World Celebrates Cuba Solidarity Day

People around the world will celebrate Cuba Solidarity Day May 21 in remembrance of political prisoners held by the Castro dictatorship that runs the island nation. America.gov, a web site operated by the United States Department of State, quotes former U.S. State Department official Lino Gutierrez as saying, "On this day, our message to the prisoners will be that they are not alone, that their plight is not forgotten and that free men and women everywhere will continue to fight until they are freed."

Cuba has been a thorn in the side of the United States since Fidel Castro seized power nearly half a century ago. Castro quickly aligned his government with the Soviet Union and the island was thrust into the spotlight during the Cuban missile crisis that saw the United States, led by President John F. Kennedy, and the Soviet Union, led by General Secretary Nikita Kruschev, bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. Due to a deteriorating health condition, Castro was forced to cede power to his brother Raul, who now runs the repressive regime set up by his brother.

Cuba has been subjected to virtually unilateral economic sanctions by the United States for decades. While calls for the lifting of sanctions have increased in recent years, the measures remain in effect and will likely only be lifted when the Castro brothers are no longer in power.

In a web memorandum on Cuba Solidarity Day written for The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., Ray Walser says that the actual number of political prisoners in Cuba numbers in the hundreds. And while Cubans still live under a communist dictatorship, Mr. Walser writes in "Cuba Solidarity Day 2008: Remembering Our Totalitarian Neighbor," that "Since February 24, 2008, Raul Castro has launched modest economic changes. Cubans can now aspire, although few can afford, to own cell phones, DVD players, and computers (without access to the internet)." Most analysts blame Cuba's economic woes on the government's adherence to an antiquated communist system largely discredited with the fall of the Soviet Union, although there has been some speculation that Raul Castro would adopt a Chinese-type communist economic model to help the country change course.

People around the world, of both Cuban and non-Cuban heritage, will join ranks on May 21 to bring attention to the plight of those Cuban citizens seeking a future free from repressive dictatorship and communist ideology.

A Spanish language web site dedicated to Cuba Solidarity Day can be found here.

Sources: America.gov, Heritage,