As Daniel Hamilton has revealed, the news that 69 MPs, mostly Labour, have signed an Early Day Motion praising Cuba's retiring dictator Fidel Castro is stunning. But even more extraordinary is their suggestion that he has been a leader in the struggle for human rights. Those who have signed this have been reading too much Alice in Wonderland.
Let's get the facts straight. Independent trade unions are banned in Cuba, and trade unionists are jailed. Doesn't that bother the Labour MPs who signed this EDM? Cuba is like Poland in this regard, and in Poland change came when Solidarity, the trade union movement, decided it had had enough.
There is no independent journalism either, and at least 23 journalists who have dared to form an independent media are in jail. See this report from Reporters without Borders.
At least 250 other prisoners of conscience - including peaceful human rights activists, democracy activists, as well as trade unionists and journalists - are in jail in Castro's Cuba, held in gruesome cells infested with rats and cockroaches. They are frequently held in darkened cells with no natural light at all - or in cells with bright electric lights switched on 24 hours a day: psychological torture and sleep deprivation extraordinaire. Prisoners of conscience are permitted visits from close relatives only once every two or three months, and only for half an hour.
In addition to attempting to crush dissent, Castro sought to restrict and control the Church. Pastors are regularly harassed. Some have been jailed in the past. In December, security forces raided a Catholic Church and arrested 18 human rights activists attending Mass.
Just how do these facts match with the Early Day Motion's eulogy to Castro? The Early Day Motion brings a day of shame to the House of Commons.
