The Cuban dissident Dr. Darsi Ferrer Ramirez has been summoned to appear before the “Military Committee” on Monday, December 10th at 9:00 AM. Dr. Ferrer has publicly announced his intentions to hold a peaceful silent march in protest of Cuba’s apartheid system which discriminates against Cuban citizens while favoring foreigners and high level communist bureaucrats. The scheduled time of the march is 11:00 AM. Below is a copy of the summons:
The summons says:
In accordance with law 75 for the national defense that establishes military service by the citizens, by this means we communicate that you must present yourself on the 10th of December of 2007 at 9:00 AM to the “Tenth of October Military Sector” for the purpose of an interview with the chief of the military sector, Colonel Llanes.
Below is a picture Darsi being served the summons by Major Eusebio M. Galloso Zaldívar
The following is a translation of a letter from Dr. Ferrer, dated yesterday:
Intimidation tactics continue against Anti-Apartheid March
By Dr. Darsi Ferrer
Havana, December 7, 2007.
Two days after being threatened with death by the political police in my own house, I was visited today by a major of the Armed Forces with an official subpoena for me to turn myself in to the municipality’s military sector, coincidentally during the morning hours of 10 December.
The summons, the death threat and the mounted operations, so visible in my neighborhood, speak to the intent of State Security to prevent the march against Apartheid convened specifically for that day.
The past few days have witnessed an increase in repression throughout the country including arbitrary acts such as the desecration of a church in Santiago de Cuba to detain a group of peaceful dissidents, the incarceration of young university students in Havana and recent beatings of opponents in other provinces.
There is a precedent, during the same march last year in the same park in El Vedado, the fourteen activists that were commemorating International Human Rights Day, were beaten by a paramilitary mob exceeding three hundred people. All of the activists ended up arrested at Police stations.
There are still two days until the march and we can not imagine the lengths to which government authorities will go. There are many Cubans committed to exercising our right to demonstrate. All face danger, but greater than the fear is our nation.
Below are pictures from last year’s march. You can see members of the government mob intimidating Darsi and his wife.
Remember that you can express your solidarity by attending one of the simultaneous demonstrations being held around the word at 11:00 AM EST on Monday December 10. BUCL is sponsoring two such demonstrations. In Miami at FIU’s Graham Center and in L.A. in front of the L.A. Times building (202 West First Street).
Henry , did you really think the the Cuban gov was going to allow Darsi to March peacefully Monday ..or that the opposition did not have a plan B
El gobierno podra parar la marcha de Darsi pero mis fuentes me indican que habra otras marchas en todo el pais en otras localidades que hasta el lunes seran secretas to avoid leakage . La policia no sabra donde sera hasta que ocurra
No and no.
I’m just reporting the news that the “news” agencies refuse to report.
We are so lucky to have access to Darsi. That picture of the citation looks like it was taken with a cellphone camera so as not to tip off the guard.
Let’s see how events develop on Monday.
-“mis fuentes me indican que habra otras marchas en todo el pais en otras localidades que hasta el lunes seran secretas“
If this turns out to be the case, then this would be HUGE. Demonstrating that the RESISTANCE can achieve secret and national coordination for broad actions. Something that I have never seen done in Cuba in over 40 years.
Dr. Ferrer is truly a man of “guts”, in the very best possible sense of that term. (And I have the perfect name for the CDR thug in the blue shirt in the lower right hand pic-“Communist Riot Boy”! 🙂 )
Incredible…the main stream media has completelty ignored them. I wonder why? Que dios lo bendiga…the day has come, it’s about time.