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Cuba begins releasing political prisoners but slow pace frustrates some
Tuesday 6 January 2015 23.57 GMT
Cuba has begun releasing some of the 53 political prisoners it agreed to liberate in last month’s historic agreement with the United States, marking a further step towards the normalisation of relations.
But the slow pace and secrecy surrounding the releases remains a source of frustration in Washington and Miami, particularly in contrast to the high-profile treatment of the three Cuban detainees who were sent home from US jails as part of the deal.
Underlining the differences, Cuba celebrated the birth on Tuesday of a baby conceived by artificial insemination while her father was still in prison thanks to one of the world’s more unusual diplomatic initiatives: a delivery of frozen sperm from Gerardo Hernandez to his wife’s doctors last year. The top story on the Cuban news website Granma on Tuesday showed the happy parents and their new daughter, Gema.
In the US, feelings are more equivocal. While there was relief last month at the release of Alan Gross, a USAid contractor who was arrested by Cuban state security in Havana in 2009, there are still doubts about the slow progress in freeing domestic political prisoners.
Three weeks after the deal announced by presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, Cuba has released some of the detainees, but the numbers and names have not been disclosed for fear of jeopardising the chances of the others.
The US Statement Department said this was not a precondition of the deal, but it would like to see the process completed soon.
“They have already released some of the prisoners – we would like to see this completed in the near future,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
Elizardo Sanchez, leader of the dissident Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which monitors such detentions, told Reuters his organisation was not aware of anyone being released.
“We don’t have any information up to now,” Sanchez said in a telephone interview in Havana. “No names ... We’ll wait and see.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters one reason the prisoners were not being identified was because “we don’t want to put an even bigger target on their back as political dissidents”.
Critics of the rapprochement say the delays highlight Cuba’s untrustworthiness, but it may simply be a matter of time.
The Obama administration has also not yet moved to liberate trade, financial transactions and travel permissions that it promised alongside the deal. US officials are also still assessing the prospects of removing Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Senior diplomats from the two sides are due to meet later this month, when a stock-take of progress and future steps can be expected.
89d83aff-38d8-4382-a063-a4f814c10cad-460
Cuba’s most prominent dissidents say they have been kept in the dark by US officials over a list of 53 political prisoners who will be released from jail as part of a deal to end decades of hostility between the US and Cuba. Photograph: Enrique de la Osa/Reuters
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Tuesday 6 January 2015 23.57 GMT
Cuba has begun releasing some of the 53 political prisoners it agreed to liberate in last month’s historic agreement with the United States, marking a further step towards the normalisation of relations.
But the slow pace and secrecy surrounding the releases remains a source of frustration in Washington and Miami, particularly in contrast to the high-profile treatment of the three Cuban detainees who were sent home from US jails as part of the deal.
Underlining the differences, Cuba celebrated the birth on Tuesday of a baby conceived by artificial insemination while her father was still in prison thanks to one of the world’s more unusual diplomatic initiatives: a delivery of frozen sperm from Gerardo Hernandez to his wife’s doctors last year. The top story on the Cuban news website Granma on Tuesday showed the happy parents and their new daughter, Gema.
In the US, feelings are more equivocal. While there was relief last month at the release of Alan Gross, a USAid contractor who was arrested by Cuban state security in Havana in 2009, there are still doubts about the slow progress in freeing domestic political prisoners.
Three weeks after the deal announced by presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, Cuba has released some of the detainees, but the numbers and names have not been disclosed for fear of jeopardising the chances of the others.
The US Statement Department said this was not a precondition of the deal, but it would like to see the process completed soon.
“They have already released some of the prisoners – we would like to see this completed in the near future,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
Elizardo Sanchez, leader of the dissident Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which monitors such detentions, told Reuters his organisation was not aware of anyone being released.
“We don’t have any information up to now,” Sanchez said in a telephone interview in Havana. “No names ... We’ll wait and see.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters one reason the prisoners were not being identified was because “we don’t want to put an even bigger target on their back as political dissidents”.
Critics of the rapprochement say the delays highlight Cuba’s untrustworthiness, but it may simply be a matter of time.
The Obama administration has also not yet moved to liberate trade, financial transactions and travel permissions that it promised alongside the deal. US officials are also still assessing the prospects of removing Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Senior diplomats from the two sides are due to meet later this month, when a stock-take of progress and future steps can be expected.
89d83aff-38d8-4382-a063-a4f814c10cad-460
Cuba’s most prominent dissidents say they have been kept in the dark by US officials over a list of 53 political prisoners who will be released from jail as part of a deal to end decades of hostility between the US and Cuba. Photograph: Enrique de la Osa/Reuters
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