Spotlight on Cuba: Crackdown on Dissidents

Chronology of Events - February 2008

February 29: In an interview with the “L’Osservatore Romano” and “Vatican Radio”, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone reflected on his recent visit to Cuba and said dialogue between the Church and the State is necessary.  He also said Raul Castro is willing to “exchange prisoners” with the United States. Recounting his meeting with Cuba’s new president and with other officials, Cardinal Bertone said, “Discussions began initially with the exchange of impressions about Cuba and about the vitality of the Catholic Church.  Later I met privately with the President face to face for 55 minutes. I presented him with a specific request and the new President responded positively.” The Vatican Secretary of State said one issue addressed with the Cuban president “refers to the action of the bishops’ conference.” “The recognition of the Catholic Church’s legal status is one concrete problem that exists,” he stated. Cardinal Bertone also revealed that he discussed the issue of political prisoners with the President. “I gave President Raul a list of names of prisoners for consideration [to be released] for humanitarian reasons, respecting always the sovereignty of Cuba,” the cardinal said, adding that he also expressed his concern for the families of those detained. In response, Cardinal Bertone said, “the President emphasized the importance of reciprocity at the international level.  He said he was willing to address all the problems with great openness and even to make concrete gestures in an atmosphere of reciprocity”. The Vatican cardinal said President Castro also brought up the issue of five Cuban prisoners in the United States and their humanitarian treatment, “with the eventual possibility of an exchange.”  He also stressed that since the embargo directly affects the inhabitants of Cuba, he “gave assurances that the Holy See would work to have these sanctions reduced, if not altogether eliminated.” However, he emphasized that “this would certainly imply movement towards greater freedom, towards the recognition of personal, social, political and economic rights” by the Cuban government. (CNA, 29/2/08)

February 28: Benedict XVI's secretary of state has brought back a positive report after his six-day pastoral trip to Cuba, saying the Church in Cuba is being reborn, above all in the enthusiasm of the youth. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone affirmed this in an interview with Vatican Radio and L'Osservatore Romano, to be aired and printed on March 1st. Cardinal Bertone spoke of his meeting with Raúl Castro, saying: "I have seen a man who is very realistic, open to discuss everything, and above all, concerned with maintaining values and ideals. "Naturally I have proposed to President Raúl also the problem of prisoners of all types, not just political prisoners, as well as pastoral attention to the prisoners." Asked about his public condemnation of the embargo, “the cardinal said that this judgment could also be applied to "many restrictions that the European Union still maintains." "It seems to me that these attitudes naturally seek to try to make the government of the island evolve toward greater liberty, a greater respect for human rights, but I think that these measures that are so hard, taken unilaterally, do not favor development," the cardinal said. "They make the people suffer, because it is the people, the families, the children, the youth, who are penalized with these measures, and they don't recognize the dignity of the nation in its values, in its independence, in its tradition. Thus, they are unacceptable." He continued: "I have assured that the Holy See will work to try so that at least these sanctions are reduced, or even eliminated. Certainly, this has to come with a development toward greater liberty, toward a greater recognition of personal rights and social rights, as well as political and economic rights. "But there are also promising prospects, because now, Cuba is preparing itself to sign two UN conventions, precisely regarding personal rights, regarding social rights, regarding economic rights, regarding political rights." (Zenit, 28/2/08)

February 28: President George W. Bush slammed Cuba's new communist President Raul Castro as a "tyrant" lacking legitimacy and unworthy of bilateral leadership-level talks. Speaking with Raul Castro, who took over the presidency of the Americas' only one-party communist regime, would be "embracing a tyrant," the US president said. Bush said such talks would be endorsing someone who "puts his people in prison because of their political beliefs. It will send the wrong message. It will send a discouraging message to those who wonder whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners. "It will give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and human dignity," Bush said at a White House press conference. (AFP, 28/2/08)

