Cuba to resume taxing imported food
Updated: 2012-06-02 16:20
( Xinhua)
HAVANA - Cuba would soon reimpose taxes on imported food after four
years of exemption, the country's customs office said on Friday.
The new regulation would come into effect on June 18, the General
Customs Office said in a statement.
Imported food had been taxed since 1979, but the levy was suspended in
2008 as an "exceptional" measure after Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma
caused billions of dollars in losses to the Caribbean nation.
Cuba spends about $2 billion every year importing food, accounting for
80 percent of food consumption in the country, and the cost has been
rising due to increasing prices in international markets.
In the past four years, Cubans living in the United States and visiting
the island frequently have benefited most from the exemption.
It also greatly benefited the owners of restaurants and coffee shops
spreading throughout the island as a result of the economic changes
promoted by President Raul Castro, experts said.
According to official figures, 1,618 private restaurants have opened in
Cuba since October 2010, when Castro reopened the door to "self-employment".
Castro is currently developing a program to stimulate agricultural
production in the country, including the distribution of about 1.4
million hectares of land to more than 160,000 farmers and granting
credits to farmers to buy agricultural machinery.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-06/02/content_15456657.htm
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Raul Castro's 81st a reminder of aging leadership
Posted on Saturday, 06.02.12
Raul Castro's 81st a reminder of aging leadership
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuban President Raul Castro turns 81 on Sunday, another
reminder to his countrymen and to the exiles who hate him that time is
catching up with the island's aging revolutionaries.
But even with the actuarial inevitabilities looming, there is no
indication that Cuba's leadership is moving quickly to prepare any
younger possible successors to assume the mantle of Marxism under which
the island has been guided for more than a half-century.
Even Castro's April 2011 proposal to impose term limits on everyone in
government including himself has yet to be enacted. His retired older
brother Fidel is 85. His two top deputies are 81 and 80.
"Time and again they've postponed elevating figures from the next
generation to the top levels of leadership," said Philip Peters, a Cuba
analyst at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "It creates some
uncertainty."
Discussion of the Castros' eventual demise crops up year after year in a
testament to their staying power. But the march of time has been
particularly hard on the brothers recently.
The Castros' oldest sister, Angela, died in February at age 88 following
a long illness. In September, the president lost a confidant in Gen.
Julio Casas Regueiro, his longtime ally and successor as defense minister.
"Casas' death I think took his breath away, because Casas died instantly
and Casas really was his right hand," said Ann Louise Bardach, a Cuba
expert and author of "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana
and Washington."
"He had a heart attack and was gone, and at (75) he was their young
spring chicken," Bardach said.
Analysts say Castro has peppered top provincial positions and his
Cabinet with new faces, including women and Afro-Cubans, some of them in
their 50s.
People such as economic reform czar Marino Murillo, Cabinet Vice
President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Havana Communist Party boss Mercedes
Lopez Acea wield considerable influence in their posts, but none is an
obvious heir-apparent.
Castro is believed to be in good health, with no sign of serious
physical infirmity. When Pope Benedict XVI visited the island in March
and met with both brothers, Raul seemed by far the most spry and
energetic of the three octogenarians.
Castro doesn't appear to have the same drive to push himself physically
as did Fidel, who often spoke for hours under the punishing tropical sun
before a nearly fatal illness forced him from office in 2006. The
younger brother seems happy to let lieutenants handle speechmaking on
revolutionary anniversaries and appears reluctant to travel more than
absolutely necessary.
But the president still carries a heavy load for a man 15 years beyond
Cuba's official retirement age, pushing his country to adopt free-market
reforms that even he describes as the last chance to save the island's
socialist economy. With Fidel looking his years, and Cuba's top patron,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, battling cancer, Raul's health is
especially crucial to the country's future.
"Raul Castro is a military man, and like a good military man you expect
him to prepare for the time that he leaves his post," said Peters. "He
has started a process of fixing the economy that has made it a lot
easier for the next generation to carry on ... but on the other front of
choosing political leadership, it's not at all clear what's been done or
how it's supposed to work."
As with everything involving Cuba and the Castros, opinions vary widely.
Many older island residents still voice support for the men, while some
younger people vent their frustration.
"I hope Raul lives for another 81 years," said Esteban Gonzalez, a
71-year-old retiree in Havana. "With Raul, the country is on the right
track for development."
"There has been a lost generation, and not just one but several," said
Marta, a 45-year-old cafeteria worker who declined to give her last name
for fear that openly criticizing the government could get her in
trouble. "Fifty years have gone by with them always telling us that
everything was temporary. Well, for how long?"
In Miami, where many exiles have grown old waiting for a change in
leadership on their homeland, the birthday marks another year of
disappointment.
