Seven Cuban political opponents and their families landed in Spain yesterday as part of an accord to release 52 jailed dissidents, the biggest gesture of its kind in a decade.
In parallel to the release however, former Cuban president Fidel Castro made a rare television appearance in which he warned of an “imminent” US-Israeli attack on Iran and accused the US over the sinking of a South Korean navy ship which has been blamed on North Korea.
The release of the 52, if completed, would mark the culmination of a surprise deal between the Roman Catholic Church and the government last week after a hunger strike by dissident Guillermo Farinas.
Havana wants to avoid a repeat of the death in detention of dissident Orlando Zapata on Feb. 23, as it seeks closer international ties.
The dissidents had been held since Saturday at a hospital in a high-security prison in Havana where they underwent medical checks and migration procedures.
Family members, also examined by doctors, had waited nervously at a Cuban Ministry of the Interior hotel southwest of Havana.
“Everything is so unexpected, no time to think, but I have my child and the luggage ready. The prisoners are happy,” said Alida Viso, wife of prisoner Ricardo Gonzalez, of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders.
Some observers saw the releases as a potential shift away from decades of hardline policy by Fidel Castro and his brother, Cuban President Raul Castro.
However, critics shot down any such possibility.
“This does not imply a change in the repressive regime,” said Angel De Fana, Miami-based director of the group Plantados of former Cuban political prisoners. “These people are forced to leave because if they wanted to stay in Cuba, they would remain under a totalitarian regime and go back to being incarcerated.”
The releases also came just as the elder revolutionary icon appeared on television for the first time in almost a year.
Fidel Castro appeared animated as he discussed for an hour his views on the Middle East and North Korea in a recorded interview with the anchor of the Round Table news and analysis show.
He appeared alert and healthy but had a wavering voice as he spoke of an “imminent” US and Israeli attack on Iran.
“This can be nothing less than a nuclear war,” Castro said.
He also said the US secretly sank a South Korean warship in March, an incident widely blamed on North Korea.
The television appearance is “his way of saying ‘I’m here,’” dissident Elizardo Sanchez told reporters.
Sanchez said the release of the dissidents was a kind of blackmail.
“These are prisoners of Castro. They should never have been imprisoned, they are innocent,” Sanchez said.
“We are concerned that this is barter — prison for exile. Being uprooted has a negative impact on the family,” Sanchez said.
Castro has made only sporadic appearances since emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006 forced him to hand power to younger brother Raul, now 79.
Despite the releases, Cuba continues to detain critics and enforces censorship with an iron fist.
“We will continue fighting for those left behind,” said Irene Viera, wife of prisoner Julio Galvez, surrounded by piles of suitcases and telephones ringing off the hook.
Sanchez, of the outlawed information clearinghouse Cuban Committee for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said some dissidents want to seek medical care in Spain before returning to Cuba, while others expect to stay in Spain.
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