Uncommon Sense

Which Cuban political prisoners might soon be transfered or released?

The Spanish newspaper El País tonight is reporting the names of several Cuban political prisoners who might be transferred to prisons in their home provinces or to hospitals or better yet released as a result of arrangements worked out between the Castro dictatorship and the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the island. The newspaper's source is the noted human rights activist Elizardo Sánchez.

Those who might be transferred to prisons in Havana include Adolfo Fernández Sainz and Antonio Díaz Sánchez, both now held in the Canaleta prison in Ciego de Ávila, some 430 km from the capital.

And those who might be hospitalized or released include the 68-year-old Arnaldo Ramos Lauzerique and Ariel Sigler Amaya, who has been left nearly paralyzed by polyneuropathy.

In all, as many as 17 political prisoners may be transferred out of their current jails, according to the El País report.

Group says Cuba is torturing 2 political prisoners

Even as hopes are raised that conditions are about to improve for at least some Cuban political prisoners, the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Directorate on Monday reminded there are some prisoners who continue to be treated cruelly by their captors.

Specifically, the Directorate at a news conference highlighted the cases of Egberto Escobedo MoralesJuan Ramón Rivero de Espaigne and , who are suffering brutal tortures as they carry on with hunger strikes against the Castro dictatorship.

Escobedo has been on hunger strike since April 16 to protest prison conditions, and Rivero de Espaigne started his protest on May 4.

Both are paying a heavy price, as their conditions weaken and their jailers refuse to provide them needed medical care. Both are losing blood, Escobedo through vomit and from his intestines; Rivero de Espaigne through his urine.

"I ask the international community to help me, that what happened to Orlando Zapata Tamayo doesn't happen to my son," said Escobedo's mother, Noris Morales.

Additionally, guards at Mar Verde prison, led by the prison's "re-education" officers, on May 14 brutally beat and choked Rivero de Espaigne, according to another political prisoner at the jail, Luis Enrique Ferrer García.

"I hold the dictatorship of the Castro brothers, the political police, the leadership and the medical staff of the prison with what can happen," Ferrer said.

Hopefully, the Catholic Church does not forget about Egberto Escobedo and Juan Rivero.

In Cuba, faith may be about to prevail

The details of the arrangements made between the Castro dictatorship and the Catholic Church about the treatment of political prisoners await to be revealed, so considering the parties' respective track records, skepticism is appropriate.

But that highly publicized talks between the leaders of church and state even took place, followed by leak of the news that a deal had been struck, marks a significant victory for the opposition in Cuba and for the prisoners always at the forefront of their efforts. Even if the current process ends without the release of any prisoners, it already represent an acknowledgment by the dictatorship that its continued poor treatment of political prisoners is not tenable in a world more aware than ever of what is happening in the Castro gulag.

The Cuban opposition, and probably not the church and definitely not the dictatorship, deserve the credit for what may be about to happen.

The Damas De Blanco ("Ladies In White") deserve the credit, for how with courage, dignity and grace they have tirelessly campaigned for their imprisoned loved ones, despite verbal and physical threats and assaults. They have inspired others to act similarly. Their husbands, fathers and sons must be so proud.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo deserves the credit. Even though his hunger strike, compounded by the actions and inactions of his captors, ended with his death, Zapata's personal struggle marked a new chapter in the struggle for Cuban freedom. Because of his death, which became a rallying cry in a world shrunken in size by the Internet and social media, more people than ever are aware of what is happening in Cuba today and have mobilized to demand change.

Guillermo Fariñas deserves the credit, for how he assumed Zapata's suffering, not for himself but for those still in the gulag, especially 26 critically ill prisoners for whom he has demanded their release. Many on the island and off have implored Fariñas to end his protest, that it is futile in the face of an adversary — the Castro dictatorship — that did not care whether he or the prisoners died.

But Fariñas has kept the faith, the same faith that has also driven the Damas, Zapata, all political prisoners and all Cubans who oppose the dictatorship to stay on their course, to not give up. The real futility is to presume the sacrifices they have made have not been worth it.

Theirs is a faith that starting Monday, may finally see its rewards.

Fariñas: Church-Castro talks may mean changes for political prisoners (UPDATED)

Cuban political prisoners next may experience some tangible benefits resulting from Wednesday's talks between the dictator Raúl Castro and Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega.

And as a result, the life of one of the giants of the Cuban opposition may be saved.

No one should trust any promises Castro might have made, and after all anything short of the unconditional release of all political prisoners would be acceptable. There also should be some skepticism about whether the church in Cuba has the clout to pressure the regime to act on its political prisoners.

However, dissident Guillermo Fariñas said a church official on Saturday advised him that that the church had received word from Castro's office that starting Monday, the regime will start transferring political prisoners to jails in their own provinces and admit to hospitals and clinics those prisoners needing medical care.

