Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in Cuba
Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in CubaBy K.J. PascualCP Latin America CorrespondentFri, Sep. 18 2009 10:29 AM EDT
Pressure on religious leaders in Cuba has increased significantly overthe past year, according to a new report by Christian SolidarityWorldwide (CSW).
Comprehensive evidence within the document details a sharp rise inreligious liberty violations in the country, especially against theindependent churches, noted the human rights watchdog.
Independent church leaders from the fast growing Apostolic Movement havebeen particularly targeted for harassment, detentions and court summonsby the government, according to the report.
Last week Pastor Mario Alvarez, the Havana-based leader of a churchaffiliated with Apostolic Movement, was informed by government officialsthat he would be evicted from his home.
Two other leaders from the Apostolic Movement are currently in prison.Alexi Perez, who oversees a group of around 100 church members at theApostolic Evangelical Church in San Jose de las Lajas, has now been inprison for almost two months, while Pastor Omar Gude Perez was sentencedto six years in prison in July.
According to CSW, this follows the detention of at least 60 pastors andleaders linked to the Apostolic Movement in May and June.
CSW, a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedomaround the world, has strongly condemned the treatment of independentchurch leaders.
"It is clear that the eviction of Pastor Alvarez is the latest in a longline of repressive actions taken by the Cuban Government againstChristian leaders associated with the Apostolic Movement," said CSW'sAdvocacy Director, Tina Lambert.
"We strongly encourage the international community, in particular theEuropean Union, to push the Cuban government to ratify the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights which it signed in 2008 and tomake it clear to Cuban officials that religious freedom must beprotected for Cubans of all faiths."
The communist state of Cuba is officially an atheist state and isnotorious for suppressing the work of Christian missionaries. It hasmany political and religious prisoners. Last year, USCIRF called on theU.S. government to specifically press Cuba "through all availablediplomatic channels" to release all political prisoners, and liftrepressive laws and restrictions on freedom of thought, conscience, andreligion or belief.
The fast-growing evangelical Christians account for about 5 percent ofthe estimated 11 million people in Cuba. There were only 1,100 churchesand house churches in 1991 – the year when the Congressional CommunistParty voted to change Cuba's constitutional status from atheist tosecular state, according to WorldServe. Now, there are more than 16,000house churches, said the ministry which has worked in Cuba for over adecade.
Cuba showed some signs of easing its policy toward religion whenauthorities from the Cuban Communist Party agreed to allow organizedworship services inside prisons for Catholic or Protestant inmates,according to Jose Aurelio Paz, spokesman for the Protestant Cuban ChurchCouncil. Inmates were previously allowed to only worship individually.
Nevertheless, Cuba is ranked No. 33 in Open Doors' World Watch List,which annually names 50 of the worst persecutors of Christians.
Report: Sharp Rise in Religious Liberty Violations in Cuba |Christianpost.com (18 September 2009)http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090918/report-reveals-sharp-rise-in-religious-liberty-violations-in-cuba/index.html
A blogging revolution
A blogging revolution16 September 2009
Blogging flourishes in Cuba as a new generation writes critically aboutsocial and economic issues, leaving behind a generation of leaders over70 who do not fully understand the phenomenon, says a new report by theCommittee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The report, "Chronicling Cuba, bloggers offer fresh hope," sees bloggingin Cuba as a new space for independent ideas where citizens write aboutfood shortages, health care, education, housing problems and lack ofInternet access; issues that are not covered in the politicallysanctioned press. Although the blogs are not being used to mobilisepeople to take political action, they are commenting on the economy andmaking global connections, which could provoke the regime, says the report.
Laritza Diversent told CPJ that official newspapers ignored her needsand misrepresented her reality. The 28-year-old Havana lawyer started ablog, where she says she can reflect people's frustrations, joys andaspirations.
"It belongs to thousands of young people who are trying to express manythings, who want alternatives, who dream of a future," Diversent said."Even if we feel scared, it is an opportunity to say what we think."
The report found that at least 25 independent, journalistic, andregularly updated blogs are being produced by Cuban writers. As many as75 other independent blogs focus on personal and family interests. Inaddition, close to 200 officially approved blogs are produced bygovernment journalists, according to the website of the official CubanJournalists Union.
However, most Cubans have been barred from purchasing computers andprivate Internet access is restricted by law. Bloggers can go online atgovernment-owned Internet cafés, universities, diplomatic venues andhotels but connections are extremely slow and costly. The governmentalso closely monitors independent blogs and hacks into them, taking themdown for several days.
