"Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with
them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were
suffering."- Hebrews 13:3
Prisoners of conscience are observing Christmas Eve in terrible
conditions in China, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam, and many other places
around the world. It is impossible to list them all here but it is
important to remember them. Here are a few that represent the many who
remain unnamed.
Political prisoner in Nicaragua Amaya Copens, age 23
Amaya Coppens, a fifth year medicine student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de León in Nicaragua has been arrested and accused of "terrorism." She was detained on September 10, 2018 along with
Sergio Alberto Midence Delgadillo by hooded police that used violence to
detain them, and take them away in a van. Her "crime" is being outspoken against the violence visited on peaceful protesters and belonging
to the University Coalition for Democracy along with the Justice (CUDJ)
and the Civic Alliance and Social Movements Network. She is the eighth
member of the CUDJ to be arbitrarily detained in what is a campaign of
harassment and repression against a dozen university organizations
working together at the national level for a free Nicaragua. She faces a political show trial with a Sandinista judge in February of 2019. She was just 23 years old at the time of her arrest and has been held in prison since then.
Political prisoner in Cuba Eduardo Cardet, age 50
Eduardo Cardet Concepción is a medical doctor, a husband, and a father of two small
children. He is widely respected in his community. He is a person of
impeccable moral character. Despite all of this, he was beaten up
and arrested in front of his wife and children on November 30, 2016. That was his last day in freedom, he has continued to suffer beatings in
prison, and was repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object. Both he and his
family have been additionally punished, and visits and calls denied for months at a time. In March of 2017 he was sentenced to three years in prison, and Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. Eduardo Cardet is a democrat, a human rights defender, and speaks his mind openly. Because of this he had been a victim of regime harassment in the past. Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016 while Cardet was outside of Cuba.
He was interviewed by international media and gave a frank assessment
of Fidel Castro's political legacy and said that there was nothing positive. Refusing to mourn Fidel Castro's death is punishable by prison in Cuba, and offering a nonviolent political alternative to the existing system is grounds for prison in the Castro regime.
Opposition deputy Juan Requesens in custody for 133 days without a hearing (PanAm Post)
Former student opposition leader and opposition deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Requesens, has been a steadfast, moderate, non-violent opposition leader to the Maduro regime in Venezuela. The Maduro regime has manufactured charges that the opposition leader planned the assassination of Nicolas Maduro and is seeking to sentence him to 30 years in prison. He is 29 years old, married and father to two young children.
People of good will have a responsibility to do what they can. Oswaldo
Payá Sardiñas in an address to the European Parliament on December 17,
2002 explained that
"[t]he cause of human rights is a single cause, just
as the people of the world are a single people. The talk today is of
globalization, but we must state that unless there is global solidarity,
not only human rights but also the right to remain human will be
jeopardized."
More than a dozen human rights and pro-democracy organizations from Latin America, Europe and the United States have made a request during this holiday season
that bishops, priests, pastors, rabbis, and men and women of good will
to engage in all possible efforts with the authorities to obtain an amnesty of all political prisoners in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Please join us in speaking up for these and other
political prisoners and remember, that helping them in a
utilitarian sense we also help ourselves, that more importantly we must
do this because it is the right thing to do. The great Czech dissident
Václav Havel explained back in 1990
that "[t]he salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the
human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human
responsibility."
It begins with you. Will you do your part?
1. Please ask your pastor, rabbi, or priest to pray for the freedom of political prisoners during their religious services during this holiday season.
2. Please write letters to religious leaders in your community to request that the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua free their political prisoners.
3. Please use the following hashtags to spread this message.
Center for a Free Cuba sent the following statement along with the letter by the political prisoners in both English and Spanish that was delivered to The White House on December 17, 2015. On the same day many of this former political prisoners picketed The White House protesting President Obama's policies. Free Cuba Foundation founder Augusto Monge was also present and took part in the demonstration.
