Uncommon Sense

Film introduces 'Cuba's Hope'

Filmmaker Jordan Allott introduced to much of the world Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a leading human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience released earlier this year in part because of Allott's "Oscar's Cuba."

The followup is "Cuba's Hope," in which young Cubans tell of their lives and how they are working for a better Cuba.

Watch the whole thing here:

For more about the film, go here.

Cuba independent journalist Jesus Emilio Hernandez on hunger strike after arrest

Hernandez

Via Facebook, Cuban independent journalist Aini Martin Valero reported Sunday that her collegaue, Jesus Emilio Hernandez Figueroa has started a hunger strike to protest his arrest.

Hernandez was arrested Saturday, and was being held at a police station in the Regla municipality of Havana.

Activists from the Republican Party of Cuba were holding a vigil outside the police station, according to Martin.

Numerous such arrests took place across Cuba on Saturday, as the Castro dictatorship works hard to stamp out its opposition. As much as is possible, we need to publicize their names.

For more, follow my Twitter list.

Castro regime attacks leading Cuba dissidents (UPDATED x 2)

Numerous of Cuba's leading dissidents have been harassed, threatened, beaten and/or arrested today, as Cubans in Havana attempted to take to the streets for religious ceremonies commemorating Our Lady of Charity and to demand justice and freedom for Cuba.

They include former political prisoners Eriberto Liranza, Sara Martha Fonseca, Jorge Luis Garcia "Antunez" and his wife Iris and members of the Damas De Blanco

If you pay attention, you will get a lesson on what Cuba for Cubans is today -- especially those Cubans who refuse to accept the tyranny that has enslaved their nation for more than 52 years, and who are unafraid to demand their rights.

And you will get a lesson on what fear of losing power will cause that tyranny to do.

For the latest reports from the island, follow my Twitter list.

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Via her brother's Twitter feed, Betha Antunez reported about 4:30 p.m. Sunday that Antunez has been released from custody. Also, Fonseca's family reports that she remains in jail.

Here is Antunez reporting from Cuba:

 

UPDATED -- About 5:30 p.m., Liranza reported via Twitter that he was back at home, recovering from the beatings he received but more certain than ever  f his opposition to the Castro dictatorship.

Castro dictatorship again attacks Cuba Ladies In White (UPDATED)

Updated with photos.

Laura Pollan, left, and another member of the Damas De Blanco are assaulted Saturday in Havana. For more photos go here and here. (EFE photo)

As promised by one of its mouthpieces, the Castro regime on Saturday physically attacked one of Cuba's most effective opposition groups by unleashing its goons to besiege the Damas De Blanco ("Ladies In White").

About 200 police officers and other thugs surrounded the Havana home of Laura Pollan, where about 30 Damas, including many from other parts of the country, had gathered before a planned march to a church to honor Our Lady of Charity on her feast day.

The goons, who apparently were brought in from outside the neighborhood, shouted insults, threats, etc. designed to intimidate the Damas, according to the Associated Press.

But there was more to the story.

Several of the Damas, including Pollan, were beaten by State Security officers when they tried to start their march, according to Pollan.

For more on today's events, which may signal a new wave of repression in Cuba, follow the Damas on Twitter @DamasDBlanco.

Despite threats from Castro regime, Damas De Blanco are not afraid

Saturday will be another day for those who support the cause of Cuban freedom to be vigilant as the Castro regime again prepares to attack its peaceful opposition.

The target on Saturday will again be the Damas De Blanco ("Ladies In White"), as they  participate in a march and other ceremonies commemorating Our Lady of Mercy, the patroness of prisoners, a fitting celebration for a group committeed to advocating for the release of Cuban political prisoners.

The thought of a group of women carrying flowers peacefully through the streets of Havana frightens the regime so much that on Thursday it unleashed one of its official "journalists" to warn the Damas that they would not be allowed to take advantage of a supposedly religious event for political purposes. There was also the usual bunk accusing the Damas of being nothing more than "counter-revolutionary" agents.

The regime has blocked several from women from eastern Cuba from going to Havana for Saturday's march, although several others have been able to make it to the capital, according to a report from Diario de Cuba.

