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Non-cooperation: response to Cubans on the island
By Janisset Rivero

Published in El Nuevo Herald on August 16th, 2006 

A campaign in support of the call for non-cooperation with the Castro dictatorship was announced on July 25th. This initiative was not born in Miami: it originated in Cuba. The article by Alejandro Armengol, Miami pone las frases, Cuba las cárceles (Miami puts forth the phrases, Cuba the prisons) [Perspective, July 31] expresses erroneous ideas about this campaign.

To say that non-cooperation is not valid because it was not convoked within Cuba is farcical. The ones who convoked were political prisoners who know the repressive capacity of their prison guards.  Antúnez, in Camagüey, or Pupo Sierra, in Cienfuegos, have asked the people to not join acts of repression. Activists in Holguín or Villa Clara urge their fellow citizens not to be instruments of the regime. Neighbors who do not participate in government-organized mobs, who refuse to snitch; workers who do not cooperate with economic plans demonstrate that this is a natural trend in Cuban society.

 Miami does not impose the slogans and Cuba the prisons. That unfortunate phrase lacks a foundation in reality. Those of us who maintain contact with members of the opposition in the community know that they see the exile as an inseparable part of the same struggle. Recently, from political prison, José Daniel Ferrer has called on the exile community to reinforce the efforts for liberation.

To not cooperate with the dictatorship is a personal decision that implies the revival of individual dignity. It does not mean that one goes to the Plaza to be sacrificed; instead one does not follow through with actions in which one does not believe. In Cuba it is not a crime to renounce the Union of Young Communists or the Communist Party, thousands are already doing it. The dictatorship has lost the “battle of ideas.” If this were not the case, then why does it repress?

Repression is a consequence of the increase in civil resistance. Independent research exists which can corroborate this. Since 1997 Steps to Freedom has been published, and is an annual report that accounts for civic resistance actions in Cuba. According to this report, between 1997 and 2005, the number of actions of civil resistance has increased from 44 to 3,322.

The regime is not immovable, nor is Castro invincible. The recent events demonstrate it. Those who struggle for freedom in Cuba know it, they know what the people think and are not afraid to appeal to their consciences. We cannot ignore that voice.

Janisset Rivero

Adjunct National Secretary of the Cuban Democratic Directorate

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About the author


Janniset Rivero Janisset Rivero
Janisset Rivero is a founding Directorio member. Janisset has worked extensively in engaging directly with opposition groups in Cuba, relaying their messages to the international community and coordinating humanitarian support for them. She is co-author of "Steps to Freedom," a Directorio annual report that documents the opposition movement's actions of protest against the totalitarian regime.

 

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