(NOTE: This article was published in The Boston Globe on Sunday, November 4, 2007--the day before Dr. Oscar E. Biscet González was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush.)
por Jeff Jacoby
En una ceremonia en la Casa Blanca mañana, el Presidente Bush impondrá la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad, la distinción civil más elevada de la nación, a ocho destacados hombres y mujeres. Entre los laureados estarán el veterano activista de los derechos civiles Benjamin Hooks; Harper Lee, autor de la tan apreciada novela “Matar a un ruiseñor”; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf de Liberia, la primera mujer elegida presidente de una nación africana; y el fundador y presidente de C-SPAN, Brian Lamb.
Uno de los homenajeados, sin embargo, no estará presente. En lugar de unirse al presidente en medio de la pompa y las galas de la Casa Blanca, el Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet [http://www.free-biscet.org/] pasará el día encerrado en una fétida celda de la cárcel de Combinado del Este, en La Habana, donde está cumpliendo una pena de 25 años de cárcel por pronunciarse contra la dictadura de Fidel Castro.
Peter Kirsanow, miembro de la Comisión de Derechos Civiles de los Estados Unidos, ha escrito que las condiciones del encarcelamiento de Biscet son como algo sacado de Víctor Hugo : "Sin ventanas y con temperatura sofocante, con condiciones sanitarias casi inexistentes. El hedor que se filtra del agujero en el suelo que sirve como retrete es intensificado estando comprimido en una celda sin ventilación del tamaño de un armario de limpieza... Biscet sufre osteoartritis según se informa, úlceras e hipertensión. Sus dientes, aquellos que no se han caído, están infectados y careados”.
Médico antiabortista cristiano, Biscet se desligó por primera vez del régimen de Castro en los años 90 cuando investigaba las técnicas cubanas de aborto-- Cuba tiene con diferencia las tasas de aborto más elevadas del hemisferio occidental -- y daba a conocer que numerosos niños habían sido asesinados tras ser paridos con vida. En 1997, inició de la Fundación Lawton para los Derechos Humanos , que pretende "establecer en Cuba un estado basado en el estado de derecho" y "apoyado en la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos". Entre junio de 1998 y noviembre de 1999 fue detenido en 26 ocasiones; en 1991 fue condenado a 3 años de prisión por "falta de respeto a los símbolos patrióticos". Con el fin de protestar por la represión del régimen, había colgado una bandera cubana del revés.
Durante décadas, diversos periodistas y celebridades norteamericanas han pregonado maravillas del presunto paraíso isleño de Castro, ignorando con resolución las montañas de pruebas de que en realidad es una mazmorra tropical. Decididos a ver a Castro como héroe revolucionario y a Cuba como Shangri-la, evitan voluntariamente poner sus ojos en los héroes genuinos de la isla -- los presos de conciencia como Biscet que pagan un precio terrorífico por su insistencia en contar la verdad.
El centro norteamericano de detención en la bahía de Guantánamo es en ocasiones mencionado como si fuera un campo de concentración caribeño, pero las únicas instalaciones que merecen tal etiqueta son los agujeros como Combinado del Este, en donde Biscet y tantos otros disidentes cubanos han sido brutalmente torturados -- o peor. A lo largo de los años, la vida en el gulag de Castro ha sido bien documentada. La narrativa clásica es Contra toda esperanza, de Armando Valladares, un recuerdo claro y acuciante, publicado por primera vez en 1985, de los 22 años del autor en las espantosas cárceles de Cuba.
El relato más novedoso de la vida como preso político cubano es Combatiendo a Castro: una historia de amor, la afectada e inspiradora saga del amor mutuo entre una pareja cubana y su patria, de Kay Abella, y las crueldades, grandes y pequeñas, infligidas a aquellos que desafían al régimen.
Para Lino Fernández, un joven médico que paga su resistencia democrática con 17 años entre rejas, esas crueldades son sádicas y con frecuencia sangrientas. Abella describe, por ejemplo, cómo fue experimentar una requisa -- un registro por parte de los carceleros -- en la famosa fortaleza redonda de Isla de Pinos:
“El rugido de la horda invasora... apaleando con virulencia a hombres desarmados y débiles a causa de la malnutrición y el confinamiento. Una masa berreante de soldados pululando alrededor del patio, apuñalando con bayonetas, rompiendo caderas con las culatas y cadenas envueltas en caucho. El pánico de no tener ningún sitio donde esconderte, sabiendo que serás golpeada más duro por intentar protegerte, pisoteada por agarrarte a un pilar o a una barandilla, tirada escaleras abajo por atreverte a dudar... La indignidad de hombres gimoteando, suplicando, lloriqueando antes de que un cráneo sea aplastado, un hombro extraído de su cuenca, unos genitales aplastados con la empuñadura de un arma”.
Para las familias de los presos políticos, las crueldades vienen en otras formas, como las humillantes exploraciones sin ropa en las infrecuentes ocasiones en las que se permite una visita a la cárcel, o la presión ejercida sobre los niños para que manifiesten lealtad al Partido Comunista que ha encarcelado a su padre. Y está la privación económica: la esposa de Óscar Biscet, Elsa Morejón, es enfermera acreditada, pero se le prohíbe ocupar un empleo profesional en Cuba desde 1998.
La conciencia y el valor de estos disidentes son como poco extraordinarios. "Durante estos años aquí en la cárcel" escribía Biscet a Elsa en una carta sacada de la cárcel de contrabando a comienzos de este año, "he visto cosas vergonzosas que soy incapaz de describirte con palabras a causa de su perversidad y su ataque a... la sociedad civilizada. A pesar de esta difícil situación, no me siento intimidado ni me retracto de mi opinión en ningún sentido... Cumpliré esta injusta sentencia hasta que el Altísimo le ponga fin”.
Jeff Jacoby es columnista de The Boston Globe. Sus artículos pueden recibirse en http://www.jeffjacoby.com
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Monday, November 05, 2007
PRESIDENT BUSH HONORS MEDAL OF FREEDOM RECIPIENTS
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 5, 2007
President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients
(NOTE: To watch the entire ceremony, click here: Video of ceremony)
10:01 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Laura and I are thrilled to welcome you to the White House. We welcome the members of Congress, the members of the Cabinet, and other distinguished guests. It's an honor to be with the Medal of Freedom recipients, as well as their family members and friends. We're sure glad you're here.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest civil honor that a President can bestow. By an executive order of John F. Kennedy, the medal is designed to recognize great contributions to national security, the cause of peace and freedom, science, the arts, literature, and many other fields. The eight men and women came to this distinction by very different paths. Each of them, by effort and by character, has earned the respect of the American people, and holds a unique place in the story of our time.
Our first honoree, Dr. Gary Becker, once said, "Many intellectuals, many economists, use obscure language when they write. Sometimes it's a way of disguising that they are not saying a heck of a lot." This economist, however, is different. Gary Becker's many books and articles, and his 19 years as a weekly columnist, have provided -- proved him to be a thinker of originality and clarity.
Dr. Becker has shown that economic principles do not just exist in theory. Instead they help to explain human behavior in fields well beyond economics. He has shown that by applying these principles to public policy, we can make great strides in promoting enterprise and public safety, protecting the environment, improving public schools, and strengthening the family. Dr. Becker has explained, as well, the real value of investing in human capital -- he knows full well that an educated and well-trained workforce adds to the vigors of our economy, and helps raise the standard of living for all of us.
This longtime professor at the University of Chicago has helped train hundreds of talented economists. He has been a wise and challenging presence in the lives of his students, and they remain devoted to him. One close friend said, "A 15-minute conversation with Gary Becker can change your thinking forever." He is without question one of the most influential economists of the last hundred years. With today's honor, he is one of only two persons to have received both the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Medal of Freedom. The other was the late Milton Friedman. And I know that today Dr. Friedman would be very proud of his friend, and student, and colleague, Dr. Gary Becker. Congratulations. (Applause.)
The Medal of Freedom for Oscar Elias Biscet will be accepted this morning by his son, Yan Valdes. His daughter, Winnie, is also present. Dr. Biscet is not with us today, because he is a political prisoner of the regime in Havana. This ceremony at the White House is being broadcast live into Cuba. To the citizens of that land, I send the respect and good wishes of the United States.
Oscar Biscet is a healer -- known to 11 million Cubans as a physician, a community organizer, and an advocate for human rights. For two decades, he has told the world what he has seen in Cuba: the arrogance of a one-party state; the suppression of political dissent; the coercion of expectant mothers. For speaking the truth Dr. Biscet has endured repeated harassment, beatings, and detentions. The international community agrees that Dr. Biscet's imprisonment is unjust, yet the regime has refused every call for his release.
To the Cuban dictatorship, Dr. Biscet is a "dangerous man." He is dangerous in the same way that Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi were dangerous. He is a man of peace, a man of truth, and a man of faith. In captivity for most of the last eight years, he has continued to embody courage and dignity. His example is a rebuke to the tyrants and secret police of a regime whose day is passing.
Dr. Biscet is also a young man. God willing, he'll soon regain his freedom, as justice demands. He deserves to be reunited with his wife, Elsa, and all their family. And the land they call home deserves to be free. When that day arrives, the peoples of Cuba and the United States will stand together as free men and women. And the liberated country will honor a great man with a mighty heart, Oscar Elias Biscet. (Applause.)
When tyrannies fall, it's often the prisoners and exiles who are called forth to lead their people. We've seen this in our own time, in the lives of President Havel, and President Mandela, and Prime Minister Maliki, and in the Republic of Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
All of her life, President Sirleaf has been a pioneer. The daughter of a school teacher in Monrovia, she crossed the ocean as a young woman and earned three degrees in the United States. She has been a business executive, a development expert, a public official -- and always a patriot. She loves Liberia and she loves all its people. After a cabal seized power and plunged that country into years of upheaval, and corruption, and civil war, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stood up for the democratic rights of her fellow citizens. She never wavered, even though the consequences were house arrest, foreign exile, death threats, and imprisonment.
When free elections returned to Liberia, the voters made history. They chose her to be the first woman ever elected to lead a nation on the continent of Africa. She was inaugurated last year, with Laura and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as proud witnesses. I remember asking Laura and Condi what kind of person I'd be dealing with. They said to expect a woman of depth and ability who know how to get things done. They were right. See, when the President comes to the Oval Office, she walks in with a to-do list. (Laughter.)
The President has the tough mind of a natural-born executive, and the gentle instincts of a mother. Not surprisingly, the Liberian people have given her two affectionate nicknames. They call her the "Iron Lady," and they call her "Ma." She's begun an age of reform in a country with deep historic ties to the United States. As she said to a joint meeting of our Congress, "Liberia will become a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and to the world of what the love of liberty can achieve."
Madam President, America is proud to stand with Liberia. And today, America honors you as a woman of courage, and a giver of hope. Welcome back to the White House, my friend, and congratulations. (Applause.)
Seventeen years ago, the federal government established a research project with the ambitious goal of mapping the entire human genome. The genome is best described as the code of life -- the "3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind." Those were the words of Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute -- and the man who led the federal project to full and thrilling success.
Many discoveries yet to be made, and many scientific triumphs yet to be achieved, will be directly traceable to the work of the human genome project. With genetic mapping, researchers know more than ever before about the hereditary influences behind cancer, and heart disease, and diabetes, and many other conditions. And that understanding holds the key to earlier detection of illness, individualized treatments, and even life-saving cures.
In scope and long-term potential, the human genome project has been compared to the Apollo project. And its leader, Dr. Collins, is a well-rounded man. Though he routinely works a 90-hour week, he is an accomplished singer and guitarist. (Laughter.) I know this because I once heard him at the National Prayer Breakfast. You see, when a man can get up and sing in front of 3,000 people at eight in the morning, there's something special in his DNA. (Laughter.)
From his days being home-schooled by his Mom on a farm in Virginia, Francis Collins has been relentless in the pursuit of knowledge. He said, "One of the strongest motivations of humankind is to seek answers to profound questions i and [to understand] what is both seen and unseen." He has brought his extraordinary gifts to bear on the technical questions of genetics, and on the ethical questions, as well. Deep scientific understanding can be used for good or ill -- and a lot turns on knowing the difference. Francis Collins is unafraid of the eternal questions, unswayed by fashion, and unwilling to overlook the distinction between right and wrong.
Dr. Collins has often noted that, "At the DNA level, we're all 99.9 percent the same. All of us." It's a reminder that the human genome project, with all the promise it holds for tomorrow, also confirms scientifically the timeless wisdom of the brotherhood of man. Americans are rightly proud this project succeeded in our own country. And we are proud of the wise and humane American scientist behind it -- Francis Collins. (Applause.)
Brotherhood is perhaps the greatest theme in the life and character of Dr. Benjamin Hooks. The man has always had what his friend Dr. King called the strength to love. As a civil rights activist, public servant, and minister of the Gospel, Dr. Hooks has extended the hand of fellowship throughout his years. It was not an always thing -- easy thing to do. But it was always the right thing to do.
Benjamin Hooks grew up in a segregated South, where economic advantages, and even common courtesies, were often denied to African Americans. In the Army during World War II, he guarded European prisoners of war held in the United States. When it was time to get something to eat, whites-only restaurants would serve the prisoners, but not Sergeant Hooks. After the war he wanted to study law, but not a single law school in Tennessee would admit a black man. So he went to DePaul University in Chicago, then came back home, determined to "break down that segregation, to end those days."
He became a lawyer, and in time was also an ordained Baptist minister. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and was an early crusader in that great movement. He also rose in the legal profession, becoming the first African American ever to serve as a judge of the Tennessee Criminal Court. He was named to the Federal Communications Commission by President Nixon.
The nation best remembers Benjamin Hooks as the leader of the NAACP. For 15 years, Dr. Hooks was a calm yet forceful voice for fairness, opportunity, and personal responsibility. He never tired or faltered in demanding that our nation live up to its founding ideals of liberty and equality. His testimony had special power -- for the words that he spoke, and for the example that he set as a man of decency and rectitude.
It's been a great journey, and he's traveled with a good and gracious woman at his side, Frances Hooks. They're a wonderful team. They've been married for 56 years.
