REBELION: "The Contradictions of Amnesty International"

REBELION/Lamrani: The Contradictions of Amnesty International

7 May, 2008
The Contradictions of Amnesty International

Salim Lamrani
Rebelion
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=67001&titular=las-contradicciones-de-amnist%EDa-internacional-

Amnesty International (AI) is undoubtedly the most famous human rights
organization in the world. Created in 1961 by British lawyer Peter
Berenson, this non-governmental organization has branches in more than
50 countries and more than two million members throughout the world.
Its outstanding work in favor of abolishing the death penalty and
torture, against political crimes and for the freedom of prisoners of
conscience has allowed it to enjoy advisory organization status at the
Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council
of Europe and the Organization of American States, among others. (1)

"Prisoners of conscience"

Every year AI publishes a report about the state of human rights in
the world. Almost no country escapes its watchful eye. With regards to
Cuba, the international organization documents "69 prisoners of
conscience" in its 2007 report and explains that they are incarcerated
for "their positions or non-violent political activities." The Cuban
government rejects this charge and accuses AI of partiality. The
country's authorities broke relations with the organization in 1988,
the date of AI's last visit to Cuba. (2)

In a statement dated March 18, 2008, AI referred to "58 dissidents who
remain incarcerated in different prisons around the country." The
organization emphasized that "the only crime committed by those 58
people is to have peacefully exercised their fundamental rights."
Kerry Howard, assistant director of Amnesty International's Regional
Program for America, declares that "the prisoners of conscience must
be freed immediately and unconditionally. (3)

In their communiqu�, the international organization recognizes that
"the majority were accused of crimes such as "acts against the
independence of the State'." Amnesty International also recognizes
that those people were sentenced "for having received funds or
materials from the United States government to carry out activities
which the authorities consider subversive and prejudicial for Cuba."(4)

In order to be convinced of this state of affairs, existent since
1959, it is enough to consult partially declassified U.S. files,
section 1705 of the 1992 Torricelli law, section 109 of the 1996
Helms-Burton law and the two Reports of the Commission of Assistance
for a Free Cuba of May 2004 and July 2006. All of these documents show
that the U.S. president finances the internal opposition in Cuba with
the objective of overthrowing the government of Havana. It is the main
pillar Washington's foreign policy with respect to Cuba. (5)

Thus, section 1705 of the Torricelli law states that "the United
States will provide assistance to appropriate non-governmental
organizations, for the support of individuals and organizations that
promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba."(6)

Section 109 of the Helms-Burton law is also very clear: "the President
is authorized to furnish assistance and offer
all kinds of support to individuals and independent non-governmental
organizations to support democracy-building efforts in Cuba." (7)

The first report of the Commission of Assistance to a Free Cuba
established the development of a "strong program that favors Cuban
civil society." Among the recommended measures, financing is
allocated in the amount of 36 million dollars for "supporting the
democratic opposition and empowering an emerging civil society."(8)

On March 3, 2005, Roger Noriega, undersecretary for Western Hemisphere
Affairs of the Bush administration, indicated that 14.4 million
dollars had been added to the budget of 36 million dollars established
in the 2004 report. Noriega was even so honest that he revealed the
identity of some of the people in charge of the development of the
U.S. foreign policy against Cuba. (9)

Finally, the second report of the Commission of Assistance to a Free
Cuba established a budget of 31 million dollars to finance the
internal opposition even more. In addition, annual financing of at
least 20 million dollars is planned, with the same objective, for the
following years "until the dictatorship ceases existing." (10)

Therefore, there is no doubt about this matter.

Contradictions

AI now admits that the people who are considered "prisoners of
conscience" have "received funds or materials from the U.S. government
to carry out activities that the authorities consider subversive and
harmful for Cuba." Here, the organization finds itself in full
contradiction.

In effect, international law considers it illegal to finance domestic
opposition in another sovereign nation. Said policy flagrantly
violates the principles and norms governing relations between states.
All countries of the world have a legal arsenal at their disposal,
which allows them to defend their national independence against this
kind of foreign aggression, codifying as crimes behaviors that favor
application of laws that lead to subversion. It is a fundamental duty
of any state.

Cuban law

Cuban law severely punishes any association with a foreign power with
the objective of subverting the established order and destroying its
political, economic, and social system. The Protection of Cuban
National Independence and the Economy Law No. 88 was adopted on March
15, 1999, after the United States made the decision to increase
economic sanctions and to finance the internal opposition in Cuba.

