Menendez Statement on Alan Gross

Menendez Statement on Two-Year Anniversary of Alan Gross' Detention in Cuba

WASHINGTON – United States Senator Robert Menendez, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, released the following statement on the second anniversary of the Castro regime's incarceration of Alan Gross, a USAID contractor who was in Cuba to facilitate the communications capacity of the island’s Jewish community:

“The Castros continue to use American Alan Gross as a pawn in a tragic diplomatic game. Jailed in Cuba on charges of crimes against the state for trying to distribute satellite equipment with internet capability to Jewish groups on the island, Alan Gross has lost more than 100 pounds, has difficulty walking due to arthritis, and has been kept from his mother and daughter who are battling cancer. The United States, should not be blackmailed into releasing convicted Cuban spies or terminating U.S. democracy programs on the island in order to secure his release.

The Cubans through their continued detention of Gross have shown the world the true nature of the regime, which is sustained through violence, tyranny, and repression of even the most basic human and civil rights and based in neither political or economic ideology, but on the common and simple model of authoritarian rule designed to sustain its leaders and preserve their power.

Today, I call on President Obama to demand the release of Alan Gross and repeal the regulatory changes made on January 14, 2011 that have provided an economic lifeline to the regime through a historic easing of travel and remittances to the island. These changes, which were purportedly taken in hopes of advancing a democratic opening on the island, have had no effect, as evidenced by the nearly daily repression of democracy activists on the island and the continued unjust imprisonment of Alan Gross. They should be repealed. We cannot ignore the reality that it is not U.S. policy, but Cuban policy that is responsible for the Castros’ unabated tyranny.”

"Ladies in White" Member Remains Missing

On November 30th, Cuban pro-democracy leader and member of the Ladies in White, Ivonne Malleza, led a peaceful protest in Havana's Fraternity Park.

During the protest, a gathering crowd sided with Malleza and openly challenged the state security officials that violently arrested her.

She was first taken to a police station on Zanja Street in Central Havana. A few hours later, she was whisked out of the station.

Since then (almost a week later), her whereabouts remain unknown.

Her friends and family (including her young son) fear for her well-being.

We hope that one of the foreign news bureaus in Havana will look into this important matter.

No Hilton for Raul's Summit

From the Trinidad Guardian:

US says no to licence for Hilton venue

The Government was forced to shift the venue for tomorrow’s Caricom-Cuba summit from the Hilton Trinidad Conference Centre to the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), following issues concerning the US embargo on Cuba. The US-owned Hilton in Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) was unable to obtain a licence from the US Government in order to host the Caricom-Cuba summit, a Hilton statement indicated yesterday. Cuban President Raul Castro arrives in T&T at 10.30 am today for the one-day summit which will also be attended by 12 of the 14 Caricom leaders [...]

The venue for the opening ceremony tomorrow and rest of the event had originally been scheduled for the Hilton. The hotel plant is owned by the Government of T&T and is managed by US-owned Hilton company. Delegations of the various leaders were expected to stay at the Hilton also. Last week, however, the Government was informed that there were problems with the situation as a result of the US embargo against Cuba. A statement from Hilton Worldwide -- location of the global headquarters -- issued yesterday, pointed out that as a US-based company, Hilton Worldwide is subject to US law which restricts certain activities as a result of the trade embargo with Cuba.

The statement added: “The US-Cuban assets control regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Department of the Treasury General prohibit US-based companies from providing any services that benefit the Cuban government unless specifically licensed.”

The statement noted that violations are subject to significant civil and criminal penalties. The Hilton statement noted that while the hotel had worked with the appropriate governmental agencies in the US and in T&T to secure a licence for the summit, the hotel had been informed that the necessary licence would not be granted.

An 88% Increase in Cuban Repression

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights has documented at least 257 political arrests during the month of November 2011.

Note that these are only the political arrests that are known and documented. There are believed to be many more.

That brings the total number of known political arrests -- thus far -- in 2011 to 3,327.

At this point last year, there were 1,774 known political arrests that had been documented.

That represents an 88% increase in repression from 2010 to 2011.

More "reform" you can't believe in.

Why the Left Shouldn't Defend Castro

The section on health care and education might seem inflated at first (and it somewhat is), but keep reading.

