Uncommon Sense

Further proof that Fidel is not well

With the Maximum Windbag out of commission for almost a year, Cuba is looking for alternative forms of energy.

Editorial commentary

Earlier this morning, I caught wind of a recent Granma commentary in which a transcriptionist of the revolution takes the foreign press corps in Havana for actually doing their jobs and interviewing dissidents and others who might have insights into what actually is happening in Cuba. Immediately, I wondered whether some more foreign journalists, many of whom Granma says are no better than U.S. agents, would soon be kicked off the island.

I couldn't find the actual article, the search function at Granma.cu being what it is.

Fortunately, Child of the Revolution found it, and has the details.

How sick is Michael Moore? (UPDATED)

Pretty damn sick, especially when you consider who he looks up to.

I haven't decided whether I will go see Moore's sure-to-be-screed about the American health care system. On the one hand, I don't want him, or anyone he does business with — the studio, the movie theater, etc. — to profit from my labor. He can make the movies he want, I can stay home when I want.

On the other, as one who has taken more than a few shots at Moore because of his film, sight unseen, I want to see for myself exactly how he portrays Castro-style health care. My journalistic integrity says fair is fair, although I'm guessing my disgust with Moore will not be assuaged.

Maybe Moore's jaunt in Havana is just a small part of the film, not worthy of the efforts of those who write about Cuba, where there are so many consequential issues needing our attention. Ignoring him may be bliss.

However, now is not the time to let our vigilance down.

Moore's film matters not because of its indictment of the American health care system, which may be justified, but because it promulgates one of the foulest myths of the Castro dictatorship: That Cubans don't need freedom because they have such a wonderful health care system. That most of the publicity for the film is related to his adventure in Cuba demonstrates the continued allure of that fiction.

The Cuban system is not so wonderful, but more importantly, it is repugnant to believe that there can be something good about such a trade-off.

There is no valor in sacrificing your freedom for the greater glory of a tyrant, despite the presumptions of Moore and other Castro apologists for almost 50 years.

But then Moore did not sacrifice anything.

He got to leave the island. Most Cubans have no such right.

That Moore does not care, that Moore apparently believes Cubans under Castro are better off than Americans in the United States, makes him sick.

UPDATED, May 28, 2007

After giving it some thoughts, and reviewing some of the comments on this post left at Babalú, I've decided to see the movie the first chance I get.

Alfredo Domínguez Batista, Political Prisoner of the Week, 5/27/07

UPDATED, Sept. 4, 2010 — Alfredo Domínguez was released from prison in September 2010, under a deal struck by Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship.

|———|

In the "black spring" of 2003, Alfredo Domínguez Batista, now 45, was one of the Group of 75 independent journalists, human rights and democracy activists, independent librarians and other dissidents rounded up by the Castro dictatorship and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. But as with so many of these and other political prisoners in Cuba, their imprisonment only moved their opposition to tyranny and struggle for liberty to a new arena.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., explained how, in a January 2005 speech on the floor of the House of Representatives:

Mr. Domínguez Batista is a member of the Christian Liberation Movement and a peaceful pro-democracy activist attempting to liberate the people of Cuba. Because of his actions to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba, Mr. Domínguez Batista was targeted by the tyrant's machinery of repression. In March 2003, as part of the despicable crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy activists, he was arrested. In a sham trial, Mr. Domínguez Batista was sentenced to 14 years in the totalitarian gulag.

Despite the depraved conditions and the threat of confinement in punishment cells, described by the U.S. Department of State as ``semi-dark all the time, had no water available in the cell, and had a hole for a toilet,'' Mr. Domínguez Batista has continued to fight for basic human rights. According to Amnesty International, he has bravely participated in multiple hunger strikes to protest the abhorrent conditions in the gulag and the depraved treatment of fellow political prisoners.

Earlier this month, I posted on a recent example of Domínguez's continued activism:

Cuba is a nation of contradictions.

The dictatorship likes to paint a rosy picture for the world, what with the "free" education and "free" health care, and its success in standing up to the big, bad Americans.

But the reality, especially for Cubans who have to live under that dictatorship, the reality is something worse.

That's especially true for the political prisoners in Castro's gulag.

Which is why one political prisoner, Alfredo Domínguez Batista, is calling on the regime to open its prisons to international observers, like the International Red Cross, which it has long rejected.

In prison, according Domínguez, prisoners are constantly mistreated, the food is lousy and the vaunted health care is not so much.

"When a prisoner demands these rights, the guards refute them and prosecute them for being undisciplined. Meanwhile, we see compatriots serving long and unjust sentences, solely for defending the rights of the whole nation," Domínguez said, according to a story by journalist José Ramón Pupo Nieves posted at Payo Libre.

One of the surest indicators of the repressive nature of the Castro regime is the jailing of more than 300 political prisoners. To illustrate that reality, Uncommon Sense each week profiles one prisoner. There also is a Political Prisoner archive on the left sidebar. To suggest a prisoner for a profile, send me an e-mail.

