Archive for April 2008
Glencoe synagogue’s visit gives members rare glimpse of how Cubans live
On a Mission
RELIEF TRIP | Glencoe synagogue's visit gives members rare glimpse of
how Cubans live
April 30, 2008
Recommend
BY LORI RACKL Staff Reporter/[email protected]
With a suitcase full of drugs, Sue Yellen left her Chicago home and
headed for Miami.
Her final destination: Cuba, the forbidden fruit on Americans' travel
menu. For decades, the United States government hasn't allowed residents
to visit this Communist-controlled island 90 miles off the coast of
Florida. (Technically, traveling to Cuba isn't illegal for Americans,
but spending money there is a no-no, according to the Trading with the
Enemy Act.)
Exceptions are made for a tiny segment of Americans, such as those
traveling on approved humanitarian missions. That was Yellen's ticket in.
She and her aunt Sue Kahn of Highland Park joined 22 other Americans on
a week-long relief trip in March organized by their family's synagogue,
Am Shalom, in north suburban Glencoe. An avid traveler and Spanish
speaker, Yellen had long been fascinated by Cuba. So when her aunt
suggested they go (and offered to pay the $3,500-a-person cost), Yellen
jumped at the chance.
"There's a certain allure and romanticism attached to Cuba," said
Yellen, wife of Larry Yellen, WFLD-Channel 32 investigative reporter and
legal analyst. "But my main goal in going was to help people. They've
struggled a lot after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the
subsidies stopped coming in. They really need medicine, clothing, soap
– basic things to survive."
One of the requirements for going on the Am Shalom trip included
bringing at least 15 pounds of supplies that would be donated to a
couple of synagogues in Havana and Santiago del Cuba and then
distributed to the community.
Prescription drugs — especially antibiotics — are in high demand.
Yellen hit up everyone she knew for donations. Her doctors gave her free
samples. Friends kicked in half-empty bottles of pills. She collected
syringes for diabetics, Band-Aids, vitamins, old eyeglasses. She even
brought a wheelchair and walker.
"When we got to the synagogue in Santiago del Cuba, we asked if they
needed a wheelchair," Yellen said. "The head of the congregation started
crying. She said there was a man who just had a stroke and couldn't walk
anymore."
Yellen's group spent most of its time in Havana, where the streets are
full of impeccably maintained American cars from the 1940s and '50s, and
a lot of money has gone into restoring baroque and neoclassical
buildings to their original splendor.
While visitors to tourist-heavy Old Havana will wander past blocks of
meticulously renovated, colorful facades, signs of extreme poverty are
never far away.
"You might see a beautifully restored building right next to one that's
crumbling, with peeling paint and laundry hanging off the balcony,"
Yellen said. "Some people were living in terrible conditions."
Comfortable hotels and lobster dinners aren't out of reach for most
European and Canadian tourists, who exchange their foreign money for a
different form of currency than the less valuable pesos most Cubans get
paid. Locals, on the other hand, often find the shelves empty when they
go to collect their monthly ration of rice and other goods. For years,
Cubans haven't even been allowed to stay at hotels in their own country.
Fidel Castro's brother Raul lifted that government ban last month, but
it isn't likely to make much difference. Few Cubans can afford a hotel stay.
Given the stark delineation between the haves (tourists) and have nots
(locals), it's not surprising that visitors frequently get approached by
people looking for handouts. A lot of these requests aren't for money;
they're for something specific.
"One man asked for diapers," Yellen said. "A lot of older women asked
for lipstick. One lady asked me to buy pizza for her little girl."
Yellen said she never felt threatened by any of this, and she was
usually happy to give them a little something because they often came
across as warm and friendly. When Yellen helped a woman collecting empty
plastic water bottles, "she started serenading me," Yellen said. "That
was her gift to me. It was one of the most touching moments I had."
The trip had no shortage of poignant moments, especially at the three
synagogues the group visited.
Before Fidel Castro took over in 1959, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000
Jews called Cuba home. When the government started confiscating
businesses, the vast majority of them fled, Yellen said. The Jewish
population these days is about one-tenth of what it was before the
revolution.
"There isn't even a rabbi on the island," Yellen said. "Our rabbi held a
short service and said some prayers. It was a big deal for them to have
a real rabbi there."
One thing that wasn't a big deal was Yellen's American nationality.
"Our Cuban guide told us, 'When you meet people, don't lie and say
you're Canadian. Tell them you're American. They understand politics are
politics and people are people.' I never had anybody scowl or have an
unfriendly reaction when I said I was American," she said.
The people may have been friendly, but the billboards weren't.