Laura Pollan, a leader of the Damas, said one intent of the march to a church that honors Our Lady of Mercy is to thank the Blessed Mother for the release this year and last of several dozen political prisoners.

The possibility that Castroite police and other goons will again harass, threaten, assault, arrest, etc. them, does not give the Damas pause, Pollan said.

"The world will see that we are peaceful women, who struggle for freedom, for the defense of human rights, for a better life for our people," Pollan said.

"They are the aggressors and the world will see it."

For that to be made clear, the world will have to pay attention.

Otherwise, the regime will again get away with committing an outrage.

From the dungeon to the light: An interview with Dr. Oscar Biscet

Babalu Blog has an English translation of a recent interview conducted with former Cuban prisoner of conscience Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet.

Read and understand why so many praying and working for Cuba's freedom have placed their hope in him.

Simply put, the man is a giant and a hero.

Havana – Locked up in a minuscule prison cell in total and perpetual darkness, the only sound he could hear was the echo of his thoughts and the murmur of his prayers. He did not have the faintest idea of how much time had passed since he had last been able to see the light of the sun.

The last time he was taken out of such isolation – consumed, infinitely filthy, and on the brink of death – Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet found out the punishment had lasted a little over five months; a nightmare where not even surrender was an alternative.

Not many years have passed since then, and Dr. Biscet continues to recover physically and psychologically at his home in this city where he battles against ghosts with the same courage that – since the late 80s – characterizes his struggle against the Cuban government. He is an emblematic figure in the opposition, and a member of the famous “Group of 75,” who in the spring of 2003 were arrested and subjected to summary trials. They were released last March through the mediation of the Catholic Church, and with great international pressure as a backdrop.

As a person born in 1961, how do you recall your childhood during those first years of the revolution?

Well, in those days, practically everyone was with the regime. They were hopeful that things would turn out good. It was also a time when there was much misinformation, the people didn’t know with any certainty what had happened, and even less what was going to happen. But there was hope…

How did this perception begin to change?

As I got older, I began to notice, for example, the way people were being persecuted for things such as religion… I remember this because I had some friends that were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and their families suffered much. Later, towards the late 80s, I wasn’t older than 17 when they showed me that Cuba had a military to defend the country. However, my friends and I also found out that this military was fighting in other countries, in wars that had nothing to do with our own security… After time, it proved to be correct… 

What brought about your affiliation with the opposition?

From before the fall of the Soviet Union, I knew that something was going on in the communist world thanks to clandestine writings. Nothing official, but it was reliable information nevertheless. All of this took place while I was studying medicine. Through that channel, my friends and I began to notice that something was brewing. Little by little, we began to organize ourselves informally to meet and talk about this, until the beginning of the 90s when my militancy in these anti-establishment groups became too noticeable. 

And you began to be persecuted…

Yes, and also arrested. I was put in jail many times, but for short periods, until my detention in 2002 when they beat me and fractured one of my feet. I spent a long time without a trial. The charges they had against me were not that serious, and I could have been released in about 3 years. But then they considered me part of the group of 75 and “adjusted” my sentence to 25 years for, according to them, working for a foreign power, when in reality my work was advocating human rights. Right now, the fact that I am talking to you could be enough for them to once again detain me and accuse me of meeting with someone from a foreign entity… but I am not worried, I am already mature in this cause… 

What went through your mind when suddenly you got a 25 year sentence after being imprisoned for only short periods of time?

Well, look, when I heard the sentence I laughed because I knew that in reality, I was not going to be imprisoned for 25 years for a simple reason: the regime is in its final days. There is so much terror that the people do not act, but there is more fear in the government because they know their time is running out.

How do you remember the last eight years [in prison]?

I was mistreated very often.  I was tortured. One of the tortures used in the Cuban prisons is solitary confinement in miniscule dungeons, which are totally isolated and dark. They held me there once for five uninterrupted months, without coming out for even one second. I'd have to relieve myself right there, next to the water I drank and the little food I received once a day, barely enough to keep me alive. 

