Reduced Vocabulary
Fireworks off Havana for Human Rights Day*
In the long list of the words forbidden in my childhood, there were two in particular that were censored: “Christmas” and “Human Rights.” The first I heard from time to time, in a whisper, from the lips of a grandmother who had known the trees with garlands, the traditional nougat candy and turkey. But the other, the second, was muttered disparagingly to allude to someone who — it was said — was involved in counterrevolutionary acts, enemies. And so I grew up, oblivious to the festivities of the last week of the year, and believing that evil lurked in that statement adopted by the United Nations. My compartmentalized vocabulary ended up conditioning me to a civic attitude full of fears and led me to fall into line with so many prohibitions.
This December the stores display twinkling lights and trees loaded with ornaments. A Santa Claus with hardly any belly smiles in the window of an important commercial center in the city. People run into each other and delight in every syllable of expressions such as “Merry Christmas”; “I’m shopping for Christmas”; “drop by to celebrate Christmas.” The reduced vocabulary of my childhood has given back a word, a term cursed for decades. But my next door neighbor still says, “Careful, don’t get too close, they’re ‘human rights people’.” At some repudiation rally — across the country — someone might now scream, “Down with human rights!” and the political police stationed on the corner confirm on their radios, “Yes, here comes a little group of ‘Human Righters’.” And there’s always a friend who asks us to whisper, “because if you’re going to mention such ‘things’ it’s better to turn the music up.”
A fake snow falls on the red Christmas hats, but a huge downpour dissolves it; the rain of intolerance, the big fat drops of the arrests, the gales created on this Island when someone dares to barely pronounce the phrase “human rights.”
Translator’s note: These photos from Havana are of the greeting in fireworks for Human Rights Day from a flotilla of Cuba exiles, who remained in international waters as they showed their support for Cubans on the island working for freedom and democracy.
Diciembre 20th, 2011 at 08:39
@Help
Where I’m from, the United States, we hold meetings, political and otherwise, all the time. “Permission” from the police to hold a meeting? Haha. The local police would laugh us right out of their station house for such a dumb request.
But Damir, the absolute grand poo-bah of all things American, really thinks he’s on to something with this one!!! LOL
Diciembre 20th, 2011 at 04:56
Damir, what planet do you live on? You will not learn about the world through crackpot conspiracy web sites. Try travelling a bit and talking to people for a change. Come to America and I’ll take you to all our meetings and protests that we hold without government permission and where police leave us alone.
But maybe you prefer throwing rocks through windows and repudiation rallies. Oh well, can’t help you there as I’m not a fascist.
Diciembre 19th, 2011 at 09:02
The link I posted lists out the LEGAL REQUIREMENTS in the usa and it CLEARLY states that before ANY meetings and/or protests are organised, the organisers MUST contact local POLICE and:
1. register the gathering
2. seek permissions from police to hold the gathering
That the site was an animal rights site has no meaning in this obviously futile discussion with a moron who doesn’t understand these SIMPLE FACTS:
ANYONE trying to organise ANY sort of public gathering MUST register and obtain permission from LOCAL POLICE.
But, even such a SIMPLE thing is an insurmountable challenge for a cretin with zero brain cell count…
That is why the individual is on the wrong side. The team “yoani” side.
Diciembre 17th, 2011 at 23:03
John P. Humphrey prepared the first draft for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1947. In the Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4, “Memoirs of John P. Humphrey, the First Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights”, he stated: “I was no Thomas Jefferson and, although a lawyer, I had had practically no experience drafting documents. But since the Secretariat had collected a score of drafts, I had some models on which to work. One of them had been prepared by Gustavo Gutierrez (Sanchez) and had probably inspired the draft Declaration of the International Duties and Rights of the Individual which Cuba had sponsored at the San Francisco Conference.” He was right, those were the documents written in Gutierrez book. Gutierrez draft for the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was chosen as one of the drafts presented by the Secretariat.
Dr. Gutierrez draft exercised a great influence in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Below you will find a preamble of three proposed drafts. The draft by Dr. Gustavo Gutierrez is the one in the middle.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rjHq.....%25232.jpg
Diciembre 17th, 2011 at 20:45
Here’s what I really said Damir dumb-dumb:
“I don’t care what law you think you found, we can organize political and other meetings around here WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM THE POLICE. You are ignorant about the country you so despise. The reality here is far different from what you think you know (or can find on Google).”
And then you posted a link to an animal rights group having to get a permit for a protest. That doesn’t make sense.
I live here, you idiot, and WE CAN HOLD MEETINGS, POLITICAL OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM THE POLICE.
Diciembre 17th, 2011 at 19:24
Pressed to the wall, the only response, despite the new “name”, same old insults. The great proof that the team “yoani” have never invited the government to a dialogue.
Just as Damir said.
Not that the government would even hear the call either.
But that’s besides the point here: the team “yoani” belong to the group interested in a violent change of government in Cuba, and we all know what good that has ever done to anyone.
Just ask anyone from the ex-”socialist” countries how are the things in “some kind of pragmatic capitalism” and “total freedom” 20+ years since the “freedom” came.
Slovenia, an ex-Jugoslav republic which was a prosperous and rich state in Jugoslavia and was a poster-kid for capitalist criminals to claim “imagine how much MORE could you do and be if you were capitalists” is now facing the bankrupt, stagnant economy on a verge of collapse and death, while corruption unknown in prosperous socialist years rages throughout the small alpine country that never made it to become the capitalist paradise they were told they will be.
All they needed to do was to get rid of the “shackles” of communism (that never existed in the first place”, and their blossoming economy will explode under capitalism, and make them richer than Austrians and Swiss, they were told by their cia handlers…
Well, exploded it did…
They have the joke nowadays in Slovenia:
Janez (a typical Slovenian male name) writes to his Serbian friend about the advantages of “some kind of pragmatic capitalism”: “everything is finally great! We can now stay in lines to enter the supermarket, for our rations of imported food freely and no one will think we are trying to create a civil unrest and send the police against us.
The police is already here to protect us from ourselves.
Everything is now wonderful and beautiful.
Serves us right…”
Oh, and the genius is still trying to find more insults to hide the fact that he is the one who has no thinking skills at all, after being told of his own intellectual defficiencies by a foreigner (that’ll be me) who knows MORE about geniuses’ own laws and country than the genius himself.
