Cubalog.eu

Cuba-Europe Dialogues

Mission Statement

Cubalog was established by People in Need to provide a forum for Cubans, Europeans and others to publish their analyses, experiences and critiques of the current conditions in Cuba. Cubalog was explicitly created as a way of dealing with the fact that Castro’s government has maintained a blockade more comprehensive than the US embargo for decades on a far more precious and vital commodity – information. Our mission is to provide in depth coverage of actually conditions in Cuba by shining a spotlight on the issues that Cubans face as the island moves closer towards a potential transition to democracy. In addition, we want to serve as a web portal for anyone who is looking for comprehensive and credible news coverage on Cuba with a focus on human rights, democratization and global policy.

People in Need and other European NGOs have intensified their work with Cuban partners in the last few years, by traveling more frequently to Cuba to monitor human rights and by offering greater supporting the burgeoning civil society there. The Cuba-Europe Dialogue bulletin was started in 2006 as a mechanism for publishing the observations from these trips to the island and investigative news on thematic topics, but it has expanded over the last two years considerably. As the name suggests, the ultimate goal of the bulleting has been to foster a dialog between Cuba and Europe by acting as a forum for ideas and support to be freely exchanged between those working for democratic changes in Cuba on the island, as well as elsewhere.

Our website and bulletin function as an outlet for independent Cuban journalists and dissidents, who have no opportunity to publish their work in Cuba. This is beneficial in that it exposes our readers to information that otherwise would be unavailable to the general public in Europe and elsewhere, which can generally only receiving press that has been officially sanctioned by the Cuban government. It is important for any group dealing with repression and restrictions on the basic rights of freedom of expression to be able to speak for themselves, rather than only being spoken for as so often has happened in history. However, for Cubalog to genuine become a promoter of dialog, it is essential for more people to be involved.

Feature articles by prominent politicians, academics and pro-democracy activists across Europe and the Americas have already been published in the six issues of the Cuba – Europe Dialogues about current events and affairs in Cuba. All of these are available for free online in English and Spanish though this website. Contributions have focused on topics ranging from EU policy towards Cuba; ongoing human rights violations; the evolving nature of the Cuban economy in the 21^st century and the complexities Cuba faces as it moves towards transitioning to democracy. But as always there is more to be done.

Dialogues require continuous feedback and reflection from the parties involved. To that end, we are hoping to get more contributions for the upcoming issues of the Cuba – Europe Dialogues, which are scheduled to be published in April, August and December 2008. In addition, we want to help promote events and actions that are taking place within Europe and elsewhere dealing with the issues in Cuba.

Cuba Europe Dialogues: Vol 4; Issue 11: Catch Threaten Release Repeat

Editorial

The old expression “the more things change the more they stay the same” could hardly be more apropos to Cuba since Raul Castro took over from his more infamous brother. The hope that things were on the verge of changing quickly have long since faded since Raul’s launched a propaganda blitz and a clutch of minor reforms. Instead, human rights violations are on the rise, shortages of basic necessities are becoming more common, and new political prisoners are finding themselves staring at lengthy sentences in the Cuban prison system for dissent.

None of this should really come as a surprise considering Raul has spent more than fifty years as the head of the Cuban military and has surrounded himself with the remaining historicos rather than reformers. There may not have been any new high-level purges since Carlos Lage and Felipe Perez Roque were pushed out last March, but the Communist Party Congress was postponed in July and Cuban politics seem stuck in a familiar holding pattern.

There are a host of reasons why.

First of all, the financial crisis pushed Cuba off of most countries list of priorities and further exposed the weakness of the Cuban economy. Second, the US and Europe have been more focused on Iran and the issue of nuclear proliferation, rather than trying to end a fifty year old shoving match. And lastly, Raul Castro has realized that he has more to gain by not drawing attention to the problems on the island, than trying to directly challenge the relatively new Obama administration.

All and all, it would seem as if the waiting game has continued to work in the government of Cuba’s favor. None of the most high level diplomats to visit the island, the EU’s External Commission for Foreign Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner in July, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in August and Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos in October, visited members of independent Cuban civil society or the families of political prisoners. And little international pressure was brought to bear on the Castro regime after the recent arrests of Pastor Omar Gude Perez, Alexei Perez and Doctor Darsi Ferrer Ramirez. Sadly, this all sounds too familiar.

This issue of the Cuba Europe Dialogues looks at what all of this backsliding actually looks like on the island. We are reprinting a letter that Vaclav Havel sent to Darsi Ferrer’s wife Yusnaimy Jorge Soca expressing support for her in this time of need. Maria Werlau, the director of the Cuban Archive, contributes an article about how the recent imprisonments are actually part of a much longer pattern and sheds light on the numerous lesser known or undocumented victims of the Castro regime over the last five decades. Respected economist Joaquin Pujol provides an in depth analysis of the current state of the Cuban economy, which paints a less than rosy picture about its prospects. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists reports on the current work of Cuban bloggers on the island and the considerable challenges that they face. In addition, People in Need is releasing its latest semi-annual human rights report compiled from human rights defenders and legal groups in Cuba and other poignant articles.

Even as other countries in Latin America have learned to use democracy towards authoritarian ends, Cuba has kept playing from the same old Cold War playbook. Raul Castro has made it clear that he has no intention of being the next Mikhail Gorbachev or of implementing a Cuban version of glasnost or perestroika. Whether or not he succeeds in holding off the inevitable remains to be seen, but Raul, Fidel and the historicos certainly aren’t getting any younger.

2013-04-22 / The Miami Herald

U.S.: Short-term detentions in Cuba reach record levels

Cuba saw a record number of “politically motivated and at times violent short-term detentions” during 2012, according to the U.S. State Department’s “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” which was released Friday...more

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/19/3354333/us-short-term-detentions-in-cuba.html#storylink=cpy

2013-04-18 / The Washington Post

Cuba’s Ladies in White due in Brussels to receive 2005 Sakharov human rights award

Members of Cuba’s Ladies in White opposition group will finally pick up Europe’s top human rights prize from 2005 in person next week in Belgium, the European Union and the daughter of the group’s former leader said Wednesday...more

2013-04-16 / The Washington Post

Cuba avoids oil cutoff for now as Chavez ally narrowly wins Venezuela presidential election

Cubans were relieved Monday by the announcement that the late leader Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor had been elected Venezuela’s new president, apparently allowing their country to dodge a threatened cutoff of billions of dollars in subsidized oil...more