By Peter Bolton in the famed British left-wing blog, Left Central:

Why the left shouldn’t defend Cuba

Since the 1959 communist revolution in Cuba, several left-wing commentators have spoken favorably about the Castro regime. In the world of entertainment, for instance, Oliver Stone, Sean Penn and Michael Moore have all made gestures of praise toward the island’s political leadership. Moore’s 2007 film Sicko showered praise onto the Cuban healthcare system while both Penn and Stone have commended the Castro regime and visited the island to meet with Communist Party officials, in Stone’s case to research for a documentary film.

Details of Cuba’s authoritarianism have come back into the public consciousness recently following news reports about the decision by Raul Castro to liberalize the island’s property laws. The move might be taken by some to be evidence of the regime’s reform-minded tendencies but though the policy changes are to be welcomed, reading the details about the plight of the Cuban people shows how misguided it is to defend Cuba as a bastion and exemplar of left-wing ideas.

The Observer, for instance, published an article earlier this month which details the draconian regulations that governed (and in some cases will still govern) housing policy on the island. The article perfectly illustrates the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the Cuban regime and the resultant suffering that is imposed upon the Cuban people. Before these housing reforms, for instance, Cuban residents were prohibited from buying or selling any property. The only way to move house was to swap with another person under the bizarre and often corrupt permuta system. Worst still, under the old guidelines people who emigrated from the island forfeited the right to their property; those who did leave had their house and other assets seized by the state.

Details like this are always left unsaid by the likes of Moore, Stone and Penn. They instead concentrate their analysis on isolated areas of Cuban society and governance. Certainly they are correct that the Castro regime has done a degree of good for the island. For instance, free publicly provided healthcare and education have been cornerstones of the Cuban Communist Party’s series of domestic reforms and all leftists should applaud these achievements. Some of the positive results from these reforms include a national literacy rate of 99.8% and a low infant mortality rate (similar to that of developed nations Canada and New Zealand). The Castro regime’s investment in higher education and medical training in particular has led to significant societal gains. Cuba has a high proportion of doctors per capita and as Noam Chomsky, citing an AP report, noted in his book ‘The Passion for Free Markets: Exporting American values through the new World Trade Organization’: “’Cuba has sent 51,820 doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical doctors’ to ‘the poorest Third World nations,’ providing ‘medical aid totally free of charge’ in most cases.” Also, environmental reforms have led to Cuba having a very low ecological footprint. The 2006 ‘Living Planet Report’ published by the World Wildlife Fund, compared and analyzed development and ecological data and concluded that with a 1.8 hectares per capita ecological footprint and high Human Development Index of 0.8 (out of a 0 to 1 scale) Cuba was the only country in the world to meet the report’s definition of sustainable development.

But however commendable these gains might be, Cuba has failed on so many more important fronts that the aforementioned achievements seem almost trivial in comparison. For instance, The Observer article notes that wages for the vast majority of Cubans are around $20 per month; a pittance even once living standard differences are taken into account. Most salaries are paid by the state and employment outside state controlled industries is uncommon. What is even more troubling about Cuba is its human rights abuses and suppression of basic freedoms. Human Rights Watch has described the regime as “an undemocratic government that represses nearly all forms of political dissent” and said that Cubans are “systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law.”

In 2008 it was reported by several organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch to have the second highest amount of imprisoned journalists (behind the People’s Republic of China). In the same year, Cuba was ranked as having the fifth lowest Press Freedom Index in the world by Reporters Without Borders. In the most recent study by RWB last year, it climbed only one place to have the sixth lowest in the world despite Raul Castro’s alleged “reforms” in this area. According to RWB the government “owns and controls all media outlets and restricts Internet access” and that “the Cuban constitution grants the Communist Party the right to control the press.” The branch of government that controls the press is the Communist Party’s Department of Revolutionary Orientation which, again according to RWB, “develops and coordinates propaganda strategies.”