But there hasn't been a total crackdown on bloggers, compared to thenumerous journalists who have been harassed, intimidated and jailed fortheir work, says the report. Some believe transparency is the best wayto avoid surveillance and persecution: "By signing your name, givingyour opinions out loud and not hiding anything, we disarm their effortsto watch us," Yoani Sánchez wrote on her blog.
A blogging revolution – IFEX (16 September 2009)http://www.ifex.org/cuba/2009/09/16/bloggers_flourish/
Ex-leaders say media under threat in Latin America
Posted on Friday, 09.18.09Ex-leaders say media under threat in Latin AmericaBy IAN JAMESAssociated Press Writer
CARACAS, Venezuela — Former presidents from Peru and Bolivia joinednewspaper editors from across the Americas on Friday in condemning whatthey call a series of attempts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, andsome of his allies, to clamp down on the news media.
Former President Alejandro Toledo of Peru said he is concerned aboutrecent shutdowns of radio stations in Venezuela and a proposed law inArgentina that would break up Clarin, one of Latin America's largestnewspaper and cable TV companies.
Toledo likened such actions to "a virus that's expanding" in countriesincluding Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, and told The Associated Press:"It must be stopped."
Ex-President Carlos Mesa of Bolivia expressed similar concerns at theemergency meeting of the Inter American Press Association in Caracas.
"Everything that restricts freedom of speech is unacceptable," he said.
Enrique Santos, the IAPA's president, said tensions between governmentsand the press have worsened throughout the Andes and that leaders inVenezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia have created a climate of intimidationwith verbal attacks and legal measures aimed at restricting the media.He called it "the Chavez model" and said it has been spreading.
Chavez denies his government is trying to eliminate critical voices inthe media, and has been feuding with the IAPA for years.
Chavez did not refer to the latest criticisms in a speech Friday but didsay he considers the pending Argentine law, which is designed to preventmedia monopolies, "important" and "interesting."
Information Minister Blanca Eekhout rebuffed the press association'sconcerns saying: "We're never again going to accept the mediadictatorship." She defended efforts to step up regulation of the privatemedia, saying "laws must be made to do away with the media dictatorshipand allow… the participation of all Venezuelans."
Chavez's government forced 32 radio stations and two small televisionstations off the air last month, saying some owners had failed to renewtheir broadcast licenses while other licenses were no longer validbecause they had been granted long ago to owners who are now dead.
The government has announced plans to take 29 more radio stations offthe airwaves.
Globovision – the last opposition-aligned TV channel on the openairwaves – is also the target of multiple investigations thatauthorities say could lead to the revocation of its broadcast license.
In one of those cases, prosecutors said Friday they are summoningopposition newspaper editor Rafael Poleo for questioning about a remarkhe made on Globovision that Chavez could end up "hanging" like Italiandictator Benito Mussolini.
Poleo has left the country and has told colleagues he does not plan toreturn for now, said David Natera, who heads the Venezuelan Press Bloc,a newspaper industry association.
Poleo, now in Miami, considers the case absurd and believes he would notreceive a fair trail, Natera said.
One Globovision reporter has left the country and requested politicalasylum in the United States, said Alberto Federico Ravell, the channel'sdirector. He did not give details.
Ex-leaders say media under threat in Latin America – Americas AP -MiamiHerald.com (18 September 2009)http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/AP/story/1240618.html
A firsthand account of a child’s flight from Cuba
A firsthand account of a child's flight from CubaSeptember 19, 2009
On Feb. 6, 1962, a dark-haired teenager checked his duffel bag at JoséMartí Airport near Havana, Cuba, and boarded a flight for Miami.
He had never been on an airplane before, but that was just a small partof the unknown that lay before him.
Gazing back at his mother, young Melquiades Martinez saw the pain ofgood-bye etched on her face. Perhaps Gladys Martinez feared she mightnever see her 15-year-old son again.
It's all described in the book A Sense of Belonging, a memoir by formerU.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Orlando.
Just a few weeks after his farewell speech in the Senate, Martinez willbe at the Orlando Public Library on Saturday to sign copies of the bookand share stories from his life, including that flight from Castro'sCuba in 1962.
Martinez left Cuba as part of the historic program now called OperationPedro Pan (or Operation Peter Pan). It was the largest recorded exodusof unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere, according to the Website Pedropan.org.
