[Ed. note: sorry, I previously typed in the code for a past poll. The correct poll is below.]
Okay, now that the bearded one has resigned and we’ll (hopefully) shortly see a free Cuba, who do you think should be its first president? Vote below.
So Spain made the grand announcement that Cuba is releasing seven political prisoners, and the MSM rejoices and makes Raul sound like the second coming of Ghandi:
Cuba will free seven of 59 dissidents imprisoned since 2003, a move that opponents of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said reflects a “climate of change” under his brother’s rule.
The first releases of jailed dissidents since August were negotiated by Spain on health grounds and announced by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos on Friday.
“The decision was made unilaterally by the Cuban authorities and we are very satisfied,” Moratinos told Spanish radio from the city of Cordoba, noting that the move came after dialogue with Cuba.
Dialogue with Cuba, huh? I wonder what exactly was discussed. Look for new exclusive business deals for Spain in Cuba during the next few months.
Meanwhile, the credulous MSM fails to ask the obvious questions:
AND…
And then there’s this little tidbit buried near the end of the article I linked to above:
The Cuban government does not allow the International Red Cross access to its prisons.
And of course, this begs yet another couple of questions that remain unasked by the MSM:
Compare and contrast, below.
First, from the Miami Herald, an article about the Ladies in White (Las Damas de Blanco):
Las Damas has won honors from Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First and the prestigious Sakharov Prize given by the European Parliament. More than any other human rights group struggling inside Cuba, Las Damas’ show of civil disobedience has caught the world’s attention, shining a steady spotlight on abuses and pressuring the Castro government without firing a single gunshot.
‘COURAGEOUS’ ACTIONS
”In the face of persistent threats, insults and attempts to silence the Ladies in White by the Cuban government, these courageous activists remain steadfast in their struggle for justice and human rights,” said Andrew Hudson, who deals with Latin American issues for Human Rights First.
Every Sunday without fail since the group was formed in March 2003, the women have attended Mass at Santa Rita de Casia Catholic Church in the Miramar district of Havana. Then, wearing their trademark white clothes, they march in silence — always carrying pink gladioluses — down Havana’s embassy row, La Quinta Avenida, demanding their loved ones’ release.
Today, 59 of the original 75 rounded up in what became known as Cuba’s ”Black Spring” are still serving sentences of up to 28 years.
The Cuban government keeps close tabs on the women — and has from time to time unceremoniously dispatched back to their homelands foreign visitors who march with the group. The government’s ”defense of the revolution” neighborhood groups continue to keep an eye on the women — Huerga was visited three times by state police before leaving Cuba. And most Las Damas marches are met with a counter ”repudiation” march staged by pro-government forces.
And now, an article about a Bulgarian pop tart once called “the bride of all Cubans“:
With her passion for Latin rhythms and dances, (Yordanka) Hristova made a splash at the Varadero Song Festival in 1967 and has performed in Cuba almost every year since, often passing the winter there.
Of all the Soviet bloc singers who toured their country, Hristova won the warmest reception, her open manner earning her the affectionate title of “bride of all Cubans”, her repertoire including Cuban, Italian, French and English songs.
Hristova’s own loyalty to Castro and his socialist vision is unswerving. “I bow down to Fidel, to a person who has devoted his life to a cause — Cuba’s independence,” she said.
“All this is at the expense of the Cubans and severe shortages. But they think it’s meaningful. That helps them to be a spiritual rather than a consumer, material society.”
I’m sure you “bow down” to Fidel, in a Monica Lewinsky way, b**ch. I’ll give you credit for one thing, though: at least you’re honest enough to recognize that Castro’s dictatorship and socialism have indeed come at the Cuban people’s expense. Too bad you can’t spend your winters at Combinado del Este.
Well, in a hypothetical post by Henry Gomez of Babalu Blog, anyway, the Useless Nations and the media are called to account for their tacit–and in some cases, wide open–support of Castro’s regime. Here’s a choice snippet:
But this body is not just guilty of inaction when confronted with deplorable crimes. Sadly it’s much worse than that. As a medical doctor I always attempted to live by the dictum of “first do no harm” but this body could not abide by even that most basic of principles. On the contrary, it enabled the criminals that misgoverned my country for close to half a century in the commission of their crimes. Unbelievably the Castro regime was rewarded for its decades of human rights abuses with a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
I’m sure even fleas live better than anyone imprisoned in Castro’s gulag, simply for what he believes in. Just ask Mr. Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, prisoner in Castro’s Kilo 8 Prison in Camaguey, Cuba:
I’m letting it be known that my state of health is failing at an extremely dangerous pace. My physical well-being remains under the Sword of Damocles, and I could die. My days are slowly coming to an end because of the various dangerous illnesses from which I suffer: high blood pressure, a right bundle branch block in my heart, hypertensive retinopathy, a heart murmur, a pyloric-duodenal prolapse, chronic dermatitis, asthma, cervical arthritis, lumbo-sacral arthralgia, vitiligo, kidney and liver disorders, and an obvious immunological deficiency. I’m extremely underweight, which is quite worrisome.