Dr. Hooks once said, "You've got to believe that tomorrow somehow can be, and will be, better than today." Because he had that belief, because he held on to it, because he acted upon it, an old order has passed away. And all Americans can be grateful for the good works and the good life of Benjamin L. Hooks. (Applause.)
The story of an old order, and the glimmers of humanity that would one day overtake it, was unforgettably told in a book by Miss Harper Lee. Soon after its publication a reviewer said this: "A hundred pounds of sermons on tolerance, or an equal measure of invective deploring the lack of it, will weigh far less in the scale of enlightenment than a mere 18 ounces of a new fiction bearing the title To Kill a Mockingbird."
Given her legendary stature as a novelist, you may be surprised to learn that Harper Lee, early in her career, was an airline reservation clerk. (Laughter.) Fortunately for all of us, she didn't stick to writing itineraries. (Laughter.) Her beautiful book, with its grateful prose and memorable characters, became one of the biggest-selling novels of the 20th century.
Forty-six years after winning the Pulitzer Prize, To Kill a Mockingbird still touches and inspires every reader. We're moved by the story of a man falsely accused -- with old prejudice massed against him, and an old sense of honor that rises to his defense. We learn that courage can be a solitary business. As the lawyer Atticus Finch tells his daughter, "before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
Years after To Kill a Mockingbird was put to film, the character of Atticus Finch was voted the greatest movie hero of all time. It won Gregory Peck the Oscar. He was said to believe the role "brought him closest to being the kind of man he aspired to be." The great actor counted Harper Lee among his good friends, and we're so pleased that Gregory Peck's wife, Veronique, is with us today. Thank you for coming.
One reason To Kill a Mockingbird succeeded is the wise and kind heart of the author, which comes through on every page. This daughter of Monroeville, Alabama had something to say about honor, and tolerance, and, most of all, love -- and it still resonates. Last year Harper Lee received an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame. As the degree was presented, the graduating class rose as one, held up copies of her book, and cheered for the author they love.
To Kill a Mockingbird has influenced the character of our country for the better. It's been a gift to the entire world. As a model of good writing and humane sensibility, this book will be read and studied forever. And so all of us are filled with admiration for a great American and a lovely lady named Harper Lee. (Applause.)
Bob Hyde is here on behalf of his Dad, the Honorable Henry J. Hyde, who was not able to be with us today. Congressman Hyde spent more than three decades as a towering figure on Capitol Hill. But he first made his name in Washington more than 60 years ago. He was on the Georgetown basketball team, and played in the NCAA Eastern championship game in 1943. After college and Navy service in World War II, he returned home to Illinois, and earned a law degree, and made his way into politics. This erudite, scholarly man has walked with kings and kept the common touch. He won 20 elections, and gave steady service to the people of Illinois for 40 years.
In the House, Congressman Hyde rose to the chairmanship of two committees, Judiciary and International Relations. And from the first day, he was a commanding presence, and he was a man of consequence. Colleagues were struck by his extraordinary intellect, his deep convictions, and eloquent voice. In committee and in the House chamber, the background noise would stop when Henry Hyde had the floor.
He used his persuasive powers for noble causes. He stood for a strong and purposeful America -- confident in freedom's advance, and firm in freedom's defense. He stood for limited, accountable government, and the equality of every person before the law. He was a gallant champion of the weak and forgotten, and a fearless defender of life in all its seasons.
Henry Hyde spoke of controversial matters with intellectual honesty and without rancor. He proved that a man can have firm convictions and be a favorite of Democrats and Republicans alike.
Henry likes quoting the adage, "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver but the other is gold." To so many on Capitol Hill, Henry Hyde's friendship is gold. They're quick to say it's not the same Congress without him -- but that we're a better country because he was there. And colleagues will always admire and look up to the gentleman from Illinois, Henry J. Hyde. And, Bob, please tell your Dad a lot of us in Washington love him. (Applause.)
For nearly 30 years, the proceedings of the House of Representatives have been televised -- unfiltered, uninterrupted, unedited, and live. For this we can thank the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, or C-SPAN. And for C-SPAN, we can thank a visionary American named Brian Lamb.
C-SPAN is not what you'd call exciting TV -- (laughter) -- though some of the call-in shows do have their moments. (Laughter.) It is, however, a tool that enlivens democracy, and informs and educates citizens of all ages -- at all hours.
C-SPAN channels fill 17,000 broadcast hours a year. But you can watch for years and never hear anyone say the name Brian Lamb. Even Brian never says it.
With his low-key manner, this native of Lafayette, Indiana likes to stick with substance. He's not there to provide commentary, or give much reaction either way. Yet vast numbers of Americans consider themselves fans of Brian Lamb. A writer from The Washington Post called it a "cult of non-personality." (Laughter.) The truth is, we've all seen him, and he's conducted some of the most fascinating interviews we have ever heard. As one C-SPAN watcher said, when you listen to Brian "You feel like he's just like you, only smarter." (Laughter.)
Brian Lamb has spent most of his life in broadcasting, in a career that has taken many turns. The first program he ever hosted, back in the Midwest, was called "Dance Date," -- a side we haven't seen much of. (Laughter.) Brian Lamb is a Navy veteran; a former social aide here at the White House. In fact, when Brian was here a few months ago to interview a historian in the Lincoln Bedroom, the maitre d' of the residential staff of the White House remembered him from those days.
The network Brian Lamb created has been called "scrupulously nonpartisan, [and] inherently patient." Committee hearings, and campaign events, and conferences, and rallies are shown from beginning to end, without editorial comment or interpretation. C-SPAN has no agenda, and only one assumption: that interested viewers are intelligent, and can make up their own minds about what they see and what they hear.
An informed citizenry has been the strength of America since the days of the New England town hall. C-SPAN has revived the town-hall spirit for a modern, continental nation. For his enormous achievement and his personal modesty; for his high standards, and his contribution to our democracy, America is grateful to Mr. Brian Lamb. (Applause.)
Now I call on the military aide to read the citations for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
MILITARY AIDE: Gary S. Becker. (Applause.) One of the world's great economists and premier intellectual innovators, Gary Becker has broadened the spectrum of economic life and social science. His pioneering analysis of the interaction between economics and such diverse topics as education, demography, and family organization has earned him worldwide respect and a Nobel Prize. His work has contributed to public policies and have helped improve the standard of living in developed and developing nations. The United States honors Gary Becker for his groundbreaking contributions to economics, which have helped us better comprehend the dynamic forces that drive our economy and shape our society. (Applause.)
Yan Valdes, accepting on behalf of his father, Oscar Elias Biscet. (Applause.) Oscar Elias Biscet has dedicated his life to advancing human rights and democracy in Cuba. A medical doctor, he has been persecuted for his peaceful calls for a free Cuba. Despite being imprisoned for his beliefs, he remains a powerful advocate for a Cuba in which the rights of all people are respected. Freedom-loving people everywhere are his brothers and sisters, and his sacrifice benefits all mankind. The United States stands with Oscar Elias Biscet in his heroic struggle against tyranny, salutes him for his courage, and honors him for his devotion to freedom and human rights. (Applause.)
Francis S. Collins. (Applause.) Francis Collins' work has revolutionized genetic research and deepened our understanding for human biology. Under his leadership, the Human Genome Project mapped and sequenced the full human genome. This monumental advance in scientific knowledge has begun to unlock some of the great mysteries of human life and has created the potential to develop treatments and cures for some of the most serious diseases. The United States honors Francis Collins for his efforts to decode human DNA and improve human health. (Applause.)
Benjamin L. Hooks. (Applause.) As a minister, lawyer, judge, and public servant, Benjamin Hooks has dedicated his life to equal justice under law. A pioneer of the Civil Rights movement and a leader of the NAACP, he fought to extend the full promise of America to all its citizens, and he battled injustice with civility, grace, and a generous spirit. His efforts have helped bring our nation closer to its founding ideals. The United States honors Benjamin Hooks: champion of equality, opportunity, and justice. (Applause.)
Robert Hyde, accepting on behalf of his father, Henry J. Hyde. (Applause.) A veteran, a lawyer, and a public servant, Henry Hyde has served his country with honor and dedication. During his 32-year career in the House of Representatives, he was a powerful defender of life, a leading advocate for a strong national defense, and an unwavering voice for liberty, democracy, and free enterprise around the world. A true gentleman of the House, he advanced his principles without rancor and earned the respect of friends and adversaries alike. The United States honors Henry Hyde for his distinguished record of service to America. (Applause.)
Brian P. Lamb. (Applause.) As the driving force behind the creation of C-SPAN, Brian Lamb has elevated our public debate and helped open up our government to citizens across the nation. His dedication to a transparent political system and to the free flow of ideas has enriched our civic life. He has helped empower Americans to know and understand their government and hold it accountable. The United States honors Brian Lamb for his efforts to ensure that his fellow citizens are well-informed participants in the American system of self-government through reflection and choice. (Applause.)
Harper Lee. (Applause.) Harper Lee's beautiful book is a meditation on family, human complexity, and some of the great themes of American life. At a critical moment in our history, To Kill a Mockingbird helped focus the nation on the turbulent struggle for equality. The novel became an instant American classic and earned her a Pulitzer Prize. Nearly half a century after its publication, her work continues to captivate new readers who encounter its compelling power for the first time. The United States honors Harper Lee for her outstanding contribution to the great literary tradition of America. (Applause.)
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (Applause.) As a Liberian Cabinet Minister, United Nations administrator, and Liberia's President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been a force for democracy and opportunity. She has helped heal a country torn apart by over 14 years of conflict through perseverance, personal courage, and an unwavering commitment to build a more hopeful future for her homeland. The first woman elected president of an African nation, she has striven to improve the lives of people in her own country and across her continent. The United States honors Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her dedication to freedom, democracy, and human dignity. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Laura and I now invite you to a reception here in the State Dining Room. I hope you've enjoyed this ceremony as much as I have. May God bless you all. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 10:37 A.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071105-1.html
Office of the Press Secretary
November 5, 2007
President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients
(NOTE: To watch the entire ceremony, click here: Video of ceremony)
10:01 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Laura and I are thrilled to welcome you to the White House. We welcome the members of Congress, the members of the Cabinet, and other distinguished guests. It's an honor to be with the Medal of Freedom recipients, as well as their family members and friends. We're sure glad you're here.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest civil honor that a President can bestow. By an executive order of John F. Kennedy, the medal is designed to recognize great contributions to national security, the cause of peace and freedom, science, the arts, literature, and many other fields. The eight men and women came to this distinction by very different paths. Each of them, by effort and by character, has earned the respect of the American people, and holds a unique place in the story of our time.
Our first honoree, Dr. Gary Becker, once said, "Many intellectuals, many economists, use obscure language when they write. Sometimes it's a way of disguising that they are not saying a heck of a lot." This economist, however, is different. Gary Becker's many books and articles, and his 19 years as a weekly columnist, have provided -- proved him to be a thinker of originality and clarity.
Dr. Becker has shown that economic principles do not just exist in theory. Instead they help to explain human behavior in fields well beyond economics. He has shown that by applying these principles to public policy, we can make great strides in promoting enterprise and public safety, protecting the environment, improving public schools, and strengthening the family. Dr. Becker has explained, as well, the real value of investing in human capital -- he knows full well that an educated and well-trained workforce adds to the vigors of our economy, and helps raise the standard of living for all of us.
This longtime professor at the University of Chicago has helped train hundreds of talented economists. He has been a wise and challenging presence in the lives of his students, and they remain devoted to him. One close friend said, "A 15-minute conversation with Gary Becker can change your thinking forever." He is without question one of the most influential economists of the last hundred years. With today's honor, he is one of only two persons to have received both the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Medal of Freedom. The other was the late Milton Friedman. And I know that today Dr. Friedman would be very proud of his friend, and student, and colleague, Dr. Gary Becker. Congratulations. (Applause.)
The Medal of Freedom for Oscar Elias Biscet will be accepted this morning by his son, Yan Valdes. His daughter, Winnie, is also present. Dr. Biscet is not with us today, because he is a political prisoner of the regime in Havana. This ceremony at the White House is being broadcast live into Cuba. To the citizens of that land, I send the respect and good wishes of the United States.
Oscar Biscet is a healer -- known to 11 million Cubans as a physician, a community organizer, and an advocate for human rights. For two decades, he has told the world what he has seen in Cuba: the arrogance of a one-party state; the suppression of political dissent; the coercion of expectant mothers. For speaking the truth Dr. Biscet has endured repeated harassment, beatings, and detentions. The international community agrees that Dr. Biscet's imprisonment is unjust, yet the regime has refused every call for his release.
To the Cuban dictatorship, Dr. Biscet is a "dangerous man." He is dangerous in the same way that Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi were dangerous. He is a man of peace, a man of truth, and a man of faith. In captivity for most of the last eight years, he has continued to embody courage and dignity. His example is a rebuke to the tyrants and secret police of a regime whose day is passing.
Dr. Biscet is also a young man. God willing, he'll soon regain his freedom, as justice demands. He deserves to be reunited with his wife, Elsa, and all their family. And the land they call home deserves to be free. When that day arrives, the peoples of Cuba and the United States will stand together as free men and women. And the liberated country will honor a great man with a mighty heart, Oscar Elias Biscet. (Applause.)
When tyrannies fall, it's often the prisoners and exiles who are called forth to lead their people. We've seen this in our own time, in the lives of President Havel, and President Mandela, and Prime Minister Maliki, and in the Republic of Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
All of her life, President Sirleaf has been a pioneer. The daughter of a school teacher in Monrovia, she crossed the ocean as a young woman and earned three degrees in the United States. She has been a business executive, a development expert, a public official -- and always a patriot. She loves Liberia and she loves all its people. After a cabal seized power and plunged that country into years of upheaval, and corruption, and civil war, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stood up for the democratic rights of her fellow citizens. She never wavered, even though the consequences were house arrest, foreign exile, death threats, and imprisonment.
When free elections returned to Liberia, the voters made history. They chose her to be the first woman ever elected to lead a nation on the continent of Africa. She was inaugurated last year, with Laura and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as proud witnesses. I remember asking Laura and Condi what kind of person I'd be dealing with. They said to expect a woman of depth and ability who know how to get things done. They were right. See, when the President comes to the Oval Office, she walks in with a to-do list. (Laughter.)