From December 1960 to October 1962, more than 14,000 Cuban youthsarrived in the United States as part of a covert airlift spearheaded bythe Roman Catholic Church in Miami, with support from the U.S. StateDepartment.
Parishes all over the U.S. accepted and resettled the children,including some in Orlando, where the young Martinez lived with twofoster families before being reunited with his parents in 1966.
The early chapters of A Sense of Belonging offer insight into what theseyoung refuges faced as strangers in a strange land.
On the plane, Martinez remembers sitting next to an 11-year-old girl whowas extremely anxious, so he talked to her the whole flight, trying tokeep her mind busy.
But all alone at the Miami airport, he too was overcome by fears,dispelled briefly by the appearance of his second cousin Manuel.
Soon, Martinez was in a van with several other teens, headed toward CampMatecumbe in Miami-Dade County, the point of entry for older boys inOperation Pedro Pan.
The camp was so crowded that new arrivals slept on cots in thecafeteria. Their welcome was a carton of milk and one oatmeal-raisincookie – Martinez' favorite ever since.
Each of the 40 days he would spend at Camp Matecumbe was a hard day,Martinez recalls, and he credits his faith with getting him through. "Itwas the sole antidote to the overwhelming feelings of homesickness,loneliness, and confusion," he writes.
Finally, he was sent to his next stop, Camp St. John at Jacksonville,where things were better: Instead of more than 400 boys, there were only70. Now the boys were able to play pickup baseball and basketball, andeven go to a game of the Jacksonville Suns, the area's minor-league team.
"We banded together," he writes, and became a brotherhood. During threemonths at Camp St. John, he formed friendships that have lastedthroughout his life.
In June 1962, 12 of the boys headed to Orlando on a Greyhound bus tomeet the families who had signed up to be their foster parents,including the family of Walter Young and his wife, Eileen, who wouldnurture Martinez "through the agonizing days of 1962 and 1963. It wasEileen Young who would christen Martinez "Mel."
There's much more to the story of Martinez and of Operation Pedro Pan, asignificant episode in Florida's past. He'll talk about it at the freeprogram Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Orlando Public Library. For details,go to ocls.lib.fl.us or call 407-835-7481.
A firsthand account of a child's flight from Cuba — OrlandoSentinel.com(19 September 2009)http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/orl-livjoy-dickinson-history-092009092009sep20,0,348314.column
Mother of slain Coral Gables High student arrives from Cuba
Posted on Saturday, 09.19.09CORAL GABLESMother of slain Coral Gables High student arrives from CubaThe mother of the teen stabbed and killed at Coral Gables High earlierthis week will be arriving from Cuba Saturday morning.BY LUISA YANEZ AND JENNIFER [email protected]
The Cuban mother of slain Coral Gables High student Juan Carlos Riverawon final permission Friday afternoon to travel to Miami to attend herson's funeral.
At 3 p.m., the U.S. Interests Section in Havana issued Anais Cruz, 42, adoctor in Cuba, a visa, according to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,R-Miami, who has been workingwith Miami-Dade Schools SuperintendentAlberto Carvalho to help Cruz make the trip.
“I am very pleased that our U.S. authorities acted in such a thoroughand yet compassionate manner and expedited this case. No parent shouldhave to bury their children and I truly hope that Anais can find peaceafter this heart wrenching ordeal. Finally, the family will have theclosure they seek,'' Ros-Lehtinen said.
Cruz will arrive in Miami on Saturday morning.
A viewing for the teen is set for Monday at La Nacional Funeral Home,151 NW 37th Ave.
Burial will be Tuesday at Flagler Memorial, 5301 W. Flagler St. Theteen's father is traveling from Spain for the services.
Rivera, a sophomore, was living in the United States with hisgrandmother and an uncle when he was stabbed to death at the school Tuesday.
ABC Charters has agreed to provide Cruz with a free flight.
The school district and the United Way arranged the funeral — and areraising funds to cover the costs, Carvalho said.
“This is a tragedy that has touched all of us,'' Carvalho said. “Toafford a mother the opportunity to say a final farewell to her son –that is something that anyone on earth should work to provide.''
Donations for funeral arrangements are being accepted at the websitewww.givingourstudentstheworld.org. Please specify that the donation isfor funeral arrangements.
