A proud son of Antilla

The town of Antilla, in the eastern Cuban province formerly known as Oriente but now called Holguín, is home.

I have never even visited, and considering how the "old horse" refuses to die, I may never get there.

But Antilla is home, on the Gulf of Nipe on northeastern coast of the island, is where my father was born more than 64 years ago.

It is my home.

So I was more than a little prideful when I read this report from Cuban Democratic Directorate about a protest in Antilla on Wednesday, and the courage of a dissident leader who refuses to be intimidated into silence:

On January 22, stickers with the slogan I Do Not Cooperate with the Dictatorship appeared in various parts of the municipality of Antilla in the province of Holguin. According to statements from Eliecer Consuegra Rivas, President of the Eastern Democratic Alliance, the stickers were placed in public places along with other stickers called “Caballo Viejo” or “Old Horse”, which satirically represent dictator fidel castro.

This same day, Consuegra Rivas was arrested at 2 p.m. by the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) and taken to the municipality of Banes, in the province of Holguin, where he remained arbitrarily detained for four hours. Authorities took samples of his hair, scent, photographs, and created an Official Warning under the supposed crimes of “habitual laziness and having contacts with anti-social elements.” Consuegra Rivas was also threatened with imprisonment if he did not leave the municipality of Banes in 10 minutes after his release, and threatened with a 20-year sentence under Law 88, also known as the “Gag Law."

Eliecer Consuegra Rivas was expelled from his workplace for being a human rights activist and promoting democratic change in Cuba.

If Cuba had a few more "anti-social elements," and people overseas to support them, my chances of making it to Antilla would improve.

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense.)

Posted by Marc at January 23, 2008 10:09 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.babalublog.com/cgi-bin/mt/hut.cgi/7160

Comments

Post a comment