"The Castro experiment has lasted half a century but it is exhausted,"
said Huber Matos, who fought in the revolution but broke with the
Castros over their embrace of Marxism and served 20 years in prison as a
result. "The Castro leaders are old," said Matos, who himself is 93. "
... In a not too distant time, this is going to end."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2829184/raul-castros-81st-a-reminder-of.html
Raul Castro's 81st a reminder of aging leadership
Associated Press
HAVANA -- Cuban President Raul Castro turns 81 on Sunday, another
reminder to his countrymen and to the exiles who hate him that time is
catching up with the island's aging revolutionaries.
But even with the actuarial inevitabilities looming, there is no
indication that Cuba's leadership is moving quickly to prepare any
younger possible successors to assume the mantle of Marxism under which
the island has been guided for more than a half-century.
Even Castro's April 2011 proposal to impose term limits on everyone in
government including himself has yet to be enacted. His retired older
brother Fidel is 85. His two top deputies are 81 and 80.
"Time and again they've postponed elevating figures from the next
generation to the top levels of leadership," said Philip Peters, a Cuba
analyst at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "It creates some
uncertainty."
Discussion of the Castros' eventual demise crops up year after year in a
testament to their staying power. But the march of time has been
particularly hard on the brothers recently.
The Castros' oldest sister, Angela, died in February at age 88 following
a long illness. In September, the president lost a confidant in Gen.
Julio Casas Regueiro, his longtime ally and successor as defense minister.
"Casas' death I think took his breath away, because Casas died instantly
and Casas really was his right hand," said Ann Louise Bardach, a Cuba
expert and author of "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana
and Washington."
"He had a heart attack and was gone, and at (75) he was their young
spring chicken," Bardach said.
Analysts say Castro has peppered top provincial positions and his
Cabinet with new faces, including women and Afro-Cubans, some of them in
their 50s.
People such as economic reform czar Marino Murillo, Cabinet Vice
President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Havana Communist Party boss Mercedes
Lopez Acea wield considerable influence in their posts, but none is an
obvious heir-apparent.
Castro is believed to be in good health, with no sign of serious
physical infirmity. When Pope Benedict XVI visited the island in March
and met with both brothers, Raul seemed by far the most spry and
energetic of the three octogenarians.
Castro doesn't appear to have the same drive to push himself physically
as did Fidel, who often spoke for hours under the punishing tropical sun
before a nearly fatal illness forced him from office in 2006. The
younger brother seems happy to let lieutenants handle speechmaking on
revolutionary anniversaries and appears reluctant to travel more than
absolutely necessary.
But the president still carries a heavy load for a man 15 years beyond
Cuba's official retirement age, pushing his country to adopt free-market
reforms that even he describes as the last chance to save the island's
socialist economy. With Fidel looking his years, and Cuba's top patron,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, battling cancer, Raul's health is
especially crucial to the country's future.
"Raul Castro is a military man, and like a good military man you expect
him to prepare for the time that he leaves his post," said Peters. "He
has started a process of fixing the economy that has made it a lot
easier for the next generation to carry on ... but on the other front of
choosing political leadership, it's not at all clear what's been done or
how it's supposed to work."
As with everything involving Cuba and the Castros, opinions vary widely.
Many older island residents still voice support for the men, while some
younger people vent their frustration.
"I hope Raul lives for another 81 years," said Esteban Gonzalez, a
71-year-old retiree in Havana. "With Raul, the country is on the right
track for development."
"There has been a lost generation, and not just one but several," said
Marta, a 45-year-old cafeteria worker who declined to give her last name
for fear that openly criticizing the government could get her in
trouble. "Fifty years have gone by with them always telling us that
everything was temporary. Well, for how long?"
In Miami, where many exiles have grown old waiting for a change in
leadership on their homeland, the birthday marks another year of
disappointment.
"The Castro experiment has lasted half a century but it is exhausted,"
said Huber Matos, who fought in the revolution but broke with the
Castros over their embrace of Marxism and served 20 years in prison as a
result. "The Castro leaders are old," said Matos, who himself is 93. "
... In a not too distant time, this is going to end."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2829184/raul-castros-81st-a-reminder-of.html
UN panel blasts Cuba on human rights abuses
Posted on Saturday, 06.02.12
UN panel blasts Cuba on human rights abuses
THE U.N. called Friday for an independent body to gather, investigate
and report on complaints of human rights abuses in Cuba.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
The U.N.'s Committee Against Torture hammered Cuba on Friday for a
lengthy string of human rights abuses and repeatedly complained the
island had provided few or none of the details about specific
allegations of abuses that it had requested.
The panel noted that it was "concerned by reports denouncing the use of
coercive methods during (police) interrogations, particularly the denial
of sleep, detention under conditions of isolation and exposure to sudden
changes in temperatures."
On Cuba's prisons, it wrote that it "continues to be supremely concerned
by the reports received about the … overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of
hygiene and healthy conditions (and) adequate medical attention."
There have been thousands of complaints of short-term detentions of
dissidents, it added, singling out José Luis Ferrer García and Oscar
Elias Biscet. And Cuban officials never explained the deaths of
dissidents Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Juan Wilfredo Soto García.
