Cuban Dissident "Antunez", Writes a Letter to President Obama

Secretos de Cuba, has published a letter written by Jorge Luis Garcia Perez Antunez and addressed to Barack Obama. It is necessary that all blogs publish this letter and call the attention of other countries, mainly the United States, to put their hand and help the prisoners of conscience, forgotten in the prisons of Cuba.

Open Letter to the President of the United States

Mr President, I write to you from Cuba, this small Caribbean island, Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez", one of the thousands of former political prisoners in Cuban prisons who suffered torture and all forms of repression by the prison guards in their inordinate desire to destroy and break our will to struggle and resist.

I am one of many Cubans who inspired by the struggle of Martin Luther Kin, is on the streets calling for the Cuban civic resistance and civil disobedience as a strategy to achieve the much-awaited and necessary change to democracy in my country where there is a tyranny now in power for half a century, contravening the fundamental freedoms of its citizens, imprisoning alternative voices, and pushing people to extreme poverty, both economic and moral.

Mr President, I must stress that I the author of this letter, was arrested by combined forces of the political police on the eve of your ascension as president, with the deliberate purpose of preventing me from attending an embassy, which had invited me, along with the peaceful opposition also LORETO HERNÁNDEZ GARCÍA too witnessed this important historical event, your inauguration as the democratically elected president.

It is ironic and embarrassing for many a paradox that while in the grand and hospitable country, a black man took the highest judiciary, just 90 miles away, two black youths were also arrested, confined in filthy cells, by organs of political repression for almost 72 hours.

Imagine how many letters you received and will continue to receive, Cubans inside and outside the island. In my humble letter I would like, on behalf of hundreds and hundreds of my brothers imprisoned for their ideas, the beaten, harassed and punished for fighting in a peaceful and open manner, suggesting that the government in Havana is continuing and will remain faithful to its traditional vocation anti-democratic and dictatorial. This is evidenced by the arrests and the escalation of repression against their people who maintain peaceful opposition.

Mr President, the dictatorship in Havana was reluctant to give the smallest opening that it brings into play and the only thing you must know is: the regime will perpetuate itself in power at the expense of pain, suffering and sacrifice of an entire people.

History has shown, so do not forget that any relaxation of policy towards the Castro regime is equivalent to the oxygenation of his government and law enforcement apparatus.

On the other hand, I'm among those who believe that the initiatives for dialogue and understanding are positive and indicate strong qualities of those who promote them. But it has been shown that a dialogue with the deaf and intransigent counterproductive, and even more risky when done without real and concrete conditions for the repressors.

In that sense I believe that the basic and essential condition to require the dictatorship of the Castro, is the urgent and immediate release of all political prisoners in Cuba, as well as the sincere assurances of implementing an immediate and effective program for deep and radical reform political, economic and social changes that are aimed at establishing a democratic society with a genuine rule of law, and assure you with great respect and responsibility that it would prolong this long and difficult ordeal than 5 decades the Cuban people suffer.

I can not ignore, which in the opinion of all my compatriots are and must always be our main demand and ask: the freedom of each and every political prisoners in Cuba. Know that hundreds and hundreds of my brothers are dying in filthy and solitary cells, starvation, disease and abuse, men and women whose only crime was to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of man, advocate and fight for a free society.

We hope you and your government solidarity to them and their families. We hope that your administration not overlook a detail, and really as obvious as a fundamental and pernicious that the main restrictions that our people suffer are those that we just applied a system that refuses the liberation of markets, free enterprise, and with the poverty that creates a constant outflow causes, above all things and blame others for the damage they are causing their own people.

Cubans as lovers of freedom, we do not oppose all such noble initiatives aimed at bringing fence and reunification of Cuban families separated, much less that can be helped in such difficult times.

I do not believe that decent and patriotic, is that many continue to use the so-called flight of the community to swell the coffers of the repressive apparatus to gain the privileges enjoyed by foreign tourists who visit Cuba at the expense of domestic crude.

The freedom to leave their country and return a basic right is universally recognized, but when used against those who suffer oppression, when passion or personal interest strengthens the oppressor, it falls on something as serious as it is unpatriotic.

Mr. President, for the Cuban homeland is much bigger and important than ourselves, and after this long and disastrous totalitarian experience we arrived at the full conviction, that similarity of the civil rights movement in the U.S., we just Cubans We shall be free when we are ready for the greatest sacrifices, and vicissitudes.

Although the solution to the problem of Cuba is not a democrat or republican, but the effort and determination of the Cubans, we are aware that the solidarity and support of a president of his intelligence, charisma and prestige could help to accelerate change both the longs Cubans.

