2 June 2010
A prisoners' wives group has kept up pressure on the government
Cuba has begun transferring several of the country's 200 political prisoners to jails closer to their homes, according to relatives and campaigners.
Human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said the relocation of dissidents had begun, while the Archbishop of Havana's office said so far six had been moved. Officials agreed to relax the prison regime after talks with Church leaders. There was no immediate official confirmation from the Cuban government. There has been pressure on the Cuban leadership to improve conditions for political prisoners since the death in February of hunger strike protester Orlando Zapata.
He was the first Cuban activist to starve himself to death in protest in nearly 40 years.
As part of the recent agreement, the government also said it would move sick dissident prisoners to hospital and committed to stop harassing the prisoners wives' group, the Ladies in White, who would be allowed to continue their weekly protest march. However, the Cuban authorities deny that the men are political prisoners, calling them mercenaries paid by the US to undermine the system. Amnesty International considers 65 of them to be "prisoners of conscience".
The BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says Mr Sanchez's human rights group, the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, is illegal but tolerated by the country's Communist authorities. Mr Sanchez said the families of four men had been told by the authorities they would be moved to jails closer to home. Felix Navarro and Antonio Diaz, who were sentenced to 25 and 20 years and jailed in the central province of Ciego de Avila, had been taken to jails in Matanzas and Havana City, he told the AFP news agency. Diosdado Gonzalez, serving a 20-year sentence, was sent from Pinar del Rio in the west to his home province of Matanzas, Mr Sanchez added. The archbishop's office also named Jose Luis Garcia, Ivan Adolfo Hernandez and Arnaldo Ramos.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Cuba to improve conditions of prisoners: source
Reuters, May 22, 2010
Cuba has agreed to move political prisoners held in far-off jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals, a dissident said on Saturday, following talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro this week.
Guillermo Farinas, on a hunger strike for 88 days demanding ill prisoners be released, told Reuters in a telephone interview that he received the news from a bishop who visited him in the hospital where he is being fed intravenously. A Catholic Church source, speaking on condition his name not be used, confirmed what Farinas said. "Everything appears that is what will happen," he said. Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Dionisio Garcia, who heads the Cuban Bishops' Conference, held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting with Castro in Havana on Wednesday which they both described as positive. Farinas said Prelate Juan Dios Hernandez, the auxiliary bishop of Havana, brought him the message from Ortega after the cardinal was informed by the government that measures were being taken as agreed in the meeting. "These are first the transfer of all the prisoners to their respective provinces of residence, and the transfer also of all sick prisoners to hospitals," Farinas said. He said he was told a second meeting would be held next week toward "resolving the situation of the prisoners." There was no immediate word from Cuban officials. Wednesday's meeting was the Cuban Catholic Church leaders' first talks with Castro since he took over the presidency of the Communist-ruled island from his ailing elder brother Fidel Castro in 2008.
"The Church is interested in there being some kind of relief in the situation of the prisoners, which could include the freeing of some of them, and that is what we're talking about," Ortega said during a news conference on Thursday. He said the subject was being discussed seriously, but neither he nor Garcia offered specific details of what steps the Cuban government might take over the political prisoners. The cardinal added the talks would continue. The rare meeting, which received wide coverage in the official media, followed Ortega's successful mediation between the Communist authorities and female relatives of imprisoned dissidents earlier this month hat allowed them to resume weekly marches without being harassed by government supporters. The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Memberti, is due to visit the island next month as Cuba is facing increasing economic difficulties and international attention on human rights abuses in the country. Political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in February after a hunger strike. Memberti is expected to press authorities to release political prisoners whom the government brands as mercenaries and subversives in the pay of the United States. Local human rights organizations put the number of political prisoners in Cuba at around 200, while Amnesty International says there are around 60 prisoners of conscience.
Cuba has agreed to move political prisoners held in far-off jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals, a dissident said on Saturday, following talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro this week.
Guillermo Farinas, on a hunger strike for 88 days demanding ill prisoners be released, told Reuters in a telephone interview that he received the news from a bishop who visited him in the hospital where he is being fed intravenously. A Catholic Church source, speaking on condition his name not be used, confirmed what Farinas said. "Everything appears that is what will happen," he said. Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Dionisio Garcia, who heads the Cuban Bishops' Conference, held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting with Castro in Havana on Wednesday which they both described as positive. Farinas said Prelate Juan Dios Hernandez, the auxiliary bishop of Havana, brought him the message from Ortega after the cardinal was informed by the government that measures were being taken as agreed in the meeting. "These are first the transfer of all the prisoners to their respective provinces of residence, and the transfer also of all sick prisoners to hospitals," Farinas said. He said he was told a second meeting would be held next week toward "resolving the situation of the prisoners." There was no immediate word from Cuban officials. Wednesday's meeting was the Cuban Catholic Church leaders' first talks with Castro since he took over the presidency of the Communist-ruled island from his ailing elder brother Fidel Castro in 2008.
"The Church is interested in there being some kind of relief in the situation of the prisoners, which could include the freeing of some of them, and that is what we're talking about," Ortega said during a news conference on Thursday. He said the subject was being discussed seriously, but neither he nor Garcia offered specific details of what steps the Cuban government might take over the political prisoners. The cardinal added the talks would continue. The rare meeting, which received wide coverage in the official media, followed Ortega's successful mediation between the Communist authorities and female relatives of imprisoned dissidents earlier this month hat allowed them to resume weekly marches without being harassed by government supporters. The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Memberti, is due to visit the island next month as Cuba is facing increasing economic difficulties and international attention on human rights abuses in the country. Political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in February after a hunger strike. Memberti is expected to press authorities to release political prisoners whom the government brands as mercenaries and subversives in the pay of the United States. Local human rights organizations put the number of political prisoners in Cuba at around 200, while Amnesty International says there are around 60 prisoners of conscience.