Cuba should establish an independent body to gather, investigate and
report on allegations of government abuses, and should meet its promise
to allow a visit by the U.N.'s top official on several types of
mistreatments, the committee noted in a 6,000-word report.
The report summed up the panel's conclusions after its May 22-23
hearings in Switzerland on Cuba's compliance with the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Marked "unedited," it was issued by the U.N. media office in Geneva.
Using the U.N.'s typically diplomatic language, the report noted the
panel "laments," "expresses concern," "still worries," "disagrees," "has
serious reservations," "views with concern," "considers it
indispensable" and is "seriously concerned."
But the report Friday amounted to a harsh and detailed indictment of
Cuba's human rights record, especially in areas that involve physical
punishments or abuses, such as the justice and prison systems and the
harassment of dissidents.
Cuba's own report on its compliance with the convention on torture,
presented to the panel in May, was more than nine years late and "does
not fully meet the guidelines" set by the panel, it noted. The 10-member
committee reviews countries' records on a rotating basis.
In a sharply worded section, the report urged Cuba "to investigate,
without delay, exhaustively, without bias and in an efficient way, all
deaths of prisoners." Cuba told the panel that prison officials were not
responsible for any of the 202 such deaths in 2010-2011, but gave no
further information.
The report also blasted Cuba for the rapid increase in the use of
short-term arrests of dissidents without any judicial orders, usually to
keep opposition activists away from activities. Cuban officials told the
panel last month that all detentions follow due process.
Despite Havana's denials, panel member Fernando Mariño told a news
conference Friday, "it seems that this has been generalized of late."
Human rights activists in Havana reported the number of such arrests
doubled from 2010 to 2011.
The panel also condemned the "restrictions on freedom of movement,
invasive security operations, physical aggressions and other acts of
intimidation and harassment presumably committed by the National
Revolutionary Police or members of the Organs of State Security."
Cuba also should abolish vaguely worded crimes, such as "pre-criminal
social dangerousness," it added, and halt the "acts of repudiation" by
pro-government mobs against dissidents like the Ladies in White and
Cuban Patriotic Union "with the presumed connivance … of police
authorities."
Persons detained should be allowed immediate access to independent
defense lawyers and doctors as well as relatives, the report said. The
government also should guarantee the independence of the justice system
and resolve gaps in its due process regulations.
The report also repeatedly complained that Cuba had provided little or
none of the detailed information the panel had requested on some issues,
specifically the deaths of Zapata Tamayo after a long hunger strike and
Soto Garcia after an alleged police beating.
Cuba provided no details on the 202 prison deaths — "a number the
committee considers to be high" — or the 46 prison officials and guards
that the government claimed had been put on trial and convicted for
abuses. It claimed there's no prison overcrowding, but gave no numbers.
The committee "laments the reticence of the government … to present
complete information" on the short-term detentions, the report noted.
Cuba also presented no information on people convicted of "crimes
against the security of the state" — usually viewed as political prisoners.
On the positive side, the report praised Cuba for signing four
international agreements on the rights of children and disabled persons
and banning "forced disappearances," approving a multi-year plan to fix
up prison facilities and working to reduce family violence.
The report also noted that the Cuban government gave "an affirmative
answer" to a request for a visit to the island by the U.N.'s Special
Rapporteur on torture and other physical abuses, a sort of
super-investigator who reports to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
The job is now held by Juan E. Mendez, 67, an Argentine jailed for 18
months during the military dictatorships in the 1970s. He has lived in
the United States for many years and served as president of the human
rights branch of the Organization of American States in Washington.
Cuba also invited Mendez' predecessor, Austrian lawyer Manfred Nowak, to
visit the island in January of 2009. But Cuban officials then said they
were very busy, and Nowak left the post 22 months later without having
visited the island.
Mariño was quoted as saying at the news conference that allowing Mendez
to visit would show that Cuba "has no political fear of submitting to an
inspection by foreign organizations."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/v-fullstory/2828219/un-panel-blasts-cuba-on-human.html
UN panel blasts Cuba on human rights abuses
THE U.N. called Friday for an independent body to gather, investigate
and report on complaints of human rights abuses in Cuba.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
The U.N.'s Committee Against Torture hammered Cuba on Friday for a
lengthy string of human rights abuses and repeatedly complained the
island had provided few or none of the details about specific
allegations of abuses that it had requested.
The panel noted that it was "concerned by reports denouncing the use of
coercive methods during (police) interrogations, particularly the denial
of sleep, detention under conditions of isolation and exposure to sudden
changes in temperatures."
On Cuba's prisons, it wrote that it "continues to be supremely concerned
by the reports received about the … overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of
hygiene and healthy conditions (and) adequate medical attention."
There have been thousands of complaints of short-term detentions of
dissidents, it added, singling out José Luis Ferrer García and Oscar
Elias Biscet. And Cuban officials never explained the deaths of
dissidents Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Juan Wilfredo Soto García.
