cuba
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By Michael Allen on March 1, 2010
Following the death of Cuban prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo, the island’s communist authorities have been arresting and harassing dissidents. The World Youth Movement for Democracy highlights other disturbing cases and calls for action:
At approximately 7pm on February 23, human rights activist of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy Cristian Toranzo Fundichely, regional winner [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Cuba, Latin America and the Carribean, communist regimes, dissidents, freedom of expression | Tagged cuba, Cuban prisoner of conscience, New Castro, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Same Cuba, World Youth Movement for Democracy |
By Michael Allen on October 28, 2009
Cuban dissidents have released an open letter to protest at Spain’s attempt to normalize European relations with communist Cuban authorities in the run-up to the Spanish EU presidency.
The letter, signed by 37 dissidents, 33 of whom remain in prison, criticizes Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos for rebuffing human rights activists while visiting Havana last [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Human rights, National Endowment for Democracy, dissidents, engagement | Tagged cuba, democracy in Cuba |
By Michael Allen on June 26, 2009
President Barack Obama called on Cuba’s communist regime to release all political prisoners and he praised five dissidents recognized this week by the National Endowment for Democracy. Cuba has the worst human rights record in the hemisphere and consistently suppresses independent political activity.
Obama said he hoped that the three incarcerated award recipients – Librado Linares [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Latin America and the Carribean, authoritarianism, dissidents | Tagged Antúnez, cuba, Jorge Luis García Pérez, National Endowment for Democracy, NED Democracy Award, political prisoners, President Barack Obama, Rosa Parks Women’s Movement |
By Michael Allen on June 18, 2009
By appeasing Cuba’s communist regime, Europe is betraying the humanist ideal at the core of its political identity, writes former dissident Vaclav Havel.
“One of the fundamental pillars of Europe’s political architecture is a strong and enduring belief in the universal validity of equal, universal, and inalienable human rights,” he says. But, 20 years on from [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Europe, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, democracy promotion, dissidents | Tagged civil and political rights, cuba, Cuban civil society, dissidents, General Affairs and External Relations Council, human, human rights in Cuba, independent civil-society groups, political prisoners in Cuba, political reform, pro-democracy opposition, Vaclav Havel, Women in White (Damas de Blanco) |
By Michael Allen on June 5, 2009
Contrary to suggestions that it signals the end of the Cold War in the hemisphere, the decision by the Organization of American States (OAS) to end Cuba’s exclusion may not be such a big deal, some observers suggest.
“The OAS decision is unlikely to hasten democratic change in Cuba; the Cuban government, after all, has [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Cuba, Human rights, Latin America and the Carribean, authoritarianism, promoting democracy | Tagged Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, cuba, Hugo Chávez, new authoritarianism, obama administration, Organization of American |
By Michael Allen on May 26, 2009
The U.S. should resist moves to readmit Cuba to the Organization of American States, a leading Senator argues. Such a move would make a nonsense of the OAS members’ conviction, outlined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, that “the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy, and their governments have an obligation to promote [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Human rights, Latin America and the Carribean, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, dissidents, promoting democracy | Tagged cuba, Inter-American Democratic Charter, military dictatorship, obama administration, Organization of American States, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on May 12, 2009
Has the Obama administration “backed away from overt expressions of support for human rights and democracy in favor of a more subtle approach” or is a more fundamental shift under way?
Leon Wieseltier fears that a supposedly ideological approach to foreign policy is being supplanted by “a new kind of realpolitik, distinguished not by toughness but [read full story]
Posted in China, Cuba, Democracy assistance, Global, Human rights, Iran, NGOs/Civil society, Russia, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, foreign policy, promoting democracy | Tagged cuba, Democracy assistance, democracy promotion, democracy support, engagement, Human rights, iran, promoting democracy, realpolitik |
By Michael Allen on May 11, 2009
Are democracies capitulating to authoritarian forces within the international institutions?
Some commentators have dismissed proposals for a league or concert of democracies to defend and promote liberal democratic ideas and institutions in the international arena. Others have queried the notion of an authoritarian resurgence.
But current events suggest that international institutions are a critical arena in which [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, China, Cuba, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, dictatorships, dissidents, promoting democracy | Tagged authoritarian resurgence, backlash against democracy, concert of democracies, cuba, democracy in Cuba, Inter-American Democratic Charter, League of Democracies, obama administration, Organization of American States |
By Michael Allen on April 22, 2009
A new approach to engaging with Cuba should establish a program of assistance for independent civil society and license the transfer of funds for activities that address human rights, rule of law, micro-enterprise, and professional training. The “fundamental criterion” for determining policy should be whether it “benefits the Cuban people more than the regime,” said [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Democracy assistance, Human rights, Latin America and the Carribean, NGOs/Civil society, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, foreign policy, promoting democracy | Tagged civil society, cuba, democracy and civil society assistance, Democracy assistance, democracy support |
By Michael Allen on April 9, 2009
Excellent op-ed in the Washington Post today berating those pushing for a shift in policy towards Cuba without linking such changes to democracy and human rights. It observes that the congressional pressure could undermine President Obama’s promise that “liberty” will be at the center of his administration’s Cuba policy and that the lifting of the [read full story]
Posted in Cuba, Latin America and the Carribean, democracy promotion, foreign policy, promoting democracy | Tagged communism, cuba, dissidents |
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