The Last Straw? White House lashes Cuba over dissident crackdown*** WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House pointed an accusing finger at Cuba's latest crackdown on dissidents, calling it proof President Fidel Castro's government remains a "totalitarian blight" on the region. "We are not going to reverse our policy of helping the dissidents," pledged national security spokesman Michael Anton, who said US President George W. Bush was "deeply concerned" about Castro's heavy-handed tactics. In the widest crackdown on opposition to the Castro government in years, dozens of dissidents, including journalists, economists and political reformers, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms this week. "The Castro regime's arrest, prosecution and sentencing of these brave and peaceful activists are repugnant reminders that the regime remains a totalitarian blight in an otherwise peaceful and democratic hemisphere," said Anton.
The US House of Representatives meanwhile unanimously approved a resolution condemning the arrests of 79 Cuban dissidents and the harsh sentences handed down to dozens of them. The measure passed by 414 "yes" votes and 10 abstentions, said the office of Florida Republican Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who co-sponsored it. "The House of Representatives sent a clear message today in support of the Cuban people's right to be free and in opposition to the brutal tyranny that oppresses Cuba," said Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American and hardline Fidel Castro opponent. "Today's vote honors the Cuban people as well as the American people," he said. ***
From Cuba, an Urgent Appeal to the World***My name is Elsa Morejon Hernandez. I'm a Christian woman who defends human rights in Cuba. My wish is that this letter serves as testimony to the world concerning the injustices and psychological terror presently suffered by those of us who struggle peacefully in our country for the freedom of all Cubans. My husband, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet González, president of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, is a pro-democracy activist presently incarcerated and accused of committing crimes against Cuban State Security. He has been subjected to the physical and psychological mistreatment suffered by all those who oppose the present Cuban regime such as beatings, threats, humiliation, blackmail, intimidating interrogatories and incarcerations in cells deprived of light, along with insane individuals and common criminals. On several occasions, State Security tried to subject him to psychiatric examinations, pressured him to leave Cuba and has prohibited him from practicing medicine.
For his peaceful struggle in favor of human rights, my husband had to serve a three-year sentence in the maximum security prison "Cuba Si," 768 kilometers away from his family. Thirty-six days following his excarceration on Oct. 31, 2002, he was rearrested Dec. 6 as he was about to assemble with other activists to discuss human rights. He remained 19 days at a Police Precinct (PNR) in Havana, sharing a cell with five delinquents and sleeping on the floor. He was transferred Dec. 24, 2002, to the Combinado del Este Prison where he was confined to a cellblock with 30 common criminals. Since March 29, 2003, he has been imprisoned at Villa Marista, the general headquarters of the political police in Havana, and was summoned to appear Monday, April 7, before the Municipal Tribunal of 10 de Octubre. Authorities are requesting a 25-year sentence, based on article 91 of the Cuban Penal Code, which implies Crimes against State Security.***