Cuba should establish an independent body to gather, investigate and
report on allegations of government abuses, and should meet its promise
to allow a visit by the U.N.'s top official on several types of
mistreatments, the committee noted in a 6,000-word report.
The report summed up the panel's conclusions after its May 22-23
hearings in Switzerland on Cuba's compliance with the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Marked "unedited," it was issued by the U.N. media office in Geneva.
Using the U.N.'s typically diplomatic language, the report noted the
panel "laments," "expresses concern," "still worries," "disagrees," "has
serious reservations," "views with concern," "considers it
indispensable" and is "seriously concerned."
But the report Friday amounted to a harsh and detailed indictment of
Cuba's human rights record, especially in areas that involve physical
punishments or abuses, such as the justice and prison systems and the
harassment of dissidents.
Cuba's own report on its compliance with the convention on torture,
presented to the panel in May, was more than nine years late and "does
not fully meet the guidelines" set by the panel, it noted. The 10-member
committee reviews countries' records on a rotating basis.
In a sharply worded section, the report urged Cuba "to investigate,
without delay, exhaustively, without bias and in an efficient way, all
deaths of prisoners." Cuba told the panel that prison officials were not
responsible for any of the 202 such deaths in 2010-2011, but gave no
further information.
The report also blasted Cuba for the rapid increase in the use of
short-term arrests of dissidents without any judicial orders, usually to
keep opposition activists away from activities. Cuban officials told the
panel last month that all detentions follow due process.
Despite Havana's denials, panel member Fernando Mariño told a news
conference Friday, "it seems that this has been generalized of late."
Human rights activists in Havana reported the number of such arrests
doubled from 2010 to 2011.
The panel also condemned the "restrictions on freedom of movement,
invasive security operations, physical aggressions and other acts of
intimidation and harassment presumably committed by the National
Revolutionary Police or members of the Organs of State Security."
Cuba also should abolish vaguely worded crimes, such as "pre-criminal
social dangerousness," it added, and halt the "acts of repudiation" by
pro-government mobs against dissidents like the Ladies in White and
Cuban Patriotic Union "with the presumed connivance … of police
authorities."
Persons detained should be allowed immediate access to independent
defense lawyers and doctors as well as relatives, the report said. The
government also should guarantee the independence of the justice system
and resolve gaps in its due process regulations.
The report also repeatedly complained that Cuba had provided little or
none of the detailed information the panel had requested on some issues,
specifically the deaths of Zapata Tamayo after a long hunger strike and
Soto Garcia after an alleged police beating.
Cuba provided no details on the 202 prison deaths — "a number the
committee considers to be high" — or the 46 prison officials and guards
that the government claimed had been put on trial and convicted for
abuses. It claimed there's no prison overcrowding, but gave no numbers.
The committee "laments the reticence of the government … to present
complete information" on the short-term detentions, the report noted.
Cuba also presented no information on people convicted of "crimes
against the security of the state" — usually viewed as political prisoners.
On the positive side, the report praised Cuba for signing four
international agreements on the rights of children and disabled persons
and banning "forced disappearances," approving a multi-year plan to fix
up prison facilities and working to reduce family violence.
The report also noted that the Cuban government gave "an affirmative
answer" to a request for a visit to the island by the U.N.'s Special
Rapporteur on torture and other physical abuses, a sort of
super-investigator who reports to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
The job is now held by Juan E. Mendez, 67, an Argentine jailed for 18
months during the military dictatorships in the 1970s. He has lived in
the United States for many years and served as president of the human
rights branch of the Organization of American States in Washington.
Cuba also invited Mendez' predecessor, Austrian lawyer Manfred Nowak, to
visit the island in January of 2009. But Cuban officials then said they
were very busy, and Nowak left the post 22 months later without having
visited the island.
Mariño was quoted as saying at the news conference that allowing Mendez
to visit would show that Cuba "has no political fear of submitting to an
inspection by foreign organizations."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/v-fullstory/2828219/un-panel-blasts-cuba-on-human.html
Friday, June 1, 2012
Let Us Talk About Homophobia in Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Let Us Talk About Homophobia in Cuba / Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Translator: Maria Montoto, Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Havana, Cuba– During the entire month of May, the Cuban government in
conjunction with the official entity Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual
(CENESEX, National Center of Sexual Education) has developed a group of
activities with the purpose of curtailing homophobia in Cuba and to
demonstrate its commitment to walk alongside the LGBT, Lesbians, Gays,
Bisexuals and Transgenders on the island.
Fruitless and insufficient efforts that lack credibility in contrast to
the true reality that this community lives daily. The official efforts
that are led by Mariela Castro Espín have only had, until the moment,
the achievement of approving in 2008 genital reconstructions. These add
up, to date, to a total of 16 surgical intentions headed by a group of
Belgian specialists. It is valid to point out that said operations have
been seen to be halted after the abrupt departure of Wendy Iriepa Díaz
from CENESEX.