Cuba's Castro meets Catholic Church leaders
BBC, May 20, 2010
Cuban President Raul Castro has held a rare meeting with leading members of the Catholic Church. Mr Castro met Cardinal Jaime Ortega, head of the country's Church, along with Archbishop Dionisio Garcia of Santiago. Wednesday's talks touched on the sensitive issue of imprisoned political dissidents, Church sources said, without providing details. This comes ahead of a visit next month by the Vatican's foreign secretary. Dissidents hope that the visit of Archbishop Dominique Memberti could lead to the release of some political prisoners, says the BBC's Michael Voss in Havana. The official Communist party newspaper - Granma - said the discussions had covered relations between Church and state, as well as international and domestic issues. 'Small steps' Archbishop Garcia, the head of Cuba's bishops' conference, was cautious when asked whether the discussion might lead to an agreement to free dissidents. "There will be a process and this process has to start with small steps and these steps will be made," he was quoted as saying by AFP. "We hope that the conversation will go in that direction." Earlier this month Cardinal Ortega successfully mediated between the Cuban authorities and a group of wives and female relatives of imprisoned dissidents, known as the Ladies in White. That resulted in the group being allowed to resume their Sunday marches in Havana free from harassment by government supporters. In the early days of the revolution, Cuba officially became an atheist state, but relations with the Church have been steadily improving since Pope John Paul II's historic visit in 1998.
Cuban Cardinal and President Castro in rare meeting
Cuban President Raul Castro held a rare meeting on Wednesday with leaders of an increasingly active Roman Catholic Church to discuss international and domestic issues, the official media reported on Thursday. The meeting followed Cardinal Jaime Ortega's successful mediation between Communist authorities and female relatives of imprisoned dissidents earlier this month. That resulted in the group, known as the Ladies in White, resuming Sunday marches along a main Havana avenue free from harassment by government supporters. "During the meeting various issues of mutual interest were analyzed, in particular the favorable development of relations between the Catholic Church and Cuban state and the current international and domestic situation," the official media said in a communique. It was accompanied by photographs of Castro with Ortega and the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia. The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Memberti, is due to visit the island next month amid increasing economic difficulties and international attention on human rights abuses in Cuba. Dissident hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in February and another, Guillermo Farinas Hernandez, has been hospitalized since March. Memberti is expected to press authorities to release political prisoners whom the government brands as mercenaries and subversives in the pay of the United States. "This is the first time the conference has had such a high level meeting," Jose Feliz Perez, spokesman for the bishops conference, told Reuters. "It was especially relevant in the context that the church has recently been working to mediate solutions to a number of difficulties in society." In an April interview with the Archdiocese of Havana's magazine, Palabra Nueva (New Word), Ortega said economic woes and accusations of human rights abuses had placed Cuba in "a difficult situation, the most difficult we have experienced in the 21st century." He criticized authorities for moving too slowly on economic reforms and mistreating dissidents. But he also said the international reaction to human rights abuses was overblown and aggressive. Laura Pollan, leader of the Ladies in White, termed the meeting "very important" in the context of the efforts to free jailed dissidents and Memberti's visit. "If only all this could prove successful and lead to the freeing of prisoners," she said. Relations between the Church and Cuba's government have been marked by bitter recriminations in the past, but have steadily improved since the 1990s, especially after a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Letter from Cuba: Orlando Zapata
Una reflexión sobre Zapata
Estimados compañeros:
Me llamo Daniel y vivo en Cárdenas, Matanzas. Trabajo en turismo y por eso he podido ver en estos días todo el debate que se ha levantado a raíz de la muerte del preso Orlando Zapata. Lo he visto en CNN en Español y Televisión española. También he leído algunos periódicos porque en los hoteles tenemos internet. He leído artículos escritos por intelectuales extranjeros, disidentes cubanos, amigos de la revolución, enemigos. A raíz de todo eso, y de las cartas que andan circulando por ahí, me gustaría compartir una reflexión con ustedes. Yo no soy nadie, ni actor ni cantante ni figura pública, tampoco intelectual, pero si sirve de algo, antes de dedicarme al turismo hice la carrera de sociología, soy militante del Partido y miembro de la asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución por haber cumplido misión internacionalista en Etiopía.
Lo primero que quiero contarles es que la muerte de Zapata me ha dejado muy confundido. Al margen de que Amnistía Internacional diga que era un preso de conciencia y nuestro gobierno insista en que era un preso común, Zapata ha muerto por una huelga de hambre. Porque se negó a comer. He pensado mucho en eso. ¿Qué le pasa por la mente a una persona para hacer algo así? Yo no lo sé, pero reconozco que en este país ningún disidente había llegado tan lejos. Al menos que yo tuviera noticia. El Granma ha dicho que Zapata hizo la huelga porque quería un televisor, un teléfono y una cocina en su celda. Que alguien muera por eso sólo admite dos lecturas, o Zapata estaba loco o el Granma miente. Ciertamente la locura podría explicar todo esto, pero si Zapata tuviera antecedentes psiquiátricos, no tengo duda de que el Granma los habría publicado. Así que no me queda más remedio que asumir que este señor no murió por un televisor. Murió por otra cosa. No sé cuál. Dicen que lo manipularon, y seguramente haya algo de verdad en eso, pero convencer a alguien para que se deje morir no debe ser fácil. Ni es tan simple.
Aquí siempre nos han dicho que los disidentes son mercenarios, pero un mercenario no hace eso. Los mercenarios cobran y viven. Los mercenarios no se inmolan por una idea (por muy ridícula que sea), por eso los terroristas de Al Qaeda no usan mercenarios sino fanáticos. ¿Era Zapata un fanático? ¿Un fanático de qué, de la contrarrevolución? No sé qué pensar, porque un fanático no surge de la nada, necesita un caldo de cultivo. ¿Existe en la Cuba de hoy ese caldo de cultivo que genera fanáticos? Sería realmente preocupante. Y una señal muy grave del estado de las cosas. Ya sé que la muerte de un solo hombre no tiene por qué significar nada. Puede ser un hecho aislado. O no. Mientras escribo esto hay otros dos disidentes que también se han declarado en huelga. Y uno de ellos está ingresado. ¿Qué pasará si mueren? ¿Serán otros dos mercenarios aislados, dos pobres víctimas manipuladas?
Lo bueno de hacerse viejo (yo tengo 44 años) es que uno tiene una memoria enorme de las cosas que ha visto. Yo estos días me acuerdo mucho de algo que pasó hace casi treinta años… En 1981 diez presos del ejército republicano irlandés (IRA) se declararon en huelga de hambre en sus cárceles de Gran Bretaña. Muchos cubanos no se acordarán, pero entonces el tratamiento que se le dio en la televisión nacional fue de respeto y admiración. Desde que falleció el primero; Bobby Sands hasta que murió el último; Mickey Devine, todos sus nombres fueron mencionados en el noticiero de las ocho como una forma de mostrar la represión política que entonces ejercía Margaret Thatcher sobre Irlanda del Norte.
