Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS |
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 |
202-482-4883 |
Statement by U.S. CAFC Co-Chair Commerce Secretary Gutierrez on Harassment in Cuba Surrounding International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2007
“Yesterday the weakness of the Cuban regime was further exposed as Cubans tried to peacefully observe International Human Rights Day with a silent walk through a park in Havana. According to reports from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the activists who gathered were met by threatening mobs of government agents. There was no apparent effort to protect the peaceful demonstrators, several of whom were detained.
“On Sunday, December 9, the regime cracked down on the Ladies in White who had assembled as has been their custom for the past four years to walk peacefully in the streets to draw attention to their relatives and friends who are political prisoners of the brutal Castro dictatorship. Women members of Spain’s Democratic Convergence of Catalonia party who walked in solidarity with the Ladies in White were detained and summarily expelled from the country.
“The fact that the current regime will not tolerate observances of International Human Rights Day demonstrates its contempt for the basic human rights of its citizens.
“International Human Rights Day is observed around the world on December 10, to commemorate the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. President Bush proclaimed this week International Human Rights Week. In his proclamation he said, ‘Americans stand united with those who love democracy, justice, and individual liberty.’ We will continue to stand with the Cuban people as they fight for these rights.
“The U.S. Government again calls for an end to the violence and intimidation and urges the Cuban Government to release political prisoners, to return them to their families and to begin a process of national dialogue and reconciliation.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez is Co-Chair of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, a U.S. Cabinet-level Commission formed to explore ways the U.S. can help hasten and ease a democratic transition in Cuba.