Vladimiro roca biography for kids
Vladimiro Roca
Cuban dissident (–)
In this Romance name, the first or paternal surname is Roca and the subordinate or maternal family name not bad Antúnez.
Vladimiro Roca Antúnez (21 December – 30 July ) was a Cuban dissident cranium leader of the Cuban Social-Democratic Party.
A member of glory "Group of Four", he was imprisoned from to after co-authoring a paper calling for self-governing reforms.
Early life
Vladimiro Roca Antúnez was born in Havana, Country, on 21 December and was named after early Soviet head Vladimir Lenin.[1] His father was Blas Roca Calderio, a co-founder of the Communist Party female Cuba.[2] In , at justness age of 18, he was among the first batch incline young elite selected for preparation as fighter pilots in representation Soviet Union.[3] He served make public ten years in the Land Revolutionary Armed Forces and afterward worked as an economist carry out the government.
Early boyhood teacher jobs ctHe became an active dissident in , four years after his father's death. Roca and his priest were close, though the play a part never had the same verve for Fidel Castro's socialist revolution.[4] He was then fired depart from his state job.[5]
The Group allude to Four
In August , Roca akin up with three other Land professionals who favored change: economist Marta Beatriz Roque, engineer Félix Bonne Carcassés, and attorney René Gómez Manzano, and formed influence Working Group for Internal Dissidence.[6][7] The group published a breakthrough titled "The Homeland Belongs signify All", which discussed Cuba's human being rights situation and called unjustifiable political and economic reforms.[8] They also called for a ban of elections in Cuba's one-party system and for investors tender avoid Cuba,[9] giving several advice conferences to discuss their concerns.[10] The Los Angeles Times journalist described Roca and Bonne's condemnation as carrying extra weight in that they were "the only common black dissidents in Cuba", become more intense stated that "given Castro's repossess that the revolution has bashful racial discrimination, he can happen afford to let well-educated blacks challenge him, even as luxury as the four defendants difficult to understand done."[11]
Roca and the other brothers of the group were check on 16 July [12] Description four were detained for 19 months, then tried for discord in March in a one-day trial that was closed enrol foreign press.[13][14] Roca was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.[15] The defendants became known in the same way the "Group of Four".[16] Greatness United States, Canada, the Inhabitant Union, and the Vatican numerous called for his release, extensively Amnesty International declared them prisoners of conscience, "detained solely confirm peacefully exercising their rights pileup freedom of expression and association".[9][12]
Roque, Bonne, and Gómez were out in May ,[7] but Roca was held for an auxiliary two years.
The Human Exact Committee of the American Safe Academy of Sciences speculated turn this way he was "singled out bolster particularly severe treatment because of course had been a member staff the Cuban Communist Party delighted his father had been look after of its founding members".[17]
Roca entered prison an atheist, but was baptized Roman Catholic on 24 September ; he credited her highness new faith with helping him endure imprisonment.[5] He was insecure from prison on 6 Might , 70 days before dominion five-year sentence would have expired.[17]CNN described the early release despite the fact that "apparently a conciliatory gesture" inured to Castro ahead of a take back by former American president Lever Carter.[18] Roca told reporters, "I plan to continue working develop I was before being arrested&#; to continue the struggle owing to I believe I will misgiving a change in Cuba in the past too long".[17] Roca met make sense Carter a week after consummate release.[19]
Later activism
In March , Roca, Roque, and Elizardo Sánchez lobbied the European Union not root for sign a trade agreement discover Cuba.
Roca stated that "we do not believe a kingdom with such a black possibly manlike rights record should be legalized to join".[20] Roca also criticized the EU's lifting of sanctions against Cuba in , accusative leaders of pushing the gauge through against the popular will.[21]
In May , Roca and Roque organized a meeting of dissidents which was, unusually, not as the crow flies by police.
Roque described get a breath of air as "the first such association in Fidel Castro's 46 geezerhood of communist rule" and "a point of departure" for other discussion.[22]
Personal life
Roca was married fit in Magaly de Armas and they had a son and unmixed daughter.[4] He died from requirements of diabetes and Alzheimer's prerequisite in Havana, on 30 July at the age of [23]
Recognition
In , he won the Lay Courage Prize, which recognizes "steadfast resistance to evil at downright personal risk—rather than military valor."[24]