This legislation has as its objective, as Article 1 states, "to define
and sanction those acts directed at supporting, facilitating or
collaborating with the objectives of the `Helms-Burton' Law, the
blockade and the economic war against the Cuban people, aimed at
violating internal order, destabilizing the country and eliminating
the socialist state and independence of Cuba."(11)

The law provides sanctions of from seven to fifteen years in prison
for any person who "supplies, directly or through a third party, the
Government of the United States, its agencies, dependencies,
representatives or officials, information to facilitate the objectives
of the `Helms�Burton' Law." This sentence will be eight to 20 years in
prison if the offense is committed in concert with two or more people
or if there is stipend in one way or another. (12)

Law No. 88 punishes with sentences of three to eight years in prison
the act of gathering, reproducing or distributing subversive material
from the "Government of the United States of America, its agencies,
dependences, representatives, officials or any other foreign entity"
with the objective of supporting economic sanctions and destabilizing
the nation. The sentences will be imprisonment for four to 10 years if
the crime is carried out in concert with others or if it is financed. (13)

Finally, Article 11 provides that "he who, <�> directly or by means of
a third party, receives, distributes, or participates in the
distribution of financial, material or any other kind of support,
coming from the Government of the United States of America, its
agencies, dependencies, representatives, officials or from private
entities, will be punished by imprisonment for three to eight years."(14)

Thus, as Amnesty International explicitly admits, the people who are
considered "prisoners of conscience" really committed a serious crime
that Cuban law punishes severely. Consequently, their status went from
opponents to agents subsidized by a foreign power and they are
accountable to Cuban justice. In reality, the "prisoners of
conscience" are mercenaries at the service of a hostile and bellicose
foreign power.

Cuban penal specificity?

It is also appropriate to stress that historically the United States
has been a bitter enemy of Cuba's independence and sovereignty. In
1898, Washington intervened in Cuba's anti-colonial war in order to
stop the Cubans fully gaining self-determination and occupied the
country until 1902. Later, Cuba became a type of protectorate,
politically and economically controlled until 1958. Since 1959, the
United States has tried everything to destroy the Cuban Revolution:
terrorist attacks, armed invasion, threat of nuclear disintegration,
economic sanctions, political, media, and diplomatic war, and internal
subversion.

Like any other responsible state, the revolutionary government adopted
legal measures to survive in the face of those actions. Nonetheless,
is it the case that Cuban penal law is unusual? Is it unique? Let's
see what is provided for in laws in Western countries�which,
nevertheless, don't face the same threats as Cuba�for individuals who
put themselves at the service of a foreign power.

The U.S. Penal Code

In the United States, those actions are severely punished. According
to paragraph 951 of the U.S. Penal Code, "Whoever, other than a
diplomatic or consular officer or attach�, acts in the United States
as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the
Attorney General <�> shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not
more than ten years." Point e/2/A of the paragraph specifies that "any
person engaged in a legal commercial transaction shall be considered
to be an agent of a foreign government <�> if it is an agent of Cuba."
Thus, a Cuban who buys medical equipment in the United States for a
hospital in Havana is legally subject to a penalty of up to ten years
in prison. (15)

Paragraph 953, known as the Logan Law, provides that "any citizen of
the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the
United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any
correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any
officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or
conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof,
in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States"
shall receive a penalty of up to three years of imprisonment. (16)

If this law were applied in Cuba, the vast majority of what the
Western press considers to be "Cuban dissidents" would be behind bars.
In fact, the Cuban opposition regularly meets with the U.S.
representative in Havana, Michael Parmly, at the offices of the U.S.
Interests Section (USIS) or even at his personal residence.

Paragraph 954 provides a penalty of ten years in prison for any person
who makes "false statements" with the objective of attacking the
interests of the United States in its relations with another nation.
(17) Here also, if the opponent Oswaldo Pay�who accuses the Cuban
government of being responsible for disappearances and of having
murdered more than "twenty children" were subjected to laws as severe
as those in the United States, he would be currently in jail, without
provoking any commotion among Western conservative souls. Nonetheless,
the most famous of Cuban dissidents never has been bothered by Cuban
justice, since there it has no evidence that he receives money from a
foreign power. In comparison, Ra�l Rivero, who was a relatively
moderate and half-hearted opponent with respect to Paya, was sentenced
to twenty years in prison (and freed one year later) because he had
accepted generous remunerations offered by Washington. (18)

Paragraph 2381 provides that "whoever, owing allegiance to the United
States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving
them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty
of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less
than five years." (19)

Thus, if U.S. citizens behaved in the same way as the individuals
found guilty by Cuban justice of association with a foreign power,
they would risk capital punishment. Paragraph 2385 provides a penalty
of twenty years for any person who publicly supports the overthrow of
the government or established order. (20)

As it is easy to verify, the U.S. penal code is in many ways much more
severe than Cuban laws.

