Enemies of a free Cuba

Here's a list of last names of MEPs (pag. 12), who voted against a resolution condemning deplorable human rights situation in Cuba, and the death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo:

ALDE: Vattimo
ECR: Cymański, Czarnecki
GUE/NGL: Angourakis, Bisky, Chountis, de Brún, Ernst, Ferreira João, Figueiredo, Hadjigeorgiou, Händel, Klute, Kohlíček, Le Hyaric, Maštálka, Matias, Meyer, Portas, Ransdorf, Remek, Rubiks, Scholz, Søndergaard, Svensson Eva-Britt, Vergiat, Wils
NI: Sinclaire
PPE: Jiménez-Becerril Barrio*
S&D: Gierek

May their names be remembered as that of enemies of democracy, human rights, and freedom.

* Juan Salafranca from EPP, has emailed saying that Jimenez-Becerril Barrio pushed the wrong button by mistake.

EU Parliament condemns Cuba dictatorship

So the European Parliament issued a strong condemnation against the Cuban tyrants today, basically due to the state-sponsored violation of human rights in the prison island. Last week, Spain's highest court issued an indictment against the Venezuelan caudillo, owing to his relationship with ETA and FARC, both considered terrorist organisations by civilised nations. Seriously though, what do these condemnations / indictments achieve on the ground? Do these measures in any way ameliorate the otherwise destitute life of Cubans or Venezuelans? Do the Cuban or the Venezuelan regimes in any way change policy, or cease in their dictatorial behaviour? Are institutions, in Cuba and Venezuela, any more than just appendixes of Castro and Chavez after such pronouncements are announced? More importantly, do these resolutions impede European governments and businesses to actively seek, and get, lucrative deals, in Cuba and Venezuela, while conveniently brushing aside the human suffering they are contributing to, and fostering?

No, to all of the above, and no, to any hope that dictators will heed calls for moderation, restraint, and respect for human rights. No, to any hope that EU governments and businesses will pull the plug on tyrants. No, to any hope that multilaterals will shun dictatorships, and its very effective diplomatic representatives. No, to any change in foreign policy. No, to any hope that the world's media will start referring to Castro and Chavez, as dictators, instead of presidents, under whose watch untold crimes take place, and barbarism reigns supreme. No, to any hope that the world's most powerful human rights NGOs will admit that the conditions in Guantanamo Bay prison are a luxury beyond the wildest dreams of inmates of Cuban and Venezuelan prisons. No, to any hope that the Church will demand to be granted access to Cuban prisons. No, to any hope that the Red Cross will demand to be granted access to Cuban prisons. So I'd say, is high time these so called defenders of human rights stop posturing, for they're nothing more than a barking dog that never, ever, bites.

Ramiro came, and out went Ravell, RCTVi...

Gossip is ripe as to the reasons why Alberto Federico Ravell, co-owner of about the only open air channel critical of despot Hugo Chavez left in Venezuela, decided to resign to his post as chief exec of Globovision. His partner, Guillermo Zuloaga, came on TV with an Alistair Campbell crock-of-shit type of performance, (fwd to min. 3), and said, with a straight face, that the decision of the Chavez regime of lifting the Damocles sword that was hanging over his head had nothing to do with Ravell's departure. CONATEL, that would be Venezuela's telecom watchdog run by über corrupt thug Diosdado Cabello, ruled again against RCTVi. Even The Economist is using straight forward language to define what's really happening in Venezuela, now described as "Venecuba":

IN A small fishing village on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela stands a plinth. Unveiled by government officials in 2006, it pays homage to the Cuban guerrillas sent by Fidel Castro in the 1960s to help subvert Venezuela’s then recently restored democracy. Almost entirely bereft of popular support, the guerrilla campaign flopped. But four decades later, and after a decade of rule by Hugo Chávez, Cuba’s communist regime seems finally to have achieved its goal of invading oil-rich Venezuela—this time without firing a shot.

