The last dictator

Posted on Fri, Nov. 03, 2006

The last dictator
OUR OPINION: DIFFERENT CASTRO, SAME POLICE STATE IN CUBA

The region's democratic governments would be remiss not to press for a
transition and human rights in Cuba at the Ibero-American Summit that
starts today in Uruguay.

After all, it was at the 1996 summit in Chile that Fidel Castro first
signed the declaration committing to ''democracy, the rule of law and
political pluralism.'' At the 1999 summit in Havana, a parade of
presidents supported Cuban dissidents. King Juan Carlos of Spain offered
a toast squarely aimed at Cuba's dictator: ''Only with an authentic
democracy, the complete guarantee of liberties and the scrupulous
respect for human rights for all, will our people meet successfully the
challenges of the 21st Century,'' the king said.

Yet in 47 years, even as the region's many other dictators disappeared,
Castro has spurned every effort to bring universally established
freedoms to Cuba. Although his brother Raúl Castro is running the show
now, the repression of dissidents and abuses of ordinary Cubans continue
and possibly are worse than ever.

The Cuban regime, for example, ignores this week's recommendation by The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that it compensate the
families of three men summarily executed and that it free the 75
dissidents jailed in a 2003 crackdown. The dissidents were sentenced to
20-plus-year terms for merely criticizing their government. The three
men were tried, denied appeal and killed by firing squad -- all in nine
days.

With the end of Fidel Castro's rule close at hand, now is the time to
promote a democratic transition in Cuba. It is incumbent on
Ibero-American countries that aspire to be regional leaders, such as
Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, to take the lead. The region's last
remaining dictator is a blemish on the entire region.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/editorial/15916254.htm