November 30, 2004: The Dutch Foreign Relations Minister and current president of the EU’s Council of Ministers, Bernard Bot, said that the release of journalist and poet Raúl Rivero “is encouraging”. He added that Cuban authorities should give similar treatment to the rest of the 75 dissidents still in jail. “I find this very encouraging, but don’t forget there are still 75 political prisoners in jail, and we have asked for the release of all of them.” “This is a good sign, and I encourage the Cuban authorities to keep on this track”, Bot added. (Europa Press, 30/11/04)
November 30, 2004: Cuba has freed one of the country's best-known dissidents, the acclaimed poet and journalist Raul Rivero. The 59-year-old was among 75 people arrested in a huge government crackdown last year and given long prison terms. He said he was in good health and attributed his release to international pressure and in particular efforts by the Spanish government. "I thought I might be released because they told me they were moving me to Havana, but they didn't make anything clear until today," Rivero said, explaining that he had been paroled indefinitely and that, during the last few minutes, "the treatment was very cordial." Rivero insisted his intention was to "continue writing and doing what I've always done." He would not say if he planned to stay in Cuba or leave over the next few months. "I believe this is a time to wait. I'm going to see what's happening, how much movement I'm allowed and how much work I can do," he told the press. According to Rivero, the release of dissidents over the past few hours indicates "a desire to correct certain positions" on the part of the Cuban government, although "I don't know if they realize it was a mistake to jail the 75 dissidents." (BBC, EFE, 30/11/04)
November 29, 2004: In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher welcomed the release of three political prisoners in Cuba, but said the detainees never should have been imprisoned in the first place. "We continue to condemn the unjust incarceration of dozens of other prisoners of conscious in Cuba," Boucher said. "We hope that they can return to their work to build a truly just and open Cuban society," Boucher said. (AP, 29/11/04)
November 29 , 2004 : Cuban authorities began releasing some jailed dissidents, including independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe. Espinosa was granted parole on his 64th birthday for health reasons and returned to his Havana home. Espinosa said the Cuban government made "a very serious mistake" when it jailed 75 dissidents in the spring of 2003, and the releases came because authorities "should be reconsidering (the issue)." Despite the difficulties he suffered in jail, Espinosa Chepe said he had no intention of leaving Cuba. "I feel Cuban and I want to die in my own country," he said. Also freed were dissidents Marcelo Lopez and Margarito Broche. T he three prisoners released (Oscar Espinosa Chepe, Marcelo Lopez and Margarito Broche) were the most ill among 10 prisoners whose health was delicate. (EFE, Notimex, CNN, 29/11/04)
November 26, 2004: Cuban authorities have transferred 13 imprisoned dissidents, journalist-poet Raúl Rivero among them, from facilities around the island to Havana, a move the opposition hopes signals their imminent release. All were part of the ''Group of 75,'' peaceful dissidents who were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison after summary trials in the spring of 2003. The prisoners were told that they would be transferred to Havana for medical checkups, a procedure usually undertaken prior to release, said Elizardo Sánchez of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. Among the transferees is Raúl Rivero, who was serving a 20-year sentence at Canaletas, 280 miles from Havana. (EFE, 28/11/04)
November 26, 2004: European Union member states want to renew their diplomatic contacts with Cuba, the Dutch EU presidency said, after Spain became the first in the bloc to re-establish links with the island since sanctions were imposed 17 months ago. "Our common goal is to have contacts between all the member countries with the authorities on the island," said spokesman Frits Kemperman. (EUBusines, 26/11/04)
November 25, 2004: Cuba restored normal diplomatic relations with Spain that soured last year when the European Union began inviting dissidents to its National Day receptions. "We met at the Spanish embassy (...) and we have re-established official contact with the Spanish ambassador in Havana," Perez Roque said in an impromptu press conference at the foreign ministry, where he was joined by Spanish Ambassador Carlos Alonso. Zaldivar. Perez Roque praised the Spanish government, in particular Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, for its efforts to improve relations with Cuba. (Reuters, AFP, 25/11/04)