No intento comparar Cuba con Irlanda. Pero sí me llama la atención que aquellos huelguistas (algunos de ellos condenados por delitos de terrorismo en los que fallecieron inocentes) merecieran tanta gloria, y los que tenemos aquí sólo desprecio. ¿Por qué? ¿Porque supuestamente son delincuentes comunes, porque son cubanos, porque están contra el gobierno? Soy consciente de que el mero hecho de plantearme esto me coloca en el bando del enemigo. Pero yo no soy el enemigo. Cuestionar la versión oficial de quién era Orlando Zapata no significa que comparta sus ideales (que desafortunadamente ni siquiera conozco). A mí la revolución no me educó para convertirme en una persona insensible, ni en una máquina de repetir consignas (aunque lo han intentado). Yo creo que si un cubano muere de huelga de hambre tengo derecho a exigir respuestas claras y convincentes.
Además, no es la primera vez que me cuestiono una versión oficial. Ni la primera vez que la rechazo. Antes he contado que pasé dos años en Etiopía, en la brigada que apoyaba al gobierno de Mengistu Haile Mariam. Los que estuvimos allí sabemos quién era ese señor, y las barbaridades que hacía en su país. Era obvio que aquello no tenía nada que ver con el socialismo sino con prácticas de un gobernante feudal, pero aunque todos en la brigada éramos conscientes de lo que pasaba (incluidos los jefes de misión) la versión oficial siguió insistiendo en que apoyar a Mengistu era bueno para la causa revolucionaria, pero poco después de que Cuba retirara sus tropas (no el apoyo político) Mengistu huyó de Etiopía en un avión cargado de dinero. Hoy vive en Zimbawe y está acusado en su país de genocidio. Repito: GENOCIDIO. Cuando lo supe, en 1991, me dio rabia por tantos compañeros que fueron a Etiopia a luchar por una causa justa y murieron apoyando a un genocida que hoy vive de su cuenta en Suiza .
Aquella vez mi gobierno se equivocó. Como se ha equivocado muchas veces. Por eso tengo que decirlo; soy cubano, soy revolucionario, pero apoyo incondicional no. Me niego a confiar ciegamente en un sistema que a veces dice la verdad, a veces sólo media verdad, y a veces miente. Como todos los gobiernos del mundo, dirán algunos. Pero éste es el mío, éste es el que me exige cerrar filas sin hacerme preguntas, sin cuestionar qué está pasando en la sociedad cubana para que un preso muera de huelga de hambre.
A mí me enseñaron que en Cuba las huelgas de hambre las hacían los revolucionarios contra Batista. ¿Qué está pasando aquí para que ahora hagan huelga los gusanos? ¿Qué tendría Zapata en la cabeza para que no le baste con ser mercenario, para que elija morirse? Yo creo que para responder a eso tenemos que dejar de mirarnos el ombligo y ser autocríticos.
Hay que cuestionar las cosas, compañeros, porque eso es lo que hace un revolucionario. Y no se le puede llamar mercenario a todo el que lo haga. Algunos lo son, no tengo dudas, pero todos no. Yo no tengo buena opinión de los disidentes porque, en primer lugar, sólo sé de ellos lo que me cuenta el Granma, y segundo porque me siento lejos de personas que defienden posturas conservadoras que llevarían este país a un extremismo de derechas, justo aquello contra lo que siempre he luchado, pero tengo que reconocer que algunas de las cosas que dicen tienen razón. ¿Eso me convierte en disidente? Rotundamente no. Entonces, ¿Dónde está la línea? Por ejemplo, exigir responsabilidades políticas porque en Mazorra han muerto de frio treinta enfermos mentales de los que nadie se ocupó, ¿Eso es hacerle juego al enemigo? Quejarnos de que en los hospitales no haya higiene, o que no podamos salir del país sin permiso ni tener acceso a internet, ¿eso es de revolucionarios o de mercenarios? Lamentar que en mi país exista una ley de peligrosidad, copiada del régimen fascista de Franco, que condena a las personas “proclives” a cometer un delito (sin haberlo cometido aún), ¿Eso es de gusanos o de comunistas? Sinceramente no lo sé.
No sé dónde quejarme, dónde lamentar, dónde exigir. No sé con quién tengo que hablar. ¿Con mi núcleo del partido, con mi presidente del CDR, con el delegado de mi circunscripción? ¿Con el Granma? Créanme que ya lo he hecho y no ha servido para nada. Entonces, ¿Dónde canalizo mi vergüenza? ¿En el Miami Herald? Les voy a contar de qué se habló en la última reunión de mi núcleo del partido; de retirarle el carné a un compañero porque había pedido la nacionalidad española. De eso se habló.
Cuando veo el noticiero me indigno porque siento que me tratan como si tuviera diez años y viviera en la luna. Yo no vivo en la luna. Yo vivo en Cuba y sé lo que pasa. Y me indigna que me digan que un preso ha muerto porque quería un televisor.
Yo no sé lo que quería Orlando Zapata con su huelga, pero sé lo que quiero yo: soluciones a los problemas de mi país. Y podemos buscarlas o decirle al mundo que la culpa de todo la tienen los yanquis y los mercenarios, podemos intentar arreglar esto entre nosotros o mentirnos diciendo que no pasa nada, que la juventud está comprometida, que nuestro pueblo cada día es más heroico y viril, que somos la referencia del mundo, que la calle es de Fidel…
Y sí, mi calle hace cincuenta años que es de Fidel, y no tiene bombillas porque se las roban los de la empresa eléctrica (esos sí son mercenarios), se inunda siempre que llueve y necesita asfalto.
Así que ustedes dirán,
Revolucionariamente,
Daniel
Estimados compañeros:
Me llamo Daniel y vivo en Cárdenas, Matanzas. Trabajo en turismo y por eso he podido ver en estos días todo el debate que se ha levantado a raíz de la muerte del preso Orlando Zapata. Lo he visto en CNN en Español y Televisión española. También he leído algunos periódicos porque en los hoteles tenemos internet. He leído artículos escritos por intelectuales extranjeros, disidentes cubanos, amigos de la revolución, enemigos. A raíz de todo eso, y de las cartas que andan circulando por ahí, me gustaría compartir una reflexión con ustedes. Yo no soy nadie, ni actor ni cantante ni figura pública, tampoco intelectual, pero si sirve de algo, antes de dedicarme al turismo hice la carrera de sociología, soy militante del Partido y miembro de la asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución por haber cumplido misión internacionalista en Etiopía.