One would have to ask the LGBT, "which is the most homophobic sector in
Cuba?" If we analyze the reality this community faces in spite of
uncertain apertures and inefficient campaigns, we would find a society
in which the existent homophobia may be called Governmental or Official
Homophobia.
I realize we are a "macho" nation by identity, but I do not fail to
realize who the true culprit is behind what is faced by a community
that, for more than five decades, has lived the slap on the back by
those who sent it to forced labor camps, into exile, stigmatized it,
marginalized it and now, changing its tactic, sends it to prison for the
supposed crime of posing a social danger.
It is time to speak of things as they are. "Whoever is afraid should buy
a dog," says one of the phrases repeated daily on the island. I can not
adapt it to me because I have no fear of expressing what I feel and
think. Even less so do I have to buy a dog because I have on my side all
of the existent social networks which, unlike dogs, can not be poisoned
or decapitated. It is a weapon that constantly barks and is at the
defense of humanity.
Let us call homophobia in Cuba Governmental Homophobia. Is it by any
chance not they who are culpable for all that we have lived? Are they
not the ones who pursue us daily and take us into police units for
roaming the Cuban streets? Is this not the same government that
submerges us into a state of lacking rights and usurps each of our
spaces? If we wanted to keep asking, I would ask Mariela Castro Espín
several things.
One of the questions we could ask this feminine personage, who today
makes an effort to demonstrate to the world her leadership, why does she
make such an effort in taking all the credit for the work with the LGBT
community in Cuba when it was her mother who initiated this gesture
before the Cuban government? Why does she try to erase the role
developed by that Belgian sexologist who lived for years in Cuba? What
is her true intention in representing the Cuban LGBT community? What
gives her a sense of identification with our community, perchance is she
equal to us or some member of her family a member of our organization?
And one of those questions I would not tire of repeating to her is,
"Does there exist some relation between those five Cubans sanctioned in
the United States — for spying — and the LGBT community?" When I ask
this last question, it is due to her use of placards demanding their
liberty on behalf of the LGBT community.
I am a member of that LGBT community and have never participated in
demanding liberty for any of them (the aforementioned group of five); I
believe that before we can achieve liberty for those whom the Cuban
government says are innocent, we must achieve liberty for each one of
those homosexuals taken to prison and we have to achieve a public
apology for what we have lived through for years.
Now let us talk about Homophobia with the truth and, seated in the bench
for the accused, the true culprits.
Translated by: Maria Montoto
May 28 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/?p=18798
Translator: Maria Montoto, Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada
Havana, Cuba– During the entire month of May, the Cuban government in
conjunction with the official entity Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual
(CENESEX, National Center of Sexual Education) has developed a group of
activities with the purpose of curtailing homophobia in Cuba and to
demonstrate its commitment to walk alongside the LGBT, Lesbians, Gays,
Bisexuals and Transgenders on the island.
Fruitless and insufficient efforts that lack credibility in contrast to
the true reality that this community lives daily. The official efforts
that are led by Mariela Castro Espín have only had, until the moment,
the achievement of approving in 2008 genital reconstructions. These add
up, to date, to a total of 16 surgical intentions headed by a group of
Belgian specialists. It is valid to point out that said operations have
been seen to be halted after the abrupt departure of Wendy Iriepa Díaz
from CENESEX.
One would have to ask the LGBT, "which is the most homophobic sector in
Cuba?" If we analyze the reality this community faces in spite of
uncertain apertures and inefficient campaigns, we would find a society
in which the existent homophobia may be called Governmental or Official
Homophobia.
I realize we are a "macho" nation by identity, but I do not fail to
realize who the true culprit is behind what is faced by a community
that, for more than five decades, has lived the slap on the back by
those who sent it to forced labor camps, into exile, stigmatized it,
marginalized it and now, changing its tactic, sends it to prison for the
supposed crime of posing a social danger.
It is time to speak of things as they are. "Whoever is afraid should buy
a dog," says one of the phrases repeated daily on the island. I can not
adapt it to me because I have no fear of expressing what I feel and
think. Even less so do I have to buy a dog because I have on my side all
of the existent social networks which, unlike dogs, can not be poisoned
or decapitated. It is a weapon that constantly barks and is at the
defense of humanity.
Let us call homophobia in Cuba Governmental Homophobia. Is it by any
chance not they who are culpable for all that we have lived? Are they
not the ones who pursue us daily and take us into police units for
roaming the Cuban streets? Is this not the same government that
submerges us into a state of lacking rights and usurps each of our
spaces? If we wanted to keep asking, I would ask Mariela Castro Espín
several things.
One of the questions we could ask this feminine personage, who today
makes an effort to demonstrate to the world her leadership, why does she
make such an effort in taking all the credit for the work with the LGBT
community in Cuba when it was her mother who initiated this gesture
before the Cuban government? Why does she try to erase the role
developed by that Belgian sexologist who lived for years in Cuba? What
is her true intention in representing the Cuban LGBT community? What
gives her a sense of identification with our community, perchance is she
equal to us or some member of her family a member of our organization?