The President has the tough mind of a natural-born executive, and the gentle instincts of a mother. Not surprisingly, the Liberian people have given her two affectionate nicknames. They call her the "Iron Lady," and they call her "Ma." She's begun an age of reform in a country with deep historic ties to the United States. As she said to a joint meeting of our Congress, "Liberia will become a brilliant beacon, an example to Africa and to the world of what the love of liberty can achieve."
Madam President, America is proud to stand with Liberia. And today, America honors you as a woman of courage, and a giver of hope. Welcome back to the White House, my friend, and congratulations. (Applause.)
Seventeen years ago, the federal government established a research project with the ambitious goal of mapping the entire human genome. The genome is best described as the code of life -- the "3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind." Those were the words of Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute -- and the man who led the federal project to full and thrilling success.
Many discoveries yet to be made, and many scientific triumphs yet to be achieved, will be directly traceable to the work of the human genome project. With genetic mapping, researchers know more than ever before about the hereditary influences behind cancer, and heart disease, and diabetes, and many other conditions. And that understanding holds the key to earlier detection of illness, individualized treatments, and even life-saving cures.
In scope and long-term potential, the human genome project has been compared to the Apollo project. And its leader, Dr. Collins, is a well-rounded man. Though he routinely works a 90-hour week, he is an accomplished singer and guitarist. (Laughter.) I know this because I once heard him at the National Prayer Breakfast. You see, when a man can get up and sing in front of 3,000 people at eight in the morning, there's something special in his DNA. (Laughter.)
From his days being home-schooled by his Mom on a farm in Virginia, Francis Collins has been relentless in the pursuit of knowledge. He said, "One of the strongest motivations of humankind is to seek answers to profound questions i and [to understand] what is both seen and unseen." He has brought his extraordinary gifts to bear on the technical questions of genetics, and on the ethical questions, as well. Deep scientific understanding can be used for good or ill -- and a lot turns on knowing the difference. Francis Collins is unafraid of the eternal questions, unswayed by fashion, and unwilling to overlook the distinction between right and wrong.
Dr. Collins has often noted that, "At the DNA level, we're all 99.9 percent the same. All of us." It's a reminder that the human genome project, with all the promise it holds for tomorrow, also confirms scientifically the timeless wisdom of the brotherhood of man. Americans are rightly proud this project succeeded in our own country. And we are proud of the wise and humane American scientist behind it -- Francis Collins. (Applause.)
Brotherhood is perhaps the greatest theme in the life and character of Dr. Benjamin Hooks. The man has always had what his friend Dr. King called the strength to love. As a civil rights activist, public servant, and minister of the Gospel, Dr. Hooks has extended the hand of fellowship throughout his years. It was not an always thing -- easy thing to do. But it was always the right thing to do.
Benjamin Hooks grew up in a segregated South, where economic advantages, and even common courtesies, were often denied to African Americans. In the Army during World War II, he guarded European prisoners of war held in the United States. When it was time to get something to eat, whites-only restaurants would serve the prisoners, but not Sergeant Hooks. After the war he wanted to study law, but not a single law school in Tennessee would admit a black man. So he went to DePaul University in Chicago, then came back home, determined to "break down that segregation, to end those days."
He became a lawyer, and in time was also an ordained Baptist minister. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and was an early crusader in that great movement. He also rose in the legal profession, becoming the first African American ever to serve as a judge of the Tennessee Criminal Court. He was named to the Federal Communications Commission by President Nixon.
The nation best remembers Benjamin Hooks as the leader of the NAACP. For 15 years, Dr. Hooks was a calm yet forceful voice for fairness, opportunity, and personal responsibility. He never tired or faltered in demanding that our nation live up to its founding ideals of liberty and equality. His testimony had special power -- for the words that he spoke, and for the example that he set as a man of decency and rectitude.
It's been a great journey, and he's traveled with a good and gracious woman at his side, Frances Hooks. They're a wonderful team. They've been married for 56 years.
Dr. Hooks once said, "You've got to believe that tomorrow somehow can be, and will be, better than today." Because he had that belief, because he held on to it, because he acted upon it, an old order has passed away. And all Americans can be grateful for the good works and the good life of Benjamin L. Hooks. (Applause.)
The story of an old order, and the glimmers of humanity that would one day overtake it, was unforgettably told in a book by Miss Harper Lee. Soon after its publication a reviewer said this: "A hundred pounds of sermons on tolerance, or an equal measure of invective deploring the lack of it, will weigh far less in the scale of enlightenment than a mere 18 ounces of a new fiction bearing the title To Kill a Mockingbird."
Given her legendary stature as a novelist, you may be surprised to learn that Harper Lee, early in her career, was an airline reservation clerk. (Laughter.) Fortunately for all of us, she didn't stick to writing itineraries. (Laughter.) Her beautiful book, with its grateful prose and memorable characters, became one of the biggest-selling novels of the 20th century.
Forty-six years after winning the Pulitzer Prize, To Kill a Mockingbird still touches and inspires every reader. We're moved by the story of a man falsely accused -- with old prejudice massed against him, and an old sense of honor that rises to his defense. We learn that courage can be a solitary business. As the lawyer Atticus Finch tells his daughter, "before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
Years after To Kill a Mockingbird was put to film, the character of Atticus Finch was voted the greatest movie hero of all time. It won Gregory Peck the Oscar. He was said to believe the role "brought him closest to being the kind of man he aspired to be." The great actor counted Harper Lee among his good friends, and we're so pleased that Gregory Peck's wife, Veronique, is with us today. Thank you for coming.
One reason To Kill a Mockingbird succeeded is the wise and kind heart of the author, which comes through on every page. This daughter of Monroeville, Alabama had something to say about honor, and tolerance, and, most of all, love -- and it still resonates. Last year Harper Lee received an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame. As the degree was presented, the graduating class rose as one, held up copies of her book, and cheered for the author they love.
To Kill a Mockingbird has influenced the character of our country for the better. It's been a gift to the entire world. As a model of good writing and humane sensibility, this book will be read and studied forever. And so all of us are filled with admiration for a great American and a lovely lady named Harper Lee. (Applause.)
Bob Hyde is here on behalf of his Dad, the Honorable Henry J. Hyde, who was not able to be with us today. Congressman Hyde spent more than three decades as a towering figure on Capitol Hill. But he first made his name in Washington more than 60 years ago. He was on the Georgetown basketball team, and played in the NCAA Eastern championship game in 1943. After college and Navy service in World War II, he returned home to Illinois, and earned a law degree, and made his way into politics. This erudite, scholarly man has walked with kings and kept the common touch. He won 20 elections, and gave steady service to the people of Illinois for 40 years.
In the House, Congressman Hyde rose to the chairmanship of two committees, Judiciary and International Relations. And from the first day, he was a commanding presence, and he was a man of consequence. Colleagues were struck by his extraordinary intellect, his deep convictions, and eloquent voice. In committee and in the House chamber, the background noise would stop when Henry Hyde had the floor.
He used his persuasive powers for noble causes. He stood for a strong and purposeful America -- confident in freedom's advance, and firm in freedom's defense. He stood for limited, accountable government, and the equality of every person before the law. He was a gallant champion of the weak and forgotten, and a fearless defender of life in all its seasons.
Henry Hyde spoke of controversial matters with intellectual honesty and without rancor. He proved that a man can have firm convictions and be a favorite of Democrats and Republicans alike.
Henry likes quoting the adage, "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver but the other is gold." To so many on Capitol Hill, Henry Hyde's friendship is gold. They're quick to say it's not the same Congress without him -- but that we're a better country because he was there. And colleagues will always admire and look up to the gentleman from Illinois, Henry J. Hyde. And, Bob, please tell your Dad a lot of us in Washington love him. (Applause.)
For nearly 30 years, the proceedings of the House of Representatives have been televised -- unfiltered, uninterrupted, unedited, and live. For this we can thank the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, or C-SPAN. And for C-SPAN, we can thank a visionary American named Brian Lamb.
C-SPAN is not what you'd call exciting TV -- (laughter) -- though some of the call-in shows do have their moments. (Laughter.) It is, however, a tool that enlivens democracy, and informs and educates citizens of all ages -- at all hours.
C-SPAN channels fill 17,000 broadcast hours a year. But you can watch for years and never hear anyone say the name Brian Lamb. Even Brian never says it.
With his low-key manner, this native of Lafayette, Indiana likes to stick with substance. He's not there to provide commentary, or give much reaction either way. Yet vast numbers of Americans consider themselves fans of Brian Lamb. A writer from The Washington Post called it a "cult of non-personality." (Laughter.) The truth is, we've all seen him, and he's conducted some of the most fascinating interviews we have ever heard. As one C-SPAN watcher said, when you listen to Brian "You feel like he's just like you, only smarter." (Laughter.)
Brian Lamb has spent most of his life in broadcasting, in a career that has taken many turns. The first program he ever hosted, back in the Midwest, was called "Dance Date," -- a side we haven't seen much of. (Laughter.) Brian Lamb is a Navy veteran; a former social aide here at the White House. In fact, when Brian was here a few months ago to interview a historian in the Lincoln Bedroom, the maitre d' of the residential staff of the White House remembered him from those days.
The network Brian Lamb created has been called "scrupulously nonpartisan, [and] inherently patient." Committee hearings, and campaign events, and conferences, and rallies are shown from beginning to end, without editorial comment or interpretation. C-SPAN has no agenda, and only one assumption: that interested viewers are intelligent, and can make up their own minds about what they see and what they hear.
An informed citizenry has been the strength of America since the days of the New England town hall. C-SPAN has revived the town-hall spirit for a modern, continental nation. For his enormous achievement and his personal modesty; for his high standards, and his contribution to our democracy, America is grateful to Mr. Brian Lamb. (Applause.)
Now I call on the military aide to read the citations for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
MILITARY AIDE: Gary S. Becker. (Applause.) One of the world's great economists and premier intellectual innovators, Gary Becker has broadened the spectrum of economic life and social science. His pioneering analysis of the interaction between economics and such diverse topics as education, demography, and family organization has earned him worldwide respect and a Nobel Prize. His work has contributed to public policies and have helped improve the standard of living in developed and developing nations. The United States honors Gary Becker for his groundbreaking contributions to economics, which have helped us better comprehend the dynamic forces that drive our economy and shape our society. (Applause.)
Yan Valdes, accepting on behalf of his father, Oscar Elias Biscet. (Applause.) Oscar Elias Biscet has dedicated his life to advancing human rights and democracy in Cuba. A medical doctor, he has been persecuted for his peaceful calls for a free Cuba. Despite being imprisoned for his beliefs, he remains a powerful advocate for a Cuba in which the rights of all people are respected. Freedom-loving people everywhere are his brothers and sisters, and his sacrifice benefits all mankind. The United States stands with Oscar Elias Biscet in his heroic struggle against tyranny, salutes him for his courage, and honors him for his devotion to freedom and human rights. (Applause.)
Francis S. Collins. (Applause.) Francis Collins' work has revolutionized genetic research and deepened our understanding for human biology. Under his leadership, the Human Genome Project mapped and sequenced the full human genome. This monumental advance in scientific knowledge has begun to unlock some of the great mysteries of human life and has created the potential to develop treatments and cures for some of the most serious diseases. The United States honors Francis Collins for his efforts to decode human DNA and improve human health. (Applause.)
Benjamin L. Hooks. (Applause.) As a minister, lawyer, judge, and public servant, Benjamin Hooks has dedicated his life to equal justice under law. A pioneer of the Civil Rights movement and a leader of the NAACP, he fought to extend the full promise of America to all its citizens, and he battled injustice with civility, grace, and a generous spirit. His efforts have helped bring our nation closer to its founding ideals. The United States honors Benjamin Hooks: champion of equality, opportunity, and justice. (Applause.)
Robert Hyde, accepting on behalf of his father, Henry J. Hyde. (Applause.) A veteran, a lawyer, and a public servant, Henry Hyde has served his country with honor and dedication. During his 32-year career in the House of Representatives, he was a powerful defender of life, a leading advocate for a strong national defense, and an unwavering voice for liberty, democracy, and free enterprise around the world. A true gentleman of the House, he advanced his principles without rancor and earned the respect of friends and adversaries alike. The United States honors Henry Hyde for his distinguished record of service to America. (Applause.)
Brian P. Lamb. (Applause.) As the driving force behind the creation of C-SPAN, Brian Lamb has elevated our public debate and helped open up our government to citizens across the nation. His dedication to a transparent political system and to the free flow of ideas has enriched our civic life. He has helped empower Americans to know and understand their government and hold it accountable. The United States honors Brian Lamb for his efforts to ensure that his fellow citizens are well-informed participants in the American system of self-government through reflection and choice. (Applause.)
Harper Lee. (Applause.) Harper Lee's beautiful book is a meditation on family, human complexity, and some of the great themes of American life. At a critical moment in our history, To Kill a Mockingbird helped focus the nation on the turbulent struggle for equality. The novel became an instant American classic and earned her a Pulitzer Prize. Nearly half a century after its publication, her work continues to captivate new readers who encounter its compelling power for the first time. The United States honors Harper Lee for her outstanding contribution to the great literary tradition of America. (Applause.)
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (Applause.) As a Liberian Cabinet Minister, United Nations administrator, and Liberia's President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been a force for democracy and opportunity. She has helped heal a country torn apart by over 14 years of conflict through perseverance, personal courage, and an unwavering commitment to build a more hopeful future for her homeland. The first woman elected president of an African nation, she has striven to improve the lives of people in her own country and across her continent. The United States honors Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her dedication to freedom, democracy, and human dignity. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Laura and I now invite you to a reception here in the State Dining Room. I hope you've enjoyed this ceremony as much as I have. May God bless you all. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 10:37 A.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071105-1.html
A CUBAN HERO (ARTICLE FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
(Note: This article appeared in the November 5, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal on page A18)
By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY
Cuban physician Oscar Elías Biscet and seven others will be awarded the presidential medal of freedom by George W. Bush in a White House ceremony today. But Dr. Biscet will not be there to accept his honor in person. Today, like most days for the better part of the past eight years, he is locked away in a dungeon on Fidel Castro's island paradise.
