April 30, 2003: The European Commission has decided to postpone “indefinitely” the presentation of its analysis to the Group of Fifteen regarding the request from Havana to join the Cotonou Agreement. After examining the latest events in Cuba, the recommendations that the EU was scheduled to present to the Fifteen in June on the possible accession of Cuba to the Cotonou Agreement “have been cancelled for the moment”, announced EU spokesman Gerassimos Thomas. (AFP, 30/4/03)
April 29, 2003: The 1982 Nobel Prize winning author, Gabriel García Márquez, refuses to join the likes of Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes and Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano in condemning the Cuban leader. The Colombian writer defended himself in the daily newspaper El Tiempo after US writer Susan Sontag told reporters that it was "unpardonable" for him not to have spoken out over the recent Cuban crackdown. "I don't answer unnecessary and provocative questions," said the author of modern classics such as "100 years of Solitude" and "Nobody writes to the colonel." "I myself could not calculate the number of prisoners, dissidents and conspirators that I have helped, in absolute silence, to emigrate from Cuba over no less than 20 years," said Garcia Marquez. "As to the death penalty, I don't have anything to add to what I have said in private and publicly for as long as I can remember: I'm against it in any place, for any reason, in any circumstances." (Reuters, 29/4/03)
April 29, 2003: The Italian lower house approved a motion calling on the government to halt Italy's economic aid to Cuba if dissidents are not freed and executions are not stopped. The motion - sponsored by the centre-right ruling coalition but partially backed by the left as well - also urged the government to seek a EU-wide common position of pressure on Cuba. The move could be helped by Italy's forthcoming term of EU presidency, scheduled to start in July. (BBC, 30/4/03)
April 26, 2003: Cuba has refused to extend diplomatic visas to a group of Mexican legislators from President Vicente Fox's party who wanted to travel to the island to show their support for Cuban opposition movements. Two senators and two congressmen from the conservative National Action Party said the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City denied their requests for official visas, forcing them to cancel a three-day visit. (AP, 26/4/03)
April 26, 2003: Hundreds of people gathered in Madrid to protest against the recent firing squad executions in Cuba of three hijackers of a ferry and against the prison sentences imposed on members of the Cuban dissidence. Representatives of different political groups, including the Partido Popular (PP) and the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), as well as artists and intellectuals were among the protesters. (Reuters, 26/4/03)
April 26, 2003: Reporters Without Borders protested at plans to transfer a dozen independent journalists arrested to provincial prisons hundreds of kilometres from their Havana area homes and warned that it would lead to their ill-treatment. The families of a dozen of the 26 journalists detained in a crackdown on 78 dissidents were told by state security police that their relatives would shortly be sent to jails up to 900 kms from the capital. The families immediately denounced the move as an effective "second sentence" in view of the problems of moving around the country due to transportation problems in the island. (Reporters Without Borders, 26/4/03)
April 26, 2003: Pope John Paul wrote to Fidel Castro expressing his deep sorrow at the execution of three ferry hijackers and hefty jail terms imposed on scores of dissidents, the Vatican said. Adding his voice to growing international criticism of Castro's biggest crackdown on political dissent in decades, the pope asked for "a significant gesture of clemency" and spoke of his "profound pain" over the deaths of the three men by a firing squad. The papal letter was dated April 13 and written for the 82-year-old pontiff by his secretary of state Angelo Sodano. (Reuters, World Press Review , 26/4/03)
April 24, 2003: Amnesty International is concerned for the health of 62-year-old Cuban prisoner Oscar Espinosa Chepe. He is currently being held at the State Security headquarters at Villa Marista in Havana and is believed to be suffering from a chronic kidney condition, a thoracic hernia, persistent hyper-tension and weight loss. Oscar Espinosa Chepe may be a prisoner of conscience (POC), and Amnesty International is reviewing the available information to determine his POC status. (Amnesty International, 24/4/03)
April 23, 2003: All dissidents convicted to long jail sentences will be transferred to prisons far away from their place of residence, state police authorities told relatives. The announcement was made after a visit, suggesting that the prisoners had no knowledge of this decision. Although most of the convicted dissidents live in the City of Havana, they will serve their sentences hundreds of kilometres away from their homes. (Cubanet, 23/4/03)
