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http://therepor­t.amnesty.org/…me­ricas/Cuba

CUBA

REPUBLIC OF CUBA

Head of state and government: Raúl Castro Ruz (provisionally replaced Fidel Castro Ruz in July) Death penalty: retentionist International Criminal Court: not ratified

Freedom of expression, association and movement continued to be severely restricted. At least 69 prisoners of conscience remained imprisoned for their political opinions. Political dissidents, independent journalists and human rights activists continued to be harassed, intimidated and detained, some without charge or trial. Cubans continued to feel the negative impact of the US embargo.

Background

During 2006 Cuba secured a place on the UN Human Rights Council and assumed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement during its XIV Summit in Havana in September.

In July, Fidel Castro underwent surgery and for the first time since 1959 transferred his responsibilities to other senior officials, including his brother, Raúl Castro Ruz. Political opposition parties and activities were not tolerated.

Political relations with the USA remained tense despite economic exports of agricultural products to Cuba exceeding US$500 million. The US Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba issued an update of its previous report in July. The European Union did not reintroduce sanctions lifted in 2005 despite continued concerns over the human rights situation in Cuba.

The US government set up a law enforcement task force to track down and prosecute those who circumvent restrictions on travelling and commercial exchanges with Cuba. In November, for the 15th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the USA to end its embargo on Cuba.

The government continued to deny the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Cuba access to the country. AI and other independent human rights organizations were also not allowed to visit.

Prisoners of conscience

At the end of the year, 69 prisoners of conscience continued to be held for their non-violent political views or activities. Twelve others continued to serve their sentences outside prison because of health concerns. No releases of prisoners of conscience were reported during the year.

• Orlando Zapata Tamayo was sentenced to three years in 2003 on charges of showing „contempt to the figure of Fidel Castro“, „public disorder“ and „resistance“. In November 2005 he was reportedly sentenced to an additional 15 years for „contempt“ and „resistance“ in prison. In May 2006, he was again tried on the same charges and sentenced to an additional seven-year term. He was serving a prison sentence of 25 years and six months.

Detention without charge or trial

Scores of people continued to be held without charge on suspicion of counter-revolutionary activities or on unclear charges. Their legal status remained unclear at the end of the year.

• Prisoner of conscience Oscar Mariano González Pérez, an independent journalist who was arrested in July 2005 as he was about to take part in a demonstration in front of the French embassy, remained in detention without charge or trial.

Freedom of expression and association

Severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association persisted. All print and broadcast media remained under state control. There was a rise in the harassment and intimidation of independent journalists and librarians. People suspected of links with dissident groups or involved in promoting human rights were arrested and detained. There was an increase in arrests on charges of „pre-criminal dangerousness“. Access to the Internet remained severely limited outside governmental offices and educational institutions. Journalist Guillermo Fariñas staged a seven-month hunger strike to obtain access to the Internet, without success.

• Armando Betancourt Reina, a freelance journalist, was arrested on 23 May as he took notes and photographs of evictions from a house in the city of Camagüey. He was charged with public disorder. Armando Betancourt was reportedly held incommunicado for a week at the police station before being transferred to Cerámica Roja prison in Camagüey on 6 June. He was awaiting trial at the end of the year.

Harassment and intimidation of dissidents and activists

There was an increase in the public harassment and intimidation of human rights activists and political dissidents by quasi-official groups in so-called acts of repudiation.

• Juan Carlos González Leiva, President of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights, was reportedly the target of several „acts of repudiation“ – involving government supporters reportedly acting with the collusion of the authorities – at his home in the city of Ciego de Avila. He and his family were repeatedly threatened by demonstrators. Juan Carlos González Leiva, who is blind, was arrested in March 2002 for „disrespect“, „public disorder“, „resistance“ and „disobedience“ and spent two years in prison without trial. In April 2004 he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, to be served at his home.

AI country reports/visits

Reports

• Cuba: Fundamental freedoms still under attack (AI Index: AMR 25/001/2006)

• Cuba: Fear for safety/Fear of torture/intimi­dation/harassment – Miguel Valdés Tamayo and Juan Carlos González Leiva (AI Index: AMR 25/002/2006)

Visits

AI last visited Cuba in 1988 and has not been allowed into the country since.

http://therepor­t.amnesty.org/…me­ricas/Cuba

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Published: 21st March 2007 13:39 CET

Online: http://www.the­local.se/6758/

A diplomatic crisis has developed between Sweden and Cuba. The Cuban ambassador has been called to the foreign ministry after it was discovered that Cuban officials had opened Swedish diplomatic post.

