Democratic Senator critcizes President Obama's Cuba Policy in the US Senate

An excellent summation and analysis of a disastrous policy

Menendez on Trajectory of Cuba Engagement Policy

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) delivered the following remarks on the Senate Floor on the recent flawed policy changes with Cuba and provided a progress report on democracy and human rights on the island. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

“I rise today – as I always have – in defense of the Cuban people who long for the day when they are free of the iron fist of the Castro regime.  A day when we can honestly say:  ‘Cuba es libre’ -- and mean it.  I rise with great concern over the trajectory of the policy towards Cuba that President Obama announced on December 17th, 2014.

“In executing this new policy, the Obama Administration has spared no generosity towards the dictatorship in Cuba.  It commuted the sentences of three Cuban spies, including one serving a life sentence for murder conspiracy against Americans who died while flying a civilian aircraft in international airspace that was struck down by Cuban MIGs.  It eased a host of travel and trade sanctions in spite of the purpose and intent of U.S. law.  It removed Cuba from the state-sponsors of terrorism list while it continues harboring fugitives from U.S. justice and members of foreign terrorist organizations.  It negotiated an agreement to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba that falls short of international legal norms.  It upgraded Cuba in the trafficking-in-persons report despite its continued slave labor and human trafficking practices.  And it even acquiesced to shunning dissidents from attending the U.S. Embassy's flag-raising ceremony in Havana.

“Yet, Cuban dictator Raul Castro refuses to reciprocate any of these concessions.  To the contrary, Castro has emphasized that he  ‘will not cede one millimeter’ -- and in his speech at last month's United Nations General Assembly gathering demanded even more, namely for President Obama to evade U.S. law as regards sanctions, to shutdown Radio and TV Marti, to end democracy programs, to return Guantanamo and to pay a trillion dollars in damages to his regime.

“Today, ten months later, the metrics of this new policy show it's clearly headed in the wrong direction.  The Castro family is poised for a generational transition in power.  The Cuban regime's monopolies are being strengthened.  Courageous democracy leaders are being relegated to obscurity – their voices muffled -- by the actions of the United States and foreign nations alike.  Political repression has exponentially increased.  The number of Cubans desperately fleeing the island is rising.  And the purpose and intent of U.S. law is being circumvented.  The trajectory of our policy is unacceptable and I urge President Obama to correct its course. 

“While speaking recently to a business gathering in Washington, D.C., President Obama argued how he believes this new policy is ‘creating the environment in which a generational change and transition will take place in that country.’  But the key questions is – ‘a generational change and transition’ towards what and by whom? Cuban democracy leader, Antonio Rodiles, has concisely expressed this concern --  ‘legitimizing the [Castro] regime is the path contrary to a transition.’

“CNN has revealed that the Cuban delegation in the secret talks that began in mid-2013 with U.S. officials in Ottawa, Toronto and Rome, and which led to the December 17th policy announcement, was headed by Colonel Alejandro Castro Espin.  Colonel Castro Espin is the 49-year old son of Cuban dictator Raul Castro.  In both face-to-face meetings between President Obama and Raul Castro this year -- first at April's Summit of the Americas in Panama City and just last month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York -- Alejandro was seated – with a wide grin -- next to his father. 

“Alejandro holds the rank of Colonel in Cuba's Ministry of the Interior, with his hand on the pulse and trigger of the island's intelligence services and repressive organs.  It's no secret that Raul Castro is grooming Alejandro for a position of power.  Sadly, his role as interlocutor with the Obama Administration seeks to further their goal of an intra-family generational transition within the Castro clan -- similar to the Assad’s in Syria and the Kim’s in North Korea. And we know how well those have worked out.  To give you an idea of how Colonel Alejandro Castro views the United States, he describes its leaders as ‘those who seek to subjugate humanity to satisfy their interests and hegemonic goals.’

“But, of course, it also takes money to run a totalitarian dictatorship -- which is why Raul Castro named his son-in-law, General Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez Callejas, as head of GAESA, which stands for Grupo de Administracion Empresarial, S.A or translated Business Administrative Group.  GAESA is the holding company of Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Cuba’s military.  It is the dominant driving force of the island’s economy.  Established in the 1990s by Raul Castro, it controls tourism companies, ranging from the very profitable Gaviota S.A., which runs Cuba’s hotels, restaurants, car rentals and nightclubs, to TRD Caribe S.A., which runs the island’s retail stores.  GAESA controls virtually all economic transactions in Cuba. 

“According to Hotels Magazine, a leading industry publication, GAESA, through its subsidiaries, is by far the largest regional hotel conglomerate in Latin America.  It controls more hotel rooms than The Walt Disney Company.  As McLatchy News explained a few years back, ‘Tourists who sleep in some of Cuba's hotels, drive rental cars, fill up their gas tanks, and even those riding in taxis have something in common: They are contributing to the [Cuban] Revolutionary Armed Forces' bottom line.’

“GAESA became this business powerhouse thanks to the millions of Canadian and European tourists that have and continue to visit Cuba each year.  These tourists have done absolutely nothing to promote freedom and democracy in Cuba.  To the contrary, they have directly financed a system of control and repression over the Cuban people -- all while enjoying cigars made by Cuban workers paid in worthless pesos, and having a Cuba Libre – which is an oxymoron, on the beaches of Varadero.  Yet, despite the clear evidence, some want American tourists to now double GAESA's bonanza – and, through GAESA, strengthen the regime.

“An insightful report this week by Bloomberg Business also explained how, ‘[Raul's son-in-law, General Rodriguez] is the gatekeeper for most foreign investors, requiring them to do business with his organization if they wish to set up shop on the island…If and when the U.S. finally removes its half-century embargo on Cuba, it will be this man who decides which investors get the best deals.’  In other words, all of the talking points about how lifting the embargo and tourism restrictions would somehow benefit the Cuban people are empty and misleading rhetoric.  It would only serve as a funnel for Castro, Inc.

“Here's what over a dozen of Cuba's most renowned pro-democracy leaders, including the head of The Ladies in White -- a pro-democracy group composed of the mothers, wives, daughters and other relatives of Cuban political prisoners -- Berta Soler, former prisoner of conscience Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ‘Antunez’ and Sakaharov prize recipient Guillermo Farinas, warned in an open letter to the U.S. Congress dated September 25th, 2015: ‘The lifting of the embargo, as proposed by the [Obama] Administration, will permit the old ruling elite to transfer their power to their political heirs and families, giving little recourse to the Cuban people in confronting this despotic power.  Totalitarian communism will mutate into a totalitarian state adopting minimal market reforms that will serve only to accentuate the existing social inequality in the midst of an increasingly uncertain future.’

“From an economic perspective, the very concept of trade and investment in Cuba is grounded in a misconception about how ‘business’ takes place on the island.  In most of the world, trade and investment means dealing with privately-owned or operated corporations.  That's not the case in Cuba.  In Cuba, foreign trade and investment is the exclusive domain of the state, i.e. the Castro family. There are no ‘exceptions.’  In the last five decades, every single "foreign trade" transaction with Cuba has been with the Castro regime, or an individual acting on behalf of the regime.  The regime's exclusivity regarding trade and investment was enshrined in Article 18 of Castro's 1976 Constitution. That has not changed.