Freedom of movement both on and off the island is also heavily restricted. A report by Human Rights Watch states that:

The Cuban government forbids the country’s citizens from leaving or returning to Cuba without first obtaining official permission, which is often denied. Unauthorized travel can result in criminal prosecution. The government also frequently bars citizens engaged in authorized travel from taking their children with them overseas, essentially holding the children hostage to guarantee the parents’ return. Given the widespread fear of forced family separation, these travel restrictions provide the Cuban government with a powerful tool for punishing defectors and silencing critics.

Even the island’s prized free education system has become politicized and a means for indoctrination. A study by the U.N. Economic and Social Council called ‘Report on the situation of human rights in Cuba’ states that:

…control is applied in the day-to-day life of every citizen – in the workplace, at educational institutions and even at the neighbourhood level. Education itself also has an ideological orientation… article 39 stipulates that the State bases its educational and cultural policy on Marxist ideology, and promotes patriotic education and communist training of the new generations.

The island’s healthcare system also has a number of institutionalized human rights abuses. For instance, the system lacks many of the protections and ethical guidelines that are uncontroversial in developed western nations. For instance, a journal article published in Cuban Affairs states that:

There is no right to privacy in the physician-patient relationship in Cuba, no patients’ right of informed consent, no right to refuse treatment, and no right to protest or sue for malpractice. As a result, medical care in Cuba has the potential to be intensely dehumanizing… these values (privacy, autonomy and individualism) form the cornerstone of medical ethics as understood in most Western health systems… the health care system in Cuba is often quite paternalistic and authoritarian, and politics intrude into medical practice in a number of subtle and overt ways.

The author of the paper, medical anthropologist Katherine Hirschfeld, expanded on her assessment of the Cuban healthcare system in her 2009 book Health, Politics, and Revolution in Cuba Since 1898.

The regime’s treatment of minorities is also not exactly in the spirit of left-liberalism. Homosexuals, for instance, have been aggressively persecuted in Cuba. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is himself gay, a left-winger and a former Labour Party candidate, wrote in The Guardian:

When Cuba adopted Soviet-style communism it also adopted Soviet-style prejudice. “Maricones” (faggots) were routinely denounced as “sexual deviants” and “agents of imperialism”. Laughable allegations of homosexuality were used in an attempt to discredit “corrupting” western influences such as pop music, with the communists circulating the rumour that the Beatles were gay.

Lee Lockwood in his book Castro’s Cuba, Cuba’s Fidel wrote that Castro had once stated that “homosexuals should not be allowed in positions where they are able to exert influence upon young people.” Similarly, in his book Machos, Maricones and Gays: Cuba and Homosexuality, Ian Lumsden describes how Castro wished to “cleanse” the island’s art scene of homosexuals. Though there have been reports of reforms in this area, as recently as 2008 police banned a gay rights march and arrested its organizers. Racism is also said to be an institutionalized factor of the communist regime. Jorge Luis García Perez Antúnez, a black Cuban political activist who was imprisoned as a political dissident, said of the Cuban government:

The authorities in my country have never tolerated that a black person oppose the regime. During the trial, the color of my skin aggravated the situation. Later when I was mistreated in prison by guards, they always referred to me as being black.

Antúnez’s story is far from unique in Cuba. Many people have been imprisoned for being critical of the communist party or expressing political beliefs deemed dangerous by the regime. Oscar Elias Biscet, a Cuban doctor and human rights campaigner, was sentenced to 25 years in 2003 during a crackdown on opponents to the regime. He was recently released after serving seven years only after lobbying and negotiations with the regime from the Cuban Catholic church. The Communist leadership had banned other political parties until very recently and authorities have been unusually brutal in suppressing non-Communist political organizing even for a totalitarian country. The leader of a center-left democratic socialist party, Jorge Valles, spent over twenty years in a Cuban prison for expressing political views that were not favorable of the regime and for political organizing outside of the Communist Party monopoly. Upon his release he wrote a book about his experience Twenty Days and Forty Days: Life In a Cuban Prison.

It’s hard to imagine a governing record that could be more diametrically opposed to the principles and values of left-liberalism. People who are tempted to romanticize communist Cuba must ask themselves what the point is of having free healthcare, free education and a healthy environment if people aren’t living in a free society in which they can fully enjoy these benefits. Those who think that there is a choice that must be made between the two are wrong both morally and factually: the choice between freedom and social democratic reforms is a false dichotomy.

