So much for the "generational shift" theory.
Miyares Calls Upon Governor McAuliffe to Meet with Cuban Dissidents on Havana Mission
"As Governor McAuliffe decides to ring in the New Year in the only non-democratic nation in the entire Western Hemisphere, perhaps he should keep in mind the thousands of dissidents that are harassed, beaten and imprisoned each day in Cuba simply because they yearn for freedom."
Jason Miyares, the first Cuban-American elected to the General Assembly and the Delegate-elect for the 82nd district in the House of Delegates, called upon Governor McAuliffe to address Cuban dissidents on his announced inaugural trip to the communist nation. Currently the citizens of Cuba have no freedom of speech, worship, or the ability to dissent from a government that derives no consent from the governed. Free elections have never occurred on the island nation during the fifty-plus years of the Castro brothers brutal dictatorship.
Amnesty International detailed just last month that there were nearly "1,500 arrests" of human-rights protesters, which was double the normal monthly average of 700 political human rights arrests in Cuba. In December, on International Human Rights Day no less, Cuban security police arrested close to 200 human rights dissidents, without trial.
Miyares released the following statement:
"As Governor McAuliffe decides to ring in the New Year in the only non-democratic nation in the entire Western Hemisphere, perhaps he should keep in mind the thousands of dissidents that are harassed, beaten and imprisoned each day in Cuba simply because they yearn for freedom. As Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe holds the same seat as Thomas Jefferson, and as such he has a special responsibility during his Cuba trip to speak out on behalf of the timeless universal truths of his predecessor; the self-evident truths that 'all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights' including the Right of 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuant of Happiness.'
Mr. Jefferson was able to utter those words to the mighty British Empire 240 years ago, surely Governor McAuliffe can advocate these same timeless principles to the Castro regime today.
The Governor can begin with Morera Bacallao, who is in grave condition rotting away in one of Castro's prisons because he has had the temerity to speak out for free elections in Cuba. Or perhaps Governor McAuliffe can inquire about the condition of Jose Daniel Ferrer, the leader of the pro-democracy Cuban Patriotic Union recently arrested by the regime and whose whereabouts are currently unknown. No doubt Governor McAuliffe can find fifteen minutes of his time and make a symbolic visit with the internationally recognized Ladies in White, the mothers and female relatives of Cuban political prisoners.
Governor McAuliffe can display incredible Virginia courage and use his office as platform to provide a voice for the voiceless to the dictatorship he is visiting upon this week."
Miyares is a Cuban-American whose family fled the communist island in 1965. He previously served as a Virginia Beach prosecutor (Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney) where kept violent criminals, drug dealers and sex offenders off the streets. He is currently the Delegate-elect for the 82nd House of Delegates district in Virginia Beach, where he won his November election by a record margin.