And one of those questions I would not tire of repeating to her is,
"Does there exist some relation between those five Cubans sanctioned in
the United States — for spying — and the LGBT community?" When I ask
this last question, it is due to her use of placards demanding their
liberty on behalf of the LGBT community.
I am a member of that LGBT community and have never participated in
demanding liberty for any of them (the aforementioned group of five); I
believe that before we can achieve liberty for those whom the Cuban
government says are innocent, we must achieve liberty for each one of
those homosexuals taken to prison and we have to achieve a public
apology for what we have lived through for years.
Now let us talk about Homophobia with the truth and, seated in the bench
for the accused, the true culprits.
Translated by: Maria Montoto
May 28 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/?p=18798
The Cuban Left / Fernando Dámaso
The Cuban Left / Fernando Dámaso
Fernando Dámaso, Translator: Unstated
Although I do not consider it one of the current critical issues, I
think it is important to set out some opinions about the Cuban left.
Today we talk about an old and a new left. I believe that, in the Cuban
case, the left as such, whether old or new, is discredited by five
decades of political, economic, and social mistakes, dogmatism, and
inefficiency, manifested in all aspects of its practice. Holding power,
or allowing it to be held in its name for over fifty years, the Cuban
left has not been able to do anything important or lasting, and has only
rolled back the country to a situation of poverty and subordination to
the outside, like never before, not even during the most incompetent and
corrupt governments. This disqualifies it morally from purporting to
offer solutions and projects in the immediate term at the end of the
current "model," or from even being considered.
I understand that the left may play a temporary role in the transition,
but it will take a number of years before another left, stripped of the
dogmatism and inefficiency that have characterized the current version,
can earn some respect, credibility, and space in the Cuban political
landscape. Undoubtedly centrist or even center-right thought will
prevail during the early days, without anything close to leftist
thought: a logical response to the leftist saturation of more than five
decades. Those on the Cuban left should understand this, if they are
intelligent and learn from their mistakes, and not try to occupy
positions of authority, which would introduce an element of
confrontation into the process of change.
If all these elements come together properly, and if, as the saying
goes, these fifty years have provided a vaccine against all the "isms,"
then the Cubans will be able to return to the Republic — battered in
part in 1952 and completely destroyed after 1959 — to restore it,
perfect it, and make it our common home, where a real democracy, strong
and efficient institutions, and a free economy, ensure to us the peace
and prosperity we need in order to insert ourselves into the world and
rejoin it.
May 31 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/?p=18795
Fernando Dámaso, Translator: Unstated
Although I do not consider it one of the current critical issues, I
think it is important to set out some opinions about the Cuban left.
Today we talk about an old and a new left. I believe that, in the Cuban
case, the left as such, whether old or new, is discredited by five
decades of political, economic, and social mistakes, dogmatism, and
inefficiency, manifested in all aspects of its practice. Holding power,
or allowing it to be held in its name for over fifty years, the Cuban
left has not been able to do anything important or lasting, and has only
rolled back the country to a situation of poverty and subordination to
the outside, like never before, not even during the most incompetent and
corrupt governments. This disqualifies it morally from purporting to
offer solutions and projects in the immediate term at the end of the
current "model," or from even being considered.
I understand that the left may play a temporary role in the transition,
but it will take a number of years before another left, stripped of the
dogmatism and inefficiency that have characterized the current version,
can earn some respect, credibility, and space in the Cuban political
landscape. Undoubtedly centrist or even center-right thought will
prevail during the early days, without anything close to leftist
thought: a logical response to the leftist saturation of more than five
decades. Those on the Cuban left should understand this, if they are
intelligent and learn from their mistakes, and not try to occupy
positions of authority, which would introduce an element of
confrontation into the process of change.
If all these elements come together properly, and if, as the saying
goes, these fifty years have provided a vaccine against all the "isms,"
then the Cubans will be able to return to the Republic — battered in
part in 1952 and completely destroyed after 1959 — to restore it,
perfect it, and make it our common home, where a real democracy, strong
and efficient institutions, and a free economy, ensure to us the peace
and prosperity we need in order to insert ourselves into the world and
rejoin it.
May 31 2012
http://translatingcuba.com/?p=18795
Yoani Sanchez files demand against Cuban Interior Minister
Posted on Thursday, 05.31.12
Yoani Sanchez files demand against Cuban Interior Minister
Blogger Yoani Sanchez filed the demand to know why she's banned from
leaving Cuba.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez has filed a notice with the Interior
Ministry demanding to know why she's not allowed to travel abroad, the
latest in a string of daring legal challenges to the communist government.
Sánchez said the notice filed Wednesday asks Interior Minister Abelardo
Colomé Ibarra to explain why the ministry office that is in charge of
exit permits never answered her Nov. 18, 2010 request for the reasons
behind the refusals.