April 19, 2003: Brazilian Architect Oscar Niemeyer sent a message of support to Fidel Castro. Niemeyer sent a telegram expressing “solidarity with the fight” of the Cuban President the same day that the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva adopted a resolution urging Cuba to allow a UN Rapporteur to visit the island. (AP, 22/4/03)
April 19, 2003: In a report issued in London, members of the democratic left condemned “the Cuban state's repression of independent thinkers and writers”. The group states that the Cuban dissidents were sentenced for "crimes" such as writing essays critical of the government and meeting with delegations of foreign political leaders”. “These are violations of the most elementary norms of due process of law”, the report says. (The Guardian, 19/4/03)
April 17, 2003: Brazil, which abstained from vote on the motion on Cuba at the UN commission on Human Rights, has expressed "strong concern" about the summary trials of the dissidents and the application of the death penalty, and will make its position "clearly known" to the Castro government. Within Brazil's leftist Workers Party (PT), of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the issue generated some divisions. (IPS, 17/4/03)
April 17, 2003: Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, still a supporter of the Cuban revolution, criticized the firing squad executions of three Cubans who attempted to hijack a boat to flee to the US, and the long prison sentences imposed recently on dozens of dissidents. In the Uruguayan weekly Brecha, Galeano says these sentences are “bad news, sad news that deeply hurt those who believe that (...) freedom and justice should exist together or they don’t exist at all.” (AFP, 17/4/03)
April 16, 2003: Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes called Cuba a "suffocating dictatorship." Fuentes, a Mexican novelist and longtime Cuba supporter, felt disillusioned at Cuba's recent crackdown on dissent. He lumped Bush and Castro together and declared himself against both. Castro, he said, needs "his American enemy to justify his own failings." "As a Mexican, I wish for my country neither the dictates of Washington on foreign policy, nor the Cuban example of a suffocating dictatorship," he wrote in a letter published in Mexico City's Reforma newspaper. (AP, 16/4/03)
April 16, 2003: The President of Ecuador, Lucio Gutiérrez, condemned the firing squad execution of three Cubans who hijacked a ferry boat with the intention of fleeing to the United States. “We join the global outcry against the regrettable executions carried out in Cuba”, said Gutiérrez in a statement circulated by the national communications department. (AFP, 17/4/03)
April 15, 2003: Upon the request of Minister Frattini, the General Secretary of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Giuseppe Baldocci, contacted the Ambassador of Cuba to Italy, María de los Angeles Flores, to express the "concern and disapproval of the Italian government over the wave of arrests and sentencing of Cuban dissidents”. A memo reports that the General Secretary of Foreign Affairs "especially emphasized how the accusations against them, the great number of people involved, and the short period of time within which the trials occurred are a cause for serious concern for human rights in Cuba. We hope that these considerations, coming from a country such as Italy who has always had open and friendly relations with Cuba, will be carefully considered by the Cuban authorities." (AGI, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: Chile’s Foreign Minister, Soledad Alvear, described as “regrettable” the events that have recently taken place in Cuba: “Chile is a nation that is very sensitive to the issue of human rights after having itself endured 17 years of serious violations that I would not like to see repeated anywhere else in the world,” said Alvear to a group of journalists. (El Mercurio, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: All the political forces in Italy and the Vatican have condemned the crackdown of dissidents by Fidel Castro’s government. The small Communist Party was the only one that failed to join the criticisms against the Cuban wave of repression. According to media reports, Cuba took advantage of the fact that all eyes were set on the conflict in Iraq. (AP, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: More than 20 dissidents in the former Communist Czechoslovakia, signatories of the pro-democracy Charter 77 declaration, have signed a petition calling on Cuba to immediately halt repressions and unconditionally release all unjustly prosecuted Cuban opposition leaders. The signatories include former Czech president