“Moreover, M. President, there is no private sector in Cuba. We often hear the Obama Administration and the media refer to Cuba's small ‘self-employment’ licensees as ‘private enterprise,’ which implies ‘private ownership.’  Yet Cuba's ‘self-employed’ licensees have no ownership rights whatsoever - be it to their artistic or ‘intellectual’ outputs, commodity they produce, or personal service they offer.  Licensees have no legal entity – hence business—to transfer, sell or leverage. They don't even own the equipment essential to their self-employment. More to the point, licensees have no right to engage in foreign trade, seek or receive foreign investments. Effectually, licensees continue to work for the state -- and when the state decides such jobs are no longer needed, licensees are shut down without recourse, which has happened several times in the past.

“The fact is, we already know what expanded U.S. trade with Cuba would look like.  Since the passage of the 2000 Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act  (TSREEA), over $5 billion in U.S. agricultural and medical products have been sold to Cuba.  It is an unpleasant fact, however, that all those sales by more than 250 privately-owned U.S. companies were made to only one Cuban buyer: the Castro regime.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture itself, ‘The key difference in exporting to Cuba, compared to other countries in the region, is that all U.S. agricultural exports must be channeled through one Cuban government agency, ALIMPORT.’ 

“Exporting to Cuba is not about trading with small or mid-size farmers, private businesses and manufacturers around the island, as some of my colleagues would like Americans to believe.  So, it should be no surprise that U.S. products end up on the shelves of regime-owned stores that accept only ‘hard currencies,’ such as the U.S. dollar or Euro, with huge price mark-ups.  Shoppers at these ‘dollar stores’ are mainly tourists.  Little imported food or medicine ever makes it into stores where Cubans shop; neither is it available on ration cards.

“It requires a tremendous leap of faith or belief in some extreme and unprecedented economic model -- call it ‘dictator-down economics’ -- to argue or theorize that current or more U.S. sales to Castro's monopolies have or can ever benefit the Cuban ‘people.’  The facts prove otherwise, as has been the case with sales of U.S. food and medicine. So what makes us believe expanded trade with the U.S. would be any different?

“As a matter of fact, since December 17th, despite the Obama Administration's efforts to improve relations with the Castro regime, which have included an increase in travel and eased payment terms for agricultural sales, U.S. sales to ALIMPORT during the same period have plummeted by over 50 percent.  The question is:  Why would even more concessions make this manipulation by the Castro regime's monopolies any different?

“Let's stop talking about the embargo in vague terms. The embargo, as codified by the U.S. Congress, simply requires the fulfillment of some very basic conditions, which are consistent with the democratic and human rights standards of 34 out of 35 nations in the Western Hemisphere.  Cuba remains the exception.  Though, ironically, Venezuela continues on a downwards spiral away from these standards -- thanks in no small part to Cuba's control over the Chavez/Maduro governments.

“When President Obama or some of my colleagues call for the lifting of the embargo, they are asking Congress to unilaterally discard these conditions.  So, I ask them, which of these conditions -- codified in U.S. law -- do they disagree with or oppose that they are willing to unilaterally discard them?  Is it, for example – the condition that Cuba ‘legalizes all political activity?’ The condition that Cuba ‘releases all political prisoners and allows for investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international human rights organizations?’ The condition that Cuba ‘dissolves the present Department of State Security in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response Brigades?’ 

“The condition that Cuba ‘makes a public commitment to organizing free and fair elections for a new government?’  The condition that Cuba ‘makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable progress in establishing an independent judiciary; respecting internationally recognized human rights and basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory nation; allows the establishment of independent trade unions as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labor Organization, and allows the establishment of independent social, economic, and political associations?’ 

“The condition that Cuba give ‘adequate assurances that it will allow the speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban people?’  The condition that Cuba is ‘effectively guaranteeing the rights of free speech and freedom of the press, including granting permits to privately owned media and telecommunications companies to operate in Cuba?’  The condition that Cuba is ‘assuring the right to private property?’  The condition that Cuba is ‘taking appropriate steps to return to United States citizens -- and entities which are 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens -- property taken by the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after January 1, 1959, or to provide equitable compensation to such citizens and entities for such property?’

“The condition that Cuba has ‘extradited or otherwise rendered to the United States all persons sought by the United States Department of Justice for crimes committed in the United States?’ Which is it? Which conditions do they disagree with?

“If President Obama, as media reports indicate, takes the unprecedented step of abstaining from voting against a Cuban resolution in the United Nations General Assembly criticizing his own nation's law -- which is what the Cuban embargo is -- he would be disavowing these basic conditions.  Think of the horrible message that turning a blind-eye to these basic conditions in U.S. law would send to the Cuban people about the United States' priorities. Think of the horrible message it would send to Cuba's courageous democracy leaders.

“Since December 17th, scores of foreign dignitaries, businessmen, and Members of the U.S. Congress have descended upon Havana to meet with Raul Castro and his cronies, while sidelining Cuba's courageous dissidents.  As Cuban independent journalist and blogger, Yoani Sanchez, lamented – ‘a true shower of presidents, foreign ministers and deputies has intensified over Cuba without daily life feeling any kind of relief from such illustrious presences.’

“Sadly, as the AP reported, ‘more than 20 U.S. lawmakers have come to Cuba since February without meeting with opposition groups that once were an obligatory stop for congressional delegations.’  The reason U.S. lawmakers don’t meet with human rights activists and political dissidents is because – if they do so – they don’t get a meeting with Raul Castro. I guess to many of my colleagues a photo op is more important.

“Perhaps the biggest affront was during the flag-raising ceremony for the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana -- to which no Cuban dissidents were invited. The Secretary of State said publicly this was due to ‘a lack of space’ and this it was a ‘government-to-government’ function.  Yet, images clearly showed there was plenty of space and lots of non-governmental figures on the invitee list.  Can you imagine what the world would be like today if this had been the attitude of the United States towards Sakharov, Solzhenitsyn, Havel, Walesa and Mandela?

“Meanwhile, adding injury to insult, Cuba's courageous dissident leaders, now neglected by the Obama Administration and Congressional supporters of the new policy -- and even further neglected by foreign dignitaries and unscrupulous businessmen searching for a profit at whatever cost -- are facing a dramatic increase in repression.  Since December 17th, when President Obama announced his new policy, Raul Castro's dictatorship has exponentially increased the number of political arrests, beatings, and detentions.

“Just between January and March of this year, politically motivated arrests increased nearly 70 percent, from 178 arrests in the former month to 610 in the latter.  According to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an internationally-recognized human rights watchdog, the total number of political arrests during the first nine months of this year were 5,146.  In just nine months, these 5,146 political arrests surpass the year-long tallies recorded for 2010 (2,074 political arrests), 2011 (4,123 political arrests) and 2015 is tragically on-pace to become one of the most repressive years in recent history.