Mother of slain Coral Gables High student arrives from Cuba – 5-MinuteHerald – MiamiHerald.com (19 September 2009)http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1241069.html
Software Company Sentenced for Trading With the Enemy
Software Company Sentenced for Trading With the EnemyGrant Gross, IDG News ServiceSep 17, 2009 11:20 pm
A Colorado software vendor has been sentenced to a fine of US$14,500 forthe charge of trading with the enemy for selling oil- andgas-exploration software to a company drilling in Cuba, the U.S.Department of Justice and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcementannounced.
In addition, Jay Leonard, president of Platte River Associates, willserve 12 months of supervised probation for unauthorized access of aprotected computer in an unrelated case, the DOJ said.
The company pled guilty to the trading-with-the-enemy charge and Leonardpled guilty to the hacking charge last October. The company wassentenced for the trading-with-the-enemy charge Sept. 9.
The company's lawyer was not immediately available for comment on thetwo cases.
Federal agents warned Platte River Associates (PRA) in 1998 that dealingdirectly or indirectly with embargoed countries, including Cuba, isillegal, the DOJ said.
Then in August 2000, Spanish oil company Repsol purchased PRA software.In October 2000, a Repsol employee traveled to PRA's Boulder, Colorado,office for software training. The Repsol employee told the PRA geologistthat the data being used for training was for a Cuban project, the DOJ said.
Leonard also learned that the data being used involved Cuban waters, butPRA did not stop the training, the DOJ said. As the Repsol employee wasleaving the U.S., Customs seized his laptop computer, and an analysis ofthe laptop revealed materials related to a potential Cuban project, theDOJ said.
The DOJ accused PRA of providing specialized technical computer softwareand computer training, which was then used to create a model for thepotential exploration and development of oil and gas within theterritorial waters of Cuba, without first having obtained a license fromthe U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
"Trading with the enemy is a serious crime, and in this case, a Coloradocompany has been rightfully held accountable for committing that crime,"U.S. Attorney David Gaouette, of the District of Colorado, said in astatement.
In the hacking case, the DOJ accused Leonard of illegally accessing theWeb site of Zetaware, an oil- and gas-exploration software company and acompetitor of PRA. During the intrusion, in October 2005, Zetaware'spassword-protected files were downloaded via a wireless computer networkat the Houston airport, the DOJ said.
Analysis by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Leonardused PRA assets and resources to access Zetaware's password-protectedWeb site without authorization, in an attempt to obtain confidentialinformation, the DOJ said.
Last November, Leonard led a PRA staff meeting about a plan to exploitthe downloaded Zetaware files, the DOJ said.
Software Company Sentenced for Trading With the Enemy – PC World (17September 2009)http://www.pcworld.com/article/172190/software_company_sentenced_for_trading_with_the_enemy.html
Oleada de médicos cubrirá Venezuela
Publicado el sábado, 09.19.09Oleada de médicos cubrirá VenezuelaBy CASTO OCANDO
El presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez anunció una nueva oleada de médicoscubanos y de graduados venezolanos que culminaron estudios en Cuba, comoparte de un relanzamiento de la misión de salud popular Barrio Adentro.
En un discurso el jueves durante una reunión del consejo de ministros,Chávez dijo que los cubanos comenzarán a trabajar en barrios del país apartir del 8 de octubre, día en que se conmemora la muerte delrevolucionario Ernesto Che Guevara en Bolivia.
“Llegarán por oleadas'', afirmó Chávez. “Vienen 1,111 médicosgenerales, 213 médicos venezolanos formados en Cuba, 500 residentes, 200médicos que son profesores en Cuba''.
Este grupo de profesionales de la salud incluirá 140 terapistas, 100especialistas en endoscopia y 17 en imaginología, indicó un boletín dela Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN).
Para este año se espera también el retorno de 2,460 estudiantes deMedicina que culminaron el cuarto año de estudios en la isla, a fin deque realicen las prácticas médicas en apoyo al programa de Barrio Adentro.
En total, unos 24,000 jóvenes venezolanos están cursando la carrera deMedicina en Cuba, entre ellos 8,400 que están iniciando el quinto yúltimo año de estudios, indicó ABN.
Los cubanos mantienen una presencia activa en 24 estados de Venezuela, yoperan 27 Centros de Diagnósticos de Alta Tecnología, declaró la semanapasada Fidel Castro en una de sus “reflexiones''.
Estos cubanos se añaden a una ya extensa presencia de sus compatriotasen prácticamente todos los ámbitos del gobierno de Venezuela.
