Cuban political prisoners Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Ernesto Borges Perez and Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta have emitted, by telephone, from their respective prisons, the following opinions on the visit of the American congressmen to their country. It is a powerful rebuke of the CBC.

I apologize to our English only readers, it is in Spanish.   If someone has the time to do a proper translation, please send it to us.

Estos congresistas cometieron un error imperdonable. Imagínate que no les interesa escuchar a los demócratas cubanos; no les interesa esa disidencia pacífica e interna, que a puro dolor, a puro coraje, ha venido creciendo. Para nada tienen en cuenta esa pujante sociedad civil cubana, acosada y perseguida por el gobierno cubano, por defender los Pactos Internacionales de Derechos Civiles, Políticos, Sociales y Culturales.

Yo, particularmente, considero muy positivo todo lo que se haga entre los pueblos y entre los gobiernos en favor del diálogo. No solamente entre los pueblos de Cuba y de Estados Unidos, porque todos sabemos que estos pueblos se aman y respetan; sino a todo diálogo y acercamiento en cualquier parte del mundo. Nada más sano que los seres humanos dialoguen y busquen soluciones sinceras a los problemas que nos aquejan, pero en nuestro caso, comete un gravísimo error quien venga a Cuba a desconocer a los demócratas cubanos. Es una traición a las ideas universales de la civilización y muy particularmente al pueblo cubano, el cual sobrevive sin libertad en medio de la miseria, el hambre y bajo la represión constante por parte de un régimen despótico de más de 50 años en el poder.

Por muy inteligente que sean, por mucha experiencia que se tenga y por muy buenas intenciones que los animen, esto es un error inaceptable, y una forma de darle oxígeno a la tiranía agonizante. Es como decirle: “Uds. son los únicos que cuentan, Uds. son los que tienen el poder, no tenemos que reconocer a nadie más”.

Read the entire article at Payolibe.

Update:  Good friend Cubanita generously stepped up and sent us a translation.  Read it below the fold.  Muchas gracias Cubanita!

 "These congressmen committed an unforgivable mistake.  Just imagine... listening to the Cuban democrats it is not of their interest; they are not interested in that internal and peaceful dissident movement that, despite struggling and suffering, has been growing. They didn't take into account, at all, that growing Cuban civil society that is being harassed and persecute by the Cuban government because of their standing for the international treaties on civil, political, social and cultural rights.
 
I, personally, consider very positive everything that could be done between people and governments who favor a dialogue; no only between the people of Cuba and the people of the United States, because we all know these two peoples love and respect each other, but all kinds of dialogue with anybody in the world.
 
Nothing is healthier than having human beings dialoguing and looking for sincere solutions to the problems that we’re facing, but in our case, whoever comes to Cuba and ignores the Cuban democrats, is making a huge mistake. It is treason to the universal ideas of the human civilization and, particularly, treason to the Cuban people, who is surviving without freedom, in poverty, with hunger, and under constant repression by a tyrannical government with more than 50 years in power.
 
No matter how intelligent, how experienced and how good their intentions are; this is an unacceptable mistake and just another way to provide life support to an agonizing tyranny. It's like telling them: "You are the only ones we take into account because you are the ones in power; we don't need to acknowledge any one else." 

Translated by MS ©2009