Colomé Ibarra now has 60 days to respond to her complaint of
"administrative silence," Sanchez said. If he doesn't, she will file a
lawsuit against the minister seeking a court order that he must reply.
"Of course, I know what's going to happen. But I want to maintain that
innocence of having hope," Sánchez added, referring to the high
probability that her complaints will go nowhere in a country where the
courts faithfully follow the government line.
Cubans who want to travel abroad require a government permit, known as a
"White Card" and regularly denied to dissidents. It has turned down
several Sánchez requests to travel abroad to receive prizes, attend
conferences or for other reasons.
She has repeatedly asked for an explanation at the Interior Ministry's
Office for Immigration and Foreigners' Affairs, but received none. Her
notice Wednesday elevated her question to the minister's office.
"It's a step before a lawsuit," she told El Nuevo Herald by phone from
Havana. "It is a legal, juridical opportunity in the hands of citizens,
which allow an appeal against Cuban authorities when the authorities
have not responded to a petition."
Her notice was the latest in a handful of bold attempts by dissidents
and others to use Cuba's legal system to challenge official actions. The
courts have knocked down almost all the cases, including some filed
against police.
But the Cuban Juridical Association is still fighting a three-year-old
case seeking the legal recognition of the Justice Ministry as a group of
lawyers that provides legal advice on a nonprofit basis, usually to
government critics.
CJA chief Wilfredo Vallín, who also is advising Sánchez on her case,
took the first step required to register the group in April 2009 by
asking the Justice Ministry's Registry of Associations to certify that
no other group had registered the same name.
The registry never replied so the 1992 graduate of the University of
Havana Law School elevated his request to Justice Minister María Esther
Reus. When she didn't reply, he filed suit under Cuba's Law for Civil,
Administrative and Labor Procedures.
To his surprise, a three-judge panel first officially accepted Vallín's
complaint, and then ordered Reus to appoint lawyers to defend her.
Cuba's highest court, the Supreme Tribunal found a technical fault with
one of his filings last year but allowed the case to continue and later
ordered the minister to reply to Vallín's initial request.
The Justice Ministry certified last June that no other group was
registered with the same name or purpose as the CJA, but earlier this
year it rejected the CJA's application for recognition on technical
grounds. Vallín has vowed to appeal.
Ministry officials had never officially recognized any dissident group,
making them illegal and therefore subject to sanctions for the crime of
"illegal association."
Cuba's justice system argues that the role of the law is to promote
stability and the development of a "socialist society." Dissidents put
on trial are almost always convicted.
Lawyers are required to work for the government or government-approved
Collective Law Offices, where criminal defense attorneys can be hired.
But lawyers who spend too much time defending dissidents are sometimes
fired from the law offices.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/31/2826570/yoani-sanchez-files-demand-against.html
Yoani Sanchez files demand against Cuban Interior Minister
Blogger Yoani Sanchez filed the demand to know why she's banned from
leaving Cuba.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com
Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez has filed a notice with the Interior
Ministry demanding to know why she's not allowed to travel abroad, the
latest in a string of daring legal challenges to the communist government.
Sánchez said the notice filed Wednesday asks Interior Minister Abelardo
Colomé Ibarra to explain why the ministry office that is in charge of
exit permits never answered her Nov. 18, 2010 request for the reasons
behind the refusals.
Colomé Ibarra now has 60 days to respond to her complaint of
"administrative silence," Sanchez said. If he doesn't, she will file a
lawsuit against the minister seeking a court order that he must reply.
"Of course, I know what's going to happen. But I want to maintain that
innocence of having hope," Sánchez added, referring to the high
probability that her complaints will go nowhere in a country where the
courts faithfully follow the government line.
Cubans who want to travel abroad require a government permit, known as a
"White Card" and regularly denied to dissidents. It has turned down
several Sánchez requests to travel abroad to receive prizes, attend
conferences or for other reasons.
She has repeatedly asked for an explanation at the Interior Ministry's
Office for Immigration and Foreigners' Affairs, but received none. Her
notice Wednesday elevated her question to the minister's office.
"It's a step before a lawsuit," she told El Nuevo Herald by phone from
Havana. "It is a legal, juridical opportunity in the hands of citizens,
which allow an appeal against Cuban authorities when the authorities
have not responded to a petition."
Her notice was the latest in a handful of bold attempts by dissidents
and others to use Cuba's legal system to challenge official actions. The
courts have knocked down almost all the cases, including some filed
against police.
But the Cuban Juridical Association is still fighting a three-year-old
case seeking the legal recognition of the Justice Ministry as a group of
lawyers that provides legal advice on a nonprofit basis, usually to
government critics.
CJA chief Wilfredo Vallín, who also is advising Sánchez on her case,
took the first step required to register the group in April 2009 by
asking the Justice Ministry's Registry of Associations to certify that
no other group had registered the same name.