WASHINGTON – On the morning of December 17, 2015, the White House received a letter asking President Barack Obama to revisit his Cuba policy in light of a considerable increase this year in political repression against peaceful human rights activists on the island. The letter hand-delivered at the White House this morning was signed by more than 100 former Cuban political prisoners who served a total of 1,945 years in Castro’s political prisons and forced labor camps. The letter coincides with the one year anniversary of President Obama’s historic announcement on Cuba. The prisoners say that “based on our history and experience as political prisoners under Castro’s totalitarian regime, the new Cuba policy established by your Administration is a regrettable mistake.” It “will prolong the life of the dictatorship, is worsening the human rights situation there, marginalizing the democratic opposition and compromising U.S. national security,” they said. Writing three days after the President made a statement indicating he wants to travel to Cuba before the end of his term if “we’re seeing some progress in the liberty and freedom and possibilities of ordinary Cubans,” the former political captives said that “human rights violations in Cuba have a terrible history, but the current policy has taken a bad situation and made it worse. Violent beatings against activists peacefully assembling have escalated and worsened over 2015.” “The Administration’s new Cuba policy over the past year,” they tell President Obama, “has compromised U.S. national security.” They remind the President that he commuted “Gerardo Hernandez’s two life sentences” and that Hernandez “was convicted for among other things conspiracy to murder three U.S. citizens and one resident of the U.S.” Hernandez helped plan their murders by Cuban warplanes on international airspace. Raul Castro gave medals to the Cuban pilots who committed the crime. By “returning him to Cuba where he received a hero’s welcome in what was an immense propaganda victory for the Castro regime [the Administration] sent a dangerous signal to those who would harm Americans,” the letter said. A full text of the letter to the President with all of the signatures is attached. The letter was given to the National Security Council at 9:38 this morning. The letter was given by Ernesto Diaz Rodríguez, former Cuban political prisoner and poet who served more than 22 years in Castro’s political prisons and forced labor camps. At 11 AM there will be a demonstration of political prisoners, families, and friends in front of the White House requesting that President Barack Obama ask Raul Castro to stop the attacks against the Ladies in White and to stop the beatings. The prisoners hope that if their request reaches the President, President Obama will call Raul Castro on the telephone to ask him to stop the beatings in Cuba.
December 17, 2015
Mr. Barack H. Obama
President of United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Mr. President:
Based on our history and experience as political prisoners under
Castro’s totalitarian regime, the new Cuba policy established by your
Administration has been a regrettable mistake. This will prolong the
life of the dictatorship, is worsening the human rights situation there,
marginalizing the democratic opposition and compromising U.S. national
security.
The normalization of relations is creating false expectations and
granting benefits to the tyrannical regime in Cuba; it is also allowing
the Paris Club to forgive billions in debt providing the regime hard
currency which it funnels into its most repressive institutions: the
military and intelligence services giving new life to what we’re dying
institutions. Human rights violations in Cuba have a terrible history,
but the current policy has taken a bad situation and made it worse.
Violent beatings against activists peacefully assembling have escalated
and worsened over 2015.
Politically motivated arbitrary detentions in Cuba as of the end of
November 2015 are a documented total of 7,686 and are on track to break
the previous record set in 2014 with 8,899 arrests. Over the course of
this year the number of detentions have escalated: 178 in January; 492
in February; 610 in March; 338 in April; 641 in May; 563 in June; 674 in
July; 768 in August; 882 in September; 1,093 in October; and 1,447 in
November. Political prisoners continue to be a reality in Cuba.
Despite the claim that there would be continued support for improved
human rights and democratic reforms in Cuba the past year has
demonstrated otherwise. Inviting the Castro regime to the VII Summit of
the Americas in Panama in April of 2015, violated the democratic ideals
of the summit. The dictatorship’s anti-democratic and violent nature
was made evident during the Summit with Cuban nationals and U.S.
citizens beaten up by state security and requiring hospitalization and
summit events interrupted by acts of repudiation organized by the Castro
regime. The U.S. government responses were low level pro-forma protests
while President Obama met with Raul Castro as an equal.