Lo primero que quiero contarles es que la muerte de Zapata me ha dejado muy confundido. Al margen de que Amnistía Internacional diga que era un preso de conciencia y nuestro gobierno insista en que era un preso común, Zapata ha muerto por una huelga de hambre. Porque se negó a comer. He pensado mucho en eso. ¿Qué le pasa por la mente a una persona para hacer algo así? Yo no lo sé, pero reconozco que en este país ningún disidente había llegado tan lejos. Al menos que yo tuviera noticia. El Granma ha dicho que Zapata hizo la huelga porque quería un televisor, un teléfono y una cocina en su celda. Que alguien muera por eso sólo admite dos lecturas, o Zapata estaba loco o el Granma miente. Ciertamente la locura podría explicar todo esto, pero si Zapata tuviera antecedentes psiquiátricos, no tengo duda de que el Granma los habría publicado. Así que no me queda más remedio que asumir que este señor no murió por un televisor. Murió por otra cosa. No sé cuál. Dicen que lo manipularon, y seguramente haya algo de verdad en eso, pero convencer a alguien para que se deje morir no debe ser fácil. Ni es tan simple.
Aquí siempre nos han dicho que los disidentes son mercenarios, pero un mercenario no hace eso. Los mercenarios cobran y viven. Los mercenarios no se inmolan por una idea (por muy ridícula que sea), por eso los terroristas de Al Qaeda no usan mercenarios sino fanáticos. ¿Era Zapata un fanático? ¿Un fanático de qué, de la contrarrevolución? No sé qué pensar, porque un fanático no surge de la nada, necesita un caldo de cultivo. ¿Existe en la Cuba de hoy ese caldo de cultivo que genera fanáticos? Sería realmente preocupante. Y una señal muy grave del estado de las cosas. Ya sé que la muerte de un solo hombre no tiene por qué significar nada. Puede ser un hecho aislado. O no. Mientras escribo esto hay otros dos disidentes que también se han declarado en huelga. Y uno de ellos está ingresado. ¿Qué pasará si mueren? ¿Serán otros dos mercenarios aislados, dos pobres víctimas manipuladas?
Lo bueno de hacerse viejo (yo tengo 44 años) es que uno tiene una memoria enorme de las cosas que ha visto. Yo estos días me acuerdo mucho de algo que pasó hace casi treinta años… En 1981 diez presos del ejército republicano irlandés (IRA) se declararon en huelga de hambre en sus cárceles de Gran Bretaña. Muchos cubanos no se acordarán, pero entonces el tratamiento que se le dio en la televisión nacional fue de respeto y admiración. Desde que falleció el primero; Bobby Sands hasta que murió el último; Mickey Devine, todos sus nombres fueron mencionados en el noticiero de las ocho como una forma de mostrar la represión política que entonces ejercía Margaret Thatcher sobre Irlanda del Norte.
No intento comparar Cuba con Irlanda. Pero sí me llama la atención que aquellos huelguistas (algunos de ellos condenados por delitos de terrorismo en los que fallecieron inocentes) merecieran tanta gloria, y los que tenemos aquí sólo desprecio. ¿Por qué? ¿Porque supuestamente son delincuentes comunes, porque son cubanos, porque están contra el gobierno? Soy consciente de que el mero hecho de plantearme esto me coloca en el bando del enemigo. Pero yo no soy el enemigo. Cuestionar la versión oficial de quién era Orlando Zapata no significa que comparta sus ideales (que desafortunadamente ni siquiera conozco). A mí la revolución no me educó para convertirme en una persona insensible, ni en una máquina de repetir consignas (aunque lo han intentado). Yo creo que si un cubano muere de huelga de hambre tengo derecho a exigir respuestas claras y convincentes.
Además, no es la primera vez que me cuestiono una versión oficial. Ni la primera vez que la rechazo. Antes he contado que pasé dos años en Etiopía, en la brigada que apoyaba al gobierno de Mengistu Haile Mariam. Los que estuvimos allí sabemos quién era ese señor, y las barbaridades que hacía en su país. Era obvio que aquello no tenía nada que ver con el socialismo sino con prácticas de un gobernante feudal, pero aunque todos en la brigada éramos conscientes de lo que pasaba (incluidos los jefes de misión) la versión oficial siguió insistiendo en que apoyar a Mengistu era bueno para la causa revolucionaria, pero poco después de que Cuba retirara sus tropas (no el apoyo político) Mengistu huyó de Etiopía en un avión cargado de dinero. Hoy vive en Zimbawe y está acusado en su país de genocidio. Repito: GENOCIDIO. Cuando lo supe, en 1991, me dio rabia por tantos compañeros que fueron a Etiopia a luchar por una causa justa y murieron apoyando a un genocida que hoy vive de su cuenta en Suiza .
Aquella vez mi gobierno se equivocó. Como se ha equivocado muchas veces. Por eso tengo que decirlo; soy cubano, soy revolucionario, pero apoyo incondicional no. Me niego a confiar ciegamente en un sistema que a veces dice la verdad, a veces sólo media verdad, y a veces miente. Como todos los gobiernos del mundo, dirán algunos. Pero éste es el mío, éste es el que me exige cerrar filas sin hacerme preguntas, sin cuestionar qué está pasando en la sociedad cubana para que un preso muera de huelga de hambre.
A mí me enseñaron que en Cuba las huelgas de hambre las hacían los revolucionarios contra Batista. ¿Qué está pasando aquí para que ahora hagan huelga los gusanos? ¿Qué tendría Zapata en la cabeza para que no le baste con ser mercenario, para que elija morirse? Yo creo que para responder a eso tenemos que dejar de mirarnos el ombligo y ser autocríticos.
Hay que cuestionar las cosas, compañeros, porque eso es lo que hace un revolucionario. Y no se le puede llamar mercenario a todo el que lo haga. Algunos lo son, no tengo dudas, pero todos no. Yo no tengo buena opinión de los disidentes porque, en primer lugar, sólo sé de ellos lo que me cuenta el Granma, y segundo porque me siento lejos de personas que defienden posturas conservadoras que llevarían este país a un extremismo de derechas, justo aquello contra lo que siempre he luchado, pero tengo que reconocer que algunas de las cosas que dicen tienen razón. ¿Eso me convierte en disidente? Rotundamente no. Entonces, ¿Dónde está la línea? Por ejemplo, exigir responsabilidades políticas porque en Mazorra han muerto de frio treinta enfermos mentales de los que nadie se ocupó, ¿Eso es hacerle juego al enemigo? Quejarnos de que en los hospitales no haya higiene, o que no podamos salir del país sin permiso ni tener acceso a internet, ¿eso es de revolucionarios o de mercenarios? Lamentar que en mi país exista una ley de peligrosidad, copiada del régimen fascista de Franco, que condena a las personas “proclives” a cometer un delito (sin haberlo cometido aún), ¿Eso es de gusanos o de comunistas? Sinceramente no lo sé.
