Overcoming Castro's 'Culture of Fear'

.......A prominent symbol of dissident stamina is Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. The 43-year-old renowned pacifist, whose motto is “life and freedom,” is a devout Christian and follower of Martin Luther King, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama.

He first got in trouble with the regime in 1998 when he was working at a Havana hospital and he presented to authorities the results of a clandestine study he had done on the government’s use of the chemical substance Rivanol to abort advanced pregnancies. The practice is widespread in Cuba, including its common use among girls as young as 12, who during their government-mandated school time in the countryside without their parents, often become pregnant.

Dr. Biscet has written that the study proved “the murder of infants born alive, denied of medical assistance.” According to his report “the umbilical cord was cut and they were allowed to bleed to death or they were wrapped alive in paper and asphyxiated.” His opposition to these practices made him a counter revolutionary and qualified him for the corresponding government program: He was fired, lost his home and was set upon by mobs that beat him and harassed his family.

In December 2002, Dr. Biscet’s plan to create small groups meeting in private homes to promote human rights landed him in jail again and he received a 25-year sentence. The Web site www.free-biscet.org says that since his incarceration “he has staged protests against Cuba’s violation of human rights at the prison with acts of civil disobedience, such as fasting and holding prayer services.

“Consequently, he was punished by being locked up in solitary confinement for 42 days in an unlit cell.” Cuba’s notorious “punishment” cells have no windows, a hole in the floor for a toilet and measure only about three-feet wide. Yet despite such grim circumstances, Dr. Biscet send messages like this on: “My conscience and my spirit are well.”

Of course, Dr. Biscet’s real crime is that he is an Afro-Cuban who is neither grateful nor obedient to the regime and who answers to a higher power. Perhaps his worst transgression is his courage, which makes him a dangerous inspiration to the many Cubans that are now organizing in small groups.

Jay Nordlinger: Who Cares About Cuba?***….. Perhaps the most inspiring name of all is that of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet Gonzalez, a virtual saint of the resistance. Biscet is a practitioner of civil disobedience in the tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, his avowed models. He has been imprisoned and tortured since 1998. We know, through his wife, that he has blessed and forgiven his torturers even as they have tortured him. Here is a man-Biscet-whose name should be on many lips. Cuban dissidents complain bitterly that if he were a prisoner of a right-wing regime he would be a worldwide cause. Yet he is anonymous; not even his dark skin seems able to help him. The stream of American celebrities who go to Havana to sup, smoke, and banter with "Fidel" are oblivious……..***

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***........Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:

All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.

Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.

The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."

The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.

And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat. ...... President George W. Bush's 2005 Inaugural Address

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