What other type of torture were you subjected to?

They would lock me up with mental patients who they would deprive of their medication, in order to make them go crazier. There were known cases of these patients killing those near them in their sleep.  I remember it now and it still feels like a nightmare. They would also commonly handcuff men to their hands and feet, thrown face down on the floor for 24 or 48 straight hours… and electric shocks to the genitals.

Miguel Rafael Cabrera and Yelena Garces Napoles, Cuba Political Prisoners of the Week, 9/25/11 (UPDATED)

This post will remain at the top of the page through Friday. To read newer posts, scroll down. And for more Cuba-related news and information, follow Uncommon Sense on Twitter @marcmasferrer.

A version of this post appeared earlier.

Miguel Rafael Cabrera

Countless number of children have been separated from their families during the more than five decades the Castro dictatorship has ruled Cuba. It is one of the regime’s more unforgiveable sins.

One of the newest victims of the dictatorship's abuse is 2-year-old Hamilton Cabrera Garces.

Former prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia tweeted from Cuba one day last week that young Hamilton spent the day crying, asking his caregivers for his parents.

If he were older, Hamilton might be proud of his parents, in jail because of their active opposition to the Castro dictatorship. And he might be nurturing a hatred for their captors.

But he just misses his Mami and Papi.

His father, Miguel Rafael Cabrera, has been in jail since Aug. 28, arrested along with several other activists and held in "provisional incarceration," while the regime's prosecutors prepare a case charging them with "public disorder" or other such nonsense. Soon after his arrest, Cabrera started a hunger strike -- a protest that Ferrer reported via Twitter last week he has suspended.

Young Hamilton's mother, Yelena Garces Napoles, was arrested Sept. 8, after she had a confrontation with the head of her neighborhood's snitch squad, the Committee in Defense of the Revolution. The Castro lackey had provoked Garces, by accusing her of neglecting her child before her recent death.

Other activists witnessed this shameful episode and responded with shouts of "Down with Fidel" and "Down with Raul."

As often happens during such confrontations, it was Garces who was arrested. Last week, she was transferred to the Mar Verde prison in Santiago de Cuba, to await possible trial on a charge of "assault" that could lead to a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years.

Her sister Aimee Garces recently visited her in jail.

"Yelena looks strong, dedicated, she knows she is being unjustly imprisoned," Aimee said. "She asked me to take care of her son, to not leave his side, to go see him every day."

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UPDATED, Oct. 9, 2011 -- Yelena Garces was released Oct. 9, 2011.

Daughter asks world to stand with her father in his fight against the Castro dictatorship

Ramon Velazquez

Rufina Velazquez, in exile in Miami, is speaking out on behalf of her father, the Cuban activist and former political prisoner Ramon Velazquez Toranzo, who has been on hunger strike since Sept. 9 to demand that the Castro dictatorship respect the human rights of all Cubans.

Pedazos de la Isla has a must-read interview with Rufina:

PDLI: Tell us a bit about your father, Ramon Velazquez.

RV: My father, Ramon Velazquez Toranzo, joined the opposition before I was born, in the late 80′s. He began his dissident activities as an independent journalist, with the goal of denouncing all the violations and atrocities suffered by our  country.  My father is a very determined person, and his love for Cuba is one of the things for which he lives and fights for each day, as well as his love for life and respect for God.  He has refused to abandon the country on numerous occasions, despite that State Security frequently tries to get him to leave through countless threats.

PDLI: Just a few years ago, when you were still living in Cuba, you carried out a non-violent march alongside your parents.  Can you tell us a bit about this march? Did your family suffer impediments because of this? Would you say you achieved the objective of the march?

RV: In December of 2006, my father, mother, and I carried out a march which set out from Santiago de Cuba under the name of “March for Dignity”.  With that march, we were demanding respect for human rights, freedom for all political prisoners, and that the violence against peaceful dissidents come to an end.

We were able to carry the march all the way to Ciego de Avila and that took us approximately two months due to the many arrests and interrogations we were subjected to.  In February of 2007, my father was arrested once again but this time they unjustly sentenced him to 3 years of prison after a brief trial based on lies and false proof, accusing him of “anti-social dangerousness”.  My mother and I decided to not continue the march without him.

