NEW ON THE FREEDOM COLLECTION: KHIN LAY
By Christopher Walsh In free societies, there is no fear that security forces will abduct you in the middle of the night for supporting the political opposition. Burma, on the other hand, is not free and such fears …
AN UNFORGETABLE DAY
By Normando Hernández
In his book Cuba: Early Years of Independence (1911), Rafael Ortiz writes that on May 20th, 1902 in Cuba, “The joy was general and it was legitimate; Cubans were touching their dreams … all parties held up until ‘then’ had been pale compared to those celebrated on that memorable date.” Nothing else could be expected from Cubans after four centuries of Spanish colonization and three years of U.S. occupation.
FREEDOM: MANKIND’S REASON FOR LIVING
By Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet
Freedom is an inalienable right of our species. We are endowed with a creative consciousness and a selfless spirit that requires the values practiced in a free society to thrive. This is why people will always resist enslavement and tyranny. Our creative consciousness, or human spirit if you will, requires basic freedoms to find purpose: freedom of speech, expression and press; freedom of religion; freedom of assembly and association; the right to equal protection under the law; and the right to due process and a fair trial. The absence of such attributes makes existence meaningless.
THE FREEDOM COLLECTION STANDS WITH CUBA
President Bush with Secretary General of the European People’s Party, Antonio López-Istúriz White; Former President of the Government of Spain, His Excellency José María Aznar López; and former Cuban political prisoners Normando Hernández González, Regis Iglesias Ramírez, and Dr. José …
DEMOCRACY ON THE MARCH IN PAKISTAN
By Kent Patton
After an anxious week of threats and violence, voters in Pakistan went to the polls on May 11to elect a new parliament. They gave another mandate to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Party (PML-N) and sent the ruling Pakistan People’s Party to join the opposition.
ICYMI: THE END OF VENEZUELA’S LAST INDEPENDENT TELEVISION STATION?
In case you missed it, news out of Venezuela continues to worry activists and reformers. The Los Angeles Times reports that the country’s last independent television station, Globovision, has been sold to owners close to the new president
ICYMI: ELLIOTT ABRAMS ON IRAN’S LECH WALESA
In case you missed it, Elliott Abrams latest post on CFR’s Pressure Points blog discusses the case of Mansur Osanlu, an Iranian labor leader who has been forced into exile. Abrams notes that Osanlu has been compared with Lech Walesa, the hero of Poland’s Solidarity movement, but that in many ways, Iranian trade unions face even steeper obstacles than their counterparts under Polish communism.
MAY 9 IS VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
By Lindsay Lloyd
May 9 is Vietnam Human Rights Day, when we draw attention to the ongoing lack of basic freedoms in Vietnam. Although Vietnam has made considerable economic progress, the government continues to deny civil liberties and political freedoms to the population.
NEW ON THE FREEDOM COLLECTION: CZESLAW BIELECKI
By Christopher Walsh
Poland’s Czeslaw Bielecki has played many different roles in his career as a freedom activist. He’s been a protestor, writer, political prisoner, underground publisher, architect, artist, entrepreneur, advisor to Lech Walesa, chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and lecturer. As made evident in his Freedom Collection interview, Bielecki took a certain joy in undermining the Soviet-backed dictatorship in which he lived. He elaborates on such stories in works like The Little Conspirator and Freedom: A Do-It-Yourself Manual. Having helped lead his country’s successful transition from dictatorship to democracy, Bielecki delights in relaying those experiences with a new generation of freedom activists.
ICYMI: HAVANA IN BLACK AND WHITE
In case you missed it, Mary Anastasia O’Grady’s latest column in the Wall Street Journal focuses on Berta Soler, one of the founders of the Cuban dissident group known as the Ladies in White. O’Grady’s piece also explores the topic …