Hurts, doesn’t it?
Did the genius read the facts and realise how stupid he is?
Yes to the first and NO to the second.
What else to expect from delusional pioneers fighting for an ideology brainwashed into their empty skulls from the day they were born?
Diciembre 16th, 2011 at 18:47
Sounds like someone doesn’t have the critical thinking skills to separate the people of a country from the acts of their government, painting every citizen of the USA with the broad brush of “criminals, warmongering murderers, and thieves.”
Of course, there are no humans rights abuses in Africa, or North Korea, or, let’s say, Cuba, that socialist paradise.
Damir, really, your examples are absurd. You get charged with truancy if you walk out of school? So what? That is a “human rights abuse” to you?
Dumb and dumber.
Diciembre 16th, 2011 at 18:11
To the genius who dares to call me a coward and claim delusions, such as “we can organize political and other meetings around here WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM THE POLICE. You are ignorant about the country you so despise…”
Here:
animalrights.about.com/od/gettingactive/a/Protests.htm
Under the “Preparing your protest”:
“Protest Permit: Contact the local police and find out about protest permit requirements as far in advance as possible.”
That I don’t know much about the usa is debatable. That an usanian knows absoltuely NOTHING about his usa is indisputable.
It takes a lot of dead brain and ignorance to come out and state things about one’s own country that are on the opposite side of reality.
It is then twice as puzzling that such brainwashed zombies dare to comment on a country they have never even seen, let alone scroogled on internet.
Hypocrites. The real ones. take that cafecito, drink it and ponder over your mental state quietly before making even bigger fool of yourselves.
Which is inevitable, as the history on this site teaches us.
Diciembre 16th, 2011 at 18:07
Here’s more:
http://www.school-survival.net/kit/revolution.php
Students in the usa, the bacon (as in fat lardy pig meat - synonimus for capitalists) of “freedom” and “human rights” making more patriotic acts that curb those “freedoms” and “human rights” to the level that makes Cuba look like a paradise on earth!
I particularly like this part:
“Walkouts are apparently illegal in the USA now. You can get charged with truancy if you walk out during school.”
If you walk out of school in protest, you are a CRIMINAL!!!
In the country that, according to the losers here, is a shining example of “freedom” of expression and a “democratic paradise”.
Yeah, right…
With the patriotic act and legislature like the above, go sing that brainwashing stupidity somewhere else.
No one believes a single word that comes from the usa.
Why?
Because they are HYPOCRITES.
And human rights worst violators.
Criminals, warmongering murderers, thieves.
Ni a nutshell.
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 17:43
GO TO LINK TO LISTEN TO THE STORY, PRESS “SPEAKER” ICON AFTER THAT TO HEAR! THIS IS PRETTY SURREAL! BUT IT’S CASTROFASCIST’S CUBA!
“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide,No escape from reality
Open your eyes,Look up to the skies and see,” from “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen!
NPR: In Cuba, Dial-Up Internet Is A Luxury - by Nick Miroff - December 15, 2011
Cuba is one of the least-connected countries in the world, a time-warped place where millions of young people have never been online and a dial-up Internet account is the stuff of dreams.
An undersea fiber-optic cable linking the island to Venezuela was supposed to change that this year. But six months after its completion, frustrated Cubans are still starved for Web access.
Watching government-run television newscasts in Cuba is often a strange experience, but especially so when the topic is social media. Consider a recent report about Facebook and Twitter: The Castro government wasn’t telling Cubans those sites are something to fear — it was actually the opposite.
The young reporter sat with a laptop and, without a hint of irony, extolled the virtues of social networking as a source of real-time alternative information. But given the low level of Internet access here, she may as well be describing the surface of the moon.
There are other strange sights on the island, like Cubans carrying new iPhones and BlackBerrys brought in from Miami or Madrid, which only work in Cuba for talking and texting.
Desperate For Wi-Fi
Some Cubans have brand-new laptops bought on the black market or sent from relatives abroad, but no Web access. So they stand outside condo buildings that house foreign businessmen, trying to catch an open Wi-Fi signal.
Then there are cybercafes that are woefully short on the “cyber” part. At one such cafe in Havana, young Cubans line up to pay $1.50 an hour to send and receive email. A snap poll of a dozen would-be Web users found only two people who said they’d ever been online.
One was 27-year-old Hamlet Chirino, who saves up each month to pay $6 an hour for Internet use at a tourist hotel. His other option is to go to underground cafes that offer black-market Web access over slow dial-up connections.
“Life is really good here,” Chirino said, “but low salaries and the lack of Internet access are the two biggest problems. The government has been saying they’re going to change those things for a long time, but we’re still waiting.”
Raised Expectations
Cuban authorities raised expectations earlier this year when they announced the completion of a $70 million data cable linking the island to Venezuela, boosting Cuba’s bandwidth by a factor of 3,000.
But Web access remains as slow and scarce as ever, with no evidence of any urgency to get the cable working. Rumors swirl about technical problems or bad business deals, with others speculating that Cuban authorities have been spooked by the Arab Spring and the central role that social media has played in it.
There’s been no official explanation, leaving 20-year-old Jessica Cruz saying she thinks she won’t get online until the Castro government is gone.
“There’s a saying here that flies can’t get into a closed mouth,” says Cruz, reflecting the view of many young Cubans who see a paternalistic government trying to deprive them of outside information.
Cuba’s lack of Internet access is now a central theme in the 50-year standoff with the United States.
First the U.S. trade embargo kept the island cut off, Cuba says, and now Washington wants to use the Internet as a tool of subversion.
A U.S. government subcontractor, Alan Gross, has been in jail here for two years for trying to set up satellite Web access on the island outside of government control. And a small contingent of dissident Cuban Web activists has made Internet freedom one of their central causes. Blogger Orlando Luis Pardo says the government can’t hold back the tide forever.
“In my opinion, that battle is lost. Not because the opposition or the independent bloggers are especially strong or very widely known by the Cuban people, but because the official information in the official media is very poor, it’s very solemn, very unbelievable,” he said.