Vaclav Havel, current Senate chairman Petr Pithart, deputy Senate chairman Jan Ruml, deputy foreign minister Alexandr Vondra, deputy ombudsman Anna Sabatova and MP Svatopluk Karasek. The petition condemns Cuba's state power for repressive actions aimed at "deterring the population, suppressing basic human rights and preventing a free dialogue on public affairs". (CTK, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: Switzerland has condemned a wave of repression in Cuba, including the recent execution of three Cubans. The Swiss ambassador in Havana transmitted an official protest to Fidel Castro's government. Livio Zanolari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told the press that ambassador Jean-Claude Richard had conveyed the Swiss government's concerns to the Cuban foreign minister. The message condemned the use of the death penalty, which had not been enforced in Cuba for the past three years. (BBC, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: Spain and Bolivia expressed concern over the executions in Cuba and the crackdown on dissidents there, saying they would study the events with other Latin American countries ahead of the next Ibero American summit. " Cuba is always in the background of any talks within the international community and the latest Cuban events worry all of us," Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio told a joint press conference with her Bolivian counterpart, Carlos Saavedra. Saavedra said the executions and the recent crackdown on dissidents on the Caribbean island, would be analyzed by Latin American countries ahead of the Ibero American summit to be held in Bolivia in November. However, he added that no decision had been taken yet regarding Cuba and the summit. "We are all surprised, to say the least, with what has happened in Cuba," said Saavedra. (AP, 15/4/03)
April 15, 2003: The execution of three men who orchestrated the hijacking of a passenger ferry in a frustrated attempt to defect to the United States has been widely criticized in Cuba. ''The climate here is tense,'' said a resident of one of the poorest areas of Old Havana, where family members of two of the three executed hijackers live. In that neighborhood as well as the Havana district known as 10 de Octubre, which is home to the mother of the third man, there have been small demonstrations of support for the families of the three executed men, according to reports that were not confirmed by local authorities. The situation also became tense during a mass given in the Havana cemetery chapel, said witnesses. (IPS, 15/4/03)
April 14, 2003: More than 300 artists, intellectuals and politicians from around the world have joined an ''open letter'' campaign launched by a prominent magazine in Spain demanding the immediate release of Cuban government opponents recently sentenced to as many as 28 years in prison. The letter and signatures appear in the latest issue of Encuentro, a magazine based in Madrid that focuses on Cuban issues. (The Miami Herald, 14/4/03)
April 14, 2003: The Mexican government issued a statement condemning Cuba's execution of three men convicted in a brief trial of hijacking a ferry to flee to the US. "The Foreign Relations Department profoundly regrets the application of the death penalty against three Cuban citizens," the department said in a press statement. The department said it's rejection of the Cuban executions was based on "the spirit and tradition of Mexican law enforcement, and its position on the death penalty." (AP, 13/4/03)
April 13, 2003: US Representative Bill Delahunt, Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized the trials and lengthy jail terms handed out to the dissidents, some of whom he had visited only a few weeks ago. But he said the restrictions on exchanges were a setback and ought to be reconsidered. "There is a parallel here between this administration and the Castro government," he said. "They are both going backward." (The New York Times, 13/4/03)
April 12, 2003: In Uruguay two former Uruguayan presidents condemned the recent executions in Cuba; whereas, Uruguayan leftist organizations organized a solidarity event with Cuba demanding the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the island. “Executions in Latin America should have ended long ago, especially firing squad executions for political reasons,” said Luis A. Lacalle of the National Party. Similarly, Julio M. Sanguinetti pointed out that “the Cuban regime has unleashed a wave of repression that includes the bloodshed of three summary executions.” On the other hand, local left-wing politicians and labour unions organized two solidarity acts in support of the Cuban regime, verbally attacking the U.S. government. (AP, 13/4/03)
