INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-CUBA:

SOLIDARITY WITH CUBAN ANARCHIST MUSICIANS:

The following reprint is from the A-Infos website, put up there on September 20th. It was, in turn copies from an earlier item on the Class War website last August 29. While the matter discussed is now "dated" as Gorki Aguila has been released with a fine of 600 pesos, as people who can read Spanish can find out at his band's website, Molly finds this still worthy of mentioning for several reasons.

One is that she has discussed the band before on this blog, and feels that the fact of its existence merits repeating.

Another reason is once more remind libertarian socialists of the Movimiento Libertario Cubano (Cuban Libertarian Movement) and its existence.

Yet another reason is perhaps to give a big "tsk,tsk" to A-Infos for reprinting matter over 3 weeks old without checking for its current status. Not that Molly hasn't been guilty of this at times, but it is something that should be avoided. I think my worst sin in this regard is to reprint callouts where half the events are already over, but others are still to come. So, from one sinner to another,....check first.

The band's site is full of information on the case of this arrest and also many others, with reports of beatings by the Cuban security forces. But what really caught my eye was the following sentence describing the "reduction of charges" that got Aguila off the hook with only a fine:

"La acusatión cambió de "peligrosidad predelictiva" a desobediencia".

Now....stop and think, if you are anarchist who should theoretically value liberty, about the implications of any support to a regime where "disobedience" is considered a criminal offense. The Castro regime is actually the sort of paradise that the religious right would imagine. All that's fine and good, but I also had supreme difficulty in translating the first charges. "Peligrosidad" is easy..."dangerousness", but what on Earth is "predelictiva" ? It obviously bears some relationship to the English word "predilection", often misspelled as "predelection" and translated into the Spanish as "predilección" . I try my handy Spanish/English Larousse. No luck. I also try five online dictionaries. Still no luck. Was this just some sort of spelling mistake on the part of the band's website ?

But then I check a little further into how the phrase "peligrosidad predelictiva" has actually been used. Yes, it is indeed defined in Cuban law, as the following:

"a person's special proclivity to commit offenses as demonstrated by conduct that is manifestly contrary to the norm of socialist morality".

In others words this bears a superficial resemblance to the term "habitual criminal", but the resemblance is indeed only superficial. First of all the "crimes" that are "contrary to socialist morality" include a wide range of simple political offenses (such as "disobedience"). Second, and perhaps most importantly, filing for a designation as an "habitual criminal" in regular law only happens subsequent to conviction for any number of actual offenses. In the law of a communist dictatorship this is what is known to fans of Orwell as a "thought crime". It can be brought as a charge totally separate from any recent offense. It's as if simply "having a bad attitude" were a crime in itself. Not that some other countries haven't tried to create such an offense, but under communism it has been both created and repeatedly used.

Finally, it is indeed possible that the word "predelictiva" actually does not exist in Spanish outside of the legal system of Cuba. It is entirely possible that this law is based on a definition of a misspelled word. This shows the uniqueness of communist tyranny. After all, who would dare to point out this fact.

And people wonder why I am anti-communist. But enough of my rants. Here's the article.

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Cuba, FREE GORKI AGUILA IMMEDIATELY!:

Date Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:24:55 +0300
At his home on Monday morning 25 August 2008. Gorki Aguila, founder member and vocalist with the Cuban punk band Porno Para Ricardo was arrested(yet again) at his home.

---- The Cuban state’s harassment of Gorki Aguila and other Porno Para Ricardo members has been relentless ever since the group first emerged. Back in April this year we issued an appeal for “Urgent solidarity with young alternatives and the anarcho-punk movement in Cuba”, concentrating our attention on the Castroist authorities’ relentless harassment of the Porno Para Ricardo band and of Gorki Aguila in particular. And asking freedom lovers around the world to show active solidarity with the alternative and counter-cultural scene within Cuba and adding our voice to the campaign by the promoters of the Cuba Underground project in defending the physical well-being of the members of Porno Para Ricardo, as well as their relatives, friends and colleagues.

Today we reaffirm our unconditional support for all young anti-authoritarians who face in their daily lives oppression and exploitation at the hands of the bourgeois nationalist dictatorship which has been governing Cuba along absolutist lines for the past half century and we are launching the International Campaign for the Immediate Release of Gorki Aguila, calling for demonstrations outside Cuban embassies and consulates around the world and demanding his release and an end to the current witch-hunt against young alternatives and the anarcho-punk and anti-authoritarian movement on the island of Cuba.

We hope that this call will be taken up as it deserves to be by the international punk and anarchist movements.

For a free libertarian Cuba!

For Anarchy!

The Cuban Libertarian Movement. (MLC)

26 August 2008-08-27

Contact:

movimientolibertariocubano[at]gmail[dot]com

www.mlc.acultura.org.ve/

www.pornopararicardo.com

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Copied from Class War (Britain):http://www.londonclasswar.org/newswire/

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See Also:

(en) Cuba, Movimiento Libertario Cubano Interview Porno Para Ricardo

http://www.ainfos.ca/en/ainfos21019.html

(en) ALB interviews the Cuban Libertarian Movement

http://www.ainfos.ca/en/ainfos21144.html