Cuba irks Castro govt
By PETER ORSI
Associated Press

HAVANA — Fireworks shot from a flotilla organized by Miami exiles
exploded in red and white balls off the coast of Havana to call
attention to Cuba's human rights record. The stunt irritated Cuban
officials but drew few spectators.

The display was visible only intermittently Friday night at a distance
of a little more than 12 miles (19 kilometers) from where the exiles
anchored their boats just outside Cuban territorial waters under
overcast skies and sporadic rain.

Just a handful of people were out along the Malecon seaside promenade,
which normally is bustling with young Cubans who socialize along the
city's "great sofa" on weekends.

When an Associated Press team tried to interview the few who came out, a
pro-government crowd of more than 20 people ran across the wide
boulevard shouting "American press!" and demanding that a video camera
be turned over. Some were holding bottles of alcohol and appeared to
have been drinking.

The journalists identified themselves as accredited members of the press
with the right to work in Cuba. One cameraman was punched in the face,
another's thumb was sprained and a video camera was broken in the melee
before the crew managed to leave.

Exile organizers in Miami said the 18th protest flotilla over the years
was not meant as a provocation, though they also said they were trying
to coordinate the protest with actions by dissidents on the island on
the eve of International Human Rights Day.

The exiles said they were exercising their right to freedom of
expression, and the U.S. government said it couldn't legally stop them.

Cuban officials accused them of having malicious aims.

"There's a whole program of provocative acts," said Jose Luis Mendez, an
official at Cuba's Interior Ministry. "This is not just about innocuous
fireworks. It is subversive."

Before the fireworks, more than two dozen members of the Ladies in White
dissident group held a literary tea and discussion of the United
Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the house of former
leader Laura Pollan, who died last month.

A boisterous crowd of government supporters clogged the street outside
the house shouting epithets like "worms" and proclaiming support for
Fidel and Raul Castro in what is known in Cuba as an "act of repudiation."

The government says such counter-demonstrations are spontaneous
outpourings of revolutionary sentiment, despite thinly veiled
coordination with state security agents. The street outside the house
had been closed to traffic since Thursday.

"We cannot celebrate Human Rights Day here in Cuba. We can't because
they repress us and beat us. Right now there's an act of repudiation in
front of the Ladies in White headquarters," said Bertha Soler, one of
the group's founders. She accused police of blocking some members from
attending the meeting.

Other dissidents also reported that government opponents were briefly
held to keep them from gathering or protesting, though their accounts
could not be independently confirmed.

The government strenuously denies beating dissidents, whom it considers
common criminals. It accuses them of taking money from Washington to
destabilize the island and bring down its socialist revolution.

Flotilla organizer Ramon Saul Sanchez of the small nonprofit group the
Democracy Movement said about 50 protesters put on the fireworks display
from six boats, including an 85-foot vessel and a small security craft.
About a dozen members of the news media followed them.

State Department Spokesman William Ostick said U.S. authorities had met
with the organizers to ensure they complied with U.S. and international
laws. He said the organizers offered assurances they would not violate
Cuban territorial waters or airspace.

"The United States government does not promote or encourage this
activity," Ostick said in a statement. The U.S. Coast Guard said it
would patrol the area to ensure the protesters stayed more than 12 miles
off Cuba.

Nevertheless, Cuban authorities criticized Washington for not blocking
the protest.

"That the Obama administration did not refuse to allow this kind of
action is a very troubling sign, from the vantage point of it could
create situations that nobody wants," Mendez said.

An official in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Rene Mujica, said President
Raul Castro's government had communicated its concern to Washington but
declined to say whether it had sent a formal protest note.

"The United States is perfectly informed about the Cuban government's
concerns regarding this kind of provocations that have been repeatedly
made against our country," Mujica said.

Past exile actions have included clandestine missions on or near the
island. In 1996, the Cuban military shot down two planes carrying
activists from the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four
members. Cuba maintains the group flew into Cuban territory. The
activists deny the allegation.

