Cuba

WHEREAS for 49 years the Cuban government has done away with press freedom, the right to freely express ideas and citizens’ access to information outside the state monopoly WHEREAS since being designated head of the government, Raúl Castro has continued the totalitarian methods concerning use of public information and repression of independent journalism WHEREAS 26 journalists are in jail, 12 of them with serious health problems, and the authorities refuse to free them for humanitarian reasons WHEREAS the government still oppresses independent journalism with fines, searches, confiscation of money and work tools, preventive detentions, restriction on movement inside the country, telephone interruptions and opening postal and electronic correspondence WHEREAS the crisis caused by the devastating hurricanes Gustav and Ike is beginning to bring coercive measures for freedom of expression and movement WHEREAS access to the Internet is still restricted for the Cuban people and only state agencies and foreign citizens can surf the Web freely WHEREAS official controls hinder the news media and audio-visual productions not under government control, including the new movement of independent bloggers WHEREAS in the past year control of visas for foreign correspondents who want to travel to the island has intensified and foreign reporters accredited to work on the island have been criticized and attacked by Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro WHEREAS principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec says, “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 says “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, 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 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to demand the unconditional release of the imprisoned journalists and the government’s recognition of the free practice of the profession to demand professional respect and the cancellation of the oppression of independent journalists to condemn the intensification of government control over the use of the Internet and the obstruction of the work of blogs from Cuba to demand respect for all independent audio-visual publications and productions in the country to request that Cuban authorities treat foreign correspondents working on the island respectfully.