Feb 26, 2010

2008 Plea to Lula for Cuba's Political Prisoners

According to Brazzil.com Brazil's president Lula denies having ever received any letters appealing for Cuba's political prisoners. Yet on August 13, 2008, I wrote to him pleading for the now dead hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo and Cuba's political prisoners, and I copied Brazil's UN ambassador.

Nevertheless, Brazzil.com has reported:

Lula has denied having received the correspondence. "People need to stop the habit of writing letters, keeping them and then saying that they sent them to other people," he complained. And with a touch of refinement in his own cynicism, concluded: "If these people had spoken to me before, I would have asked him to stop the strike and perhaps this would have prevented his death."
I am in possession of my emailed letter (with full headers demonstrating delivery path) as well as the Brazilian government's acknowledgment of receipt (see scanned image below) of my certified letter mailed in care of Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Relations. I also wrote to Argentina's President Kirchner, to the Queen of Canada, and to the Presidents and UN Ambassadors of Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Below is an excerpt of what I wrote to President Lula. Maybe he and the others I wrote to will do something real, decisive and worthy of our respect very soon, before another killing.

AUGUST 13, 2008 LETTER TO BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LULA DA SILVA (EXCERPT)

"13 de agosto 2008

Honorable Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Honorable Exceléntisimo
Sr. Presidente de Brasil
c/o Ministério das Relações Exteriores
Palácio Itamaraty - Esplanada dos Ministérios - Bloco HBrasília/DF - BrasilCEP: 70170-900

"Your Excellency:

"As a Cuban exile I publicly appeal for your understanding and very respectfully request a clarification of your understanding of the UN declaration of human rights (“DHR”) of which Brasil is a signatory subscribes. I also hope for your support.

"Given that Brasil is also a member of the UN Human Rights Council (“HRC”), as is the Cuban regime, a unique opportunity now exists for you to address in this new context the human rights violations to which the latter has been subjecting the Cuban people for almost 50 years.

"As is known publicly and internationally, since the regime seized power in 1959 promising to liberate us it has continuously violated fundamental human rights of the Cuban people, such as:
  • our right to leave and reenter our homeland.
  • our right to travel freely within our homeland.
  • our right to publicly and peacefully express ourselves, communicate and associate with others or Cuban society at large for political purposes that oppose the regime's.
  • our right to elect our government as was legitimately agreed and expressed in our 1940 constitution or as may be determined by a legitimate constitutional convention in which all Cubans, including exiles participate without risking censorship, beatings or imprisonment.
"As is also known internationally, in 2003 75 Cubans were imprisoned for protesting the regime´s human rights violations They and others have been accused of collaborating with the United States for having accepted the latter's support as they sought to exercise human rights recognized by the DHR. Almost at that same time 3 others were executed following private summary trials, or perhaps no trial, for attempting to leave the country on a hijacked boat, even though no one was physically hurt.

"Four of these political prisoners initiated a hunger strike in July. In other words, they chose to renounce their fundamental right to food if eating meant that they must renounce other fundamental human rights violated by the regime. They are Luis Mariano Delís Utria, Alfredo Rodolfo Domínguez Batista, Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta and Orlando Zapata Tamayo.

"The regime should be held accountable if allegations of prison abuses have not been independently verified given that they do not permit credible independent entities to meet with the 4 prisoners and fully investigate..."

"...I appeal for your collaboration with the peaceful transformation and true liberation of Cuba and therefore to exhort the regime, publicly, and through the Human Rights Council insisting that they:
  • respect all human rights of these 4 political prisoners, of all the imprisoned, and of all Cubans, as they agreed to upon signing the DHR.
  • free these 4 and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, or make publicly available whatever proof exists that demonstrates they have been justly judged, condemned and sentenced for a crime other than exercising their human rights as defined by the DHR or accepting the help of the United States to do so.
  • allow while the prisoners remain imprisoned (1) for them to be visited and attended medically and spiritually by entities independent of the regime and approved by their nearest relatives (with priority to husband/wife, parents, children) or the person(s) the prisoner names and (2) to send and receive correspondence without any obstructions.
  • permit a team of independent investigators of which no less than 2 and at least half of which should be approved by the closest family members to investigate and collect information (through any medium they should wish) about claims of abuse of by any political prisoner or their families. Prisoners should be given the opportunity to name the family member(s) and other person(s) who can provide testimony regarding abuse.
  • cooperate fully so that Cubans may hold a national debate, unobstructed and not managed by the regime, open to all Cuban exiles and independent observers, to discuss the UN pacts on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which the regime subscribes and (2) permit that the debate be televised and transmitted live by national and international media. That they accept this just invitation and challenge.
"Your excellency, I await your public response and hope for your unequivocal support of all the human rights of these political prisoners and all Cubans, as I believe most Brazilians do, and for which I will remain obliged, and I believe I'm not alone.

