Keep Dissidents Isolated on the Island is Politically Indefensible
Published: Mar 12, 2013 Reading time: 3 minutes
It was twenty times she had tried to obtain a travel permit in vain until she could finally walk the streets she had known only from the books of Milan Kundera. “I feel strange, but I actually know these streets already,” she proclaimed and added: “I am not here because our regime finally decided to let us, the dissidents, travel but because it had already been politically indefensible to keep us isolated on the island, "Yoani Sanchéz, a Cuban blogger, says.
After Brazil, the Czech Republic was the second country she had visited while undertaking her eighty-day tour in support of human rights.
It is suspected that the regime will misuse her trip in order to show that the reforms on the island have been put in place. “All the changes on the island are not coming as a gesture of the regime goodwill. They are taking place thanks to the popular pressure for change. Though I am de facto travelling right now, I am not legally permitted to do so. And who knows - I may never get anywhere else. During my tour I want to remind those who cannot voice their view because the regime bars them from travelling or because they are in prison,” Sanchéz said during an evening event called ‘Cuba sin Fin’ that took place in Prague.
Her hectic schedule included meetings with journalists, public discussions and visits in different institutions. “I am about to launch the first independent paper in Cuba. For the time being, we will not be able to work in a legal framework anyway I want get ready for the moment the newspapers will be allowed to come out," Yoani Sanchéz said while having visited several newspaper offices in Prague. She was interested not only in the organization, but also in the technical equipment of the Czech news media. She drew inspiration from the institutions such as the Czech News Agency, the Czech Radio and even from a tabloid daily the Blesk. Sanchéz was interested in how it became the best-selling newspaper in the Czech Republic. “I am aware of high press importance in a potential transformation, and it can also play a decisive role in the future development, be it good or bad.
People in Need, which had invited Yoani Sanchéz to the Czech Republic, organized several appearances in public forum, where the situation in Cuba was discussed. In addition to that, Yoani also met the students of journalism in Prague and attended the opening ceremony of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival.
Furthermore, on the festival grounds she got involved in a discussion with the audience after having seen Forbidden Voices, a film where she features as well. It was for the very first time that Yoani had been able to lead a discussion on this film.
Yoani was also friendly welcome at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she met Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. “The Czech Republic maintains diplomatic relations with Cuba, at the same time it hopes for social changes in the country towards democratic political establishment, the rule of law and functional civil society in foreseeable future,” the ministry’s website quotes. She was also warmly welcome by the members of the Czech PEN Club who elected her as their member during the session.
Eventually, Yoani repeatedly thanked to the People in Need organization and its Club of Friends for their long-term support of the Cuban opposition and added: “It seems to me very important that the Czech Republic continues pressuring the Cuban government to recognize, accept and respect human rights. The position of the Czech government towards the opposition – one of solidarity, collaboration and support, is very important at this moment. It seems that for many, Cuban affairs are beginning to lose importance because many people believe that Cuba is changing. Maintaining the pressure is crucial.”