A new Cuban government website called The Social Network could hold a clue to where things may be headed. The site is such a blatant copy of Facebook that it even has the word “Facebook” in its Web address.
But there is one big difference: The Cuban version only connects to other users on the island — not to the wider world.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/14/.....s-a-luxury
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 17:23
FROM ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED JOURNALISTS IN THE WORLD, NOT JUST LATIN AMERICA!
MIAMI HERALD: Cuba asking advice from IMF? Don’t laugh! - Andres Oppenheimer - 12.14.11
An old joke I heard for the first time more than 20 years ago in Havana says that the three biggest achievements of the Cuban revolution are health, education, and low infant-mortality rates, and that its three biggest failures are breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
A new study by the Brookings Institution think tank shows that, two decades later, things remain just as bad, if not worse.
Consider some of the findings of the study, entitled “Reaching out: Cuba’s new economy and the international response.” It was written by Richard E. Feinberg, a former Clinton administration Latin American adviser who supports growing international development cooperation with Cuba, and who traveled to Cuba earlier this year and interviewed Cuban officials, academics, and average citizens.
• Despite big increases in tourism, some investments in mining and massive subsidies from Venezuela, “the Cuban economy remains in the doldrums.” The main constraint slowing the Cuban economy is not U.S. trade sanctions, but Cuba’s own outdated economic model, inherited from the Soviet Union, of central planning, it says.
• Cuba’s average income is one of the lowest in Latin America: 448 pesos a month, or $20 at the official exchange rate. University graduates are in a frantic search for jobs, such as hotel doormen or waiters, that offer access to foreign currency, or they want to emigrate, it says.
• Measured in per capita income on a purchasing power parity basis, Cuba’s per capita income is $6,000 a year. By comparison, it is $8,000 in the Dominican Republic, $11,000 in Brazil, and $14,000 in Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay, according to United Nations figures.
• Industrial production stands at only 43 percent of its 1989 levels, and employs only 10 percent of today’s workforce. Exports of goods are a paltry $3 billion to $4 billion a year, only slightly more than Venezuela’s annual oil-for-doctors subsidies to the island.
• Cuba’s external debt is “alarming.” According to Cuba’s Central Bank, the island owes $8.9 billion to foreign creditors, plus another $7.6 billion in “frozen debts” that have not been restructured in more than two decades.
• Cuba has developed service industries — such as tourism, which has grown to 2.5 million visitors a year — and exports doctors to Venezuela through government-run oil-for-doctors swaps. The services sector now accounts for 81 percent of the island’s economy but is not enough to get the economy on its feet, the study says.
Despite Cuban President Raúl Castro’s recently announced pro-market economic reforms — including allowing certain forms of home ownership — implementation of these reforms is slow and erratic amid fierce quarrels between hard-liners and reformers within the regime, it says.
Feinberg’s study proposes supporting economic reforms in Cuba through a growing involvement of international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, and by lifting U.S. barriers to these institutions’ technical assistance to Cuba.
Interestingly, Cuban officials expressed some interest to engage with the IMF and the World Bank, especially since these institutions have conceded that “there is no single model of development,” and have gained experience from their recent advisory roles in Vietnam and Nicaragua, it says.
“When asked by the author for the Cuban position regarding IMF membership, a senior official of the Cuban ministry of foreign affairs responded: ‘Cuba has no principled position against relations with the IMF or the World Bank,’ ” the study says. It was the first time Cuba has made such a statement, it says.
My opinion: If Gen. Castro’s military dictatorship wants IMF help, after decades of lashing out against that Washington-based institution — it shouldn’t be denied technical assistance. It would help build bridges with reformers within the regime, and would amount to a dramatic example of how Cuba’s octogenarian rulers have failed on all fronts.
Those who claim that the Castro brothers are still popular, and that Cuba has a model education system, should be asked: If Cuba’s leaders are so popular, why don’t they dare hold free elections? And if Cuba’s education system is so good, why doesn’t Cuba participate in the world-wide PISA tests of 15-year-old students? The answer is simple: Cuba’s entire propaganda campaign, unchallenged on the island because of rigid state censorship, would not hold up to the most basic independent scrutiny.
The old joke I heard in Havana doesn’t work anymore. Today, Cuba has the worst of both worlds: It doesn’t have great social services, or breakfast, lunch and dinner.
http://www.miamiherald.com/201.....-dont.html
Andrés Oppenheimer is an Argentine born-American journalist who resides in the United States. He is the Latin American editor and syndicated foreign affairs columnist with The Miami Herald. His column, “The Oppenheimer Report,” appears twice a week in The Miami Herald and more than 60 U.S. and foreign newspapers, including El País, of Spain, La Nación, of Argentina, and Reforma of Mexico. He is the author of “Saving the Americas” (Random House, 2007) and four other best-selling books, is a regular political analyst with CNN en Español, and anchors his own Spanish-language television show, “Oppenheimer Presenta,” which airs on V-me in the United States, and on other networks in 19 countries.
His previous jobs at The Miami Herald included Mexico City bureau chief, foreign correspondent, and business writer. He previously worked for five years with The Associated Press in New York, and has contributed on a free-lance basis to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, the BBC, and CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 15:20
usa is not allways right still the greatess country on the earth viva usa they are more good than bad without america world would be only aryan germany hard working people would not have a voice viva less politiction allways a good thing viva the people viva every man would give there life for democracy viva no leader are bigger than the people leader are the people
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 14:57
SIGN ONLINE PETITION PLEASE FOR THESE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN!
Libertad para Ivonne Malleza, Isabel Haydee e Ignacio Martínez (Release from jail Ivonne Malleza, Isabel Haydee & Ignacion Martínez)
Target: Democratic goverments and internacional human rights organizations
Region: GLOBAL
Cuban Dissidents Ivonne Malleza Galano, a member of the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo) to the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), her husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo and Isabel Haydee were arrested by police officers while they were staging a peaceful demonstration against hunger and poverty and holding a banner with the slogan “Stop hunger, misery and poverty in Cuba” in Fraternity Park (Parque de la Fraternidad) in Havana City. Ivonne Malleza Galano was handcuffed and pushed into a police vehicle. Two police officers arrived, tried to confiscate the banner and detained her, along with Ignacio Martínez Montejo and Isabel Haydee. Video shows Ivonne Malleza Galano being arrested by the police officers at Fraternity Park while the crowd gathered round her and asked the officers to let her go.
http://www.gopetition.com/peti.....cio-m.html
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 14:54
291 RCR said: “Question, is this the same Country giving out awards that has held prisoners without trail at “Guantanamo Bay” detention camp for 9 plus years.”