The aforementioned policies have been implemented elsewhere with equal or greater success without the violent revolution, authoritarian governance, suppression of human rights, totalitarianism and destruction of freedoms that has occurred in Cuba. The Nordic countries, for instance, have through democratic means built a strong welfare state, progressive labour law and free universal healthcare and education which has produced a healthy, happy, highly unionized society while maintaining the freedoms of a liberal democracy. For these reasons Nordic countries have consistently ranked well in measures of societal health. Norway, for instance, has achieved the highest Human Development Index (an annual measure calculated by the U.N. Development Program) nine times, the most of any country. In the 2010 Democracy Index which measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, four of the five Nordic nations held the top four places with the fifth, Finland, close behind in 7th place. Cuba, on the other hand, ranked in the bottom fifty of the nations included in the study with a pitiful score of 3.52 (on a 0 to 10 scale) and amongst the nations considered “authoritarian regimes.” Similarly, Cuba’s fellow Latin American nation Costa Rica has instituted a wide range of environmental reforms which led to it being ranked as the greenest nation in the world. But in stark contrast to Cuba, it has remained a liberal democratic country with a strong record for human rights and individual freedoms.

Far from being an archetype for left-wing public policy ideas, communist Cuba is a testimony to the failed and unworkable ideology of the far-left. Complete state power is a goal that the left should neither aspire to nor defend since it has not led to societal well-being or comprehensive civil liberties. Furthermore, Cuba is not even a good example of the socialist ideal. If we are to measure a society’s socialism based on the extent that working people are in control of their lives, Cuba would rank at or close to the bottom compared to other countries. Even neoliberal bastions like the U.S. and U.K. are more socialist on this criteria of measurement. The fall of the Castro regime in Cuba, far from being a defeat for the left, would be the opposite: a hope that one more country can begin the path to embracing both a free society and social democratic ideas. If we are to defend genuine, democratic Cuban leftism, Jorge Valles would be a far better person to reference and aspire to rather than the cult-like totalitarian regime that was forced upon the Cuban people at gun point in 1959.

Injured Dissidents Remain Imprisoned

From The Miami Herald:

Cuban dissidents: Colleagues injured in police crackdown

Cuban dissidents vowed to protest at a State Security office Tuesday unless police free 10 government critics detained in a crackdown where several suffered head wounds, a broken rib and other injuries.

Police also severely beat Angel Moya, a well known former political prisoner, in a lockup because he would not stop shouting anti-government slogans, according to the dissidents. There was no word on his condition.

Hostage-Taking is a Tool of Terrorism

Last week marked two-years since American development worker, Alan Gross, was taken hostage by the Castro regime.

Family, friends and human rights activists spent the week highlighting the injustice of Alan Gross's imprisonment and pressing for his unconditional release.

Yet, ironically, the Castro regime's D.C. image consultants chose last week to launch a campaign at the National Press Club to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state-sponsors of terrorism.

Not surprisingly, most of the coverage came from Cuban state media.

Of course, they failed to point out the obvious fact that hostage-taking is a prevalent tool of state-sponsored terrorism.

The Most Brutal Dictatorship of the Americas

Last month, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed a law setting up a truth commission, which will examine murder, torture and “disappearances” perpetrated by both the dictatorship and the resistance between 1946 and 1988.

Note this paragraph from The Economist :

"[A]lthough Brazil’s generals killed an estimated 400 people, that compares with 2,000-3,000 in Chile and 13,000-30,000 in Argentina."

Meanwhile, according to the Black Book of Communism (published by Harvard University Press), the Castro regime in Cuba shot 15,00-17,000 in the first decade of it 52-year dictatorship alone.

(Most of those overseen by now supposed "Reformer-in-Chief" Raul Castro).

And that's just by firing squad, in a country with a fraction of the population of Brazil (195 million), Chile (17 million) and Argentina (40 million). Cuba's current population in 11 million.

Moreover, that doesn't include the thousands of other victims of extrajudicial killings, deaths in prisons, disappearances and those who died (or were killed) while fleeing the island.

The Cuban truth commission, when its day comes, will embarrass many who have sought to defend and justify the most brutal dictatorship of the Americas.