Faced with this dangerous picture, prison authorities have demonstrated a policy of disinterest and indifference until last October 23rd when I sewed my mouth shut as a fair complaint against the violation of my rights and the awful living conditions under which I am kept as if I were a wild animal while the prison officials’ dogs live under exceptional conditions.
Mr. Herrera was one of the 75 dissidents imprisoned by the Castro regime in 2003, while the world’s attention was focused on the U.S. on the eve of the Iraq war. Read the rest of this brave man’s testimony at Marc Mas Ferrer’s Uncommon Sense.
The Miami Herald, Babalu Blog and other blogs are reporting a new initiative to help those repressed by the Castro government in Cuba. The initiative was launched by the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio Democrático Cubano in Spanish), so I looked them up and found the press release here.
Basically, they plan to staff (24 hours a day) an international toll-free hotline where Cubans on the island can call to report any acts of political persecution by the Castro regime. The hotline number is 1-877-303-YONO (“Yo no” is Spanish for “I won’t” or “Not I” and is an allusion to the Directorate’s “I will not cooperate with the dictatorship” campaign).
According to the press release, “(t)his initiative from several pro-democracy exile organizations is a response to the increase in resistance actions on the Island such as protests by young Cubans wearing bracelets with the word CAMBIO, or change, as well as the public dissatisfaction demonstrated regarding Chinese buses recently bought by the Havana regime.”
This is awesome. This is incredible. The concept seems so obvious, I had a “Gee, I could’ve had a V-8″ moment when I first read about it.
But now, for the benefit of anyone reading this in Spanish (mostly, on the rare off-chance someone in Cuba might actually be able to read this blog), I’ve reproduced the entire press release in Spanish, below.
EXTRA: I found the following video (Spanish) on the “Cambio” and “Yono” campaigns on Youtube.
AUMENTA REPRESIÓN EN CUBA: EXILIADOS CREAN LÍNEA DIRECTA DE LA RESISTENCIA CÍVICA
07/11/2007 | Directorio Democrático Cubano
Organizaciones del exilio cubano encabezadas por ex presos políticos dieron a conocer durante una conferencia de prensa hoy miércoles, que reconocerán como perseguidos políticos a todo cubano que, por no cooperar con la dictadura y rechazar la farsa electoral, sean reprimidos o detenidos. También reconocerán como prisionero político todo aquel que sea encarcelado por los mismos motivos.
Durante la conferencia, que tuvo lugar en la sede de Los Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio, se hizo pública una línea telefónica internacional que estará disponible las 24 horas del día para informar los actos de no cooperación que se lleven a cabo en la Isla, y por las cuales personas caigan presas o sean víctimas de persecución política por desarrollar nuevas formas de resistencia cívica dentro de la campaña de la no cooperación.
El teléfono, 1-877-303-YONO, estará disponible a todo el público a partir de este viernes y será atendida por el Presidio Político Histórico Cubano. Esta iniciativa de distintas organizaciones pro democráticas del exilio es una respuesta de ayuda por el aumento de actos de resistencia: las protestas por los jóvenes con las manillas CAMBIO y el descontento público demostrado hacia los autobuses chinos recién comprados por el régimen de Cuba.
“Nosotros nos encargaremos de documentar y publicar estas acciones, de dirigir a los organismos internacionales de los derechos humanos hacia el respaldo a estos perseguidos, y de hacerle llegar asistencia económica recaudada privadamente en las comunidades cubanas en el exilio a aquellos compatriotas que la necesiten al estar luchando por la libertad dentro de Cuba,” expresó Angel De Fana, de Plantados Hasta la Libertad y la Democracia en Cuba.
TODOS POR EL CAMBIO
LLAMEN A LA LINEA DIRECTA DE LA RESISTENCIA:
1-877-303-YONO
President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet yesterday. Of course, because Dr. Biscet is locked in Fidel Castro’s gulag, the President had to present the award to Dr. Biscet’s son and daughter.
There’s not much for me to add to this, other than to say if anyone deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it’s Dr. Biscet. I’ll leave you with a few links below.
…prominent Castro critic and political prisoner of the regime, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet:
Oscar Elias Biscet is a champion in the fight against tyranny and oppression. Despite being persecuted and imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to advocate for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are respected.
The ceremony for Dr. Biscet and the seven other recipients of this year’s award takes place November 5. As Babalu Blog notes, Dr. Biscet ain’t too likely to show up for his award–thanks to Castro.
I have just met a remarkable woman that I want to introduce to you: Yamile Llanes Labrada, and her daughter, Shirlen García, have joined me in the Oval Office. Yamile is the wife of a political prisoner in Cuba, Dr. José Luis García Paneque. The doctor was a plastic surgeon. He did nothing more than advocate for freedom. And he’s now in prison. And not only is he in prison, he’s ill. And so one of the messages I have for the Cuban leader is, free this man, and free other political prisoners. He’s not a threat to you. Let him be reunited with a woman who loves him dearly, and his four children. So, Yamile, thanks for coming. We’re proud you’re here. (Applause.) Sure glad you’re here. Y que Dios les bendiga a su familia y también su esposo.
Remarkably, those comments were picked up by Reuters.
