We hope the government will announce the names of the prisoners benefiting in the coming hours

“We hope the government will announce the names of the prisoners
benefiting in the coming hours”
REINALDO ESCOBAR, Havana | Diciembre 18, 2014

The spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights and National
Reconciliation, Elizardo Sánchez, shares with the readers of 14ymedio
his reflections on the rapprochement between Havana and Washington
announced this Wednesday, after more than five decades of rupture.

Escobar: Does the National Commission for Human Rights and
Reconciliation have the names of the 53 prisoners that the Government of
the United States expressed an interest in releasing this Wednesday?

Sánchez: We have collected over a hundred documented names of political
prisoners, but we have absolutely no idea of who will benefit under this
agreement with the list of 53 “plus one.” I can add that in what was,
until now, the United States Interest Section, they tell us that they
don’t know the details either.

Q. Does “plus one” refer to the person who has been mentioned as a spy
for US government?

A. Indeed. It has been said that it is a person “of Cuban origin” and
that qualification introduces doubt as to his identity, because it
suggests that it is a Cuban-American. We must wait for the Government of
Cuba to announce it; we hope they will do so in the coming hours.

Q. What news do you think is more relevant, the release of the three
intelligence officers or the reestablishment of diplomatic relations?

A. What we are seeing as of this Wednesday is a campaign focused on “the
great victory obtained by the Cuban government” with the release of
these three intelligence officers, but, in my opinion, what is
transcendent is the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba
and the United States. That is a truly historic event and from it can
come consequences of enormous importance.

Q. What is your impression of the reasons for the silence of Fidel Castro?

A. I do not know what to say. It may be due to health reasons. You
cannot forget that he will be 89 in nine months, or perhaps he preferred
to keep quiet, or to wait to see the reaction of the people. I don’t
know. He knows.

Translation by Mary Jo Porter

Source: “We hope the government will announce the names of the prisoners
benefiting in the coming hours” –
http://www.14ymedio.com/englishedition/what-about-the-political-prisoners_0_1690630933.html