Arrest of 51 activists causes rift between US and Cuba

Arrest of 51 activists causes rift between US and Cuba
By AFP | 1 Jan, 2015, 11.38AM IST

HAVANA: A Cuban crackdown on dissident activists caused a new rift with
the United States, the first diplomatic scuffle since this month's
historic announcement of a renewal in ties.

Authorities arrested 51 dissidents on Tuesday to stop them from
attending an open mic session convened for Cubans to speak out about
their future, said Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the officially banned
Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Committee.

Most were later released, although around 10 to 12 were still being held
into the evening, Sanchez said.

The crackdown is the first since US President Barack Obama and Cuban
counterpart Raul Castro announced two weeks ago that the two countries
would revive diplomatic relations severed during the Cold War and move
to ease the five-decade US trade embargo.

In a stern reaction, Washington condemned Havana's 'lack of respect' for
human rights.

"We are deeply concerned about the latest reports of detentions and
arrests by Cuban authorities of peaceful civil society members and
activists," the US State Department said in a statement.

"We strongly condemn the Cuban government's continued harassment and
repeated use of arbitrary detention, at times with violence, to silence
critics, disrupt peaceful assembly and freedom (of) expression, and
intimidate citizens."

The arrests came after Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera invited
her compatriots to share their dreams for the island's future at a
"participatory performance" in Revolution Square, an iconic plaza in
front of Cuba's government headquarters.

Bruguera was among those released by the end of yesterday, after being
held twice times during the day, including when she tried to go to
Havana's main seaside avenue, the Malecon, to hold a press conference
with other activists.

An AFP correspondent said that just as she arrived, two plainclothes
police stopped her, spoke briefly with her and then bundled her off in
their car.

"They're taking me away," she said before entering the car earlier
yesterday.

Prominent dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez was also briefly placed under
house arrest Tuesday, while her husband and editor, Reinaldo Escobar,
was held for several hours at the same jail as Bruguera, reported their
website, 14ymedio.

Source: Arrest of 51 activists causes rift between US and Cuba - The
Economic Times -
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/arrest-of-51-activists-causes-rift-between-us-and-cuba/articleshow/45714341.cms