SAME OLD TACTIC #1: CHANGE THE SUBJECT OF THE CONVERSATION, AND SHIFT IT TO THE BAD OLD U.S.A.! THUS MOVING AWAY FROM ISSUES ON CUBA OR CUBANS!CHARGE OF GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, BECAUSE OF COURSE, THE U.S.A. IS THE CAUSE OF ALL EVIL IN THE WORLD! THE CASTROFASCISTS ARE THE ALTAR BOYS OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY!
Q291 RCR said: “Question, now that the award has been given will the CIA now stop sending Miss Pollan’s cheque to her family?”
SAME OLD TACTIC #2: DEFAME AND PUT IN QUESTION ANY DISSIDENTS WITH THE $$$$$$$$$$ SIGN AND MAKE ALLUSION THAT THEY ARE “MERCENARIES”, THUS WORKING WITH THE BAD OLD U.S.A., CIA AND ANY OTHER AMERICAN AGENCY!
THOSE RECORDS ARE GETTING WORN OUT 291 RCR!!
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS 291 RCR?
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 13:41
The standard line of the conspiracy theorists: ” ___________________ works for the CIA.”
Fill in the blank with whomever they disagree with.
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 13:35
Simba Sez: I’m curious as to where Miss Pollan’s family would cash a CIA checque in Cuba as stated in #39. It msut be quite difficult.
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 12:57
35– Humberto
Question, is this the same Country giving out awards that has held prisoners without trail at “Guantanamo Bay” detention camp for 9 plus years. The same Country that is returning home from a war in the Middle East that left hundreds of thousands dead in the name of Corporate America namely the Oil Industry.
Question, now that the award has been given will the CIA now stop sending Miss Pollan’s cheque to her family?
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 10:13
I didn’t quote your words from another context, you backpedaling coward. Anyone can go back and read them, exactly as you wrote them and in what context. Hypocrite.
I don’t care what law you think you found, we can organize political and other meetings around here WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM THE POLICE. You are ignorant about the country you so despise. The reality here is far different from what you think you know (or can find on Google).
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 06:41
I see that my post with links to information that demonstrates the enormous ingorance of the people defending the undefendable (the hypocrisy and delusional political fanaticism of the team “yoani”) has been removed.
In the post I have left two links that confirm that in the usa one MUST register and ask for permission in order to organise a political/protest/school/sport/any other kind of a meeting.
The second link was a link to a British page that too confirms that to organise ANY sort of meeting, especially a political one, a permit and a registration with the local police MUST be sought. Otherwise such a meeting, even if it were agroup of first graders, would be ILLEGAL and you could count on it being closed down and dispersed by police, using force if required.
In response to the ignorance of the post/er 23, who thinks of herself as of a smart and educated person, judging by the tone of the ignorance and respective arrogance of the post.
I’d post the links but the “freedom fighters” and lovers of “free speech” called the team “yoani”, would delete it again.
It is not in their interest for such TRUTH to find its way out in open.
I wonder why…
Oh, I remember: because the Castros are their idols and they just want to grab the power and the throne off them and rule for the next 50 years, sucking the blood out of their own compatriots.
It is obviously not enough that the team “yoani” are already making money they cannot possibly spend fast enough in Cuba, on their own people.
Ironically, should their nazist ideology prevail, they would lose their only source of income… Their idols Castros.
Diciembre 15th, 2011 at 06:20
Someone called me HYPROCITE (copied and pasted - I learned that from one fo these geniuses of nothing…). While you are looking for that word online (surely a “BOOK” is an unknown concept to sewage population. For a variety of reasons. The humidity not being one of them…), let me just remind the loser who typed it that s/he had also quted my words from another CONTEXT completely in order to portray me as a HYPROCITE.
THAT is what a true hypocrite does.
As we, the intelligent people (the rest of the world, excluding self-proclamed “cubans” and other nazist elements of the cia and nazist usanian government) already know.
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 19:37
WE WILL GET JUSTICE FOR LAURA POLLAN VERY SOON! IN THE MEANTIME THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFERS HER THIS RECOGNITION!I AM LAURA POLLAN, YO SOY LAURA POLLAN!
THE WHITE HOUSE- Office of the Press Secretary:Statement by the President on the Legacy of Laura Pollán-December 14, 2011
Today, as the National Endowment for Democracy awards the Democracy Service Medal posthumously to Laura Pollán, the founder of Las Damas de Blanco, we honor and celebrate her life by recognizing her significant contributions to the struggle to defend human rights in Cuba.
Laura Pollán and the quiet dignity of the Ladies in White have courageously voiced the core desire of the Cuban people and of people everywhere to live in liberty. Taking to the streets in peaceful protest to draw attention to the plight of those unjustly held in Cuba’s prisons, Laura Pollán and the Ladies in White have stood bravely against Cuban authorities who unleash mobs, and resort to house arrest, and temporary detention in a failed attempt to silence them. Through Laura Pollán’s and the Damas’ brave actions, the world bore witness to the repressive actions of Cuban authorities, eventually leading to the release of political prisoners wrongly jailed in the Spring of 2003.
Though Laura is not with us today, her bravery in the face of repression and her selfless commitment to democracy and human rights in Cuba, offer a living legacy that inspires us to keep moving forward. To Las Damas de Blanco who will watch or listen to today’s ceremony, you have our utmost respect for your efforts to stand up for the rights of the Cuban people even in the face of this weekend’s crackdown directed at you and we honor each of you as well.
The United States is steadfast in supporting the simple desire of the Cuban people to freely determine their future and to enjoy the rights and freedoms that define the Americas, and that should be universal to all human beings. I remain committed to supporting civil society in Cuba, including by protecting the ability of Cuban Americans to support their families in Cuba through unrestricted family visits and remittances.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-.....ura-poll-n
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 17:10
DAMIR, your like a CUBAN balsero, all WASHED UP on AMERICAN SHORES.