French criminal law

The French penal code also provides extremely severe sanctions in case
of proved association with a foreign power. According to article 411-4,

"The act of maintaining intelligence with a foreign power, a company,
a foreign organization or one under foreign control, or with its
agents, with the aim of provoking hostilities or acts of aggression
against France, is punished with thirty years imprisonment and a fine
of 450,000 Euros.

The act of offering to a foreign power, business, or foreign
organization or one under foreign control or to its agents the means
to undertake hostilities or carry out acts of aggression against
France will be punished with the same penalties." (21)

The French law is, in this respect, more severe than Cuban law.
Spanish law

The Spanish Penal Code of 1995 provides severe sanctions for those
same offenses. According to Article 592,

"those who, with the goal of harming the authority of the State or
jeopardizing the dignity or the vital interests of Spain, intelligence
relations of intelligence or any kind of relation with foreign
governments, with their agents or with international or foreign
groups, organizations, or associations will be punished with a prison
sentence ranging from four to eight years." (22)

Article 589 provides a penalty of one to three years of imprisonment
for "whoever publicizes or executes in Spain any order, disposition or
document from a foreign government which threatens the independence or
security of the state, opposes the observance of its laws or provokes
noncompliance with them." (23) If the famous Cuban Ladies in White had
had the same behavior in Spain, they would be jailed.

The Belguim Penal Code

Chapter II of the Belgian law which deals with "crimes and
misdemeanors against the external security of the state" and more
precisely Article 114 provides that

"he who carries out maneuvers or maintains intelligence with a
foreign power or with any person who acts in the interests of a
foreign power in order to bring this power to begin a war against
Belgium, or to procure the means, will be sentenced to 20 to 30 years
of imprisonment. If the hostilities occur he will be sentenced to life
imprisonment." (24)

Italian legislation

According to Article 243 of the Italian Penal Code,

"he who maintains intelligence with foreigners with the objective that
a foreign State declare war or carries out hostile acts against the
Italian state, or commits other acts with the same objective, will be
punished with imprisonment of no less than ten years. If the war
breaks out, the death penalty will be applied <1>; if the hostilities
are proven, a life term will be applied. <1> The death penalty is
abolished and replaced by a life sentence." (25)

Article 246 is about financing of the citizen by a foreign power:

"The citizen who, even indirectly, receives or causes to be promised
to him from a foreign country, for him or for another, money or any
other kind of article, or accepts only the promise of it, with the
goal of committing acts contrary to the national interests, shall be
punished, if the deed does not constitute the most serious act, with
imprisonment from three to 10 years." The penalty shall increase if
"the money or the article are delivered or are promised through
propaganda by means of the press." (26)

Thus, Italian legislation is much more severe than that of Cuba. If
the very famous dissidents like Pay�, Marta Beatriz Roque or Elizardo
S�nchez found themselves in Italy, they would be incarcerated and not
free.

Swiss Law

Even peaceful Switzerland provides sanctions for the crime of
association with a foreign power. Article 266 of the Penal Code
provides that:

"1. He who commits an act that threatens the independence of the
Confederation or poses a danger to its independence, or provokes on
behalf of a foreign power interference in the matters of the
Confederation, which poses a danger for the independence of the
Confederation, will be punished with imprisonment of at least one year.

2. He who maintains intelligence with the government of a foreign
state or with one of its agents with the objective of provoking a war
against the Confederation will be punished with a sentence of at least
three years of imprisonment.

In serious cases, the judge will pronounce a sentence of life
imprisonment.

Article 266 is also very clear:

"1. He who, with the objective of provoking or supporting enterprises
or organized actions from abroad against the security of Switzerland,
enters into a relationship with a foreign state, with foreign parties,
or with other organizations abroad, or with their agents, or launches
or spreads incorrect or tendentious information, will be punished with
imprisonment of no more than five years maximum or a fine.
In serious cases, the judge will pronounce a jail term of at least one
year." (27)

Swedish law

In Sweden, the Penal Code provides a penalty of two years jail for
"he who receives money or other donations from a foreign power or
anybody who acts in its interests, with the goal of publishing or
disseminating writings, or influencing in any manner public opinion
regarding the internal organization of the state." (28)

This Scandinavian democracy also sanctions "he who spreads or
transmits to foreign powers or their agents inexact or tendentious
information, with the objective of creating threats for the security
of the state." Finally, a sentence of ten years to life imprisonment
is applied to he "who constitutes a threat against the security of the
state for having utilized illegal means with the support of a foreign
power."(29)

Agents at the service of a foreign power and not "prisoners of conscience"

The examples could be infinitely multiplied. In any country of the
world the law severely punishes association with a foreign power and
it is not possible, consequently, to grant the status of "prisoners of
conscience" to the individuals financed by a foreign power, as is the
case of the detained Cubans, which, on the other hand, Amnesty
International honestly recognizes.

