Freed prisoners will travel first to Spain, thence to a destination of their choice

[flamingdem]

Since when is "thence" used in newspaper articles...

The destination is obvious: MIAMI! (probably for many anyway). Great more US taxpayer dollars to support their dicey journalism careers.


http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2010/07/freed-prisoners-will-travel-first-to-spain-thence-to-a-destination-of-their-choice.html

The 52 political prisoners to be released in the next couple of months will travel to Spain with their relatives, although later they may go elsewhere, said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos in a press briefing in Havana late Wednesday.
He was quoted by the Spanish newspaper El País.

Moratinos said the Castro government has given assurances that the prisoners' property will not be confiscated and that their relatives may return to the island whenever they wish. It is unclear whether the freed prisoners themselves will be allowed to return eventually.

"We feel an enormous satisfaction. A new stage opens in Cuba with the desire to settle once and for all the issue of the prisoners," the minister told journalists, according to El País.

In terms of the European Union's hard-line position toward Cuba, "there is no longer any reason to maintain it," he said. "Settling the issue of the prisoners was what my colleagues asked me to do, and I hope they now respond to the commitment."
Moratinos said he reported to the E.U's High Representative, Catherine Ashton, and plans to contact U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
(PHOTO SHOWS Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet, one of the 52 prisoners scheduled to be freed.)

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2010/07/freed-prisoners-will-travel-first-to-spain-thence-to-a-destination-of-their-choice.html#ixzz0t4mpILLo

[Bacchus39]

1. yeah, they will have the freedom to travel where they wish and associate with whom they wish

to use a pressure cooker, a cell phone, and yahoo messenger whenever they wish. Imagine that.

Glad to see these political prisoners released.

[flamingdem]

2. Analysis of prisoner release - what's in it for Cuba?

http://mambiwatch.blogspot.com/

Mambiwatch says:
Here in Miami we should expect a devastating blow to militancy.

----- snip

Just like those moments of joy when an expert negotiator successfully gains the release of hostages, yesterday may soon be celebrated as a big political victory for Spain's minister of foreign affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos and Cuba's catholic leader Jaime Ortega for their negotiated release of Amnesty International's Cuban "prisoners of conscience." But, just like a hostage situation, more difficult problems lie in the background that prisoner exchanges cannot solve. The militant or hard-liner would say that the problem is simply solved through force or coercion, while others may propose less rigid alternatives. Spain's Miguel Angel Moratinos has chosen dialogue, and has scored big. Here in Miami we should expect a devastating blow to militancy.

So what does Cuba gain from releasing 52 political prisoners who have been unfairly incarcerated since 2003?

Well, we cannot say for certain what details were discussed between Moratinos, Ortega and Raul Castro that led to this possible mass liberation, but there are some hints. The most obvious being the potential end of the European Union's "common position" towards Cuba which Moratinos has vowed to permanently lift. Yesterday, Moratinos made it clear that the "common position" is no longer justified, mainly because before traveling to Cuba Moratinos made a deal with other EU members: "They told me that if the problem of prisoners was solved the Common Position would be lifted." The EU will be reviewing the "common position" in September after Moratinos delayed the vote from June expecting promising results from the ongoing negotiations. Lifting or revising the "common position" will allow Cuba to extend economic cooperation with EU nations at a time when it desperately needs it.

Thus, focus on the economy is the other possible reason Raul Castro has negotiated this prisoner release. As Cuba expert Jorge I. Dominguez explained last month at a conference that discussed the Cuban economy, finding a solution (albeit short-term) to international condemnation of Cuba's human rights violations was important to achieve a greater goal: "President Raul Castro's desire to focus on problems--such as the economy with its declining growth rate--that are central to his office and remove others that distract from this."

And finally, this is another ideological victory for supporters of increasing dialogue with the Cuban government, especially once all 52 political prisoners are finally freed. History has shown that the Cuban government has repeatedly sought out favorable partners to negotiate with and address certain problems, such as political prisoners. Mass liberation of Cuban prisoners occurred in the 70s and 90s with different types of negotiating partners, and the potential exists today. But, negotiating the release of prisoners ignores the central problem: historically fraught U.S.-Cuba relations.

The U.S. must eventually accept other political alternatives to using force or coercion against the Cuban government. Negotiation and dialogue are alternatives that may yield good results. So why wait any longer?