Cuba Signals Crackdown on Dissidents

in an unsigned editorial in Granma, the Cuban government warns the world and the U.S. that contact with or support for Cuban dissidents will not be tolerated. the editorial ends ominously with a threat: anything that Cuba does about these dissidents will be squarely the fault of the U.S.

crackdowns by Cuba on its internal dissent is nothing new. recently, the European Union formally lifted its sanctions on Cuba, which were imposed after yet another such crackdown in 2003.

in an attempt to give some semblance of legitimacy to the impending new round of human rights abuses, the Cuban government lists the following activities as "intolerable:"

-- a Father's Day celebration held in the residence of the head of the U.S. Interest Section in Cuba, in which Cuban dissidents were addressed via teleconference by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez

-- a series of video conferences on journalism by Florida International University professors in which Cuban dissidents participated, held at the U.S. Interest Section

-- visits by U.S. Interest Section personnel to Cuban dissidents' homes in Havana

of course, the fact that these activities are carried out in the open means that the dissidents are really fiendish U.S. agents and potential saboteurs, and yet too stupid to cover their tracks, doesn't it?

in a country where any form of dissent is considered treason, merely meeting with U.S. diplomats is an act of protest and defiance. the Cuban government interprets it as such, at any rate.

and shortly, more brave Cubans who dare take a stand against a dictatorship that has been in power for almost 50 years will be jailed or worse on the flimsy excuse that they are "mercenaries" in the pay of the U.S. government.

and the European Union may have to re-enact its sanctions against Cuba yet again