Amnesty International is an organization recognized for its
seriousness, professionalism and impartiality. But the treatment that
it reserves for Cuba is debatable. In order to be able to continue
enjoying the same prestige and the same objectivity, AI would do well
to reconsider, without further delay, its judgment regarding those
that it considers "prisoners of conscience" in Cuba, since the double
standard is unacceptable.

Notes

(1) Amnesty International, �L'histoire d'Amnesty International�, sin
fecha. http://www.amnesty.org/fr/who-we-are/history (sitio consultado
el 23 de abril de 2008).
(2) Amnesty International, �Cuba. Rapport 2007�, abril de 2007.
http://www.amnesty.org/fr/region/americas/caribbean/cuba#report (sitio
consultado el 23 de abril de 2008).
(3) Amnesty International, �Cuba: Cinco a�os de m�s; el nuevo gobierno
debe liberar a los disidentes encarcelados�, 18 de marzo de 2008.
http://www.amnesty.org/es/for-media/press-releases/cuba-five-years-too-many-new-government-must-release-jailed-dissidents-2
(sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2008).
(4) Ibid.
(5) Salim Lamrani, Double Morale. Cuba, l'Union europ�enne et les
droits de l'homme (Paris: Editions Estrella, 2008), pp. 45-55.
(6) Cuban Democracy Act, Titre XVII, Secci�n 1705, 1992.
(7) Helms-Burton Act, Titre I, Secci�n 109, 1996.
(8) Colin L. Powell, Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba,
(Washington: United States Department of State, mayo de 2004).
www.state.gov/documents/organization/32334.pdf (sitio consultado el 7
de mayo de 2004), pp. 16, 22.
(9) Roger F. Noriega, �Assistant Secretary Noriega's Statement Before
the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations�,
Department of State, 3 de marzo de 2005.
www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/2005/ql/42986.htm (sitio consultado el 9 de
abril de 2005).
(10) Condoleezza Rice & Carlos Gutierrez, Commission for Assistance to
a Free Cuba, (Washington: United States Department of State, julio de
2006). www.cafc.gov/documents/organization/68166.pdf (sitio consultado
el 12 de julio de 2006), p. 20.
(11) Gaceta Oficial de la Rep�blica de Cuba, Ley de protecci�n de la
independencia nacional y la econom�a de Cuba (LEY NO 88), 15 de marzo
de 1999.
(12) Ibid.
(13) Ibid.
(14) Ibid.
(15) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45, � 951.
(16) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45, � 953.
(17) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 45, � 954.
(18) El Nuevo Herald, �Mensaje de Pay� destaca que en la isla hay
desaparecidos�, 18 de marzo de 2005, p. 23A.
(19) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 115, � 2381.
(20) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 115, � 2385.
(21) C�digo Penal Franc�s, Libro IV, Cap�tulo I, Secci�n 2, Art�culo
411-4.
(22) C�digo Penal Espa�ol de 1995, Cap�tulo II, Art�culo 592.
(23) C�digo Penal Espa�ol de 1995, Cap�tulo II, Art�culo 589.
(24) C�digo Penal Belga, Cap�tulo II, Art�culo 114.
(25) C�digo Penal Italiano, Libro II, T�tulo I, Cap�tulo I, Art�culo 243.
(26) C�digo Penal Italiano, Libro II, T�tulo I, Cap�tulo I, Art�culo 246.
(27) C�digo Penal Suizo, Art�culo 266.
(28) C�digo Penal Sueco, Cap�tulo 19, Art�culo 13.
(29) C�digo Penal Sueco, Cap�tulo 19, Art�culo 8.\\

Salim Lamrani is a professor, writer, and French journalist
specializing in relations between Cuba and the United States. He has
published the following titles : Washington contre Cuba (Pantin: Le
Temps des Cerises, 2005), Cuba face � l'Empire (Gen�ve: Timeli, 2006)
and Fidel Castro, Cuba et les Etats-Unis (Pantin: Le Temps des
Cerises, 2006). He has just published Double Morale. Cuba, l'Union
europ�enne et les droits de l'homme (Paris: Editions Estrella, 2008).

Contact: lamranisalim@yahoo.fr

This article may be freely reproduced upon condition of respects its
integrity and mentioning the author, editor, and source.\

Translated by: Dana Lubow, May 30, 2008

Very happy to have the chance to file this article away for future use.

Thank you very, very much.