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.