I wish him every success in their governance, and reiterating that and do not forget to follow up these people and their struggle for freedom.

* Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez.

Former Cuban political prisoner who stayed 17 years and 38 days in punishment cells and confinement, subjected to the cruelest torture of all kinds to maintain his dignity as a defender of Human Rights.

Cuban Oposition Leader Antunez is Hospitalized

I have learned via Secretos de Cuba, that Cuban dissident and opposition leader Jorge Luis Pérez (Antúnez), has been hospitalized, following a 24 day hunger strike.

PRESS RELEASE

Opposition leader in hospital, after hunger strike.

The prominent opposition leader Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez) was hospitalized in Placetas, Villa Clara, about noon on March 13, 2009

The president of the Presidio Political movement "Pedro Luis Boitel, all known as" Antunez, "who has been on hunger strike for 24 days to demand improvements for the prisoners and opponents of the Cuban Regime, has been hospitalized Just a few hours ago in the intensive care room Placetas Hospital in a critical condition, including the danger of his life.

Francisco Chaviano González reported by telephone to the reporter about this incident, which in turn met through relatives affected. For this reason, it has called on the national and international public opinion in order to solidarity with this fighter who is in serious condition, and whose just claims the Cuban authorities have ignored.

Reported from Havana, Ana Margarita Brito Perdigón, Press Agency Yayabo Press.

Havana, Friday March 13 2009, 2:42 P.M.

Via Secretos de Cuba

Like Cows to the Slaughter House

Yoani Sanchez, the blogger from Generation Y is accused of counterrevolution, for daring to have a meeting with a group of Cuban youth, where she talks about the possibility of helping them express themselves through a blog. This is very typical of the Castro Regime. They are so afraid of ideas and they can't stand for anyone to think different.

From the government, I always expect the worse, but when I hear people like the three in the video talk the way they do, it makes my blood boil, because this is precisely what has been happening in Cuba for over fifty years. They are nothing more then snitches!

Every time someone tries to make changes and ends up in jail for trying, he or she is left alone! It is my understanding that the majority of people in Cuba ignore the identity of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. A man is rotting in prison, he is sacrificing his life, his youth and his family for defying the regime and asking for basic human right for unborn babies, and no one there knows his story.

Perhaps some of you may ask-well what's wrong with being labeled an Counterrevolutionary? Well a lot, because that word has cost the lives of thousands of Cubans.

The problem in Cuba is a never ending vicious cycle, but it has a solution. The answer is with the ones that left and today keep the dictatorship in power, with the financial help they give their families in Cuba. At this rate, it's never going to fall-and those three that today try to bury Yoani Sanchez, in a few years might also be supported by someone abroad or perhaps will move to Miami and pretend they are maggots (name given by the Castro Regime to the anticommunists). Meanwhile they will continue to obey their master, like cows on their way to the slaughter house.

Yoani puts herself in danger and this is how they repay her. I wish I could post a video with English subtitles. Basically these tree are throwing her under the bus and saying they are not interested in having access to the internet and that she was inciting them to write about the reality of Cuba, that no one is allowed to express in the only newspaper allowed-The Granma. These are University students and through they are trying to sound smart, they actually sound stupid.

There is a part where the female says that Yoani Sanchez was telling them that in the blog they can express their true feelings, as if there were anything wrong with that. They also said that they were appalled that a church building had been used for such meeting-and that's a joke, because many priests have lost their life in Cuba, at the hands of the Castro Regime and communists have never shown respect for any church and most of the dead at the hands of the communist throughout the world have been Christians. The number is at about 100 million.........

An Man Starves a Dog and Calls it Art!

If you are wondering why some Latin American countries are such a toilet-wonder no more!

In 2007, Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, grabbed a homeless dog, he tide him up with a short rope to a wall in an art gallery and left him there to starve to death. As part of the gruesome exhibit, the Sandinista Anthem played, to the delight of the visitors - Hmmm.........a communist! What else can we expect from one of them.

The incredible part is that he was invited to repeat this horrendous crime again at the Bienal Centroamericana Honduras 2008.

There is an online petition to try to stop him: To sign Petition and say no to animal cruelty!!

This idiot should be incarcerated and the gallery closed down, but this happened in Nicaragua and judging by what barbaric act is allowed there, that's not likely to happen. What dark heart must the gallery owners and the people who visited have, to be able walk in that gallery and not have any mercy for a poor defenseless dog.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - Mahatma Ghandi

Photos from Pro Cuba-Democracy Rally in New York City

The pro Cuba Democracy march schedule for March 1st, in New York City has materialized. Photographs of this protest can be found at Alexis Romay, blogger from Belascoain y Neptuno-who was the organizer of this important event.