"You saw pictures of Fidel everywhere and a lot of anti-American
sentiment on official signs," she said. "In the Museum of the
Revolution, they had George Bush Sr. and Reagan caricatures that said
something like, 'Thank you, imbeciles, for helping the revolution.' They
had it in English, too, to make sure everyone could read it."
Yellen expects that one day, the country will no longer be off limits to
American tourists. She's just thankful she got to see it before that
happens.
"But I could never go there for a sunny beach vacation like so many
people from other countries do," she said. "It would feel too decadent
after we saw how people are really living, how much they're struggling.
I couldn't go back as a regular tourist."
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/922587,CST-FTR-cuba0430.article
Raul Castro consolidates power in Cuba
Raul Castro consolidates power in Cuba
Tue 29 Apr 2008, 16:58 GMT
By Marc Frank
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban President Raul Castro has reorganized the
Communist Party's leadership and consolidated his power as he pushes
through reforms two months after succeeding his ailing brother Fidel Castro.
In a speech to the party's Central Committee published by Cuba's
official media on Tuesday, the younger Castro announced a new
seven-member executive committee would preside over the all-powerful
Political Bureau.
He also called a party Congress in late 2009, the first in more than a
decade, to discuss the future of socialism in Cuba.
Since he was installed as Cuba's first new leader in almost half a
century in February, the 76-year-old Raul Castro has lifted a series of
restrictions on daily life in Cuba, from owning cell phones and buying
computers to entering tourist hotels.
He has also decentralized agriculture and given greater autonomy to
private farmers, commuted the death sentences of common criminals and in
early March signed two important United Nations human rights agreements
long opposed by his brother.
All the changes are aimed at strengthening communist rule.
"The pragmatism of Raul Castro will continue to be the keynote of his
approach, and reforms will continue to be introduced, and greater
efficiency and productivity increasingly demanded," said John Kirk, a
historian at Dalhousie University in Canada.
"This promises to be a period of significant change, designed to shore
up the revolutionary process while using radically different
strategies," Kirk said.
FIDEL CASTRO APPOINTMENTS ENDED
Raul Castro's announcement of a Political Bureau executive committee and
its members was a first since the party's founding in 1975, though an
informal one may have existed around Fidel Castro, who took power in a
1959 revolution.
The committee is made up of Raul Castro's most trusted confidants with
an average age of more than 70 and decades of service to the Castro
brothers.
Raul Castro will lead the committee and the six other members are the
same men picked as the vice presidents of the Council of State, the
government's top executive body, when he took over as president in February.
Cubans, many of whom remain loyal to Fidel Castro, have responded
positively to the changes initiated by his brother, insisting they are
simply a continuation and strengthening of the revolution.
Others see a marked change in leadership style since Raul Castro took over.
"The period of inventing solutions, of improvising is over," Havana
handyman Jorge Hidalgo said.
Raul Castro said a series of appointments made by Fidel Castro when he
was sidelined by illness in July 2006, were no longer valid.
"The accords we have approved put an end to the provisional period begun
on July 31, 2006 with the proclamation of the Commander in Chief," he said.
Fidel Castro, 81, still holds the powerful position of first secretary
of the Communist Party, although Raul Castro's speech left no doubt that
he is now fully in charge.
"The Raulista model is in part the institutionalization of the
Revolution," said Frank Mora, a national security and Cuba expert at the
National War College in Washington. "Moving away from voluntarism,
mobilization, and improvisation that characterized Fidelismo toward more
regular, predictable and bureaucratic forms of governance."
Fidel Castro has not appeared in public since he underwent intestinal
surgery from which he has never fully recovered. His condition and
whereabouts are state secrets.
Fidel Castro recently wrote that he is consulted on all important
matters and retains great influence over decisions.
(Editing by Anthony Boadle and Kieran Murray)
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnN29317974.html
Cuba calls Czech ambassador an agent
Cuba calls Czech ambassador an agent
By Daniel Anýž, Tereza Nosálková / HOSPODÁ?SKÉ NOVINY / Published 30
April 2008
Translated with permission by the Prague Daily Monitor
?tk
Petr Kolá?, Czech ambassador to the US, has said a story recently
published in a Cuban newspaper identifying him as a CIA agent could be a
sign "the local regime is becoming quite shaky". "People in Cuba are not
merely the victims of the regime, they are also those who can bring
change," Kolá? told the Miami Herald.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/326/czech_national_news/22076/
Speak up against totalitarian rule
CUBA
Speak up against totalitarian rule
Posted on Wed, Apr. 30, 2008
By FRANK CALZON
www.cubacenter.org
In his book The Case for Democracy: The Power to Overcome Tyranny and
Terror, Natan Sharansky, the former Israeli Cabinet member and one-time
Soviet dissident, writes that three conditions must exist for people to
break free of totalitarian rule: • People must want freedom enough to
risk much of what they have to get it. • Other people in the world must
believe that those who are seeking freedom deserve it and be willing to
help them.
