For Cuban citizens it is virtually impossible (and punishable) to formally testify against, monitor or criticize any alleged human rights violation committed by officials or state institutions —on occasion contrary to its own 1992 socialist constitution— given the capacity for social control by the State and the subordination of the mass media to government directives.
Read MoreWe know the enemy’s tactics. In their plans, polarization should lead the situation of the country to a worsened political and economic disaster at the hands of the authoritarian conservatives, contrary to the need for all forms of democratization and socialization.
Read MoreCuban-Americana singer Gloria Estefan headed a march this past Friday in Miami in support of the Cuban dissident group known as the Ladies in White. Likewise, actor Andy Garcia headed a protest on Sunday in Los Angeles with the same objective.
Havana Times invites its readers to reflect on this issue:
What has compelled these artists to lead demonstrations against the Cuban government?
Are they defending the interests of Cubans who live on the island?
Will these marches contribute to better relations between Cuba and the United States?
Participate in the debate.
Read MoreCuban opposition activist Guillermo Fariñas may be taken to Spain in an airplane ambulance to be treated for an infection, informed his spokesperson Liset Zamora. Fariñas, on a hunger strike since over a month puts as a condition his traveling to Spain being allowed by Cuban authorities to return to the island to continue his campaign for freedom for political prisoners.
Read MoreThousands marched in Los Angeles, California on Sunday to demand the freedom of political prisoners and respect for human rights in Cuba, reported IPS. The protest was led by Cuban-born actor Andy Garcia and received support from Cuba by the famous blogger Yoani Sanchez.
Read MoreA lack of coordination between four different Cuban state offices is the main cause for the stagnation in pork production in Havana, stated members of the Small Farmers Association (ANAP). A front page article in Granma, the Communist Party daily stated on Monday, “The farmers criticized the ‘diabolic’ mechanisms that hold back production in the capital.”
Read MoreIn an effort to put a break on the increase in convenience marriages, a way used by many Cubans to emigrate, the government of Ecuador will now require a temporary visa for foreigners wanting to marry in this South American country. The announcement came from Eduardo Barrera, director of Foreign Immigration. The number of Cubans marrying Ecuadorians increased from 88 in 2007 to 1,542 in the first nine months of 2009. An estimated that 15 percent of those marriages were considered false, reported IPS.
Read MoreCuban health authorities announced over the weekend that a vaccination campaign against the A H1N1 flu virus will begin on April 1 and extend through April 20, reported IPS. The target group is approximately 10 percent of the total islands population of 11.2 million, zeroing in on those considered most vulnerable to the illness including pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses or immune system deficiencies, and the country’s health and education personnel.
Read MoreRepresentatives of the Cuban opposition welcomed with satisfaction the announcement that the U.S. government will revise the aid programs for the dissidence in Cuba based on the veto imposed by Senator John Kerry to the 40 million dollars to be given for this purpose, reported IPS quoting the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald. “There has not been a transparent administration of the immense amount of resources,” affirmed Manuel Cuesta Morúa, who on the other hand questioned the need for a foreign government to back the dissidence.
Read MoreThe European Union (EU) policy toward Cuba is “interventionist and discriminatory” and it should change it without expecting anything in return from the Raúl Castro government, to “return to the normal state in which we were in 1995,” diplomat Carlos Alzugaray affirmed to Spain’s RTVE. Alzugaray, who 15 years ago was the island’s ambassador before the European bloc, rejected the EU’s criticism of the death of oppositionist Orlando Zapata and assured that the Cuban authorities would not give in to hunger strikes.
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