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Exiled
Opposition Activist Has Come Home to
Stay
Patricia
Grogg
HAVANA, (IPS) - The announcement
Thursday by moderate Cuban exile
leader Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo that he
plans to stay in Cuba and fight for
change from within apparently took
both the government and dissident
groups here by surprise.
''As a Cuban, I have the right to live
in my country,'' said the 68-year-old
Gutiérrez Menoyo, who had received
special permission to make a personal
visit to the island.
He announced his decision at the
Havana international airport Thursday
as he saw off his wife and three sons,
who were returning to the United
States.
Gutiérrez Menoyo, a former guerrilla
commander in the revolution led by
Fidel Castro that overthrew the
dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in
January 1959, went into exile in 1986
after spending 22 years in prison in
Cuba for armed insubordination against
Castro's socialist government.
''His decision to return to the
country marks the start of a new
stage, because the continuous flow of
emigration has done great damage to
the internal opposition movement,''
Dimas Castillo, with the dissident
Democratic Socialist Current, told IPS.
In a written statement handed out to
journalists at the airport, Gutiérrez
Menoyo said he would be much more
useful in Cuba, and that his decision
should not be interpreted as ''a
challenge'' to the government.
''I have come to work for an open
agenda in favour of peace and the
reconciliation of all Cubans,''
announced the activist, who founded
Cambio Cubano (Cuban Change), an
organisation that advocates dialogue
with Cuban authorities, in the United
States in 1993.
Government officials declined to
comment, saying they knew nothing
about Gutíerrez Menoyo's decision.
''I reject any kind of destabilising
movement or those that work for the
interests of foreign powers or
governments,'' said Gutiérrez Menoyo,
who describes himself as a ''peace
activist.''
He also said that from a legal
standpoint, he is not breaking any
laws by staying in Cuba. ''I am coming
home. I cannot remember, nor do I wish
to remember, how long I was away,'' he
added.
''I am returning here with the aim of
forging a space from which to legally
work to build a future of pluralism
and coexistence. Cubans should no
longer be denied the prosperity they
deserve,'' he added.
Activist Vladimiro Roca, who spent
five years in prison on charges of
''sedition'' and now forms part of the
dissident group Todos Unidos (United
All), described Gutiérrez Menoyo's
decision as ''brave.''
''Coming back from exile and staying
to face the risks of internal
dissidence, if he is going to be an
active part of the opposition movement
in Cuba, is something that takes great
personal courage,'' Roca told IPS.
He said, however, that it was
impossible to predict what impact Gutiérrez
Menoyo's return would have on the
illegal internal opposition movement
until it became clear what the
activist planned to do. ''As far as I
know, he has not made any contact with
members of the opposition,'' he said.
Castillo, meanwhile, admitted that the
news came as a surprise, because ''we
didn't even know that Gutiérrez
Menoyo was in Cuba.'' But the
dissident added that the announcement
was in line with the stated purposes
and ideals of the exiled activist's
group, Cambio Cubano.
''Cambio Cubano believes that the
necessary changes must be brought
about from within the country. We
support and understand his decision,''
said Castillo, who stated that ''the
transition (to democracy) is
inevitable.''
Gutiérrez Menoyo went into exile
after he was released from prison in
1986 thanks to the intervention of the
Spanish government. When he returned
to Cuba for the first time in June
1995, Castro met with him, and in a
long chat with the president, the
activist expressed his desire to
return to Cuba.
In his statement Thursday, the leader
of the moderate or centrist wing of
the Cuban exile movement said he had
emerged ''hopeful'' from that 1995
meeting, in which he and Castro were
calmly able to discuss issues that
would once have been too hot to touch.
But ''things did not move forward
along the right path,'' he said. ''The
years went by, and our meetings with
Cuban officials failed to forge the
legal space that Cambio Cubano is
demanding.''
Cubans living abroad must apply for a
visa to visit Cuba, and exiles wishing
to move back to this Caribbean island
nation must apply for special
permission at the Cuban consulate in
the country where they reside.
According to Cuban legislation, people
over 60 who have not taken part in
hostile activities against Cuba are
allowed to return. Permission is also
granted for humanitarian reasons in
exceptional cases.
Children under 16 are also allowed to
return, as are people who were taken
hostage by Cubans who hijacked water
or aircraft in an attempt to defect.
Gutiérrez Menoyo, who was born in
Spain in 1934, moved to Cuba with his
family in 1948. He was granted Cuban
citizenship for his participation in
the fight against the Batista regime.
On his current visit to Cuba, his
seventh, he called for an end to the
four-decade United States' embargo
against Cuba, in meetings with foreign
journalists.
In his view, a good neighbour policy
on the part of the United States could
help ''lead to the democratisation of
Cuba.''
Under the working title ''The Bad
Guy'', Gutiérrez Menoyo is writing
his autobiography, which he said
narrates key historical events that
have been concealed or ''distorted''
by the official media in Cuba.
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