Associated Press writers Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana and Laura
Wides-Munoz in Miami contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/10/2539883/exile-fireworks-show-off-cuba.html#storylink=misearch

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 — National Endowment for Democracy will
recognize Ladies in White leader with Democracy Service Medal

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Laura Pollan, the
late founder of Cuba's Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) , will be
honored by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on Wednesday,
December 14, 2011 at a Capitol Hill event with a posthumous presentation
of NED's Democracy Service Medal. Pollan died on October 14 of this year.

The presentation will take place at 5:30 pm in the House Foreign
Affairs Committee Room (Rayburn HOB 2172) and both the committee
chairman, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and ranking member Rep. Howard
Berman (D-CA) will make remarks, as well as several other members of
Congress, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Sen. Robert Menendez
(D-NJ), Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ), and Rep. David Rivera (R-FL).

The Medal will be accepted on behalf of the Ladies in White by Yolanda
Huerga, a representative of the group who is based in Miami. Another
event highlight will be a performance by Latin Grammy award winner
Amaury Gutierrez, who will sing his beautiful tribute ballad to Laura
Pollan.

"Laura is gone, but her memory lives on in the hearts of Cubans," said
NED president Carl Gershman. " Her example of dedication to justice
inspires others to fight on. The purity of her motives, the strength of
her character, the depth of her integrity, and the force of her
fearlessness will light the way forward. Her legacy will help Cubans
build a new morality after more than half a century of political
bondage, poisonous hatred, and dehumanizing lies."

The medal presentation will be preceded by a panel discussion at 4:00
pm.: The Legacy of Laura Pollan: the Struggle for Democracy and Human
Rights in Cuba. Panelists include: Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, Yesinia
Alvarez, Pablo Diaz, Janisset Rivera and Barbara Joe, and will be
moderated by NED's Miriam Kornblith.

The Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy created
its Democracy Service Medal to recognize individuals who have made
significant contributions to the progress of democracy around the world.
Past awardees include Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Congressman Tom
Lantos and the Dalai Lama.

This event is open to the media. Interested journalists should register
with Jane Riley Jacobsen by email jane@ned.org or 202-378-9700.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/09/4111694/late-cuban-activist-laura-pollan.html

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's government is indignant over an exile flotilla that
plans to sit off the coast of the island and protest the country's human
rights record by lighting up the skies with fireworks.

Foreign Ministry official Rene Mujica calls it yet another in a long
series of "provocations" and warns it could have unintended consequences.

Mujica and other officials spoke Friday. Interior Ministry official Jose
Luis Mendez said this will be the 18th flotilla by exile groups in South
Florida over the years.

Organizers insist their protest will be peaceful and say it is not a
provocation. It was not clear whether the display, 12 miles (19
kilometers) off the coast, will be visible to Cuba residents.

http://news.yahoo.com/cuba-bristles-exile-fireworks-show-off-coast-181909329.html;_ylt=ApmNlPB0YtwTJeK3WEc5hnz9SpZ4

Cuban exiles to set off for Cuba's coast
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Hispanic Affairs Writer

MIAMI — A coalition of Cuban exile groups began traveling Friday
morning across much of the Florida Straits despite rough seas for a
protest off the coast of Cuba that was to include a massive fireworks show.

The group leaving from Key West planned to anchor its flotilla of half a
dozen boats a little more than 12 miles off the coast of Havana to raise
awareness about the island's human rights abuses.

Saturday is the United Nation's International Human Rights Day.

Organizer Ramon Saul Sanchez of the small nonprofit the Democracy
Movement said about 50 protesters were going in six boats, including an
85-foot vessel and a small security craft. About a dozen members of the
media were also following the group.

"Everything is going well despite the rough seas, but our departure will
be a little behind," he told The Associated Press on Friday shortly
before departure. The activists left around 9:30 a.m., according his group.