What happens in CUBA is SHAMEFUL, ALAN GROSS serving a 15 jail sentence for making internet available to a jewish community.
CUBA is one BIG JAIL. The reason many are fed up and protesting in public.
LAS DAMAS DE BLANCO are brave women seeking more Human Rights for the CUBAN PEOPLE, not the REGIME repressors.
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 16:20
hi Damir
Still don’t want to answer amigo? :-)
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 12:56
IF THIS IS OF THE TIPS OF THE ICEBERG, CAN YOU IMAGINE ALL THE CORRUPTION THAT WE DONT KNOW ABOUT?
REUTERS: Exclusive: Cuba targets military firm in corruption probe - By Marc Frank - Dec 13, 2011
(Reuters) - Cuba has detained top executives of the powerful military-run Tecnotex company, broadening a corruption investigation that has already shuttered three foreign firms, foreign business sources told Reuters.
Tecnotex is one of the most important trading companies on the Communist-run island, purchasing equipment, technology, construction materials and other goods for a myriad of military-owned firms in the civilian sector of the economy.
Tecnotex’s director Fernando Noy was among those arrested, according to a foreign businessman who deals with the company. “They went right into the Tecnotex office and took Noy out in handcuffs,” he said. Other sources also said Noy was detained.
The reported arrest follows that of the chief executive officers of one British and two Canadian companies along with a number of their Cuban employees and purchasers for state-run firms - all of whom had dealings with Tecnotex, according to the sources. The chief executives remain in custody.
Noy is a military officer and is well-known within Cuba’s business world. His reported arrest could not be confirmed with Cuban authorities.
However, the company told callers that Noy no longer worked for Tecnotex and had been replaced by Belkis Mir Verdura. The firm’s commercial director has also been removed while a deputy sugar minister, arrested in October, remains behind bars in connection with the probe.
A crackdown began when President Raul Castro succeeded his older brother Fidel as president in 2008 and said widespread theft and corruption had to be eliminated because it contributed to Cuba’s chronic economic woes.
It coincided with reforms to strengthen Cuba’s socialist system. Dozens of Cubans have been jailed, including former government officials and top executives of state companies.
ANTI-GRAFT FIGHT
Cuba’s armed forces have been active players in the economy for years through their holding company Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A. (GAESA), which is headed by President Raul Castro’s son-in-law, Colonel Luis Alberto Rodriguez.
Western diplomats and businessmen believe GAESA’s businesses, which included Tecnotex, control as much as 40 percent of Cuba’s foreign exchange revenues.
The precise allegations against the former Tecnotex director and the foreign company CEOs, who have yet to be charged, are not known, diplomats said. Their arrests have not been reported in Cuba’s state-run media.
“In the face of violations of established legality there is no alternative but to resort to the Attorney General’s Office and the courts, as we have already begun to do, in order to ensure that offenders are held accountable, whoever they might be, because all Cubans, without exception, are equal before the law,” Castro said in an August speech to the National Assembly.
Transparency International, considered the world’s leading anti-graft watchdog, rates Cuba 61 out of 183 countries in terms of managing the vice, ahead of all but eight of 33 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Castro established a Comptroller General’s Office in 2009 and it has attacked high-level graft in government, food processing, civil aviation, telecommunications and the cigar and nickel industries.
Castro has been less successful, however, in tackling problems such as low salaries and lack of transparency, which contribute to the problem, according to foreign diplomats and businessmen.
There is no open bidding in Cuba and business managers and their employees who handle multimillion-dollar contracts earn the equivalent of just a few dollars per month.
Cuban officials blame U.S. sanctions, imposed in the 1960s, for the lack of open bidding, charging their arch-enemy with systematically scaring off any foreign company interested in doing business with the country.
(Editing by Jack Kimball and Kieran Murray)
http://www.reuters.com/article.....P220111213
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 09:07
A comment on the link in previous post:
I was suspicious of this video because it obviously edited out what happened before the police started swinging batons. The earlier footage has now leaked and shows the OWS guys counting down and then rushing the police before the baton swinging.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6f0_1318015121
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 09:03
Damir
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 05:53
Here. Cuban castrofascist police beating civilians protesting peacefully. This can NEVER happen in “some kind of pragmatic capitalism”, of course.
Look at the video you posted. Police were rushed by protestors who were not very “peaceful.”
Damir’s own words from Post 18:
“If you disrespect the laws, expect to be handled by police in EVERY country in the world.
No “democracy” will cover your butts and protect you from the beatings by police sticks.”
So, which is it? OK for EVERY country in the world BUT the United States? HYPROCITE.
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 06:20
And the last one for the day. I just glanced below, against my better judgement, and saw a moronic statement about me.
In short, someone said that I, imagine this …, don’t know what I am talking about…
Well, friends, that day has not happened yet, and it will not happen EVER either.
Apparently the ignorance flared because of my FACTUAL statement that in EVERY country in the world, including EVERY capitalist country, you MUST register and ask a permission with and from local police.
That the delusional pioneer has NO idea what s/he is talking about, as I have demonstrated millions of times here so far, here is a quote valid for usa:
“Check with local law enforcement about permit requirements, setting up roadblocks and safety regulations.”
ehow.com/how_135670_organize-protest-march.html
Another, british site, also states CLEARLY that there are rules to OBSERVE in order to conduct a protest, or ANY meeting on the streets:
“a well-organised demonstration, conducted with the FULL AGREEMENT of the Metropolitan police”
totalpolitics.com/campaigns/147817/making-demos-work.thtml
As ALWAYS, DAMIR is the one who KNOWS what he is talking about.
And as ALWAYS, the team “yoani’ and their little helpers, the revolutionary brainwashed pioneers, have ABSOLUTELY NO idea what they are talking about.
This obvious and genetically transferred ignorance and lack of intellect are the reasons for their “courageous” trumpeting and chest-beating on the net under the cover of full anonimity.
But for the manly thing to do, to stand up to the elderly Castros, they hope their usanian owners and bosses woul actually do the dirty job…
Now, go and die somewhere quietly, while choking on the excrement floating around you in the sewage of miami, courtesy of your white “gods”…
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 05:53
Here. Cuban castrofascist police beating civilians protesting peacefully. This can NEVER happen in “some kind of pragmatic capitalism”, of course.