The registry never replied so the 1992 graduate of the University of
Havana Law School elevated his request to Justice Minister María Esther
Reus. When she didn't reply, he filed suit under Cuba's Law for Civil,
Administrative and Labor Procedures.
To his surprise, a three-judge panel first officially accepted Vallín's
complaint, and then ordered Reus to appoint lawyers to defend her.
Cuba's highest court, the Supreme Tribunal found a technical fault with
one of his filings last year but allowed the case to continue and later
ordered the minister to reply to Vallín's initial request.
The Justice Ministry certified last June that no other group was
registered with the same name or purpose as the CJA, but earlier this
year it rejected the CJA's application for recognition on technical
grounds. Vallín has vowed to appeal.
Ministry officials had never officially recognized any dissident group,
making them illegal and therefore subject to sanctions for the crime of
"illegal association."
Cuba's justice system argues that the role of the law is to promote
stability and the development of a "socialist society." Dissidents put
on trial are almost always convicted.
Lawyers are required to work for the government or government-approved
Collective Law Offices, where criminal defense attorneys can be hired.
But lawyers who spend too much time defending dissidents are sometimes
fired from the law offices.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/31/2826570/yoani-sanchez-files-demand-against.html
NY court orders new sentence in 1968 air hijacking
Posted on Thursday, 05.31.12
NY court orders new sentence in 1968 air hijacking
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A man sentenced to prison for 15 years for hijacking a plane
from New York to Cuba four decades ago will be resentenced after a
federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a lower-court judge wrongly
concluded he would not be eligible for parole.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the resentencing for
69-year-old Luis Armando Pena Soltren. Pena Soltren returned to the
United States from Cuba in October 2009 to face air-piracy charges. He
pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison without
parole.
The appeals court said Pena Soltren is entitled to a sentence that
includes the possibility of parole because parole existed in the federal
sentencing structure when Pan American Flight 281 was hijacked on Nov.
24, 1968. The 2nd Circuit said the judge can take Pena Soltren's parole
eligibility into account in determining a new sentence. Prisoners at the
time were generally eligible for parole after serving about a third of
their sentences.
Authorities said Pena Soltren put a knife to the throat of a flight
attendant and a gun to her back before entering the cockpit. Prosecutors
said Pena Soltren, a U.S. citizen, carried out the hijacking with at
least two others who brought pistols and large knives aboard in a baby's
diaper bag. The pilots were forced to divert the Puerto Rico-bound
flight, which was carrying 103 passengers and crew, from Kennedy
International Airport to Havana.
Parole has been abolished in the federal system, and inmates now must
serve their entire sentence, except for a 15 percent reduction earned
for good behavior. No new sentencing date was immediately set for Pena
Soltren.
Pena Soltren's lawyer, James Neuman, declined to comment. He said prior
to the first sentencing that his client only joined the hijacking so he
could visit his father in a Cuban hospital.
Two others who participated in the hijacking pleaded guilty to charges
in the 1970s. One served seven years in prison while the other served
four years.
Jerika Richardson, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, said the government
had no comment on the appeals ruling.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/31/2825767/ny-court-orders-new-sentence-in.html
NY court orders new sentence in 1968 air hijacking
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A man sentenced to prison for 15 years for hijacking a plane
from New York to Cuba four decades ago will be resentenced after a
federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a lower-court judge wrongly
concluded he would not be eligible for parole.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the resentencing for
69-year-old Luis Armando Pena Soltren. Pena Soltren returned to the
United States from Cuba in October 2009 to face air-piracy charges. He
pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison without
parole.
The appeals court said Pena Soltren is entitled to a sentence that
includes the possibility of parole because parole existed in the federal
sentencing structure when Pan American Flight 281 was hijacked on Nov.
24, 1968. The 2nd Circuit said the judge can take Pena Soltren's parole
eligibility into account in determining a new sentence. Prisoners at the
time were generally eligible for parole after serving about a third of
their sentences.
Authorities said Pena Soltren put a knife to the throat of a flight
attendant and a gun to her back before entering the cockpit. Prosecutors
said Pena Soltren, a U.S. citizen, carried out the hijacking with at
least two others who brought pistols and large knives aboard in a baby's
diaper bag. The pilots were forced to divert the Puerto Rico-bound
flight, which was carrying 103 passengers and crew, from Kennedy
International Airport to Havana.
Parole has been abolished in the federal system, and inmates now must
serve their entire sentence, except for a 15 percent reduction earned
for good behavior. No new sentencing date was immediately set for Pena
Soltren.
Pena Soltren's lawyer, James Neuman, declined to comment. He said prior
to the first sentencing that his client only joined the hijacking so he
could visit his father in a Cuban hospital.
Two others who participated in the hijacking pleaded guilty to charges
in the 1970s. One served seven years in prison while the other served
four years.
Jerika Richardson, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, said the government
had no comment on the appeals ruling.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/31/2825767/ny-court-orders-new-sentence-in.html
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