February 28: Cuba signed two UN human rights pacts that long-time president Fidel Castro, replaced by his brother just four days ago, had refused to endorse for more than three decades. But the communist-run island's foreign minister said after signing the documents at UN headquarters in New York that Havana still shared the reservations expressed by Castro about the pacts and would formally record them in the future. Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Perez Roque had announced on December 10 Cuba's intention to adhere to the accords. He also said then that Cuba would open its doors in early 2009 to regular international scrutiny by the recently created UN Human Rights Council. Perez Roque said in a statement that the decision to sign "has been taken now that the selective and unjust mandate against Cuba imposed by the brutal pressure and blackmail carried out by the United States ... has been clearly defeated." He called this "a historic victory for the Cuban people," adding that “it was the Revolution the one that made possible the enjoyment by its people of the rights protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” The signature was "a sovereign decision of the Cuban government," he said. (Reuters, AP, 28,29/2/08)

February 28: The Spanish government advised, through different channels, Cardinal Tarcision Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, regarding the visit he paid to Havana. 
Spain and the Vatican - albeit possibly with different short-term aims - are conducting very similar policies regarding the situation in Cuba. In an electoral debate with the PP (opposition Popular Party) the spokesman in the Congress, Gustavo de Aristegui - who criticized the rapprochement with the Castro regime by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon, said the Spanish government and the Catholic Church are maintaining "the same position". During a stopover by Bertone in Madrid, the subjects of conversation with Spanish government officials included the Vatican secretary of state's visit to Cuba, the contacts he held there with the Cuban authorities and the subjects he asked about, including the situation of the prisoners, a matter that worries the Catholic Church from the viewpoint of human rights and specifically of the humanitarian aspects. (ABC, 28/2/08)

February 26: Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone raised the Catholic Church's concern about prisoners in Cuba in a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro. "With the greatest respect for the sovereignty of the country and its citizens, I expressed to President Raul Castro the concern of the Church over the prisoners and their families," Bertone said at Havana airport before his departure. The Vatican's No. 2 official did not specify whether he was referring to jailed dissidents or common prisoners. Earlier, the cardinal told the news agency of the Italian Bishops Conference, SIR, that in discussions with Cuban officials he had not asked "directly" for the release of political prisoners. "It would look like interference," he was quoted as saying. "The Church does not impose, but proposes." He also told the agency that the island's leaders had assured him they would allow some Roman Catholic broadcasts on state-controlled media.
"Authorities have promised me more openness in the print press and the radio -- and in some exceptional cases, in television as well," he said. "We do hope for some openness, because nothing is impossible." Bertone said he hoped his six-day visit had given a new push to once strained ties between the Cuban state and the Catholic Church 10 years after Pope John Paul's historic trip to the island. But he said the relations would always be "challenging." Bertone's visit brought a welcome boost to the Church in Cuba through greater exposure in the state-controlled media. Cuban television broadcast live a news conference where Bertone, in response to a question, welcomed the recent release of four political prisoners, though he said he had not pressed for an amnesty for other jailed dissidents. (Reuters, AP, 27/2/08)

February 25: The European Commission is willing to engage in a "constructive political dialogue" with Cuba's new President Raul Castro, Louis Michel, the EU's Development and Aid Commissioner said. Michel "takes note" of Castro's nomination to succeed his ailing brother and long-time leader Fidel Castro as new president of Cuba, the EU's executive arm said in a statement. "The European Commission stands ready to continue working with the Cuban government, in coordination with our European Union partners, to improve and deepen cooperation issues of common interest such as the environment and climate change," it said. The change at the head of the Cuban regime comes amid a debate among European nations over whether to normalise relations with Havana. Michel, who will visit Cuba, also "stated his willingness to engage in a constructive political dialogue with Raul Castro." The EU official's trip to Cuba on March 6-7 had been planned before 81-year-old Fidel Castro announced his decision to step down. (AFP, 25/2/08)

February 24: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Cuba to move toward "peaceful, democratic change" as Cuba's one-party legislature picked a communist successor to Fidel Castro. "We urge the Cuban government to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing all political prisoners, respecting human rights, and creating a clear pathway towards free and fair elections," Rice said in a statement.
She stressed that "at this significant moment in Cuba's history, we reaffirm our belief that the Cuban people have an inalienable right to participate in an open and comprehensive dialogue about their country's future, free of fear and repression, and to choose their leaders in democratic elections." "We also urge the international community to work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions necessary for democracy, and to support Cuban civil society. "The Cuban people, facing the legacy of five decades of tyranny, merit our solidarity and support as they seek to construct a brighter future." Rice's statement was released as Cuba's National Assembly met to pick a successor to Fidel Castro after his almost 50 years in power. (AFP, 25/2/08)

