Untitled - Convivencia

sacrifice his life, his prestige, his family, hisliberty, so generously as real patriots do. Weall know, but particularly the ones in power ,that the authentic dissidents love theirFatherland, at least, the same way that theones who denigrate them do. And we allknow that they do, say and think the waypacific opponents in the whole world do, sayand think and the same way pacificopponents in Cuba did during all the stagesof our history. How is it possible that theyare excluded in their own country, in aradical way, sometimes with verbal andpsychological violence and even physicalviolence, even before they have a singleopportunity to prove with facts and withtransparency the honesty of their lives, thevalidity of their proposals and theirincorruptible love to Cuba and to citizen andnational sovereignty? Even the very Cubangovernment knows that inside the Island andabroad, there are authentic patriots withsuch characteristics and better ones, whodissent, propose and work for the changetoward a greater democracy in Cuba. Andmany know that the best thing would be toopen spaces for their organized, lawful andpacific participation; to create the legalframework so that they can show theirhonesty, their love to Cuba and theircontribution to its progress. We all who havethought it, without clinging to economicinterests or political powers, know that Cubawould benefit. In the first place, the Cubancitizens would enjoy all the civil and politicalrights recognized in the Covenants that theCuban Government has signed this year inthe United Nations. Besides, Cuba couldimplement a full insertion with equalconditions, in the community of nationswhere its best friends and allies are. This isanother structural change that Cuba needsand we should attain it all of us together. Toachieve this: the political exclusion muststop.Social exclusion: Is a result of the twoformer exclusions and the result of the totaldefenselessness of the citizens that decideto exercise the sovereignty that is inherentto them precisely because they are citizensand not subjects. The mental and realsubordination culture must change in Cuba.The blockade to civic initiative and to theright of citizens to create non- governmentalorganizations must stop. The height of this isthat the very word “citizen” is systematicallyused in a pejorative way by the police officersto identify the Cubans, men and women, whoare excluded from the official category of“partners”. This can be considered a minordetail compared to the social appartheid weCubans are experiencing. But it’s a sign of thesocial gap which combines the worst ofcapitalism with the worst of socialism, theworst of market economy and the exclusivemonopoly of the State with the civic illiteracy,the paralysis of fear and the blockade toinformation and communication.Cuba is an Island in the media and Internetmanipulation as well as in the geographicaspect. It is necessary to board a plain or a shipin order to have access to the world life andmost incredible: in order to learn what ishappening in our own Island. It’s the selfexclusionthat we imposed to ourselves due tothe lack of information or to the Manichaeanmanipulation of every channel of the media: theouter world is all wrong; whereas within the citywalls, up to the ends of the Island, all is good.Otherwise, please try to watch one broadcast ofthe National Television News or the so-called“Round Table”, in which we receive anexplanation, attacks included, about the cablescoming through Internet and from the foreignPress from which the great majority of Cubansare excluded. This is the height of the officialopenness about exclusion: the informationappartheid. Four or five persons, almost alwaysthe same ones, have the “privilege and themission” to interpret, comment and, ifnecessary, clarify, denounce and amend thenews, images and sources of information fromwhich the rest of the eleven and a half millionCubans are excluded in fact. There is nopossible way to invent a more paternalist wayof excluding people from information or a moredisdainful consideration about the capacity ofCubans for:Gaining access by themselves to the mostplural sources of information, included the freeaccess to Internet in a way they can finance it.Choosing, with their own ethical assessment,what to read and learn and what to reject anddenounce.How is it possible the exclusion from thiselementary right of ethical discernment of aEdiciones ConvivenciaPinar del Río. 201218