“The official number of September arrests alone were 822 – the most in 15 months. They include Danilo Maldonado, a 31-year old artist known as ‘El Sexto,’ who was imprisoned on December 25th, 2014 -- just one week after the new policy was announced.  El Sexto was arrested for painting the names Fidel and Raul on two pigs, which was considered an act of ‘contempt.’  He remains imprisoned without trial or sentence or any justice. Amnesty International has recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.

“They also include Zaqueo Baez Guerrero, Ismael Bonet Rene and Maria Josefa Acón Sardinas, a member of The Ladies in White. These three dissidents sought to approach Pope Francis during his recent Mass in Havana to ask for his solidarity with Cuba's political prisoners and democracy movement.  They were dragged away and arrested under the eyes of the international media.  They have been on a hunger and thirst strike since September 20th and are being held at the infamous secret police center for ‘investigations’ at Aldabó and 100th Street in Havana.  I'm very concerned about their well-being.

“They also include the case of Digna Rodriguez Ibañez, an Afro-Cuban member of The Ladies in White in Santa Clara, who was attacked by Castro regime agents and pelted with tar. That's right -- with tar.  And Eralisis Frometa Polanco, another member of The Ladies in White, who was pregnant and forcefully aborted due to the violent blows to the stomach she received during a beating for her peaceful activism.  And Daisy Cuello Basulto, also a member of The Ladies in White, whose daughter was arrested, stripped naked and forced to urinate in front of male state security officers, as a means of tormenting her mother.

“For 24 straight Sunday's in a row, Cuban dissidents have tried to peacefully demonstrate after Mass under the slogan #TodosMarchamos (#WeAllMarch) and for 24 Sundays in a row they have been intercepted, violently beaten and arrested. This image is of Cuban dissident leader, Antonio Rodiles, a 43-year old intellectual, after having his face literally shattered during one of those peaceful Sunday marches.  Yet, despite the tremendous indignities these dissidents suffer at the hands of the Castro regime, they remain undeterred in their struggle for freedom and democracy for all Cubans. 

“Rather than shunning these courageous dissidents, the United States should be embracing them.  On the same day that news hit that 882 political arrests were made in September alone, by the Castro regime, Secretary Kerry is in Chile talking about some marine life agreement with Cuba. What about the human Lives in Cuba suffering under this oppression? 

“The Obama Administration's policy seems to be bringing little comfort to the Cuban people generally, as they continue to flee by land, air and the perilous journey by sea across the Florida Straits, where countless Cubans have lost their lives in search for freedom.  Nearly 32,000 Cubans entered the U.S. in the first nine months of the fiscal year that ended on September 30th, up from about 26,000 migrants who entered last fiscal year, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Fewer than 7,500 Cubans came in 2010.

“Finally, M. President, as one of the authors of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 – known as the ‘Libertad Act’ -- and having served as a manager in its conference committee, I'm concerned that the recent regulations and actions being taken by the Treasury and Commerce Departments contravene the purpose and intent of the law. As the final conference committee report of the Libertad Act made clear – ‘It is the intent of the committee of conference that all economic sanctions in force on March 1, 1996, shall remain in effect until they are either suspended or terminated pursuant to the authorities provided in section 204 of this Act (requiring a Presidential determination that a democratic transition is under way in Cuba).’  

“Those are the conditions I previously addressed.   The report also states that ‘the explicit mandates in this legislation make clear congressional intent that U.S. law be enforced fully and, thereby, provide a basis for strict congressional oversight of executive branch enforcement measures henceforth.’  In furtherance of this intent, the prohibition on U.S. assistance and financing of agricultural sales to Cuba; the prohibition on additional imports from Cuba; and the prohibition of travel relating to tourist activities in the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, are explicit, clear and leave no room for exceptions. These provisions were precisely written to deny U.S. funds to the Cuban regime's repressive machinery, and prohibiting them from being funneled through Castro's monopolies. Yet, that's the -- perhaps unintended -- direction the new regulations are headed-in -- with the tragic, repressive consequences on full display.

“Any hope that President Obama's goodwill would elicit a different tone from Raul Castro was further diminished by the Cuban dictator's speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month. Castro dedicated his 17-minute speech almost entirely to bashing the policies of the United States from Latin America to Eastern Europe to the Middle East.  He praised Latin American autocrats in the mold of Hugo Chavez, sided with Putin and Assad, criticized representative democracy and dismissed human rights as a "utopia."  While President Obama referred to the concessions he's already made in his remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, Raul Castro audaciously demanded even more.

“We all remember the message President Obama sent to the foes of freedom in first inaugural speech: ‘[W]e will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.’  I urge President Obama to follow his own doctrine and reconsider some of the unmerited and reciprocated generosity in his new policy -- for Raul Castro's fist clearly remains clenched, yet the President's hand is still fully extended. 

“He claims that those who don’t agree with his Cuba policy are stuck in the past, but it’s the Castro regime that’s stuck in the past – still living their misguided Cold War dream – and the world hasn’t insisted they move forward.  Instead we are rewarding them for their intransigence.  Unless we challenge them we will not see real change. 

“The fact is -- hope and change do not come easily, they don’t just happen.  Like any parent with a child, they won’t change unless you challenge them and give them a reason.  Like Congress, it needs to be challenged to change.  And so with Cuba. The world needs to challenge the regime or change will never come – not give in and give everything.  To do so only strengthens their resolve to hold on to their Cold War dream and prolongs the day when we can truly say to the world: Cuba es Libre.”

 http://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/menendez-on-trajectory-of-cuba-engagement-policy

Cuban dissidents on the passing of Vaclav Havel

Over twitter on Sunday Cuban dissidents expressed their condolences, prayers and mourning for Vaclav Havel. At the same time many recognized the solidarity he had demonstrated on their behalf over the years. The English translation is on top and the original Spanish in bold just below.

Guillermo Fariñas Hernández

Independent Journalist and Sakharov prize winner Guillermo Fariñas Hernández tweeted:

An icon of Democracy and liberty has died. God bless the memory of Vaclav Havel.
Murio un icono de la Democracia y la Libertad. Dios bendiga la memoria de Vaclav Havel.

Pedro Argüelles Morán

Former prisoner of conscience of the group of the 75 Pedro Argüelles Morán tweeted

Havel is an example for those engaged in civic and pro-democratic struggle. God take him to his bosom.
Havel es todo un ejemplo para los luchadores civilistas y pro~democraticos. Dios lo acoja en su seno.

Argüelles Morán further tweeted:

Vaclav Havel is gone physically, because spiritually, he will always be present among those engaged in the civic struggle for fundamental rights and freedoms.

Havel ha desaparecido fisicamente,porque espiritualmente,siempre estara presente entre los luchadores civilista a favor de los derechos y libertades fundamentales.