April 12, 2003: Dozens of protesters marched in front of the Cuban Embassy in Madrid to condemn the executions by firing squad of three hijackers of a passenger boat. The demonstration was organized by Cuban exile groups in Spain under the slogan "For peace, let's avoid future wars". Protesters carried banners and shouted protest slogans. (Notimex, 12/4/03)
April 12, 2003: Blanca Reyes, wife of dissident journalist Raúl Rivero, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after a summary trial, sought the mediation of Pope John Paul II and of José María Aznar, president of Spain, to intercede with the Cuban government to obtain the release of a group of dissidents sentenced to prison terms. (EFE, 13/4/03)
April 11, 2003: USAID does support a number of non-governmental organizations in the US that promote democracy and help dissidents and other individuals in Cuba trying to "create a space for democracy and free-expression in that society," Alfonso Aguilar, assistant administrator at the US Agency for International Development's Latin American and Caribbean Projects, said. "They indeed might have supplied or provided assistance for dissidents and their activities, but we have not provided that assistance directly," he added. "That's an absolutely outrageous statement on his (Cuban Foreign Minister Perez Roque's) part," "We did not, although we're perfectly authorized to do so by law. It's absolutely legal for the US to provide assistance to dissidents and their families in Cuba," Aguilar said. "We have not done so, principally to avoid the kind of outrageous allegations and the untruths that have been uttered by the Cuban government." (CNSNewsWire, 11/4/03)
April 11, 2003: US officials have dismissed as "ludicrous" allegations from Cuba that 75 dissidents jailed in the communist country were "mercenaries" funded by the US government to undermine Fidel Castro's regime. "That movement is 100 percent indigenous to Cuba," Robert Zimmerman, deputy press advisor with the US State Department's Western Hemisphere Bureau, said. "It's a small movement - the sort of movement you would have in a country where you can get arrested for having a typewriter. "So for the Cuban foreign minister or anyone else to suggest that they were Cuban dissidents or mercenaries acting at the behest of the US in any way is absolutely ludicrous. This is simply a tyrannical regime trying to defend the way it's been doing business for 40-odd years," Zimmerman said. (CNS News.Com, 11/4/03)
April 11, 2003: Canadian organization Rights & Democracy is deeply concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the recent arrests and trials of 78 Cuban dissidents. Rights & Democracy shares Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham's belief that the harshness of the sentences could have a serious effect on the future of human rights, freedom of expression and democracy in Cuba. “It is regrettable that such dramatic measures be taken at a time of increasing openness and good will between Cuba and the international community of states. It is of vital importance to the Cuban people that this positive engagement not be squandered," Rights & Democracy's President Jean-Louis Roy said. ( Canada News Wire, 11/4/03)
April 11, 2003: Czech President Vaclav Klaus expressed his disturbance over the politically motivated trials in Cuba. He said that he believes that the Czech Republic should use all opportunities to express its disagreement with the violation of human rights in Cuba, Presidential Office press section director Petr Hajek said. Former president Vaclav Havel also protested against the new round of harsh repressions, as did Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda. (CTK, 11/4/03)
April 11, 2003: More than 30 priests of the Bohemian Bretheran Protestant Church protested against the new wave of repression launched against Cuban dissidents by the communist regime there. "We are appalled by news that new persecution of human rights advocates and opponents of the current regime has recently been launched in your country," the priests wrote to the Cuban charge d'affaires in Prague. (CTK, 11/4/03)
April 11, 2003: Cuba has executed three men convicted of hijacking a passenger ferry to sail to the US, Cuban state-run television reported. The firing squad sentences were carried out immediately after a Cuban court found the men guilty of terrorism. They were part of a gang of approximately 10 involved in the hijacking in which the ferry, carrying at least 30 men, women and children, was forced to sail into the Straits of Florida, but ran out of fuel 30 miles from Havana. (CNN, 11/4/03)