Fariñas, on hunger strike since Feb. 24, acknowledged he would welcome those steps and said he trusts what the church official told him. But Fariñas, who has been hospitalized since March 11, added those measures alone wouldn't be enough to cause him to end his protest. He has consistently demanded that the dictatorship release from its jails 26 of the most seriously ill political prisoners.

But in an interview with AFP on Saturday, Fariñas suggested he could be willing to end his hunger strike if the regime were to start with the release of 10 political prisoners.

"When the number of those released reaches 10 and the Church tells me there is a timeline for others to be freed, I will end my strike," Fariñas said.

A church official said the immediate release of any political prisoners is currently off the table, but Fariñas said he was told the government and the church would be holding further talks shortly.

(H/T Punt De Vista)

UPDATED, May 23, 2010 — Reuters has more.

Jorge Luis González Tanquero, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 5/23/10 (UPDATED)

Jorge Luis González Tanquero

UPDATED, July 24, 2010 — Jorge González was released from prison in July 2010 under a deal between Spain, the Catholic Church and the Castro dictatorship.

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This week, I once again honor Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis González Tanquero because it gives me the chance to honor his wife and daughter, Marlenis and Melissa González.

Marlenis and Melissa González

Marlenis and Melissa were in Tampa on Saturday, May 22, participating in a march for Cuban freedom, bravely and proudly standing up on behalf of their husband and father, unjustly imprisoned in the Castro gulag since the "black spring" of 2003.

And also they they there on behalf of their fellow Damas De Blanco ("Ladies In White"), who bravely and proudly continue their struggle against the Castro dictatorship for the release of their imprisoned loved ones.

Jorge Luis González Tanquero was president of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Independence Movement when he was arrested in March 2003, convicted of being an American agent and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

For more about González, including how former U.S. President George W. Bush honored him and his family, read this.

Hunger-striking political prisoner is bleeding to death

Egberto Escobedo Morales

At the hands of a dictatorship that doesn't care whether he lives or dies, Cuban political prisoner Egberto Escobedo Morales is bleeding to death.

The health of Escobedo, who has been on hunger strike since April 16, worsened this week when he began throwing up blood and bleeding from his bowels, according to a news release from Cuban Democratic DIrectorate.

At the same time, according to fellow political prisoner Jorge Alberto Liriano Linares, Cuban State Security has started a "disinformation" campaign that claims Escobedo has ended his protest and is eating.

Escobedo, a member of the National Council for a Democratic Transition, was arrested in July 1995, and convicted of "espionage" and "enemy propaganda," which the dictatorship has used to brand its opponents. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He started his hunger strike to demand better living conditions in prison and to protest the farce of recent Cuban "elections."

He has twice been named a Political Prisoner of the Week on this blog, most recently this week.

Cuban political prisoner describes his 'grand suffering'

Antonio Díaz Sánchez

Cuban political prisoner Antonio Díaz Sánchez is currently being held in a punishment isolation cell at the Ciego de Ávila prison. But with a little stealth and a lot of help, journalist Pablo Pacheco Ávila — also a political prisoner — was able to interview Díaz about his experiences.

And then have the result posted on his blog:

Q. Do you have any messages for the national or international community?

A. I would like to tell both that the situation faced by political prisoners and prisoners of conscience is a very dramatic one. For us, prison symbolizes a grand suffering and injustice that has no limits. For our family members there should be no difference between the international and national condemnations. However, whether one is referring to the national or international context, as people we see that institutions and even democratic governments still conserve a taboo towards this subject. Sadly, a universal declaration of human duties does not exist. Its first point could be solidarity with those who are suffering, the same way that Jesus taught us.

Read the whole thing, in English or en español.

11 minutes of freedom at the Capitol in Havana

Six Cuban dissidents on Tuesday climbed the steps of the old Capitol building in Havana and unfurled banners proclaiming, "Boitel lives!" and "Zapata lives," and shouted anti-Castro slogans for about 11 minutes, in the presence mostly of foreign tourists, according to Radio Martí and other outlets.

(The banner referred to political prisoners Pedro Luis Boitel and Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died in prison after lengthy hunger strikes.)

The protest was over before the police took notice, but one of the participants said the secret police showed up at his house later that night.

For more, listen to the following radio report:

A Cuban blogger worth reading: Miriam Celaya

Uncommon Sense each week features a favorite post written by one of the numerous Cuban independent bloggers working on the island. It's a small way that we can lend our support for their efforts, and maybe some protection against the Castro dictatorship. Read previous posts, here.

Links to the featured blog and other sites can be found on the left sidebar, under "Blogs from Cuba."

(This is the second such post this week, but I just came across this post and had to share.)

Miriam Celaya

The Cuban independent blogosphere, even in its currently nascent stage, is rich and diverse, full of varied ideas and viewpoints.

