With last Wednesday's announcement of plans to release 52 political
prisoners who were arrested during a 2003 crackdown, Cuban President
Raúl Castro took his first major step away from decades of hardline
policy. Under the deal negotiated with Cardinal Jaime Ortega of the
Roman Catholic Church, five of the prisoners were to be released "within
days," the church announced, and the rest within months, bringing the
number of political prisoners in Cuba—once numbering in the tens of
thousands—to fewer than 150, the lowest in the regime's history. A half
century of repression appears to be ending.
At first glance Castro, who took over from his ailing brother Fidel in
2006, might seem to have blinked in the face of a crisis. One of the
regime's most charismatic critics, a 48-year-old Santa Clara
psychologist named Guillermo Fariñas, was four and a half months into a
hunger strike, surviving on an intravenous lifeline. The Catholic Church
stepped in to negotiate. On Thursday, with the deal all but sealed,
Fariñas declared his protest suspended and took his first sips of water.
But Havana has already turned the concession to quick advantage. By
taking the most obvious human-rights issue off the table, Raúl Castro
has driven a new wedge between U.S. and European policies. Spanish
Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who helped broker the deal,
crowed that European negotiation, not American confrontation, had
triumphed. Besides, the prisoner release is more symbol than substance.
Cuba continues to detain critics, often for short periods, with no
formal charges. Harassment and censorship have proved adequate to
control the populace. Despite growing discontent over corruption, public
protest is almost unknown. The Castro regime may be broke, but it's
firmly in control.
Click here to find out more!
Castro has made his move—and now it's Washington's turn. While Hillary
Clinton called the prisoner deal "overdue but nonetheless very welcome,"
the Obama administration should be careful what it wishes for. The
stone-faced Raúl has put 52 cards on the table. If, after years of
advocating tit-for-tat improvements, Washington does not
reciprocate—perhaps by increasing trade with the island or finally
appointing a U.S. ambassador to a post left vacant since 1961—the Obama
administration could look like the unhappy gambler whose bluff was called.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/12/new-tactics-for-an-old-regime-in-cuba.html
No comments:
Post a Comment