Published: July 16, 2010 at 7:14 PM
MADRID, July 16 (UPI) -- Eleven Cuban human-rights activists freed from
jail want Spain to recognize their struggle by giving them Spanish
citizenship.
The activists -- from a group of more than identified 50 political
prisoners in Cuba -- arrived in Spain this week and immediately began
campaigning for rights of citizenship as they did not wish to be
considered as asylum seekers or immigrants.
Their release came about as part of a diplomatic deal involving Spain's
government, the Catholic church and the Catholic archdiocese of Havana
interacting with the Cuban government.
News of Cuba's human-rights violations has commanded less attention than
it deserved because of the embarrassment it has caused supporters of the
Central American country, analysts said. Opinions among socialist and
liberal groups and organizations are divided over Cuba's violations
because of entrenched views on Cuba's long-standing dispute with the
United States.
Critics of those who have chosen to remain silent or confined their
interventions to feeble protests say opponents of the United States feel
reluctant to criticize Cuba lest their comments harm the government of
Raul Castro, who power from Fidel Castro in July 2006 after dissent grew.
Protests against the government have continued since an ill-fated
campaign for democratic rights in 2003 -- under Fidel Castro -- led to a
major crackdown on the press, politicians and others involved with the
protests. Several of the inmates were later handed down the death
sentence in summary trials.
Exact numbers of activists in prison are not known but, after vigorous
diplomatic efforts, the government agreed to release 52 and allow them
to leave for Spain with their families. The 11 who arrived this week
form part of that group.
Seven of the 11, speaking for the whole group, told a news conference
they survived sub-human conditions in Cuban jails, where excrement and
infestations of rats and other vermin routinely exposed the inmates to
debilitating diseases, including tuberculosis.
Cuba prides itself in having devised one of the most comprehensive
health care systems, but the privilege does not extend to the prisoners,
campaigners said.
Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, a former correspondent for Reporters Without
Borders who was among those flown to Madrid, said, "Our release is a
first step, but it's no revolution. We haven't yet achieved anything in
terms of bringing democracy to Cuba."
"My body wouldn't support the TB drugs I was taking," said Normando
Hernandez Gonzalez, another journalist.
The Cubans told the media they were not happy with their current
conditions in Spain, where they were housed along with other immigrants.
Instead, they said, they would like to be considered for full citizen
status and hoped their arrival would be a catalyst for a dialogue
between Europe and Cuba on a restoration of human rights.
Havana's Catholic archdiocese announced July 7 the remaining political
prisoners would be released in three to four months.
"While we are relieved for these prisoners and their families, the fact
remains that scores of political prisoners locked up under Raul Castro
continue to languish in Cuba's prisons," said Jose Miguel Vivanco,
Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "So long as Cuba's draconian
laws and sham trials remain in place, they will continue to restock the
prison cells with new generations of innocent Cubans who dare to
exercise their basic rights."
The prisoners being released under the brokered deal are among 75
journalists, human-rights defenders, labor activists, and other peaceful
dissidents arrested in the 2003 crackdown. All 75 were sentenced in
closed, summary trials to an average of 19 years in prison, Human Rights
Watch said.
"The government has relied largely on a provision of the Criminal Code
that allows authorities to imprison individuals without ever having
committed a crime, on the allegation that they are 'dangerous' and might
commit one in the future," said Vivanco.
A recent Human Rights Watch report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," documented
more than 40 cases of dissidents imprisoned for "dangerousness" in
addition to scores more sentenced under laws criminalizing free
expression and association.
The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an
independent human rights group not recognized by the Cuban government,
documented 167 cases of current political prisoners.
Because Human Rights Watch was able to document additional cases of
people imprisoned for "dangerousness," HRW believes the number of
political prisoners is even higher, the campaign group said.
No comments:
Post a Comment