Ariel Sigler Amaya
A few thoughts on the release Saturday of Cuban political prisoner Ariel Sigler Amaya:
- The Damas De Blanco are right: Sigler's release — as well as the transfer of six other prisoners to jails closer to their homes — is welcomed. But it is "not sufficient." That will come only with the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Ariel's brother Guido. The struggle continues ...
- The Castro dictatorship deserves no credit for Sigler's release. Nothing it does — except for abdication of power in Cuba — can make up for the toll that Sigler's more than seven years in prison has taken on him and his family. Or for the scourge it has been on Cuba for more than 51 years.
- As for whether the Cuban Catholic Church deserves any credit, it still remains to be seen. Has the church once and for all abandoned its historical reticence in taking on the Castros, or has it just provided the dictatorship some cover as it tries to release some of the pressure that has mounted on it in recent months because of its deplorable human rights record?
- The credit belongs to those who have helped raise that pressure on Havana. Orlando Zapata Tamayo. Guillermo Fariñas. The Damas De Blanco. And others who have insisted that the Castro dictatorship be held to account for its oppression and repression of its political prisoners.
- Most of all, the credit belongs to Ariel Sigler Amaya and his family, especially his late mother Gloria Amaya and his brothers, who through his imprisonment have served as models of courage, dignity and love. They have never let the world forget about their son and brother.
For my previous posts about Ariel Sigler Amaya, go here.
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