No sé dónde quejarme, dónde lamentar, dónde exigir. No sé con quién tengo que hablar. ¿Con mi núcleo del partido, con mi presidente del CDR, con el delegado de mi circunscripción? ¿Con el Granma? Créanme que ya lo he hecho y no ha servido para nada. Entonces, ¿Dónde canalizo mi vergüenza? ¿En el Miami Herald? Les voy a contar de qué se habló en la última reunión de mi núcleo del partido; de retirarle el carné a un compañero porque había pedido la nacionalidad española. De eso se habló.
Cuando veo el noticiero me indigno porque siento que me tratan como si tuviera diez años y viviera en la luna. Yo no vivo en la luna. Yo vivo en Cuba y sé lo que pasa. Y me indigna que me digan que un preso ha muerto porque quería un televisor.
Yo no sé lo que quería Orlando Zapata con su huelga, pero sé lo que quiero yo: soluciones a los problemas de mi país. Y podemos buscarlas o decirle al mundo que la culpa de todo la tienen los yanquis y los mercenarios, podemos intentar arreglar esto entre nosotros o mentirnos diciendo que no pasa nada, que la juventud está comprometida, que nuestro pueblo cada día es más heroico y viril, que somos la referencia del mundo, que la calle es de Fidel…
Y sí, mi calle hace cincuenta años que es de Fidel, y no tiene bombillas porque se las roban los de la empresa eléctrica (esos sí son mercenarios), se inunda siempre que llueve y necesita asfalto.
Así que ustedes dirán,
Revolucionariamente,
Daniel
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Cuban dissident: Government lying about case of political prisoner
CNA STAFF, Mar 18, 2010 / 02:15 pm (CNA).- In an interview with CNA, the president of the Christian Liberation Movement in Cuba, Oswaldo Paya, offered encouragement to those struggling for democracy in the country and accused the government of spreading lies about the recent death of prisoner of conscious, Orlando Zapata Tamayo. Referring to the plight of prisoners of conscience, Paya remarked that they “are treated like common prisoners” and are “abused and harassed” right in front of government officials. These prisoners are held “often far from their families, in conditions of extreme overcrowding, with barely enough water to drink,” said Paya adding that they “have to use paper or bags when they go to the bathroom.” These conditions they face are in addition to the “systematic beatings and abuse they receive, such as the case was with Orlando Zapata,” Paya said. Speaking about Zapata, who recently died, Paya explained that he was first sentenced “to three years in prison,” and after being “subjected to arbitrary trials” he was “sentenced to 36 more years.” Because of this oppression, he said, “Zapata declared a hunger strike. He was put in a prison, in a cell that was truly like a cage. We even received reports that they left him without any water for several days.” Paya said hunger strikes are sort of an “act of desperation because the prisoner has no other recourse and for this reason his demands must be supported.” When “a prisoner declares a hunger strike we must ask that his demands be met, which is different than the lies that the Cuban government has spread that are an insult to people’s intelligence. We must ask for a more decent treatment, for more respect of the human being.” He then reported there are some 200 political prisoners in Cuba, and that the government paints them as dangers to society in order to avoid the appearance of incarcerating them for political reasons. “They are considered to be delinquents and agents of imperialism ... In this case the political motives were the defense of human rights, the proposal for peaceful change, the denunciation of human rights violations, the organizing of peaceful civic movements to promote dignity, rights and information.” “This is what Stalin, Hitler, Franco, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein did, and it’s what the government of Fidel and Raul Castro are doing,” Paya said.
Dissident encourages dignity and rights for Cubans
CNA STAFF, Mar 22, 2010 / 11:56 am (CNA).- In an interview with CNA, the president of the Christian Liberation Movement, Oswaldo Paya reiterated the need for a democratic change in Cuba and called on the international community to support this peaceful struggle without ideological bias. In the second part of his interview with CNA, Paya spoke of the complicated situation on the island that has caused some to lose hope. “First of all, our call is that people, whether they are believers or not, discover that they have the God-given capacity to be free. That is, they are born free and with rights. We say: Cubans have a right to rights.” “And we are sowing hope not in a foreign power nor in the demise of a dictator,” but we tell people to “discover your own dignity, discover your own rights and show solidarity out of love for your neighbor.” “In other words, the source of this liberation is not hatred, nor the desire to destroy others, but rather love, the unselfish love of oneself.” Referring later to the Varela Project, an initiative of the Christian Liberation Movement, Paya explained that it proposes “asking Cubans in a referendum whether or not they want these changes." The project, he continued, “is a peaceful path but it gives citizens the power, it gives citizens the ability to participate in public and economic life and vote on changes. Let the people be the ones to decide what is good, what they want, but above all in an atmosphere of reconciliation, in an atmosphere of brotherhood. This is very important, because we don’t want liberation resulting from a brother against brother confrontation.” “We don’t see the Christian Liberation Movement as the interpreter of the gospel ... but we do get light from the gospel, recognizing each human being as our brother. For this reason our motto is, ‘Cubans All, Brothers All, and Now Freedom’,” Paya said. He added that the central point of solidarity lies in “the liberation of all political prisoners. Why? Because they are prisoners for defending these rights. They are prisoners for calling for these peaceful changes, and nothing else.” “Let us seek out the truth together. Nobody has a monopoly on the truth. The truth is in God and we are all children of God. God gives freedom to human beings – to those who believe or do not believe,” Paya continued. “For this reason we speak in terms of liberation, not through violence or through hatred, but through the restoration of liberation, dignity, and the rights of each human being,” he concluded.
