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Cuba: Sanchez, Paya, et al. - Counterrevolutionaries on Parade
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
[Every year at this time, the US-allied counterrevolutionaries and CIA
mercenaries troop to the home of the Chief of the US Interests section
for a "human rights day" gathering, where they get their marching
orders and perks from the US government. This year was no exception,
and there were several coordinated acts of provocation before and after
December 10th which are still ongoing.
Oswaldo Paya is demanding amnesty for all counterrevolutionaries in
prison; he was the major Cuban front man for the so-called Varela
Project, which Jimmy Carter fell for hook, line and sinker, but which
Cuba has already shown was actually launched in Eastern Europe,
undoubtedly at the behest of the US CIA. The Cuban Government has
produced correspondence with the real authors of the "Varela Project"
to back up their charge. In the spring of 2003, Cuba rolled up a
network of CIA hirelings and produced voluminous evidence of their
mercenary status, including stashes of yanqui dollars and, at their
trials, testimony by several Cuban agents who had been working under
cover as part of the so-called "dissident" movement for years.
On Monday Granma denounced another of these self-appointed
"human rights activists," Elizardo Sanchez, who is busy faxing his
demands and giving telephon interviews to the international media as a
lead-up to his annual report on the so-called "dissidents and political
prisoners" in Cuba. -NY Transfer]
BBC News - Dec 19, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7151710.stm
Cuban dissident calls for amnesty
A leading Cuban dissident has called on Cuba's parliament to grant an
amnesty to non-violent political prisoners and to allow Cubans to
travel freely.
Oswaldo Paya said his petitions were made on "human, not political
terms".
Human rights groups say there are nearly 250 political prisoners in
Cuban jails, whom the authorities say are mercenaries in the pay of the
US.
Mr Paya's call came a day after Cuban leader Fidel Castro for the first
time suggested he may step back from power.
Mr Castro, 81, who had emergency surgery last July and has not been
seen in public since, said he would not block the rise of younger
people.
Mr Paya, one of Cuba's most prominent dissidents, delivered two
petitions to the National Assembly in Havana.
The first called for the release of all "peaceful" prisoners of
conscience, many of whom are suffering bad health, Mr Paya said.
Several dozen political prisoners have been freed since Raul Castro,
brother of President Fidel Castro, took over as acting president on 31
July 2006, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and
Reconciliation.
The group, which is tolerated by the authorities, says there are some
246 prisoners of conscience.
'Peaceful change'
Mr Paya's second proposal called for all Cubans to be allowed to travel
both within and outside the island, without needing a government permit.
"The vast majority of Cubans want peaceful change," Mr Paya told the
BBC.
He said his petitions drew on the 25,000 supporters of the Varela
Project, a movement he and other activists started to call for a
referendum on democratic reforms in Cuba.
Mr Paya said he hoped the National Assembly would consider his
petitions during its end of year session, scheduled for 28 December.
"The deputies have the legal and human capacity to discuss and approve
these laws," Mr Paya said.
Mr Paya won the European Union's 2002 Sakharov Prize for the Varela
Project.
AP via Google - Dec 19, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iNuNht91YrBxAIEBVA9iB93O6AD8TK6AF00
Cuban Dissident Backs Political Amnesty
By WILL WEISSERT
HAVANA (AP) " Dissident Oswaldo Paya asked Cuba's parliament on Tuesday
to approve an amnesty for political prisoners and to allow Cubans to
leave and visit the island without government visas.
Paya and another activist, Minervo Lazaro Chil, turned up at the
National Assembly offices and hand-delivered "citizens' petitions" on
both matters.
Legislative workers quietly registered the proposals according to
protocol. Several men with walkie-talkies who routinely shadow Paya
rushed inside the building at one point, but made no effort to stop the
proceedings.
"This is a petition made on human terms, not political terms," Paya
said to international reporters just outside parliament, drawing stares
from a small group of neighbors and residents who gathered to watch the
makeshift news conference.
One proposal called for the release of all "nonviolent" prisoners of
conscience, many of whom Paya said are in failing health.
According to the Havana-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights and
National Reconciliation, an opposition group that the government does
not recognize but tolerates, 246 political prisoners are held in Cuban
prisons, down from 283 in July 2006, when 81-year-old Fidel Castro fell
ill and ceded power to a provisional government headed by his younger
brother Raul.
The second proposal would eliminate the government permits Cubans now
need to leave or enter their homeland and would abolish a migration law
that restricts travel within Cuba in an attempt to prevent people from
flooding into large cities.