Carl Bildt has also accused a Cuban delegate to the UN of „using unacceptable language“.

The row began when Foreign Minister Carl Bildt gave a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, in which he criticized Cuba's human rights record.

Juan Antonio Fernandez Palacios, Cuba's delegate to the Human Rights Council, is quoted as having said that „Cuba, unlike Sweden, does not persecute migrants or carry out ethnic cleansing that only allows those whose skin and hair color fit with the racial patterns of former Viking conquerors to remain in the country“.

Bildt issued a swift condemnation of Fernandez Palacios' comments on Wednesday.

„It is completely unacceptable language.“

The foreign ministry called in Cuba's ambassador in Stockholm to explain the comments and apologize on his country's behalf. Some time later the foreign ministry discovered that its diplomatic post had been opened by the Cubans. This too Bildt described as entirely unacceptable.

„The Cuban ambassador is going to be called in again,“ he said.

„When we put forward the view that respect for human freedoms and rights were lacking in Cuba, it led to a furious outburst from the Cuban ambassador about Sweden's blood, colonialism, imperialism, Vikings and oppression and so on and so forth. We have said that this is an unacceptable use of language,“ said Bildt.

„We'll see if the Cubans explain themselves. We have demanded an explanation and an apology but I'm not sure I have such high expectations of this Cuban regime,“ he added.

Bildt conceded that the situation was now so serious that it could be designated a diplomatic crisis.

„The UN has a responsibility to supervise respect for human rights and human freedoms. Both are rather restricted in Cuba and it is our duty to say so. It should not lead to the sort of hysterical attack on an entire nation such as that made by the Cubans,“ said Bildt.

Have the Cubans started opening Swedish diplomatic post?

„We have had one case where out diplomatic sacks were opened. That is serious. There are international conventions about this sort of thing, so we are going to take that up too,“ said Bildt.

Juan Antonio Fernandez Palacios has accused Bildt of hypocrisy after the foreign minister failed to mention the Guantanamo base in Cuba or the American-led war in Iraq during his speech on human rights.

He also asserted that Cuba had been granted a place on the Human Rights Council, a post for which Sweden was not considered worthy. On balance, he thought it might have been better if Bildt had stayed in Stockholm.

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YEDI ZAK

National Post

7 March 2007

Aweek ago, this newspaper ran a news article with the headline „Castro Speaks, The People Rejoice.“ Well, I'm finishing up an extended visit to Havana, and I've heard no cheering. Perhaps that's because the people are too busy searching the markets for any sign of meat. Glance up at any balcony in this city and you may catch sight of a woman quietly flapping her hands in the direction of a neighbour's bal­cony. This is the signal for „Any black market chicken today?“

The city's Habaneros are still scratching their heads over their government's latest hare-brained scheme to install a new refrigerator in every home, along with a new cooking element. There is no choice in the matter, and the cost is deducted, over years, from the family's monthly salary. That's how things work in this „workers' paradise.“

Most Cuban people have American refrigerators from the 1950s, which are still running because they were built like tanks, and Cuban ingenuity keeps them going. These are being forcibly replaced with cheap Chinese models that are oversized bar fridges. Already, the Cuban people have nicknamed them el llovisnao („the drizzler“), because the inadequate freezers weep constantly over the floor.

Cubans cook with gas, either on a two-burner hotplate or an ancient gas stove that, like the Yankee fridges, just keep on going. Every month, the people line up with their empty gas cylinders and replenish them for a small sum in national pesos. This was a blessing during electrical blackouts because dinner would continue to cook in the dark. Now things have changed. The government has bought millions of one-element electrical hot-plates, which are being delivered door to door. An electrician friend told me they are not designed for cooking, but rather for heating water or warming a baby's bottle. Yet this has become the main way to cook a family meal. The sale of gas for cylinders is being phased out, in case a smart-aleck thinks he can keep his old stove going.

When I visited an old friend, I expressed astonishment at the thought of cooking for a family with a one-element hotplate. He bristled. „They came to my door with that piece of garbage and I told them, ‚You can put that in your ass.‘“ I asked if he wasn't afraid of getting into trouble. „Yedi, you know I was in the Sierra Maestras with Fidel and Camilo and Che,“ he told me. „I have a certain amount of flexibility. Remember the time my son was caught one mile out on a raft for Miami? Instead of jail, he was kept from his work for two years.“ He told me he will buy gas for his stove on the black market. That's the way things work in Cuba.