April 9, 2003: Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said he was disturbed by a Cuban crackdown on dissidents but insisted his policy of engaging in dialogue with Havana was producing positive results. "I know there is a problem of human rights in that country -- sometimes it's better, sometimes it's bad - and we're protesting. But it's better to be engaged because that's putting pressure (on Havana),'' Chretien told a news conference, saying there was "not a great democracy'' in Cuba. "I believe it's better to be engaged and talking than to ignore the problem (...) I know that if you don't do anything it could be much worse", he added. "He (Castro) is trying to talk to other nations and when he has problems of that nature it makes life more difficult. If we ignore that, he will not mind at all. And I know he's preoccupied, he's not happy when we're talking to him about it (the crackdown),'' said Chretien. (AFP, Reuters, 9/4/03)
April 9, 2003: Cuba defended its speedy prosecution of 75 dissidents, saying it had to protect itself against US attempts to subvert the government. It also maintained that the cases' timing had nothing to do with war in Iraq. In a news conference of more than three hours in Havana, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said the arrests, summary trials and harsh sentences against the dissidents were justified. "We have been patient, we have been tolerant,'' Foreign Ministry Felipe Perez Roque said. "But we have been obligated to apply our laws.'' "What has been presented as the emergence of internal opposition is no more than an attempt at opposition made in the USA," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said. Pérez Roque also denied international criticism that the arrests and convictions over the course of three weeks were timed so that the world's attention would be focused on war. "This decision was taken before the war on Iraq,'' Pérez Roque said. (AP, Reuters, 9/4/03)
April 9, 2003: Cuba sentenced the last of 75 dissidents convicted after one-day trials of collaborating with US diplomats to undermine the communist government. The four sentences announced included a 25-year term for dissident physician Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. The defendants were accused of receiving money from US government and working with Washington to undermine the socialist regime. (AP, 9/4/03)
April 9, 2003: The Cuban Ministry of Justice has issued a short official statement on the recent arrest and summary proceedings against a group of Cuban counterrevolutionaries. The text reads as follows: "Public and oral trials took place on April 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th, in the criminal courts where a number of counterrevolutionaries, who were recently arrested for their known participation in mercenary activities and other actions against the independence and territorial integrity of the Cuban State, were tried for Crimes against State Security. The trials took place according to the summary proceedings of Article 479 of the State Law of Legal Proceedings with full respect for the guarantees and fundamental rights of the defendants. The sanctions imposed by the Tribunals range between six to 28 years imprisonment and all the defendants were properly instructed of their right to present appeals before the Supreme Court." (Radio Havana Cuba, 9/4/03)
April 8, 2003: The House approved a resolution condemning the arrests of 79 Cuban dissidents and the harsh sentences handed down to dozens of them. The measure passed by a 414-0 vote, with just 10 abstentions. "The House of Representatives sent a clear message in support of the Cuban people's right to be free and in opposition to the brutal tyranny that oppresses Cuba," said Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Florida Republican and the measure's co-sponsor. He said that "today's vote honors the Cuban people as well as the American people." (AFP, 9/4/03 )
April 8, 2003: A delegation of Cuban exiles gathered across from the entrance of the United Nations Human Rights Commission headquarters to denounce the mass arrests and harsh sentences imposed on scores of pro-democracy leaders, human rights, activists and independent journalists during the most recent violent wave of repression unleashed by Castro's regime. "We call upon democratic governments gathered in Geneva for the 59th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission to condemn these blatant human Rights violations in Cuba and demand the immediate release of all political prisoners”, said Sylvia G. Iriondo, President of Mothers and Women Against Repression. (PRNewswire, 8/4/03)
April 8, 2003: Claudia Roth, the German government's human rights spokesman, harshly criticized the arrests of dissidents in Cuba. "The trial flagrantly breaches the most basic elements of the rule of law and human rights. The defense had neither the chance to meet the accused nor to read the charge sheet in advance." (The Daily Telegraph, 9/4/03)
April 8, 2003: Cuban authorities have informed that a group of men who hijacked a ferry boat in Havana and diverted it to the U.S. are being prosecuted in “summary” trials. A brief statement was read on the main Cuban television newscast without mentioning further details, including the number of accused. (AFP, 9/4/03)