Tales of totalitarian gulags may strike some readers as ancient history, something that happened during Europe's 20th-century experiments in fascism, communism and Nazism. Yet in Cuba, the gulag and its suffering have not ended. Dr. Biscet's medal serves to remind us of this fact. By raising the profile of his struggle for a free Cuba, the award also highlights what Castro's regime fears most. It is not the guns and tanks of some imperial invader, but rather the faith, courage and nonconformity of the country's own people.
Dr. Biscet, 46, is a renowned pacifist and devout Christian. He has said that he is inspired by the examples of Martin Luther King, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. We know this and much more about his life thanks to the Coalition of Cuban-American Women, which says it documents all the facts it publishes about political prisoners through live testimonies from Cuba.
While practicing medicine in Cuban hospitals for more than a decade, Dr. Biscet became increasingly concerned about the government's abortion practices. In 1998, at a Havana hospital, he took the risk of engaging in a clandestine study on the administration of a drug called rivanol to abort advanced pregnancies. The drug was being widely used, particularly on girls as young as 12, who, having been forced to leave their parents and work in rural areas as part of their schooling, found themselves "in trouble."
The study concluded that rivanol resulted in viable fetuses being born alive. What often happened next horrified Dr. Biscet, who later wrote that, "the umbilical cord was cut and they were allowed to bleed to death or they were wrapped in paper and asphyxiated."
As a result of his vocal opposition to these abortion practices he lost his job, his family lost their home and Castro's goons were sent to beat him up. But the bullying didn't work. By now he was actively engaged in resistance against the regime and, as he has written, his conscience would not allow him to back down. Those familiar with Dr. Biscet's work say that he was instrumental in building -- at the grassroots level -- on the impact of Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in January 1998. The regime took notice. Dr. Biscet became one of the few dissidents that Castro has ever attacked by name in a speech to the nation. As a proponent of Cuban democracy told me, "It proves that Biscet really got under Castro's skin."
From July 1998 until November 1999, Dr. Biscet was jailed 26 times. During those detentions, he was held for days in windowless cells or thrown in with populations of violent criminals and the mentally ill. In February 2000, he was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for holding a press conference to announce a peaceful march during the 1999 Ibero-American Summit in Havana. The backdrop at the press conference was two Cuban flags hung upside down to protest the state's violations of human rights. He was convicted for "dishonoring national symbols, public disorder and inciting delinquent behavior" and sent to a maximum security prison 450 miles east of Havana, making family visits difficult.
Cuba's political prison system is structured not only to punish dissent, but also to force the "rehabilitation" of the prisoner. Captives who give in, admit the error of their political ways and beg forgiveness sometimes can get out of jail. But Dr. Biscet is no such prisoner. While serving his three-year sentence, he increased his resistance, carrying out fasts and pushing for the release of political prisoners. The regime responded by putting him again in a squalid, solitary confinement cell or among dangerous inmates. He was denied visitors and medical treatment, and his Bible was confiscated.
In late October 2002, Dr. Biscet was released from prison only to be arrested 36 days later as he was preparing to meet with fellow Cuban human-rights advocates. In April 2003, he was convicted, as were 75 others who had been rounded up in the now-infamous March 2003 crackdown on dissent. He received a 25-year sentence for "serving as a mercenary to a foreign state." The Coalition of Cuban-American Women reports that, from November 2003-January 2004, he was held in "an underground dungeon with a common criminal and lost 40 pounds."
His time in solitary has been no less inhumane. Dr. Biscet has described his 3-foot-by-6-foot cell as having no windows or running water. It has a hole in the floor for a toilet and is infested with vermin. One of his confinement periods there lasted 42 days. Dr. Biscet says that "the Cuban government has tortured me during eight years, trying to drive me insane." Perhaps most painfully for the prisoner, his wife has been fired from her job as a nurse and is harassed by the state.
Dr. Biscet says that the regime has offered to let him go if he agrees to leave Cuba. He will not. In an April letter to his wife Elsa, he explained why: "My suffering is much, much less since I began to seek after my dream of being free, but not only for me personally. If I thought only of myself, you know that I would have been free a long time ago, and I would have been rid of these unsettling anxieties. But I want to see my friend's son, my adversary's son, or any citizen laughing happily from the satisfaction in their lives and enjoying a wealth of freedom because it is the only way human talent reaches its maximum splendor. . . ."
Reading those words, it is difficult to think of anyone more deserving of a medal honoring those who serve the cause of freedom.
By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY
Cuban physician Oscar Elías Biscet and seven others will be awarded the presidential medal of freedom by George W. Bush in a White House ceremony today. But Dr. Biscet will not be there to accept his honor in person. Today, like most days for the better part of the past eight years, he is locked away in a dungeon on Fidel Castro's island paradise.
Tales of totalitarian gulags may strike some readers as ancient history, something that happened during Europe's 20th-century experiments in fascism, communism and Nazism. Yet in Cuba, the gulag and its suffering have not ended. Dr. Biscet's medal serves to remind us of this fact. By raising the profile of his struggle for a free Cuba, the award also highlights what Castro's regime fears most. It is not the guns and tanks of some imperial invader, but rather the faith, courage and nonconformity of the country's own people.
Dr. Biscet, 46, is a renowned pacifist and devout Christian. He has said that he is inspired by the examples of Martin Luther King, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. We know this and much more about his life thanks to the Coalition of Cuban-American Women, which says it documents all the facts it publishes about political prisoners through live testimonies from Cuba.
While practicing medicine in Cuban hospitals for more than a decade, Dr. Biscet became increasingly concerned about the government's abortion practices. In 1998, at a Havana hospital, he took the risk of engaging in a clandestine study on the administration of a drug called rivanol to abort advanced pregnancies. The drug was being widely used, particularly on girls as young as 12, who, having been forced to leave their parents and work in rural areas as part of their schooling, found themselves "in trouble."
The study concluded that rivanol resulted in viable fetuses being born alive. What often happened next horrified Dr. Biscet, who later wrote that, "the umbilical cord was cut and they were allowed to bleed to death or they were wrapped in paper and asphyxiated."
As a result of his vocal opposition to these abortion practices he lost his job, his family lost their home and Castro's goons were sent to beat him up. But the bullying didn't work. By now he was actively engaged in resistance against the regime and, as he has written, his conscience would not allow him to back down. Those familiar with Dr. Biscet's work say that he was instrumental in building -- at the grassroots level -- on the impact of Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in January 1998. The regime took notice. Dr. Biscet became one of the few dissidents that Castro has ever attacked by name in a speech to the nation. As a proponent of Cuban democracy told me, "It proves that Biscet really got under Castro's skin."
From July 1998 until November 1999, Dr. Biscet was jailed 26 times. During those detentions, he was held for days in windowless cells or thrown in with populations of violent criminals and the mentally ill. In February 2000, he was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for holding a press conference to announce a peaceful march during the 1999 Ibero-American Summit in Havana. The backdrop at the press conference was two Cuban flags hung upside down to protest the state's violations of human rights. He was convicted for "dishonoring national symbols, public disorder and inciting delinquent behavior" and sent to a maximum security prison 450 miles east of Havana, making family visits difficult.
Cuba's political prison system is structured not only to punish dissent, but also to force the "rehabilitation" of the prisoner. Captives who give in, admit the error of their political ways and beg forgiveness sometimes can get out of jail. But Dr. Biscet is no such prisoner. While serving his three-year sentence, he increased his resistance, carrying out fasts and pushing for the release of political prisoners. The regime responded by putting him again in a squalid, solitary confinement cell or among dangerous inmates. He was denied visitors and medical treatment, and his Bible was confiscated.
In late October 2002, Dr. Biscet was released from prison only to be arrested 36 days later as he was preparing to meet with fellow Cuban human-rights advocates. In April 2003, he was convicted, as were 75 others who had been rounded up in the now-infamous March 2003 crackdown on dissent. He received a 25-year sentence for "serving as a mercenary to a foreign state." The Coalition of Cuban-American Women reports that, from November 2003-January 2004, he was held in "an underground dungeon with a common criminal and lost 40 pounds."
His time in solitary has been no less inhumane. Dr. Biscet has described his 3-foot-by-6-foot cell as having no windows or running water. It has a hole in the floor for a toilet and is infested with vermin. One of his confinement periods there lasted 42 days. Dr. Biscet says that "the Cuban government has tortured me during eight years, trying to drive me insane." Perhaps most painfully for the prisoner, his wife has been fired from her job as a nurse and is harassed by the state.
Dr. Biscet says that the regime has offered to let him go if he agrees to leave Cuba. He will not. In an April letter to his wife Elsa, he explained why: "My suffering is much, much less since I began to seek after my dream of being free, but not only for me personally. If I thought only of myself, you know that I would have been free a long time ago, and I would have been rid of these unsettling anxieties. But I want to see my friend's son, my adversary's son, or any citizen laughing happily from the satisfaction in their lives and enjoying a wealth of freedom because it is the only way human talent reaches its maximum splendor. . . ."
Reading those words, it is difficult to think of anyone more deserving of a medal honoring those who serve the cause of freedom.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
DR. OSCAR E. BISCET GONZALEZ TO RECEIVE THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM - PRESS RELEASE
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press Secretary
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
For Immediate Release/ October 29, 2007
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
President George W. Bush today announced recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civil award. Established by Executive Order 11085 in 1963, the Medal may be awarded by the President “to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” President Bush will honor these recipients at a White House ceremony on Monday, November 5, 2007.
Gary S. Becker has broadened the spectrum of economics and social science through his analysis of the interaction between economics and topics such as education, demography, and family organization. His work has helped improve the standard of living for people around the world.
Oscar Elias Biscet is a champion in the fight against tyranny and oppression. Despite being persecuted and imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to advocate for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are respected.Francis S. Collins has revolutionized genetic research. Under his leadership, the Human Genome Project mapped and sequenced the full human genome and greatly expanded our understanding of human DNA.
Benjamin L. Hooks has dedicated his life to equality, opportunity, and justice. He is a pioneer of the Civil Rights movement, and his efforts to extend the full promise of America to all its citizens have helped bring our Nation closer to its founding ideals.
Henry J. Hyde has served America with distinction. During his career in the House of Representatives, he was a powerful defender of life and a leading advocate for a strong national defense and for freedom around the world.
Brian P. Lamb has elevated America’s public debate and helped open up our government to citizens across the Nation. His dedication to a transparent political system and the free flow of ideas has enriched and strengthened our democracy.
Harper Lee has made an outstanding contribution to America’s literary tradition. At a critical moment in our history, her beautiful book, To Kill a Mockingbird, helped focus the Nation on the turbulent struggle for equality.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has helped heal a country torn apart by conflict through perseverance, personal courage, and an unwavering commitment to building a more hopeful future for her homeland. The first woman elected president of an African nation, she has worked to expand freedom and improve the lives of people in Liberia and across Africa.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST LETTER TO R. CASTRO REGARDING CUBA'S REFUSAL TO ALLOW RECIPIENT TO ACCEPT HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
October 22, 2007Raul Castro Ruiz
Interim President of Cuba
c/o Cuba Interests Section
Embassy of Switzerland
2630 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Your Excellency:
Human Rights First, an independent non-governmental human rights organization, is writing to you to express its disappointment that René Gómez Manzano, a Cuban citizen and human rights lawyer, was prohibited from traveling to Brussels, Belgium this past week to receive the 2007 Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize. According to Mr. Gómez Manzano, after being repeatedly told the Cuban Immigration office had no response to his application for permission to travel, he was formally denied permission on Monday, October 15, 2007. The award ceremony was held on Friday, October 19, 2007; a representative of Mr. Gómez Manzano accepted the award on his behalf.
Mr. Gómez Manzano is a lawyer working to strengthen the rule of law in Cuba. He was the founder of the Corriente Agramontista, a collective of independent lawyers dedicated to defending cases involving those whose human rights have been violated. Mr. Gómez Manzano has been repeatedly jailed for his legitimate, non-violent human rights activities. Most recently, he was held for 19 months without being charged for protesting peacefully in front of the French Embassy in Havana in July 2005. Human Rights First heralded his release in February 2007.
The Ludovic Trarieux Prize is awarded annually by a group of leading European bar associations to a lawyer who has worked to advance human rights and the rule of law. It is considered one of the most prestigious international awards a lawyer can receive; Nelson Mandela is a past winner.
Freedom of movement is a fundamental right to be enjoyed by everyone. Under this principle, all Cubans should have the right to freely leave and return to Cuba. As Article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states, “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”
We urge you to respect the provisions of the UDHR, which form the basis of international human rights law. René Gómez Manzano , and other lawyers and human rights activists in Cuba, should be free to travel to and from Cuba.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.
Sincerely,
Neil Hicks
Director of the Human Rights Defenders Program
cc.
His Excellency Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
MENSAJE DE RENE GOMEZ MANZANO AL PREMIO LUDOVIC TRARIEUX
(Source: Misceláneas de Cuba: http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=12232)
Ilustres dignatarios y personalidades presentes en este acto de premiación,
Me siento muy honrado de tener la posibilidad de dirigirles estas palabras.
Desde luego, hubiera preferido poder hacerlo personalmente, pero si esta grabación es proyectada en la ceremonia de entrega del premio, ello significará que esa posibilidad me estuvo vedada por el contumaz inmovilismo del régimen totalitario cubano, el cual se ufana de autodefinirse como una dictadura, mantiene las normas constitucionales que consagran el papel dirigente del partido único sobre el conjunto de la sociedad y del Estado y no sólo ha borrado de sus textos supralegales toda alusión al derecho de los nacionales a entrar y salir libremente del Territorio Nacional, sino que se arroga de hecho la facultad de autorizar o no cualquier viaje de sus súbditos al extranjero, lo que implica que se comporta como si los ciudadanos fuesen una especie de esclavos o siervos de la gleba que sólo pueden hacer aquello que su señor les autoriza graciosamente.
Por desgracia, así ha sucedido en mi caso, pues a pesar del apoyo generoso que me prestaron el señor Presidente y los miembros del Jurado, todas esas gestiones han resultado ahora baldías, en razón de la negativa del nuevo equipo gobernante del país, encabezado hace ya algo más de un año por el hermano menor del dirigente histórico de casi medio siglo, a otorgar a tiempo el “permiso de salida” que se requería para que yo pudiese viajar a recibir el premio personalmente.
