In a few days the world will be marking the 40th Anniversary of a regime which has instituted the systematic denial of human rights and basic human dignity in Cuba. The 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been observed in Cuba by the beatings and arrests of dissidents and human rights activists on the days leading up to, and on the anniversary of the Declaration itself. It is sad to note how low the Cuban government has sunk.

It was 50 years ago that the Cuban delegation, representing a democratic and constitutional republic, wrote the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They recognized that this document would have been, " accepted by that generous spirit who was the apostle of our independence: Jose Marti, the hero who -- as he turned his homeland into a nation -- gave us forever this generous rule: 'With everyone, and for the good of everyone.' "

On March 10, 1952 less than four years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed. The constitutional order was destroyed by Fulgencio Batista. The Cuban people outraged at this assault on the young republic fell under the sway of a charismatic and capable young lawyer who promised the return of democracy and constitutional government through the barrel of a gun. On January 1, 1959 he came to power and he has remained there since. What of the values of Jose Marti and of the men who fashioned the first draft of the Declaration?

They did not fare well throughout the next four decades.

On December 10, 1998 the spiritual heir of the Cuban delegation of 1948 held up copies of the Universal Declaration of Human rights and the New Testament, and was knocked down and dragged away by Cuban police. The mere support of those principles enunciated by the Cuban delegation in 1948 leads to beatings, arrests, and in some cases deaths today.

We shall raise here a silent call for justice. We shall use petitions, silent vigils, and fasts to raise the issue of justice for those who can no longer speak. We will not forget those innocents who died at the hands of the Cuban government such as:

On December 22, 1997 Sebastian Arcos Bergnes died of a cancer which was allowed to spread and become terminal while he sat in a Cuban prison cell with violent criminals. His crime was being a human rights activist and the vice-president of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights.

Two years ago this upcoming March 29 Joachim Løvschall, a 26 year old Dane studying Spanish at the University of Havana, was shot to death by Cuban state security agents while crossing a street in Havana. Nearly two years later no disciplinary nor lawful investigation of the guard(s) who killed Joachim Løvschall has been started despite official protests by Denmark.

Three years ago this upcoming February 24 Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, Carlos Costa, and Pablo Morales where blown out of the sky over the Florida Straits while searching for Cuban rafters in international waters. The Cuban pilots responsible for the shoot down have yet to face justice for their actions.

Five years ago this upcoming July 13 an estimated 41 men, women, and children were drowned by agents of the Cuban government for the sole crime of exercising their right to leave Cuba. The Cuban government has not held a proper investigation nor brought those responsible to justice, nor recovered the bodies of the victims and returned them to their families.

Thirty years ago this upcoming January 1 an estimated 5,000 Cubans had already been executed by the Castro regime according to historian Hugh Thomas. Many of them were farmers, and workers of humble backgrounds who did not go along with forced collectivization, and the takeover of labor unions by the regime.

We call on all people of goodwill to join our call for justice. Let others know of these travesties. We are part of a new generation of Cubans both inside and outside of Cuba who have embraced the principles of non-violence and the pursuit of truth as our means, and we seek liberation as our ends. Gandhi instructed all of us to "use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with nonviolence, reject it."

We call on all Cubans and non-Cubans alike throughout the world that share our passion for justice and love to join us in our silent call for justice. "With everyone, and for the good of everyone."

Sincerely,

Susana Mendiola
Chairwoman

Viviana Mendiola
Vice-Chairwoman

John Suarez
Coordinator

Published December 22, 1998