The choice put forth by the Castro dictatorship was a simple one for four Cuban political prisoners released Saturday, and now in exile in Spain: They could leave the country or remain in jail.
For at least one of the prisoners, Pedro Pablo Álvarez Ramos, 60, it was not an easy decision. If he was 10 or 15 years younger, he said, "I would have wanted to endure prison with my compañeros."
Álvarez and the others — Alejandro González Raga, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo and Omar Pernet Hernández — said they would continue the struggle for freedom for other political prisoners.
No one can blame the ex-prisoners for the choice they made. They are dying men, and least now they have a chance to receive decent medical care. And as residents of the free world — even a socialist-governed Spain — they are free to speak out and work on behalf of a free Cuba.
Their dilemma belies that their gesture was not the sign of a goodwill by the Castro dictatorship, but only some sort of negotiating ploy in its dealings with the Madrid government. This is not a true "reform" on the part of Raul Castro, but only move to gain it favor.
As long as a single prisoner remains locked away in the Castro gulag, the regime does not deserve the benefit of any doubt.
Meanwhile, former political prisoner Raul Rivero, who greeted the four at a Madrid hotel, speculated that three other "very ill" political prisoners would be released and allowed to travel to the United States. The three prisoners identified by Rivero, all imprisoned since 2003, are:
—Dr. Alfredo Pulido López, 47, an independent journalist serving a 14-year sentence.
— Normando Hernández González, 38, an independent journalist serving a 25-year sentence. Hernández last year was named the recipient of the prestigious PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.
— Dr. José Luis García Paneque, 42, an independent journalist serving a 24-year sentence. President Bush last year met at the White House with García's family.
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