April 8, 2003: Cuban courts have tried at least 75 government opponents in lightning-fast trials as the communist island presses ahead with a crackdown on dissent, human rights activists said. The known sentences for about half of them reportedly ranged from 15 to 27 years; the remaining sentences were expected by week's end. None of the trials has lasted more than one day, activists said. Another four of those arrested in the crackdown were prosecuted on lesser crimes and received much shorter sentences, measured in months rather than years, veteran activist Elizardo Sanchez said. (AP, 8/403)
April 7, 2003: Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham summoned Cuba's ambassador to Canada to his office to express "extreme concern" over a dramatic crackdown on peaceful dissent by Fidel Castro's regime. Mr. Graham presented the ambassador with a protest letter addressed to Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque. "The Canadian government is extremely concerned about this potential curtailment of human rights and freedom of expression in Cuba, and is deeply disturbed by the severity of the sentences," said the letter. (The Globe and Mail , 8/4/03)
April 7, 2003: Fidel Castro's government dealt a crippling blow to Cuba's opposition movement, sentencing peaceful activists, journalists and an economist to up to 27 years in prison for allegedly collaborating with US diplomats to undermine the socialist state. Prosecutors sought life sentences for the dissidents, who were among 80 facing closed trials. Opposition political party leader Hector Palacios, among those originally recommended for a life sentence, received 25 years. The poet and writer Raúl Rivero was given a 20-year sentence, as was the economist Martha Beatriz Roque. Fourteen courts convicted the dissidents of "working with a foreign power to undermine the government" and gave them sentences that ranged from 12 to 27 years in jail. (AP, BBC, The Toronto Star, 7,8/4/03)
April 7, 2003: The recent crackdown by Cuban officials on dissidents has helped create the potential for a large-scale exodus of the island nation's residents, similar to ones in 1980 and 1994, the top US diplomat based in Havana said. James Cason, chief of the US Interests Section in Havana said the actions taken by Cuba against activists is stoking renewed fear among the island's residents. The Castro regime accused Cason of fomenting unrest on the island by conspiring with dissidents to undermine Cuba's socialist system. "They say that when I go out to speak with anybody, it becomes subversive," Cason said at the University of Miami. "The continued disintegration of Cuban society generates instability throughout the region and creates the threat of a mass migration to the United States," Cason said. "This undermines our security and the long-term potential for the Cuban nation." "Cuban airplane hijackings are a product of frustration," Cason said, adding that there could be more such incidents to come. "To the extent that the Cuban government says the US is lax on hijackers and does not improve its airport security, you are going to see a lot of these violent attempts to get out." (NBC, 8/4/03)
April 5, 2003: Fidel Castro defended the arrests of dissidents and summary trials against 80 of them alleging that “We do not have to agree to the impunity of those who take money from the United States to betray their country.” Castro also added that the several dozens of “counterrevolutionaries” who have been arrested “are being tried in courts that deal with crimes against state security and this outrages their masters.” (El Mundo, 6/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Around 30 member of Reporters Without Borders and Cuban and French intellectuals occupied the premises of the Cuban tourism bureau in Paris to condemn the recent wave of arrests of Cuban dissidents on the island. The demonstrators symbolically turned the office into a prison, hanging a banner saying “Cuba = prison” over the facade, and painting bars on the windows, behind which they put photos of recently detained Cuban journalists like Raúl Rivero, Mario Enrique Mayo and Jorge Olivera. (AFP, 6/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Two reporters who spent years working alongside Raúl Rivero, Cuba's best-known independent journalist revealed at his trial that they were undercover agents as they testified against him, the dissident's wife, Blanca Reyes, said. Reyes was among family members allowed into the trials and characterized the prosecution of her husband as "a circus." She was particularly enraged when Manuel David Orrio, one of Cuba's better known independent reporters, revealed in court that he was really a state security agent and testified against her husband. Also testifying against Rivero was a man he had known as independent reporter Néstor Baguer, who also admitted being a government agent. (AP, 4/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Cuban