Por consiguiente, puedo afirmar que mi ausencia de esa ceremonia constituye una prueba más de la triste realidad que vive hoy nuestra Patria, que, pese a los preocupantes acontecimientos acaecidos en los últimos años en la fraterna República de Venezuela, continúa siendo en puridad el único país del Hemisferio Occidental que no disfruta de una democracia representativa y pluralista, en el cual no se respetan los derechos humanos internacionalmente reconocidos y el que —por añadidura— se encuentra sumido en una profundísima crisis.
Señoras y señores: Estas palabras mías no deben ser muy largas, teniendo en cuenta que en este acto de premiación debe hacer uso de la palabra en mi nombre el señor Juan Escandell Ramírez. A él y al colega europeo que deberá acompañarlo los he autorizado para que uno de ambos, indistintamente, acepte en mi nombre el prestigioso premio internacional que me ha sido otorgado, así como para que reciba las constancias de su otorgamiento.
A pesar de esa necesaria brevedad, debo decir que en mi país es notable la labor de los centenares de organizaciones que de un modo u otro luchan en pro del respeto de los derechos humanos, pese a la intensa represión desatada contra ellas por el régimen totalitario, que ha convertido a Cuba —no obstante su población relativamente pequeña— en el país occidental con mayor número de presos de conciencia en el mundo.
Todas esas organizaciones, en algunos casos sin estar conscientes de ello, son seguidoras y continuadoras de la obra inmortal de Ludovic Trarieux, cuya memoria es perpetuada ahora en este galardón que tanto prestigio ha venido adquiriendo desde que hace ya más de dos décadas le fuera otorgado por vez primera al valeroso luchador anti-apartheid Nelson Mandela.
Creo que es justo y necesario decir que este premio que se me ha otorgado constituye también un reconocimiento a la notable labor desplegada por todas esas entidades contestatarias cubanas, a todo lo largo y ancho de nuestro archipiélago.
Quisiera aprovechar esta ocasión para mencionar específicamente a la mayor agrupación de organizaciones independientes de nuestro país, la Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil, que en mayo de 2005 llevó a cabo en nuestra capital el histórico primer congreso de demócratas cubanos. Me siento honrado por haber sido y seguir siendo uno de los tres miembros del Ejecutivo de esa coalición.
También considero un honor haber presidido, desde su fundación y hasta la actualidad, una de las más de tres centenares y medio de organizaciones que integran la mencionada Asamblea: como seguramente ustedes habrán imaginado, me estoy refiriendo a la Corriente Agramontista, una agrupación de abogados independientes de la que forman parte actualmente en suelo cubano una veintena de juristas aproximadamente, a los cuales habría que sumar varias decenas más que se han visto obligados a emigrar por la represión del régimen totalitario.
Nuestra pequeña Corriente, cuyo nombre se deriva del apellido del ilustre abogado, libertador y mártir de la independencia cubana Ignacio Agramonte, caído gloriosamente en combate contra las fuerzas colonialistas en 1873, puede enorgullecerse de ser la única agrupación de juristas que lucha expresamente en nuestro suelo en pro del establecimiento del Estado de Derecho en Cuba, de la independencia del Poder Judicial, del libre ejercicio de la abogacía, de una Fiscalía que ajuste su actividad a criterios técnico-jurídicos y no políticos, y del restablecimiento de los colegios de abogados.
Porque debo decir que en nuestro país, a pesar de que esas instituciones databan de 1840, los colegios de abogados fueron objeto primeramente de una llamada “toma revolucionaria” que permitió echar a un lado a sus directivas democráticamente electas, y después fueron simplemente disueltos.
Tras varios lustros sin contar con alguna institución que los representase siquiera formalmente, los hombres de leyes cubanos tuvieron la posibilidad de ingresar a la Unión Nacional de Juristas, institución que, debido a su carácter declaradamente gobiernista, jamás ha podido contar en sus filas con la totalidad de los letrados del país, y que, aunque es formalmente autónoma, en realidad fue creada por el régimen totalitario a su imagen y semejanza, con el único fin de institucionalizar el supuesto apoyo de la clase togada al sistema castrista.
También existe la Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos (ONBC), que encuadra a todos los que ejercen la abogacía, ya que en la Cuba actual está terminantemente prohibido desde 1974 el libre ejercicio de nuestra libre profesión.
La falta de legitimación de esas dos instituciones para que se las pueda considerar como verdaderas representantes de los juristas cubanos, se pone de manifiesto en un hecho objetivo irrebatible: no se conoce ni un solo caso en que una o la otra hayan levantado su voz para defender a un compañero injustamente perseguido; y conste que no han faltado ocasiones para ello: hasta donde sé, nuestra Patria ha tenido el triste privilegio de ser el único país cuyos hombres de leyes han sido objeto de una operación policial en toda regla, dedicada especialmente a ellos, en cuyo curso fueron arrestados, enjuiciados y sancionados a muchos años de prisión decenas y decenas de juristas de todo el país.
Este ataque masivo en contra de nuestra profesión recibió el sugestivo nombre de Operación Toga Sucia. Esta purga de corte estalinista tuvo otra faceta más: en 1984 fueron formalmente “disueltos” los bufetes colectivos hasta entonces existentes, y en su lugar fue “creada” una institución teóricamente “nueva”, a la cual los abogados en ejercicio se vieron obligados a “solicitar su ingreso”. Mediante esta treta, 110 de los cerca de 800 abogados en activo en aquella época fueron separados del ejercicio profesional.
Como “justificación” de este arbitrario despido masivo se esgrimió el argumento de que los “no admitidos” no llenaban el requisito establecido en el Decreto-Ley No. 81 de que el postulante tuviese “condiciones morales acordes con los principios de nuestra sociedad”. En la práctica, este eufemismo señala la obligación en que se encuentra el abogado cubano de poseer lo que en el argot castrista se denomina “integración revolucionaria”, que no es más que la aceptación expresa de las políticas del gobierno y del partido único, así como la pertenencia a las llamadas “organizaciones de masas”, que también apoyan al régimen que las creó, y en las cuales los ciudadanos son regimentados siguiendo criterios de vínculo laboral, vecindad, sexo, etcétera.
El mencionado Decreto-Ley sigue vigente hasta hoy, lo que ha servido para que los dirigentes de la ONBC nieguen la posibilidad de ejercer la abogacía a aquellos compañeros que no comulgan con el sistema o que simplemente no son de su agrado; además, es frecuente que aquellos que forman parte de esa organización y mantienen una actitud contestataria, sean expulsados de la misma, como en 1995 hicieron con el que les habla sin siquiera incoar el expediente disciplinario que manda la Ley.
Estas limitaciones llamarán más la atención si las contrastamos con el reducido número de juristas en activo. Se da la paradoja de que nuestro país, que es el de mayor cantidad per capita de médicos o deportistas en toda la América Latina, es al propio tiempo el de menor número de abogados. Se trata, indudablemente, de una secuela de aquellos tiempos no tan lejanos en que los personeros del actual régimen enarbolaban alegremente una consigna pasmosa: “¿Abogados para qué?”
Por lo demás, los agramontistas hemos denunciado la falta de independencia del aparato encargado de administrar justicia. Se trata no sólo de una realidad de hecho, sino también de una situación plasmada en las leyes y basada en criterios teóricos con los que no podemos comulgar: el actual régimen cubano rechaza expresamente la tripartición de poderes (que estuvo vigente desde el nacimiento de nuestra República en 1902) y enarbola en su lugar la concepción monista del Estado; de acuerdo con el artículo 121 de la vigente Constitución de la República, “los tribunales constituyen un sistema de órganos estatales, estructurado con independencia funcional de cualquier otro y subordinado jerárquicamente a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular y al Consejo de Estado”. No existen asociaciones profesionales de funcionarios judiciales.
En el plano económico, no es mucho mejor lo que puede decirse del sistema de trabajo profesional implantado por el régimen castrista; baste decir que muchos abogados perciben salarios inferiores a los de trabajadores administrativos, y los mejor pagados reciben emolumentos que, cambiados en las casas autorizadas al efecto, equivalen a unos veinte o treinta dólares al mes. Repito el dato para los que tal vez piensen que he sufrido un lapsus linguae: nuestros colegas mejor pagados perciben menos de un dólar al día.
Toda esta triste realidad, así como la actitud de la Unión Nacional de Juristas y de la Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos (que jamás han expresado una crítica, sino que se han limitado a aplaudir y apoyar las medidas del régimen), constituyen la razón de ser de nuestro movimiento agramontista, el cual ni siquiera está organizado formalmente, ya que la solicitud hecha al amparo de la vigente Ley de Asociaciones hace ya más de quince años para constituir la Unión Agramontista de Cuba no ha sido respondida hasta hoy…
Esto no ha impedido que hayamos efectuado encuentros, realizado estudios jurídicos y redactado varios memoriales en los cuales hemos solicitado a las autoridades del país el restablecimiento del libre ejercicio de la abogacía y la independencia de la Administración de Justicia, una amplia amnistía para los presos políticos y algunos otros, reformas legislativas, etcétera.
También hemos editado nuestro boletín, el último número del cual (el 6) vio la luz a fines del pasado mes de agosto. Desde luego, aquellos de nosotros que en uno u otro momento hemos estado en aptitud legal para ello, hemos continuado defendiendo a nuestros hermanos opositores y activistas de derechos humanos.
También hemos tenido el honor de ser la única agrupación de juristas cubanos radicados en la Isla que ha solicitado el cese de la persecución contra compañeros nuestros víctimas de hostigamiento y represión, en especial de los que han sido arbitrariamente encarcelados. Y debo decir que no alcanzan los dedos de una mano para contar a los juristas miembros de la Corriente Agramontista que hemos estado privados de libertad durante años en uno u otro período.
Permítanme por ello que, como primera petición, les dirija la de que expresen su solidaridad con el colega que en estos momentos más necesita de ella, el abogado agramontista Rolando Jiménez Pozada, quien permanece injustamente encarcelado en la Prisión de El Guayabo, en su natal Isla de la Juventud, desde abril de 2003 y a quien a principios del presente año, tras un juicio amañado en el que no le permitieron defenderse a sí mismo (como lo autorizan las actuales leyes cubanas) y en el cual él ni siquiera estuvo presente, fue sancionado a doce años de privación de libertad. Casi está de más decir que cualquier apoyo que ustedes puedan brindarle a él y a los restantes presos políticos cubanos será motivo de nuestro reconocimiento más sincero.
Distinguidos amigos: Quisiera que me permitieran dedicar este premio a aquellos que más han sufrido y sufren por su activismo pacífico en pro de la democratización de Cuba y del respeto de los derechos humanos de sus ciudadanos: los presos políticos y de conciencia. Son ellos (los que integran el tristemente célebre Grupo de los 75 y todos los demás) quienes deben estar primordialmente en las mentes de nosotros, sus compañeros de lucha pacífica, y me sentiría muy reconfortado si mis palabras sirvieran para reafirmar la actitud solidaria que sé que ustedes han manifestado sistemáticamente y continúan manifestando hacia todos los que en el mundo son víctimas de la persecución y la violación de los derechos humanos.
Mesdames et messieurs, à la fin de mon message, je vous prie de me permettre de prononcer quelques mots en français.
Premièrement, je veux le faire afin de rendre hommage en sa belle langue à ce grand citoyen de la France, de l’Europe et du Monde dont le Prix qui vient d’être livré à mon représentant porte le nom illustre. L’œuvre immense faite par Ludovic Trarieux en luttant contre l’injustice et le racisme et en créant avec succès la première organisation de défense des droits humains, cette véritable épopée mérite le souvenir de tous les hommes et les femmes de bonne volonté, maintenant et toujours; donc je remplie un véritable devoir en présentant mes hommages à sa mémoire glorieuse.
Deuxièmement, je veux le faire afin de souligner le grand honneur que le décernement du prestigieux Prix International Ludovic Trarieux constitue pour moi, pour mes collègues de la Corriente Agramontista et pour tous mes compatriotes qui luttent d’une façon pacifique pour le respect des droits humains et pour le triomphe de la démocratie à Cuba.
Troisièmement, je voudrais vous prier encore une fois de ne pas oublier le juriste Rolando Jiménez Pozada et les autres trentaines de prisonniers de conscience cubains, qui souffrent maintenant dans les geôles de mon pays dans des conditions terribles. Mes amis et moi, nous sommes sûrs que vous continuerez de leur accorder votre solidarité et votre appui.*
Merci beaucoup à vous tous!
¡Muchas gracias!
* Señoras y señores, para terminar mi mensaje, les ruego que me permitan pronunciar algunas palabras en francés.
En primer lugar, quiero hacerlo a fin de rendir homenaje en su bello idioma a ese gran ciudadano de Francia, de Europa y del Mundo cuyo nombre ilustre lleva el Premio que acaba de serle entregado a mi representante. La obra inmensa realizada por Ludovic Trarieux al luchar contra la injusticia y el racismo y al crear con éxito la primera organización de defensa de los derechos humanos, esa verdadera epopeya merece el recuerdo de todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad, ahora y siempre; por lo tanto, cumplo un verdadero deber al rendirle homenaje a su gloriosa memoria.
En segundo lugar, deseo hacerlo a fin de subrayar el gran honor que el otorgamiento del prestigioso Premio Internacional Ludovic Trarieux representa para mí, para mis colegas de la Corriente Agramontista y para todos mis compatriotas que luchan pacíficamente en pro del respeto de los derechos humanos y del triunfo de la democracia en Cuba.
En tercer lugar, quisiera pedirles una vez más que no se olviden del jurista Rolando Jiménez Pozada ni de las otras treintenas de prisioneros de conciencia cubanos, que sufren actualmente en las cárceles de mi país en condiciones terribles. Mis amigos y yo estamos seguros que ustedes continuarán brindándoles vuestra solidaridad y vuestro apoyo.
¡Muchas gracias a todos ustedes!
