OP-ED Contributor
By Vladimiro Roca
USA
La Nueva Cuba
March 23, 2004

As we mark one year since the brutal government crackdown on the peaceful opposition in Cuba, my mind goes back to the morning of March 18, 2003. I was at a meeting of dissident leaders; we were discussing the hostile tone of the previous day's "Mesa Redonda," a political TV talk show that the government uses to convey its point of view to the population.

"It is surprising that after yesterday's `Mesa Redonda' we are still able to meet today," one of my colleagues said. Little did we know that this comment would be a prophecy — within hours the arrests began around the country. In the end, more than 75 of my brothers and sisters were behind bars, with sentences of up to 28 years. I was spared, perhaps because I had been free for less than a year after spending more than four years in prison on charges of sedition.

The government, apparently concluding that the American invasion of Iraq would distract international scrutiny from its actions, had decided to destroy a growing opposition movement. That movement had been energized by the Varela Project, a petition calling for a referendum on democratic change that was presented to the National Assembly in 2002 with the signatures of more than 10,000 registered voters.

But Fidel Castro was mistaken. The international news media rushed to cover the wave of repression — and the executions last April of three Cubans who tried to flee the country by hijacking a ferry. Relations with the European Union soured, and Cuba was unable to negotiate its entrance to the Cotonou Agreement, a trade and aid pact among Europe and more than 70 countries in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean.

In addition, many European intellectuals and political groups who had sympathized with the regime — including the Nobel laureates José Saramago and Dario Fo, the filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, the Socialist International and the Communist Party of Italy — joined the condemnation. Many European embassies in Havana have begun to welcome Cuban dissidents to celebrate national days.

Some Castro supporters justify the political cost, arguing that the global condemnation was worth it. Many feel it was necessary not only in response to the Varela Project but also as a warning to some high-ranking government officials who seemed to be considering starting discussions with the opposition. Many Cubans feel that the wave of repression was more random — intended to prove to them, once again, that the government is willing to go to any lengths to preserve its power.

I believe the true motivation combines a bit of all of these ideas — along with the fact that this government is consumed by irrationality and hatred, which often leads it to take action without considering the consequences.

It is clear that the most negative outcome for the opposition has been the unjust imprisonment of 75 brave men and women, many of whom are elderly or in poor health. Most are incarcerated hundreds of miles away from their homes, making family visits difficult and in some cases impossible.

On the favorable side of the ledger, there is a robust international campaign to free them. This has been illustrated not only by the European actions but also by several international awards granted to imprisoned dissidents, like the Unesco World Press Freedom award given to the imprisoned poet and journalist Raúl Rivero.

On the island, the opposition has persevered — admittedly with a lower profile — and has begun to regroup. The Varela Project has collected an additional 14,000 signatures. Most hearteningly, many of the new advocates are in their 20's and 30's, which is vital to a movement led mostly by people who lived through the Cuban Revolution.

On the whole, I believe that the consequences of the crackdown have been a severe setback to the government. The regime was not able to subdue the opposition. Despite the regime's effort to exploit America's global unpopularity over the last year and its vigorous efforts to play up what it described as the "imminent threat of the imperialists," it has lost support among democratic countries.

On the one-year anniversary of the crackdown, I want to pass along a message to those behind bars: we will not give up in our fight to bring democratic change to our country; in spite of the government repression, we will maintain our international campaign for the freedom of each and every one of our prisoners of conscience.
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Vladimiro Roca is the spokesman for Todos Unidos, a coalition of Cuban dissident groups.

This article was translated by Joseph McSpedon from the Spanish.