DATE=05/11/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09876

TITLE=EDITORIAL: CUBAN DISSIDENT FINALLY RELEASED

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:

Voice: "I have reaffirmed the conviction that the [Cuban] system has to be changed -- because it does not work." Those are the words of Vladimiro Roca, Cuba's best known dissident, who has been freed after nearly five years in a Cuban prison.

In 1997, Mr. Roca, along with Marta Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne, and Rene Gomez Manzano, published an article titled, "La Patria es de Todos" -- "The Motherland Belongs to All." The article criticized Cuba's Communist system and urged respect for basic rights. But the Cuban government called it a criminal document. The four authors were arrested. They languished in prison for over a year without being charged. Housed with common criminals, they were denied medical care and other basic needs.

Nineteen months after their arrest, Vladimiro Roca, Marta Beatriz Roque, Felix Bonne, and Rene Gomez Manzano were put on trial behind closed doors. After just one day, the four were found guilty of sedition -- a spurious charge. Prison terms ranged from three and a half to five years. The case drew condemnation and appeals for the defendants' freedom from around the world.

All four dissidents are now out of prison -- their perseverance and determination an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. As Mr. Roca said, "I don't seek confrontation, I seek reconciliation." True change in Cuba, he said, will come only through peaceful and legal methods.

Mr. Roca cites the Varela Project, a grass-roots movement to force a national referendum on whether free speech and other rights should be permitted in Cuba. The organizers are trying to use a provision in Cuba's 1976 constitution that permits a referendum if ten-thousand signatures are collected on a petition. Project leaders say they have collected the ten-thousand signatures. Once they are verified, the petition will be presented to the Cuban National Assembly.

It remains to be seen whether the Cuban dictator will allow the Varela project to go forward. It also remains to be seen whether Fidel Castro will release the over two-hundred political prisoners his government still holds. But the United States will continue to support Vladimiro Roca and others fighting for Cuban freedom. As President George W. Bush has said, "All our citizens are proud to stand with all Cubans and all Cuban-Americans who love freedom. We will continue to stand with you until that day, hopefully not in the too-distant future, when all Cubans breathe the heady air of liberty."

Anncr: That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.