Was there any cheering in the streets last week? Walking down my favorite thoroughfare, Neptuno Street, I noticed a dramatic change. Where were the batido ladies, the pork sandwich and ice cream angels who slaked my thirst and hunger in the heat? It wasn't till I reached the La Epoca store that I found any sign of private enterprise. And even then, what a shock to see my manicurist reading Granma newspaper instead of attending to what had always been a line-up of customers. „Maria, what happened?“

She rubbed her fingers together. „No money.“

She told me that the new regime was hard at work, sending inspectors all over the city of Havana to shut down any entrepreneur who was unlicensed. From the look of the street, this meant about 90% of them. And without black market money, life was grinding to a halt. Trekking back to my home, I heard no cheering. What I saw everywhere was a people, long-suffering and patient, sitting in wait.

• Yedi Zak is a pseudonym that has been adopted by the author to protect her contacts in Cuba.

Yedi_zak (at) y­ahoo.com

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This is the second of two columns on Cuba's imprisoned librarians and American Library Association's re­fusal to support them.

Although the American Library Association proclaims its commitment to the „Freedom to Read“ everywhere, its leadership abandons Cuba's independent librarians whom Fidel Castro had locked into his gulags, under brutal conditions, because of their courageous insistence that the people of Cuba should also have the freedom to read books the dictatorship has banned. A majority of the ALA's rank-and-file members disagree with their leadership.

Among the many organizations demanding that Castro and his successors release these courageous Cubans who have opened their homes and libraries to offer books censored in the Cuban state libraries are such groups as the library associations of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. All these librarians, finally freed from communism, agree with their colleagues in the Polish Library Association, who say in their declaration: „The actions of the Cuban authorities relate to the worst traditions of repressing the freedom of thought and expression.“ Also calling for the liberation of Castro's many prisoners of conscience, including the librarians, are the Organization of American States, Amnesty International and Freedom House.

However, the top officials of the American Library Association as well as the majority of its Governing Council speak derisively of these „so-called librarians“ in Castro's gulags.

It's true that these prisoners, many brutalized and in failing health, in their cells, don't have master's degrees in Library Science; but as poet-novelist-educator Andrei Codrescu told last year's ALA Midwinter Conference: „These people have been imprisoned for BEING librarians!“ Why dismiss them „as ‚so-called librarians‘ when clearly there is no one (in that dictatorship) to certify them.“ So bizarre is the ALA leadership (along with a cadre of Castro admirers on the Governing Council) in its abandonment of their fellow librarians that it refuses to post on its „Book Burning in the 21st Century“ Web site the extensive, documented court transcripts of the „trials“ that sent the librarians to prison. Those judges ordered the „incineration“ of the prisoners' libraries, including works by Martin Luther King Jr. and George Orwell's „Animal Farm.“ But these sentencing documents are verified on the Web sites of Amnesty International, the organization of American States and Florida State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. Officials of the ALA conjuring up a fake conspiracy by the Bush administration to overthrow Castro by using the independent librarians disdain this verification of the book burnings. They insist, for example, that the Florida State University Web site is funded by grants from the U.S. government.

Yet, that Rule of Law and Cuba Web site project doesn't get a dime from the U.S. government. Says director Mark Schlakman: „We place a premium on our independence.“ Recently, I left a long, non- adversarial, detailed message for the president of the ALA, Leslie Burger, director of the Princeton, N.J., public library. I asked for her reasons and the ALA's for this refusal of support for the imprisoned librarians. (Some are in cage-like enclosures.) I have received no response from her; but, indicating she will not speak to me, Michael Dowling, director of ALA's International Relations Office, fielded my call by referring me to the ALA's 2004 ex­pression of „deep concern“ for Castro's prisoners, which carefully omitted any mention of the independent librarians among them.

But, acting out of „a moral obligation,“ the small Vermillion, S.D., public library has made the independent Dulce Maria Loynaz Library in Havana a sister library sending books to it, including a collection of freedom writer Mark Twain. (Other libraries and readers around the world send books to the independent libraries.)

