Dissident says Cuba banned him from German trip

Dissident says Cuba banned him from German trip
REUTERS
9:09 a.m. December 7, 2006

BERLIN – Cuban authorities have banned dissident Guillermo Farinas from
travelling to Germany to collect a human rights award because he is in a
wheelchair, a German newspaper quoted him as saying on Thursday.

The opposition journalist, who ended a seven-month hunger strike over
Internet access on Aug. 31, told the weekly newspaper Die Zeit that he
would not be able to collect the prize in the eastern city of Weimar on
Sunday.

'A secret services officer came to my house and said the sight of me in
a wheelchair would damage the appearance of the Cuban revolution,' he
told the paper.

It reported that Farinas had been in a wheelchair ever since his hunger
strike which also gave him heart problems.

Other dissidents said at the time he had lost so much weight by the time
he ended his fast that his life was at risk.

He began the hunger strike to demand the right to freedom of information
be respected by President Fidel Castro's government.

Like China, Cuba controls access to the Internet.

Many dissidents are behind bars in Cuba, although the country made its
first release of a prominent government opponent under acting President
Raul Castro on Wednesday when it freed Hector Palacios.

Farinas also told Die Zeit he admired the way Germans had left fascist
totalitarianism behind and also brought an end to communist totalitarianism.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20061207-0909-cuba-dissident-germany.html