November 25, 2004: Spain's foreign ministry stressed Madrid's desire to see normal relations between the whole of the European Union and Cuba. "The foreign ministry notes the announcement by the Cuban authorities and signals that its objective is the normalization of contacts between the Cuban authorities and all the embassies of the European Union, not just specific embassies," a ministry statement read. " Spain will continue working with all its EU partners to achieve this normalization with a view to reaching the objectives fixed by the common (EU) position adopted in 1996," the ministry added. (AFP, 25/11/04)
November 24, 2004: Independent journalist Manuel Vazquez Portal, one of the 75 dissidents rounded up and jailed by the Fidel Castro regime in April 2003, told the press that the Cuban government has authorized him to emigrate to the United States. Vazquez Portal said he has just been given the green light by Cuban migration authorities to leave the Communist-ruled island, accompanied by wife Yolanda Huerga and 10-year-old son Gabriel. Vazquez Portal said that upon his release a State Security agent told him leaving the country would be his best bet. "What made me decide to leave is the Cuban government's stubborn attitude toward the request made by Europe and the world for democratic changes, openness, the possibility of honorably exercising my profession within a legal framework," he said. Faced with the government's attitude, Vazquez Portal said, "The Cuban people have two options: massive migration or rebellion”. (EFE, 24/11/04)
November 18, 2004: A group of dissidents and wives of political prisoners attended a Mass, in Havana, which they said was dedicated to "the freedom of Cuba." "It's simply something to demonstrate our desire for Cuba to be free soon," said dissident and former political prisoner Martha Beatriz Roque as she left the service at the capital's Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. Other attendees included Rene Gomez Manzano and Felix Bonne, Roque's colleagues in the Assembly to Promote Civil Society, and the wives of jailed dissidents Oscar Elias Biscet, Angel Moya, Adolfo Hernandez and Arnaldo Ramos. The Mass followed the drafting and dispatch of a letter to leaders meeting at the Ibero-American Summit in Costa Rica asking them to press Fidel Castro's regime to free political prisoners. (EFE, 18/11/04)
November 17, 2004: The European Parliament responded to indications from the EU's executive that Brussels might pursue a rapprochement with Cuba's Communist regime by passing overwhelmingly a resolution opposing such a move. The European Union should maintain its firmer posture toward Cuba until the government of Fidel Castro frees all political prisoners and respects human rights, said the text lawmakers approved by a vote of 376-281 with 26 abstentions. The conservative European Popular Group authored the resolution, which garnered support from most of the centrist legislators, while the chamber's left wing - comprising Socialists, Communists and Greens - introduced an alternative proposal, which was rejected. Voting on the resolution followed a heated debate that carried on until almost midnight, with 18 Euro-lawmakers - an unusually high number - taking the floor. Passage of the resolution came one day after the EU took a first step toward reviewing the tough stance, including diplomatic and political sanctions, that the bloc took against the 45-year-old one-party state last year. (EFE, 17/11/04)
November 16, 2004: The European Union's indication that it might soften its diplomatic stance toward the Communist government produced varied reaction here among dissidents, with higher-profile opponents of the regime saying such a move would be a mistake. Dissident Elizardo Sanchez opined that "in no way is Castro thinking about changing the repressive mood that has characterized him these past several years." Sanchez told the press that the EU proposal "would be very positive if it produced some visible and practical fruit, but I very much doubt that the government will respond positively to these goodwill gestures." Marta Beatriz Roque of the Assembly to Promote a Civil Society, criticized the EU's stance because "it's an opportunity for the Cuban government, and they shouldn't be given the chance to win any fight." "The Cuban government is deaf to dialogue," noted Roque, who predicted that Brussels "will look bad if it gives in to pressure" by Havana. Vladimiro Roca of the All United Movement does not support the EU's strategy either, because "the Cuban government has not given any real signs of change," and the conditions that prompted the EU to adopt the political sanctions last year still continue. Some moderate dissidents, such as Manuel Cuesta Morua, of the Progressive Arch, or Cuban Change leader Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo, say the present tension does not favor democratic Cubans, and they see in the EU's position an opportunity to resume a "critical dialogue." Oswaldo Paya, a 2002 laureate of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize, urged the EU not to change its common position. In a letter to the heads of Parliament and Commission Mr Paya said that the position of some governments would be understood, but that a change of EU policy is not in Cuba's interests. (EFE, EUObserver, 16/11/04)
