2007-11-22. www.oswaldopaya.org
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas, Christian Liberation Movement Coordinator
Havana, November 19, 2007.- At times acts of torture are discussed in
terms of the damage they cause to an individual's physical and mental
health when the torturers want to obtain information by means of
intimidation.
I do not want to speak about concepts but rather about real people and
about those prisoners, of which there are too many to mention by name,
so as to make it known that they are all in cruel and inhumane
conditions while serving unjust prison sentences.
Although tens of thousands of men and women, common and political
prisoners alike, are subjected to cruel and degrading prison conditions
in Cuba, some examples of the political prisoners include: Regis
Iglesias, Tony Díaz, Pedro Pablo Álvarez, Nelson Aguiar, Pablo Pacheco,
lawyer and former official Rolando Jiménez, Efrén Fernández, Luís
Enrique Ferrer, Ricardo González, Doctor Alfredo Pulido, Antonio
Villareal, Librado Linares, who is almost blind and has less than half
of his stomach working, and Normando Hernández, among so many others who
are very ill.
Unjust and cruel prison terms are consuming the health and lives of all
of Cuba's political prisoners.
There really is no further information to be taken out of these
individuals, who are imprisoned in Cuba for defending human rights, as
they have already proclaimed their secret out in the streets, "We want
freedom and rights for all Cubans." The torturers do not have any
information to look for, but what they do have is a lot of hate and
frustration on the part of themselves and the government that orders
them, which they lash out at those whose spirits they have been unable
to break.
Moreover, in addition to the individual acts of torture, they have moved
towards applying a "state of torture," a method of systematic, sadistic
punishment that leads to physical and mental damage, a deterioration of
health, and suffering, as a permanent and regulated part of the process
of destroying the individual.
But the injustices and abuses are not just against those who dare to
raise their voice in support of the rights of individuals. The greatest
injustice is against the entire nation, against each and every Cuban, by
imposing on them a life of fear, lies, poverty, and all types of
deprivations and inequality. A life marked by oppression in every minute
and in every dimension of existence, except in the dimension of the soul
that has faith, which can not be conquered.
Here it is necessary to pause, not for a marginal comment, but rather
for a denunciation from the depths of our people, who have been betrayed
and humiliated by the international community, buried by the lies of the
tyrants and the complacency of the cowards who condone the oppression
and violation of human rights in Cuba.
According to the declarations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Cuba, they have received "an award" from the General Assembly of the
United Nations. The Cuban government and its newspaper, Granma, rejoiced
in what they call with good reason "a victory," because by a vote of 168
in the affirmative and seven against, the United Nations finally gave up
against the force of oppression, abandoned the Cuban people, and
embarrassingly compromised the Human Rights Council, which will not
defend individuals, as it remains paralyzed by cowardice, poisoned by
lies, and hijacked by the tyrants of the world.
The Council has a proposal for a resolution that we presented it on the
first honest and coherent act that the Human Rights Council would need
to take: demand the release of those imprisoned in Cuba for peacefully
defending, promoting and exercising their human rights.
But no country dares to present that resolution; no one wants to risk
receiving the barrage of insults and threats that the oppressors in Cuba
use to silence those who proclaim "freedom." The non-aligned countries,
previously aligned with the oppressive Soviets and Maoists, are now
aligned against everything that stands for hope for rights, justice,
reconciliation, truth and liberty in Cuba.
It seems that from the pits of darkness the shrieks rose in a chorus
from the philosophers and champions of the frustrated tyrannies of all
times yelling desperately: "hypocrites of the world unite." And in this
way the large horde arose, with people of all ranks, to sustain the
antitruth that denies Cubans the rights to have rights.
In Cuba, not only are human rights violated but a state of no rights
exists. In Cuba its leaders do not even recognize that these violations
exist and do not demonstrate any will to overcome this situation of an
absence of rights.
In Cuba, there are hundreds of peaceful political prisoners for only
defending their human rights.
In Cuba, power and the law damage and rescind many rights.
The United Nations and its Human Rights Council have not helped one bit
to foster reconciliation, peace or understanding among Cubans or the
peaceful changes that all Cubans desire.
For decades, many have tried to stifle the Cuban people with a cloak of
lies, proclaiming as freedom what is indeed slavery, justice what is in
fact inequality and popular democracy what is instead a tyranny that is
sustained through a culture of fear. They have institutionalized
oppression. Falsehood has taken on the mask of truth in order leave
Cubans without the possibility of protest, objections, or hope.
But we do have hope in God and in our determination to recapture all our
rights.
The people of Cuba will accomplish peace and obtain their rights, they
will achieve reconciliation. They will achieve these through the
peaceful path of truth and justice. We Cubans will achieve our rights,
liberty and peace by our own efforts, with the solidarity of those who
want to peacefully support us or without it.
We will achieve it alone, in fact with most of the world against us,
because all we need to keep in mind is that we Cubans are also children
of God and that is why we have the right to exercise our rights.
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas
Christian Liberation Movement Coordinator
*******
For more information or to obtain a copy of the press release, please
contact: Francisco De Armas, Julio Hernández, International
Representatives, Christian Liberation Movement, (787) 549-1805,
fdamcl@cs.com, mcl2004jhs@yahoo.com
http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=12716
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