Mourning Cuban dissidents on hunger strike

Several Cuban dissidents vowed to continue with their hunger strikes in solidarity with a recently deceased comrade.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in late February after undergoing his own hunger strike against the Cuban government. The death of Zapata- who had been jailed since 2003 “on charges including disrespecting authority”- caused strong condemnation of the Castro regime from the Spanish and U.S. governments.

In response to his death, four more imprisoned dissidents as well as non-jailed activist Guillermo Fariñas started their own hunger strikes. Fariñas’ health has worsened sharply since his actions began nearly three weeks ago and he has reportedly lost 28 pounds. Nevertheless he recently told Mexico’s Milenio that he would continue his protest for the release of 26 infirm political prisoners “until the very end.”

Tamayo’s death and Fariñas’ hunger strike are likely to put a serious crimp in U.S.-Cuba relations that had been slowly improving. The Cuban government’s reaction to Fariñas’ debilitating state will surely worsen matters:

The Cuban government is willing to let Guillermo Farinas, a dissident who has been on hunger strike for two weeks, die, the official newspaper Granma suggests.

In an article published Monday, Granma said forced tube feeding would be "unethical" and the government cannot give in to "blackmail," The Miami Herald reported…

"There are bio-ethical principles that require a physician to respect a person's decision to start a hunger strike," Granma said. "Therefore, there's no way he can be forced to take food, as U.S. authorities do regularly at the prisons and torture centers in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and Bagram."

Image- USA TODAY (“Physician Ismely Iglesias checks Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas' blood pressure last week. Farinas has since been taken to the hospital by relatives.”)
Online Sources- Washington Post, BBC News, AFP, Milenio, Reuters, UPI