From the Archives: Cuban dissidents gather in Rome before Pope John Paul II's historic trip to Cuba

23 years ago, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Ricardo Bofill, Father Miguel Angel Lauredo, Mario Chanes de Armas, Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez, Dariel Alarcon Ramirez (Benigno), Jorge Masseti, and John Suarez gathered in Rome on January 17, 1998 to discuss Cuba’s dissident movement in advance of Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Cuba. Below is a photo from the event, and link to the Associated Press story on the meeting.

Below is the poster that announced the event, and the list of speakers and moderator.

 

International Human Rights Day at Miami Dade College: Cause for Celebration and Protest

"Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth." - Liu Xiaobo, Chinese prisoner of conscience and Nobel Laureate

International Human Rights Day is a day to highlight the many remaining human rights challenges and the universal consensus found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  We salute Miami Dade College honoring human rights pioneer Ricardo Bofill on December 9, 2015, the eve of International Human Rights Day. Free Cuba Foundation members also celebrate Mayor Tomas Regalado of the City of Miami declaring today Ricardo Bofill Day during the Miami Dade College event. Both human rights defenders Ofelia Acevedo and Carlos Alberto Montaner celebrated the life and work of Ricardo Bofill.

Ricardo Bofill with Mayor Tomas Regalado (Photo by Rosa Maria Payá)

Sadly we are not in a celebratory mood with the activity planned for International Human Rights Day itself  with Eve Ensler's One Billion Rising Voices celebration of International Human Rights Day. One Billion Rising Voices claims to be a global movement seeking to end violence against women and girls through benefit productions of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In late October she visited Cuba and performed her works there and met with Mariela Castro ( the dictator's daughter) and did not publicly raise the issue of systemic regime violence against Cuban women who dissent.

Therefore in an effort to raise attention to the violence visited on Cuban women by the Castro dictatorship Eve Ensler met with and did not speak about the Free Cuba Foundation has produced three posters highlighting cases of violence against Cuban women by agents of that regime. The posters highlight instances of regime violence from 2011, 2013 and 2015. There are many more cases.

Laura Pollán was repeatedly beaten by the Castro regime’s agents between 2003 and 2011 for rising up for human rights in Cuba. The Ladies in White founder who through nonviolent marches demanded Cuban prisoners of conscience be freed died under suspicious circumstances on October 14,2011. She had been a school teacher.

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 Sonia Álvarez Campillo was brutally beaten by agents of the Cuban government for her dissent and suffered lasting physical damage.  Over twitter the aftermath of the attack was posted by her daughter Sayli Navarro who tweeted the above quote and independent journalist Ivan Hernandez Carrillo tweeted: "This is the Lady in White Sonia Álvarez Campillo after today's first act of repudiation against the Ladies in White."

Cuban human rights defender, Sirley Ávila León, age 56, was gravely wounded in a machete attack in Cuba on May 24, 2015 by Osmany Carrión who had been sent by state security agents. She lost her left hand while raising it to block a machete blow to the head. She suffered deep cuts to her neck and knees, lost her left hand and the machete cut through the bone of her right humerus leaving her arm dangling. Sirley Ávila León, a one time delegate of the People’s Assembly of Majibacoa worked through official channels to represent her community but when they ignored her requests to keep a school open she went to the international media and was later removed from office. She joined the democratic opposition. This led to escalating acts of repression by state security against the 56-year-old mother of two culminating in this attack. She is still in danger and her assailant is free to walk the streets of Cuba.

Our purpose is to bear testament that Cuban women have been brutalized by a 56-year-old dictatorship in Cuba that systematically violating human rights today. Unfortunately, International Human Rights Day in Cuba is a day of crackdowns and repression against nonviolent dissenters. Hopefully Eve Ensler will receive this message and in the future speak up for Cuban women subjected to brutal repression for having the courage to speak their mind and demand freedom. It is ironic that in a hemisphere were women have been elected to the highest office in the land as has been the case in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, and elsewhere that a dictatorship run by two brothers for 56 years in a patriarchal and chauvinist manner would be celebrated by someone claiming to be a feminist and defender of women.