• Democratic nations must be willing to condition their foreign policies
to support political reform in an oppressive country.
Developments in Germany and Cuba this week, attest to Sharanksy's wisdom
on all three counts. In Cuba there was an episode reminiscent of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s struggle for human rights. Ten Cuban women — mothers,
wives and daughters of political prisoners in Cuba and part of a group
known as the Ladies in White — gathered at a park to deliver a petition
to the Interior Ministry seeking the release of their loved ones. Cuban
government thugs set upon the women. A hundred police and security
guards showed up, insulted the women, roughed them up and dragged away.
The incident touched Europeans. In 2005 the European Parliament awarded
the Ladies in White the Sakharov Award for daring to assert their
Freedom of Conscience.
Meanwhile, in Bonn a group of German human rights activists was
picketing the Cuban government's consulate. The Frankfurt-based
International Society for Human Rights sponsored the demonstration,
which came on the eve of the organization's annual congress. The
congress will focus on the abuse of human rights in Cuba, Tibet and
several other countries with totalitarian governments.
So two of Sharansky's conditions are being met. What remains to be seen
is whether the European nations, which will be meeting in Brussels in
July to review their common Cuba positions, will muster the will to link
their political, economic and cultural foreign policies to substantive
reforms by the Castro brothers.
As the courageous Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci once wrote, “There
are times in life in which to remain silent is an error, and to speak up
becomes an obligation.''
More and more men and women in the world seem willing to support the
legitimate democratic aspirations of people living in Cuba, Tibet, Burma
and other totalitarian states and to speak out against the world's
assassins and executioners.
Maybe that's because there hasn't been time enough for Germans to forget
the suffering inflicted upon them by the East Germany STASSI and border
guards who like Cuba's border guards shot to kill anyone trying to flee.
Much the same can be said about those who fled communism in Poland,
although there, after declaring martial law, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski
eventually resigned and opened the door to a rule of law and Solidarity.
Jaruzelski's decision was good not only for the Poles but also for
himself. Unlike other dictators, he continues to live in his country.
The point to emphasis here is that most of Eastern Europe remembers
communism and willingly supports democracy's advocates in Cuba. The
Ladies in White and the ever-growing numbers of political prisoners in
Cuba are constant reminders that the struggle for human rights is
universal. The presence of the international media in that Havana park
provided some protection to the Ladies in White.
Perhaps one day, like the Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Spanish and other
human rights activists, those who defend human rights in Cuba will
obtain the freedom they seek and, then, lend support to efforts to
defend human rights and liberty elsewhere.
Having witnessed the iron fist of Raúl Castro come down on the Ladies in
White, it would be tragic should Europeans suddenly turn silent instead.
The communist military regime in Havana will not last forever. The Cuban
people will remember those like José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain,
who support the Castro brothers' regime, as well as others like the
demonstrators in Bonn, who embrace Europe's heritage of freedom and
offer support to Cubans in their time of need.
Frank Calzón is executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba in
Washington, D.C.
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/514901.html
Castro extends powers to party functionaries
CUBA
Castro extends powers to party functionaries
Cuba on Monday ended a nearly two-year provisional period, which began
when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006.
Posted on Wed, Apr. 30, 2008
BY RUI FERREIRA AND WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA
El Nuevo Herald
Cuban leader Raúl Castro has put an end to his country's nearly two-year
''provisional'' period, increasing the powers of old functionaries in
the Communist Party who also make up the hierarchy of the governing
Council of State appointed in February.
Castro not only reformed the Politburo by promoting three new members
and creating an oversight commission, but he also announced the
convening of the VI Congress of the Cuban Communist Party — the first
such gathering in a dozen years set to take place sometime in the second
half of 2009.
The announcement made on Cuban television Monday night and reported in
state-controlled media Tuesday is viewed as a return to a more
institutionalized power structure. Cuba has been functioning in a
provisional mode since Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. Raúl Castro
was formally named president in February.
SETTING DIRECTIVES
During a meeting of the Central Committee, Raúl Castro stated that the
congress will “set the nation's political and economic directives.''
The announcement was accompanied by other important decisions, such as
the naming of three new members of the Politiburo, the institution of a
reduced commission and the creation of seven subordinate working
commissions that include: Ideology and Culture, Economy, Food and
Agriculture, Import Substitutes and Increasing Exports, Education,
Science and Sports, Health and International Relations.
''Comrade Raúl alerted that in light of the current situation and
perspective, we have to work together to continue forward with the same
spirit of struggle and firmness of these nearly 50 years of
revolution,'' stated Tuesday's edition of Granma, the Communist Party
newspaper.
