Two groups of Cuban dissidents announced they were...

Two groups of Cuban dissidents announced they were starting a campaign to gather petitions for a moratorium on the death penalty on the communist-ruled island. Leonardo Calvo, coordinator of the Dialogue for Rights Coalition, told a news conference that the campaign would include a "national debate" and an anonymous survey in which citizens could explain their reasons for opposing capital punishment in Cuba. Beside the Coalition, the other organization pressing the issue was the Reflection Table of the Moderate Opposition. The campaign aimed to start a national debate on human rights on the island to coincide with the upcoming meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The signed petitions would be presented to the legislature, said the coalition coordinator, who did not disclose the number of petitions the dissident group hoped to collect nor when the campaign would end. Havana broke its self-imposed moratorium on executions in April 2003 by putting to death three would-be immigrants who hijacked a passenger ferry after what opponents said was a summary trial by a kangaroo court. The summary executions, along with the crackdown against 75 peaceful dissidents who were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison for criticizing the regime, sparked international condemnation. According to Manuel Cuesta Morua, moderator of the Reflection Table of the Moderate Opposition, Fidel Castro administration's explanation justifying the execution of the two hijackers was just "an excuse." Cuesta Morua said the death penalty had neither "dissuasive nor preventive" effects on would-be criminals nor should it be made part of the political conflict between Havana and Washington. According to the independent Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, at least 50 prisoners were currently on death row on the island.