Because they are perfect. They are also “democrats” and all for freedom and free speech.
As long as you are singing their lyrics, of course. If you don’t, this happens freely and “democratically”:
http://www.zerohedge.com/contr.....protesters
Diciembre 14th, 2011 at 05:35
Let us examine the “title” of their post: “Reduced vocabulary”.
I suggest, before you start patronising others, look at your own shortfalls in the area you want to criticise (as if you know something about it…).
As I have pointed out many a time, and just recently too, the team “yoani” are best known (worldwide? nah, barely on this page)there’s not a single positive thought or a word abut ANYTHING in Cuba.
Not one single word.
An accident?
No.
A part of their deranged delusional and futile political campaign for a violent *by default) change of regime in Cuba.
Orchestrated in failed “some kind of pragmatic capitalism” that is itself in a no-return descending trajectory into an abyss of its own making.
And they still think they have some “moral” right to patronise others about what’s right and wrong…!!!!???
Who’s the bigger loser here > the team “yoani” or their handlers in cia?
Well both.
It’s really a no-brainer that one…
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 20:06
The equivalent of this would not happen in Cuba:
http://www.babalublog.com/2011...../#comments
You see Damir, we’re totally free to be as ignorant as we want to be.
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 14:19
From Amnesty International:
The Constitution does not allow for open plurality and diversity of ideas. It therefore
effectively subjects all Cuban citizens and the media to prior censorship, imposing
illegitimate restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
On 18 October 2009, an editorial article from the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde was
posted on the paper’s website; it was removed by the editor after just three hours without
explanation. The short text addressed the issue of censorship in the Cuban press pointing out
that “information is a public good and cannot be substituted by permitted expedient
information”.
The expression of criticism is tolerated by the government in specific contexts, such as
government-organized public assemblies or within government-controlled organizations.
11
In
Cuba’s report to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in February
2009, the government asserted that “a wide-ranging debate on Cuban reality was recently
conducted across the country. More than 5 million Cubans from all sectors of society
attended 215,687 meetings and more than 1.3 million suggestions, criticisms and proposals
were put forward.”
12
Despite this apparent openness to criticism, the expression of opinions considered critical of
the government or the political and economic system is not permitted outside state-controlled
arenas. Those who voice such views outside these forums risk being subjected to
intimidation, surveillance and harassment. This can take the form of repeated summons by
the police, arbitrary arrest or unfounded criminal prosecution and imprisonment.
“The situation of freedom of expression in Cuba in 2009 has changed very little in recent
years, and is the reason why the Commission has systematically pointed out that Cuba is the
only country in the Americas where it can be systematically affirmed that there is no freedom
of expression.”
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report 2009, para. 297
http://www.amnesty.org/en/libr…..2010en.pdf
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 14:13
That’s right, blame the United States for lack of first amendment rights in Cuba. Ha Ha, sounds like someone else on this forum.
And the “Cuban 5″ were just over here to play baseball, I suppose.
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 14:08
From a report by Amnesty International:
Restrictions on freedom of expression in Cuba are systematic and entrenched. The Cuban
authorities frequently quote threats to national security, independence and sovereignty as
their justification for taking action against those peacefully expressing criticisms of
government policies or exposing human rights violations. In particular, they highlight decades
of interference in Cuban domestic affairs by the US government. In the 2007 White Book
outlining Cuba’s official position on foreign policy and human rights, the government asserts
the limits to freedom of opinion and expression that it considers applicable:
“The exercise of freedom of opinion and expression has as sole restriction the limits defined
by the defence of national independence and sovereignty, and by the protection of the right
to self-determination of the Cuban people.”
7
Three key elements deployed by the authorities to impose restrictions are the state’s virtual
monopoly of the media (including television, radio, the press and internet service providers);
the requirement that all practising journalists join the national journalists’ association, which
is effectively under the control of the ruling Cuban Communist Party; and a number of
provisions in the Constitution and the Penal Code that are so vague that they lend themselves
to abuse by state officials such as the police and the judiciary to restrict freedom of
expression. Over the years, Amnesty International has documented hundreds of detentions
and prosecutions of political dissidents, independent journalists and human rights activists.
Many were sentenced to long prison terms for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of
expression following trials that did not meet international fair trial standards.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/libr.....2010en.pdf
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 12:55
“In every “free and democratic” country in the world ANY and EVERY political meeting and gathering MUST be requested and approved by the police. ”
You don’t know what you are talking about. In the United States we are totally free to have political meetings and gatherings without police approval. Furthermore, we can go out, right now, into the middle of the street, if we were so inclined, and yell at the top of our lungs: “F*ck Barack Obama,” and absolutely nothing would happen to us. Try that in Cuba (substituting the name “Fidel”) and see what happens to you. I guess some countries are more democratic than others.
Wall Street protestors are arrested because they are on public property and refuse to leave when instructed to do so, not because they are having a “political gathering.” Certain public gatherings, political or not, may require permits if there is over a certain number of people. That’s different than living in fear for your freedom, or your life, for merely speaking out against the dictatorship in Cuba, but you know that already. And you also know that many, many Cubans have rotted in Fidel’s prisons for doing just that. I suspect that the only reason that Yoani is not, is because she is too high-profile now (thank goodness for the internet), and there would be a worldwide outcry.
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 12:33
NEWS.COM: Cuba urged to free political prisoners
FREEING all political prisoners in Cuba before Pope Benedict XVI’s visit next year would be “a great gesture”, the cardinal who heads charity group Caritas International says.
“If the political prisoners could be released, it would be seen as a sign of appreciation of the visit,” Honduran Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of the Catholic charity network, said at a press conference today.
“That would be a great gesture,” he said.
Human rights groups estimate there are around 50 political prisoners still languishing in Cuba’s jails, despite several high-profile releases in recent years as the country’s communist regime embarks on liberal reforms.
The Pope announced on Monday that he will travel to Cuba and Mexico just before Easter next year, saying his visit would be part of a drive for evangelisation and hailing Latin America as a new global player.
Benedict’s predecessor John Paul II made a historic visit to Cuba in 1998 in which he was warmly welcomed by the population and the authorities alike.