Castro ''indicated that the adopted agreements end the provisional
period that began on July 31st of 2006'' when Fidel Castro temporarily
ceded power to his younger brother. Also announced was the reinstatement
of veteran leader José Ramón Fernández, 85, as minister of education.
Additionally, a group of prisoners awaiting execution had their
sentences commuted until a final decision is made.
The Communist Party Congress should have been held in 2002, but was
continuously postponed without explanation.
''The Politburo considers it necessary to hold the VI Party Congress,''
Castro said.
PROMOTIONS
Castro also announced the promotion of three former political blocks to
the Politburo and the organizational restructuring of that agency –
officially ending the provisional period in which the country functioned.
According to Granma, the three figures elected to the Politburo are: the
current Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Commander
Ramiro Valdés; 76; the President of the Cuban Workers Union, Salvador
Valdés Mesa, 56; and the Vice Minister of Defense, Gen. Alvaro López
Miera, 64.
The Communist Party's Central Committee also decided to create an
oversight committee ''with a reduced number of members'' to make “more
operative and functional the process of decision making that requires
rapid treatment and will also allow for a collective evaluation.''
This oversight committee is to be headed up by Castro himself; the first
Vice President of the State Council, José Ramón Machado Ventura;
Commandander Juan Almeida Bosque; Minister of the Interior Abelardo
Colomé Ibarra; Vice President of the State Council Carlos Lage Dávila;
Defense Minister Julio Casas Regueiro; and Central Committee member
Esteban Lazo Hernández.
On Feb. 24, Fidel Castro stepped down as head-of-state and
commander-in-chief, though no mention was made of what would become of
his position as first secretary of the Communist Party, which
''according to the constitution'' is “the superior directive force of
the society and the State.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/514891.html
Press freedom declines worldwide, NKorea listed as worst
Press freedom declines worldwide, NKorea listed as worst
Posted on Tue, Apr. 29, 2008
By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON –
Worldwide, the environment for journalists grew more hostile last year,
extending a six-year downturn, researchers reported Tuesday.
Setbacks for press freedom outnumbered advances 2-to-1 across the globe,
although the Internet and blogs helped slow the decline, particularly in
Iran, reported Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that released the
report in advance of World Press Freedom Day on Saturday.
"There have been repeated crackdowns in the past few years and Iran is
on the cusp of the bottom-performing category, but kept out by these
forms of expression," said Karlin Karlekar, senior researcher for
Freedom House.
Iraq, meanwhile, again was a disappointment. "There hasn't been the
improvement in Iraq one hoped for several years ago," the researcher
said. "One of the reasons given for the invasion was to bring democracy
to Iraq. The democracy that has been established is highly problematic."
Still, the U.S.-backed country was not listed among the worst countries
for press freedom. The worst-rated country was North Korea, while Burma
was second with a worsening crackdown in the media. Cuba, Libya,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea were
also among the worst-rated.
Since media played a key role covering coups and contested elections in
such countries as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Georgia, journalists became
prime targets of government crackdowns, according to the report.
"For every step forward in press freedom last year there were two steps
back," said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, in a
statement accompanying the report. "When press freedom is in retreat it
is an ominous sign that restrictions on other freedoms may soon follow."
And yet, journalists were credited with pushing the boundaries set by
authorities. In Egypt, for instance, their increased willingness to
cross "red lines" was cited as boosting the country into the partly free
category from the not-free group.
Violence against journalists was cited in a wide range of countries,
including Mexico, Russia and the Philippines.
Abuse of libel laws increased in a number of countries, particularly Africa.
The region of the former Soviet Union, including Russia, recorded the
largest region-wide setback, including declines in press freedom in
Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and several Central European countries.
Western Europe again had the highest level of press freedom in the
world, although declines were registered in Portugal, Malta and Turkey.
Of 195 countries and territories rated, 72 were cited as free, 59 as
partly free and 64 as not free.
http://www.miamiherald.com/692/story/514163.html
Raúl Castro ends ‘provisional’ leadership of Cuba
Raúl Castro ends 'provisional' leadership of Cuba
Posted on Tue, Apr. 29, 2008
By RUIT FERREIRA and WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA
El Nuevo Herald
T6V Cubana channel showed Cuban President Raul Castro delivering a
speech during a meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
in Havana Monday. Castro called for the sixth Congress of the Communist
Party to be held in the second half of 2009
STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
T6V Cubana channel showed Cuban President Raul Castro delivering a
speech during a meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
in Havana Monday. Castro called for the sixth Congress of the Communist
Party to be held in the second half of 2009
Cuban leader Raúl Castro has put an end to his country's nearly two-year
''provisional'' period, increasing the powers of old functionaries in
the Communist Party who also make up the hierachy of the governing
Council of State appointed in February.