2007-10-19
Ilustres dignatarios y personalidades presentes en este acto de premiación,
Integrantes del Jurado Internacional del Premio Ludovic Trarieux,
Distinguidos colegas,
Señoras y 
señores,
señores,Queridos amigos:
Desde luego, hubiera preferido poder hacerlo personalmente, pero si esta grabación es proyectada en la ceremonia de entrega del premio, ello significará que esa posibilidad me estuvo vedada por el contumaz inmovilismo del régimen totalitario cubano, el cual se ufana de autodefinirse como una dictadura, mantiene las normas constitucionales que consagran el papel dirigente del partido único sobre el conjunto de la sociedad y del Estado y no sólo ha borrado de sus textos supralegales toda alusión al derecho de los nacionales a entrar y salir libremente del Territorio Nacional, sino que se arroga de hecho la facultad de autorizar o no cualquier viaje de sus súbditos al extranjero, lo que implica que se comporta como si los ciudadanos fuesen una especie de esclavos o siervos de la gleba que sólo pueden hacer aquello que su señor les autoriza graciosamente.
Por desgracia, así ha sucedido en mi caso, pues a pesar del apoyo generoso que me prestaron el señor Presidente y los miembros del Jurado, todas esas gestiones han resultado ahora baldías, en razón de la negativa del nuevo equipo gobernante del país, encabezado hace ya algo más de un año por el hermano menor del dirigente histórico de casi medio siglo, a otorgar a tiempo el “permiso de salida” que se requería para que yo pudiese viajar a recibir el premio personalmente.
Por consiguiente, puedo afirmar que mi ausencia de esa ceremonia constituye una prueba más de la triste realidad que vive hoy nuestra Patria, que, pese a los preocupantes acontecimientos acaecidos en los últimos años en la fraterna República de Venezuela, continúa siendo en puridad el único país del Hemisferio Occidental que no disfruta de una democracia representativa y pluralista, en el cual no se respetan los derechos humanos internacionalmente reconocidos y el que —por añadidura— se encuentra sumido en una profundísima crisis.
Señoras y señores: Estas palabras mías no deben ser muy largas, teniendo en cuenta que en este acto de premiación debe hacer uso de la palabra en mi nombre el señor Juan Escandell Ramírez. A él y al colega europeo que deberá acompañarlo los he autorizado para que uno de ambos, indistintamente, acepte en mi nombre el prestigioso premio internacional que me ha sido otorgado, así como para que reciba las constancias de su otorgamiento.
A pesar de esa necesaria brevedad, debo decir que en mi país es notable la labor de los centenares de organizaciones que de un modo u otro luchan en pro del respeto de los derechos humanos, pese a la intensa represión desatada contra ellas por el régimen totalitario, que ha convertido a Cuba —no obstante su población relativamente pequeña— en el país occidental con mayor número de presos de conciencia en el mundo.
Todas esas organizaciones, en algunos casos sin estar conscientes de ello, son seguidoras y continuadoras de la obra inmortal de Ludovic Trarieux, cuya memoria es perpetuada ahora en este galardón que tanto prestigio ha venido adquiriendo desde que hace ya más de dos décadas le fuera otorgado por vez primera al valeroso luchador anti-apartheid Nelson Mandela.
Creo que es justo y necesario decir que este premio que se me ha otorgado constituye también un reconocimiento a la notable labor desplegada por todas esas entidades contestatarias cubanas, a todo lo largo y ancho de nuestro archipiélago.
Quisiera aprovechar esta ocasión para mencionar específicamente a la mayor agrupación de organizaciones independientes de nuestro país, la Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil, que en mayo de 2005 llevó a cabo en nuestra capital el histórico primer congreso de demócratas cubanos. Me siento honrado por haber sido y seguir siendo uno de los tres miembros del Ejecutivo de esa coalición.
También considero un honor haber presidido, desde su fundación y hasta la actualidad, una de las más de tres centenares y medio de organizaciones que integran la mencionada Asamblea: como seguramente ustedes habrán imaginado, me estoy refiriendo a la Corriente Agramontista, una agrupación de abogados independientes de la que forman parte actualmente en suelo cubano una veintena de juristas aproximadamente, a los cuales habría que sumar varias decenas más que se han visto obligados a emigrar por la represión del régimen totalitario.
Nuestra pequeña Corriente, cuyo nombre se deriva del apellido del ilustre abogado, libertador y mártir de la independencia cubana Ignacio Agramonte, caído gloriosamente en combate contra las fuerzas colonialistas en 1873, puede enorgullecerse de ser la única agrupación de juristas que lucha expresamente en nuestro suelo en pro del establecimiento del Estado de Derecho en Cuba, de la independencia del Poder Judicial, del libre ejercicio de la abogacía, de una Fiscalía que ajuste su actividad a criterios técnico-jurídicos y no políticos, y del restablecimiento de los colegios de abogados.
Porque debo decir que en nuestro país, a pesar de que esas instituciones databan de 1840, los colegios de abogados fueron objeto primeramente de una llamada “toma revolucionaria” que permitió echar a un lado a sus directivas democráticamente electas, y después fueron simplemente disueltos.
Tras varios lustros sin contar con alguna institución que los representase siquiera formalmente, los hombres de leyes cubanos tuvieron la posibilidad de ingresar a la Unión Nacional de Juristas, institución que, debido a su carácter declaradamente gobiernista, jamás ha podido contar en sus filas con la totalidad de los letrados del país, y que, aunque es formalmente autónoma, en realidad fue creada por el régimen totalitario a su imagen y semejanza, con el único fin de institucionalizar el supuesto apoyo de la clase togada al sistema castrista.
También existe la Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos (ONBC), que encuadra a todos los que ejercen la abogacía, ya que en la Cuba actual está terminantemente prohibido desde 1974 el libre ejercicio de nuestra libre profesión.
La falta de legitimación de esas dos instituciones para que se las pueda considerar como verdaderas representantes de los juristas cubanos, se pone de manifiesto en un hecho objetivo irrebatible: no se conoce ni un solo caso en que una o la otra hayan levantado su voz para defender a un compañero injustamente perseguido; y conste que no han faltado ocasiones para ello: hasta donde sé, nuestra Patria ha tenido el triste privilegio de ser el único país cuyos hombres de leyes han sido objeto de una operación policial en toda regla, dedicada especialmente a ellos, en cuyo curso fueron arrestados, enjuiciados y sancionados a muchos años de prisión decenas y decenas de juristas de todo el país.
Este ataque masivo en contra de nuestra profesión recibió el sugestivo nombre de Operación Toga Sucia. Esta purga de corte estalinista tuvo otra faceta más: en 1984 fueron formalmente “disueltos” los bufetes colectivos hasta entonces existentes, y en su lugar fue “creada” una institución teóricamente “nueva”, a la cual los abogados en ejercicio se vieron obligados a “solicitar su ingreso”. Mediante esta treta, 110 de los cerca de 800 abogados en activo en aquella época fueron separados del ejercicio profesional.
Como “justificación” de este arbitrario despido masivo se esgrimió el argumento de que los “no admitidos” no llenaban el requisito establecido en el Decreto-Ley No. 81 de que el postulante tuviese “condiciones morales acordes con los principios de nuestra sociedad”. En la práctica, este eufemismo señala la obligación en que se encuentra el abogado cubano de poseer lo que en el argot castrista se denomina “integración revolucionaria”, que no es más que la aceptación expresa de las políticas del gobierno y del partido único, así como la pertenencia a las llamadas “organizaciones de masas”, que también apoyan al régimen que las creó, y en las cuales los ciudadanos son regimentados siguiendo criterios de vínculo laboral, vecindad, sexo, etcétera.
El mencionado Decreto-Ley sigue vigente hasta hoy, lo que ha servido para que los dirigentes de la ONBC nieguen la posibilidad de ejercer la abogacía a aquellos compañeros que no comulgan con el sistema o que simplemente no son de su agrado; además, es frecuente que aquellos que forman parte de esa organización y mantienen una actitud contestataria, sean expulsados de la misma, como en 1995 hicieron con el que les habla sin siquiera incoar el expediente disciplinario que manda la Ley.
Estas limitaciones llamarán más la atención si las contrastamos con el reducido número de juristas en activo. Se da la paradoja de que nuestro país, que es el de mayor cantidad per capita de médicos o deportistas en toda la América Latina, es al propio tiempo el de menor número de abogados. Se trata, indudablemente, de una secuela de aquellos tiempos no tan lejanos en que los personeros del actual régimen enarbolaban alegremente una consigna pasmosa: “¿Abogados para qué?”
Por lo demás, los agramontistas hemos denunciado la falta de independencia del aparato encargado de administrar justicia. Se trata no sólo de una realidad de hecho, sino también de una situación plasmada en las leyes y basada en criterios teóricos con los que no podemos comulgar: el actual régimen cubano rechaza expresamente la tripartición de poderes (que estuvo vigente desde el nacimiento de nuestra República en 1902) y enarbola en su lugar la concepción monista del Estado; de acuerdo con el artículo 121 de la vigente Constitución de la República, “los tribunales constituyen un sistema de órganos estatales, estructurado con independencia funcional de cualquier otro y subordinado jerárquicamente a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular y al Consejo de Estado”. No existen asociaciones profesionales de funcionarios judiciales.
En el plano económico, no es mucho mejor lo que puede decirse del sistema de trabajo profesional implantado por el régimen castrista; baste decir que muchos abogados perciben salarios inferiores a los de trabajadores administrativos, y los mejor pagados reciben emolumentos que, cambiados en las casas autorizadas al efecto, equivalen a unos veinte o treinta dólares al mes. Repito el dato para los que tal vez piensen que he sufrido un lapsus linguae: nuestros colegas mejor pagados perciben menos de un dólar al día.
Toda esta triste realidad, así como la actitud de la Unión Nacional de Juristas y de la Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos (que jamás han expresado una crítica, sino que se han limitado a aplaudir y apoyar las medidas del régimen), constituyen la razón de ser de nuestro movimiento agramontista, el cual ni siquiera está organizado formalmente, ya que la solicitud hecha al amparo de la vigente Ley de Asociaciones hace ya más de quince años para constituir la Unión Agramontista de Cuba no ha sido respondida hasta hoy…
Esto no ha impedido que hayamos efectuado encuentros, realizado estudios jurídicos y redactado varios memoriales en los cuales hemos solicitado a las autoridades del país el restablecimiento del libre ejercicio de la abogacía y la independencia de la Administración de Justicia, una amplia amnistía para los presos políticos y algunos otros, reformas legislativas, etcétera.
También hemos editado nuestro boletín, el último número del cual (el 6) vio la luz a fines del pasado mes de agosto. Desde luego, aquellos de nosotros que en uno u otro momento hemos estado en aptitud legal para ello, hemos continuado defendiendo a nuestros hermanos opositores y activistas de derechos humanos.
También hemos tenido el honor de ser la única agrupación de juristas cubanos radicados en la Isla que ha solicitado el cese de la persecución contra compañeros nuestros víctimas de hostigamiento y represión, en especial de los que han sido arbitrariamente encarcelados. Y debo decir que no alcanzan los dedos de una mano para contar a los juristas miembros de la Corriente Agramontista que hemos estado privados de libertad durante años en uno u otro período.
Permítanme por ello que, como primera petición, les dirija la de que expresen su solidaridad con el colega que en estos momentos más necesita de ella, el abogado agramontista Rolando Jiménez Pozada, quien permanece injustamente encarcelado en la Prisión de El Guayabo, en su natal Isla de la Juventud, desde abril de 2003 y a quien a principios del presente año, tras un juicio amañado en el que no le permitieron defenderse a sí mismo (como lo autorizan las actuales leyes cubanas) y en el cual él ni siquiera estuvo presente, fue sancionado a doce años de privación de libertad. Casi está de más decir que cualquier apoyo que ustedes puedan brindarle a él y a los restantes presos políticos cubanos será motivo de nuestro reconocimiento más sincero.
Distinguidos amigos: Quisiera que me permitieran dedicar este premio a aquellos que más han sufrido y sufren por su activismo pacífico en pro de la democratización de Cuba y del respeto de los derechos humanos de sus ciudadanos: los presos políticos y de conciencia. Son ellos (los que integran el tristemente célebre Grupo de los 75 y todos los demás) quienes deben estar primordialmente en las mentes de nosotros, sus compañeros de lucha pacífica, y me sentiría muy reconfortado si mis palabras sirvieran para reafirmar la actitud solidaria que sé que ustedes han manifestado sistemáticamente y continúan manifestando hacia todos los que en el mundo son víctimas de la persecución y la violación de los derechos humanos.
Mesdames et messieurs, à la fin de mon message, je vous prie de me permettre de prononcer quelques mots en français.
Premièrement, je veux le faire afin de rendre hommage en sa belle langue à ce grand citoyen de la France, de l’Europe et du Monde dont le Prix qui vient d’être livré à mon représentant porte le nom illustre. L’œuvre immense faite par Ludovic Trarieux en luttant contre l’injustice et le racisme et en créant avec succès la première organisation de défense des droits humains, cette véritable épopée mérite le souvenir de tous les hommes et les femmes de bonne volonté, maintenant et toujours; donc je remplie un véritable devoir en présentant mes hommages à sa mémoire glorieuse.
Deuxièmement, je veux le faire afin de souligner le grand honneur que le décernement du prestigieux Prix International Ludovic Trarieux constitue pour moi, pour mes collègues de la Corriente Agramontista et pour tous mes compatriotes qui luttent d’une façon pacifique pour le respect des droits humains et pour le triomphe de la démocratie à Cuba.
Troisièmement, je voudrais vous prier encore une fois de ne pas oublier le juriste Rolando Jiménez Pozada et les autres trentaines de prisonniers de conscience cubains, qui souffrent maintenant dans les geôles de mon pays dans des conditions terribles. Mes amis et moi, nous sommes sûrs que vous continuerez de leur accorder votre solidarité et votre appui.*
Merci beaucoup à vous tous!
¡Muchas gracias!
* Señoras y señores, para terminar mi mensaje, les ruego que me permitan pronunciar algunas palabras en francés.
En primer lugar, quiero hacerlo a fin de rendir homenaje en su bello idioma a ese gran ciudadano de Francia, de Europa y del Mundo cuyo nombre ilustre lleva el Premio que acaba de serle entregado a mi representante. La obra inmensa realizada por Ludovic Trarieux al luchar contra la injusticia y el racismo y al crear con éxito la primera organización de defensa de los derechos humanos, esa verdadera epopeya merece el recuerdo de todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad, ahora y siempre; por lo tanto, cumplo un verdadero deber al rendirle homenaje a su gloriosa memoria.
