Diaz-Canel Tells Pastors for Peace ‘No Political Prisoners in Cuba’
HAVANA TIMES – “There are no political prisoners in Cuba,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel in front of the members of the US-based Caravan of Pastors for Peace. “Here, there are people who are not with the Revolution and who can demonstrate freely,” the president emphasized in a meeting that took place on November 22, broadcast on December 3rd on the State’s Roundtable television program.
“In Cuba there are many processes that are public, to discuss programs, to discuss policies as we did with the Constitution,” Diaz-Canel claimed. “In everyday life there are people who speak ill of the Revolution. What happens is that many times this type of person whom they manipulate and use for that, or those who by their own conviction are against the Revolution, leads them to commit crimes.”
As an example of this, the head of the Communist Party of Cuba points to “those who went out on July 11th to throw stones, to act against the people, to loot, anywhere in the world they would be imprisoned,” he stressed. “But not because they are against the Revolution, simply because they committed crimes against property and against the internal order.”
In a very different tone from the one he used during the day of the popular protests, when speaking to the national television cameras he said, “the combat order is given,” Díaz-Canel opted on this occasion to try to dispel any questions about the repressive wave unleashed after the demonstrations and justified the arrests.
“What happens is that many times the US empire itself in its media campaign tries to link to the activity against the Revolution, leading people to commit vandalism,” he adds. However, most of the demonstrations of 11J were peaceful in nature, and the participants used slogans and verbal complaints as the main form of expression.
Among the officials listening to the president’s comments, in addition to the members of the caravan, were the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez and the head of the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party, Caridad Diego, and Gail Walker, daughter of Lucius Walker, founder of the organization.
Díaz-Canel also took advantage of the occasion to defend the “equality” that the revolutionary process has offered to Cuban women and Afro-descendants, although he clarified that “imperialism tries to use these issues to fracture unity.” “They constantly encourage and create the slander that discrimination persists in Cuba.”
However, he acknowledged that young people have not been able to “enjoy the social conquests” that in his opinion were achieved in the first decades of the process. “We have the challenge of ensuring that generational separation is never an ideological break. We can only achieve it by sharing values and becoming part of the criticism we make within the Revolution.”
Díaz-Canel also did not miss an opportunity to send a message to the Biden administration. “Imperialism, even the tiniest bit, is treacherous and despises the peoples,” he said, quoting a phrase from Ernesto Guevara. “It turns to slander and lies and when it is defeated it tries to make itself the victim,” he said. “Nobody believes what they call democracy.”
“United States bipartisanship is a lie,” he added and explained that “a Republican president imposes 243 measures to intensify the blockade against Cuba and a Democratic president leaves the same measures,” alluding to the sanctions promoted by Donald Trump which Biden has not eliminated and has even added new ones.
The White House recently announced its intention to partially modify US policy towards the Island had been halted as a result of the repression of July 11th, as revealed by Juan González, US National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere in an interview with NBC News.
“After July 11, we pressed the pause button,” said the senior official, who considers the date of the anti-government protests as a before and after. “Even the Cuban Americans who were in favor of the commitment said, ’We have to wait, pay attention to this moment, and see how to move forward from here’.”
To date, independent organizations have documented 1,283 detainees resulting from the demonstrations on that day. Of that total, at least 540 are still in prison and there are a verified 42 convictions in summary trials.
In its report, the independent legal platform Cubalex showed special concern about “the use of the figure of sedition to impose exemplary sanctions on at least 122 people” and noted that before July 11, Cuban Prisoners Defenders registered 152 political prisoners.
VV comments that American lies, especially the whopper about WMDs in Iraq, do indeed fool people. I agree. What Cuban authoritarian leadership lies about DOES NOT fool anyone. So what’s the point?
Unelected tyrannies like Cuba hope people will believe their BS.
Miguel Díaz-Canel is simply incapable of speaking the truth they know what happened to the Communist tyrannies in Europe. They collapsed.
Anti * the difference is that one is a ludricrous, demonstrably false fantasy. The other, the Cuban scenario, is part of the historical record. If you want, like the Trumpers, to ignore that record past and present, go ahead. But the Cuban Government has every right on earth to take action against foreign efforts, applied through local actors, to overthrow the established order.
Dan, there are many conspiracy believers in the US who see the Chinese and Russians and a global communist conspiracy behind every demonstrator demanding a shift in US laws, rights and policies. Many even consider the Democratic Party “communistic” as their leader proclaims. Cuba dictatorship defenders like yourself see the CIA behind every tree and everyone that wants changes in the failed system and its 62-year government. Obviously, to me at least, both of these closed, extreme, make-believe positions belittle the citizens of both countries and their efforts.
Anti * Your comparison is inane. Russia and China have not spent billions of dollars over the last 60 years to subvert and overthrow the the US government. Nor are they infiltrating popular organizations. Although, if you knew any history you would know that the civil rights movement in the 60’s was constantly dennounced as being led and directed by Communists and Soviets. So tell us, just how much money has the US spent in Cuba just this year ?
Moses Patterson, some people are, and even more people are fooled by the American lies.
The Americans flat out lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, to justify their imperialist crusade. Don’t you think they could be lying about Cuba?
The very independence of Cuba, be it a dictatorship or democratic, is a threat to American interests, whose corporations leech off the rest of Latin America and very much want to continue doing so. As long as Cuba does not accept and surrender to American hegemony the Americans will find reasons, real or made up, to continue its crippling policies, that has no international support.
No one but NO ONE is fooled by Diaz-Canel lies. Any commenter who chooses to defend Cuban policy is either an idiot or paid off.
They are the useful fools they hate USA and want to denial Cubans the freedom they enjoying in a capitalist societies. The saddest part is than this idiots believe Diaz Canel and think Cubans support the regime 100% that is the USA bullying a small country trying to creating the working class paradise but any of this useful idiots would live in Cuba as a regular Cuban with the miserable salary that Cubans get. And are others that think Cuba is great because there are not Mc Donald’s or Starbucks in every block they are lonely humans that go there to feel important and loved for few dollars between mojitos and exoticas mulatas, they know the importance of being a foreigner in Cuba no other country some ppl would play to be your friend or in love with you for that long and that well. They are very resentful and Cuba is theirs escape. I bet any those pastores Did not asked Díaz Canel; So you are telling us any Cuban can go out with a sign demanding freedom? The audacity to call an Obsolete dictatorship Revolution.
It’s a good thing Curt that Diaz-Canel isn’t running the show in the USA. If he was, all the Black Lives Matter and Climate Change demonstrators would be in jail as “common vandals and criminals” egged on by some foreign power like Russia or China. No political prisoners in Cuba, hahaha, nice joke if the Pastors for Peace people are willing to believe it.
The US is just using the July 11 protests as an excuse not to modify the dreadful Cuba policy under Trump. The pause in improving relations between the 2 countries is actually taking no action at all, like the Biden Administration did in the months before the protests. Biden needs to grow some balls and take executive action, regardless what Senator Bob Menendez and the others in Congress that favor an antiquated hardline policy against Cuba.