Miami (March 18, 2009)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today criticized the persecution by Cuba's political police of independent journalists and called for the unconditional release of those that are imprisoned. The call was made in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the Primavera Negra (Black Spring) wave of repression in March 2003 when 75 political opponents of the Fidel Castro regime, independent journalists, human rights advocates, librarians and independent labor unionists were arrested and convicted.
The chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Robert Rivard, said that during the organization’s Midyear Meeting last weekend in Asunción, Paraguay, it once again condemned the Cuban government's intolerance and acts of repression against all aspects of freedom of expression and he demanded the release of 26 independent news men and women, some of whom are suffering from serious health problems while serving terms of up to 28 years.
Rivard, editor of the San Antonio Express-News, Texas, added that the report on the state of freedom of the press presented at the three-day meeting in the South American country the IAPA had noted that “since late October 2008 a total of 85 repressive acts against journalists' attempts to practice free speech have been recorded in Cuba, including fines, seizure of money and work materials, intimidations, house searches, temporary detentions, dismissals from employment, deportations to the province of origin, telephone wiretaps, violations of correspondence and Internet blackouts. The figure is higher than the number of harassments noted in the previous six months.”
Following is the full text of the resolution that the IAPA sent to the government of Cuba:
WHEREAS
the Cuban government has for 50 years denied freedom of speech and the right to gain access to information outside of the state monopoly
WHEREAS
one year into the official start of the new administration of Raúl Castro, nothing has changed for Cuban journalism, which remains stagnant; control of information remains in effect; and independent journalism continues to be repressed
WHEREAS
twenty-six independent journalists are in prison, serving terms of up to 28 years, with six of them suffering from serious health problems
WHEREAS
since October of last year, 85 acts of violence against journalists have occurred as a result of their efforts to work independently, including fines, layoffs, deportations to their provinces of origin, confiscations of money and work materials, phone taps, interceptions of correspondence, and Internet blackouts
WHEREAS
the government continues to use the Internet at its discretion, and attempts to justify its censorship of Internet usage and the independent blogger movement on the pretext that it cannot use underwater fiber optic cables because of the U.S. embargo; the authorities say they will maintain state control after a planned underwater cable from Venezuela is in place, with completion estimated for next year
WHEREAS
foreign journalists in Cuba face pressures from the government, and the authorities have restricted their options and stepped up its control over the granting of visas to foreign correspondents
WHEREAS
principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states: “No people or society can be free without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise of this freedom is not something authorities grant, it is an inalienable right of the people”
WHEREAS
principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states: “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly”
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
to demand the unconditional release of the journalists who are behind bars, and government recognition of independent journalism
to demand an end to the repression against independent journalists and their family members
to call on the Cuban government to allow the immediate departure of journalists who have received visas
to emigrate from Cuba to emphatically condemn the increased government control over Internet usage and its blockage of access to blogs written in Cuba
to demand that the government accord respectful treatment to foreign correspondents working in Cuba.
