The Associated Press
Published: December 26, 2006
LA PAZ, Bolivia: A government human rights monitor on Tuesday called for
the government to halt the deportation of a Cuban dissident critical of
President Evo Morales' ties to Havana, saying the move could hurt
Bolivia's image abroad.
Dr. Amauris Sanmartino, a Cuban who holds permanent residence status in
Bolivia, was arrested Saturday in the eastern lowland city of Santa Cruz
under a 1996 law forbidding immigrants to be involved in Bolivian politics.
"This case could affect the image of Bolivia," said Public Defender
Walter Albarracin, whose office has sought to block Sanmartino's
deportation to Cuba. "Beyond whether someone thinks one way or another,
here in Bolivia we live in a state of law, and we must be very careful
with that state of law."
Appointed by Congress to monitor human rights issues, the public
defender runs an independent government agency.
Albarracin confirmed that Sanmartino had fled from Cuba to Bolivia in
2000 with the help of the United States. But the Morales administration
says that Sanmartino does not hold refugee status.
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U.S. officials are keeping a close eye on the case, which has caught the
attention of the Cuban exile community thousands of miles north in Miami.
"We are aware of Mr. Sanmartino's case and we are in contact with the
Bolivian government about it," read a brief statement released Tuesday
by the U.S. Embassy in La Paz. "In addition to local law, we believe
that this case involves international conventions and agreements to
which Bolivia is a signatory."
Sanmartino has been transferred to La Paz, where his lawyers have filed
for a court hearing to halt the deportation. A hearing set for Tuesday
was canceled while Sanmartino was treated for heart problems related to
the Andean capital city's high altitude.
Sanmartino has close ties to conservative opposition leaders in Santa
Cruz, a center of anti-Morales sentiment. On Tuesday the government
accused him of helping to organize a violent Dec. 15 clash between
anti-Morales protesters and the president's backers that injured dozens
in the town of San Julian, 70 miles (115 kilometers) northwest of Santa
Cruz.
Opposition leaders have decried Sanmartino's arrest as political
persecution, pointing out that one of the president's own key advisers
is Peruvian.
Sanmartino has been a vocal critic of Cuba's government and has publicly
denounced the influence of Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Morales'
administration.
Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, is a close ally of Castro,
calling the fellow leftist a "wise uncle."
Since Morales took office a year ago Castro has sent more than 1,500
Cuban doctors to provide urgently needed medical services in South
America's poorest country.
Sanmartino has helped some of those doctors flee to neighboring Brazil
or the United States.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/27/america/LA_GEN_Bolivia_Cuban_Dissident.php
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