House Editorial Published April 8, 2003 Washington Times -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For about 80 defenders of democracy in Cuba, life has been reduced to the dank darkness of a gulag. These nonviolent dissidents have been caught up in the worst crackdown on the island in a decade, and on Thursday, many went on trial for "crimes" of thought and expression. Unsurprisingly, dictator Fidel Castro accused these journalists, poets, union leaders, librarians and human-rights and democracy advocates of conspiring with America's chief diplomat in Havana, James Cason, to undermine the Cuban regime. However, many of them have never even met Mr. Cason. The imprisonment of these political dissidents should be setting off cries of protest around the globe. To a certain degree, it has. The United States, the European Union and Canada have decried the repressive dragnet. Also, some organizations with considerable clout in Latin America have spoken out, such as the Catholic Church and the Inter- American Commission for Human Rights, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States. While large groups of legislators in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and other countries have condemned Cuba's assault on the dissidents, Latin American governments have been utterly silent. ............................................................
Powell: Free Cuban Political Prisoners WASHINGTON, April 10, 2003
(CBS) Accusing Cuba of engaging in "despicable repression," Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday urged Cuban President Fidel Castro to free the scores of dissidents imprisoned recently and sentenced to long terms.
"Nearly 80 representatives of a growing and truly independent civil society have been arrested, convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in summary, secret trials," Powell said in a statement.
"Their only crime was seeking basic human rights and freedoms."
Omitting the Cuban leader's title and first name, Powell urged "Castro" to free these "prisoners of conscience." Powell said the United States and the international community will be unrelenting in its insistence that "Cubans who seek peaceful change be permitted to do so." ...............................
Chavez financed Al Qaeda, details of $1M donation emerge Authors: Johan Freitas (Caracas), Luis Garcia January 1, 2003 ............................... ...............................
He refuses to hold free and democratic elections, and has publicly vowed to stay in power until "at least 2021". To Chavez, it matters not what his people think:
" - Referendum to remove me? That is not possible, don't waste time. I will not go in a referendum, I say that to the country and the world. It's like this: I won't go," Hugo Chavez said in November. " - Ah, no, no, forget about fairytales." " - Not even if we suppose that they hold that referendum and get 90% of the votes, I will not leave. Forget it. I will not leave." This, all, from the man who personally visited Saddam Hussein in Iraq, hugged him, and called him "my brother," and then gave one million dollars to Al Qaeda right after 9/11. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President Hugo Chavez Frias has offered to hold a revocatory referendum in August this year, half way through his presidential term, as allowed for by the Constitution, but the opposition has repeatedly stated it is not prepared to wait so long for its chance to remove the President from office.
Venezuela talks venue blasted Police in Venezuela say a bomb has exploded in the capital, Caracas, in the building where an agreement was reached hours earlier about a referendum on the mandate of President Hugo Chavez.