Repression on the increase in Eastern Cuba

Repression on the increase in Eastern Cuba

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, May 11 (Manuel Salinas Espinosa, APLO /
www.cubanet.org) - Repressive activities by the government in the
province of Santiago de Cuba showed a marked increase in April,
according to reports by its most frequent targets, dissidents and
political opponents.

In the city of Santiago de Cuba itself, dissidents Juan Rodríguez,
president of the Brotherhood Republican Party, and Mirtha Pérez,
vice-president of the Elena Mederos women's organization, say they were
arrested and reported numerous others who were detained, searched and
had papers confiscated as they walked the streets.

In San Luis municipality, between the 13th and 17th of April, 550 youths
were taken in and booked for showing "pre-delinquent conditions," a
peculiarity of the Cuban legal system that means roughly a
predisposition to delinquency, at least in the eyes of the authorities.
At least two dissidents, Henry Estiu and Guillermo Rivero, complained of
receiving beatings. Two others, Ramón Roque and Roberto González, say
they were fined 300 and 330 pesos.

In nearby Palma Soriano, 40 youths were taken in April 21 and issued
"writs of warning," a step that makes subsequent arrests more likely.
They reported they were labeled "social trash" because they are
unemployed and because some of them have previous records.

Dissidents in Palma Soriano also reported an increase in the frequency
of "repudiation events" in which government-directed mobs intimidate
opponents by insults and physical violence.

The events were directed by the area coordinator for the Committees for
the Defense of the Revolution, Bárbaro Hernández, who proclaimed that
Committee members were specifically authorized to beat up counter
revolutionaries and advocates of the Varela project. Hernández issued
his fatwa during the same event in which a man who has served two
sentences in jail, one for armed robbery and the other for growing and
possession of marihuana, was awarded a public commendation for
cooperating with authorities.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y06/may06/19e2.htm