February 22: The Lawton Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba demanded the immediate release of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a Catholic pro-life leader who attracted the ire of the Cuban government after publicly protesting against abortion and the death penalty, which are both legal in the country. In its statement, the Lawton foundation —founded by Biscet himself— demands "the release of Biscet and all Cuban political prisoners, so that this peaceful human rights activist may continue his struggle for justice in Cuba.” “We urgently ask all men and women of  good will, the international press, human rights organizations, world health organizations and dignitaries of democratic nations to denounce before the Cuban government the unjust incarceration, criminal accusations, and imminent trial of this Cuban physician whose only crime is to honor the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights in his own country," the organization said. The demand coincides with the visit of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to Cuba, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit to the island. (CNA, 23/2/08)

February 19: Despite Fidel Castro’s resignation, Cuba’s abusive legal and institutional mechanisms continue to deprive Cubans of their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said. The counterproductive US embargo policy continues to give the Cuban government a pretext for human rights violations. “Even if Castro no longer calls the shots, the repressive machinery he constructed over almost half a century remains fully intact,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Until that changes, it’s unlikely there will be any real progress on human rights in Cuba”. The Cuban government still needs to take concrete steps to decriminalize political dissent, Human Rights Watch said. Specifically, it should unconditionally release all political dissidents. It should also repeal the provisions of the penal code that provide the basis for gross violations of human rights. “This would be a good time for the US government to revisit its failed embargo policy,” said Vivanco. “By lifting the embargo, Washington could deprive Raúl Castro of the underdog image that his brother exploited so effectively.” (HRW Press Release, 19/2/08)

February 19: Republican presidential candidate John McCain underscored that "freedom for the Cuban people is not yet at hand" despite Castro's resignation. "We must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections," the Arizona senator said in a statement. "Cuba's transition to democracy is inevitable; it is a matter of when not if. With the resignation of Fidel Castro, the Cuban people have an opportunity to move forward and continue pushing for the moment that they will truly be free. America can and should help hasten the sparking of freedom in Cuba. The Cuban people have waited long enough." (AP, 19/2/08)

February 18: Amnesty International welcomed the release of four Cuban activists but urged Raul Castro to urgently release the 58 remaining incarcerated prisoners of conscience and to guarantee the right to freedom of expression on the island. “The release of the four Cuban prisoners of conscience is a very positive step but we must not forget about the at least 58 people who remain held in prisons across Cuba for the sole reason of expressing their political views,” said Kerrie Howard, Deputy director at Amnesty International's Americas Programme. “We hope that the recent release is a sign of change in Cuba, a further openness to improving respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of expression and association,” said Kerrie Howard. (AI Press Release, 18/2/08)

February 18: Reporters Without Borders welcomed the release of four Cuban dissidents who were arrested during the "Black Spring" crackdown of March 2003. They include independent journalist Alejandro Gonzalez Raga, 48, who was serving a 14-year prison sentence. "The dialogue initiated with the Cuban government by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos - inevitably a difficult one when it concerns human rights – is beginning to bear fruit," Reporters Without Borders said. "The release of these four could soon be followed by the release of three others, and we welcome this”. The press freedom organisation added: "This gesture by the Cuban government comes just a week before the appointment of a new Council of State, its executive branch, which could confirm Raul Castro as president, a post he has held in an interim capacity since July 2006. But we must not forget that 23 Cuban journalists continue to languish in prison simply for doing their job without permission from a government that does not tolerate any independent press. We also point out that these latest releases condemned their beneficiaries to exile." (RWB Press Release, 18/2/08)

February 17: The Ladies in White, relatives and wives of political prisoners, thanked the government of Spain for the release from prison of four dissidents, who are already in Madrid, and demanded the regime to release more prisoners “immediately.” The release of four dissidents from prison “gives us great joy” and “we appreciate the Spanish government’s negotiations in achieving this,” they said in a communiqué read by one of the spokeswomen of the group, Miriam Leyva. In the release, the Ladies in White, winners of the 2005 European Parliament Sakharov Award, pointed out that “55 of the group of 75 are still in Cuban jail.” “They must all be freed immediately and unconditionally, as they have committed no crime, but tried to exercise their right to free opinion in a peaceful and constructive way,” they added. (EER, AFP, 18/2/08)