En segundo lugar, deseo hacerlo a fin de subrayar el gran honor que el otorgamiento del prestigioso Premio Internacional Ludovic Trarieux representa para mí, para mis colegas de la Corriente Agramontista y para todos mis compatriotas que luchan pacíficamente en pro del respeto de los derechos humanos y del triunfo de la democracia en Cuba.
En tercer lugar, quisiera pedirles una vez más que no se olviden del jurista Rolando Jiménez Pozada ni de las otras treintenas de prisioneros de conciencia cubanos, que sufren actualmente en las cárceles de mi país en condiciones terribles. Mis amigos y yo estamos seguros que ustedes continuarán brindándoles vuestra solidaridad y vuestro apoyo.
¡Muchas gracias a todos ustedes!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
PROPONEN MEDALLA PRESIDENCIAL PARA OSCAR ELIAS BISCET GONZALEZ
LiberPress- Martí Noticias- 14 de octubre de 2007 -
"El doctor Biscet representa la Cuba del futuro, pero también la Cuba de hoy ya que su gran sufrimiento en las cárceles castristas simboliza todo lo malo de ese despiadado régimen," dijo Ros-Lehtinen. 
La Medalla Presidencial de Libertad es uno de los dos honores civiles más altos en los Estados Unidos, y reconoce a personas que han aportado una contribución especialmente meritoria a la seguridad o intereses nacionales de los Estados Unidos, la paz mundial, o cualquier otro empeño significativo público o privado.
La congresista cubanoamericana Ileana Ros-Lehtinen pidió al presidente George W. Bush que le concediera la Medalla Presidencial de Libertad al preso político cubano, doctor Oscar Elías Biscet.
"El doctor Biscet representa la Cuba del futuro, pero también la Cuba de hoy ya que su gran sufrimiento en las cárceles castristas simboliza todo lo malo de ese despiadado régimen," dijo Ros-Lehtinen. 
La Medalla Presidencial de Libertad es uno de los dos honores civiles más altos en los Estados Unidos, y reconoce a personas que han aportado una contribución especialmente meritoria a la seguridad o intereses nacionales de los Estados Unidos, la paz mundial, o cualquier otro empeño significativo público o privado.
También le llevaría un mensaje de esperanza a los cientos de presos políticos que se encuentran en las cárceles castristas, diciéndoles que estamos en total solidaridad con sus esfuerzos en traer la democracia y la libertad a Cuba, puntualizó Ros-Lehtinen.
Galardonados notables de la Medalla Presidencial de Libertad incluyen a otros luchadores como Vaclav Havel, al Papa Juan Pablo II, y Aung San Suu Kyi.
______________________________________________
Credit:
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Distribuye © LiberPress - Contenidos & Noticias http://liberpress.blogspot.com - liberpress@gmail.com
Visite Los Especiales de LiberPress: http://especialesliberpress.blogspot.com y Cuba Represión: http://cubarepresion.blogspot.com
NOTE: The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States and is bestowed by the President of the United States (the other award which is considered its equivalent is the Congressional Gold Medal, which is bestowed by an act of Congress). It is designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
PRESIDENT BUSH RECOGNIZES WIFE OF CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONER IN STATEMENT MADE IN HONOR OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH - OCTOBER 10, 2007
(Note: In his remarks, President George Bush recognized Yamile Llanes Labrada, wife of Cuban political prisoner, Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque. (see remarks in bold). Upon learning that Yamile was in Washington to present the case of her husband to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, the President requested to meet with her privately and spoke with her and her daughter, Shirlen, about Dr. Paneque's situation. Also present at that meeting was Mrs. Laida Carro, President of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women.)WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
The following statement by President Bush was released today by the White House.
Rose Garden
3:11 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Sientese. Gracias. Bienvenidos a la Casa Blanca, también el jardín de las rosas. It's a beautiful day. I'm glad you're here. Thanks for coming as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Every year at this time, we recognize the rich cultural traditions of the Hispanic American community -- and the great contributions of Hispanic Americans to our country and our character. That's why we're here.
I appreciate so very much Ambassador Sue Schwab, who is the U.S. Trade Representative, for joining us. We're proud you're here, Madam Ambassador. I'm going to say something positive about trade, so I'm glad you came. I appreciate my friend, my dear friend, former Attorney General of the United States, Al Gonzales. (Applause.) I appreciate Anna Cabral, U.S. Treasurer, and Victor. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) I'm proud that other members of my administration have joined us. Sarah, it's good to see you; thank you for being here.
I thank my friend, Emilio Estefan, who has provided the entertainment. I'm going to say something about the entertainment a little later, but Israel, we're glad you're here. I appreciate the members of the Diplomatic Corps; I appreciate the ambassadors coming. We're proud you're here. Thanks for taking time.
I have just met a remarkable woman that I want to introduce to you: Yamile Llanes Labrada, and her daughter, Shirlen Garcia, have joined me in the Oval Office. Yamile is the wife of a political prisoner in Cuba, Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque. The doctor was a plastic surgeon. He did nothing more than advocate for freedom. And he's now in prison. And not only is he in prison, he's ill. And so one of the messages I have for the Cuban leader is, free this man, and free other political prisoners. He's not a threat to you. Let him be reunited with a woman who loves him dearly, and his four children. So, Yamile, thanks for coming. We're proud you're here. (Applause.) Sure glad you're here. Y que Dios les bendiga a su familia y tambien su esposo.
Citizens of Hispanic descent are the fastest-growing population in America. Hispanic Americans strengthen our nation with their commitments to familia y fe. Hispanic Americans enrich our country with their talents and creativity and hard work. Hispanic Americans are living the dream that has drawn millions to our shores -- and we must ensure that the American Dream remains available for all. It's an important part of our past, and it's a central part of our future that people from all walks of life feel welcomed and given the opportunity to realize the blessings of America.
Realizing the promise of this good country requires a good education. You know, I worked hard with Republicans and Democrats to pass what's called the No Child Left Behind Act. That's an important piece of legislation because it raises standards, and it holds schools to account. And the law is working. It's a good piece of legislation. It's working because I can report to you that last month we saw the results from what's called the Nation's Report Card. The report card showed record performance in 4th and 8th grade math and 4th grade reading. And the report showed that Hispanic students scored all-time highs in a number of areas. And so we need to build on that progress. It's good that we've got a good report card; we want excellent report cards for every child.
I met yesterday with civil rights leaders. See, I believe a good education is a civil right. And we talked about how we can work together to make sure the No Child Left Behind Act is not only reauthorized, but is made stronger. The Congress needs to make sure we don't lower standards. Congress needs to make sure we raise standards and hold people to account, so that every child, every child can learn in the United States of America. (Applause.)
Realizing the promise of America requires a growing economy. Last week, we got more good news on this front. The economy added 110,000 new jobs in September, giving us 49 straight months of job growth -- and that's a new record. We are now enjoying the longest period of uninterrupted job creation in the history of the United States. The growing economy is the result of good policies, like low taxes, but it's also mainly the result of hard work of workers and entrepreneurs, including hundreds of thousands of Latino business owners.
And so to keep the economy growing, we've got to make sure we don't raise your taxes. And to keep the economy growing, we've got to open new markets for goods and services. One of the most important markets is in our own hemisphere. Many Hispanic-owned businesses in our country depend on trade with Latin America. Trade with the region strengthens ties of friendship and commerce. Free trade helps our neighbors prosper. And so to expand trade with Latin America, we negotiated, and Congress approved, a free trade agreement with five Central American countries, as well as the Dominican Republic. And this agreement is working, it's helped American workers. It's new markets for products made here -- right here in the United States. And it's helped our neighbors. We want everybody to do well in our neighborhood. We want prosperity to abound.
And that's why we've negotiated new free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia and Panama. For the sake of businesses and sake of our workers, and for the sake of prosperity in the neighborhood, the United States Congress needs to approve these three very important trade agreements. (Applause.)
Realizing the promise of the country requires strong communities, where people care for each other in times of need. Yamile found help in the United States from people who care about the condition of her husband. A total stranger that didn't know Yamile before she came to the United States said, how can I help you; what can I do? That happens all across our country when Hispanic Americans run soup kitchens and drug treatment clinics and hear the call -- God's call -- to love our neighbors as we'd like to be loved ourself.
We see this spirit in Hispanic Americans who volunteer as Little League coaches, or serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, or give their time and energy to improve the lives of people that live across the street from them. By caring for others, Hispanic Americans make ours a better and more compassionate nation -- and America appreciates the example they set.
Finally, realizing the promise of America requires a secure country. We honor the many Hispanic Americans who wear the uniform here at home -- the police, and firefighters, and emergency rescue personnel who risk their lives each day to protect our homeland and our communities. And we honor the 200,000 Hispanic Americans who serve in our Armed Forces -- who are working to spread liberty so we can be secure here in America; who are doing the hard work today so our children and grandchildren can grow up in peace. I appreciate the fact that they have volunteered in a time of danger, and I'm proud to welcome members of the United States military with us today. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
So during Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the diversity that makes our country stronger -- and the heritage and the spirit that Hispanic Americans bring to this great democracy. To help us celebrate the heritage and spirit, we have an incredible talent: "Cachao." He was born in Havana only in 1918. That was before my time. During the late 1930s, he helped popularize the mambo, and over the past half century he has won a lot of Grammy Awards -- most recently in 2005, believe it or not. So if you do the math, you can figure out this man hasn't stopped working. (Laughter.) He's still clicking, and he's still making good music. And so we're proud to welcome Israel Lopez, better known as "Cachao," to here -- to the White House. Thank you for coming. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: I know you'll join me in thanking Cachao for coming. Guess when the first he was here -- 1948 he played for President Harry Truman. (Applause.) Welcome back. (Applause.) We're sure glad you're here. Thank you all for coming. I want you to say hello to Yamile again, una mas vez. (Applause.) We certainly pray for the speedy release of your husband, and we're glad you're here at the White House.
No better place to come and recognize the great beauty of freedom. We want to thank you all for joining us as we celebrate the great diversity and freedom of the United States. Que Dios les bendiga.
______________________________________
SOURCE White House Press Office
Contact: White House Press Office, +1-202-456-2580
Photos: Courtesy of the White House
COALITION OF CUBAN-AMERICAN WOMEN PRESIDENT SPEAKS AT THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Shortly after the arrest of 75
dissidents in March, 2003 in Cuba, members of the Cuban-American Bar Association (CABA) and the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio Democrático Cubano) presented information about the arrests to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. A follow-up panel requested by the Commission took place on October 10, 2007. Mrs. Laida Carro (representing Directorio) and Yamile Llanes Labrada, wife of Cuban prisoner of conscience, Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, traveled to Washington for the audience before the Commission.
During the 45-minute presentation, Mrs. Carro, who serves as president of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women, relayed recent information obtained directly form Cuba on the condition of the many prisoners who are gravely ill and subjected to extremely inhumane prison conditions. Following her report, Ms. Llanes Labrada gave a poignant account on her husband's condition as well as the impact his incarceration has had on her family. (She and her four children now live in Texas.) Finally, the Commissioners viewed a video in which two former political prisoners spoke about their experience in Cuban prisons.
To hear / view the presentation given to the Commissioners on October 10, 2007, click on the following link:
130 Per�odo Ordinario de Sesiones de la Comisi�n Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (8 al 19 de octubre de 2007)
At the bottom of the page, look for a drop box and choose the date of the presentation:
miercoles 10 de octubre de 2007
Then, click on either the audio file or the video file for:
Caso 12.476 - Oscar Elías Biscet y otros, Cuba (Seguimiento de recomendaciones)
(Note: The panel presentation is conducted in Spanish.)
During the 45-minute presentation, Mrs. Carro, who serves as president of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women, relayed recent information obtained directly form Cuba on the condition of the many prisoners who are gravely ill and subjected to extremely inhumane prison conditions. Following her report, Ms. Llanes Labrada gave a poignant account on her husband's condition as well as the impact his incarceration has had on her family. (She and her four children now live in Texas.) Finally, the Commissioners viewed a video in which two former political prisoners spoke about their experience in Cuban prisons.
To hear / view the presentation given to the Commissioners on October 10, 2007, click on the following link:
130 Per�odo Ordinario de Sesiones de la Comisi�n Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (8 al 19 de octubre de 2007)
At the bottom of the page, look for a drop box and choose the date of the presentation:
miercoles 10 de octubre de 2007
Then, click on either the audio file or the video file for:
Caso 12.476 - Oscar Elías Biscet y otros, Cuba (Seguimiento de recomendaciones)
(Note: The panel presentation is conducted in Spanish.)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
TRIBUTE TO DRA. MORAVIA CAPO
On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, Dra. Moravia Capo, a longstanding and esteemed member of the Coalition of Cuban-American Women, passed away after a long illness. In her honor, we publish an interview she did with Dagoberto Valdés in "La Revista Vitral "(No 50) in May, 2002.¡Que descanse en paz, nuestra querida amiga y hermana!
Entrevista con Moravia Capó
Por Dagoberto Valdés
Dagoberto: Siempre recordada doctora: Sus memorias sobre nuestra querida ciudad de Pinar del Río ¿Recuerda lugares, hechos y nombres significativos? Su labor educativa.
Moravia: Querido Dago:Gracias por invitarme a escribir estas sencillas líneas, llenas de recuerdo y cariño, para esa“Revista Vitral” que con tanto profesionalismo y sentimiento patrio Usted dirige. Mi felicitación, extensiva a todos los que colaboran en las misma. Con mucho gusto voy a contestarle las preguntas que a través de la distancia, lejos de la Patria, pero con ella en el corazón, me hace Usted en su entrevista.¡Cuán dentro de mí llevo cada rinconcito de mi hermoso Terruño! ¡Mi querida Hospitalaria! Allí éramos una gran familia, creciendo junto al elevado pino y el pequeño arbusto de la guayabita del Pinar, la Alameda, la Calle Cuarteles, el parque de la Independencia, y tantos otros lugares que viven latentes en mi memoria. ¿Cómo olvidar mis 20 años de educadora en mi querido Pinar del Río?, en aquellos centros de Enseñanza: Academia Valella, Academia La Palma, Academia González, el González-Capó, la Escuela Normal para Maestros, en cuyas aulas, que eran templos de virtudes, que emanaban amor, recibí el cariño, la admiración y el respeto de mis alumnos. Jamás olvidaré a Teresita García de la Portilla, Sergito Geada entre otros, así como a aquellos alumnos, que en mi humilde hogar de la calle Vélez Caviedes, recibían mis clases de repaso para los exámenes de Matemática y Física.