Cuba has called the demonstration a provocation. The exile groups say
they are merely exercising their rights to freedom of expression.

State Department Spokesman William Ostick says federal authorities have
met with the organizers to ensure they comply with U.S. and
international laws. He says the organizers have provided assurances they
will not violate Cuban territorial waters or airspace. Cuban waters
stretch about 12 miles off the island.

"We have urged the Democracy Movement and the Cuban government to
exercise caution and restraint during the Democracy Movement's December
9 fireworks shows in international waters off Havana," he said in a
statement.

"We have also made it clear to Cuban authorities as well as participants
in this event that the U.S. government would punish any violation of
U.S. laws," he continued, adding, "The United States government does not
promote or encourage this activity."

The Coast Guard has said it will patrol the area to ensure the
protesters are well behind the 12-mile mark.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/09/2538611/cuban-exiles-to-set-off-for-cuban.html#storylink=misearch

Cuban exiles say flotilla plan not a provocation
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ and GISELA SOLOMON
Associated Press

MIAMI — A coalition of Cuban exile groups said Wednesday their plans to
anchor a small flotilla off the coast of Havana and launch fireworks to
highlight the island's human rights abuses is not meant to provoke the
Cuban government.

The protesters said they would follow U.S. Department of State warnings
not to enter Cuban territory, which begins 12 miles offshore. The
demonstration is in honor of Saturday's United Nation's International
Human Rights Day.

"We aren't provoking anybody. We are exercising our rights (of freedom
of expression)," said Ramon Saul Sanchez, head of the independent
Democracy Movement, who is organizing Friday's demonstration to show
solidarity with activists on the island.

Last month, the groups met with State Department officials and announced
the department would not try to stop them. The department has also met
with Cuban officials at their request.

"We urge the Democracy Movement and the Cuban government to exercise
caution and restraint in the upcoming fireworks show," a State
Department spokesman said Wednesday. "We didn't encourage the activity,
but we also don't have the authority to prevent it."

The official requested anonymity because the issue was still under
federal interagency review.

The groups are planning to have at least six boats but it could be fewer
depending on the weather. They plan to fly a white flag and an image of
Laura Pollan, the recently deceased leader of the Cuban group Ladies in
White. The group was founded by the wives of political prisoners and
demonstrated for years to free them. After their relatives were
released, they vowed to continue their activity.

The coalition plans leave from Key West Friday morning and begin the
fireworks around 8 p.m., returning for the U.S. two hours later.

Neither the Cuban written press nor TV news broadcasts have mentioned
the protest. But the Cuban government's website Cubadebate on Tuesday
called it a provocation and accused the Obama administration of backing
the effort.

"This new provocation scheduled for the 9th of December has been
approved by the administration of Barack Obama, who says he is working
to ease relations between the U.S. and Cuba," according to the article
by Jose Luis Mendez. He said the protests aimed to cause internal
disorder in Cuba and violates international law.

Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo said her agency would have
cutters and aircraft patrolling the area but that the agency would not
bring in added resources. She declined to give specifics on the number
of vessels or aircraft.

Coast Guard officials will likely create a safe zone, requiring the
protesters to remain more than 12 miles offshore. Fajardo said the
agency would document any detected incursion by the U.S. vessels into
Cuban waters – illegal without Coast Guard permission – and would take
appropriate measures. She did not rule out immediate enforcement action.

"Our being there provides us the ability to ensure safe and legal
development of the protest in addition to being able to provide search
and rescue if it's needed," Fajardo said, adding officials had discussed
U.S. regulations at length with Sanchez and others involved.

But she added, "The coast guard will not interfere with legitimate law
enforcement action of the Cuban government. In other words, if a vessel
gets by the Coast Guard and gets into Cuban waters, they are placing
themselves in great risk. The U.S. cannot speculate as to the response
of another government in this or any other situation."

