By Angel Pablo Polanco, Cooperative of Independent
Journalists
Posted
on December 24, 1998 in CubaNet
HAVANA, December 24, 1998 (CPI) - Yesterday, openly defying the inflexibility of Fidel Castro's totalitarian regime, the first training on civil disobedience took place. The training, consisting of a technique of non-violent resistance, was provided to a group of human and civil rights activists, 83.4% of whom were young people between the ages of 28 and 34.
The meeting was held at the home of one of the participants located in the periphery of the Cuban capital. Dr. Oscar Elías Bisset, Rolando Muñoz Yyobre and Migdalia Rosado, members of the board of directors of the Lawton Foundation, addressed the group. Guests included Miriam Cantillo Ramos, of the Independent Democratic National Action Movement and the main organizer of the event, and Civic Action members Norma de la Paz and Joaquín Rafael Martínez, who spoke on one of the topics.
The session officially began at 10:00 a.m., but it unofficially began at 8:45 a.m. when the guests met with the directors of the Lawton Foundation at the bus stop. The bus left at 9:00 a.m. for their destination, which at that point was unknown to the guests.
While waiting for the bus and during the entire trip, the dissidents spoke confidently in the presence of other passengers about the struggle against the regime, including the events at the Buttari and Cristo Parks, the arrest of Bisset and Yyobre -- who had only been released 24 hours before -- and other topics. Many of the passengers listened attentively to the conversation of the dissidents and never voiced any antagonism against what was being said -- as opposed to what occurred at the Buttari Park. In fact, everybody showed nothing but courtesy toward the members of the group.
Bisset opened the training session by presenting the participants, explaining the purpose of the meeting and stating that he is in agreement with the ideas of Henry David Thoreau, who believed that slavery could be defeated through civil disobedience. He went on to say that patriots such as Mahatma Gandhi had successfully applied this method in his struggle for independence and freedom.
Next, the participants took turns to read the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all of its 30 Articles, which is what had been planned for the meeting at the Buttari Park. This served to delve deeply into the meaning of the Articles.
Then, Yyobre clarified the peaceful attitude which must characterize the non-violent resistance of the young people when confronting their foes, and gave as an example Colás and Constantín at the Buttari Park, who, despite having been brutally beaten, did not respond with violence. He emphasized the following: "We are obligated to respect the authorities (of the regime), even when they are dressed as civilians and remain unidentified. However, this doesn't mean that we cannot demand our rights in front of these people." Yyobre also read his editorial in Vida Cristiana (Christian Life), a Sunday Catholic publication, on the subject of human rights.
Engineer Joaquín R. Martínez made a special presentation on civil rights according to the Constitution and the laws which are presently in effect, and as an example of the violation of said laws by the regime, he talked about the trial of Lázaro Constantín which should have been a public trial. He also talked about the "rule of law", and explained how in Cuba the rule of law does not prevail.
All those in attendance, and particularly the young people, had the opportunity to participate in the discussion that took place at the conclusion of the presentation. Roberto Pedraza Prendes, 33, inquired about the rights of individuals who having been found guilty by courts of the State are constantly blackmailed by the authorities. He also expressed interest in the current Constitution and in the 1940 Constitution.
Joanna González, 29, said during the meeting: "I had heard of human rights and the violation of those rights, but I had never witnessed it. At the Buttari Park I saw it with my own eyes. It was there that I experienced reality. This is why I'm here, because I need to learn how to speak about those rights."
Alberto Martínez, 34, spoke extensively of his experiences in Czechoslovakia when in 1989 that country began the struggle that ended with the collapse of socialism in that country. It was from there that he wrote his father: "You witnessed [in Cuba] the change from one dictatorship to another. I have experienced here the change from dictatorship to democracy." Further, he indicated that he had returned to Cuba full of hope, but after arriving here he realized that there is a great difference between the Czech police and the Cuban police, because the police in Czechoslovakia kept order and respected the citizenry, while the police in Cuba respond only to the system and trample upon the rights of the people."
A dramatic event was narrated by Mrs. Matilde García -- the murder of her son, 22, by a policeman in 1991, for shouting "Down with Fidel!" while in the Eléctrico neighborhood. "The policeman attacked him with his bayonet and shot him three times," she said quietly. According to her and others in the group, the murderer was in jail only for one month, and nowadays he walks freely around the neighborhood where she lives.
Joaquín Martínez explained that there is nothing new with the actions of the police: "This regime did not invent this kind of thing. It existed during the 30's, and it was called "la porra" (sledgehammer), and in Germany it was the 'Brown Shirts'."
A lively discussion ensued regarding the role of the Church in the current situation after someone in the group brought up the position of Father Oscar of the Saint Bárbara Church in Párraga, who prevented the celebration of a peaceful demonstration outside the church last December 4th. According to Yyobre, he had acted that way following a warning by the Security Department of the State. Miriam Cantillo indicated that she was in favor of avoiding demonstrations outside any churches in order to prevent the government from using that as an excuse to close the small opening which, in her opinion, has been gained by the Church. She further stated that "the Church (Catholic) has many beautiful things to offer, things that I want for my son, for all the people, and we must protect them at all cost."
Dr. Bisset clarified that the position of one parish priest should not be considered the position of the entire Catholic Church. "For example," he said, "Cardinal Jaime Ortega invited us to come into the church during a demonstration we were having under the rain in front of the Nuestra Señora de la Guardia Church, and he supported our fight against abortion." Dr. Bisset added the following: "We defend human and civil rights, and no one has the right to prevent us from defending those rights, be it the government, a religious institution or an individual."
Before ending the meeting, the young people declared that they were very satisfied with the democratic fashion in which the meeting had been held, and gave their thanks for the things they had learned. They requested the systematization of this type of activity and that subjects regarding the past be delved into, such as the 1940 Constitution -- they want more information on that Constitution.
Finally, Dr. Bisset adjourned the meeting after briefly urging the young participants to maintain the discipline they displayed during the Buttari Park incident.
However, that was not all. At the bus stop, waiting for the bus to return and talking about human rights, Rolando had in his hands a small package containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A lady sitting in front of him asked for a copy. This was immediately followed by another request from another lady, and one minute later everybody waiting for the bus, approximately 30 people, were carefully reading the United Nations document. Not one word of opposition was uttered. On the contrary, everybody seemed to have identified with the group and when boarding the bus everybody remained very courteous towards all the members of the group.
Translated for CubaNet by Elena Treto