Yoani Sanchez

Cuban blogger and philologist Yoani Sanchez tweeted that

Vaclav Havel’s book "The power of the powerless" helped me find my voice, to recognize myself as a civic being. Thank you teacher!
"El poder de los sin poder" libro de Vaclav Havel que me ayudo a encontrar mi voz, a reconocerme como ente civico. Gracias maestro!

She also tweeted that

Vaclav Havel had passed away and we barely started to walk the path he walked dozens of years ago :-(
Vaclav Havel y nosotros apenas hemos comenzado a transitar por un camino que el emprendio hace varias decadas :-(

Oswaldo Payá and Vaclav Havel

Leader of the Christian Liberation Movement and Sakharov prize winner Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas tweeted today that

Havel, precursor and guide to liberation in this new era. God receive you, friend in solidarity with the cause of democracy in Cuba.
Havel, un precursor y guía de la liberación en esta nueva era. Dios te reciba, amigo solidario con la causa de la democracia en Cuba.

Oswaldo further tweeted:

Personally I lose an inspiring friend, from whom I received a great education. Always grateful to Havel for the reception he gave me.
Personalmente pierdo un amigo ,un inspirador, del cual recibi una gran enseñanza. Siempre agradeceré a Havel la acogida que me dio.

Dagoberto Valdes

Dagoberto Valdes of Coexistence Magazine tweeted:

Havel has died. The world has won a symbol of the "power of the powerless." Coexistence Magazine offers its condolences and prayers.

Havel ha muerto.El mundo gana un simbolo del "poder de los sin poder". La revista Convivencia ofrece sus condolencias y oraciones.

Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia

Former prisoner of conscience of the group of the 75, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia tweeted

The death of former Czech Vaclav Havel, a friend of Cuba has caused deep sorrow. A great man has died.

Profundo dolor nos ha causado la noticia del fallecimiento del expresidente Checo Vaclav Havel, gran amigo de Cuba. Ha muerto un gran hombre.

Tearing Down Walls: 22 years ago today in Berlin and now in Havana

22 years ago today the Berlin Wall fell. And the wall of control and censorship that surrounds us when will it fall? - Yoani Sanchez via twitter on November 9, 2011

22 years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, while in Cuba there are still walls standing against citizen freedom. - Luis Felipe Rojas via twitter on November 9, 2011

Tearing down the Berlin Wall

22 years ago today the Berlin Wall began to be physically torn down. It was a great day for freedom and the triumph of long years of nonviolent resistance throughout Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall had been constructed beginning on August 13, 1961 with barbed wire fence followed by a 100 mile wall and more than 300 watch towers to spot and shoot escapees and the East German communists called it the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart." Minefields were laid in some sectors.



The destruction of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 was not inevitable. It did not fall down. It was torn down.

Tearing down the Berlin Wall

Both Luis Felipe Rojas and Yoani Sanchez in the midst of their identifying the walls of repression that exist in Cuba today are doing their part to ensure that the walls of repression built up in Cuba over the past half century are also torn down.


No+Violence March in Havana, Cuba, November 6, 1989

In Germany, this was not a passive top down process or the Berlin Wall falling as a result of gravity and inertia. It bears repeating that it was torn down by courageous Germans.

Tearing down the Berlin Wall

Remember that between 1961 and the very year it was torn down at least 136 Germans were extrajudicially executed by the East German border guards just for trying to cross the Berlin Wall to freedom. There is The Berlin Wall Museum that offers a complete listing of the 136 known victims with details about them and their deaths.

Chris Gueffroy shot dead on February 5, 1989 at age 20 by East German guards while trying to cross the Berlin Wall

For example one of the last victims, Chris Gueffroy was born on June 21, 1968 and shot dead on February 5, 1989 trying to cross on the Britzer Zweigkanal, near the small garden colonies “Harmonie“ and “Sorgenfrei” on the sector border between Berlin-Treptow and Berlin-Neukölln. Dead at 20 years of age for the crime of wanting to live in freedom. A memorial column commemorating Chris Gueffroy was erected at Britzer Zweigkanal in Berlin-Treptow in 2003 in honor of his 35th birthday. A biography and account of the circumstances that led to his death and the aftermath are available online.

Memorial Column for Chris Gueffroy

As in Cuba today, the process of the Berlin Wall being torn down was both a struggle of ideas and of nonviolent action. Germans crossed the wall seeking freedom in an act of nonviolent defiance. Many escaped but many paid the ultimate price for freedom. The Order to Border Guards from the East German regime was clear:

"It is your duty to use your combat … skills in such a way as to overcome the cunning of the border breacher, to challenge or liquidate him in order to thwart the planned border breach... Don’t hesitate to use your weapon even when border breaches happen with women and children, which traitors have often exploited in the past.”

On June 14, 1973, Fidel Castro addressed the men charged with shooting East Germans fleeing to West Germany as "the courageous and self-denying border guards of the GDR People's Army who stand guard in the front line of the entire-socialist community." Later in the evening Premier Castro addressed the Nikolay Bezarin Barracks in East Berlin:

It is very important to know that the people of the GDR have great confidence in you, that they are truly proud of you. The comrades of the party and the citizens of socialist Berlin have told us with great satisfaction about the activity of the border troops, speaking with great admiration for you and for your services.

Some equate nonviolence with pacifism and they are profoundly mistaken. There is nothing passive and often times nothing peaceful about nonviolent resistance. It can be loud and boisterous or as in the case of the Berlin Wall the loud sound of tools smashing against an oppressive structure that denied the East German people the right to freedom of movement.

Those walls are present today in the Cuba of the Castro brothers but they are not only physical walls but also psychological walls. Human rights defenders like Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva of the Council of Human Rights Rapporters, bloggers like Yoani Sanchez and Luis Felipe Rojas, activists like Jorge Garcia Perez "Antunez", Oscar Elias Biscet, Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, and the Ladies in White "Laura Pollán", musicians like those that comprise the punk rock band Porno para Ricardo, graffiti artists like El Sexto and many more are working to tear down both sets of walls in Cuba.

The end of the Berlin Wall was not inevitable it was the product of the courage and sacrifice of many Eastern Europeans. The same holds true for Cuba. In the same manner that Europeans once did under the Iron Curtain, Cubans today are speaking, writing, spraying, singing, marching and protesting truth to power in Communist Cuba. They need the solidarity of people of good will from around the world to tear down the walls of repression that remain in Cuba to ensure that there is not another missed opportunity for a nonviolent transition to freedom.

Declaration of Unity from Cuban Dissidents in Havana: Principles for a New Nation

[Call for unity presented by various members of the internal dissidence on October 4, 2011 in Havana. ]

The translation below, with minor changes, was first published by Alberto de la Cruz of Babalu Blog. The original Spanish follows below the English translation.

PRINCIPLES FOR A NEW NATION

Cuba was once a prosperous nation that counted on democratic institutions and a flourishing economy when it was compared to the rest of the world. The communist dictatorship destroyed not only its economic foundations, but also its moral structures. Now, a new generation of Cubans are proposing to dismantle this opprobrious system and the build a new nation founded on the recognized universal principles of peace, liberty, and the well being of all her sons and daughters.

FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY

The Cuban communist regime is a military dictatorship that has maintained power for more than fifty years through the use of terror, intimidation, lies, disinformation, demagoguery, political opportunism, and violence against its adversaries and even its own people.

The Castro hierarchy—first under the sole direction of Fidel Castro and later his brother Raul—has not only assumed political power, it has also extended its control to all spheres of national life, from the social to the economic. Everything is done to ensure the Cuban nation is a highly militarized society where no one is allowed to breathe even the most minimal vestige of liberty.

The Castro tyranny’s policy can be described without fear of exaggeration as one of genocide, which seeks the total extermination of its adversaries. Its actions speak for themselves:

—It has carried out hundreds of extrajudicial executions of its opponents and thousands more after trials without due process.

—It has imprisoned and arbitrarily repressed hundreds of thousands.

—It has violated individual rights enumerated in its own constitution.

—It has illegally confiscated without compensation hundreds of thousands of private properties.

—It has persecuted, imprisoned, and forcibly exiled hundreds of religious individuals of different beliefs.

—It has illegally abolished the Democratic Constitution of 1940 and has imposed the monstrous Communist Constitution of 1976.

—It has dismantled all the democratic institutions created by the nation during more than fifty years, and has violated the population’s most elemental civil and human rights.

—It has committed barbaric acts such as the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat where dozens of men, women, and children were murdered.

—It executed three young men only for attempting to leave the country, and it criminally shot down two airplanes over international waters carrying four human rights activists on a mission to save lives in the Florida Straits.

—It has imprisoned dozens of peaceful opposition members, among them several intellectuals, journalists, and independent librarians during the Black Spring of 2003.

—It has used inhumane and degrading torture and cruelty against defenseless political prisoners in the country’s prisons.

—It has carried out massive arrests, beatings, and even assassinated those who opposed them, including women and children.

This has been the absurd panorama and the widespread injustices which the people of Cuba have struggled against, almost always alone, since 1959. To finally put an end to this lamentable state of affairs, arises at this moment a strong, non-violent civic movement has set out to reestablish civil society and gain the rights and liberties of our people.

Democracy is not a chimera, but a tangible reality that the Cuban people can obtain through non-violent civil struggle supported by ideas and procedures meticulously formulated by outstanding contemporary academics. The same give peaceful weapons to the population for resistance against tyrannies, both current and future, and for the defense of their liberties.

This method utilizes psychological, social, economic, and political weapons to free the citizens from submission and obedience, allowing them to suppress the dictatorial government’s sources of power.

Simply put, the non-violent civic struggle is the massive defiance to the regime, and therefore presupposes the unity of democratic forces and those forces with the people.

The Fundamental Principles of this Declaration are:

Work towards a change to a democratic system based on a true State of Rights, and with a modern economy that is developed and highly efficient.

Achieve a transition based on constitutional norms that leads to the reestablishment of our traditional democratic institutions and all universally recognized liberties.

Strengthen the struggle for the respect of human rights, and achieve a society free of political prisoners.

Respect the fundamental rights established by the International Pact for Civil and Political Rights, as well as the right to life and the freedom of thought.

Encourage and strengthen unity among Cubans, regardless of where they live, based on fraternity and ethics as well as their individual relationships and the struggle we have before us.

Advocate and strengthen among the citizenry the method of non-violent civic struggle.

Create a free Cuba without ties to our recent past by the disintegration of the regime, and the eradication from the minds of our people the complacent attitude that has been predominate these past 52 years of tyranny.

Increase international solidarity with the Cuban people and support for its just struggle for the reestablishment of democracy.

Reaffirm that the Cuban people deserve a dignified life, where they can enjoy the liberties and the good things that complete happiness offers. This will only become reality when we all incorporate ourselves into the struggle for democratic change.

The signers of this declaration consider it a first step towards a definitive consolidation of the unity that will make possible an integral project for a new nation.

Look to the Cuban people with the objective of carrying out a nation project that represents the most longed for aspirations of its heroes and martyrs throughout its history.

In this quest we are inspired by our faith in a Higher Being, our love for our beloved Cuba, and deep and unequivocal patriotism; in addition, absolute respect for our flag, for our national anthem, for other patriotic symbols, and for the heroes and martyrs of our struggle for the liberty and independence of our country throughout its entire history.

Original Spanish text taken from Penúltimos Días reproduced below:

Principios para una nueva nación

[Llamado a la unidad presentado por varios miembros de la disidencia interna el 4 de octubre de 2011, en La Habana.]

Cuba era una nación próspera que contaba con instituciones democráticas y una floreciente economía cuando se le comparaba con el resto del mundo. La dictadura comunista destruyó no solo sus cimientos económicos sino sus estructuras morales. Ahora, una nueva generación de cubanos nos proponemos desmantelar este oprobioso sistema y construir una nueva nación sobre principios universalmente reconocidos con paz, libertad y bienestar para todos sus hijos.

De la dictadura a la democracia

El régimen comunista cubano es una dictadura militar que se ha mantenido en el poder durante más de cincuenta años por medio del terror, la intimidación, la mentira, la desinformación, la demagogia, el oportunismo político y la violencia contra sus adversarios y hasta contra su pueblo.
La jerarquía castrense —bajo la dirección unipersonal primero de Fidel Castro y, después, de su hermano Raúl— no sólo ha asumido el poder político sino que ha extendido su control a todas las esferas de la vida nacional desde lo social hasta lo económico. Todo esto ha hecho de la nación cubana una sociedad altamente militarizada donde no se respira el más mínimo vestigio de libertad.

La política de la tiranía castrista puede ser catalogada sin temor a caer en exageración de un genocidio que se propone el total exterminio de sus adversarios. Y prueba al canto:

—Ha fusilados extrajudicialmente a centenares de sus oponentes y a miles más tras juicios sin garantías procesales.

—Ha encarcelado y reprimido arbitrariamente a centenares de miles.

—Ha violado las garantías individuales contenidas en su propia Constitución.

—Ha confiscado de manera ilegal y sin compensación alguna centenares de miles de propiedades privadas.

—Ha perseguido, encarcelado y expulsado del país a centenares de religiosos de distintas denominaciones.

—Ha abolido ilegalmente la Constitución Democrática de 1940 e impuesto el adefesio de la Constitución Comunista de 1976.

—Ha desmantelado todas las instituciones democráticas creadas por la nación durante más de cincuenta años y conculcado los más elementales derechos civiles y derechos humanos de la población.

—Ha cometido actos de barbarie como el hundimiento del remolcador “13 de Marzo”, en que asesinaron a decenas de hombres, mujeres y niños.

—Ha fusilado a tres jóvenes por el sólo hecho de intentar salir del país y derribado criminalmente en aguas internacionales a dos avionetas en las que viajaban cuatros activistas de derechos humanos en la misión de salvar vidas en el Estrecho de la Florida.