Dagoberto: ¿Qué Virtudes y Actitudes considera que debe tener un buen educador?
Moravia: Recordemos la frase Martiana “Lo hizo maestro que es hacerlo creador”. El maestro es escultor de almas, sus enseñanzas tienen que estar llenas de amor. “La ley del éxito es la ternura y no hay autoridad más respetada que la que es dirigida con cariño”. El Educador debe enseñar con un método disciplinario que eduque con el ejemplo, una educación que lleve confianza, seguridad, integridad, respeto a los valores familiares y a la conservación de nuestras raíces patrias.
Dagoberto: ¿Qué relación establece entre educación, libertad y progreso de los pueblos?
Moravia: La educación nunca debe ser una sistemática discriminación de tipo ideológica-política, sino de capacitación y preparación para la vida, que promueva el pleno desarrollo de la personalidad, el respeto a los Derechos del Hombre y a las libertades fundamentales. El maestro nunca debe controlar la conciencia de la infancia y la juventud, sino impartir una educación en que se forjen hombres y mujeres preparados para triunfar en una sociedad con libertad : La educación es el único modo de llevar los pueblos al progreso y a ser fuertes y libres.
Dagoberto: ¿Qué cree Usted del pueblo cubano, de sus Virtudes, de sus defectos, de sus potencialidades para el futuro?
Moravia: El pueblo cubano, siempre fue un pueblo noble, amante de la libertad, como lo demostraron nuestros mambises de las gestas emancipadoras del 68 y el 95. Marchó siempre a la cabeza de los países de América Latina, pensando siempre en el engrandecimiento de la Nación. Sus hombres y mujeres se esforzaban por progresar, estudiando, preparándose para ser mejores ciudadanos.Es un pueblo con gran potencial para que esa Nación vuelva a formar parte de los países libres del mundo y nuestra gloriosa bandera pueda ondear libre y soberana como lo hizo hace cien años.
Dagoberto: ¿Qué aporte cree Usted que podrían ofrecer los educadores cubanos desde el aula para ese porvenir de la Patria?
Moravia: “Se ha dicho que educar es preparar el alma para la vida”. ¡Cierto es! ¿Pero cómo puede hacerse en las aulas en que no se respete el “Derecho a la Libertad de Cátedra”, donde el maestro tiene que repetir lo que se le ordena y se discrimina a los padres al no permitirle escoger el tipo de educación para sus hijos? El magisterio es sacerdocio y sacrificio, y si el educador está dispuesto a llevar a la mente de sus alumnos la verdadera historia de Cuba, no distorsionada, la realidad del pueblo cubano, entonces SÍ estará preparándolo para el porvenir de la patria.
Dagoberto: Una pregunta muy personal ¿Qué fuerza interna la mueve a entregarse a los demás y a trabajar para Cuba?
Moravia: El amor a la Patria, Dago, es como a Dios y a la madre, nos acompañan siempre, ningún lugar está lejos cuando vive en el corazón.Siempre pienso en Cuba: “Mi hermoso Saurio Verde”.Soy feliz trabajando y luchando por Cuba y su futuro. Siento gran alegría al poder servir a los demás, durante 50 años, lo hice en las aulas con mis queridos alumnos (Cuba, Nicaragua, Estados Unidos). Años para mí felices, doy gracias a Dios por la hermosa cosecha que me permitió sembrar.Mis médicos en el exilio, Dr. Gustavo Plasencia, Dr. Ceferino Milián, mi dentista Dr. Raúl Gómez de Molina Jr,, fueron mis alumnos, y me atienden con el cariño como si fuera a una madre.Tengo fe en el pueblo cubano y me mantiene viva la esperanza de un porvenir digno, hermoso y glorioso para mi Patria.
Dagoberto: Si le fuera dado soñar y diseñar el futuro de Cuba, ¿A qué líneas éticas, religiosas y cívicas, no dejaría Usted de integrar en ese proyecto de Cuba?
Moravia: El mensaje de Dios no puede estar ausente de la enseñanza futura de Cuba, tolerancia, comprensión, amistad entre los grupos étnicos y religiosos, respetando la libertad de conciencia, pensamiento, expresión.Programas, planes de estudios que formen hombres y mujeres dignos para triunfar en una sociedad llena de amor y libertad.
Dagoberto: Si Dios le permitiera encontrarse unos minutos con sus antiguos alumnos de Pinar del Río: ¿Qué le diría hoy la Profesora Moravia?
Moravia: Daría gracias al Señor por el encuentro, los abrazaría con gran cariño, les preguntaría si recuerdan mis frases como cuando les decía:¡Muchachos!“El saber no ocupa lugar, pero para ocupar un lugar hay que saber”.¡Qué amen y defiendan a su Patria, y que luchen para que puedan vivir en libertad!
Dagoberto: ¿Desearía compartir algo más con los lectores de “Vitral”?
Moravia: Mi gratitud a la “Revista Vitral”, pues a través de ella y de sus hermosos artículos, me siento más cerca de mi bella ciudad pinareña y de Ustedes lectores de Vitral.¡Qué el Señor os bendiga!
Un abrazo de Moravia Capó
6 de mayo de 2002
Biográfica de Moravia Capó:
Nació en Pinar del Río. Hizo sus estudios en la Escuela Normal para Maestros, el Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza y el doctorado en la Universidad de La Habana. Cincuenta años ininterrumpidos dedicados a la enseñanza. Veinte años en Cuba: Academia Valella, Academia La Palma, Instituto González-Capó y la Escuela Normal para Maestros.Salió de Cuba en 1967, dirigiéndose a Nicaragua. En Nicaragua en el Departamento de Estelí, fue Vice-directora y profesora de Matemática y Física en el Instituto Río Piedras, donde crea un programa para becas para estudiantes de pocos recursos económicos. En 1974 se traslada a Miami para continuar sus acividades docentes, ejerciendo las mismas en la Saint Thomas University Riverside School, y en Baldor School, entre otras. Hoy retirada de la educación, continúa en sus muchas actividades cívicas y comunitarias.En mayo de 1990 fue elegida Presidenta Nacional de los Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio, primera mujer en ocupar esa posición. En años anteriores había sido presidenta del Municipio de Pinar del Río por 4 años, y presidenta de la provincia de Pinar del Río por 1 año. También fue presidenta de las Mujeres Municipalistas por 2 años. Vice-presidenta del Cuban Women’s Club por 2 años. En mayo de 1991 recibió un reconocimiento por su trabajo « El Futuro de la Educación en Cuba». Desde 1993 hasta el presente, es presidenta de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos de los Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio, con una extensa participación en diferentes foros, principalmente, en las Naciones Unidas en Ginebra.Actualmente es: Vice-presidenta de la Unidad Cubana, Presidenta de la Vocalía Patriótica y Cultural de las Mujeres Universitarias y Presidenta de Honor de las Mujeres Municipalistas.Ha recibido muchos honores y reconocimientos de diferentes organizaciones, así como de la ciudad de Miami y el estado de la Florida, entre estos el haber sido seleccionada por la revista Times de Nueva York entre la Mujeres Hispanas Notables de los Estados Unidos, y el más reciente, el premio Colegio Nacional de Profesores Cubano-americanos, mayo del 2002.
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Source of interview and biographical information: http://baracuteycubano.blogspot.com/2007/09/murio-moravia-capo-destacada-maestra-y.html
SALVADORIAN LEADERS OFFER THEIR SOLIDARITY TO THE CUBAN OPPOSITION
Cuban Democratic Directorate
San Salvador, September 26, 2007.
San Salvador, September 26, 2007.
During a visit to the city of San Salvador on September 19th, Salvadorian political leaders, and particularly members of the ARENA party, offered their support for the Cuban internal opposition and pro-democracy exile organizations in their struggle for change in Cuba. Laida Carro, from the Coalition of Cuban American Women, Pedro Peñaranda of Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio, and Calixto Navarro of the Cuban Democratic Directorate met with Miguel Tomás and José Mauricio Gutiérrez, Executive Director of the National Council and Administrative Officer, respectively, of the ARENA party to inform them of the current situation of the internal opposition and the activities that are being carried out in Cuba. The Cuban exile representatives also spoke of the human rights violations that are committed daily, both in and out of Cuban prisons. The Salvadorian political leaders brought forth ideas and initiatives to raise consciousness in their country and throughout the world about the realities of life in Cuba. As part of this initiative, the political representatives invited the Cuban delegation to participate in a radio show with Raúl Beltrán Bonilla on Radio YSKL, La Poderosa, during their stay in El Salvador. During this show, they spoke of the non-violent civic struggle that is being carried out in Cuba and the strong support Cubans on the island receive from Cuban exiles and the international community. Near the end of their visit, Carro, Peñaranda and Navarro were able to exchange ideas with youth from the ARENA party who were interested in learning about Cuban history and especially about youth involvement in the Cuban opposition movement. The youth shared important ideas, focusing on the responsibility and duty of the youth in a country’s democratic future.
ARRESTADO ANTUNEZ EN LA HABANA JUNTO A OTROS OPOSITORES
Para más información:Janisset Rivero
Marcibel Loo
305-220-2713
Activistas se dirigían a una reunió de apoyo a los prisionerso políticos
Ciudad de La Habana.
Fuentes de la oposición han confirmado hoy el arresto del ex prisionero político Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez” junto a un grupo de opositores en La Habana. Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello informó que algunos activistas, incluyendo a Antúnez, habían quedado en encontrarse en su residencia:
“Mi casa está rodeada por agentes de la policía. Antúnez dijo que estaría aquí a las ocho de la mañana y aún no ha llegado, presumimos que ha sido detenido. Idania Yánes Contreras llamó a las 8:30 de la mañana que se encontraba cerca del área pero aún no aparece, ella estaba acompañada por la activista Yesmi Elena Mena Sulvano”, expresó cerca de las 10 de la mañana Roque Cabello.
Otros opositores que se encuentran desaparecidos en estos momentos, presuntamente detenidos son: Amado Ruiz Moreno, Blas Augusto Fortún Martínez, Carlos Cordero Páez, Yubí Diosnegui Pernet Pérez, Alicia Martínez Guevara, Alejandro Gabriel Martínez Martínez y Guillermo Pérez Yera. La información fue provista por Bertha Antúnez Pernet, hermana de Jorge Luís García Pérez “Antúnez”.
“A las 6 de la mañana la policía política rodeó la casa y se encaramó en el techo del activista José Díaz Silva, en la zona de Rancho Boyeros. Se encuentra detenido en la estación de policía El Capri. A esa misma hora una patrulla de la policía se llevó de su casa a la activista Georgina Noa Montes en Arroyo Naranjo. A las 10 de la mañana un carro patrullero detuvo a Arturo Montgomery Alonso. Todas estas personas habían sido convocadas a una actividad a favor de la libertad de los presos políticos cubanos. Desde ayer se encuentra un oficial frente a la casa del opositor Álvaro Yeras Felipe, quien participó en la protesta en Santa Clara y le impidieron salir de su casa en la zona de Mantilla, Arroyo Naranjo”, informó Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello.
René Montes de Oca Martijas informó desde el centro de ayuno de la barriada de Los Pinos que el activista Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez fue detenido cerca de las 11 de la mañana en la casa del opositor José Ávalos, ubicada en la zona de Centro Habana.
De acuerdo a la opinión de Montes de Oca un gran número de estos opositores participaron en la protesta realizada en Santa Clara ante la prisión El Pre el pasado 24 de septiembre y que después desembocó en una protesta popular en el parque Vidal de esa ciudad.
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Dado por el Directorio Democrático Cubano a los 27 días de septiembre de 2007.
“Mi casa está rodeada por agentes de la policía. Antúnez dijo que estaría aquí a las ocho de la mañana y aún no ha llegado, presumimos que ha sido detenido. Idania Yánes Contreras llamó a las 8:30 de la mañana que se encontraba cerca del área pero aún no aparece, ella estaba acompañada por la activista Yesmi Elena Mena Sulvano”, expresó cerca de las 10 de la mañana Roque Cabello.
Otros opositores que se encuentran desaparecidos en estos momentos, presuntamente detenidos son: Amado Ruiz Moreno, Blas Augusto Fortún Martínez, Carlos Cordero Páez, Yubí Diosnegui Pernet Pérez, Alicia Martínez Guevara, Alejandro Gabriel Martínez Martínez y Guillermo Pérez Yera. La información fue provista por Bertha Antúnez Pernet, hermana de Jorge Luís García Pérez “Antúnez”.
“A las 6 de la mañana la policía política rodeó la casa y se encaramó en el techo del activista José Díaz Silva, en la zona de Rancho Boyeros. Se encuentra detenido en la estación de policía El Capri. A esa misma hora una patrulla de la policía se llevó de su casa a la activista Georgina Noa Montes en Arroyo Naranjo. A las 10 de la mañana un carro patrullero detuvo a Arturo Montgomery Alonso. Todas estas personas habían sido convocadas a una actividad a favor de la libertad de los presos políticos cubanos. Desde ayer se encuentra un oficial frente a la casa del opositor Álvaro Yeras Felipe, quien participó en la protesta en Santa Clara y le impidieron salir de su casa en la zona de Mantilla, Arroyo Naranjo”, informó Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello.
René Montes de Oca Martijas informó desde el centro de ayuno de la barriada de Los Pinos que el activista Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez fue detenido cerca de las 11 de la mañana en la casa del opositor José Ávalos, ubicada en la zona de Centro Habana.
De acuerdo a la opinión de Montes de Oca un gran número de estos opositores participaron en la protesta realizada en Santa Clara ante la prisión El Pre el pasado 24 de septiembre y que después desembocó en una protesta popular en el parque Vidal de esa ciudad.
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Dado por el Directorio Democrático Cubano a los 27 días de septiembre de 2007.
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