Paya won the European Union's 2002 Sakharov Prize for the Varela
Project, a petition that gathered 25,000 signatures asking for a
referendum on changes to Cuba's electoral law and guarantees of rights
including freedom of speech and assembly and private business ownership.
It was seen as the most extensive homegrown [sic] non-violent effort to
push for reforms in Cuba's one-party system since the older Castro took
power in 1959.
The communist-led legislature ruled it unconstitutional and the
government responded with its own petition drive to declare socialism
an "irrevocable" part of the constitution.
Paya said he hopes legislators will take up his latest proposals when
the National Assembly holds its year-end session, which has not yet
been formally scheduled.
The legislature's 614 members meet twice a year in brief sessions that
usually quickly endorse government proposals.
Copyright (c) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
AP via Google - Dec 17, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iNuNht91YrBxAIEBVA9iB93O6AD8TJI2M80
Cuba Lashes Out at Veteran "Dissident"
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) " Cuban officials called a veteran human rights activist a
"mercenary" for the United States on Monday, accusing him of
exaggerating the number of political prisoners held on the island to
make money and destabilize the communist system.
In a denunciation spanning 1 1/2 pages in the Communist Party daily
Granma, Editor Lazaro Barredo wrote that Elizardo Sanchez, head of the
Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, "knows
perfectly who he is: A mercenary who carries out the orders of the
empire and a fat cat who enjoys putting the safety of Cubans in danger."
Communist officials typically describe the United States as an "empire"
that treats smaller countries as if they were its colonies. [Imagine!
That's exactly how the new president of Argentina characterized the US
a few days ago. -NYTr]
Sanchez, in turn, called the article "a coarse and lie-filled personal
attack by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro" in a statement sent by fax
to international news media. "As on other occasions, I could not
exercise my right to respond since all newspapers, magazines and radio
and television stations are property of the government of Cuba."
Communist officials have singled out Sanchez in the past.
Barredo, a parliament member, co-wrote a 2003 book published by the
official press that accused Sanchez of providing information about
other activists to state security officials while publicly acting as a
top government critic.
Sanchez at that time acknowledged meeting numerous times with security
officials in an effort to influence treatment of political prisoners,
but insisted he never collaborated with them.
On Monday, Barredo accused Sanchez, a 63-year-old former professor of
Marxism, of receiving money from Washington to stir up opposition. "His
source of financial wealth continues to be reports on prisoners which
are based on a budget that the more prisoners he reports, the more
money he receives," Barredo wrote.
Sanchez's organization has reported a steady decline in political
prisoners held in Cuba. Like most other opposition activists, he denies
taking U.S. government money.
The attack comes several weeks before the commission is expected to
release its year-end report on political prisoners " documents used
regularly by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
The commission's report for the first half of the year counted 246
prisoners of conscience, down from nearly 500 a decade ago.
While the commission operates independently of the government and
without its approval, it has been largely tolerated in recent years,
though Sanchez has been imprisoned a total of 8 1/2 years for political
crimes, including a six-year stretch for "enemy propaganda."
The criticism of Sanchez came a day after state television canceled a
popular variety show hosted by Carlos Otero and branded him a traitor
for seeking U.S. asylum.
During the Sunday night time slot of Otero's program, which featured
music, humor and interviews with celebrities, a commentator read a
statement saying it would never be seen again because Otero had engaged
in "traitorous behavior" and "abandoned his viewers."
Otero, 49, traveled to Canada to produce year-end television
programming as he did last year. But this year his wife and two
children traveled with him, and the four crossed into U.S. territory
and asked to stay.
Copyright (c) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Radio Netherlands - Dec 19, 2007
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5567350/Cuban-dissident-calls-for-amnesty
Cuban dissident calls for amnesty
Havana (19 December) - In Cuba, prominent dissident Oswaldo Pay! has
called for an amnesty for all political prisoners being held in the
country. He also wants Cubans to be allowed to travel abroad and return
home.
Talking to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, he said he had sent draft
legislation to Cuba's National Assembly to enable such freedom of
movement. He believes that, without the freedom to travel, there will
be no new era in Cuba and that the people will continue to suffer.
His appeals to the National Assembly for the amnesty and the freedom of
movement measures are accompanied by a petition signed by 25,000 Cuban
citizens. [This is the same old Varela Project.]
