You never know. If you lived in Cuba you just might be. That’s the ridiculous charge the communist regime pinned on Christian rights activist Misael Diaz Paseiro.
A year ago, Paseiro, who’s a member of the Orlando Zapata Tamayo Civic Resistance Front (not too sure what their specific mission is… ?), was arrested on charges of “pre-criminal social dangerousness.”
Authorities forced their way into Misael’s home where they confiscated two Bibles, crucifixes and rosaries. He was badly beaten by Cuba’s political police on November 4, 2017.
Watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported that Misael was told by the police:
“Misael, in addition to being a counter-revolutionary, you are also a Christian,” the police said.
“You should look at us, we are revolutionaries and we don’t believe in your God. Our god is Fidel Castro.”
Deliverance for Misael, and other victims of Cuba’s persecution, may be on the way. Unlike his totalitarian-friendly predecessor, Donald Trump is not impressed with Cuba’s oppressive government, specifically their tyrannical practice of imprisoning political dissidents ~ US: Cuba’s political prisoners are “affront” to democracy ~
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — (10-15-18) The United States says Cuba is jailing 130 political prisoners in a “blatant affront” to fundamental democratic freedoms, but the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations said Monday that the U.S. lacks the moral authority to teach other countries such lessons given what she calls the Trump administration’s “agenda of supremacist, racist and xenophobic ideas.”
On Tuesday, October 16th, the U.S. introduced a new campaign at the U.N. – “Jailed for What?” (# PresosPorQué) – intended to hold Cuba’s regime responsible for human rights violations ~
The initiative… recognizes the estimated 130 political prisoners by the Cuban government and affirms that these prisoners are “an explicit sign of the repressive nature of the regime and represent a flagrant affront to the fundamental freedoms that the United States and many other democratic governments. ”
The Cuban U.N. delegation threw a fit when U.S. envoy to the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Kelley Currie made the official announcement. Here’s an excerpt from her remarks ~
A few weeks ago, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel came here to the United Nations and painted a rosy picture of his country as a paragon of solidarity, democracy, and human rights. But to the more than five thousand Cubans who were arbitrarily detained for political reasons in 2017, this is a sick joke.
More and more, Cuban repression relies on raids of activists’ homes and offices, short-term detentions, and public denunciations known as “repudio.”
At the same time, reputable NGOs report that well over 100 Cubans currently languish in jails or under house arrest as political prisoners. The Cuban government tried, convicted, and sentenced many on arbitrary charges like “contempt” of Cuban authorities or “pre-criminal social dangerousness” – bogus legal constructs meant to deny human beings of their most basic rights to free thought and expression […]
Cuba’s political prisoners are an explicit sign of the repressive nature of the regime and represent a blatant affront to the fundamental freedoms that the United States and many other democratic governments support, and that are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The urgency of this injustice is exemplified by the grave state of health of Cuban democratic activist Tomas Nunez Magdariaga, who spent 62 days on a hunger strike in protest of his unjust imprisonment. We welcome his long overdue release and return home.
So much for civility. Much of Currie’s speech had to be delivered over loud protestations and tantrums ~
Protesting Cuban and Bolivian diplomats shouted, chanted and banged their hands on desks. “I have never in my life seen diplomats behave the way that the Cuban delegation did today. It was really shocking and disturbing,” Currie told reporters. “You can understand very well why people feel afraid to speak their minds … with this kind of government, this kind of thuggish behavior,” she said. “It has no place here in the United Nations.”
Undaunted by the interruptions Currie continued with her remarks ~
President Trump is taking action to hold the Cuban regime responsible for its human rights violations and supporting the Cuban people’s aspirations to live in freedom.
Today, we come to the United Nations to remind the world that today, in Cuba, there are political prisoners. They come from all over Cuba, these men and women – activists, lawyers, workers, from different faiths and walks of life.
They are united in their quest to speak out for a better, freer, more democratic Cuba for themselves and their children. And their imprisonment is not only a violation of the fundamental freedoms all of us cherish, but it is also a human tragedy […]
The “Jailed for What” campaign will draw attention to the cases of specific political prisoners.
We urge our partners to join with us in calling on the Government of Cuba to release all political prisoners.
Many Member States in the United Nations call themselves friends of Cuba. The United States is proud to call ourselves friends of the Cuban people.
Our State Department is getting behind this effort on Twitter, naming various prisoners and detailing the bogus charges against them ~
Here’s something you didn’t see from the State Department during the eight years of the Obama administration: The U.S. clearly and powerfully speaking out in support and defense of Cuba’s political prisoners.
The State Security of #Cuba violently detained Melkis for crimes of “resistance” that she did not commit. She’s now serving a 7 year sentence away from her husband and 3 young kids for protesting Cuba’s unjust imprisonment of human rights activists. #Jailedforwhat pic.twitter.com/ZehTE51Q0e
— U.S. State Dept | Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor (@StateDRL) October 22, 2018
The government of #Cuba sentenced José to 5 years in prison with no justification or due process. José’s crime? Daring to encourage Cuban youth to participate in their country’s elections. #Jailedforwhat pic.twitter.com/cOQYdeDlQa
— U.S. State Dept | Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor (@StateDRL) October 26, 2018
More tweets HERE.
This is a such a ray of – dare I say – real hope and change for the repressed Cuban people! Unlike the feckless approach of our previous administration, under President Trump the U.S. is actually standing up to communist bullies.
And the very fact that the progressive mainstreams ignored this story, tells you everything you need to know about how they really feel about human rights violations. Rather than celebrating this as an advancement for true freedom for Cuba, they want us to believe Trump is the fascist. It’s the Left’s increasingly totalitarian mindset that’s truly frightening.
A charge of “pre-criminal social dangerousness” sounds like – as Babalu Blog points out – a Monty Python joke. But if the Left gets back in power here in America they’ll probably start locking up conservatives for that very crime.
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Related:
Is the US morphing into Cuba? No worries, God wins in the end!
Christian rights activist in Cuba arrested after his Bibles are confiscated
Haley demands UN punish Cuba, Bolivia after ‘mob scene’ and pay for damage
Cuba startled at U.S. move to redirect UN embargo resolution to spotlight Havana’s rights abuses ~ Shocker – The U.S. initiative may actually receive some support from the entire assembly ~
“For the first time in more than a decade, the United Nations will now consider a draft resolution focusing on the oppression of the Cuban people by its own dictatorial regime,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based UN Watch, a non-governmental human rights group that has been a leading voice at the world body for Cuban dissidents.
