Search results for: cuban law association

Respect For Human Rights Is Guaranteed With Democratization / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 21 March 2016 — Although there is a close relationship of interdependence between democracy and human rights, they are often treated as if they were something independent of the political system, when objectively only a fully democratic system can fully guarantee them. A friend wrote me, totally correct, that in other … Continue reading “Respect For Human Rights Is Guaranteed With Democratization / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

Pastor Mario Félix Lleonart Detained on Leaving His Home in Villa Clara / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 20 March 2016 — Mario Félix Lleonart, a Baptist minister, was detained on Sunday as he attempted to leave his home in the town of Taguayabón, Villa Clara Province. A strong police presence had surrounded his home since Saturday. According to Lleonart’s wife, Yoaxis Marcheco, he was forced into a police car the … Continue reading “Pastor Mario Félix Lleonart Detained on Leaving His Home in Villa Clara / 14ymedio”

Cuba: From the Black Spring to a Rolling Stones Concert / Iván García

Iván García, 16 March 2106 — Around 12 midnight on Tuesday, 18 March 2003, I was en route to my apartment in the La Víbora neighborhood when, from the balcony, some incomprehensible signs coming from my mother set off the alarms. Those were hard years. My mother and I were contributing articles to  the independent press … Continue reading “Cuba: From the Black Spring to a Rolling Stones Concert / Iván García”

The Dangerous World of Cuba’s Pushcart Vendors / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya

14ymedio, Miriam Celaya, Havana, 13 February 2016 — There is a great poster of general-president Raúl Castro on the façade of a private building in the heart of Central Havana. In the image, he is saluting, dressed in a military uniform, accompanied by the memorable phrase, extracted from one of his promissory speeches he made … Continue reading “The Dangerous World of Cuba’s Pushcart Vendors / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”

Crisis in Agriculture: Land for Those Who Work It / Dimas Castellanos

By Dimas Castellano, 9 February 2016 Property and crisis Once the Cuban Government arrived in power, imbued by an exacerbated voluntarism, it ignored the laws that govern the economy and subordinated them to ideology. From this moment on, the loss of the autonomy that is required by economic processes was converted into a factor of … Continue reading “Crisis in Agriculture: Land for Those Who Work It / Dimas Castellanos”

A Swede in Burundi, a Uruguayan in Cuba / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula

14ymedio, Regina Coyula, Havana, 10 February 2016 – The Uruguayan journalist Fernando Ravsberg has spent years living in Cuba. But after reading his article Uncle Sam’s Cuban Cousins, and pondering it, I think what happened to Ravsberg in Cuba is the same thing that happened to the “disoriented Swede in Burundi” he references in his article. One … Continue reading “A Swede in Burundi, a Uruguayan in Cuba / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula”

Yunior García’s Uncomfortable Questions / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 3 February 2016 – In a recent interview, the young playwright and actor Yunior García Aguilera affirmed that he was “dissatisfied with everything.” A finalist for the Virgilio Piñera Prize for his work Sangre (Blood), and highly praised by critics for his piece Semen (Semen), this graduate of the National School … Continue reading “Yunior García’s Uncomfortable Questions / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”

A Decade Of Work On Press Freedom For Cuba / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 28 January 2016 — Journalism is a high-risk profession. Death threats and imprisonment are just around the corner for thousands of journalists throughout the world. In Cuba, as an illustrious writer said, in the last five decades “they haven’t killed journalists because they have killed journalism.” One organization defends the rights of the … Continue reading “A Decade Of Work On Press Freedom For Cuba / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

Opposition Marchers Should Change Their Strategy / Ivan Garcia

Ivan Garcia, 13 January 2016 — There were more than seven thousand arrests of dissidents in 2015, with most detentions lasting several hours. Beatings, harassment, acts of repudiation and degrading treatment by police are common in Cuba. Political reforms are not part of General Raúl Castro’s agenda. Despite the repression in Havana there is one … Continue reading “Opposition Marchers Should Change Their Strategy / Ivan Garcia”

“They See Us as a Threat” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 11 January 2016 – The sun wasn’t even up when they heard the pounding on the door and the house became a chaos of police and demolition brigades. Amid the screams of the family’s children and the alarm of the faithful, the temple of the Fire and Dynamics evangelical movement in Camaguey … Continue reading ““They See Us as a Threat” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

A Year That Counts in Our Favor / Somos+, Eliecer Avila

Eliecer Avila, 31 December 2015 — To offer a comprehensive summary of the work realized by the Somos+ movement in 2015, we would need the pages of a book. Thus, I will only try, in a strong exercise of memory, to highlight some details and successes of our recent history that characterize the performance and demonstrate … Continue reading “A Year That Counts in Our Favor / Somos+, Eliecer Avila”

Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 29 December 2015 — Cuba is the only country in this hemisphere that does not conduct democratic multi-party elections, which is what the Revolution of 1959 fought for and what different wings of the democratic left and the opposition forces of all stripes have been advocating for years. Democratization of the … Continue reading “Cuba Also Needs Democratic Multiparty Elections / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

One Year After December 17, Who Took The Lead? / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 17 December 2015 – Several articles have already appeared alluding to the first anniversary of the normalization of relations between Cuba and the USA and evaluating the results. For some nothing has happened: nothing has changed. But diplomatic relations were restored and there have been some institutional agreements on drug control, human … Continue reading “One Year After December 17, Who Took The Lead? / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

Forum for Rights and Freedoms Road Map

Demands of the Forum for Rights and Freedoms (Road Map) Immediate release and annulment of sentences for all political prisoners (Amnesty Decree) With regards to the Constitution, laws, regulations, procedures and administrative practices: Repeal all articles that violate the United Nations International Covenants on Human Rights. Protect freedoms of expression, association, assembly, movement, conscience, religion, … Continue reading “Forum for Rights and Freedoms Road Map”

Rosa María Paya: Totalitarianism Does Not Tolerate Participation / Leonel Luis Leon

Diario Las Americas, Leonel Luis Leon, 5 December 2015 — Rosa María Payá, daughter of the deceased Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Payá – who received the Andrei Sakharov Human Rights Prize from the European Parliament and founded the Varela Project for a citizen plebiscite in Cuba – received a major recognition of her civic activism on being … Continue reading “Rosa María Paya: Totalitarianism Does Not Tolerate Participation / Leonel Luis Leon”