verstehen libre.
Friday, August 04, 2006
military out in force in Cuba's east?
From the wires...
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
Gainesville Sun
Dissidents in Cuba's eastern provinces said Friday the country's military has beefed up its presence on the streets and is telling citizens they have permission to respond with force against anyone who speaks out against the government.
In a series of interviews conducted by phone in Miami, dissidents told The Associated Press they are fearful about retaliations against political opponents of the government."Everybody now knows that that Fidel is ill, but everyone is waiting," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, 41, an attorney from the province of Ciego de Avila. "They are wondering what is going to happen. There is a grave silence. It's like being in the center of a hurricane."
Gonzalez, who became blind as a child and went on to study law in Havana, was accused in 2002 of insubordination to Castro and spent more than two years in prison. His case gained international attention after Amnesty International called for his release.Gonzalez said that on Tuesday officials met with neighborhood watch groups to encourage them to look out for anyone who might speak against Castro.
"My concern right now is for the political prisoners in this country, and what could happen to them," Gonzalez said. He said that on Wednesday night a mob came to the home of Yamile Llanes, who is wife of Jose Luis Garcia Penequi, and threatened her. Garcia was among one of 75 political opponents rounded up by the Cuban government in 2003 and accused of being on the U.S. government payrolls. Both the dissidents and Washington denied the allegation. He remains incarcerated.
Gonzalez said he and others are asking that the government holds free elections and urged other Cubans not to participate in mob attacks, or "repudios" as they are called, against dissidents.Gonzalez said his wife fled to the U.S. last year after being repeatedly harassed in government-sponsored attacks, but he refused to leave.
"Yes, everyone would like to live in liberty, but there are commitments you make for country and people," he said.
The Miami-based nonprofit Cuban Democratic Directorate, which provides support to dissidents in Cuba, patched through the calls to Gonzalez and the other dissidents. The group receives funding from the U.S. government through the International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy.
In Banes, in the Holguin province, Guillermo Llanos Ricardo, 30, said the town's only independent library was surrounded by citizen patrol groups checking the identification of anyone seeking to enter.
"These are well-known groups that have incited violence against dissidents in the past," he said. Meanwhile, Eliecer Consuegra Rivas, 33, the head of the opposition group Eastern Democratic Alliance in the city of Antilla also in Holguin, attributed the relative calm on the streets to fear of reprisal. He said he has been repeatedly warned not to speak out informally by neighbors and officially by government representatives.
"The messages they are getting to us every day are that shouldn't leave our home or talk," said the former elementary school basketball coach. "They tell people not to have pity. And that they should do what they want with those they see demonstrating against the government."
Consuegra, who supports the Varela project led by renowned Cuban activist Oswaldo Paya, said he was accused in July of owning a stolen fax even though he showed officials a receipt that proved he bought the machine from a government-run store. ¶ 5:36 PM
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
Gainesville Sun
Dissidents in Cuba's eastern provinces said Friday the country's military has beefed up its presence on the streets and is telling citizens they have permission to respond with force against anyone who speaks out against the government.
In a series of interviews conducted by phone in Miami, dissidents told The Associated Press they are fearful about retaliations against political opponents of the government."Everybody now knows that that Fidel is ill, but everyone is waiting," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, 41, an attorney from the province of Ciego de Avila. "They are wondering what is going to happen. There is a grave silence. It's like being in the center of a hurricane."
Gonzalez, who became blind as a child and went on to study law in Havana, was accused in 2002 of insubordination to Castro and spent more than two years in prison. His case gained international attention after Amnesty International called for his release.Gonzalez said that on Tuesday officials met with neighborhood watch groups to encourage them to look out for anyone who might speak against Castro.
"My concern right now is for the political prisoners in this country, and what could happen to them," Gonzalez said. He said that on Wednesday night a mob came to the home of Yamile Llanes, who is wife of Jose Luis Garcia Penequi, and threatened her. Garcia was among one of 75 political opponents rounded up by the Cuban government in 2003 and accused of being on the U.S. government payrolls. Both the dissidents and Washington denied the allegation. He remains incarcerated.
Gonzalez said he and others are asking that the government holds free elections and urged other Cubans not to participate in mob attacks, or "repudios" as they are called, against dissidents.Gonzalez said his wife fled to the U.S. last year after being repeatedly harassed in government-sponsored attacks, but he refused to leave.
"Yes, everyone would like to live in liberty, but there are commitments you make for country and people," he said.
The Miami-based nonprofit Cuban Democratic Directorate, which provides support to dissidents in Cuba, patched through the calls to Gonzalez and the other dissidents. The group receives funding from the U.S. government through the International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy.
In Banes, in the Holguin province, Guillermo Llanos Ricardo, 30, said the town's only independent library was surrounded by citizen patrol groups checking the identification of anyone seeking to enter.
"These are well-known groups that have incited violence against dissidents in the past," he said. Meanwhile, Eliecer Consuegra Rivas, 33, the head of the opposition group Eastern Democratic Alliance in the city of Antilla also in Holguin, attributed the relative calm on the streets to fear of reprisal. He said he has been repeatedly warned not to speak out informally by neighbors and officially by government representatives.
"The messages they are getting to us every day are that shouldn't leave our home or talk," said the former elementary school basketball coach. "They tell people not to have pity. And that they should do what they want with those they see demonstrating against the government."
Consuegra, who supports the Varela project led by renowned Cuban activist Oswaldo Paya, said he was accused in July of owning a stolen fax even though he showed officials a receipt that proved he bought the machine from a government-run store. ¶ 5:36 PM
