UNPACU asks the Pope for Solidarity with the Oppressed

UNPACU asks the Pope for Solidarity with the Oppressed / 14ymedio
Posted on September 4, 2015

14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2015 – The executive secretary of the
Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), Jose Daniel Ferrer, sent Pope Francis
in a letter published this Thursday on the organization's website, to
warn him that on his upcoming visit to the island he is going to find a
scenario very similar in many aspects to that observed by his
predecessors on previous visits to Cuba. The activist asked the pontiff
for "a gesture of solidarity in defense of the oppressed."

"From the visit of Karol J. Wojtyla to date, the world has opened itself
to Cuba, but the Cuban government, in a reticent way, appears to open
itself to the world, while at the same time continues to be closed to
the feeling of an entire people and continues to deny rights and
freedoms without which the happiness and well-being of nations and of
the individual are impossible," he writes.

Ferrer argues that those who speak of "reforms" on the island
exaggerate, and that "the measures taken by the government are still
insufficient, they do not go to the root of the problem." However, he
adds, that something has, indeed, changed substantially: the mentality
of the people. "The majority already say that what they feel and want is
profound changes. The fear of repression, little by little, is being
overcome," he added.

The UNPACU secretary argues that the Cuban people suffer not only
widespread material misery, a product of decades of the centralized
economy, but also, and above all, the lack "of the precious gift of
Freedom." He also regrets that the spaces of association and
participation for civil society "continue to be disjointed and
stranded," and he asks the pope for a "gesture" to support the building
of a nation on the basis "of freedom and solidarity."

"You can intercede and advocate for the rights of the oppressed, and in
Cuba we are the majority," he affirms, asking support for the release of
political prisoners and for the end to arbitrary detentions of peaceful
activists.

In addition, Ferrer explains that many members of the organization, as
well as other groups of independent civil society, wish to attend the
masses that the pope will celebrate during his stay in Cuba, between 19
and 22 September, but "the secret political police will prevent it, as
happened during the visit of Benedict XVI."

Source: UNPACU asks the Pope for Solidarity with the Oppressed /
14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/unpacu-asks-the-pope-for-solidarity-with-the-oppressed-14ymedio/