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Jeff Jacoby. Posted on Fri, May. 10, 2002 in
The Miami Herald
Fidel Castro loathes anyone who champions freedom and democracy, but for
Vladimiro Roca, who was freed this week after nearly five years in prison,
Castro harbors a particular hatred.
Roca is a scion of Cuba's communist elite. His father was Blas Roca, a
founding father of the Cuban Communist Party and a member of Castro's inner
circle until his death in 1987. Vladimiro -- he was named after Lenin -- was
raised in privilege, trained as a fighter pilot in the Cuban Air Force, then
entered the University of Havana to study economics. If anyone had cause to
embrace the communist ''revolution,'' this Cuban princeling did. But the more
Roca saw of Castro's corruption and despotism, the more repelled he was by the
system his father had helped create.
In 1991 Roca founded the Social Democratic Party -- a dangerous act of
defiance in a country where only the Communist Party is legal. In 1997, he and
three other Cuban dissidents wrote The Homeland Belong to Us All, a manifesto
calling for democratic elections, respect for human rights and greater economic
freedom. For that insult to Cuba's dictatorship, the four were arrested and
eventually convicted of ''inciting sedition.'' Roca's coauthors were sentenced
to four years in prison and were released in May 2000, after serving half their
terms.
But Castro did not let Roca off so easily. The ex-MIG pilot drew a sentence
of five years and spent more than two of them in solitary confinement. When he
was released on Sunday, he had served all but 10 weeks of his term.
This ''early release'' was widely seen as a goodwill gesture to former
President Jimmy Carter, who is scheduled to visit Cuba next week. This is a
favorite conceit of dictators: the notion that releasing an unjustly convicted
prisoner or two makes a nice gift with which to welcome a visiting dignitary --
like a fruit basket, only cheaper. Carter should make it clear that Roca's
liberty is not a ''gift'' of the government but Roca's inalienable human right.
Carter also should insist that every political prisoner in Castro's jails be
released unconditionally.
It can be difficult for Americans, who take their civil liberties for
granted, to grasp just how abominably the Castro regime treats courageous and
honest Cubans. Roca is free, but hundreds of others remain behind bars because
they dared speak the truth about Castro's ugly system. Here is the story of one
of them.
In 1989, Francisco Chaviano González, like countless others over the
years, tried to flee Cuba on a raft. The right to leave is fundamental in
international law, but in Cuba it is illegal. Chaviano was caught and sent to
prison, where he formed the Cuban Rafters Council to provide solidarity to
others in the same position. After his release, he began trying to document the
many thousands of men, women and children who had died trying to cross the
Florida Straits -- all of whom were treated as nonpersons by the Cuban
government.
The more Chaviano learned about the circumstances that led so many Cubans to
flee, the more he spoke out against government abuse and persecution. He renamed
his organization the National Council for Civil Rights and repeatedly condemned
Cuba's human-rights violations. In response, he and his family were subjected to
a campaign of harassment and assault. Their home was attacked. Threatening
messages wrapped around rocks were thrown through the windows. Vulgar graffiti
were painted on the outside wall.
Chaviano refused to be intimidated. Government goons broke into his home and
beat him up. Still he persisted in speaking out. On May 7, 1994, a man he didn't
know came to his door, delivered a sheaf of papers and left. Moments later, the
security police raided the house. They made a great show of finding the planted
document, which they seized as ''evidence.'' Chaviano was arrested and held for
nearly a year before learning that he would be charged with ''revealing state
secrets'' and "illicit enrichment.''
His trial was a farce. It was closed to the public, but the courtroom was
packed with state security agents. He was not allowed to see the evidence
against him or to call witnesses in his own defense. His conviction was a
foregone conclusion; his sentence was 15 years.
That was eight years ago. Today he is locked in the maximum-security
Combinado del Este prison; his wife is permitted to visit him once every two
months. His health has deteriorated -- he suffers from an ulcer and respiratory
problems -- but his ideals remain intact.
''His spirit is strong,'' Chaviano's wife told me recently. "He gives
me strength.''
In his 1977 inaugural address, Carter declared, ''Because we are free, we
can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere.'' Nowhere in the
hemisphere is the fate of freedom more dire than in Cuba, where decent men are
punished for their decency.
Castro would like the world to forget about the Chavianos in his jails. When
Carter is in Cuba next week, he must make sure that those decent men are
remembered.
©2002 The Boston Globe | 