dissident Osvaldo Payá, main promoter of the Varela Project, said he has gone daily to the courtroom where the trials on dissidents are being held, but security forces have shouted obscenities at him and forced him to leave. Elizardo Sanchez, head of the dissident Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation said he has tried to send observers to the trials but that security police stopped them before they could get within 100 yards of the building. (The Washington Post, 4/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Fidel Castro's government pressed forward in its campaign to steamroll a growing opposition movement, rapidly trying the first of 80 dissidents in court hearings. International media and foreign diplomats were excluded from the hearings. The police presence around the three Havana courthouses where the trials were being held were stepped up. Local human rights activists said those scheduled to appear in court included the poet and well-known independent journalist Raúl Rivero. He was being tried alongside Ricardo González, who recently launched the first independent general interest magazine of its kind in communist Cuba. Prosecutors were seeking sentences of 20 years for Rivero and life for Gonzalez. (AP, 4/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Canada said it had protested to Havana over a crackdown on leading dissidents. Cuban authorities are seeking life sentences for 12 of the 78 dissidents, rights activists and journalists arrested and charged with collaborating with the United States. " Canada has raised serious concerns with the Cuban authorities regarding the recent crackdown on several dissidents," said foreign ministry spokesman Patrick Riel. "Many of those arrested are well-known as defenders of freedom of expression and, of course, we are closely monitoring the situation." (Reuters, 4/4/03)
April 4, 2003: Center for International Policy's Wayne Smith, Anya Landau and Sarah Stephens joined a group of Washington-based policy analysts who urge changes in US policy towards Cuba is sending a letter to the chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington "to express our profound concern at the arrest of more than 70 Cuban citizens in recent days, and to urge their immediate release." "In the course of our work, many of us have met many of the Cubans who have been arrested for advocating ideas that do not coincide with those of your government," the signers wrote. "We fail to understand how these ideas can constitute a threat to Cuba's security. To the contrary we can only believe that a strong competition of ideas will help Cubans to chart their future." (Center for International Policy, 9/4/03)
April 3, 2003: Possession of “subversive” books, computers and receipts of remittances are part of the evidence supporting accusations against Cuban dissidents, according to the preliminary conclusions of public prosecutors. They are accused of “raising their living standards in spite of performing no socially productive activities” and of receiving “high and frequent” sums of money from the United States. They are charged with “distorting Cuban reality” in their reporting to the press. Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés is accused of receiving “moral and material support” from the U.S. and of contacting U.S. "agents" Frank Calzón and Carlos Alberto Montaner. (EFE, 3/4/03)
April 3, 2003: Relatives of dissident economist Marta Beatriz Roque said that during her trial, her secretary, Aleida Godínez, revealed that she was an agent who had infiltrated opposition ranks. "She was the witness who did the most damage to my aunt," said Roque's nephew, Joel Alfonso Roque. (AP, 4/4/03)
April 2, 2003: In an unsual move, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office summoned Cuba’s Ambassador to that country to express the UK’s dismay at the recent arrests of 78 dissidents on the island. This is the first time in at least two and half years that Ambassador José Fernández de Cossio has been called to the visit the British foreign affairs headquarters. "The recent wave of arrests in Cuba is deplorable," said Bill Rammell, minister for Human Rights after th meeting. "These arrests are extremely bad for the image of Cuba, which has done much to build a society with good social indicators. We will be following the cases closely and are pressing for access to trials." (Reuters, 2/4/03)
April 1, 2003: Trial will begin for some of the Cuban dissidents arrested last month after being accused of helping US diplomats undermine the socialist government, the wives of defendants said. Government prosecutors are seeking sentences ranging from 15 years to life, said the wives. They said they had received court papers about their husbands' cases. They also said government defense attorneys told them the trials would be held from April 3rd to April 6th. (AP, 1/4/03)
