Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Cuban spring 'unavoidable' amid repression

Cuban spring 'unavoidable' amid repression
by Laima Andrikiene
08 February 2012

The international community must act against the undemocratic Cuban
regime as it increases its repression of dissidents, argues a member of
the European Parliament's human rights subcommittee

Who is responsible for the death of the Cuban political prisoner Wilman
Villar Mendoza on January 19? Why, on February 3, was blogger Yoani
Sanchez refused permission to travel abroad by Cuban authorities for the
19th time since May 2008? Why were opposition group Damas de Blanco –
Sakharov prize laureates – not allowed to travel to the European
Parliament in Strasbourg to collect that prestigious award for the
freedom of thought?

There are so many questions and almost no answers from the Cuban regime.
The situation of harassment and repression endangers the lives of Cuban
people who defend human rights and civil liberties. We are aware that
the regime is directly responsible for the death of four political
prisoners – Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia, Laura
Pollan Toledo and Wilman Villar Mendoza – as well as thousands of
arbitrary arrests and hundreds of beatings, assaults, and acts of
repudiation.

The death of 31-year-old dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza on January 19
after a 50 day hunger strike highlights the continuing repression in
Cuba. Villar Mendoza was detained in November 2011 after participating
in a peaceful demonstration in Contramaestre calling for greater
political freedom and respect for human rights. He was charged with
'contempt' and sentenced to four years in prison in a hearing that
lasted less than an hour. He was not given the opportunity to speak in
his defence, nor represented by a defence lawyer.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a
human rights monitoring group that the government does not recognise,
classified Villar Mendoza as a political prisoner in December 2011. The
Cuban regime denies holding political prisoners and said in a statement
that Mr Villar "was not a dissident nor was he on a hunger strike". The
authorities did not even bother to tell Wilman Villar's wife about the
death of her husband, and she was informed by some human rights defenders.

Almost two years ago, political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in
similar circumstances, also on hunger strike, with the same demands.
Activist Juan Wilfredo Soto Garcia died last year after receiving a
brutal beating from the political police at Leoncio Vidal Park, in the
city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara province. Less than three months ago,
Laura Pollan Toledo, leader of the Damas de Blanco, died under
mysterious circumstances that have still not been clarified. Numerous
reports issued from within the island over the past three months have
reported an increase in the regime's violence against opposition –
including cases of activists who have suffered fractured skulls after
machete blows, and members of the Damas de Blanco who have been pricked
with needles containing unknown substances while participating in
marches on the streets of Havana.

The regime in Havana and its prisons have a system devised to eliminate
those political and common detainees who protest against the injustice
and inhumanity of their captors by denying them water and medical care,
and confining them in freezing cells. Catherine Ashton, the European
Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
deplored the tragic death of Mr Villar and urged Cuba to continue
working to make progress on respect of human rights and freedom of
expression. "It's the second death in similar conditions in a very short
time and it poses doubts concerning Cuban's judicial system and
penitentiary," Ashton said.

According to human rights organisations, there is no way to know how
many government opponents remain in jail, as independent investigators
cannot visit prisons. In 2010, Raul Castro freed 52 prisoners who had
been arrested during a 2003 crackdown, but human rights defenders from
the island say that those releases have not changed the attitude by the
regime towards dissidents and repression continues. Last year the regime
decided to release 2,900 inmates, but following human rights defenders
information, the dissidents were not released.

Political prisoners must be released immediately. The persecution of
people for their legitimate demands for freedom of speech, thought and
assembly is unjust. The lack of fundamental rights contradicts the
principles of humanity and is a clear infringement of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, of which Cuba is a signatory.

One could get an impression that Cuban regime is making free-market
reforms which aim at reviving Cuba's socialist economy by boosting
private enterprise. But the reality is much darker. So-called
free-market reforms will not change much in relations between the state
and citizens: the regime will still control 99 per cent of the economy.
Moreover, those reforms will not provide Cuban citizens with their
fundamental rights, such as freedom of thought, freedom of speech and
freedom of assembly. It is not a surprise that most Cubans desire
economic opportunities and private property ownership, but at the same
time they closely tie these economic changes to political changes in the
form of free elections, free expression, access to information and the
right to dissent.

It is clear that the reality in Cuba is far from the state propaganda of
'reforms' and 'changes'. The regime deserves strong condemnation for
these crimes and persecutions of people. The international community
should take the necessary steps to prevent the further escalation of the
extrajudicial executions by the Castro regime. Any repressive and
undemocratic regime is similar to a dead man walking. The Arab spring
surprised the world in 2011 throwing away one dictator after another.
Spring is unavoidable and inescapable, in Cuba also.

Dr Laima Andrikiene is an MEP in the European People's Party and a
member of the European Parliament's subcommittee on human rights

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/1472/cuban-spring-unavoidable-amid-repression

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