HAVANA, January 20 (Marvin Hernández, Cuba Press) - A State Security agent threatened Cuban dissidents with accidents similar to that which befell Mery Miranda, a journalist with this agency.
The ultimatum was issued by a State Security agent that calls himself Abel as he was arresting Jorge Santacana Valdés, the president of the Aurora National Movement for Human Rights, the morning of January 19.
Santacana was arrested at the headquarters of the independent library 'Unión Lucista' in the Santos Suárez sector of Havana where he was awaiting for the start of a press conference on the Parallel Summit of the Cuban Dissidence to the South South Summit, to take place in Cuba next
April.
After a four hour standing wait at the station, two counterintelligence officers who identified themselves as Abel and Inti presented the dissident with a warning writ for consorting with known counter revolutionaries and for participating in the formation of a counter revolutionary library.
The dissident leader stood by his rights when the officers asked his opinion of the contents of the writ. At this point, the one who calls himself Abel said: "Santacana, we are not going to allow any parallel summits and from now until then, any of you could experience an accident like that
suffered by journalist Mery Miranda."
On the afternoon of January 17th, a man struck independent journalist Mery Miranda in the face with a blunt object. Ms. Miranda was attacked as she walked home in the Vedado sector of Havana.
Ms. Miranda lost consciousness for a half hour. A neurosurgeon at the Neurology Institute diagnosed her with "severe cranial trauma."
In like manner, dissident Bárbara Josefina Alvarez Debs was attacked by an unknown person who accused her of being a counter revolutionary, on January 12th at Media Luna, in Granma province, in eastern Cuba.
Alvarez Debs is in charge of religious affairs with the February 24th Activists' Union, and she was on her way from Manzanillo to Niquero, all in eastern Cuba, when in the Media Luna bus station a man told her: "Counter revolutionary, you came looking for news for Radio Martí."
He then grabbed her by the hair and punched her in the ribs, according to Filiberto González Chávez, president of the Activists' Union. Media Luna is 54 kilometers away from Manzanillo, where Álvarez Debs lives.
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