For profiles of imprisoned Cuban journalists and related information, read the March 18 Project.

Spain's last chance

Call me patient, or call me a fool, but I am willing to give Spain one last chance to show it is on the right side of history in Cuba, with those — especially Cuban political prisoners and other dissidents — struggling for liberty on the island.

That last chance comes Tuesday and Wednesday when Spanish and Cuban officials meet to discuss human rights issues. The agenda, according to EFE, will include the status of political prisoners — which, of course, the Cuban dictatorship denies holding. (I couldn't find an English-language report on the upcoming meeting.)

I suspect the appeasement set in motion last month with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos visited Havana will hold be further entrenched — the Spanish have too many business interests in Cuba, and strong taste for distancing themselves from U.S. policy. Even as the Cubans hoodwinked them, they remained silent.

But rare does the Cuban dictatorship agree to sit down to talk about human rights on the island. And when it does, such as at the United Human Rights Council, of which it is a member, it does only to deny there is a problem.

That likely will happen, too, during this week's talks.

If it does, the onus will be on the Spanish to show their mettle, and to stand up to the Cubans and press for the release of political prisoners.

Or to show the world, and the Cuban people, that they are not up for the fight.

You say "embargo," I say farce

About the only good thing about the exception to the U.S. "embargo" on Cuba that allows Havana to buy American agricultural products is that it means money is flowing from, not to, the regime — at least until the government is able to move the products into the black market.

More significantly, the sales belie complaints from Amnesty International and others that the "embargo" and other sanctions — and not the failed communism of Fidel Castro and his cronies — are responsible for the hardships faced by the Cuban people.

Meanwhile, as officials from North Dakota and elsewhere head to Havana to cut their deals with the dictatorship, Washington severely restricts the ability of Cubans in the United States to send cash and other assistance to relatives on the island.

The incongruity of it all sometimes astounds me.

Reality bites

The Spanish government and the average Cuban political prisoner live in different worlds.

In Madrid, the Socialist government believes if it plays nice with Castro — especially nicer than those mean Americans, who have gotten nothing for their meanness — it might just budge Havana away from its hard-core totalitarianism.

Or at least protect the interests in Cuba of Spanish businesses.

At Kilo 8 prison, where prisoner were brutally repressed earlier this week, this is reality for Cuban political prisoner Juan Herrera Acosta:

I would like to add that this, May 21st, is when the repression began, where people were beaten, and authorities went to take people out of their cellblocks and empty them out, beating them savagely. Among those in poor conditions is Francisco Turnidor Valido, a common prisoner, who at the hands of several officials, among them the Chief of Internal Order, Romni Alvarez Alcolea,beat him mercilessly. At this moment, he is at the medical ward of the prison where he is in very poor conditions. He has dislocated his septum and has injuries throughout his body, due to the kicking and other forces exerted on him.

At this time, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia finds himself in a punishment cell without any resources, without water, surrounded by plagues of mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rodents of all types. All of this repression was witnessed by the Chief Re-education Officer Eider Rodríguez Columbié, who saw how prisoners were dragged. Among those who were dragged was political prisoner Eduardo Gamboa Suárez who was taken to cell block number 2 and began to scream anti-governmental slogans. More than 15 officials were responsible for his attack.

Another inmate that endured abuse from the authorities in the prison was Raidel Carmenate Madruga, better known as “Jorobita,” a good friend of Antunez and one who only has three months remaining of his sentence. Alter being handcuffed and beaten brutally, they took him to a punishment cell. At this time, he is found in solitary confinement. Over 15 authorities were responsible for the orchestration of the operation, including Eider Rodriguez Columbié, Alvin Noa, 2nd Chief of Re-education Officer and one known as Peña. He was told that “He would be treated as he deserved.”

Spanish official Trinidad Jiménez says Spain next week will press Cuba to allow the International Red Cross and other international groups to inspect its prisons, which is a nice thought. But Spain is not to be trusted, considering how it has recently turned its back on Cuban political prisoners.

(And then, of course, there is the Cuban government, which says there are no political prisoners on the island. Should make for an interesting discussion: The delusional vs. the denying)

What is needed is action: The release of Herrera and other political prisoners.

Until that happens, until Spain makes Cuban political prisoners part of its agenda — and nothing suggests Madrid really cares about them — Spain is not acting in the real world.

And reality for Herrera and the others will continue to be a nightmare.

Cuba under Raúl

New arrival Abdiel Ramos sums it up:

''Everyone knows things are bad since Fidel [Castro] got sick,'' he said. "There is no food and people are being carted off to prison.''

Read the rest of Ramos' story here.

Cuban prison is "pit of terrorism"

Imprisoned journalist Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta pleads for the world — especially Spain — to join with Cuban political prisoners in denouncing human rights abuses by the Castro dictatorship.

Via Cuban Democratic Directorate:

I am Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, an independent journalist, sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment.

