Cruelties of a dictator

Of course, we welcome the release of political prisoners in Cuba. We join with their families in welcoming them back from their unjust imprisonment. We wish we believed that this means a change in the way Fidel Castro will deal with free speech and dissent. It won't.

Of all his traits, intolerance and cynicism are at the top of the list. He squelches dissent and plays with people's lives. On Monday, Castro released a handful of political prisoners. They were among the 75 Cubans that Castro sent to jail last year in an island-wide crackdown on dissent. Their insistence on behaving like free men and women -- writing essays critical of the regime, distributing banned books such as Orwell's Animal Farm -- became so annoying that he packed them all off to jail after kangaroo-court proceedings. Sentences averaged 19 years.

Today, however, it has suddenly become useful for Castro to release some of these prisoners. With his economy deteriorating and fewer U.S. dollars coming in, Castro must mend fences with European leaders who were offended by last year's jailings. This is particularly true for Spain, a large investment presence on the island whose government has gone from conservative to socialist. The release of a few dissidents is intended to mollify the Europeans.

No one will be fooled by this charade. The question is whether this gesture will be taken as enough of a sign of good faith to change European attitudes.

The releases were similar to the conditional freedom of six other dissidents, released in June and in poor health. They were sent home under an ''extra-penal license,'' meaning their convictions remain in effect and they could be returned to prison at any time.

European leaders should welcome the releases, but also demand that all political prisoners be set free before resuming normal relations with Cuba.