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Muzzling free expression
in Cuba
Our opinion: world community
must support Cuban dissidents
Posted on Thu, Jan. 26,
2006 in The
Miami Herald.
Cuba has escalated its attacks on dissidents
-- as if that could stifle the truth about
its moral and economic bankruptcy. Yet the
harassment, beatings and jailings have not
deterred dissidents from calling attention
to human-rights abuses and pressing for
change in Cuba.
These critics simply won't back down. Their
only defenses are the spotlight and international
pressure that shame the regime and lessen
some of the abuse. This is why Cuba's peaceful
dissidents deserve the support of individuals,
international groups and governments that
cherish freedom.
Civil disobedience
The recent backlash against dissidents
shouldn't surprise anyone. After 47 years
of dictatorship, many Cubans are tired of
empty promises and deprivation. They are
taking to the seas in greater numbers. More
than ever they are losing their fear. Nothing
bothers the regime as much as a loss of
control. So the regime resorts to an old
method: It clamps down on uncontrolled activities,
particularly any criticism of the regime.
The new wave of repression started in July
when a mob attacked a dissident protest
in Havana. The evictions, arrests and violence
that followed were to be expected. What's
new is that the measures aren't gaining
popular support or stopping the protesters.
Neighbors and co-workers, for example, no
longer participate in the regime-organized
mobs during ''acts of repudiation'' in which
dissidents are insulted and often beaten
-- another sign of the regime weakening.
Acts of civil disobedience have nearly doubled
since 2002, according to data from International
Republican Institutes.
When the Ladies in White were harassed
in an ''act of repudiation,'' the number
of women marching to mass on Sundays more
than doubled. The Ladies are relatives of
political prisoners who peacefully protest
for release of their kin. The Ladies landed
in the international spotlight last year
when the European Parliament awarded them
its highest honor for human rights, the
Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
When Cuba denied the group's leaders permission
to accept the award in person, the regime
didn't win any points in Europe.
Not a free country
Cuba has more than 300 political prisoners,
a number that also increased last year.
It continues to arrest and detain people
for speaking their mind, a crime that exists
in no free country. It accuses dissidents
of being lackies for the U.S. government,
a ''crime'' punishable by 20 years or more
in prison.
After 47 years of Fidel Castro, it is too
easy to tune out news of such abuse. But
Cuba's dissidents haven't given up. Neither
should the world give up on the dissidents.
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