I would like to make known to the world that this past March 20th the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience decided to commemorate the date of March 20th, the 105th anniversary of the creation of the Republic of Cuba. We began with a speech addressed to the inmate population. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, from the Christian Liberation Movement, spoke first outlining the importance of the date and how the government has tried to erase the milestone which the date represents. I then spoke from my cell block. Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia spoke from his cell number 5, and I spoke from my cell number 3. I made a call for non cooperation, to not suppress one another, and to not collaborate with the Castro regime. It was at this point that people started chanting pro-democratic slogans, such as “Down with the terror of imprisonment, down with terrorism, down with imprisonment.” Additionally, they asked for the respect of human rights, adequate medical attention, and a series of demands that were not appreciated by the Political Police and the prison authorities.

It was at this point that certain actions took place. They stood in front of my cell block but did not come inside. On may 21, they conducted a meticulous requisition on Jose Daniel Ferrer Acosta, prisoner of conscience, and confiscated personal letters, writings, and even a mediocre book called “The Dissidents,” it was truly a ferocious repression.

On the 21st, pamphlets against the regime, against all of the violations that are committed here, of all of the cruelty that goes on here, were all spread throughout the prison. When they decided to empty Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia’s cell, he opted to walk himself to the punishment cell. State Security gave orders to harass and beat prisoners. In addition to State Security, the main director of the prison, Filiberto Martínez Luis, and the Chief Re-education Officer Eider Rodríguez Columbié, as well as Romni Alvarez Alcolea, Chief of Internal Order, participated in the attacks.

In order to commemorate May 20th, in remembrance of such a sacred date and also remembering the 22nd anniversary of the creation of Radio Marti, which we would like to extend our regards, both from Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and myself for the great labor that the radio station is doing. Among those who participated in the activity were Leoncio Rodríguez Ponce, Nelson Vázquez Lima, Carlos Luis Díaz Fernández, Lamberto Hernández Planas, Eduardo Gamboa Suárez, Germán Bermúdez Carmona, Ramón Corrales Echarte, and Francisco Turnidor Valido.

I would like to add that this, May 21st, is when the repression began, where people were beaten, and authorities went to take people out of their cellblocks and empty them out, beating them savagely. Among those in poor conditions is Francisco Turnidor Valido, a common prisoner, who at the hands of several officials, among them the Chief of Internal Order, Romni Alvarez Alcolea,beat him mercilessly. At this moment, he is at the medical ward of the prison where he is in very poor conditions. He has dislocated his septum and has injuries throughout his body, due to the kicking and other forces exerted on him.

At this time, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia finds himself in a punishment cell without any resources, without water, surrounded by plagues of mosquitoes, cockroaches, and rodents of all types.

Read the whole thing below the fold.

Cuban people have the power

I'm not sure of the wider ramifications of this story, but it is encouraging that A) the opposition is willing to take its protests to the street; and B) that the dictatorship felt it neccessary to back down to the pressure.

Cuban Democratic Directorate reports:

Former political prisoner Lázaro Alonso Román, released from prison on April 24 after serving a 2-year sentence, was newly arrested in Havana by police on May 18. He was then informed at Dragones Prison that he would be tried for resisting arrest and contempt on Wednesday May 23rd, charges which could lead to another year of imprisonment.

Upon hearing about the incident, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, president of the National Assembly to Promote Civil Society, called on all opposition members in Havana to protest in front of the Spanish embassy.

“Since Mr. Moratinos said the release of these prisoners was due to his visit to Cuba, we thought the Spanish should know about this case”, commented Roque Cabello to the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

“That afternoon, a major by the name of Carrazana called Manuel Pérez Soria, another one of the prisoners released that day along with Lazaro. Carranza told Pérez Soria that no one should go to protest at the trial because they were going to release Lazaro. However, Lazaro had called me to say the trial was in fact set for Wednesday. At that moment we all joined together, opposition members from Havana and the provinces, to respond to this injustice. Many were detained on their way to Havana, but others were able to arrive. In the afternoon, I received a call from a lieutenant informing me that the trial had been suspended. We have spoken to the opposition to cancel the protest”, explained Roque.

According to Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez, coordinator of the Pedro Luis Boitel Political Prisoners Association and member of the Cuban Human Rights Rapporteur Council founded on May 14, internal opposition activists from different prisons and municipalities felt moved by their consciences, deciding to take part in this act of resistance at the tribunal to be in solidarity with Lázaro Alonso Román.

“We were going to protest in front of the tribunal, but it seems the authorities, knowing of this popular support and solidarity, decided to suspend the trial”, said Antúnez. “We feel satisfied because this demonstrates unity, cohesion, and the power of a united opposition.”

“We will not continue to allow the repression of our brothers and sisters. We will show our presence wherever someone is in danger”, continued Antúnez, a former political prisoner who served a 17 year sentence and was released this past April.

Read the rest here.