Lady Liberty and the Twin Towers on the arm of a Cuban in Havana
Today the Wall Street Journal published an editorial about the Assembly for the Promotion of a Civil Society in Cuba. This took place last weekend and represents the first such pro-democracy conference in Cuba in 46 years. Thank you, WSJ, for featuring this story prominently on your editorial page. If you are a New York Times reader, you would not know that this momentous occasion had taken place. As for other news coverage, the Washington Times did a workman-like job on the main article about the Assembly and had an outstanding editorial by Nat Hentoff. The New York Sun had an excellent, thorough article that emphasized the risks that the assembly's delegates were taking and the hardships they face. The Sun, in fact is the only newspaper that was very thorough in this area. The Washington Post needs to be read after the Sun article for the stark contrast of emphasis. Whereas the Sun highlights the magnitude of the event and the difficulties for the participants (travel denied, police citations, arrests), as well as very good historical background, the Post chose to emphasize the small number of the participants (not mentioning their hardships) and the fact that one prominent dissident, Osvaldo Paya isn't participating. They are at pains to cite his connections to Jimmy Carter and Europe. We can only assume that for the readers of the WaPo this code for "If Jimmy's man isn't there, it needn't be taken seriously."
These are some of the delegates who have suffered and are suffering for their involvement in the Assembly:
- Antuan Clemente Hernandez: "disappeared" after receiving a police citation.
- Elio Enrique Chavez and Luis Elio de la Paz: two librarians who were delegates to the Assembly. In a secret trial they were convicted of peligrosidad (dangerousness) and imprisoned.
- Jose Antonio Mola Porro: Detained without reason by police before departing for the Assembly.
- Iliana Lopez Valdez: denied access to transportation when she attempted to obtain a bus ticket to Havana for the Assembly.
- Other unnamed delegates whose identity cards have been confiscated making it impossible for them to travel.
Gateway Pundit has video,