Biosketch: Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino
Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana (Cuba), was born in Jagüey Grande in the diocese and province of Matanzas, Cuba, on 18 October 1936. His father was first a worker in the sugar factory close to the village where he was born, and subsequently a shop-keeper. When he was five years old, his family moved to the city of Matanzas. There he completed his compulsory education at the prestigious school Arturo Echemendía. He completed his higher education at the Advanced Institute for Secondary Studies of Matanzas, a state-run student centre. He earned a diploma in arts and sciences in 1955 and after one year at the university, entered the diocesan seminary of San Alberto Magno, directed by the Fathers of the Foreign Mission of Quebec. 
After four years studying humanities and philosophy, the Bishop sent him to study theology at the seminary of the Foreign Mission in Quebec, Canada. He then returned to Cuba and was ordained priest on 2 August 1964, in the Cathedral of Matanzas. His ministry as Coadjutor Vicar of Cárdenas was interrupted in 1966 when he was detained in work camps known by the initials UMAP. In 1967, at the end of his imprisonment, he was appointed parish priest of Jagüey Grande, his native town. Like all parish priests in Cuba during this period when priests were few and far between, he was in charge of several parishes and churches. In 1969 he was appointed parish priest of the Cathedral of Matanzas. Responsible for the parish of Pueblo Nuevo in the city and another two churches outside it, at the same time he was also President of the Diocesan Commission for Catechesis and maintained an active apostolate with the youth of the Diocese. In those years, very difficult for the Church's pastoral activities, he founded a youth movement, which included among the various forms of the apostolate summer camps for young people and evangelization by the means of theatricals, performed by the young people themselves. For several years, in addition to his pastoral activities in the city of Matanzas, he taught at the Sts. Charles and Ambrose interdiocesan seminary in Havana, which he visited once a week to give courses in moral theology. On 4 December 1978, John Paul II named him Bishop of Pinar del Rio. He was consecrated on 14 January 1979 in the Cathedral of Matanzas, and on 21 January he took possession of his diocese. Three years of pastoral work in a deeply religious Catholic Diocese with a very committed and participative laity left an indelible mark on the soul of the Bishop who was promoted to the Archdiocese of Havana as Archbishop on 20 November 1981. On 27 December he took possession of this new See. He was in charge of pastoral activities for 13 years in this Archdiocese. He created new parishes, set up the Diocesan Council for Pastoral Initiatives, rebuilt more than 40 churches and parish houses, founded a priests' residence for the priests of the Diocese and of the whole of Cuba for meetings, retreats or simply for holidays, created a lay centre for meetings with a library, chapel and guest rooms, built two centres for meetings and conferences especially for youth. These are some of the principle initiatives undertaken by the Archbishop who always showed special interest in the laity and above all, in young people. In 1991 he set up Caritas in Havana, thus founding Caritas Cuba. The Archbishop's chief concern was for vocations to the priesthood. In the course of his episcopal mission, Archbishop Ortega ordained 22 Cuban priests; a modest but significant number in a country where the Church's pastoral action has always been considerably curtailed. Thanks to his homilies, the archdiocesan monthly bulletin Aqui la Iglesia and other speeches and messages, he made himself known to the people in his archdiocese who listened to his opinions and followed his guidance despite the fact that the Church in Cuba has no access to the media. In 1988 until November 1998, he was President of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops. In this capacity, he took part in the fourth General Conference of the Latin-American Bishops in Santo Domingo. From 1995 to 1999, he was the Second Vice President of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). From December 2001 until February 2006, he served his fourth time as President of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops. Has received degrees Honoris Causa from the Barry and St. Thomas Universities (Florida), University of San Francisco (California), Providence College (Rhode Island) and Boston College (Massachusetts). January 2001, Honoris Causa doctorate, St. John’s University (New York). Created and proclaimed Cardinal by John Paul II in the consistory of November 26, 1994, of the Title of Sts. Aquila e Priscilla.
Curial membership:
Clergy (congregation)
Health Care Workers (council)
Latin America (commission)
After four years studying humanities and philosophy, the Bishop sent him to study theology at the seminary of the Foreign Mission in Quebec, Canada. He then returned to Cuba and was ordained priest on 2 August 1964, in the Cathedral of Matanzas. His ministry as Coadjutor Vicar of Cárdenas was interrupted in 1966 when he was detained in work camps known by the initials UMAP. In 1967, at the end of his imprisonment, he was appointed parish priest of Jagüey Grande, his native town. Like all parish priests in Cuba during this period when priests were few and far between, he was in charge of several parishes and churches. In 1969 he was appointed parish priest of the Cathedral of Matanzas. Responsible for the parish of Pueblo Nuevo in the city and another two churches outside it, at the same time he was also President of the Diocesan Commission for Catechesis and maintained an active apostolate with the youth of the Diocese. In those years, very difficult for the Church's pastoral activities, he founded a youth movement, which included among the various forms of the apostolate summer camps for young people and evangelization by the means of theatricals, performed by the young people themselves. For several years, in addition to his pastoral activities in the city of Matanzas, he taught at the Sts. Charles and Ambrose interdiocesan seminary in Havana, which he visited once a week to give courses in moral theology. On 4 December 1978, John Paul II named him Bishop of Pinar del Rio. He was consecrated on 14 January 1979 in the Cathedral of Matanzas, and on 21 January he took possession of his diocese. Three years of pastoral work in a deeply religious Catholic Diocese with a very committed and participative laity left an indelible mark on the soul of the Bishop who was promoted to the Archdiocese of Havana as Archbishop on 20 November 1981. On 27 December he took possession of this new See. He was in charge of pastoral activities for 13 years in this Archdiocese. He created new parishes, set up the Diocesan Council for Pastoral Initiatives, rebuilt more than 40 churches and parish houses, founded a priests' residence for the priests of the Diocese and of the whole of Cuba for meetings, retreats or simply for holidays, created a lay centre for meetings with a library, chapel and guest rooms, built two centres for meetings and conferences especially for youth. These are some of the principle initiatives undertaken by the Archbishop who always showed special interest in the laity and above all, in young people. In 1991 he set up Caritas in Havana, thus founding Caritas Cuba. The Archbishop's chief concern was for vocations to the priesthood. In the course of his episcopal mission, Archbishop Ortega ordained 22 Cuban priests; a modest but significant number in a country where the Church's pastoral action has always been considerably curtailed. Thanks to his homilies, the archdiocesan monthly bulletin Aqui la Iglesia and other speeches and messages, he made himself known to the people in his archdiocese who listened to his opinions and followed his guidance despite the fact that the Church in Cuba has no access to the media. In 1988 until November 1998, he was President of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops. In this capacity, he took part in the fourth General Conference of the Latin-American Bishops in Santo Domingo. From 1995 to 1999, he was the Second Vice President of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). From December 2001 until February 2006, he served his fourth time as President of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops. Has received degrees Honoris Causa from the Barry and St. Thomas Universities (Florida), University of San Francisco (California), Providence College (Rhode Island) and Boston College (Massachusetts). January 2001, Honoris Causa doctorate, St. John’s University (New York). Created and proclaimed Cardinal by John Paul II in the consistory of November 26, 1994, of the Title of Sts. Aquila e Priscilla.
