Posted on Wed, Nov. 07, 2007
BY ISABEL ESPRONCEDA
El Nuevo Herald
Exile groups are opening a hot line Friday to help Cubans on the island
report political persecution as well as acts of defiance and civil
disobedience against the communist government.
The initiative, proposed by the Cuban Democratic Directorate, or
Directorio Democrático Cubano, and various other groups of exiles who
arrived in the 1960s, seeks to document any detentions or repercussions
against any Cuban who refuses to cooperate with the Castro regime.
The international line, 877-303-YONO (a play on ''Not I'' in Spanish)
will be available 24 hours a day and will be manned by former political
prisoners in Miami.
''This is a new phase within the `Yo no coopero con la dictadura' [I
will not cooperate with the dictatorship] campaign just as civil society
protests are increasing,'' said Angel de Fana, a former political
prisoner and director of the group Plantados. ``These are political
actions in a society where politics governs every aspect of the
population.''
Cuban authorities have noted that in 2007 there have been 184 acts of
vandalism against public buses the Cuban government acquired from China.
Last month, about 60 young people were detained in Havana and taken to a
police station for wearing the white bracelets with the word ''cambio''
stamped on them. According to dissidents, the detentions have continued
in the past few days, though those detained have not been formally charged.
De Fana argues that those who would tamper with buses the Cuban
government recently acquired from China to young adults arrested by
police for wearing a bracelet proclaiming change deserve the same
attention and help that political prisoners should get.
The ''I won't cooperate'' campaign was launched in July 2006 to promote
civil disobedience in Cuba and has the backing of 40 organizations in
Cuba and outside the nation.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_dade/story/299778.html
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