One thing is certain: Ramiro Valdes' visit had little to do with solving electricity problems, and all to do with creating a permanent blackout for freedom of the press and expression in Venezuela. That is about the only area in which the Cuban dictatorship can offer advice to so called democratic nations.

Cuba denies entry to Spanish socialist

Something must be happening in the brotherhood of Castro dictators. El País reports this morning that Luis Yáñez, a socialist Spanish MEP, was refused entry in  Cuba, and had to board the next plane out of the prison island. Surely a sign of democratic improvement, eh?

UPDATE: Spain requested explanations from the Cuban Ambassador, who said "internal laws" prompted Yáñez's expulsion. This comes from the very dictatorship Spain's Foreign Secretary Moratinos wants the EU to improve relations with.

Cuba: violence unabated, Castros prove HRW and critics right

An inflamed mob of thugs, most probably members of Revolutionary Committees (Comites de Defensa de la Revolucion or CDR), attacked writer Reinaldo Escobar yesterday in Havana, Cuba. Reinaldo, who is Yoani Sanchez's husband, had publicly challenged, to a verbal duel, those who gave a beating to Yoani recently. But it wasn't the official security apparatus that dealt with a disarmed and harmless Reinaldo. No. This time they sent an enraged mob, to carry on a repudiation act (acto de repudio) against Reinaldo. The attack comes merely two days after Human Rights Watch published an extensive report on the brutality and systematic violation of human rights that takes place in Cuba, Fidel at the helm or not. To be certain, in order to repudiate something, or someone, one must have the capacity to think critically and independently. That's not the case of CDR members. They are just following orders, and that's that. For failure to show up upon being summoned to an "acto de repudio" is taken, literally, as demonstration of 'counter-revolutionary' behaviour, the consequences of which Reinaldo can tell us about.

So before actually forgiving their assaulters, a few words of gratitude to the Castros' dictatorship, from both Yoani and Reinaldo, should be in order. Firstly, for having proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the attack on Yoani did happen, as related, and wasn't a flight of her imagination as argued by Castros' many apologists around the world. Secondly, for patently demonstrating that the Cuban dictatorship is absolutely deprived of arguments. For a man that challenges his wife's official attackers to a verbal duel, only to be dealt with more State-sanctioned violence, is testament that everything critics have said about that regime is, in fact, true.

Yoani said to me once that the Castro regime just didn't know how to deal with her. By repeatedly prohibiting Yoani to travel and upping violence against her,  the totalitarian thugs that run Cuba have demonstrated, time and again, a pathetic lack of imagination and creativity at dealing with a citizen, who's intelligent and brave enough to expose their turpitude and barbarism. Now Reinaldo has, forcefully, joined the fray, only to cause reactions that provide even more evidence that civilised debate, human, civil and political rights are simply non existent in Cuba.

With their actions, Reinaldo and Yoani have demonstrated, in a matter of days, the amorality of Fidel Castro, his regime and his legion of sycophants around the world. That would include the UN representatives of 187 nations, that voted recently against the embargo, while not daring to utter a peep about the atrocious human rights situation in Cuba. Their silence is deafening.

Yoani contra la barbarie

La ultima vez que visite el Alcatraz antillano, tuve la fortuna de conocer y departir brevemente con Yoani Sanchez. Cogimos la guagua y nos presentamos en su casa, así no mas. Recuerdo que el dial del ascensor de su edificio tiene dos números 5, dos 10, y el botón del 11 lo lleva a uno al piso 13. Allí estaba, tranquila, haciendo cosas varias. No nos invitó a pasar pues estaban reparando algo en su apartamento, así que nos fuimos a un lugar cercano a conversar. Su esposo, el también escritor Reinaldo Escobar, nos acompañó. Honestamente tenia muchas ganas de conocer a Yoani. Había leído mucho sobre ella, y, en cierto sentido, me identifique con su causa desde un principio, habiendo sufrido en carne propia ataques de los esbirros del régimen chavista.