Curial membership:
Clergy (congregation)
Health Care Workers (council)
Latin America (commission)
Cardinal Ortega: Church in Cuba “is alive and united with her people”
Havana, Cuba, Jan 9, 2008 / 08:04 pm (CNA).
In an extensive interview with the magazine “Espacio Laical,” published by the Archdiocese of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega said the Church in Cuba is “alive and united with her people.” Speaking with reporter Lenier Gonzalez Mederos on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, the cardinal noted that during the first few years after the Castro revolution, the Church experienced a drop in the number of priests and personnel and a lack of resources to carry out her mission. The focus was mainly on internal Church affairs, the sacraments and the spiritual, moral and material support of the Catholic communities, he explained. However, “in 1981 the Church in Cuba began to develop what was called the Cuban Ecclesial Reflection program, which was carried out over five years and ended with the National Cuban Ecclesial Encounter in 1986.” That event “opened doors” and “breathed a new spirit into the communities,” the cardinal said. “Our faithful needed to understand this and come out from the fold and the Church needed to recognize that the Church has a mission that is not limited to the confines of the sacristy.”
“The Catholic faithful,” he added, “has progressively understood that the Church has an irreplaceable mission to carry out here, and the State has also progressively accepted and understood the mission of the Church, which is not limited just to worship.” Pope John Paul’s visit to Cuba was a consequence of the “enthusiastic and coherent attitude of all the bishops of Cuba. At that time we acted as one, with great determination and enthusiasm to make the Pope’s visit a reality,” Cardinal Ortega said. The visit required intense coordination with local officials, he went on, and thus it became clear that it was possible to participate in society and live together “without giving rise to conflict.”
“The whole time the Pope was in Cuba, the gestures of the people were very significant. The reception by the people surpassed our expectations,” the cardinal said. “One day,” he recounted, “the Pope told me as we were coming back: ‘These people are intelligent. They applaud the concepts and not just the way a speech sounds’.”
Evaluating the current situation in Cuba, Cardinal Ortega pointed out that Cuban culture is essentially Christian but that during the last 50 years there has been an attempt to erase Christianity in the country—“through a very strong Church-State separation.” Today the new generations of Catholics are called to insert themselves into society, he said, and “this is something the Church should foster.” Cardinal Ortega acknowledged that the concept of “national reconciliation” is “a term that many times cannot be used in Cuba,” because it is often a politically charged idea that “refers to the possibility of reconciling ideologies.” However, “people can be reconciled. I believe that we can reach that kind of fraternity through personal dialogue. We’re not talking about dialogue between Church and State leaders, but rather dialogue between the diverse political sectors,” the cardinal stated. As reconciliation between people spreads, he emphasized, “other situations, including political ones, will improve.” Finally, Cardinal Ortega stressed that with the historic papal visit, “The Church made our society known to the entire world: The Catholic Church was there, she was alive and she was united with her people,” he said.
In an extensive interview with the magazine “Espacio Laical,” published by the Archdiocese of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega said the Church in Cuba is “alive and united with her people.” Speaking with reporter Lenier Gonzalez Mederos on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, the cardinal noted that during the first few years after the Castro revolution, the Church experienced a drop in the number of priests and personnel and a lack of resources to carry out her mission. The focus was mainly on internal Church affairs, the sacraments and the spiritual, moral and material support of the Catholic communities, he explained. However, “in 1981 the Church in Cuba began to develop what was called the Cuban Ecclesial Reflection program, which was carried out over five years and ended with the National Cuban Ecclesial Encounter in 1986.” That event “opened doors” and “breathed a new spirit into the communities,” the cardinal said. “Our faithful needed to understand this and come out from the fold and the Church needed to recognize that the Church has a mission that is not limited to the confines of the sacristy.”
“The Catholic faithful,” he added, “has progressively understood that the Church has an irreplaceable mission to carry out here, and the State has also progressively accepted and understood the mission of the Church, which is not limited just to worship.” Pope John Paul’s visit to Cuba was a consequence of the “enthusiastic and coherent attitude of all the bishops of Cuba. At that time we acted as one, with great determination and enthusiasm to make the Pope’s visit a reality,” Cardinal Ortega said. The visit required intense coordination with local officials, he went on, and thus it became clear that it was possible to participate in society and live together “without giving rise to conflict.”
“The whole time the Pope was in Cuba, the gestures of the people were very significant. The reception by the people surpassed our expectations,” the cardinal said. “One day,” he recounted, “the Pope told me as we were coming back: ‘These people are intelligent. They applaud the concepts and not just the way a speech sounds’.”
Evaluating the current situation in Cuba, Cardinal Ortega pointed out that Cuban culture is essentially Christian but that during the last 50 years there has been an attempt to erase Christianity in the country—“through a very strong Church-State separation.” Today the new generations of Catholics are called to insert themselves into society, he said, and “this is something the Church should foster.” Cardinal Ortega acknowledged that the concept of “national reconciliation” is “a term that many times cannot be used in Cuba,” because it is often a politically charged idea that “refers to the possibility of reconciling ideologies.” However, “people can be reconciled. I believe that we can reach that kind of fraternity through personal dialogue. We’re not talking about dialogue between Church and State leaders, but rather dialogue between the diverse political sectors,” the cardinal stated. As reconciliation between people spreads, he emphasized, “other situations, including political ones, will improve.” Finally, Cardinal Ortega stressed that with the historic papal visit, “The Church made our society known to the entire world: The Catholic Church was there, she was alive and she was united with her people,” he said.
Cuba eyes foreign investment to halt sugar decline
Reuters
Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:54am EDT
* Talks with foreign investors advancing: sourcesBonds
* Joint administration of mills on the table
* U.S. embargo, national pride seen as obstacles
* First such projects since 1959 revolution
By Marc Frank
HAVANA, March 25 (Reuters) - Cuba may open sugar production to foreign investors for the first time since the 1959 revolution as it seeks to reverse the once proud industry's relentless decline, business sources said this week. Talks between investors and the government have come and gone with little result for years, but what is shaping up as perhaps the island's worst harvest in a century has increased interest in bringing foreign partners, the sources said.
