Dissidents Predict Pre-Summit House-Cleaning

HUMAN RIGHTS-CUBA:
Dissidents Predict Pre-Summit House-Cleaning
Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jul 6 (IPS) - A decrease in the number of prisoners held for
"political motives" in Cuba -- down from 333 to 316 "documented" cases
over the last six months -- is "insignificant," says a local opposition
organisation that issues weekly reports on human rights.

Both figures differ from the tally published last week by another
dissident group, the National Coordination of Political Prisoners. Aida
Valdés, CNPP president, told a press conference that political detainees
now number 347.

But Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation
(CCDHRN) representatives played down these statistical differences
Wednesday, pointing out that the fact remains that "more than 300
hundred people have been imprisoned or detained for reasons directly or
indirectly related to their politics."

The CCDHRN, headed by Elizardo Sánchez, did agree with Valdés'
assessment that police pressure is likely to heat up in the months
leading up to the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, to take place
in Havana Sep. 11-16.

"The Commission believes this meeting is highly unlikely to have any
positive impact on the human rights situation in Cuba," reads one CCDHRN
report.

Although no names are mentioned, the report includes some generalised
finger pointing, claiming that "many" of the leaders who attend these
meetings "have all but stamped out freedom and have committed (or turned
a blind eye to) horrific crimes against their own people."

The Non-Aligned Movement encompasses 116 countries from Africa, Asia and
Latin America -- the majority developing nations. To date, 60 heads of
state have confirmed their participation in the Summit.

"Now we're seeing signs that the government may be about to tighten the
thumbscrews by stepping up 'pre-emptive' repression to prevent incidents
and social unrest during the Summit," said the text.

The CCDHRN warned that "barring a miracle, the international community
should prepare, at least in the short term, to receive nothing but bad
news in the areas of civil, political and economic rights in Cuba."

The Fidel Castro administration does not usually react to this kind of
report, which it considers part of the hostile campaigns "orchestrated
and paid for" by the United States -- the regime's main ideological
enemy. At the same time, the Cuban government maintains that it has one
of the cleanest human rights records in the world.

The CCDHRN report, signed by Sánchez and Carlos Menéndez, notes that the
organisation is asking London-based Amnesty International to add another
imprisoned 20 dissidents to the non-governmental organisation's list of
81 Cuban "prisoners of conscience."

As in previous editions, the document includes a partial list of 316
detainees who are serving time or awaiting trial. The group says almost
every case was confirmed by reliable sources.

The text also mentions the well-known cases of dissidents jailed between
July 2005 and June 2006 on charges that range from disrespecting the
head of state, disobedience and illegal departure from the country to
dangerousness and resistance.

According to the report, authorities have "not done anything to
effectively improve the harsh conditions in the imbalanced prison
system, " that includes "between 200 and 250 prisons and work camps."

It also painted a picture of squalid, overcrowded prisons that, among
other problems, expose inmates to malnutrition.

In contrast, a thick official report on human rights in the country,
distributed in March by Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry, states that
some 40 percent of all prisoners are held in open facilities, free of
fences and other security measures.

The official document also states that the prisoners are fed adequately
(no fewer than 2,400 calories per day), consume potable water and can
also receive food and other basic supplies in family visits.

In other issues, the CCDHRN noted that between 40 and 50 people are
facing the death penalty, which has not been applied in this Caribbean
island nation since the April 2003 execution by firing squad of three
Cubans who hijacked a ferry carrying dozens of passengers in an attempt
to reach the United States.

"It is obvious that the Cuban government justifies retaining the
punishment of execution by firing squad as a way of teaching a lesson or
deterring serious crimes, even though the civilised world have long
recognised that it does not work," it said.

The Commission has been seeking legal status in Cuba since 1987. In 1990
the organisation received the Inter American Press Association Freedom
of the Press award, and in 1991 the International Award from the New
York-based Human Rights Watch organisation..

(END/2006)

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