Looking to Purchase Cuban Real Estate?

An important reminder for people subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

Kudos to the Justice Department for enforcing the law.

From Courthouse News:

Attorney Charged With Going to Cuba

A Scarsdale attorney and a client were arrested and charged with conspiring to violate the trade embargo against Cuba, and the attorney is charged with obstructing justice.

Marc Verzani, 45, is accused of spending money in Cuba. His client Adem Arici, 49, of Brooklyn, "invested millions of dollars in Cuban real estate," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing the prosecution.

Neither the statement nor the 7-page federal complaint indicates that Verzani assisted Arici in his Cuban real estate investments.

They are charged with violating the Trading with the Enemy Act.

Verzani allegedly went to Cuba with a third party, a cooperating witness (CW). They allegedly met Arici in Cuba, "who showed them a hotel that he was building and a house that he owned," according to the U.S. Attorney's statement. "Verzani and the CW decided not to purchase Cuban real estate but they, along with Arici, spent money on food, drink, transportation, entertainment, and personal services."

Both men are charged with witness tampering: trying to get the cooperating witness to cover up their trip to Cuba. Verzani is charged with giving false testimony in a civil proceeding: denying he went to Cuba.

The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; witness tampering by 20 years and $250,000; obstruction of justice by 10 years and $250,000.

Alan Gross Needs a New Lawyer, Pt. 2

For months (and longer), we've argued that Alan Gross, an American development worker being held hostage by the Castro regime, needs a new lawyer (or at least, a new legal strategy).

It seems like Alan Gross's wife finally understands why.

From The Miami Herald:

"At first we were keeping things pretty quiet because that's what we were advised to do, and not to try to ruffle the feathers of the Cubans at all," Judy Gross said. "But that obviously hasn't worked, so we're now trying to go more vocal. And still being nice about it."

Sometimes, she said, she wonders whether any strategy is best.

"You don't know," she said. "It's very hard to read the Cubans. You just don't know what they want. They've never really told us what they want."

Havana Bureaus Ignore Brutal Repression

Kudos to The Miami Herald for reporting on this weekend's brutal repression of pro-democracy activists in Cuba.

Yet, where are all the Havana new bureaus?

Shamefully absent.

From The Miami Herald:

Police reportedly detain about 150 dissidents in two days of attempted street marches in Cuba

Cuban police and men in civilian clothes attacked more than 50 dissidents as they started a protest march Friday in the eastern town of Palma Soriano, leaving many of them bleeding from head wounds, witnesses and dissidents reported.

The march was part of an effort to stage coordinated protests throughout the island, starting in eastern Cuba, that had led to the police arrests of about 150 dissidents since they started Thursday, opposition activists reported.

Palma resident Liliana Rodríguez said the incident began after about 300 police and many men in civilian clothes closed off the street in front of her house, where about 50 government opponents had gathered for the protest march.

FBI Conducts Cuba Business Arrests

For those thinking of skirting U.S. law.

From New York state's Lower Hudson Journal News:

Scarsdale lawyer accused of illegal business trip to Cuba

A Scarsdale lawyer and a Brooklyn man illegally traveled to Cuba on a business trip in violation of the long-standing embargo against the island's communist dictatorship, federal officials say.

Federal agents arrested Marc Verzani, 45, of Claremont Road, Scarsdale, and Adem Arici, 49, of Brooklyn, Thursday and charged them with conspiring to violate the federal Trading With the Enemy Act and trying to cover up the trip to Cuba.

On the five-day business trip in September, Verzani consulted with Arici on Arici's existing business ventures, federal agents said.

"He counseled Arici about business matters, inspected Arici's business and real estate investments and looked at properties for potential purchase," Department of Homeland Security Agent Raymond DiPillo said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in White Plains. Verzani and Arici are accused of spending money while in Cuba, which is a violation of U.S. law [...]

Verzani and the unidentified third party stayed in Cuba five days, federal agents said.

Verzani lied on declaration papers upon reentering the United States, claiming he had only been to Mexico on the trip, DiPillo said.

Arici, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has invested millions of dollars in Cuba, federal agents said.

Verzani lied about his trip to Cuba during an Oct. 11 hearing in federal court regarding a separate matter, according to the complaint.