"Very truly and respectfully yours,


"copy: Honorable Exceléntisima Sra. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti Embajadora Extraordinaria y Plenipotenciaria Misión Permanente de Brasil a las Naciones Unidas

ACKNOWLDGEMENT OF RECEIPT FROM BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT

Another Suicidal Hunger Striker in Cuba

Last night Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas initiated a hunger strike, announcing that he will not drink water either. If all dissidents kill themselves, there will be no dissidents left, and this will of course delight the tyrants, Fidel and Raul Castro.

GUILLERMO FARIÑAS
Photo from
Miscelaneas de Cuba.net

Hopefully Mr. Fariñas will come to his senses and cease attempting suicide. Instead, Cubans must consider if and how a just war can be waged to overthrow the tyranny, not insult the Creator by committing suicide.

Cubans must also stop regarding the tyranny as omnipotent for that is idolatry.

We must straighten our relationship with God, for if he is with us, we are unbeatable.

RELATED

Fariñas Debe Desistir de Huelga de Hambre (2-27-2010/Spanish)

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Feb 25, 2010

Raul Castro Claims Innocence

Continuing with his brother Fidel's "History will Absolve Me" theme, as he faces accusations of having allowed a political prisoner to die after an 86 day hunger strike, Cuba's Raul Castro attempted to reassure the world, declaring:
"In half a century, we have not murdered anyone here, we have tortured no one here, we have not carried out any extra-judicial execution. Well, here in Cuba there have been tortures, but they have taken place at the Guantanamo Naval Base, not on territory governed by the Revolution."
What Raul Castro forgot to add goes something like this:
"And if you don't believe me there's nothing you can do about it. If any Cuban doesn't believe me, there is nothing he or she can do about it either. Understand this: my brother is absolute lord of Cuba and everything and everyone here report to him, and he reports to no one. He cannot be tried and I cannot be tried. Whoever accuses either of us of anything is a counterrevolutionary, and it is he or she who will be tried and condemned. No one here has the authority and power to condemn us. Therefore, we are both absolutely innocent."


UPDATE . FEBRUARY 26 - 1

This post has been blocked by Google's search engine as has the preceding one: AP Doubts Cuban Dissidents' Rights Violated. Read Google vs. Invisible Cuba and Google, the Mainstream News Media, Blogs and Cuba : What I thought was not so crazy after all.

UPDATE 2.....March 11, 2010


This post is no longer blocked, but it´s unclear if Invisible Cuba is still being classified as spam by Google.

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AP Doubts Cuban Dissidents' Rights Violated

Does Will Weissert of the Associated Press doubt that human rights are systematically violated by Cuba's 50 year tyranny? If so, why has he not looked into it? Has he investigated Cuba's free press or the regime's separation of powers and checks and balances? Has he investigated if it would be possible to bring Castro to justice in Cuba, for say, raping someone's wife or stealing someone's home? Has he inquired with those inside who want to leave but are not allowed, or with exiles not allowed to visit their families?

Did Will have a bad case of the doubts when he wrote: "Dissidents plan to use Zapata Tamayo's death to shed more light on what they say is their government's blatant disregard for human rights and civil liberties."

What they say, Will? What they say? What are you waiting for to honestly investigate. Who pays you and for what?

UPDATE FEBRUARY 26 - 1

This post has been blocked by Google's search engine. This is nothing new. Read Google vs. Invisible Cuba and Google, the Mainstream News Media, Blogs and Cuba : What I thought was not so crazy after all.

Feb 24, 2010

Tyranny allows Cuban Dissident to Die of Hunger - What now?