—Ha encarcelado a decenas de opositores pacíficos entre quienes se encontraban numerosos intelectuales, periodistas y bibliotecarios independientes durante la Primavera Negra de 2003.

—Ha aplicado torturas y tratos crueles, inhumanos y degradantes contra indefensos presos políticos en las cárceles del país.

—Ha llevado a cabo arrestos masivos, golpizas y hasta asesinatos contra sus contestatarios, incluidos jóvenes y mujeres.

Este ha sido el panorama alucinante y las injusticias generalizadas contra las que ha luchado, casi siempre a solas, el pueblo de Cuba desde 1959. Para poner fin a este lamentable estado de cosas, surge en este momento un fuerte movimiento civilista no violento que se propone restablecer la sociedad civil y conquistar los derechos y libertades de nuestro pueblo.

La democracia no es una quimera sino una realidad tangible que el pueblo cubano puede alcanzar mediante la lucha cívica no violenta sustentada en criterios y procedimientos detalladamente formulados por destacados académicos contemporáneos. Los mismos dan armas pacíficas a la población para la resistencia contra las tiranías, tanto presentes como futuras, y para la defensa de sus libertades.

Este método utiliza armas psicológicas, sociales, económicas y políticas para liberar a los ciudadanos de la sumisión y de la obediencia; así como para suprimir las fuentes de poder del gobierno dictatorial.

Dicho en pocas palabras, la lucha cívica no violenta es el desafío masivo al régimen y por tanto presupone la unidad de las fuerzas democráticas y de éstas con el pueblo.

Los principios fundamentales de esta declaración de unidad son:

Trabajar por el cambio hacia un sistema democrático basado en un verdadero Estado de Derecho y una economía moderna, desarrollada y altamente eficiente.

Lograr una transición sobre normas constitucionales que conduzcan al restablecimiento de nuestras tradicionales instituciones democráticas y a todas las libertades universalmente reconocidas.

Reforzar la lucha por el respeto a los derechos humanos y alcanzar una sociedad libre de presos políticos.

Respetar los derechos fundamentales establecidos por el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos como son entre otros el derecho a la vida y a la libertad de pensamiento.

Fomentar y consolidar la unidad de los cubanos, con independencia de su residencia, sobre la base de la fraternidad y la ética tanto en sus relaciones individuales como en la lucha que tenemos por delante.

Propugnar y consolidar entre los ciudadanos el método de la lucha cívica no violenta.

Crear una Cuba libre sin ataduras a nuestro pasado reciente por medio de la desintegración del régimen y de la erradicación de la mente de nuestro pueblo del criterio de acomodación que ha predominado durante estos 52 años de tiranía.

Incrementar la solidaridad internacional con el pueblo cubano y el apoyo a su justa lucha por el restablecimiento de la democracia.

Reafirmar que el pueblo cubano merece una vida digna en el disfrute de las libertades y de los bienes que le ofrezcan una felicidad plena. Esto sólo se convertirá en realidad cuando nos incorporemos todos a la lucha por los cambios democráticos.

Los firmantes de la presente declaración la consideramos como el primer paso hacia la definitiva consolidación de la unidad que hará posible un proyecto integral por una nueva nación.

Consultar al pueblo cubano con el objetivo de elaborar un proyecto de nación que represente las más anheladas aspiraciones de sus héroes y mártires a través de toda nuestra historia.

En esta idea nos animan la fe en un Ser Supremo, el amor por nuestra querida Cuba y un profundo e inequívoco patriotismo; así como el absoluto respeto a nuestra bandera, al himno nacional, a los demás símbolos patrios y a los héroes y mártires de la lucha por la libertad e independencia de nuestro país a lo largo de toda su historia.

Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas: I Say Freedom!

"We say that what you have to do is give the vote to the Cuban people." - Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas

Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas

The following is a response by opposition leader Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas to an Associated Press article that appeared on September 23, 2011 titled Cuba's opposition tries to plot fresh course. It coincides with a blog entry analyzing the same article by Cuban dissident blogger, Miriam Celaya, which is critical of the news bureaus based in Cuba. It appears that Paul Haven and Andrea Rodríguez hit a nerve. Oswaldo Paya's response is important and should be paid close attention because he is offering an overview of the situation in the island that is speaking truth to power. It is also implicitly and at times explicitly criticizing all who are too timid to speak out. Sadly, this appears to include some who should know better.

On September 20 the reporter, Andrea Rodriguez, of the Associated Press agency, visited me at my house for my opinion on the subject of the dissidence. During the conversation the journalist gave her own opinions and carried out five questions. Days later the AP published the information on the subject in which only appear a few references to sentences emitted by me in that conversation.

The conversation in my house was filmed with the consent of the visiting journalist with a camera of my family.

The subject is topical and important for the nonviolent opposition and for Cubans. I believe it is of interest to international public opinion. It is my right to publish my own opinions made on that occasion but the full extent to which the public can truly know and not just a micro sample as published by the Associated Press.

This written transcript and edited video made public only contains my words and not the questions and opinions of the journalist. Thank you very much. Speaking to you was Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas.

Edited Transcript:

OSWALDO PAYÁ: What you just said is the description of the doctrine of disqualifying the dissidents based on those alleged changes, it is as if the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa continued today, but it seems that it makes no sense.

Anyway, in order to answer the question of what the situation of the dissident movement is we need to talk about what the people’s current situation is. There is a majority of poor people who are increasingly poor, a majority of exploited people in a country where the monthly salary only buys you three meals and there is no chance to improvement

A Cuban citizen cannot enter and leave the country, cannot express himself freely in the street. Why do you talk as if there was no communism or the CDR and the state security services did not monitor citizens, or there was no syndicated or communist party in each work center and academic institution in order to control and threaten people, or there was no discrimination in the access to power based on political and ideological grounds? Can the Cuban people finally freely choose their leaders in elections where there are several candidates for congress or the government?

What are we talking about? Is Cuba already a democracy? People have not heard about that.

Have economic changes already taken place in Cuba? Which ones?

While the poor sell discs or fried food, the heirs of the regime who own luxurious restaurants and live in beautiful palaces. There is a subclass generated by the oligarchy and its members have no future.

Let’s talk about the prospects for the people of Cuba, who do not know what is going to happen with their oil or with the development of the strip of the Mariel, and their growing distress because nobody can make life plans.

Therefore, the dissident community, although silenced, although victims of many maneuvers against it in which many sectors participate to silence it, and say “you´re not worthy anymore”. There are political prisoners in Cuba; the son of a member of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) was sentenced to 12 years in jail for the sole reason of being the son of a MCL member. His name is Yosvany Melchor Rodriguez and he was artificially condemned in Santiago de Cuba on November 30, 2010, after his mother was threatened by state security forces for not wanting to cooperate against us.

Therefore, the culture of fear has not disappeared, the order of the absence of civil and political rights. What is the change we are talking about? So far there is a promise that people are going to be able to buy and sell cars, but that is only a promise. Who is going to be able to buy and sell cars? Those in the upper class, not the majority of people. They are selling a virtual reality as if it was real change, and that is fraud. It is outrageous.