Castro not only reformed the Politburo by promoting three new members
and creating an oversight commission, but he also announced the
convening of the VI Congress of the Cuban Communist Party — the first
such gathering in a dozen years set to take place sometime in the second
half of 2009.
The announcement made on Cuban television Monday night and reported in
state-controlled media Tuesday is viewed as a return to a more
institutionalized power structure. Cuba has been functioning in a
provisional mode since Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. Raúl Castro
was formally named president in February.
During a meeting of the Central Committee, Raúl Castro stated that the
congress will “set the nation's political and economic directives.''
The announcement was accompanied by other important decisions, such as
the appointment of three new members of the Politiburo, the institution
of a reduced commission and the creation of seven subordinate working
commissions that include: Ideology and Culture, Economy, Food and
Agriculture, Import Substitutes and Increasing Exports, Education,
Science and Sports, Health and International Relations.
''Comrade Raúl alerted that in light of the current situation and
perspective, we have to work together to continue forward with the same
spirit of struggle and firmness of these nearly 50 years of
revolution,'' stated Tuesday's edition of Granma, the Communist Party
newspaper.
Castro ''indicated that the adopted agreements end the provisional
period that began on July 31st of 2006'' when Fidel Castro temporarily
ceded power to his younger brother.
Also announced was the reinstatement of veteran leader José Ramón
Fernández, 85, to head the education sector. Additionally, a group of
prisoners awaiting execution had their sentences commuted until a final
decision is made.
The Communist Party Congress should have been held in 2002, but was
continuously postponed without explanation.
''The Politburo considers it necessary to hold the VI Party Congress,''
Castro said.
According to Granma, the three figures elected to the Politburo are: the
current Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Commander
Ramiro Valdés, 76; the President of the Cuban Workers Union, Salvador
Valdés Mesa, 56; and the Vice Minister of Defense, Gen. Alvaro López
Miera, 64.
The Communist Party's Central Committee also decided to create an
oversight committee ''with a reduced number of members'' to make “more
operative and functional the process of decision making that requires
rapid treatment and will also allow for a collective evaluation.''
This oversight committee is to be headed up by Castro himself, the first
Vice President of the State Council, José Ramón Machado Ventura,
Commandander Juan Almeida Bosque, Minister of the Interior Abelardo
Colomé Ibarra, Vice President of the State Council Carlos Lage Dávila,
Defense Minister Julio Casas Regueiro and Central Committee member
Esteban Lazo Hernández.
On Feb. 24, Fidel Castro stepped down as head-of-state and
commander-in-chief, though no mention was made of what would become of
his position as first secretary of the Communist Party, which
''according to the constitution'' is “the superior directive force of
the society and the State.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/514703.html
Defecting Cuban dancer to perform here
Defecting Cuban dancer to perform here
Posted on Tue, Apr. 29, 2008
BY JORDAN LEVIN
[email protected]
Another leading Cuban dancer has defected to the United States and will
perform in South Florida next weekend, the fourth Cuban ballet performer
to come to the United States in as many months.
Carlos Quenedit, former principal dancer with the National Ballet of
Cuba, crossed the Mexican border April 21, and will appear with the
Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami May 10-11 at Little Havana's Manuel
Artime Theater.
Quenedit, 22, will be joined by three other Cuban principal dancers,
Taras Domitro, Hayna Gutierrez and Miguel Angel Blanco, who defected
from the National Ballet in December while on tour in Canada. The three
have already performed several times with the Miami troupe, which has
become a launching pad and first stop for defecting dancers.
''I'm going to have to rent a yacht — a fast one,'' joked Pedro Pablo
Peña, co-artistic director of the Cuban Classical Ballet.
Quenedit went to Mexico approximately a year ago and had been dancing
there with Ballet de Monterrey, which is headed by fellow Cuban Luis
Serrano, a former principal dancer with Miami City Ballet. On April 21
he headed north, seeking more artistic opportunity, Peña says. “He's
very young, so he comes with all this desire to dance and do everything.
For our part, we're very happy, and he'll also get the chance to show
himself.''
Serrano says that the young newcomer has a lot to show. ''He's a
prince,'' Serrano said Tuesday from his company's offices in Monterrey.
“He's got a great physique, tremendous talent, great charisma. He's got
everything he needs to dance with any company in the world.''
Serrano says he encouraged Quenedit to travel to the United States. “He
always said he wanted to try the U.S., and I always said I'd support him
100 percent. Dancers have to fly, and you have to let them test their
wings.''