The Administration’s new Cuba policy over the past year has compromised
U.S. national security. First, commuting Gerardo Hernandez’s two life
sentences; he was convicted for among other things conspiracy to murder
three U.S. citizens and one resident of the U.S., and returning him to
Cuba where he received a hero’s welcome in what was an immense
propaganda victory for the Castro regime, sending a dangerous signal to
those who would harm Americans.
Secondly, removing Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list on May
29, 2015 despite: 1) the Castro regime being caught smuggling heavy
weapons and ammunition through Colombia on February 28, 2015. 2) Being
linked to international drug trafficking along with its client state
Venezuela as reported on January 27, 2015. 3) Being in violation of UN
international sanctions to North Korea on July 15, 2013 when caught
smuggling tons of weapons and ammunition including ballistic missile
technology. Ignoring this will get more Americans killed and undermine
U.S. interests.
Finally, having the US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro
Mayorkas meet with the Castro regime’s Interior Minister Major General
Carlos Fernandez Gondin in what was officially described as a visit of
collaboration and engagement sends worrisome signals that should concern
those who care about national security. Gondin has a history of
engaging in the mistreatment of opposition activists and has an agenda
to undermine U.S. interests, legitimizing him with an official visit
sends a terrible message.
We the undersigned are political prisoners who collectively have served
1,945 years in prison for resisting the Castro dictatorship and fighting
for democracy in our homeland of Cuba. We are writing this letter out
of a deep conviction that this new U.S. Cuba policy will not only harm
Cuban aspirations for a free and democratic Cuba while worsening human
rights there but also endanger American lives.
Señor Barack H. Obama
Presidente de los Estados Unidos de América
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Señor. Presidente:
Basados en nuestra historia y experiencia como presos políticos bajo el régimen totalitario de los Castro, la nueva política hacia Cuba establecida por su Administración ha sido un lamentable error. Esa política prolongará la dictadura en el poder, está empeorando la situación de los derechos humanos en la isla, marginalizando a la oposición democrática y arriesgando la seguridad nacional de los EE.UU.
La normalización de las relaciones ha creado falsas expectativas y otorga beneficios al régimen tiránico de Cuba; y ha resultado en que el Club de Paris le perdone una deuda de miles de millones de dólares, facilitándole a La Habana divisas que destina a sus instituciones más represivas: los servicios militares y de inteligencia, renovándoles sus recursos que se encontraban bastante limitados. La historia terrible de las violaciones a los derechos humanos en Cuba ha empeorado y ha habido un aumento en las golpizas contra los activistas pro derechos humanos a lo largo del 2015.
Las detenciones políticas arbitrarias en Cuba hacia finales de noviembre 2015 ascendieron a 7.686 y están en camino de romper el record anterior del 2014 con 8.899 arrestos. A lo largo de este año el número de detenciones ha escalado: 178 en enero; 492 en febrero; 610 en marzo; 338 en abril; 641 en mayo; 563 en junio; 674 en julio; 768 en agosto; 882 en septiembre; 1.093 en octubre; y 1.447 en noviembre. Los presos políticos continúan siendo una realidad en Cuba.
A pesar de la afirmación de que habría apoyo continuo para lograr una mejoría de los derechos humanos y la democracia en Cuba, lo opuesto ha ocurrido durante este año. Invitar al régimen de los Castro a la VII Cumbre de las Américas en Panamá en abril de 2015 violó los ideales democráticos de la Cumbre. La naturaleza anti-democrática y violenta de la dictadura se hizo evidente durante la Cumbre cuando ciudadanos cubanos y americanos fueron golpeados por la seguridad del estado, necesitando ser hospitalizados, y algunos de los eventos de la Cumbre fueron interrumpidos por actos de repudio organizados por el régimen castrista. Las respuestas del gobierno de los EE.UU fueron pro-forma a bajo nivel mientras que el Presidente norteamericano se reunió con Raúl Castro de igual a igual.
La nueva política hacia Cuba de la Administración durante el año pasado puso en peligro la seguridad nacional de los EE.UU. Primero, conmutando las dos sentencias de cadena perpetua de Gerardo Hernández, convicto por otras cosas, por conspirar para asesinar a tres ciudadanos norteamericanos y a un residente de los EE.UU; devolviéndolo a Cuba donde fue recibido como un héroe en una inmensa victoria propagandística para el régimen de los Castro. Esa política envía una peligrosa señal a los que buscan hacerle daño a los norteamericanos.