February 17: The Ladies in White, relatives and wives of political prisoners, thanked the government of Spain for the release from prison of four dissidents, who are already in Madrid, and demanded the regime to release more prisoners “immediately.” The release of four dissidents from prison “gives us great joy” and “we appreciate the Spanish government’s negotiations in achieving this,” they said in a communiqué read by one of the spokeswomen of the group, Miriam Leyva. In the release, the Ladies in White, winners of the 2005 European Parliament Sakharov Award, pointed out that “55 of the group of 75 are still in Cuban jail.” “They must all be freed immediately and unconditionally, as they have committed no crime, but tried to exercise their right to free opinion in a peaceful and constructive way,” they added. (EER, AFP, 18/2/08)

February 17: Four Cuban political prisoners freed by Havana arrived in Spain. They comprise trade unionist Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, dissident Omar Pernet Hernandez and independent journalists Jose Gabriel Ramon Castillo and Alejandro Gonzalez Raga. They arrived at a military airport in Torrejon, near Madrid, after flying on board a Spanish air force plane. When contacted by AFP, the Spanish foreign ministry declined to comment. The four Cubans, which were suffering serious health problems, would be given medical examinations and would then address the media. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos had said that seven political prisoners would be freed, with four set to come to Spain to rejoin their families. The three other prisoners are expected to travel to the United States, but their final destination is not yet decided, according to Cuban sources in Spain. They were all arrested as part of a crackdown in 2003, which saw 75 dissidents arrested and condemned to prison terms of up to 26 years. (AFP, 18/2/08)

February 15: Human rights activist Bertha Antúnez Pernet, went into exile in Miami where she said she will continue “the struggle for the democratization of the island and the freedom of political prisoners.” Antúnez Pernet is the sister of former political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), released from prison after serving a 17-year sentence. Antúnez Pernet referred to Cuban prisons as “cemeteries of living men.” (AFP, EFE, 15/2/08)

February 15: Four Cuban dissidents jailed since a harsh crackdown five years ago will be freed and sent to Spain with their families. Miami exile groups welcomed the prisoners' release but noted that the four were forced to leave. ''Unfortunately, these men were not given a chance to stay in their country and be free,'' said Cuban American National Foundation spokeswoman Camila R. Gallardo. "They were given the choice: Go to Spain or stay in jail. This is what they do with the people who oppose them and are effective at opposing them.'' (The Miami Herald, 16/2/08)

February 15: In a move that human-rights activists condemned as ''forced exile,'' four Cuban dissidents jailed since a harsh crackdown five years ago will be freed and sent to Spain with their families. Another three prisoners will be freed soon, the Spanish government announced. The dissidents were arrested in a political crackdown ordered by Fidel Castro in March 2003 that put 75 of his opponents in prison with sentences of up to 28 years. Sixteen had already been freed on health grounds. One of them, economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, said the new releases were a step in the right direction by acting President Raul Castro. "This is a rational step by the Cuban government and by the reformist sectors within that want change," Espinosa Chepe said. "It reflects a climate of change and will benefit that climate of change," he said. Another dissident, Manuel Cuesta Morua, said the government of Raul Castro was responding to requests by the international community for improved respect for human rights in Cuba. But, the move was decried by hard-line members of the Cuban opposition, who cast it as a cynical ploy to boost Spain's socialist government, which faces a general election next month. ''This is not what the opposition needs,'' said Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the original 75. "They are using the political prisoners for their own political gain (…) The position the Spanish government has taken on this makes me nauseous.'' The four to be released were identified as Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, serving a 25-year sentence; Omar Pernet, serving 25 years; José Gabriel Ramón Castillo, sentenced to 20 years; and Alejandro González Raga, serving 14 years. They were expected to leave Havana on a flight to Madrid, Elizardo Sánchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said from Havana. The ensuing group of three to be released was not identified. (Reuters, The Miami Herald, 15,16/2/08)