But one characteristic identical in all Cuban bloggers is their remarkable courage, their bravery in setting aside any fear that they might be punished for something they write and following their consciences, revealing their souls for their fellow Cubans and for the world to read.

It was that courage Miriam Celaya displayed on July 22, 2008, when she abandoned a pseudonym and started blogging at Sin Evasion ("Without Evasion") under own name.

This was not an artistic or literary affectation, but a demonstration of her faith in her nation and in herself. No longer would she be cowed by the threat posed to her safety by the dictatorship and its censors.

Finally, she was free.

That probably explains how she can write something like this:

We, the nagging few who have been persistently demanding changes in Cuba, should be happy. Even General R., Cuban president by the power and “grace” of his older brother, a guy who never had the slightest sense of humor, has been making changes. True, they are not exactly the changes that many Cubans have been demanding for decades (democracy, freedom of expression and association, freedom to enter and leave the country, freedom for political prisoners, end of the dual currency, and dozens more claims, all the way up to participation in political decision-making and the economy, which would make this text never-ending), but, isn’t it true that there have been changes in two vice-presidents during the short period of just a couple of years? Haven’t there been changes in Ministers and other high-ranking officials? It is true that most of the time it is “a chair exchange”, or rather “a change of buttocks”, as the same soft and power seats are occupied each time by new backsides of the same clan; though, effective or not, these are changes, but Cuba’s problems remain, or rather, they tend to become more acute.

The difficulty in understanding such rare and frequent movements of the nomenclature is that they occur at such a high altitude that those who live at ground level fail to recognize the invisible springs that launch the bureaucrat of the day through the air, we ignore the proposals that the newly “elected” supposedly brings and -of course- we never receive the benefits you’d expect from these substitutions. At best, a suspicious smell of scorching rocket fuel lingers in the air. It is something, in addition, very confusing. I mean, our official press has taught us that, if a foreign government makes changes to its cabinet, it is because there are factions or conflicts in the policy of its ruler, or that there is administrative corruption or disagreements between the official who has been forced to resign and the government, and, on some occasions, the official press even partially informs us about the nature of those disagreements. If, in addition, the government that is replacing officials at any level is that of the United States, there is no doubt that we are facing a deep crisis which heralds the imminent collapse of capitalism. This event is no more and no less than an example of the decadence of Imperialism, a flawed trumpet whose sound I have heard since my distant and tender years as a indoctrinated school girl.

In Cuba, however, substitutions (destitutions, which is the same around here) always mean a “process of rectification”, a step forward, a sign of growth that heralds better times to come. Apparently, it is something so positive that it’s becoming the norm. And, if anyone doubts it, just remember that until that very well-chosen commission of the anointed seven -Raúl Castro, the two José-Ramóns, Esteban Lazo, Carlos Lage, Felipe Pérez Roque and Francisco Soberón- picked with just a snap of the fingers in the proclamation published in Granma on Tuesday August 1st, 2006 (PROCLAMATION BY THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF TO THE PEOPLE OF CUBA) to “provisionally” govern the Island’s destiny (which shows the sense of eternity that Mr. “F” grants himself) and reflected the pinnacle of confidence of the patriarch-fallen-from-grace, has changed dramatically: in due course, the last three mentioned senior officials were conveniently “replaced” by the general in guayaberas.

Now, the official note published in Granma on May 4th, 2010 reporting the recent dismissal (i.e., “release from responsibility”) of the Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Transportation (Jorge Luis Sierra Cruz) and Sugar Minister (Luis Manuel Ávila González), and the return to the big scene of that other octogenarian general, Antonio Enrique Lussón Batlle, might serve to speculate about the much-discussed splinter between different layers of Cuba’s official policy, but above all, it reminds us that the historical gerontocracy still insists on retaining in her arthritic hands the conductor’s baton of this military band, even if it means that her only capital is the one emanating from old dog loyalties.

Photo illustration by Orlando Luis.

Cuban political prisoner Enyor Díaz released from jail

Enyor Díaz Allen

Cuban human rights activist/independent journalist Enyor Díaz Allen earlier this month was released from prison after a year in the gulag, according to a report posted at Payo Libre.

Díaz, a member of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, in May 2009 was arrested and sentenced to 1 year in prison on a charge "disrespect." The dictatorship apparently determined that Díaz was responsible for the appearance of stickers and other signs proclaiming, CAMBIO, or "change," and encouraging Cubans not to cooperate with the regime.

It might be tempting to get excited about Díaz's release — and for him and his family, certainly his release was exciting. But all that happened here is that a prisoner finished his sentence, and one thing I have determined in writing about the release of Cuban political prisoners, the dictatorship often sticks to the letter of its sentences.

Of course, the dictatorship gets no credit for its efficiency because Díaz, like other political prisoners, should have never been sent to the Castro gulag in the first place.

For more, read my Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week profile of Díaz.