For now, Quenedit is in Chicago, where his uncle, a former member of the
Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, lives. But one of his first calls was to
Magaly Suarez, Peña's partner and co-artistic director of Cuban
Classical Ballet of Miami and a longtime former teacher at the National
Ballet of Cuba. It was Suarez who brought Domitro, her son, and his two
compatriots across the border from Canada in December. ''Magaly was a
teacher of [Quenedit], so it's a logical connection,'' Peña says.
While in Miami, Quenedit will perform the lead role in Le Spectre de la
Rose, a short romantic ballet depicting a young woman who dreams of a
rose that comes leaping to life. Performances are at 8 p.m. May 10 and 5
p.m. May 11 at the Manuel Artime Theater, 900 SW First St., Miami.
Tickets are $35 and $30. Call 1-877-877-7677 or 305-549-7711.
http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/513843.html
Cuba: la obligación de hablar
Publicado el miércoles 30 de abril del 2008
Cuba: la obligación de hablar
FRANK CALZON
En el libro ''Alegato por la democracia'' de Natan Sharansky, el ex
ministro israelí y ex disidente soviético dice que son necesarias tres
condiciones para que un pueblo pueda liberarse de una dictadura totalitaria:
• El pueblo tiene que querer ser libre, lo suficiente para correr
riesgos en la búsqueda de su libertad.
• Además, tiene que recibir el apoyo de personas que viven en países
democráticos que están dispuestos a solidarizarse con ellos.
• Finalmente, las democracias deben condicionar su política extranjera
para promover que el país en cuestión haga reformas a sus políticas.
Dos acontecimientos en días recientes, uno en Alemania y otro en Cuba,
le dan a Sharansky la razón. La semana pasada en un episodio en La
Habana que recuerda la lucha por los derechos civiles del Dr. Martin
Luther King, diez cubanas, madres, esposas e hijas de presos políticos,
todas miembros de las Damas de Blanco, se reunieron en un parque con el
propósito de entregar una petición al ministro del Interior urgiendo la
excarcelación de sus seres queridos. Un grupo de matones organizado por
el gobierno las atacó y, a continuación, cerca de un centenar de
policías y agentes de seguridad aparecieron para insultarlas y sacarlas
del lugar. El incidente ha impactado a muchos europeos porque durante el
2005 el Parlamento Europeo otorgó a esa organización el premio Sajarov
por los derechos humanos.
Al mismo tiempo en Bonn, la ex capital de la Alemania federal, un grupo
de alemanes activistas por los derechos humanos protestaron ante el
consulado cubano en esa ciudad. La Sociedad Internacional por los
Derechos Humanos auspició la manifestación, que tuvo lugar la víspera de
su congreso anual, dedicado este año a la situación de los derechos
humanos en Cuba, Tíbet y otras dictaduras.
Así es que dos de las condiciones de lo que exige Sharansky existen ya.
Pero falta ver si las naciones europeas que se reunirán en Bruselas en
julio para revisar su posición común sobre Cuba tienen la voluntad de
condicionar sus relaciones políticas, económicas y culturales a cambios
sustanciales en Cuba.
Como la valiente periodista italiana Oriana Fallaci escribió un día:
''hay veces en la vida en que mantenerse en silencio es un error y
hablar se convierte en una obligación''. Cada día más hombres y mujeres
de todo el mundo están dispuestos a apoyar las aspiraciones democráticas
de los pueblos en Cuba, Tíbet y Burma y en otras dictaduras. Y a
denunciar a los verdugos y a los asesinos. Quizás sea porque no ha
pasado tiempo suficiente para que los alemanes hayan olvidado los abusos
y las arbitrariedades de la Stasi, la policía política de Alemania
comunista, o de las víctimas de los guardias fronterizos, los cuales,
como sucede hoy en Cuba, tiraban a matar. Lo mismo puede decirse de los
polacos y de Polonia, donde después de decretar la ley marcial el
general Jaruzelsky abrió las puertas a la negociación con los líderes
obreros de Solidaridad y eventualmente contribuyó a que llegara la
democracia y el estado de derecho a su país. La decisión del general
polaco fue buena para los polacos y para él y su familia. A diferencia
de otros dictadores, Jaruzelsky continúa viviendo en su país. La
cuestión aquí es que en los pueblos de Europa Central recuerdan el
comunismo y apoyan a los que luchan por la democracia en Cuba.
Las Damas de Blanco y los cautivos políticos en Cuba constantemente nos
recuerdan que la lucha por los derechos humanos es universal. Es muy
probable que la presencia de la prensa internacional en el parque de La
Habana contribuyera a que no hubiera males mayores. Quizás algún día,
como los polacos, los húngaros y los españoles, los que defienden los
derechos humanos en Cuba obtendrán la libertad y entonces podrán
ofrecerles su apoyo a los que luchan por los derechos humanos en otros
países.