Yoani es una joven madre. La imagen que me lleve de ella fue la de una mujer comedida, justa, paciente, valiente, emprendedora, inteligente, espiritual, en suma una mujer a quien nunca definiría como una amenaza, en una sociedad verdaderamente libre y democrática. Lamentablemente ese no es el caso de Cuba, por mucho que los burócratas de las Naciones Unidas, Zapatero y sus ministros, y los apólogos del comunismo la definan como tal. No. Cuba es un infierno en medio del trópico. Cuba es un lugar donde la pobreza es tal que la propia vida pertenece al estado. Y en lugares como Cuba, donde la barbarie impera campante, es donde seres pensantes, como Yoani, representan una amenaza, por que piensa, por que cuestiona, por que utiliza su libre albedrío e intelecto para lo que es, y no para idear maneras de comer mas mierda comunista, o para anotarse puntos contra aquellos que difieren de ella políticamente.

Por ello los segurosos, siguiendo ordenes superiores, la arrestaron y maltrataron, ya que es lo único que su escaso intelecto les permite hacer. Esos desalmados no entienden de libertad, ni de conciencia. Y difiero de Yoani. No era la bota del comunismo la que oprimía su pecho en el carro placa amarilla donde la metieron a los coñazos. No. Es la bota de lo políticamente correcto, de las Naciones Unidas, de la UNESCO, de la Union Europea, de España, de la diplomacia, de la perfidia, de la falta de humanidad de quienes continúan pretendiendo que Cuba es un estado democrático, de los miles de turistas que van en busca de sexo y de las empresas que se hacen de la vista gorda, de la Iglesia, de la Cruz Roja, de Hollywood, de los EEUU y su irracional embargo, de toda la maldita cofradía de organizaciones de defensa de los derechos humanos que critican la política de EEUU en Guantanamo y no dicen ni pío sobre lo que le sucede a Yoani del otro lado de la cerca.

Yoani no esta sola, pero, tristemente, quienes la acompañamos somos pocos, estamos dispersos y no tenemos poder, salvo el mismo que ella tiene: el de cuestionar y de pensar por nosotros mismos. Alguien que conoció a Fidel Castro me dijo que es un gran orador, que el dictador tiene un don de palabra y de gente excepcional. No obstante me atrevo a decir que Yoani, en condiciones realmente democráticas, que es lo que internet verdaderamente representa, ha sido capaz de someter al escarnio publico al comunismo cubano en su conjunto. Es por ello que la asedian, y continuaran haciéndolo. En este medio, la palabra y los hechos son juzgados en su justa dimensión. Aquí no hay censura. He allí el peligro que Yoani representa. Los que diferimos del aprendiz de Castro hemos sido acusados de terroristas. En Cuba no hay necesidad de esas sutilezas. Allí lo que hay es bota, patada, coñazo, encierro, tortura, miseria, muerte, y carros con placa amarilla que circulan en el lugar de no retorno.

Cuba does not allow the Red Cross into its prisons

For those who, rightly so, denounce absence of due process, brutality and inhumane way in which prisoners are kept in Guantanamo Bay, please be certain to criticize, with same vehemence reserved to US and UK authorities, dictators Raul and Fidel Castro next door, for not allowing Red Cross representatives to visit Cuban prisoners, political or otherwise.

"In May 2007, the Cuban authorities informed the ICRC orally that it was still too early to consider the organization's renewed offer, made in December 2006, to visit security detainees."

This, from a country that chairs 'human rights councils' at the UN...

