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Articles
TWO ROADS?
Inside Cuba, Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet González, a prisoner of
conscience, sends his countrymen a message from the provincial prison of
Pinar Del Rio through his wife, Elsa Morejón. This civic leader is
serving a prison sentence of 25 years in inhumane conditions for the
sole reason of defending, peacefully, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
TWO ROADS?
By: Dr. Oscar E. Biscet González
September 19, 2003
To my Cuban people wherever you are: be it inside our enslaved island or
in exile anywhere in the world. I include also those descendents of
Cubans born in other countries. To all of you I send you my warmest and
sincere greeting.
Our efforts to gain the unconditional freedom of our homeland are almost
at the point of becoming a reality. I do not have to resort to details
to communicate to you what among Cubans is common knowledge. We suffer
not from a state of division or from a fragmentation of our principles,
but we lack a methodology to use. We do not lack unity of criteria
regarding our values, but we are missing the means we should apply to
gain our freedom. Unfortunately, significant differences of opinion have
made possible divisions between exiled leaders and dissidents inside
Cuba. These differences have given oxygen to the flames of the most
recent and dangerous obstacle we confront.
I refer to the movement for complacency; a movement that attempts to
make Cubans, who are faithful believers in freedom, believe that they
have to applaud and accept small doses of liberty. A movement that
suggests that we Cubans do not deserve full freedom, only small samples
of it. With this movement of low expectations goes the speculation that
other fragments of liberty and democracy will follow. This badly
thought-out movement does not claim for Cubans basic human rights, which
are recognized internationally, only suggests them. It does not demand
the democratic rights of the violated Constitution of 1940 and, instead,
chooses the illegitimate Communist constitution of 1976. This
constitution is nothing more than an instrument of oppression, a
malevolent document whose only purpose has been the justification of a
totalitarian and badly formulated state. It is an illegal aberration
that has permitted, and even encouraged, the incarceration and torture
of political opponents without the smallest right to a legal process or
to a defense. It is an atheist creation that has only served those who
enslave our country.
To those who may feel tired after more than 40 years of constant
oppression and fruitless efforts, to those who have lost their moral
compass due to frustrations and disagreements, to those who today
conclude that we must appease our oppressor, to them I ask: Is it worthy
to the memory of the thousands of young Cubans, our best progeny, which
were taken before a firing squad and shot dead for simply defending our
right to full freedom, that we now accept complacency? Do the tens of
thousands of patriots which served decades of years in prison, and that
are actually serving them inside a prison system whose horrors we can
only imagine, deserve only partial freedom? Do the innumerable families
that were separated from their dear ones, destroyed in the process,
similarly to those that have died at sea, or that have died in exile
dreaming of a return to their homeland, do they deserve to accept the
crumbs that are offered? Shall we accept defeat after almost half a
century of patriotic heroism in search of our liberty and democracy, or
shall we show the world that the most brutal and longest dictatorship of
our time could not extinguish the unbreakable spirit of freedom of the
Cuban people?
I should express that we have arrived at a crossroads on the path of our
history. Almost fifty years ago we confronted as a people a similar
historic decision. In those days many accepted the fatidic words which
today once again are heard: "anything would be better than what we have
now." They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. Tragically, more
than 40 years of national nightmare have passed to find ourselves faced
with the same disjunction, with the opportunity to rectify our errors
and truly transform ourselves into the masters of our own destiny.
I make a call to the unity of all of my countrymen. There is only one
road in front of us, a road that unites us and includes all Cubans in
their totality. A road that demands full democracy, the unconditional
freedom of the Cuban people under a system with a multiparty government
elected democratically during free general elections. A road that leads
to the establishment of a nation with rights guaranteeing equality under
the law without distinction of race, sex, or religious beliefs. A road
where all political prisoners are granted an immediate and unconditional
amnesty.
Fellow Cubans, let us step forward doing so in a decisive and clear
manner. The task that awaits us is hard, but not impossible. Together we
can obtain for our nation a full democracy deserving of all its
citizens.
To the leaders of the democratic nations of the world, to the American
people, and, in particular, to the President of the United States of
America, mister George W. Bush, we only ask a simple request: DO NOT
SUPPORT OR PROMOTE ANY SOLUTION OR AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE CUBAN
NATION THAT YOU WOULD NOT FIND ACCEPTABLE FOR YOUR OWN NATION.
May God illuminate our path to Cuba’s liberty.
Dr. OSCAR ELÍAS BISCET GONZÁLEZ
Kilo Cinco y Medio Prison
Section 3, Gallery 30
Luis Lazo Highway
Pinar del Rio Province, Cuba
Source: CubaNet
Traslation: Joaquín Sueiro Bonachea USA
La Nueva Cuba
Octubre 5, 2003
FuturodeCuba.com
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