Verzani faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Arici faces up to 15 years.

From The White House

From today's White House Press Briefing:

Q. Jay, I have two questions, the first is repeating my partner Lesley’s question yesterday. Alan Gross in Cuba -- is the President going to make any request to Cuba to release him by tomorrow on the two-year anniversary of his captivity?

MR. CARNEY: As you know, Steve, tomorrow will mark the two-year anniversary of the unjustified detention of Alan Gross by Cuban authorities. Our deepest sympathies are with Mr. Gross and his family and friends, who have suffered tremendously during this ordeal. It is past time for Mr. Gross to return home to his family where he belongs.

Cuban authorities have failed in their effort to use Mr. Gross as a pawn for their own ends. They must heed the call of Mr. Gross’s family and friends, the international community and the United States to immediately release Mr. Gross.

Mr. Gross is a dedicated international development worker who has devoted his life to helping people in more than 50 countries. His work in Cuba was to support the free flow of information to, from and among the Cuban people, in support of Cuban civil society. And we remain steadfast in our support for Cuban society and the desire of the Cuban people to determine their own future.

Q. Will the President make a personal appeal, or is that it?

MR. CARNEY: I don’t want to announce -- make any announcements about what he may or may not be saying, or statements he might issue.

From the State Department

From the U.S. Department of State:

Two-Year Mark of the Continued Incarceration of Alan Gross

Tomorrow Alan Gross will begin his third year of unjustified imprisonment in Cuba. He was arrested on December 3, 2009 and later given a 15 year prison sentence by Cuban authorities for simply facilitating connectivity between Havana’s Jewish community and the rest of the world. Mr. Gross is a 62-year-old husband, father, and dedicated professional with a long history of providing assistance and support to underserved communities in more than 50 countries. We continue to call on the Cuban government to release Alan Gross and return him to his family, where he belongs.

Bipartisan Letter to State on Alan Gross

Berkley Calls on Cuba to Immediately Release American Citizen Alan Gross

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling attention to the ongoing case of American citizen Alan Gross, who has been imprisoned in Cuba for the past two years. Gross was arrested in December 2009 and was later charged with providing communications equipment to Cuban citizens. He has suffered numerous medical conditions during his incarceration.

The text of the letter, signed by Berkley and seven bipartisan colleagues, appears below:

Dear Madam Secretary:

We wish to convey our continuing and serious concern regarding the arrest and imprisonment of an American citizen, Alan P. Gross, in Cuba.

Two years have now passed since Mr. Gross was arrested in Havana on December 3, 2009. We understand that Mr. Gross has endured a great deal during his incarceration, having lost 100 pounds and suffering numerous medical conditions. We also understand that Mr. Gross’s daughter and mother are both fighting cancer. Mr. Gross must be released immediately, and be allowed to reunite with his loved ones.

We thank you for all your past efforts to secure Mr. Gross’s release, and we once again urge the State Department to demand Mr. Gross’s immediate release from custody and to ensure his safe return to his family in the United States. We appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Berkley was joined by Representatives Diaz-Balart, Sires, Burton, Rivera, Rigell, Rothman and Wasserman Schultz in signing the letter. The Congresswoman and her colleagues sent similar letters to the State Department earlier this year and in 2010.

Amnesty Slams Clinton's Burma Visit

From Amnesty International:

Clinton's Visit to Burma: Is Obama Administration Slipping on Human Rights?

Tomorrow Secretary Clinton will become the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Burma (Myanmar) in 50 years. She was dispatched by President Obama to engage the regime that still holds over 1,500 political prisoners and commits serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, including rape. She arrives on December 1st to shake hands with an ex-military leader turned "democrat" President Thein Sein. However, when this "democrat" came to power, the U.S. called the elections a "sham." Over the years, Congress has enacted a number of strong sanctions against Burma for its gross human rights abuses.

When a senior U.S. leader, such as Secretary Clinton, visits a foreign country that has been previously vilified, the visit acts as an informal endorsement of that government. Is that the message we want to send the brutal regime in Burma?