Segundo, remover a Cuba de la lista de países que apoyan el terrorismo el 29 de mayo de 2015 a pesar de que el régimen de los Castro: 1) fue sorprendido traficando con armamentos bélicos y municiones por Colombia el 28 de febrero de 2015. 2) Está vinculado al narcotráfico internacional junto a su estado cliente Venezuela como fue reportado el 27 de enero de 2015. 3) Estar en violación de sanciones internacionales de la ONU contra Corea del Norte el 15 de julio de 2013 cuando fue sorprendida traficando toneladas de armamentos y municiones incluyendo tecnología de misiles balísticos. Ignorar esto hará que más norteamericanos sean asesinados y socavará los intereses de los EE.UU.
Finalmente, al reunirse el Subsecretario de Seguridad Interna Alejandro Mayorkas con el Ministro del Interior del régimen de los Castro, Mayor General Carlos Fernández Gondín, en lo que fue descrito oficialmente como una visita de colaboración y compromiso envía señales que deben preocupar a los responsables por la seguridad nacional. Gondín tiene un historial de participar en el maltrato de activistas de la oposición y tiene una agenda destinada a socavar los intereses de los EE.UU. Legitimar al General Gondín con una visita oficial envía un terrible mensaje.
Los firmantes somos presos políticos que colectivamente hemos cumplido 1,945 años de prisión por resistirnos a la dictadura de los Castro y por luchar por la democracia en nuestra patria de Cuba.
Escribimos esta carta debido a una convicción profunda de que esta nueva política norteamericana hacia Cuba no solo dañará las aspiraciones de los cubanos por una Cuba libre y democrática, mientras allí empeoran los derechos humanos, pero también pondrá en peligro las vidas norteamericanas.
One of the founders of the Free Cuba Foundation, Augusto Monge attended the first Cuban National Gathering and was one of the signers of the Declaration of San Juan. Below is an English translation of the document originally drafted in Spanish.
DECLARATION OF SAN JUAN
Between the 13th and 15th of August 2015, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first Cuban National Gathering was in session. 23 organizations participated of the archipelago and 32 from exile, duly represented by more than one hundred of its leaders. The event was organized by Cubans United of Puerto Rico.
We wereanimated by the purpose of seeking ways to reconcile the work of the pro-democratic forces with the commitment to restore sovereignty to Cuban citizens and all their fundamental rights. To this end, we affirm that to achieve the full freedom of the Cuban people and a genuine rule of law, none of the following principles are negotiable:
The unconditional release of all political prisoners and repeal of all laws that violate fundamental freedoms;
Freedom of expression, of the press, of association, of assembly, of peaceful protest, of profession and religion; and
The participation of the people in any decision of the nation, the legalization of all political parties and free and multiparty elections.
The Cuban National Gathering also agreed:
Working in the campaign for a binding plebiscite in favor of free, fair and pluralistic elections under democratic conditions that guarantee the sovereignty of citizens.
Work to demolish the cybernetic fire wall in Cuba and strive so that the internal opposition has the technological resources to continue citizen mobilization.
Several works focused on the material and spiritual progress of the New Cuba work were presented, which will be defined in a second Cuban National Gathering.
A Coordinating Liaison Committee was established for a period of six months, whose main task will be to follow up the agreed points here and communicate them to all organizations, in the spirit of uniting the internal and external opposition.
For us today the phrase of Marti that we intend to observe is more relevant than ever: "Joining together is the watchword."
The Free Cuba Foundation co-sponsored the Winter Student Leadership Conference with UM CAUSA and Young Cubans in Action held at the Grito de Yara - Carlos Manuel de Cespedes Conference Hall of the Cuban Democratic Directorate on December 28, 2009 The Conference was broadcast live on UStream. The following is archived footage:
Marc MasferrerSpeaks on Social Networks and the Virtual Cuba
