X
09:13Last update on: 13 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Tue 13 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf SMS Of The Day * WHY doesn’t NBC listen when they are criticised? The little red chairs on Good Morning Namibia have done their part and are dirty especially at the arm rests. Please listen for once. You interview professionals and internationals on those Food For Thought * MINISTRY of Education, in order to address the shortages of teachers at primary schools why don’t you consider employing us who hold a diploma in lifelong learning and community education for teaching posts? We also did health education Bouquets And Brickbats * MY fellow Namibians, I am not a Swapo member but a third term for President Hifikepuye Pohamba will be a step closer towards attainment of Vision 2030. Believe me His Excellency has made crucial bold decisions, and I don’t regret
POLL
What do you think of the renaming and addition of regions and constituencies?
Results so far:
Older Polls
NEWS - INTERNATIONAL
| 2013-08-06
5 Cuban ‘prisoners of conscience’ - Amnesty
HAVANA – Amnesty International designated five Cubans detained on the island as “prisoners of conscience” on Sunday and called for their immediate release.
The New York-based human rights watchdog highlighted the cases of Rafael Matos Montes de Oca, Emilio Planas Robert and brothers Alexeis, Diango and Vianco Vargas Martin. It said they have been held for months in eastern provincial lockups.
“These five cases are only the tip of the iceberg for Cuba’s repression of free speech,” Amnesty special adviser Javier Zuniga said in a statement.
Cuban officials, who did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday, deny holding any political prisoners.
The government and its supporters call dissidents “counterrevolutionaries” and “mercenaries” who take foreign money to try to undermine the island’s Communist system.
Cuba has cleared its jails of internationally recognised prisoners of conscience in recent years. In April 2011, the last of 75 dissidents and activists sentenced to long prison terms after a 2003 crackdown walked free under a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic Church.
Many went into exile with their families.
At the time, Amnesty said it no longer recognised any prisoners of conscience in Cuba. On several occasions since then it designated islanders as political prisoners and they were released days, weeks or months later.
Most recently, Amnesty said, independent journalist Calixto Martinez was named a prisoner of conscience in January and freed in April after nearly seven months without formal charge.
The five named on Sunday are the only ones Amnesty currently recognises as prisoners of conscience in Cuba.
Amnesty said Matos Montes de Oca and Planas Robert were convicted of “dangerousness” or “special proclivity to commit crimes,” a statute that can be broadly interpreted.
It said they were arrested in late September after anti-government posters were put up in the eastern city of Guantanamo. Both belong to a dissident group called the Patriotic Union of Cuba.
The Vargas Martin brothers are the sons of a member of the Ladies in White opposition group. Alexeis was arrested 27 November in Santiago as he tried to return to his home, which had been surrounded by pro-government counter-protesters, Amnesty said.
The group said his 17-year-old twin brothers were arrested on 2 December as they protested his detention outside a police station. Police have accused the three of using violence or intimidation against authorities, but no formal charges have been filed. Zuniga gave Cuba credit for scrapping a long-standing exit visa requirement earlier this year that had made it difficult for islanders to travel abroad and was frequently denied to dissidents, but he said repression of free speech remains.
“Much more needs to be done to guarantee civil and political liberties in the country,” he said.
A spokesperson for the non-governmental Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which tracks arrests of dissidents, said it was monitoring the five men and considers their punishments out of line with the alleged violations.
“We have them on our list,” Juan Goberna said. “We are asking for their freedom and we have been following their cases.”
- Nampa-AP
The New York-based human rights watchdog highlighted the cases of Rafael Matos Montes de Oca, Emilio Planas Robert and brothers Alexeis, Diango and Vianco Vargas Martin. It said they have been held for months in eastern provincial lockups.
“These five cases are only the tip of the iceberg for Cuba’s repression of free speech,” Amnesty special adviser Javier Zuniga said in a statement.
Cuban officials, who did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday, deny holding any political prisoners.
The government and its supporters call dissidents “counterrevolutionaries” and “mercenaries” who take foreign money to try to undermine the island’s Communist system.
Cuba has cleared its jails of internationally recognised prisoners of conscience in recent years. In April 2011, the last of 75 dissidents and activists sentenced to long prison terms after a 2003 crackdown walked free under a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic Church.
Many went into exile with their families.
At the time, Amnesty said it no longer recognised any prisoners of conscience in Cuba. On several occasions since then it designated islanders as political prisoners and they were released days, weeks or months later.
Most recently, Amnesty said, independent journalist Calixto Martinez was named a prisoner of conscience in January and freed in April after nearly seven months without formal charge.
The five named on Sunday are the only ones Amnesty currently recognises as prisoners of conscience in Cuba.
Amnesty said Matos Montes de Oca and Planas Robert were convicted of “dangerousness” or “special proclivity to commit crimes,” a statute that can be broadly interpreted.
It said they were arrested in late September after anti-government posters were put up in the eastern city of Guantanamo. Both belong to a dissident group called the Patriotic Union of Cuba.
The Vargas Martin brothers are the sons of a member of the Ladies in White opposition group. Alexeis was arrested 27 November in Santiago as he tried to return to his home, which had been surrounded by pro-government counter-protesters, Amnesty said.
The group said his 17-year-old twin brothers were arrested on 2 December as they protested his detention outside a police station. Police have accused the three of using violence or intimidation against authorities, but no formal charges have been filed. Zuniga gave Cuba credit for scrapping a long-standing exit visa requirement earlier this year that had made it difficult for islanders to travel abroad and was frequently denied to dissidents, but he said repression of free speech remains.
“Much more needs to be done to guarantee civil and political liberties in the country,” he said.
A spokesperson for the non-governmental Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which tracks arrests of dissidents, said it was monitoring the five men and considers their punishments out of line with the alleged violations.
“We have them on our list,” Juan Goberna said. “We are asking for their freedom and we have been following their cases.”
- Nampa-AP
Comment on this article
www.weatherphotos.co.za
Windhoek
3°
24°
0mm
Walvis Bay
9°
21°
0mm
Oshakati
12°
33°
0mm
Keetmanshoop
4°
22°
0mm
Grootfontein
6°
28°
0mm
Gobabis
0°
27°
0mm
(August 13)
View more ...