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'A triumph' in Cuba as dissidents
gather
Cuban dissidents held
a remarkable gathering in Havana with little
disruption from the communist government.
By Nancy San Martin, nsanmartin@herald.com.
Posted on Sat, May. 21, 2005 in The
Miami Herald.
In what organizers are describing as the
largest and most public gathering of Cuban
dissidents since Fidel Castro seized power
in 1959, a much anticipated reunion was
not disrupted by the communist government
Friday.
About 200 government opponents and other
invited guests had an all-day gathering
in Havana even as several Europeans who
planned to attend, including diplomats and
journalists, were swiftly detained and kicked
off the island.
The unprecedented reunion of the Assembly
to Promote Civil Society was deemed a success
by organizers and supporters, including
a personal message sent by President Bush.
The two-day conference, which ends today,
was organized to join government opponents
on and off the island and sketch out ideas
for a future democratic society.
''There will be a before and after for
May 20 in Cuba,'' Martha Beatriz Roque,
one of the main organizers, told reporters
in Havana. ''This is a triumph for all the
opposition.'' May 20 is Cuba's independence
day.
Miami exiles monitoring events in Havana
also were pleased with the large turnout.
''This is extraordinary,'' said human rights
activist Sylvia Iriondo. "This gathering
is no longer a dream, it is a reality. It
represents the will of the Cuban people.''
But even as Castro opponents declared victory,
the event faced some obstacles.
By the time the assembly got started Friday
morning, authorities had refused entry to
two Polish lawmakers, deported two other
lawmakers, detained half a dozen foreign
visitors and harassed several would-be participants.
Various delegates from Cuba's interior were
summoned to police stations for unspecified
interviews, precluding them from attending
the conference. Others on the Isle of Youth
were told they could not travel to Havana.
Cuban officials did not issue a public statement
on Friday about the meeting, but Castro
has accused organizers of being U.S. mercenaries
and warned of repercussions.
MESSAGE FROM BUSH
In a videotaped message played at the Havana
conference, Bush said:
''I have a message to those assembling
today to protest oppression in Cuba: As
you struggle for the freedom of your country,
the American people stand with you,'' Bush
said, according to a transcript released
by the White House. "The tide of freedom
is spreading across the globe -- and one
day soon, it will reach Cuban shores.''
''No tyrant can stand forever against the
power of liberty because the hope of freedom
is found in every heart,'' Bush said. "We
are confident that Cuba será libre
pronto.''
The message was greeted with cheers and
some shouts of "Viva Bush!''
In Washington, Bush also met with several
Cuban-American leaders and former Cuban
political prisoners to discuss pro-democracy
efforts in Cuba.
HAVEL VISIT REJECTED
Among the foreign visitors targeted by
Cuban authorities were: German lawmaker
Arnold Vaatz and Czech Senator Karel Schwarzenberg,
a chancellor under former Czech President
Vaclav Havel, who also was invited to attend
but did not receive permission from the
Cuban government for entry. Three Polish
journalists, a human rights worker and two
academics also were booted out of the country,
Poland's Foreign Ministry said.
Polish European Parliament members Boguslav
Sonik and Jacek Protasiewicz were denied
entry upon arrival at the airport, as was
a representative from the Miami-based Cuban
American National Foundation.
CANF executive director Alfredo Mesa said
their New Jersey member, Teresa Cruz, was
detained upon arrival at the Havana airport
Thursday and interrogated for five hours
before authorities put her back on a U.S.-bound
plane.
The government's actions provoked outcries
from Poland, Germany and a European Union
representative. Italy also protested the
reported detention of an Italian journalist.
Further emboldening their defiance, assembly
participants opened the event with the Cuban
national anthem and chants of ''¡Libertad!''
("Freedom!'').
The event was held on a plot of land in
a Havana suburb that belongs to fellow organizer
Félix Bonne. The outdoor site was
decorated with Cuban flags and several banners
with strong words: ''The fatherland belongs
to everyone,'' stated one banner, according
to Agence France-Presse. No uniformed Cuban
police presence was reported.
''Let's open the door,'' read another.
A third stated, "It's about time for
Cuba.''
About half of the participants were delegates
from opposition groups from across the island.
The rest were composed of international
journalists, foreign diplomats stationed
in Havana and other guests. Cuba's state-run
media did not acknowledge the event or report
on the expulsions.
Among the dignitaries were representatives
of the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and
James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests
Section, whom Castro has accused of financing
the dissidents and instigating anti-revolutionary
acts.
''This is an exercise in grass-roots democracy,''
Cason said in Havana. "This is about
Cubans discussing, in their own country,
their own future.''
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