Global Voices Online » Cuba

Caribbean: On the Honduran Coup

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:42:25 +0000

Writing at Havana Times, Guillermo Fernandez Ampie examines the Honduran coup d’état, while Repeating Islands reports that “heads of state throughout the Caribbean region have expresses their condemnation of the military coup in Honduras that has removed President Manuel Zelaya from office.”

Cuba, U.S.A.: Connecting the Dots

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:47:51 +0000

Call it coincidence, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense thinks that in light of news that Cuban human rights activists Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez” and his wife were once again arrested, “it might be best to connect the dots”, particularly “in the wake of the NED ceremony, at which Antúnez spoke via telephone.”

Cuba: Fear of Change?

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:42:14 +0000

“Like the seemingly never ending US blockade that attacks Cuba’s economy from without, from the inside a corrosion process is gradually eating away at the relatively young 50-year revolution”: From Havana, Circles Robinson says that “there is a conservative political class of managers at most workplaces and government offices who fear and resist any attempts to change the status quo.”

Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama & “Antúnez”

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:34:05 +0000

Cuban human rights activist Jorge Luis García “Antúnez” said that President Obama's words of support make a big difference for those fighting for Cuban liberty, but diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense is still of the opinion that “Obama should of, and could of, done more to honor the Democracy Award nominees.”

Cuba, U.S.A.: Missed Opportunity

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:00:38 +0000

Havana Times reports that U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement in which he said he hoped that all Cuban political prisoners would be released, but Uncommon Sense thinks that Cuban activists deserved better: “A busy schedule or confusion about the dates, is not enough of an excuse for President Barack Obama to not meet with representatives of five Cuban activisits, including three political prisoners.”

Cuba: Unanswered Questions

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:39:12 +0000

“I am waiting for a clarification about why he hasn’t accepted Obama’s proposal for U.S. telecommunications companies to provide Internet to the Cuban people. I demand, like many around me, a convincing argument for why we are not going to join the OAS…”: Generation Y says that “the list of unanswered questions is long and to hide from so many questions is not going to solve the problems.”

Cuba: Hurricane Victims

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:11:00 +0000

As hurricane season gets underway, Generation Y focuses on the plight of “Caletone, a town near Gibara that doesn’t even appear in the Atlas of Cuba [that] is still deep in destruction.”

Cuba: Lessons from Iran

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:19:45 +0000

Havana-based blogger Generation Y thinks that “what is happening in Iran and its dissemination through the Internet is a lesson for Cuban bloggers.”

Cuba, U.S.A.: The Cuban Five

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:43:42 +0000

Cuban bloggers report on the latest developments with “The Cuban Five”.

Cuba: Welcoming “Granpa”

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:33:35 +0000

A new SMS service has increased Generation Y's faith in the power of technology: “I’ve known about a page called Granpa (we hope it will be more objective than Granma) that sends news to cell phones located in Cuba. Since we don’t have a paper newspaper to tell us everything the official press keeps hidden…kudos for this information flashing on the screens of our phones.”

Cuba: Prisoners of Conscience

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:36:13 +0000

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense refers to a report which claims that there have already been more than 500 political arrests and detentions in Cuba for the year.

Cuba, U.S.A.: Spy Games

Janine Mendes-Franco — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:31:07 +0000

Cuban bloggers are abuzz about the case involving accused spies Kendall Myers and his wife Gwendolyn.

Cuba: Flamenco!

Janine Mendes-Franco — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:45:10 +0000

Havana Times blogs about flamenco dancing in Cuba.

Cuba: Thanks, but no thanks

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:23:05 +0000

Generation Y considers the lifting of the long-standing OAS ban on Cuba to be “like another hand offered, a new door opened, only to face the Cuban government’s unwillingness to accept it.”

Cuba, USA: OAS Says “Yes”

Janine Mendes-Franco — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:16:37 +0000

After 47 years, the Organization of American States has lifted its ban on Cuba's admission to the group, with most member states restoring ties with the island nation. The United States, which still maintains a trade embargo against Cuba, was the notable exception, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton advocated for democratic and human rights reforms in Cuba as pre-requisites to the island's readmission. But the opinions of other hemispheric leaders, some of which were previewed at the recent 5th Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, won out. Cuba is free to be part of the OAS - despite its leadership's statements suggesting that it has no interest in returning. A few bloggers are making their feelings known…

Circles Robinson, writing for Havana Times, says:

Hillary Clinton left San Pedro de Sula, Honduras for Egypt on Tuesday wondering whether her lobbying effort on behalf of the Obama administration to keep Cuba suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS) would work. It didn’t.

The message from Honduras was that there is no reason to keep Cuba out, leaving it up to the government of Raul Castro to decide when and whether the island chooses to resume active membership.

In a related matter, El Salvador restored diplomatic relations with the Cuba on Monday, leaving the US as the only country in the Western Hemisphere without normal ties with the Caribbean island.

The Cuban Triangle quotes the full text of the adopted OAS resolution, while Along the Malecon gives a comprehensive overview of the positions of different member states. Quoting Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who commented, “The Cold War has ended this day in San Pedro Sula. We begin a new era of fraternity and tolerance”, the blogger quips:

If there is a new era of brotherhood, I'm not so sure it's reached every corner of Washington - or South Florida.

As if to confirm his suspicions, diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense has the last word:

The OAS readmits Cuba…and yet all those Cubans whose names are on the right sidebar of this blog remain in prison.

As a region, Latin America has made tremendous strides towards democracy over the past couple of years. Only one country - Cuba, which for much of its Castro-era history has tried to undermine its neighbors - is ruled by an unelected dictatorship, when that sort of tyranny used to be more of the norm in the hemisphere.

But with its decision Wednesday to readmit Cuba, the Organization of American States betrayed those in their respective countries who sacrificed so much to accomplish that progress towards democracy.

There's a lot of change, some of it maybe warranted, in how the world, including the United States, is dealing with Cuba. But until there is change in Cuba, and by Cuba, it all rings quite hollow and smells quite awful.

The OAS' open door may still prove to be a moot point: it all depends on whether or not Cuba chooses to walk through it.

The thumbnail image used in this post, “Organization of American States”, is by billwtf, used under a Creative Commons license. Visit billwtf's flickr photostream.