Siendo testigos de la represión de Raúl Castro en contra de las Damas de
Blanco, sería trágico que los europeos se mantuviesen en silencio. El
régimen comunista militar en La Habana no será eterno. El pueblo cubano
recordará a los que, como el presidente español José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero, han apoyado a la dinastía castrista; pero también a los otros,
a los que como los manifestantes de Bonn defienden los principios
europeos de libertad, y le ofrecen su apoyo en este momento crucial a
los cubanos.
Dtor. ejec. Centro para Cuba Libre.
Visitó recientemente Bonn
y otras ciudades europeas.
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion/story/198303.html
Pide asilo en EEUU otra primera figura del ballet cubano
Publicado el miércoles 30 de abril del 2008
Pide asilo en EEUU otra primera figura del ballet cubano
JORDAN LEVIN
The Miami Herald
Otro destacado bailarín cubano pidió asilo en Estados Unidos, el cuarto
en meses recientes, y se presentará en el sur de la Florida el próximo
fin de semana.
Carlos Quenedit, ex figura principal del Ballet Nacional de Cuba, cruzó
la frontera con México el 21 de abril y se presentará con el Ballet
Clásico Cubano de Miami el 10 y 11 de mayo en el Teatro Manuel Artime de
La Pequeña Habana.
Quenedit, de 22 años, se presentará con otros tres bailarines
principales cubanos, Taras Domitro, Hayna Gutiérrez y Miguel Angel
Blanco, que desertó del Ballet Nacional en diciembre mientras hacía una
gira por Canadá. Los tres ya han bailado varias veces con la compañía de
Miami, que se ha convertido en un trampolín y primera parada para los
desertores.
''Voy a tener que alquilar un yate, que sea rápido'', bromeó Pedro Pablo
Peña, director artístico del Ballet Clásico Cubano.
Quenedit fue a México hace aproximadamente un año y había estado
bailando allí con el Ballet de Monterrey, dirigido por el cubano Luis
Serrano, ex bailarín principal del Miami City Ballet. El 21 de abril
Quenedit tomó rumbo norte en busca de más oportunidades artísticas,
indicó Peña. “Es muy joven, viene con un gran deseo de bailar''.
Serrano declaró que animó a Quenedit a viajar a Estados Unidos.
“Siempre dijo que quería probar en Estados Unidos y le dije que lo
apoyaría completamente. Los bailarines tienen que volar y uno tiene que
dejar que prueben sus alas''.
Por ahora Quenedit está en Chicago, donde vive su tío, que fue miembro
del Joffrey Ballet de Chicago. Pero una de sus primeras llamadas fue a
Magaly Suárez, socia de Peña, codirectora artística del Ballet Clásico
Cubano de Miami y durante mucho tiempo profesora del Ballet Nacional de
Cuba.
Fue Suárez quien trajo a Domitro, su hijo, y a sus dos compatriotas por
la frontera con Canadá en diciembre. ''Magaly fue maestra de Quenedit,
por lo que es una conexión lógica'', indicó Peña.
En Miami Quenedit tendrá el rol principal en El espectro de la rosa, un
ballet corto romántico en que una joven sueña con una rosa que adquiere
vida. Las funciones son a las 8 p.m. el 10 de mayo y a las 5 p.m. el 11
de mayo en el Teatro Manuel Artime, 900 SW First St., Miami. Los boletos
cuestan $30 y $35. Llame al 1-877-877-7677 o al 305-549-7711.
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/america_latina/cuba/story/198536.html
México y Cuba negocian acuerdo migratorio
Publicado el martes 29 de abril del 2008
México y Cuba negocian acuerdo migratorio
Agence France Presse
MEXICO
Una delegación del gobierno cubano inició el martes en México las
negociaciones para un acuerdo migratorio que llene el vacío legal que
padecen en México los ciudadanos de la isla, quienes muchas veces
enfrentan procesos irregulares y son víctimas de abusos.
Autoridades cubanas estarán en México el martes y miércoles "tal y como
se acordó en la reunión entre el canciller cubano, Felipe Pérez Roque, y
su homóloga Patricia Espinosa en marzo pasado en La Habana'', confirmó
la oficina de prensa de la embajada cubana en México.
El 14 de marzo los cancilleres retomaron la relación bilateral que había
estado prácticamente congelada desde el 2004 y acordaron firmar en
septiembre próximo un acuerdo migratorio que asegure un flujo "legal,
seguro y ordenado''.
Organizaciones no gubernamentales denuncian que debido al vacío legal
existente en materia migratoria muchos cubanos que son detenidos en
México padecen violaciones de los derechos humanos.