I was not planning to blog any further on Cuba but Orlando Zapata Tamayo has been allowed to die after an 86 day hunger strike in one of Castro’s prisons. No one was expecting it given that the U.S. and international media mostly report stories that portray the Castros as heroes victimized by their victims and the US; and their victims as actors or cowards undeserving of a reporter’s or reader's time.

Most disturbing is one dissident who lamented that something had gone wrong with the so called ‘revolution’.
“It is the legacy of this absurdly long Cuban revolution: our principles killed, or kill he who fights for them.”
Principles? Which principles? Castro's mandated summary trials and executions? Paredón! Paredon! Paredón! (To the wall... to be shot!!)

Raul Castro denied all responsibility for his death even though Orlando was in prison and therefore under his regime's custody. Blaming the U.S. he added that these things wouldn ‘t happen, and there would even be free speech in Cuba, if they would only let ‘us’ alone.

There is not much more that can be said except that today is "patria" day, and Cubans commemorate the beginning of the fight for independence from Spain on February 24, 1895. Spain, of course, is now one of the tyrant’s best friends (along with Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, and many Democrats some Republicans in the United States and even Puerto Rico).

Cubans have a legitimate right to self defense and an obligation to rid the nation of this curse. The tyrant , his brother and their supporters have been given every possible chance to step down peacefully, and they refuse. They believe they own Cuba and all that is in it.

They are murderous criminals and Cubans must --seriously-- consider if the only way left out is to forcibly remove them.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 25, 2010 - 1

Canada has now condemned Tamayo's 'death' and called for the release of all political prisoners and 'greater tolerance' for opposing views. Shame on Canada: too little and too late. I wrote to Canada's queen over 1 year ago asking for help in stopping the abuse of Cuba's political prisoners and restoring fundamental civil rights, but she responded that I should write to the Prime Minister. She did not offer to forward my letter.

Appeals for Cuba's political prisoners were also made to the presidents and UN representatives of all Latin American members on the UN Council of Human Rights: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay. They sent one bureaucratic response after another, but did nothing, while showering Castro with flowers.

Letters were also sent to the presidents and U.N. representatives of France, Germany and the Netherlands. Only France responded but did absolutely nothing except express its desire to do business with the tyranny. Germany's Angela Merkel did not respond but unambiguously condemned the tyranny.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 25, 2010 - 2


In the simplest terms, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas' "Just War Theory", use of force would be justified to remove the tyranny if:

1. Right were on our side.

2. We were reasonably certain that victory could be achieved.

3. Victory would not result in a more harmful situation than what presently exists.

The case for the first condition is relatively easy to make given 50 years of tyranny, over 3 million exiles in 50 years (or more than 50% of the 1959 population and 25% of the present), thousands of executions, tens of thousands estimated killed while attempting to escape by sea; the tyranny's media monopoly and its ruthless suppression of the most basic civil liberties, the prohibition to leave or enter one's homeland without its permission, which is regularly denied; an illegal constitution given that it was approved only after a significant portion of the population had been forced into exile and a totalitarian state had been forcefully imposed; illegal regime leaders given their supposed election by virtue of an illegal constitution; illegal confiscation of Cuban citizens' homes and property.

Conditions 2 and 3 are another matter. There is nothing that Castro's tyranny would love more than another failed Bay of Pigs type invasion. That would undoubtedly consolidate communism in Cuba for the foreseeable future. They would love an invasion even if 2 million resulted killed, provided they won.

Victory must be reasonably certain with less loss of life than what might be expected under the tyranny's heirs. If and how this could be accomplished is what Cubans must honestly and objectively discuss.

Feb 18, 2010

Google vs. Invisible Cuba

Apparently mighty Google has classified Invisible Cuba as spam.

Isn't that something?

I discovered this while attempting to save one of my published posts (Nov 3, 2009) as a draft, only to be sent to a page with error message bX-9do1tz.

I asked in the Google help forum and someone immediately replied that my blog had likely been classified as spam. My options, I was told, are to delete the blog or go through a 4 step process which assumes that my request for reclassification (as not- spam) will be rejected, and that I'll have to appeal (in the fourth step) to the great and mighty Google.

Amen.

UPDATE .. March 11, 2010

It´s unclear if Invisible Cuba is still being classified as spam by Google, for I´m no longer getting an error message. Perhaps they just made it more invisible. I don´t know.

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