Published Wednesday, February 28, 2001, in the
Miami Herald
The following are excerpts from the U.S. State Department's annual report on
human-rights conditions in Cuba. The full report, released on Monday, is
available at www.state.gov
The government's human-rights record remained poor. It continued to violate
systematically the fundamental civil and political rights of its citizens.
Citizens do not have the right to change their government peacefully. There were
unconfirmed reports of extrajudicial killings by the police, and reports that
prisoners died in jail due to lack of medical care.
Members of the security forces and prison officials continued to beat and
otherwise abuse detainees and prisoners. The government failed to prosecute or
sanction adequately members of the security forces and prison guards who
committed abuses. Prison conditions remained harsh.
The authorities continued routinely to harass, threaten, arbitrarily arrest,
detain, imprison and defame human-rights advocates and members of independent
professional associations, including journalists, economists, doctors and
lawyers, often with the goal of coercing them into leaving the country.
NO BASIC FREEDOMS
The government used internal and external exile against such persons, and it
offered political prisoners the choice of exile or continued imprisonment. The
government denied political dissidents and human-rights advocates due process
and subjected them to unfair trials. The government infringed on citizens'
privacy rights. The government denied citizens the freedoms of speech, press,
assembly and association. It limited the distribution of foreign publications
and news, reserving them for selected party faithful, and maintained strict
censorship of news and information to the public.
The government restricts some religious activities but permits others.
Before and after the January 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II, the government
permitted some public processions on feast days and reinstated Christmas as an
official holiday; however, it has not responded to the papal appeal that the
church be allowed to play a greater role in society.
During the year, the government allowed two new priests to enter the country
(as professors in a seminary) and another two to replace two priests whose visas
were not renewed. However, the applications of many priests and religious
workers remained pending, and some visas were issued for periods of only three
to six months.
The government kept tight restrictions on freedom of movement, in- cluding
foreign travel. The government was sharply and publicly antagonistic to
criticism of its human-rights practices and discouraged foreign contacts with
human-rights activists.
CHILDREN FORCED TO WORK
Violence against women, especially domestic violence, and child prostitution
are problems. Racial discrimination occurs. The government severely restricted
worker rights, including the right to form independent unions. The government
prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, it requires children to
do farm work without compensation during their summer vacation.
The authorities have never approved a public meeting by a human-rights
group. On Feb. 22, state security officers detained pro-democracy activists in
different parts of the country to prevent them from staging activities
commemorating the Feb. 24, 1996, shootdown of two civilian aircraft over
international airspace by the air force. Security agents also warned many more
activists against staging any public demonstrations on Feb. 24 and warned
independent journalists not to cover such incidents.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald
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