OAS body condemns abuses in Cuba
Posted on Fri, Apr. 04, 2008
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
The human rights arm of the Organization of American States on Friday
condemned Cuba for multiple violations, drawing an angry response from its
allies Venezuela and Nicaragua, which argued Havana was unable to defend
itself.
In its 2007 annual re****t, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,
a
semi-autonomous unit of the OAS, said Cuba restricted political rights and
freedom of expression, lacked free elections and an independent judiciary
and ``created a permanent panorama of breached basic rights for the Cuban
citizenry.''
The re****t also faults Cuba for the lack of independent trade unions and
threats and attacks against rights activists. The commission also noted
that
foreign re****ters were stripped of their work permits because ''their
*****sment of Cuban problems is not acceptable to the Cuban government,''
the re****t said.
It said Cuba jailed 26 journalists, more than any other country in the
hemisphere.
Cuba was also found to violate multiple articles of international rights
treaties and was urged to free jailed dissidents. One of the prisoners,
José
Gabriel Ramón Castillo, was confined to 15 months of solitary confinement
and ''suffered damage to his central nervous system and other
pathologies,''
according to the re****t.
The re****t also mentioned Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela as countries of
concern.
Cuba rejects the jurisdiction of the IACHR, saying it was suspended from
the
OAS in 1962. OAS officials argue Cuba is still bound to respect human
rights
treaties. IACHR communications to Cuba are usually returned unopened.
In his dissenting vote, Venezuelan representative Freddy Gutiérrez called
the re****t ''abstract'' and ''vague'' with deeds ''recounted by one side
only'' with sources he considered ''dubious'' and ``taken from media that
systematically oppose the right of the Republic of Cuba freely to
determine
its own destiny.''
''It is also contrary to any sound interpretation of the law to seek to
initiate, pursue and issue a condemnation of someone who cannot defend
himself,'' he said.
Representatives from Venezuela and Nicaragua also criticized the re****t
when
it was presented before an OAS judicial committee on Thursday.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/venezuela/story/483160.html
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