Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Cuba ships off dissidents to be 'liberated' in Spain, and the rest remain tortured in jail

Cuba ships off dissidents to be 'liberated' in Spain, and the rest
remain tortured in jail
Max Hartshorne
Monday, June 13, 2011

I posted a note on Facebook about new opportunities to travel to Cuba,
at least if you can claim to be a part of an educational tour or study
group. A bunch of friends commented on how much they too want to go there.

Tonight I read a column about the terrible treatment there of dissidents
by Mary Anastasia O'Grady in the WSJ. While Cuba may indeed be a
tempting travel destination, listen to how "The 75" are being treated
after Spain's socialist government let Castro send them there to be
'liberated' last year.

The 75 were permitted to leave with their families, bring one change of
clothes, but not given a chance to say goodbye to anyone. They have no
documents so they can't claim political refugee status...they are
liberated in limbo. Spain's government should be ashamed of how they so
quickly agreed to Castro's deal to purge their country of people who
spoke up, and might make them look bad.

Cuba's jails are full of people who have had the audacity to try and
organize peaceful demonstrations, or writing columns against the
leadership. They are tortured there, according to what the 75 have told
the reporter when she met them in Spain. While Castro claimed he had
liberated them, in fact they have no rights in Spain because they
haven't been classified as such...because doing that would make Cuba
look bad and Spain's foreign minister is a frequent VIP guest in the
sunny island.

So yes, I'd join those who are eager to visit lovely Cuba and sip on
mojitos and bask in the music and dance. But it's good to not forget
that this is an island that's got a bad reputation for torture and doing
very bad things to anyone who dares to challenge the status quo.

http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/readuponit/cuba-ships-off-dissidents-to-be-039liberated039-in-spain-and-the-rest-remain-tortured-in-jail

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