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
=================================================================
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Cuba: Sanchez, Paya, et al. - Counterrevolutionaries on Parade
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
[Every year at this time, the US-allied counterrevolutionaries and CIA
mercenaries troop to the home of the Chief of the US Interests section
for a "human rights day" gathering, where they get their marching
orders and perks from the US government. This year was no exception,
and there were several coordinated acts of provocation before and after
December 10th which are still ongoing.
Oswaldo Paya is demanding amnesty for all counterrevolutionaries in
prison; he was the major Cuban front man for the so-called Varela
Project, which Jimmy Carter fell for hook, line and sinker, but which
Cuba has already shown was actually launched in Eastern Europe,
undoubtedly at the behest of the US CIA. The Cuban Government has
produced correspondence with the real authors of the "Varela Project"
to back up their charge. In the spring of 2003, Cuba rolled up a
network of CIA hirelings and produced voluminous evidence of their
mercenary status, including stashes of yanqui dollars and, at their
trials, testimony by several Cuban agents who had been working under
cover as part of the so-called "dissident" movement for years.
On Monday Granma denounced another of these self-appointed
"human rights activists," Elizardo Sanchez, who is busy faxing his
demands and giving telephon interviews to the international media as a
lead-up to his annual report on the so-called "dissidents and political
prisoners" in Cuba. -NY Transfer]
BBC News - Dec 19, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7151710.stm
Cuban dissident calls for amnesty
A leading Cuban dissident has called on Cuba's parliament to grant an
amnesty to non-violent political prisoners and to allow Cubans to
travel freely.
Oswaldo Paya said his petitions were made on "human, not political
terms".
Human rights groups say there are nearly 250 political prisoners in
Cuban jails, whom the authorities say are mercenaries in the pay of the
US.
Mr Paya's call came a day after Cuban leader Fidel Castro for the first
time suggested he may step back from power.
Mr Castro, 81, who had emergency surgery last July and has not been
seen in public since, said he would not block the rise of younger
people.
Mr Paya, one of Cuba's most prominent dissidents, delivered two
petitions to the National Assembly in Havana.
The first called for the release of all "peaceful" prisoners of
conscience, many of whom are suffering bad health, Mr Paya said.
Several dozen political prisoners have been freed since Raul Castro,
brother of President Fidel Castro, took over as acting president on 31
July 2006, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and
Reconciliation.
The group, which is tolerated by the authorities, says there are some
246 prisoners of conscience.
'Peaceful change'
Mr Paya's second proposal called for all Cubans to be allowed to travel
both within and outside the island, without needing a government permit.
"The vast majority of Cubans want peaceful change," Mr Paya told the
BBC.
He said his petitions drew on the 25,000 supporters of the Varela
Project, a movement he and other activists started to call for a
referendum on democratic reforms in Cuba.
Mr Paya said he hoped the National Assembly would consider his
petitions during its end of year session, scheduled for 28 December.
"The deputies have the legal and human capacity to discuss and approve
these laws," Mr Paya said.
Mr Paya won the European Union's 2002 Sakharov Prize for the Varela
Project.
AP via Google - Dec 19, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iNuNht91YrBxAIEBVA9iB93O6AD8TK6AF00
Cuban Dissident Backs Political Amnesty
By WILL WEISSERT
HAVANA (AP) " Dissident Oswaldo Paya asked Cuba's parliament on Tuesday
to approve an amnesty for political prisoners and to allow Cubans to
leave and visit the island without government visas.
Paya and another activist, Minervo Lazaro Chil, turned up at the
National Assembly offices and hand-delivered "citizens' petitions" on
both matters.
Legislative workers quietly registered the proposals according to
protocol. Several men with walkie-talkies who routinely shadow Paya
rushed inside the building at one point, but made no effort to stop the
proceedings.
"This is a petition made on human terms, not political terms," Paya
said to international reporters just outside parliament, drawing stares
from a small group of neighbors and residents who gathered to watch the
makeshift news conference.
One proposal called for the release of all "nonviolent" prisoners of
conscience, many of whom Paya said are in failing health.
According to the Havana-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights and
National Reconciliation, an opposition group that the government does
not recognize but tolerates, 246 political prisoners are held in Cuban
prisons, down from 283 in July 2006, when 81-year-old Fidel Castro fell
ill and ceded power to a provisional government headed by his younger
brother Raul.
The second proposal would eliminate the government permits Cubans now
need to leave or enter their homeland and would abolish a migration law
that restricts travel within Cuba in an attempt to prevent people from
flooding into large cities.
