Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF CUBA
Head of state and government: Fidel Castro Ruz
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: not signed

A number of initiatives by unofficial organizations in Cuba called for greater openness and respect for human rights in the country. The authorities largely ignored these efforts, although there were some incidents of harassment of those involved. In February a busload of youths crashed a bus into the Mexican embassy, apparently in search of asylum. The incident sparked a number of apparently pre-emptive arrests of dissidents, with the result that at the end of 2002 there were more prisoners of conscience than at any point during the previous year. New death sentences were handed down although the unofficial moratorium on executions appeared to remain in place. The embargo by the USA against Cuba continued to contribute to a climate in which fundamental rights were denied.


Background

Cuba's relations with some sectors of the international community improved over 2002. A November meeting with representatives of the European Union indicated a positive shift in relations with Cuba. Political dialogue between the two, blocked for five years over a number of issues including human rights concerns, had reopened with an initial meeting in December 2001. Similarly, Cuba's relations with Canada, which had deteriorated over the three previous years, improved with the visit of a senior Canadian official in November.

In April the UN Commission on Human Rights passed a relatively mild resolution on human rights in Cuba. However, the resolution was supported by many Latin American countries and for the first time Mexico voted in favour, prompting a diplomatic row with Cuba. In November, for the 11th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the USA to end its embargo.

Relations with the USA

Overall, US relations with Cuba remained difficult. Although calls in the US for a lifting of the embargo reached an unprecedented level, US President George W. Bush indicated that he would veto any legislative attempt to remove the embargo or other restrictions on Cuba unless a multi-party system was established and elections held. His position was criticized by former US President Jimmy Carter, whose visit to Cuba in May marked the highest-level mission from the USA since 1959. In October, the US House of Representatives voted to end travel restrictions on US citizens wanting to visit Cuba.

Cuba continued to express opposition to US control of the land on which the US naval base in Guantánamo is sited, but indicated that allowing the use of Cuban airspace by US planes was a gesture of goodwill on its part towards the global effort against "terrorism". (For information on those held by the US authorities in Guantánamo, see USA entry.)

Civil society initiatives

Initiatives by civil society organizations drew increased attention to calls for fundamental freedoms.

In October the Asamblea para promover la sociedad civil, Assembly to Promote Civil Society, headed by former prisoner of conscience Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello, was announced. The Mesa de Reflexión de la Oposición Moderada, Roundtable of Reflection of the Moderate Opposition, declared that by the end of 2002 discussions of a draft charter of human rights had stimulated responses from more than 10,000 Cuban citizens. The Carta de derechos y deberes fundamentales de los cubanos, Charter of Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of Cubans, was described as a mechanism for increasing dialogue around human rights issues in Cuba.

Proyecto Varela

The "Todos Unidos" ("All Together") movement sponsored the Proyecto Varela petition for a referendum on fundamental freedoms. On 10 May Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas of the Movimiento Cristiano Liberación, Christian Liberation Movement, and other Proyecto Varela leaders presented more than 11,000 signatures to the National Assembly demanding a referendum on fundamental freedoms. Shortly afterwards, former US President Carter arrived in Cuba and, in an unprecedented move, was allowed to address the nation in a live broadcast. He supported the Proyecto Varela petition and discussed a range of human rights matters.

On 12 June, the authorities organized a massive march in support of a new referendum initiative which would maintain the existing system. On 20 June, a petition signed by a reported 99 per cent of Cuban voters was submitted to the National Assembly calling for reaffirmed commitment to socialism. Six days later, the National Assembly voted unanimously in favour of a Constitutional amendment declaring the socialist system irrevocable and making it illegal in future for lawmakers to attempt to change it. Proyecto Varela supporters declared that this was a response to their initiative, but the authorities stated that it was in response to calls from US President Bush for a change of government in Cuba.

Prisoners of conscience

Limitations on freedom of expression, association and assembly remained codified in Cuban law. However, a decline in numbers of prisoners of conscience over the last several years was taken by some observers as an indication that repression of dissidents was waning. Several prisoners of conscience were released during 2002, including Juan José Moreno Reyes, Vladimiro Roca Antúnez and Oscar Elías Biscet, apparently supporting this view.

However, there were more new detentions of prisoners of conscience in 2002, showing clearly the authorities' continuing use of harsh measures to stifle potential internal dissent. In December Oscar Elías Biscet was redetained with a number of other activists as they took part in a discussion group on human rights.

Crackdown after Mexican embassy incident
On 27 February a busload of young men crashed into the grounds of the Mexican embassy in Havana. After several days, Havana police raided the embassy and took them into custody. Several of the younger participants were released, but at the end of 2002,
15 of them reportedly remained in detention.

The authorities' reaction to the incident was harsh. Two Reuters journalists were reportedly beaten by police while trying to cover the events. A sweep of the neighbourhood during the disturbances resulted in several hundred arrests. Most of those detained were soon released, but there was a separate round-up of known dissidents, a significant number of whom were still in detention at the end of 2002. Ten of those detained were prisoners of conscience. Five more activists who had been detained in the days before the incident were also considered prisoners of conscience. None of the 15 had been officially charged or tried by the end of 2002.

  • A number of these prisoners of conscience, along with other detainees, went on hunger strike in late August to protest against their continuing detention without trial. The health of prisoner of conscience Leonardo Miguel Bruzón Avila deteriorated sharply before he was transferred to a military hospital in early November.
  • On 4 March, 12 dissidents were allegedly beaten and detained by state security officers and paramilitaries in a hospital in Ciego de Avila, where they were visiting a colleague who had been beaten during an earlier demonstration. They were still in detention without trial at the end of 2002. One of the detainees, Juan Carlos González Leyva, is blind and was subjected to severe conditions which reportedly aggravated his high blood pressure and other medical problems.
Harassment of dissidents

The authorities continued to try to discourage dissent by harassing suspected critics of the government. Suspected dissidents were subjected to short-term detention, frequent summonses, threats, eviction, loss of employment and restrictions on movement.

Death penalty

Although the unofficial moratorium on executions declared in 2001 apparently remained in place, at least three prisoners were sentenced to death in 2002: Ramón González, Iván Rodríguez and Gabriel Lindón. Prosecutors argued for the death penalty to be imposed on at least three other individuals. At the end of 2002, more than 50 people remained on death row.

AI country visits

AI last visited Cuba in 1988. The government did not respond to AI's requests to be allowed into the country.

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