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Geiser Conde, This is my land, it is my right, I do not accept blackmail.


File photo: Geiser Conde in the center.


Las Tunas. ( Audio of the arrest and video of the meeting at the end) – Mr. Geiser Conde, visiting Cuba, after enduring the humiliation of obtaining a visa to enter his own country and being turned away on a flight from Havana on October 31, 2011, reapplied for a visa. It was denied, and he was informed that his family would have to go to the Cuban immigration office. He sent a relative, who was informed that there were no objections, and the Cuban Interests Section in the USA issued him a passport and authorized his entry. This time, he had prepared some contacts in case he was turned away; some media outlets were waiting to report on his case. He was allowed entry and informed those waiting in Miami.


Geiser Conde carried out his visit as planned, meeting with his family and various Cubans from his province. On Friday, he received threats to cancel a planned meeting with some Cubans. He told them he had the right to meet with whomever he wished. The threats continued on Saturday, targeting members of his family and threatening his imprisonment. He argued that if opposition members could freely gather and meet, they couldn't prevent him from meeting with others in his own country.


On Sunday he called and asked to report the threats on the radio, contacting and doing so through Radio Mambí and Radio Martí. Today, Monday, around 9 pm, he was detained at his sister's house, taken to an unknown location. At the police station on Colon Street, they asked his sister for his passport and luggage, which they snatched from him in a disorganized manner, and informed her that they would transfer him to Havana. This last part, said by the SS, is hardly credible and will need to be confirmed.


The Republican Party of Cuba (PRC), since launching its campaign for freedom of movement in March 2009 (http://partidorepublicanodecuba.org/archives/302 ), has worked within the island with those deported from Havana, defending their right to remain in the capital for as long as they wish, as well as demanding the right of Cubans to travel abroad. Following the regime's announcements regarding immigration changes, the PRC, through a press conference in Miami (http://partidorepublicanodecuba.org/archives/10154 ), stated its opposition to the arbitrary selective criteria used to determine who can enter or leave Cuba, and to the scams perpetrated by the regime when Cubans were returned from Havana after undergoing humiliating procedures and incurring significant expenses to visit their country.


The rights Geiser Conde wants are the rights all Cubans should have: to enter and leave our country without restrictions or the regime's selective control. This is what we will demand, with the same vehemence we showed when we demanded that opposition members have the opportunity to leave and return. Today, we ask those same opposition members to speak out so that Geiser Conde is released immediately and so that all of us who wish to can enter and, like them abroad, have the right to meet with whomever we please. We hope this doesn't repeat the mistakes of using churches to demand rights and issuing a proclamation to the people during the Pope's visit, when the opportunity to demonstrate a coherent opposition was lost. It's time for a Mariel-style protest, but this time directed toward Cuba, and united, we must say, "Enough is enough."


Note: Since we haven't been able to prevent trips to Cuba, we must ensure that only the dictatorship benefits, which is what's currently happening. We must ensure that the people and the opposition benefit. The PRC follows the proverb, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This document may be amended or revised once Geiser Conde, the PRC leader in Kentucky, arrives and can provide further details.



 
 
 

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