The flotilla is part of a history of Cuban exile protests and
activities, many of which have included clandestine missions on or near
the island. In 1996, the Cuban military shot down two planes carrying
activists from the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, killing four
members. Cuba maintains the group flew into Cuban territory. The
activists deny the charges.

Cuba expert Phil Peters of the Lexington Institute think-tank called the
flotilla "a perfectly legitimate, peaceful protest," but he questioned
whether Cubans on the island would actually be able to see the fireworks
12 miles away from the coast.

Peters said it was unusual for the government to support people who are
conducting a protest outside of U.S. territory but he noted if the Coast
Guard is present, "It certainly reduces the risk that they will pass the
12-mile limit and would seem to minimize the risk of an incident."

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/07/2536022/cuban-exiles-say-flotilla-plan.html

Cuban dissidents: Colleagues injured in police crackdown
The dissidents say they want police to free 10 dissidents arrested.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Cuban dissidents vowed to protest at a State Security office Tuesday
unless police free 10 government critics detained in a crackdown where
several suffered head wounds, a broken rib and other injuries.

Police also severely beat Angel Moya, a well known former political
prisoner, in a lockup because he would not stop shouting anti-government
slogans, according to the dissidents. There was no word on his condition.

Dissident Danis Lopez de Moya said that as of Monday police had freed 38
of the 48 government critics arrested Friday in an unusually harsh
crackdown as they tried to start a protest march from his house in the
eastern town of Palma Soriano.

Police likely were holding the rest until the physical signs of the
beatings they received has lessened or disappeared, Wildo Izaguirre, one
of the 38 freed, told El Nuevo Herald by phone from Palma Soriano.

Lopez de Moya, who was himself arrested and released, said many of 38
already had gathered in his house and agreed to march to a State
Security office Tuesday morning unless the other 10 are released.

Izaguirre, Lopez de Moya and Prudencio Villalón, another of the 38
dissidents freed, said the police crackdown Friday was one of the most
violent they had experienced.

"As we left the house in groups of five, police jumped us, beat us and
dragged us to the parked buses," said Izaguirre, who added that police
lined up in a gauntlet pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the face.

Police continued beating the dissidents once inside the government-owned
buses, Izaguirre added, and the driver of one bus also hit several of
the government opponents with a mechanic's wrench.

Eurbis Perales needed nine stitches to close his wounds and Abraham
Cabrera needed five, according to Villalón, who said he spoke with the
pair in a police lockup after they were brought in from the hospital.

Cabrera was bleeding so much on the bus that he smeared some of his
blood on a window, drawing anti-government slogans from some of the
neighbors who were watching the crackdown, Villalón added.

Misael Valdes Diaz was treated for a broken rib and another dissident
suffered a swollen eye, but virtually all were punched or kicked, said
Villalón. He and several of the 20 other dissidents in one of the buses
also vomited when police sprayed them with some type of crowd-control gas.

Police put the 38 detainees into buses that began dropping them off
Saturday and Sunday one-by-one, every half-mile or so, on the road to
Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city.

Still detained were Moya and José Daniel Ferrer García, both former
political prisoners freed this spring as part of a decision by Cuban
Ruler Raúl Castro to release 52 political prisoners.

"I was told they [police] especially vented their anger on Angel and
José Daniel," said Berta Soler, Moya's wife and the leader of the Ladies
in White.

The 52 were the last dissidents still in jail from a harsh crackdown in
2003 that sentenced 75 of them to prison terms of up to 28 years after
one and two-day trials. Most of them — plus another 60 prisoners freed —
agreed to go directly from prisons to the Havana airport and exile in Spain.

Moya, Ferrer and 10 others insisted on remaining in Cuba and continuing
their dissident activities.

As it freed the political prisoners, the Castro government also stepped
up its harassment of dissidents, usually detaining them for brief
periods to avert planned protests such as the Palma Soriano march.

