Cuba’s dissidents caution against assumptions and complacency
|
Version 0 of 1. Parading silently along Havana’s Fifth Avenue, wearing white and carrying pink flowers, Cuba’s most famous protest movement – the Damas de Blanco – registered their opposition today to the human rights abuses of the Castro government, as they have done almost every Sunday for the past 10 years. Unusually, however, in the wake of last week’s resumption of diplomatic relations with the US, there was no sign of the police and state security officers who have frequently detained and beaten their members in an attempt to stifle dissent. As one of the first tests of the new political climate, the demonstration by about 70 women appeared to have passed with an encouraging lack of violence or repression, but the participants cautioned against complacent assumptions that Cuba has suddenly been transformed into a politically open and tolerant nation. With so many foreign journalists in Havana following the announcement, participants also feared that the relaxed atmosphere may be an exception and that intimidatory tactics will be renewed when international attention has shifted elsewhere. “The only way to change anything is for the Castros to be thrown out,” said Rebecca Roja, who showed two missing teeth that she said were knocked out during beatings by police after she was detained at a previous protest. “The Castros got what they wanted from the US. Now they have no incentive to change.” It is a commonly held view among Cuba’s dissident community, many of whom say they feel betrayed by US president Barack Obama’s decision to resume diplomatic relations and ease sanctions after more than half a century of antagonism. The Ladies in White were formed by relatives of the 75 human rights activists and journalists who were arrested in the “black spring” crackdown of 2003. Since then, they have been on the frontline of the conflict – and many members are now partly dependent on it. Speaking to the women and their supporters in the park outside St Rita’s church, where they congregate before the march, they said they individually receive $30 (£19) a month from anti-government Cuban exile groups in Miami. For many it is an important source of income because they are unable to get good jobs thanks to their status as untrustworthy and counter-revolutionary citizens. Only a small handful are actually relatives of those in prison. The vast majority describe themselves as supporters. They suffer for what they do. Almost all report multiple arrests, beatings, strip searches and detentions. Adis Nidie, a 46-year-old, arrived with her arm in a sling. She said it was fractured after the protest last week, when a policewoman hit her with a pistol butt and called her a mercenary. The group’s leaders say such sacrifices have been undermined by the US decision to start negotiating with Cuba. “Obama has made a grave error in relaxing sanctions,” said Ángel Maya, who was recently released from an eight-year prison sentence. “Nothing has changed. The conditions of repression are still in place. If the embargo is eased, the government will have more access to technology and money that can be used against us. We are totally against the easing of the embargo.” Under the recent bilateral agreement, Cuba has promised to release 53 prisoners. But the Ladies in White say they will not believe this until it happens. Their scepticism is widely shared by dissidents, although the opposition community is divided. At a meeting held just hours after the announcement last week, opposition leaders and activists told the chief US diplomat on the island that Obama has gone back on a promise made last year to give them advance warning of major changes to the relationship. One of those present told the Guardian that 18 dissidents were invited to the explanatory meeting at the US Interests Office in Havana with the head of mission Jeffrey DeLaurentis. This followed a smaller lunch with a US congressman, Charles Rangel. After hearing details of the breakthrough – the activists were asked to voice their opinion. Four reportedly expressed support, two said they would wait and see, and 12 voiced criticism that the US had damaged their cause and set back efforts to promote democracy on the island. “For us, this is a disaster,” lamented Guillermo Fariñas, a doctor, journalist and former winner of the European Union’s Sakharov prize for human rights. “We live in daily fear that we will be killed by the fascist government. And now, the US – our ally – turns its back on us and prefers to sit with our killers.” Fariñas added that in a meeting with Obama last year in Miami, the US president said dissidents would be informed before any big political changes regarding Cuba. “But we weren’t,” he said. “I told them at the meeting that I felt betrayed.” He estimated that a majority of dissidents in Cuba were now opposed to Obama, but others see the diplomatic initiative as a positive development. “I’m happy. I think this is a new opportunity,” said writer Reynaldo Escobar. “In all of these years, confrontation has not produced results It has just been used by Cuban government to justify their economic failure and political repression. The new process may be a failure but we have to give it a chance.” There are many restrictions on speech and assembly in Cuba. Earlier this year, Escobar and his wife, a dissident blogger called Yoani Sanchez, founded a website 14medio.com that was blocked just three hours later. Like many other dissidents, Fariñas says the US government must set more conditions on talks with Cuba, including a full release of political prisoners, freedom of assembly, improved provision of information – particularly the internet – and the right to establish rival parties. More talks between the dissidents and US diplomats are expected next month. |