Vatican officials say the visit helped the regime open up to the outside world.
http://www.news.com.au/breakin.....6221335694
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 12:25
damir# 18, hey thats a nice coherent argument, i think you should stay with that type of writing, rather than the tone in some of your previous posts that seem to me like a bit incoherent with occasional angry rants,making your point hard to follow at times. its a good point, with logic and without insults. the others should do the same when arguing against your views. now, if cuban opposition, would request permission to stage a pro democracy rally at plaza of the revolution, would it be approved? and the rally and the speeches in it be broadcast nationally and receive fair media coverage, and to be represented on national tv mesa redonda debates, would they be accepted. could they get their own radio station approved. like air america in the US and areito, a pro castro publication that use to circulate in the US. i believe the answer to these questions hold the key to weather or not cuba is a free country in the same context as these other countries that you mention. as in these countries such requests are granted,these voices are heard, and they are covered and given a forum by the media.
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 10:41
damir nice joke cuba is free that funny they can not vote out the thugs cuba is mafia state and will never change with the big shots in the government have easy ways to get cheap hooker viva if you do not belief in your people how can country go forward
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 08:31
Restrictions of assembly
Human Rights Watch states that “freedom of assembly is severely restricted in Cuba, and political dissidents are generally prohibited from meeting in large groups.[15] Amnesty states that “All human rights, civil and professional associations and unions that exist today in Cuba outside the officialdom of the state apparatus and mass organizations controlled by the government are barred from having legal status. This often puts at risk the individuals who belong to these associations of facing harassment, intimidation or criminal charges for activities which constitute the legitimate exercise of the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly.”[16]
The Cuban authorities only recognize a single national trade union centre, the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), heavily controlled by the State and the Communist Party which appoints its leaders. Membership is compulsory for all workers. Before a worker can be hired they have to sign a contract in which they promise to support the Communist Party and all it represents. The government explicitly prohibits independent trade unions, there is systematic harassment and detention of labor activists, and the leaders of attempted independent unions have been imprisoned. The right to strike is not recognized in law.[38][39][40]
Bans are enforced by “Rapid Brigades”, consisting of members of the army and police in plain clothes, who beat and disperse any demonstrators.[41]
Diciembre 13th, 2011 at 05:28
For any quarrel two are needed. If there were “fat” arrests (and what exactly would that be know only ideologically poisoned and brainwashed), then surely there will be a reason for those arrests.
As we can see from the team “yoani’s” own example, talking against the government is not a punishable crime, otherwise the team “yoani” would be rotting in prison long ago.
In every “free and democratic” country in the world ANY and EVERY political meeting and gathering MUST be requested and approved by the police. Italy, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Cuba and just about every other country, with an exception of a few despotic countries, mostly muslim and african.
So, if people were arrested in Cuba for participating in some political protest, a valid question is: have they actually registered their intentions and been cleared by police?
If not, then Police have EVERY right to disperse them any prescribed way that the local laws provide to police.
If the meetings and gatherings HAVE BEEN registered, the situation would merit the voice of protest.
Cuban law ALLOWS political meetings, as long as they are properly registered with the police.
As the things stand today, the protest meetings are being held illegally. No one is registering them with police.
So, what is the problem then with all the “fat” arrests?
Occupy Wall Street has been requested and registered with the NY police, yet the police had no qualms about attacking the demonstrators, beating them senseless and arresting them massively. So did the Greek police, Italian, and Australian, among the “democratic” and “free” countries.
If you disrespect the laws, expect to be handled by police in EVERY country in the world.
No “democracy” will cover your butts and protect you from the beatings by police sticks.
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 20:52
no more band aid for a gun shot wound
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 20:48
final some movement by cuban american what about a strike the boycott strike .// boycott cuba even for just 2 months 3 months that will put a hole in high tec primtive mafia tell your cuban family back home do not work so you can help shut down the country viva movement viva usa
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 20:28
viva movement
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 15:11
Dr. Gustavo Gutierrez y Sanchez, Cuban Lawyer, Jurist, Politician, Diplomat and Economist, wrote a book entitled “La Carta Magna de la Comunidad de las Naciones (The Magna Carta of the Community of Nations) in 1945. At the San Francisco Conference the Republic of Cuba submitted two proposals for consideration, a “Draft Declaration of the International Rights and Duties of the Individual” and a “Draft Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Nations.” These two drafts were written and presented by Dr. Gustavo Gutierrez in his book.
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 06:17
Pues yo no sabia que habia estas prohibiciones en Cuba: Me ha abierto los ojos. Me alegro de que las cosas vayan cambiando y que la gente pueda celebrar la Navidad o cualquier otra ocasion si quieren.
Gracias por escribir esto.
Un saludo desde el sur de Inglaterra.
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 01:06
damir, curious what you may think of my post#32 at “dictated hashtags” two articles back. i feel yoanis is like a reporter in any other country, writes how she sees her reality around her. also about democracies vs totalitarian or comunist societies. am not sure what your view is or what you propose.
Diciembre 12th, 2011 at 00:36
If Cuba sent a flotilla off the coast of Florida to put on a fireworks show, you can bet the reaction in Miami would not be to round people up, detain them and prevent them from watching.
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 23:37
mr.mantastis ! THE CASTROFASCISTS TRIED IN 1962 TO SEND SOME “FIREWORKS” OF THE NUCLEAR KIND TO THE USA! THEY DONT BELIEVE IN BEAUTY JUST DESTRUCTION! LOOK AT WHAT MUCH OF HAVANA LOOKS LIKE NOW! LIKE AN A-BOMB HIT IT!
CURRENT STATE OF CUBAN ARCHITECTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE - IMAGES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!
VIMEO VIDEO : “Paraiso” (The Cuban “Paradise”)- by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo
COPY AND PASTE LINK TO BROWSER IF NOT ACTIVE!
vimeo.com/28024540
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 22:58
Not possible, since Cubans can only “leave” the island prison on rickety homemade rafts and not official flotillas. And why would the US Coast guard and the Cubans in Miami care anyway? I’m sure they would love it.