Their money and management know-how could help revive a sugar industry that has collapsed from neglect and the decapitalization of mills and plantations, local experts and foreign traders said. President Raul Castro, who took over from ailing brother Fidel Castro two years ago, is trying to right communist Cuba's cash-strapped economy by increasing exports and cutting imports.
Sugar, once the driver of Cuba's economy, now accounts for less than 5 percent of Cuba's foreign earnings, but prices have been driven up by ethanol demand, so Cuba is turning to it once again.
A Cuban source with knowledge of the sugar industry said the government has been seriously exploring foreign participation for several months. "The executive Committee of the Council of Ministers approved plans to pursue talks last November, and again this year to sign administrative agreements," the source said. Foreign banking and other business sources confirmed talks were advancing toward agreements that would have investors jointly administer several mills and share in the production for a limited number of years. The sources would not name the various companies involved or provide further details. Similar agreements already exist in the citrus industry, where Panama-based Israeli investors jointly operate juice plants with the government.
U.S. HELMS-BURTON LAW
Theoretically, the state-run sugar industry has been open to direct investment since 1995, but in practice there has been little interest on the government's part except in a few joint ventures making sugar derivatives such as alcohol and parts used in sugar processing, the sources said.
A big obstacle is the U.S. Helms-Burton law, which penalizes investment in properties expropriated from U.S. owners and contains a yet-to-be implemented chapter allowing Cuban-Americans to sue investors who "traffic" in their expropriated properties. All but eight of Cuba's mills were built before the revolution and therefore nationalized, and most plantations are lands expropriated by the government after Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Foreign investors are forbidden by law to own land in Cuba, and do not need to own anything for the proposed sugar ventures, said a local economist. "There is little need for investors to own land. In fact, it is in their interest to simply administer mills, provide farmers with technology packets and process the cane," he said.
Cuba was once the world's biggest sugar exporter with raw output reaching 8.1 million tonnes in 1989, but the industry went into decline after Cuba's top ally for 30 years, the former Soviet Union, collapsed in 1991. The Soviet Union paid padded prices for Cuban sugar to boost the island's economy, so its demise hit Cuba and the sugar industry hard. Cuba shut down and dismantled 71 of 156 mills in 2003 and relegated 60 percent of sugar plantation land to other uses. More mills have closed since then, with just 44 mills open this season. Another 20 have been maintained in working condition for future use. Only 1.7 million acres (700,000 hectares) of the over 5 million acres (2 million hectares) once controlled by Cuba's Sugar Ministry are currently dedicated to sugar cane. Cuba planned to produce 1.3 million tonnes of raw sugar this season, but milling problems and low yields have resulted in a shortfall of more than 100,000 tonnes to date. With the harvest scheduled to end by May, Cuba is in danger of reaching its lowest output since 1908, when 1.2 million tonnes of sugar were produced.
Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:54am EDT
* Talks with foreign investors advancing: sourcesBonds
* Joint administration of mills on the table
* U.S. embargo, national pride seen as obstacles
* First such projects since 1959 revolution
By Marc Frank
HAVANA, March 25 (Reuters) - Cuba may open sugar production to foreign investors for the first time since the 1959 revolution as it seeks to reverse the once proud industry's relentless decline, business sources said this week. Talks between investors and the government have come and gone with little result for years, but what is shaping up as perhaps the island's worst harvest in a century has increased interest in bringing foreign partners, the sources said.
Their money and management know-how could help revive a sugar industry that has collapsed from neglect and the decapitalization of mills and plantations, local experts and foreign traders said. President Raul Castro, who took over from ailing brother Fidel Castro two years ago, is trying to right communist Cuba's cash-strapped economy by increasing exports and cutting imports.
Sugar, once the driver of Cuba's economy, now accounts for less than 5 percent of Cuba's foreign earnings, but prices have been driven up by ethanol demand, so Cuba is turning to it once again.
A Cuban source with knowledge of the sugar industry said the government has been seriously exploring foreign participation for several months. "The executive Committee of the Council of Ministers approved plans to pursue talks last November, and again this year to sign administrative agreements," the source said. Foreign banking and other business sources confirmed talks were advancing toward agreements that would have investors jointly administer several mills and share in the production for a limited number of years. The sources would not name the various companies involved or provide further details. Similar agreements already exist in the citrus industry, where Panama-based Israeli investors jointly operate juice plants with the government.
U.S. HELMS-BURTON LAW
Theoretically, the state-run sugar industry has been open to direct investment since 1995, but in practice there has been little interest on the government's part except in a few joint ventures making sugar derivatives such as alcohol and parts used in sugar processing, the sources said.
A big obstacle is the U.S. Helms-Burton law, which penalizes investment in properties expropriated from U.S. owners and contains a yet-to-be implemented chapter allowing Cuban-Americans to sue investors who "traffic" in their expropriated properties. All but eight of Cuba's mills were built before the revolution and therefore nationalized, and most plantations are lands expropriated by the government after Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Foreign investors are forbidden by law to own land in Cuba, and do not need to own anything for the proposed sugar ventures, said a local economist. "There is little need for investors to own land. In fact, it is in their interest to simply administer mills, provide farmers with technology packets and process the cane," he said.
Cuba was once the world's biggest sugar exporter with raw output reaching 8.1 million tonnes in 1989, but the industry went into decline after Cuba's top ally for 30 years, the former Soviet Union, collapsed in 1991. The Soviet Union paid padded prices for Cuban sugar to boost the island's economy, so its demise hit Cuba and the sugar industry hard. Cuba shut down and dismantled 71 of 156 mills in 2003 and relegated 60 percent of sugar plantation land to other uses. More mills have closed since then, with just 44 mills open this season. Another 20 have been maintained in working condition for future use. Only 1.7 million acres (700,000 hectares) of the over 5 million acres (2 million hectares) once controlled by Cuba's Sugar Ministry are currently dedicated to sugar cane. Cuba planned to produce 1.3 million tonnes of raw sugar this season, but milling problems and low yields have resulted in a shortfall of more than 100,000 tonnes to date. With the harvest scheduled to end by May, Cuba is in danger of reaching its lowest output since 1908, when 1.2 million tonnes of sugar were produced.
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