“Existen alrededor de 40,000 cubanos según las estimaciones másconservadoras, trabajando en todas las áreas en sectores que van desdeel militar hasta el educativo, pasando por las misiones de salud'',señaló a El Nuevo Herald Américo Martín, analista político que haestudiado el tema de la presencia cubana en Venezuela.
Según un estudio realizado por el investigador Antonio Pasquali,académico de la Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), en Caracas,decenas de miles de funcionarios cubanos laboran en áreas sensibles dela administración nacional como cedulación, pasaportes, infraestructurasy servicios de telecom, extranjería, fuerzas armadas, policías,seguridad y espionaje, notarías y registros, puertos y aeropuertos,minería e industrias, educación formal e ideológica, salud y deporte.
El reforzamiento de Barrio Adentro, que había caído en declive en losúltimos dos años y provocado el cierre de dispensarios en sectorespopulares a lo largo del país, forma parte de un ambicioso plan deestímulo económico por parte del gobierno chavista.
También para inicios de octubre, Chávez anunció un “plan extraordinariode empleo'', un programa de aceleramiento en la entrega de divisas alsector privado para compras en el exterior, un impulso a los sectoresagrícola y de la construcción, y la inyección de más de $4,000 millonesa la economía venezolana, para compensar la caída de 2.4 por ciento enel Producto Interno Bruto experimentado durante el primer semestre del 2009.
“No queremos que se nos dispare el desempleo y para ello lanzaremos unplan extraordinario que será llevado a cabo la primera semana deoctubre'', indicó Chávez.
Oleada de médicos cubrirá Venezuela – Cuba – El Nuevo Herald (19September 2009)http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/america_latina/cuba/story/547191.html
Cuba acusa de "mercenarios" a quienes buscan boicotear concierto de Juanes
Cuba acusa de "mercenarios" a quienes buscan boicotear concierto de Juanes18 de septiembre de 2009, 11:18 AM
LA HABANA (AFP) – El gobierno de Cuba acusó a los opositores de"mercenarios" de Estados Unidos que, en conexión con anticastristas deMiami, buscan "boicotear" y "ganar notoriedad" con el esperado conciertode Juanes el domingo en la Plaza de la Revolución, en La Habana.ADVERTISEMENT
"Estos mercenarios, poquísimos por cierto, en búsqueda de notoriedad hanestado tratando primero de boicotear el concierto y después que ya sevio que era un hecho han estado tratando de utilizarlo", aseguró elviceministro de Cultura, Abel Acosta, en un documental difundido elviernes el sitio oficialista Cubadebate.cu.
Acosta, también presidente del Instituto Cubano de la Música (ICM) -queorganiza con Juanes el evento-, aseguró que existe "una conexión muyclara" y "un eco entre las pretensiones del núcleo fascista de Miami conmercenarios que hay aquí".
Según el funcionario, radioemisoras de Miami, cuyas señales llegan a laisla, están llamando a los cubanos a "realizar actos de vandalismo en elconcierto" con la intención de "hacer ver que este es un pueblodividido", que "hay una situación de pugna".
"Eso es risible prácticamente (…) Sabemos que la Plaza se va aabarrotar y no tenemos ninguna duda de que va a ser una fiesta", expresóen el documental, también en la televisión local.
Acosta destacó la "valentía" de Juanes, el español Miguel Bosé, lapuertorriqueña Olga Tañón -ya en Cuba- y otros artistas extranjeros que,pese a la reacción virulenta de grupos del exilio anticastrista,decidieron participar.
El trovador cubano Silvio Rodríguez, quien cantará también, afirmó quees la "ultraderecha" de Miami la que ataca el concierto.
Grupos del exilio en Miami realizaron protestas en las que rompieron amartillazos discos de Juanes, por considerar que el concierto es unespaldarazo al régimen comunista.
En Cuba, más de una treintena de presos políticos -de 75 opositoresdetenidos en 2003- respaldaron el evento al estimar que ayudará a lareconciliación, e incluso el disidente Oswaldo Payá pidió el jueves aJuanes y a Miguel Bosé una canción por la liberación de los prisioneros.
La oposición cifra en unos 200 los presos políticos, pero el gobiernosostiene que se trata de prisioneros por atentar contra la seguridad delpaís y trabajar para Estados Unidos.
Cuba acusa de "mercenarios" a quienes buscan boicotear concierto deJuanes – Yahoo! Noticias (18 September 2009)http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090918/entretenimiento/cuba_eeuu_m__sica_pol__tica_1
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