Why this change of heart for the Obama administration? Is it because a few political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, were released? Remember, she was released earlier in past years only to be re-arrested, again and again. Human rights abuses abound -- only recently, several political prisoners went on hunger strike and were held in cells designed to hold dogs. Attacks on ethnic minorities have not stopped and in some instances has increased under the current regime.

This is not the first time the Obama administration has tried to engage Burma. A year ago, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kurt Campbell was sent to discuss improvements to the political and human rights situation there. But, after a series of talks the Burmese junta turned its back on the U.S. and held an election to elect itself "democratically" by conducting sham elections. Military generals simply changed their uniforms to suits to capture power.

There are arguments that the U.S. should seize the moment with the so-called "Burma Spring" in the making. The difference between Arab Spring and "Burma Spring" is that the Arab Spring was led by the people and the "Burma Spring" movement for change is being led by the very regime known for its brutality. Secretary Clinton's trip will also give ideas to other dictators and generals around the world about "how to engage and win Washington."

The reality on the ground is disturbing. Serious human rights abuses are continuing, despite small signs of progress such as the release of a few prisoners, minor changes in electoral law and media freedom. These changes can be too easily reversed. And more importantly, these changes are not significant enough for a secretary of state to rush a visit to a country that became a poster child for oppression and brutality. Why this rush without waiting for concrete change? Has Secretary Clinton ever suggested to the Burmese regime that for her to visit the regime should, at a minimum, set bench marks for human rights improvements, release political prisoners and stop abuses against ethnic minorities? It appears that the Burmese regime has been given a blank check by Obama administration.

For the last three decades the U.S. relationship with Burma was guided by its genuine human rights concerns and lack of democracy in that country. The U.S. led the world in isolating Burma and punishing it in the international arena. Even though successive U.S. administrations were well aware of the strategic importance of Burma, they all put human rights and democracy above other considerations. Is Obama administration slipping on this stand? Otherwise, why is President Obama willing to dispatch his secretary of state to a country still on the black list for human rights abuses and democratic freedoms?

Quote of the Day

"Alan has made it clear to me and to others, and has since communicated it to the rabbi (David Shneyer) by letter, that he has never compared himself to the 'Five' and that in no way does he advocate for such an exchange."

-- Judy Gross, wife of the Castro regime's American hostage Alan Gross, Cafe Fuerte, 12/2/11

19 Senators Urge Release of Alan Gross

Senators Call for Immediate and Unconditional Release of American Alan Gross from Cuban Prison

Two-year incarceration is a major setback in bilateral relations and human rights violation

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and a bipartisan group of 18 senators, including Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Carl Levin (D-MI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Dean Heller (R-NV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), have written to the Cuban Government urging them in the strongest possible manner to immediately and unconditionally release Marylander Alan Gross who has been held in prison since December 3, 2009.

“After two years in a Cuban prison, Mr. Gross and his family have paid an enormous personal price. Mr. Gross has lost 100 pounds and suffers from numerous medical conditions. In addition, Mr. Gross’s daughter and mother are both fighting cancer, and his wife is struggling to make ends meet. We strongly urge the Cuban Government to immediately release Mr. Gross on humanitarian grounds and allow him to be reunited with his family,” the Senators wrote to Jorge Bolaños, Chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington.

Calling Alan Gross’ continued incarceration a “major setback in bilateral relations,” the senators concluded: “We urge your government in the strongest possible terms to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Gross, so that we can resume a more positive path to the benefit of American and Cuban people alike.”

Gross was in Cuba to help the country’s small Jewish community establish an Intranet and improve its access to the internet, access which would allow the community to go online without fear of censorship or monitoring. After being held for 14 months without charge and then a cursory two-day trial, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His appeal to the Cuban Supreme Court was denied in August of this year.

73 House Members Urge Release of Alan Gross

December 1, 2011

Mr. Jorge Bolaños
Chief of Mission
Cuban Interests Section
Embassy of Switzerland
2639 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Dear Mr. Bolaños,

It is with deep concern that we write to you regarding the ongoing imprisonment by your government of Alan P. Gross. On the eve of the second anniversary of his arrest and detention in Cuba, and with the legal process having formally concluded, his fate and that of his family now lie in the hands of your president, Raúl Castro. The Cuban Government has indicated that it would be open to resolving Mr. Gross’s case through diplomatic channels. We hope that you will honor that commitment and release Mr. Gross on humanitarian grounds immediately.