Paya won the European Union's 2002 Sakharov Prize for the Varela
Project, a petition that gathered 25,000 signatures asking for a
referendum on changes to Cuba's electoral law and guarantees of rights
including freedom of speech and assembly and private business ownership.
It was seen as the most extensive homegrown [sic] non-violent effort to
push for reforms in Cuba's one-party system since the older Castro took
power in 1959.
The communist-led legislature ruled it unconstitutional and the
government responded with its own petition drive to declare socialism
an "irrevocable" part of the constitution.
Paya said he hopes legislators will take up his latest proposals when
the National Assembly holds its year-end session, which has not yet
been formally scheduled.
The legislature's 614 members meet twice a year in brief sessions that
usually quickly endorse government proposals.
Copyright (c) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
AP via Google - Dec 17, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5iNuNht91YrBxAIEBVA9iB93O6AD8TJI2M80
Cuba Lashes Out at Veteran "Dissident"
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) " Cuban officials called a veteran human rights activist a
"mercenary" for the United States on Monday, accusing him of
exaggerating the number of political prisoners held on the island to
make money and destabilize the communist system.
In a denunciation spanning 1 1/2 pages in the Communist Party daily
Granma, Editor Lazaro Barredo wrote that Elizardo Sanchez, head of the
Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, "knows
perfectly who he is: A mercenary who carries out the orders of the
empire and a fat cat who enjoys putting the safety of Cubans in danger."
Communist officials typically describe the United States as an "empire"
that treats smaller countries as if they were its colonies. [Imagine!
That's exactly how the new president of Argentina characterized the US
a few days ago. -NYTr]
Sanchez, in turn, called the article "a coarse and lie-filled personal
attack by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro" in a statement sent by fax
to international news media. "As on other occasions, I could not
exercise my right to respond since all newspapers, magazines and radio
and television stations are property of the government of Cuba."
Communist officials have singled out Sanchez in the past.
Barredo, a parliament member, co-wrote a 2003 book published by the
official press that accused Sanchez of providing information about
other activists to state security officials while publicly acting as a
top government critic.
Sanchez at that time acknowledged meeting numerous times with security
officials in an effort to influence treatment of political prisoners,
but insisted he never collaborated with them.
On Monday, Barredo accused Sanchez, a 63-year-old former professor of
Marxism, of receiving money from Washington to stir up opposition. "His
source of financial wealth continues to be reports on prisoners which
are based on a budget that the more prisoners he reports, the more
money he receives," Barredo wrote.
Sanchez's organization has reported a steady decline in political
prisoners held in Cuba. Like most other opposition activists, he denies
taking U.S. government money.
The attack comes several weeks before the commission is expected to
release its year-end report on political prisoners " documents used
regularly by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
The commission's report for the first half of the year counted 246
prisoners of conscience, down from nearly 500 a decade ago.
While the commission operates independently of the government and
without its approval, it has been largely tolerated in recent years,
though Sanchez has been imprisoned a total of 8 1/2 years for political
crimes, including a six-year stretch for "enemy propaganda."
The criticism of Sanchez came a day after state television canceled a
popular variety show hosted by Carlos Otero and branded him a traitor
for seeking U.S. asylum.
During the Sunday night time slot of Otero's program, which featured
music, humor and interviews with celebrities, a commentator read a
statement saying it would never be seen again because Otero had engaged
in "traitorous behavior" and "abandoned his viewers."
Otero, 49, traveled to Canada to produce year-end television
programming as he did last year. But this year his wife and two
children traveled with him, and the four crossed into U.S. territory
and asked to stay.
Copyright (c) 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Radio Netherlands - Dec 19, 2007
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5567350/Cuban-dissident-calls-for-amnesty
Cuban dissident calls for amnesty
Havana (19 December) - In Cuba, prominent dissident Oswaldo Pay! has
called for an amnesty for all political prisoners being held in the
country. He also wants Cubans to be allowed to travel abroad and return
home.
Talking to Radio Netherlands Worldwide, he said he had sent draft
legislation to Cuba's National Assembly to enable such freedom of
movement. He believes that, without the freedom to travel, there will
be no new era in Cuba and that the people will continue to suffer.
His appeals to the National Assembly for the amnesty and the freedom of
movement measures are accompanied by a petition signed by 25,000 Cuban
citizens. [This is the same old Varela Project.]
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
=================================================================
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