In Pinochet’s Chile, even in Batista’s times we could buy and sell cars, maybe even in South Africa during apartheid.

What do they mean? That we cubanitos just need the promise, not the fact, that one day we will be able to buy and sell cars, sell fried food or discs? And they say that change has already started in Cuba.

Look, that’s a source of tensions, that’s a joke, a mega-fraud for the Cuban people. We, Cubans, have the right to have rights. Our movement, along with many other dissidents, launched “The People’s Path,” where we say that changes are rights and not “maneuvers” and rights mean changes in the law in order to guarantee freedom of expression, the right to travel, to own companies, to freely express opinions in the media; those rights that are being claimed in many countries around the world by the people and by the new generations.

And the right to free elections. Why are there not free elections?

What do they mean? Were these people born to be ruled for 52 years by Fidel Castro and now 50 more years by Raúl Castro, the new oligarchy and their descendants? That’s the source of inequality, the poverty of the majority, the separation of families, the anxiety and fear that the Cuban people suffer.

The people of Cuba are entitled to live in dignity and to build their own projects.

What are they going to tell us now?

Why the dissidents?

For this, look at Cuba and tell me if the dissident movement is necessary or not. That’s why they want to silence it, because we are the only ones who are radically demanding rights, freedom and free elections, in a context where everything is set up to hand Cuba out as a cake; to give it away and auction it to the new oligarchy, who says that you have to give a vote of confidence to Raúl Castro. We say that what you have to do is give the vote to the Cuban people.

We had never faced such danger, such outrage and humiliation, and that’s why the dissident movement makes sense.

JOURNALIST:

OSWALDO PAYÁ: That is a misconception, we do have a project. I think you can find the Varela Project in the AP files, and the Transitional Program must be in the AP files as well.

There is a plot to say that the opposition has no project. You received “the people’s path”. How can you say that we don’t have a project? We have a project, we have proposals, and we have proposed changes in the electoral law, in the law of associations. In “The people’s path” we proposed a national dialogue and a road map which signifies dialogue in a spirit of reconciliation and changes in the laws. For instance, the creation of an electoral commission constituted by representatives from the opposition, the government and the Church, and a similar commission to regulate and facilitate access to the media.

Yes, we do have a project, we do have proposals. You don’t see us more openly because they repress and persecute us. Give us 15 minutes on Mesa Redonda. Let’s have the foreign press in Cuba do this more often. Don't just take our opinion. Travel across Cuba and you will see how there are repressed activists, who are persecuted and beaten up. We are in the midst of fierce repression and it is very unfair to say that the dissident movement is invisible. The dissident movement is out there and people know it, they know it in every neighborhood, in every town, in the countryside.

There is tremendous interest in saying that there is no dissident movement, that it is fragmented, divided, that it has no program. But that is false.

That is what the government needs to sustain the idea of the conspiracy against the people of Cuba at this moment.

Now that the military oligarchy, with the complicity of most states—European, North American and from Latin America—decide to give a vote of confidence to Raúl Castro. That’s why the dissident movement is so bothered, because we are saying that which is radical, and that is: Cuba continues to be a state of “no rights”, a state where citizens’ dignity is not respected and where the poor have no voice even to say they are poor.

JOURNALIST:

OSWALDO PAYÁ: Are you sure that during the Chilean military dictatorship the dissident movement did not have air time on the Catholic radio? I know they did. Besides, there was a time when international society pressured the regime and was supportive as it has never been with Cuba. In Cuba, they are looking for justifications to disqualify the dissident movement.

First of all, there are not three ways. There is only one way, and that’s how we have established it in “The people’s path.” Those who demonstrate in the streets signed the “The People’s Path,” the most important bloggers also signed it. There are different styles, different dimensions but you cannot say they have no project, no.

Talk to José Daniel Ferrer Garcia, who is encouraging demonstrations in Santiago de Cuba with great courage. He does have a project and I know it well.

It is easy to say that they are a trail of people. But no, they are people who have the courage and the dignity to take to the streets at the expense of much suffering for his family. That’s why they are persecuted.

What do we need to ask ourselves is why are they beaten up?

Where in the world does a woman dressed in white walking down the street constitute a provocation? Only in a fascist-communist regime like this.

Therefore the victim gets criticized because no one dares to criticize the executioner. There is a real “moral inversion,” in what the foreign media, intellectual circles, ecclesiastical circles, diplomats and politicians are doing against the people of Cuba and against the dissident right now. They judge the persecuted, the poor, those who are silenced, but they do not dare to judge the government. And what the government needs to be told is what we say in “the People’s Path”. Hold free elections; change the law so Cubans can express themselves, so they can choose. But what they want is to keep their privileges while they say that everything has been agreed upon. This joke will go very wrong because the people of Cuba are not stupid, and the majority are still poor and distressed.

But the worst is that the foreign media, intellectual circles, ecclesiastical circles, and entire states are accompanying the Cuban government in setting up this fraud, this joke that will bring only confrontation and pain to Cubans, and that is keeping the majority of the Cuban people silent and gagged while this virtual scenario for change is being created.

We are trying to draw attention to this but also demanding and saying that, after 52 years of totalitarianism, we want what all peoples want: freedom, rights, and free elections. The opposition is focusing on that direction: fundamental rights so citizens can organize and express themselves, and free elections.

They are telling us that we don’t connect with the people. Who does connect with them? Let’s ask the people in a referendum.

And those 15 minutes on television or ten minutes on radio are indeed important, that’s why we don’t get them, because they are scared of the truth. And that’s not because we are ourselves the possessors of the truth, but the truth that the people want a different life and we want to tell everyone who has relations with Cuba (and I say this with great responsibility) that cooperating with this lie and fraud does not help Cubans, it just helps them sink.

Some people make comparisons with Libya and Egypt, and they wonder why Cubans do not go out on the streets. I will never call on Cubans to take to the streets because I am convinced that Cubans will never go out on the streets because someone tells them to do so, and I am convinced that the day they go out in the streets no one is going to put them back in their homes with fear or terror.

But while we are demanding people’s rights, we do not want intervention for Cuba; neither do we want to become a new Libya, nor allowing the slaughter of Cubans so they can then come and bomb and make a pact with a repressive general.

Look, we want this “people’s path,” which is peaceful, transparent, and addresses the root of the problem by providing the solution: let’s give Cubans rights and voice, let’s launch a national dialogue, let’s hold free elections. But let’s avoid the convergent roads that are communism, the mega-fraud, the lie and the outrage that the Cuban people are suffering while an oligarchy which are the new rich makes pacts with the rich of the world, and of the savage capitalism that will eventually lead to a confrontation because they are marginalizing and doing to the people of Cuba what they did in 1898. I am saying this passionately because that’s how I feel.