After two years in a Cuban prison, Mr. Gross and his family have paid an enormous personal price for his actions in Cuba. Mr. Gross has lost 100 pounds and suffers from numerous medical conditions. In addition, the Gross family situation is one that warrants compassion. As you know, Mr. Gross’s daughter and mother are both fighting cancer, and his wife is struggling to make ends meet. We respectfully urge the Cuban Government to immediately release Mr. Gross on humanitarian grounds and allow him to be reunited with his loved ones.

As Mr. Gross explained to both the trial Court and Cuba’s Supreme Court, his intention was never to harm the Cuban Government in any way. In fact, Mr. Gross spoke in court of his affection for the Cuban people and respect for the island’s sovereignty. As we mark two years since Mr. Gross has been in Cuban custody, we hope that your government will release Alan so he may return to his family.

In light of the above, Mr. Gross’s continued incarceration is viewed by all Members of Congress, regardless of their political views on Cuba, as a major setback in bilateral relations. It is unlikely that any further positive steps can or will be taken by the Obama Administration or this Congress as long as Mr. Gross remains in a Cuban jail. We urge your government in the strongest possible terms to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Gross so that we can move forward.

Sincerely,

View signatures here.

Must-See Video of Yesterday's Protest

Don't miss this video of yesterday's protest by Cuban pro-democracy leaders Yvonne Malleza and Blanca Hernandez Moya in Havana's Fraternity Park.

At the 2:30 mark, note how the gathering crowd turns on the state security officials and begins screaming "Libertad" ("Freedom"):

Crowds Gather in Support of Dissidents

Yesterday, Cuban pro-democracy leaders Ivonne Malleza and Blanca Hernández Moya led a protest in Havana's Fraternity Park.

They carried bedsheets that read, "No More Lies and Deceptions for the Cuban People" and "No More Hunger, Misery and Poverty in Cuba."

Soon thereafter, two police officers assaulted them and grabbed the bedsheets. However, they were confronted by the gathering crowd and eventually forced to retreat.

About 20 minutes later, numerous patrol cars and state security personnel arrived, began to violently beat the activists, tear gassed the crowd and arrested the activists.

Among those arrested were Malleza, Hernandez Moya, Ignacio Martinez Montero and a teenager who was not associated with the protests but was in the proximity with a cell phone.

Below is a must-see picture of the gathering crowds, which quickly grew in support of the dissidents and began shouting insults at the police.

Malleza led a similar protest last August in Havana's Four Corners Plaza, to which nearly 300 passers-by gathered in support.

Yoani Among Top Global Thinkers

From Foreign Policy's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers:

#81 Yoani Sanchez

When Yoani Sánchez launched her blog, Generation Y, in 2007, the Havana-born computer programmer turned journalist was a virtual unknown. Four years later, she's a dissident voice of such prominence that the Cuban government has ordered her detained and beaten. A blurb from Barack Obama even graces her recently published book, Havana Real.

Sánchez's rise owes at least as much to her literary gifts as to the power of Web 2.0. Approaching her country's ills with both hopefulness and a gimlet eye, where most Cuba commentators are didactic and ideologically entrenched, her posts -- on everything from Raúl Castro's latest pronouncements to the taste of mangoes -- have over the years painted an unusually vivid portrait of a society in limbo. The very fact of their existence stands as a rebuke to a government that still sharply limits its citizens' access to the Internet. (For years, Sánchez had to sneak into hotels pretending to be a German tourist in order to publish them.) "We have taken back what belongs to us," Sánchez wrote in February. "These virtual places are ours, and they will have to learn to live with what they can no longer deny."

Q&A with Yoani:

Muse
The freedom brought by the new technologies.

Stimulus or austerity?
Stimulate investment and apply austerity to public spending.

America or China?
America.

Arab Spring or Arab Winter?
Spring.

Reading list
Mundo Twitter, by José Luis Orihuela; El hombre que amaba a los perros, by Leonardo Padura; El sueño del celta, by Mario Vargas Llosa.

Best idea
The Internet is a universal human right.

Worst idea
The people love their dictators.