After serving his total sentence of 3 years, he went right back to his dissident activities.  He spent the last year and a half working as an independent journalist, setting up a human rights center in our house and supporting any activity, organization, protest, or other act against the tyranny which was at his reach.

PDLI: When did Ramon Velazquez  begin his hunger strike?  What are his reasons for initiating such a protest?

RV:  Being one of the organizers of the current National Boitel and Zapata Live March in Cuba, he was detained by State Security at a bus station while he was trying to travel East, where the march would commence.

This occurred on September 9th, and since then he has been on hunger strike.  When he was released on the 12th, they threatened to detain him again if he would just as much step out of his house.  He was also told that they would use all their means to impede his participation in the march.  That is why he decided to carry out a hunger strike as a form of protest.  His main demands are that the right which Cubans have to march peacefully be respected, that ALL human rights be respected, and that a UN human rights inspector be allowed inside Cuba so that they can document and verify all the violations in this country.

PDLI:  How is your father’s health at this moment?

RV:  Health-wise, he is weak, with ailments which three years of prison have produced in him, along with a 16 day hunger strike which he carried out previously.  However, his spiritual state is as strong as that of a titan.  He is decided to take the strike to the final consequences, if the government does not give in to his demands.

PDLI: Do you have a message you’d like to share with readers in regards to the situation which your father is confronting?  

RV:  My message to those who read, hear, or know anything of what is happening in Cuba is a petition of solidarity, in whichever way possible so that we unmask and remove the Castro tyranny.  We cannot allow so much human sacrifice, selflessness, and bravery from those who fight from inside to be in vain.   We should unite forces and cross barriers.  We have to make the suffering of Cubans our own, and support them.  We are a family, and together we can achieve our goals.

More than anything, and on a more personal note, I ask for solidarity with my father.  Please divulge the news of his situation, of his health, and that justice be demanded through every mean possible.

And don’t give up, for the day in which we achieve freedom is very near.

'People-to-people' trips have little to do with real people -- and the repression they suffer -- in Cuba

Here is something I bet you don't see on one of those new "people-to-people" -- but don't call it a "vacation" -- trips to Cuba: Castroite thugs launching "an act of repudiation" against the regime's peaceful opponents.

It happens every day but there is no way it will ever be part of itinerary, so as not to paint a too-real portrait of what life in Cuba is really like and put the dictatorship-subsidizing nature of the trips at risk.

This is from today:

Andy Frometa Cuenca, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 9/18/11

Andy Frometa Cuenca -- whom I first profiled this past May -- has been imprisoned in the Castro gulag since he was 16. He is now 35, but his prison sentence is far from half over.

If he remains in the horrid conditions he is forced to suffer at the Guantanamo prison known as "the white shark," he will die before he completes his sentence.

In a post published Sept. 18, 2011, on PayoLibre.com, Cuban independent journalist and activist Caridad Caballero Batista writes that Frometa is suffering from progressive myopia that is threatening his eyesight and from severe pain in his legs.

Maybe it has something to do with conditions in his cell, which is 10 feet wide and 6 1/2 feet long, smells like shit, is unventilated and the temperature is about 97 degrees. As of Oct. 14, he as been kept in punishment cells like this and at other prisons for 13 years.

What did Frometa do to earn such antipathy from his jailers and the Castro regime they serve?

At age 16, Frometa was arrested and imprisoned for illegally trying to leave the country. (Yes, Cuba spends as much effort trying to keep Cubans in Cuba as it does trying to keep intruders out -- if anyone were so inclined to try to sneak into Cuba!)

While Frometa has been in jail, the regime has stacked various other sentences onto his time because of his anti-Castro stances and activities as a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel political prisoner movement.

As of September 2011, those sentences add up to more than 46 years.

Which means that if the Castro regime survives, and Frometa survives the Castro regime, he will be 62 years old when he is released.

A life sentence for nothing more than trying to escape the hell into which he was born.