February 14: The UN's human rights chief should reconsider her praise of Cuba's record and of the recent mission there by a UN official compromised by ties to the Castro regime, said UN Watch. In a letter sent to High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based human rights monitoring group, urged her to recognize Cuba's consistently negative role at the UN Human Rights Council. UN Watch also questioned Arbour's praise of a mission to Cuba by Jean Ziegler, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, whose position at the world body was sponsored by Cuba, and who co-founded the Moammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize that was given to Fidel Castro in 1998. (UN Watch, 14/2/08)

February 13: The mother of Cuban neurosurgeon Hilda Molina asked Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state of the Vatican, to intercede with Havana so that doctor Molina may travel to Buenos Aires, where her son and grandchildren live. Hilda Molina, who broke with the government long ago, has requested in vain for 14 years that Havana allow her to visit her son and grandchildren in Argentina. (EER, 13/2/08)

February 13: During a press conference, Cuban foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, thanked the Spanish Government for its “efforts” in helping normalize the island’s relations with the European Union (EU) and for trying to bring about the end of the sanctions imposed by the 27-member bloc. The dialogue with Spain, according to Perez Roque, helps toward the “final lifting of the absurd sanctions that, even though suspended, still have not been eliminated completely.” (EFE, 13/2/08)

February 12: Cuba has agreed to sign two UN covenants on human rights by the end of March, the Spanish government said following talks between the two countries. "The Cuban delegation confirmed that its government would sign the agreements on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights in the first quarter of 2008," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Signatory nations to the two international covenants agree to guarantee a certain number of civic rights for their citizens. The communist regime in Havana announced in December that it would sign both of them, but had given no date. The foreign ministry said Spain "would continue to work to normalise and develop relations between Cuba and the European Union". The announcement came after talks between senior officials of the two sides -- the second round of meetings between Spain and Cuba on human rights following discussions in Havana in May 2007. (AFP, 13/2/08)

February 11: Spain said it sees improvements in Cuba's attitude to human rights, following a second round of talks between the two countries on the issue. "We appreciate the new more constructive attitude of Cuba," in particular towards the UN Human Rights Council, a foreign ministry source said. Several political prisoners have been freed on the island in recent months, and there is a "possibility we can have a political dialogue with the European Union in which human rights would be included," the source said. It was the second round of talks between Spain and Cuba on human rights following meetings in Havana in May 2007. The two countries agreed to hold political consultations, including on the issue of human rights, during a visit to Cuba in April 2007 by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. This round of talks took place "at a technical level" between Cuban deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno and a senior Spanish foreign ministry official, Rafael Dezcallar. (AFP, 11/2/08)

February 8: Ricardo González Alfonso, was transferred on January 27 from the hospital wing of the military prison in Combinado del Este - to which he was readmitted in September 2007 - back to the prison cell where he has been serving his 20-year sentence since the “black spring” of March 2003. He is suffering from high blood pressure, allergies, migraine, chronic bronchitis and circulation and digestive disorders. Since 23 January he has only been eating food brought to him by his family. (RWB Press Release, 8/2/08)

February 7: Spain and Cuba will hold their second session on human rights in Madrid with a “comprehensive” agenda where “no point is left out,” said the Spanish minister of foreign affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos. Moratinos and his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim agreed during a press conference that dialogue “is the best way of moving forward on an issue as important as human rights.” “We have been able to see that both Brazil and Spain are very well placed to work with Cuban authorities on this topic,” said the Spanish minister. (AFP, 8/2/08)

February 6: Dissident leader Maura Iset González Jurguet, national president of the Latin-American Federation of Rural Women (FLAMUR) in Cuba, was arrested and taken to a police station. The peaceful oppositionist was kept there for 2 hours and was threatened with 20 years in jail if she continued her involvement in the “With the same currency” campaign. (Cubanet, 12/2/08)

February 4: At least 65 journalists were killed in 2007, nine more than the previous year, as violence in Iraq and Somalia continued to put reporters in danger, a press freedom watchdog said in Hong Kong. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report also singled out China, Russia, the Philippines and Cuba as the worst offenders in recent years in limiting press freedom and failing to counter danger to journalists. (AFP, 4/2/08)

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