Xavier Utset FCF Chairman 1997-1998 looks back over his tenure

Xavier Utset meeting with Russian human rights defender in Moscow

 As I look back to my Free Cuba Foundation (FCF) years (almost twenty years ago!) I think those were some of the most exciting times I have lived. Some of the memories from those days are indelible and I will keep forever.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of FCF the first thing we must do is pay homage and recognize the person who has made it possible: John Suarez. John has been the heart and soul of the organization and a true inspiration through the years. FCF would have long disappeared without John’s unremitting efforts and optimism. He has been a mentor, a friend, and a courageous partner in our efforts to see a better future for Cuba.

It was actually through John that I first learned of FCF. His passion recruiting members on campus was inspiring and I decided that I wanted to be part of it.

My most vivid memory of the FCF experience is the Armando Alonso campaign. Armando was a prisoner of conscience, a member of Ricardo Bofill’s Cuban Committee for Human Rights who had been imprisoned for "enemy propaganda." We decided to conduct a campaign for his liberation that lasted over a year. I happened to go on a semester abroad to Russia that year, so we expanded the campaign to include the support of democratic figures there. We also conducted campaigning in Italy that winter and made great efforts through the media as well as e-mail and the Internet, which were budding resources at the time. Armando was freed months later during Pope John Paul’s visit to Cuba in early 1998. I recall our first meeting with Armando in Miami, after his release. It was a priceless moment of humble but deep satisfaction.

October 3, 1997 with Ricardo Bofill of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights

That same year I finished my degree in international relations and entered the professional realm. I blame FCF for the exciting professional experiences I encountered since then. After FIU I spent the best part of the following fifteen years working in Cuba democracy programs with organizations in Miami and in Washington, DC. I have been blessed by being able to work on what I care deeply about. I have had the opportunity to meet, in Cuba, extraordinary individuals such as Oswaldo Paya, Laura Pollan, and Dagoberto Valdes, and so many other courageous activists who are such inspirational figures for all of us.

But the work for the likes of FCF is, unfortunately, far from over. It is sometimes heartbreaking to realize that after all our collective efforts, after so many years, Cuba has yet to accomplish its destiny as a free country. However we cannot afford to fall into despair; we cannot forget and disengage, passively, as if the future of Cuba was not our concern. It remains so, more than ever. As long as there are courageous Cubans on the island willing to risk their lives for a future of freedom and democracy, we must endure. And FCF will be there to contribute its part.

Xavier Utset

FCF Chairman 1997-1998

August 2, 2013

Cuban dissidents gather in Rome before pope's trip to Cuba | Associated Press

Associated Press, January 17, 1998

Cuban dissidents gather in Rome before pope's trip to Cuba
4.59 p.m. ET (2346 GMT) January 17, 1998

 

ROME (AP) --- Seeking to capitalize on the pope's trip to Cuba, 15 Cuban dissidents gathered in Rome on Saturday to press for greater freedoms in the communist island nation and the release of political prisoners.

The dissidents asked the pontiff to appeal for the respect of human rights and urged Italy's political parties to press for an end to totalitarianism in Cuba.

"The consensus is that in terms of a spiritual reawakening, the pope's visit is very important, and that is ultimately important for the future of the Cuban nation,'' said John Suarez, a spokesman for the meeting sponsored by Cuba Libera (Free Cuba).

Cuba Libera is an Italian organization that promotes human rights in Cuba. It was founded by Gianni Pilo, a Parliament deputy from the conservative Forza Italia party.

"We know that when the pope goes there, there will be 2,000 or 3,000 journalists there, but the exiles won't be,'' he said.

John Paul II leaves Wednesday for a five-day trip to Cuba --- his first to the communist nation.

Among those attending Saturday's gathering were Mario Chanes de Armas, a former comrade of Cuban leader Fidel Castro who spent 30 years in Cuban prisons; Ricardo Bofill, co-founder of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights; Dariel Alarcon Benigno, a former guerrilla companion of Che Guevara; and Ernesto Diaz Rodriguez, recently released from 22 years in jail.

When Castro came to Rome a year ago, he was received with acclaim by the Communist Refoundation, an Italian party that provides key support to Italy's center-left government.

Source: http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/romeitaly.html