Cuba

WHEREAS for more than half a century the Cuban government has not ceased its surveillance, control, and repression of independent journalism and journalists who do not follow official direction WHEREAS between August and September the Cuban government began a systematic and violent wave of repression against its opposition, especially the Ladies in White, and numerous arrests were carried out within the framework of public demonstrations WHEREAS a campaign of discredit has been put in motion against the Ladies in White, who are accused of being “incited and paid” by Washington WHEREAS on September 15 journalist Guillermo Fariñas, winner of the 2010 Sakharov Prize, was arrested in Santa Clara, along with other opponents during a protest march and on September 27 police agents publicly attacked and insulted Martha Beatriz Roque, a recognized leader of the Cuban dissident movement, along with her companions Arnaldo Ramos and Berta Soler WHEREAS Calixto Ramón Martínez of Hablemos Press was arrested on September 30 and since May, has been arrested three times, now facing relocation to his city of origin, Camaguey WHEREAS the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation documented 536 arrests in September alone, the highest figure in 30 years, and for that reason the number of political prisoners has increased WHEREAS the foreign press has also suffered the consequences of the escalation of repression in Cuba, a new head of the offices of Agence France Press having been prohibited from entering, while the correspondent of El País of Spain, Mauricio Vicent, did not have his accreditation renewed WHEREAS operation of the new fiber optic submarine cable between Venezuela and Cuba has been postponed until further notice, so that access of the people to the Internet is on hold, even under close supervision, the Internet continuing to be a privilege of the few WHEREAS the death of Laura Pollán, founder of the Ladies in White movement has put the Cuban dissident movement in mourning at a moment when those vigilant women are facing an increase in repression against them 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” THE 67TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IAPA RESOLVES: to demand freedom for journalists arrested in recent months and the cessation of systematic use of incarceration as a means to silence their voices to demand suspension of the actions of surveillance, control, and repression of journalists to condemn the permanent government control of the Internet and the lack of willingness on the part of the Cuban government to permit greater access of the population to this means of universal communication to demand that Cuban authorities suspend the pressures being brought against foreign correspondents accredited on the island and permit them to report freely to condemn the Cuban government for the increase in arrests of dissidents, now reaching unprecedented numbers, as in the month of September when 536 arrests were recorded express the condolences of the Inter American Press Association for the death of the founder of the Ladies in White, Laura Pollán, who during her life served as an example and inspiration for all who fight for democracy and a better future for Cuba.