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Blind lawyer, defender of Human
Rights, militarily harassed in his home since January 12.
I am Juan Carlos González Leiva, president
of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights. Since January 12th, I have been
the victim of psychological torture whose objective is to pressure me by
force to go into exile from Cuba since my sentence of house arrest ends
March 4, 2006.
My house has been under military harassment, and I am the victim of acts
of repudiation, lead and controlled by military officials of the State
Security from Ciego de Avila province where I live and by the Cuban
government. They prevent me from leaving my house, and I am without
food, drinking water, and electricity. We are suffocating from the heat.
On occasion, they randomly restore my telephone, but most of the time, I
remain unable to make contact with the outside world. Tania Maseda
Guerra, activist in the Cuban
Foundation of Human Rights, and Luis Esteban Espinosa, an independent
journalist, are with me in my home.
Those surrounding my home pound on my windows and my doors, and they
have placed loudspeakers outside with blaring music 24 hours a day that
prevents us from sleeping or resting. The mobs that surround my house
are composed of all sorts of people who range from criminals to
university students that are brought to shout governmental slogans in
aggressive language and obscene words through microphones. These people
yell threats at us, saying that they are going to enter the house with
military tanks, that they are going to burn all of us up, and that we
are antisocial persons at the service of
imperialism, among other things.
They have pushed and savagely beaten many activists, friends, and my
family members that have entered, tried to enter, or left my house in
our defense. Among the names that I can identify are: Yodalis Calderín
Nuñez, my wife’s niece, independent journalist, Luis Esteban Espinosa,
and psychologist, Antonio Legón Mendoza. The Cuban government has my
father, Agustín González, hostage and does not let him leave the
country, in spite of the fact that he has a visa to travel to the United
States. This is a tactic used to pressure me so that I leave the country
as well.
Mobs of 100-400 people begin these vandalistic acts at dawn and continue
until 11:00 at night. At that time, police and State Security agents
surround my house. This is repeated daily, to the rhythm of deafening
music.
It is important for the accredited international press in Havana to come
to Ciego de Avila so that the world can see the true face of the Cuban
government with its own eyes.
I’m not afraid at all. These people threaten that they are going to
enter my home but they will have to take me by force. If I withstood 26
months in prison under daily torture by Cuban military officials,
harassed, beaten up, and poisoned by chemical substances from which I
still suffer, then I will withstand inside my house for 26 months more.
I thank the Cuban people for their gestures of solidarity and my
neighbors who have intervened and defended me. To all of them, I say
that we have hope that there will be a change in Cuba. This struggle
demonstrates that the government is falling apart. I thank human rights
organizations and the international press for all they have done for me
and for their support of the struggle of the Cuban people.
Jesus Christ is with us; he is accompanying us, and he gives us victory
and peace. We are not going to lift a finger against anyone nor are we
going to commit any crime. Whatever happens here is the responsibility
of State Security, Cuban military officials, and the Cuban government.
Testimony of Juan Carlos González Leiva
obtained from Cuba, taped,
transcribed, and translated to English by the Coalition of
Cuban-American
Women in the United States. Telephone: 305-662-5947 / Fax: 305-740-7323
E-mails: Joseito76@aol.com
/ tswilder@charter.net
Source:
Netforcuba
International
January 14, 2006
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