Cuban authorities have carried out 3,327 such "temporal detentions" so
far this year, compared to 2,074 in all of 2010, according to a report
from Havana on Monday by the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and
National Reconciliation.

The march Friday in Palma was to have been part of a rotating series of
street protests starting Thursday in Cuba's easternmost province of
Guantánamo and following later from towns and cities to the west.

The "National March Boitel-Zapata Live!" named after two dissidents who
died during prison hunger strikes, was designed to demand the release of
all political prisoners and an end to human rights abuses.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/06/2533003/cuban-dissidents-colleagues-injured.html#storylink=misearch

The Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission opposition
group on Monday said that at least 257 people were arrested for
political reasons on the Communist-ruled island last month, most of them
for short periods of time.

The figure is "demonstrative of the terrible situation for civil and
political rights that continues to prevail in Cuba," the commission,
which is outlawed but tolerated, said in a report.

Commission spokesman Elizardo Sanchez told Efe that during the first
five days of December "at least 100 arrests" have occurred," most of
them in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.

Still in custody on Monday were 21 of the 52 dissidents who were
arrested last Friday for trying to stage a peaceful march in the town of
Palma Soriano, in Santiago de Cuba province, Sanchez said.

"At this rate of repression, in December (the number of arrests) is
going to be greater than in November," he said, adding that the
situation was linked with Saturday's celebration of International Human
Rights Day.

As a "positive piece of information," the commission report said that so
far during 2011 "the number of (people) imprisoned or sentenced for
political reasons diminished, relatively speaking," given that the Cuban
government released "many prisoners before bringing them to trial."

He said that currently there are some 70 prisoners in Cuban jails who
have been convicted or are on trial for so-called "crimes against the
state."

The Cuban government considers the dissidents and the internal
opposition to be "counterrevolutionaries and U.S.-paid "mercenaries."

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/12/05/cuban-opposition-denounces-more-than-250-political-arrests-in-november/

Havana, Dec 4, 2011 (EFE via COMTEX) — About 50 Cuban opposition
members were harassed and arrested when they began a march on Friday
through the streets of the eastern city of Palma Soriano, relatives of
some of the protesters and people within the internal dissidence
movement told Efe on the weekend.
According to Berta Soler, the spokesperson for the Ladies in White
dissident group, about 50 opposition members were arrested on Saturday,
among them her husband Angel Moya and Jose Daniel Ferrer, both former
prisoners in the "Group of 75."
Soler said that 31 demonstrators were still under arrest and, according
to the version received from some of the 19 who had already been freed,
they were trying on Friday to reactivate the peaceful "Boitel-Zapata
lives" march when they were taken into custody.
"They left the house in which they had gathered and had walked along
just one street when they were violently repressed by a rapid response
brigade (a group of pro-government supporters) and arrested by the
police," she said.
"We hold the Cuban government accountable for the physical integrity of
these men because these people have the right to move about freely,"
said Soler, adding that she demanded "the necessary medical attention
for all those who need it."
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Cuban Human Rights and National
Reconciliation Commission, or CCDHRN, Elizardo Sanchez, said that
opposition sources told him that "there has been much political
repression on the first and second of this month in the eastern
provinces of Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba."
The human rights activist said that in Palma Soriano, in Santiago de
Cuba province, there had been 52 arrests and in Guantanamo at least 35,
the latter people being members of the Resistance and Democracy Movement
opposition group.
"Some have already been released and the forecast is that they will be
temporary arrests and they will free all of them,"Sanchez said.
Nevertheless, he expressed "concern at the high number of arrests for
political reasons that have occurred in just 48 hours"and the
"deliberate violence" of the police in repressing the demonstrators.
The Cuban government considers the dissidents and the internal
opposition to be "counterrevolutionaries and mercenaries paid" by the
United States.

EFE
rmo/bp

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid={8ecb664b-e2d6-427e-b664-84715ffa3fe5}