US should lift embargo against Cuba

In the course of this year I have visited Cuba in two occasions. I have always felt certain attraction to the island, perhaps this was compounded by the fact that my grandmother was Cuban, from Caibarien. To be frank the initial feeling, upon spending the first few days, was one of utter disgust: at the civilized world’s conscious decision to ignore the plight for freedom of 11 million Cubans, who not only have had to endure a brutal dictatorship for half a century, but on top of it, the world’s ignominy. At times I wondered why, and couldn’t please my discomfort. What have Cubans done to deserve such ostracism? It’s as if they don’t exist, as if their voices don’t count, as if they belong for some cruel and deranged reason to a sub human category, whose rights can be disregarded and violated with total impunity. Human rights advocates the world over can't help themselves from attacking, and rightly so, the US for violating due process and rights of Guantanamo Bay's detainees. However not one word of criticism about what goes on in Castro's many jails is uttered. The estimated 100,000 Cuban prisoners, political and otherwise, can only dream about, for instance, the quality of the drinking water given to those held Guantanamo. Representatives of the Red Cross, for one, can not set foot in Cuban prisons.

The embargo has provided Castro with the perfect excuse to maintain his repressive dictatorship and gain much international sympathy, at times when anti-Americanism is gaining traction globally. The fact that 135 countries voted in favor of electing Cuba to the UN’s Human Rights Council in 2006 just goes to show how successfully Castro’s 'foreign policy' of tapping into the very deep pool of anti-US resentment has been.

The all-purpose blame-America formula has shielded the communist tyrant from criticism. Add constant propaganda with an effective information blackout --that works both ways-- and the end result is, internally, a population that is largely ignorant about their inalienable rights; externally, an international community unaware of what is taking place and reluctant to listen to perfectly legitimate criticism vis-a-vis the world's favorite dictator. It's a tragedy of monumental proportions, a humanitarian crisis, yet everyone acts as if nothing is happening in Cuba.

The US-imposed embargo should be lifted for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that its presumed intended purpose, that of isolating Castro and diminishing his capacity to maneuver internationally, has been an utter and complete fiasco. Contrary to what the gringos initially thought, the measure boosted Castro tremendously and provided him with the perfect guise with which to present himself as the underdog: the valiant David that keeps laughing in the face of Goliath. It's an incredibly cruel showcase of a policy that instead of damaging its target ended up being used as the culprit of all problems in Cuba, as propaganda organs and useful idiots have maintained since it became law. The collateral damage in this instance amounts to 11 million victims, a humanitarian cost far too high for keeping it in place. The US political establishment's stubbornness and unwillingness to accept its failure is no longer a valid excuse, even less so considering the increasing trade between the two countries.

Impressions of Cubans in Cuba are totally different to those of the expatriate community, mainly centered in Miami. Many people I spoke to in Cuba, not just regular folks but opposition and civil society leaders, see fitting that it is lifted immediately. In fact, Oswaldo Paya, Marta Beatriz Roque and Vladimiro Roca, for instance, have declared that the embargo should be lifted. Put this thought to the expat community though, or the Republican establishment, and one becomes a pro-Castro, Che-loving, communist in a matter of milliseconds. In this respect I think that it's rather easy to have such opinion, while not having to put up with its alleged consequences every minute of the day.

Remove the embargo-rug under Castro's feet, and Cubans will start thinking “hang on a minute, how come we’ve suffered this tremendous ordeal owing to the embargo, and it turns that it has been lifted and yet we continue living in hell?” The current restlessness is likely to expand like wild fire.

The US has an historic opportunity now: call upon Raul to negotiate an end to the embargo, whereby sanctions will be lifted provided a set of conditions --such as freeing all 300+ political prisoners, make recently signed civil and political rights treaties into law*, allow for free and transparent elections to take place, lift travel bans, etc.-- are met. The Cuban regime, still ruled by Fidelistas, is likely to refuse.

The US should lift the embargo nonetheless, making a lot of noise about it, for it stands to regain lost leverage, respect and credibility, putting its many critics to shame.

But more importantly doing so will unleash forces within Cuba that could well end up bringing the changes initially intended by the measure, which, most certainly, will force Raul's hand to open up much quicker.

*The contents of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights remain unknown to the Cuban population. The Castro brothers duped the international community about a democratization or liberalisation of sorts by announcing a series of half baked measures destined for foreign consumption. In reality nothing has changed internally: this year alone 22 dissidents have been arrested, 13 are in prison, condemned on trumped charges.