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 22:04
well, cuba should pay in kind, they should send a flotilla of cubans from the island twelve miles off the miami beach coast, put on a fireworks show and see how the us coast guard and the cubans in miami will like it. am sure they won’t like it either.
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 19:26
LETS PUT SOME PRESSURE ON THE CASTROFASCISTS TOGETHER! BEATING AND SEQUESTERING WOMEN!SOME MACHO “REVOLUTIONARIES” THEY ARE!
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION-12/09/2011
The whereabouts of Cuban human rights activist Ivonne Malleza Galano are unknown after police detained her during a peaceful demonstration on 30 November in Cuba’s capital, Havana City. Her husband, Ignacio Martínez Montejo, has also been detained after participating in the same protest.
On 30 November, Ivonne Malleza Galano, a member of the Ladies in Support (Damas de Apoyo) to the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), and her husband Ignacio Martínez Montejo were arrested by police officers while they were staging a peaceful demonstration against hunger and poverty and holding a banner with the slogan “Stop hunger, misery and poverty in Cuba” in Fraternity Park (Parque de la Fraternidad) in Havana City. Ivonne Malleza Galano was handcuffed and pushed into a police vehicle. Two police officers arrived, tried to confiscate the banner and detained her, along with Ignacio Martínez Montejo. Video footage posted on the internet shows Ivonne Malleza Galano being arrested by the police officers at Fraternity Park while the crowd gathered round her and asked the officers to let her go.
The whereabouts of Ivonne Malleza Galano are unknown and the authorities have not told her relatives whether she is still in police custody, whether she is facing charges, and where she is held. Ignacio Martinez Montejo is still being held at the Ninth Police Station (Novena Estación de la Policía) on Acosta Avenue, Diez de Octubre Municipality, in Havana City. It is not known if he has been charged with any offence.
Since the beginning of the year, the Cuban authorities have detained hundreds of people for short periods, to
prevent them from taking part in peaceful demonstrations.
Please write immediately in Spanish or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of Ivonne Malleza Galano, and to ensure that she has immediate access to her family, lawyer and any medical assistance she might require;
Asking for details of any charges they face to be made public, and calling on the authorities to ensure that any legal proceedings against them conform to international fair trial standards;
Urging the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Cuba.
CLICK LINK TO FIND INFORMATION WHERE TO SENT LETTERS, E-MAILS OR CALLS! COPY AND PASTE LINK TO BROWSER IF NOT ACTIVE!
coalitionofcubanamericanwomen.blogspot.com/2011/12/follow-us-on-siguenos-en-suivez-nous.html
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 18:03
YOANI SANCHEZ TWEETS:
+Mas que un acto de repudio lo que le ha ocurrido a las @DamasdBlanco es un acto repudiable. Repudiemoslo pues!!! #DDHH, (More than an act of repudiation, what has happened to the Ladies in White is an unconscionable act! Lets Repudiate those who instigated it!) - 8 minutes ago
+RT @HablemosPress #Cuba Me informan @DamasdBlanco q las llevan en autobuses fuera de La Habana, hay 53 de ellas #DDHH (Hablemos Press informs me that the Ladies in White are being taken to the outskirts of Havana, there are 53 of them, all this after Human Rights Day) - 1 hour ago
+RT @desidahoy #Cuba Berta Soler informa fue separada d grupo @DamasdBlanco y trasladada a su casa en Alamar, desconocido paradero del resto (Ladies in White leader Berta Soler informs us that she was separated from her group and transported to her home in Alamar, we know nothing of the rest of the women!) - 1 hour ago
twitter.com/#!/YOANISANCHEZ
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 15:58
Castros’ tyranny, which is a member of United Nations Human Rights, celebrated Human Rights Day with a crackdown on around 200 Cuban human rights activists. The oppression in the island is vast and wide. Long Live Human Rights!
Diciembre 11th, 2011 at 02:22
For sure. It’s a DISGRACE in English and a DESCARO en Spanish.
Viva Zapata Tamayo
Beautiful burst of light 12 miles away. Thank you Fidel for not shooting anyone in INTERNATIONAL WATERS.
Diciembre 10th, 2011 at 23:14
Hank, you said it brother!! “What an absolute disgrace.”
Diciembre 10th, 2011 at 22:21
It is bewildering to recognize that today at the end of 2011, the International Day of Human Rights, three women who fought against injustice, dictatorship and sexual violence in Liberia and Yemen accepted the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. That is wonderful. Yet we continue to suffer among us a dictator in Cuba. He is a dictator who’s only legitimacy comes from his relationship to his brother who took over in 1959 by force. Over 50 years ago. What an absolute disgrace.
Diciembre 10th, 2011 at 20:40
MORE CASTROFASCIST BEHAVIOR ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY! WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU EXPECT FROM A 52+ YEAR OLD OLIGARCHY HEADED BY THE BROTHERS FIDEL AND RAUL CASTRO!
REUTERS CANADA:Cuba stops dissident Rights Day protest, 200 held- By Jack Kimball and Nelson Acosta
HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban dissidents said on Saturday that about 200 people were temporarily detained by the Communist-run island’s security services in the days leading up to an international human rights celebration.
Government supporters danced salsa and chanted political slogans in a Havana square to mark the 63rd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.
Opposition members who had planned to celebrate Human Rights Day in the same place, and protest against abuses in Cuba, were blocked from going to the square, dissidents said.
“Some 200 detentions for political motives have taken plan in the last nine days in the lead up to the international Human Rights Day,” said Elizardo Sanchez of the independent Cuban Commission of Human Rights said.
“Authorities use a tactic of short-duration arrests, who are released a few hours or days later, to impede protests.”
International rights groups say Cuban laws virtually prevent all forms of protest and dissent while the government says the free education and health services it provides show its respect for human rights.
On Friday, government backers blocked the dissident group Ladies in White from marching in the street.
The women were heckled again on Saturday by a crowd of government supporters and prevented from leaving a house were they had gathered in central Havana.
“Here come the people to fight for what is ours. These streets are ours and that’s why we defend them,” shouted government sympathizer Mirta Sosa outside the house.
“The government has prevented us from exercising the right of free movement in the streets. Here in Cuba, human rights are violated daily,” said Ladies in White leader Berta Soler.
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!
http://ca.reuters.com/article/.....HI20111210