"Las condiciones de detención en las que se encuentran personas de
origen cubano dentro de las estaciones migratorias de México, están
rodeadas de irregularidades y violaciones a derechos fundamentales, más
allá de las comúnmente documentadas'', dijo a la AFP la organización Sin
Fronteras.
De acuerdo con Sin Fronteras, en el último año se ha incrementado el
número de migrantes de nacionalidad cubana que ingresan a México, aunque
autoridades del país de destino se niegan a revelar la cifra.
Mientras, el número de cubanos detenidos en las estaciones migratorias
aumenta sostenidamente desde el 2002, cuando fueron aprehendidos 159,
mientras que en el 2003 se arrestaron a 305 y en 2004 a 779 migrantes de
la isla, según el Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM).
Las cifras de los últimos tres años se desconocen, debido a que el INM
decidió reservar esa información.
"Embarcaciones de gran capacidad llegan regularmente a las costas de
Pinar del Río y de Habana Campo en Cuba y sacan a unos 80 o 90 cubanos
para llevarlos a Cancún (este de México)'', señaló Eduardo Matías
Ferrer, director de la Casa del Balsero y el Migrante Cubano en México.
Estos migrantes, llamados de cinco estrellas, llegan a pagar hasta 15
mil dólares para permanecer resguardados en Cancún en una casa de
seguridad y después ser trasladados en pequeños grupos hasta la frontera
con Estados Unidos, donde acaba la travesía, detalló el activista.
La ley conocida como de "Pies secos, pies mojados'' en Estados Unidos,
permite a los cubanos que llegan por tierra acceder a una situación
migratoria legal, mientras que los que son detenidos en el mar son
inmediatamente deportados hacia Cuba.
Pero un número indeterminado de cubanos sin recursos que llegan a México
en embarcaciones pequeñas o desde Centroamérica terminan en estaciones
migratorias, donde frecuentemente son objeto de abusos.
Esta situación extraordinaria ha resultado en el cobro de altas multas
hacia los migrantes cubanos, por encima de los montos para otras
nacionalidades establecidos por el INM.
Ambas organizaciones, consultadas por la AFP por separado, denunciaron
que los cubanos en muchos casos permanecen en las estaciones migratorias
más de lo 90 días reglamentarios y "si la detención se prolonga se
deterioran las condiciones de la reclusión''.
"Entre agosto y diciembre del 2007 se produjeron al menos tres
fallecimientos por negligencia y maltrato en las estaciones migratorias
de Cancún y Chiapas, y el INM se ha negado a aportar toda información al
respecto'', según Matías.
El director de la Casa del Balsero aseguró que "el consulado cubano no
da ningún auxilio a sus connacionales retenidos en las estaciones
migratorias e incluso se niega a asumir el traslado a su país de los
cadáveres de los balseros que han muerto''.
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/179/story/198078.html
Para Raúl Castro, en Cuba terminó el período "provisional"
29-04-2008 – 14:05:32
Para Raúl Castro, en Cuba terminó el período "provisional"
El presidente cubano anunció el fin del período "provisional" iniciado
con la enfermedad de su hermano Fidel y expresó su deseo de que a fines
del año que viene haya un nuevo congreso del Partido Comunista de Cuba,
encuentro que no se celebra desde hace más de una década.
El mandatario cubano, quien viene implementando diversas reformas desde
que asumió formalmente el poder en febrero último, dijo que el futuro
congreso partidario deberá fijar las directivas para "asegurar la
continuidad de la Revolución" cuando sus dirigentes históricos "ya no
estén".
"Los acuerdos que hemos aprobado dan fin a la etapa de provisionalidad
iniciada el 31 de julio del 2006 con la Proclama del Comandante en Jefe
(anunciando su enfermedad y retiro provisional), hasta el mensaje en que
nos expresó su propósito de ser sólo un soldado de las ideas, en
vísperas del 24 de febrero del 2008", cuando se eligió al nuevo
presidente, dijo Raúl Castro en un discurso transmitido hoy por la
televisión cubana.
Según reportes difundidos por la agencia noticiosa cubana Prensa Latina
y la italiana ANSA, Raúl Castro dijo que se ha afianzado "el papel del
Partido como vanguardia organizada de la nación cubana, que lo situará
en mejores condiciones para enfrentar los retos del futuro y, como ha
expresado el compañero Fidel, para asegurar la continuidad de la
Revolución cuando ya no estén sus dirigentes históricos", indicó.
Castro encabezó anoche una reunión partidaria en la que se reforzó el
poderoso Buró Político con personalidades "históricas de la revolución",
se inició un proceso de reestructuración del gobierno y se crearon o
reajustaron comisiones partidarias para agilizar las labores en
distintas áreas sensibles de la vida del país, especialmente en la economía.
http://www.noticiasnet.com.ar/?se=34&id=20709