Church Mediates on Cuban Political Prisoners

After a rare meeting between Cuban President Raúl Castro and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church May 19, Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas told Reuters that the government agreed to make concessions on political prisoners held in Cuban jails. Fariñas, who has been on a hunger strike since February in protest of the government's treatment of political prisoners, said he received news from Havana Auxiliary Bishop Juan de Dios Hernández that Castro agreed to transfer political prisoners to jails closer to their hometowns and to move sick prisoners to hospitals. Sources from the Catholic Church confirmed the measures but there was no immediate response from government officials. The Auxiliary Bishop said the changes would begin on May 24 and some prisoners would be freed. Human rights groups estimate that there are 200 political prisoners on the island. Media sources say the concessions signal small steps by the Castro regime to alleviate the flood of domestic and international criticism it has faced in recent months triggered by the February 23 death of dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo after his 85-day hunger strike.

The four-hour meeting between Castro and the Catholic Church marked what some view as Castro's most significant political shift since taking over as President of Cuba in 2008 and hint at a greater role for the Church as a mediator in Cuban affairs. After meeting with Castro, Cardinal Jaime Ortega expressed similar sentiments, saying the encounter was a "magnificent beginning of an ongoing process ... a recognition of the role of the Church as an interlocutor, of overcoming the old grievances that may have existed, so that we can walk along a new path." Ortega is already credited with negotiating a deal between authorities and the Damas de Blanco (Women in White) group early this month, allowing the women—who have been staging marches since 2003—to continue their weekly demonstrations without being harassed by security officials. Ortega has petitioned for the freedom of all political prisoners and, if Castro agrees to the release, this will be the Church's second recent victory, writes Mary Murray in an MSNBC blog. Ortega said dialogue with Castro over the release of the prisoners would continue.

Some have expressed caution over announcements that the government would make improvements in the condition of political prisoners on the island. Head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and Reconciliation Elizardo Sánchez Santa Cruz said in an interview: "What's happening is that the expectations were raised a bit too early. It would seem that prisoners will be moved to their home provinces, in other words, moved from one prison to another, but that's almost irrelevant. This, then, does not allow us to talk in terms of Raúl Castro's government's experimenting with a certain opening. I don't see that opening anywhere, at least on the matter of fundamental civil, political and economic rights." Sánchez added that he believes the government will make some concessions, but that Cuba's human rights situation ranks poorly in Latin America.

Learn More:

• Press release on Organization of American States Secretary General José Miguel Insulza's welcoming of the dialogue between the Cuban Government and the Church.
• Radio Nederland interview with Carlos Alberto Montaner, a leader of Cuba's opposition-in-exile, on the Church's role as a mediator.
• Archdiocese of Havana official website.
• AS/COA news analysis on Cuba's human rights situation.
• Cuban News Agency (government news) coverage of the meeting between Raúl Castro and the Catholic Church.