As a Cuban, I am not a tourist or someone who is living in a glass case, I eat in a workers’ canteen, I relate to doctors, nurses, patients. My coworkers, whom I love and I’m proud to work with, despite having the state security watching me. I walk down these streets with my colleagues and friends, my neighbors. I know how Cubans feel, and they want a new life, they want freedom, they want rights. Unfortunately, they can only think of getting out of Cuba, no matter how—as a missionary, collaborator, visitor, invitee or refugee. But why? Exile has always been a punishment to Cubans.

I am not going to make a speech, I’m just telling you that up until now we have suffered totalitarianism, but now we are suffering the biggest attempt of fraud in all this time, which is imposing an image of change without real rights. We will not allow it; we will continue to demand rights, even if they say that the dissident movement, the opposition, does not exist.

But we claim...

JOURNALIST:

OSWALDO PAYÁ: In the first place, the state security is a machine of terror against the citizens, you know what Cubans commonly call state security – place your ear – here comes the Gestapo, and this is a popular word, they know that I did not invent it, but in something it seems. State security is a factory of lies and it is ridiculous and in addition rather mediocre professionally, lying, catch a crook or agent, infiltrate him in the opposition, in independent journalism to tell lies, to sabotage civic work, for bad information and then to say that this is what the dissidence does.

They did not have nor wanted the delicacy to do this well, that’s to say that the actual state security invents an independent journalist and he is a liar under the guise of an independent journalist, the liar is state security two times over, for inventing the fake independent journalist and for making that journalist tell lies, this is what they are used to and this is what they do.

JOURNALIST:

OSWALDO PAYÁ: In the dissidence, a face, frankly none, not one because what they are saying is the weakness that the regime has, to be able to discredit us; they must invent figures, groups and situations that are not found naturally in the dissident movement.

It is a revelation of mediocrity, of falsehood and even more, immorality without shame. Why instead don’t we talk about the Varela Project and why not talk about the Heredia Project on television? Why do we not talk about the People’s Path? Why are we not permitted to explain to the citizens what we actually believe and want? I know, because the people when they read the Varela Project, when they read the Law of National Reconciliation and Against Discrimination, they will have the courage or not of signing it, additionally we respect them, but they say this is what should be, and until the revolutionaries say it, the soldiers say it, because the regime has trapped the whole country, they have trapped up to those who are ministers and generals and us with passion but with no class hatred and no hate of any class, with a very profound peace, we are saying to them, don’t act against history any longer, let the next generations have their own lives, have your own life, we forgive and look forward to build a new society, keeping that which is positive, but with free men and women.

They are infatuated arrogant people who in continuing to maintain the people as if they were their property, after having devoured the lives of three generations. Enough, enough, and I believe that this is a cry that is in the hearts of many Cubans, many Cubans that do not want Cuba to be a Libya, the majority, that don’t want an intervention, but that do not want to continue living like this, we want a new life, and listen to me, if we are looking for a word for this new life, I would say it is freedom!

One Year After Mazorra

Negligence, Indifference & A Madhouse of Death in Cuba

Fernando Comas one of the patients who died at Cuba's
National Psychiatric Hospital "Mazorra" in 2010 (Photo BBC Mundo)

Today marks one year since the world learned about the deaths of 26 psychiatric patients at the Cuban Psychiatric Hospital in Havana known as Mazorra. Yoani Sanchez denounced this atrocity last year along with other dissidents, but today on her twitter account provided an update on what has and hasn't happened since then:

They are trying to hide during these days the first anniversary of the deaths of dozens of patients at a psychiatric hospital because of starvation and cold. The results of the police investigation into the deaths at Mazorra were never made public. Official figures spoke of 26 dead, but it is clear to everyone now that the number of dead exceeded 40 victims. After that various twitterers created the tag #despidanabalaguer (#firebalaguer) calling for the minister of Public Health to be fired. Although Balaguer was removed he was never prosecuted for negligence. He was the minister and had to know what was occurring. Autopsy pictures of the dead patients were leaked. More than 300 lurid photos of emaciated skeletal bodies.

Nelly López, mother of Fernando Comas, one of the victims (Photo BBC Mundo)

BBC World in Spanish reported on the fact that a large number of Cubans are demanding accountability surrounding this crime and fear that it will not be forthcoming ending the article with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "All suppressed truths become poisonous." In the same article Nelly López, the mother of one of the victims, Fernando Comas, explains that she has been waiting for a year for an official explanation that she has asked everyone but no official replies just rumors.

[Warning the video below contains graphic images of the victims]

Unfortunately this tragedy should not have come as a surprise to human rights observers of Cuba. Amnesty International had raised the issue first in their report Psychiatry: A Human Rights Perspective in 1995:

In Cuba, there have been allegations in recent years that not only the criminally insane but also political prisoners have been sent to forensic wards of state psychiatric institutions where they are kept in unhygienic and dangerous conditions and where they are exposed to ill-treatment either at the hands of staff or fellow inmates. In 1988 Amnesty International visited the Havana Psychiatric (Mazorra) Hospital in Havana. The delegation was permitted to visit one of the forensic wards - the Sala Carbó Serviá. However, the existence of a second forensic ward, the Sala Castellanos, was denied by a hospital official. It was this ward which was alleged to present harsh conditions and to be used for the punishment of prisoners.

Amnesty International reported how prisoner of conscience Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet was sent to Mazorra on November 29, 1999 to Mazorra. He was sent to Mazorra by State Security agents and forced to undergo psychiatric examinations on several occasions including November 29th.

Cuba's National Psychiatric Hospital "Mazorra"

Amnesty also reported how on December 4, 1998 Cuban dissident Milagros Cruz Cano, who is blind, was detained by State Security agents while waiting for a bus. She was initially held at the Maria Luisa police station in Havana where she was: "beaten by police officers which resulted in a swollen cheek and a bruise and scab below her eye. She was then transferred to Mazorra psychiatric hospital in Havana where she was held in an isolated cell called Córdoba. The conditions of detention were said to be degrading as she was held in a cell with iron bars which other patients and guards could see into and where she had to carry out all personal hygiene. She was released on December 14, 1998 without charge."

Observers need to take into account that in addition to negligence and indifference to human suffering that led to a situation in which more than 40 patients died of malnutrition and exposure to cold in a tropical country that this psychiatric hospital was also employed in the mistreatment and torture of Cuban dissidents and human rights activists.

Earlier today Yoani Sanchez concluded her tweets on Mazorra calling for the publication of the report of this crime stating:

I dare to venture a label to require the publication of the results of the investigation into Mazorra #muertosmazorra (#mazorrasdead)

Its easy for someone writing from abroad to second this call to action because, unlike in Cuba under the current regime, living in a part of the world were freedom of expression is respected means not having to contemplate the consequences of being harassed and prosecuted by the state for denouncing a crime. Nevertheless, there are brave people in countries like Belarus, Cuba, China and Vietnam that risk everything to do just that. Those who don't face those dangers and are people of good will could at least assist them in relaying their message to the rest of the world and not let their calls for justice remain unanswered.