November 16, 2004: Representatives of the EU's 25 member states have reviewed policy towards the Caribbean Communist island at the request of Spain's new Socialist government, keen to end the row. No decision was taken on whether to continue inviting dissidents to official receptions, so the policy remains unchanged for the moment, a spokesman for the EU's Dutch presidency said. One suggestion to stop holding National Day receptions at all was quashed, diplomats said. "The concrete result this morning is that chiefs of mission in Havana have been asked to come up with proposals to make this dialogue with dissidents and civil society in Cuba more effective," the spokesman for the presidency said. Envoys will report back next month and the recommendations will have to go to EU foreign ministers for any policy change. One Brussels diplomat said the EU was divided between a group including Spain, France, Britain and Italy which wanted to take the initiative to improve ties with Havana, and others such as Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic which argued Fidel Castro should make the first move by releasing political prisoners. (Reuters, CNN, 16/11/04)
November 9, 2004: After being more than 60 days in a punishment cell at the Kilo 8 prison, Pinar del Río, political prisoner Nelson Moline Espino was transferred to a unit with criminal prisoners, at Kilo 5 ½ prison. "They had him locked in a punishment cell for over 60 days for refusing to follow military orders, and for refusing to eat the food served in prison”, Moline’s wife, Kirenia Guerra Lugo said. Moline Espino was sentenced to 20 years in jail, during the March 2003 repression against dissidents. He has been recognized prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. (Puente Informativo, 9/11/04)
November 8, 2004: Two Cuban opposition fronts, Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil en Cuba and Todos Unidos, sent a letter to the Heads of State meeting at the 8 th Ibero American Summit in San José, Costa Rica. In the letter, the dissidents request the liberation of political prisoners in Cuba. (MAR por Cuba, 18/11/04)
November 7, 2004: In a letter sent to Fidel Castro, Dolia Leal Francisco, the wife of political prisoner Nelson Aguiar Ramírez, denounced the abuses against her husband by prison guards at Combinado de Guantánamo facility. "Today I received the terrible news from Guantánamo that my husband Nelson was a victim to another beating", the letter says. Nelson is 69 years old and suffers from several illnesses all of which have been aggravated in jail. "How can such an ill, peaceful and defenseless individual be brutally beaten? Why such terror? Isn’t it enough to keep him in jail? Is it that they want to kill him?,” Dolia asked in her letter to Castro. (Puente Informativo, 7/11/04)
November 7, 2004: Political prisoner Fabio Prieto, jailed in Kilo 8 prison, Camaguey, denounced what he calls “never ending beatings” against political prisoners by prison authorities. Prieto specially denounced beatings against Daniel Ferrer Martínez, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta and other prisoners, locked in the torture area known as "Major Severity". Prieto said that the prison guards broke the telephones, mostly to avoid news getting out of the prison. Prisoners refused to stand up for the counts as a form of protest, causing extreme anger to the State Security guards who then authorized the brutal beatings in retaliation. (Puente Informativo, 7/11/04)
November 1, 2004: The health of jailed Cuban dissident Raul Rivero has deteriorated following the appearance of cysts in his kidney, his wife Blanca Reyes said. "His kidney has multiple cysts, seven cysts, one of them measures 20 millimeters (3/4 inch)," the wife of the journalist and poet told the press. Reyes noted that Rivero suffers from emphysema, which "is not receiving proper treatment in jail." Rivero, 59, was sentenced in 2003 to 20 years behind bars in a summary trial following the arrests of 75 pro-democracy advocates accused of conspiring with Washington against the Cuban state. The writer is serving his sentence in Canaleta prison, some 460 kilometers (285 miles) east of Havana. (EFE, 2/11/04)