As for rank-and-file American librarians: In January 2006, American Libraries Direct an online newsletter of the ALA's own magazine, American Libraries published a poll of its members in which 70 percent answered „Yes“ to the question: „Should ALA Council pass a resolution condemning the Cuban government for its imprisonment of dissident ‚independent librarians?‘“ A key ALA official, Judith Krug, heads its office of Intellectual Freedom. In my many years of reporting on the ALA's sterling record of protecting American librarians from censorship, I often quoted her in admiration. But now, she said at an ALA meeting about supporters of the caged librarians, „I've dug in my heels.. I refuse to be governed by people with an agenda.“ The Cuba issue, she continued, „wouldn't die,“ though she'd like to „drown it.“

The agenda, Miss Krug, is freedom. „Every burned book,“ wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, „illuminates the world.“ But ALA's leadership refuses to bring light to the cages of these Cuban prisoners of conscience. The ALA's membership booklet proclaims „the public's right (everywhere) to explore in their libraries many points of view on all questions and issues facing them.“ An issue facing all members of the ALA is their leaders' shameful exception of the Cuban people's freedom to read.

source: The Washington Times, By Nat Hentoff,

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The U.S. State Department released on Tuesday its annual assessment of human rights around the world. Below are excerpts on selected countries.

IRAQ:

Sectarian-driven violence, acts of terrorism and revenge by armed groups in a climate of criminality and impunity undercut government efforts to establish and maintain the rule of law.

On one side, predominantly Sunni Arab groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq, irreconcilable remnants of the Baathist regime, and insurgents waging guerrilla warfare violently opposed the government and targeted Shi'a communities.

The other, predominantly Shi'a militias with some ties to the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), targeted Sunnis in large-scale death squad and kidnapping activities.

PAKISTAN:

Despite President (Pervez) Musharraf's stated commitment to democratic transition and „enlightened moderation,“ Pakistan's human rights record continued to be poor.

The security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings. Arbitrary arrest and torture remained common. Corruption was pervasive throughout the government and police forces.

RUSSIA:

Russia experienced continuing centralization of power in the executive branch, including amendments to election laws and new legislation for political parties that grants the government broad powers to regulate, investigate, limit, and even close down parties.

Taken together with a compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in law enforcement, political pressure on the judiciary, and restrictions on the NGOs and the media, these trends resulted in the further erosion of government accountability.

AFGHANISTAN:

Although Afghanistan made important human rights progress since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, its human rights record remained poor.

There were continued reports of cases of arbitrary arrests and detention, extrajudicial killings, torture, and poor prison conditions.

NORTH KOREA:

In 2006 North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated and repressive regimes.

The regime controls almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricts freedom of movement and worker rights.

An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people, including political prisoners, were held in detention camps, and many prisoners died from torture, starvation, disease, and exposure.

MYANMAR:

The military government in Burma extensively used executions, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and forced relocation of entire villages, particularly of ethnic minorities, to maintain its grip on power.

Prisoners and detainees were subjected to abuse and held in harsh, life-threatening conditions.

IRAN:

The Iranian government flagrantly violated freedom of speech and assembly, intensifying its crackdown against dissidents, journalists, and reformers – a crackdown characterized by arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, disappearances, the use of excessive force, and the widespread denial of fair public trials.

ZIMBABWE:

In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government continued across-the-board violations of human rights. Official corruption and impunity were widespread.

CUBA:

In Cuba, the government, temporarily headed by Raul Castro due to Fidel Castro's illness, continued to violate virtually all the rights of its citizens, including the fundamental right to change their government peacefully or criticize the revolution or its leaders.

CHINA:

The Chinese government's human rights record deteriorated in some areas in 2006. There was an increased number of high-profile cases involving the monitoring, harassment, detention, and imprisonment of political and religious activists, journalists, and writers as well as defense lawyers seeking to exercise their rights under the law.

source: Reuters

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Facing intense international interest in President Fidel Castro's hospi­talization and the transfer of power to his brother, the Cuban government severely restricted information about Castro's illness in the name of state security and selectively blocked foreign journalists' entry into the country.

In a July 31 proclamation aired on Cuban television without advance notice, Castro announced that he had undergone emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding and would temporarily hand over power to his brother, Raúl. A second message by Castro, released on August 1, dispelled any doubts as to how the Cuban government would handle news of his illness. Castro labeled his health condition „a state secret,“ and officials refused to disclose the severity of his illness, its cause, its prognosis, or even the hospital in which he was being treated.

From there on, the 80-year-old Castro's appe­arances were few and carefully managed. After 40 days in September and October in which no information at all was released, the government finally circulated images and a brief interview with Castro that sought to combat rumors about his failing health. Government statements said vaguely that he was recovering, but they offered no details; photos showed a gaunt and pale president. At one point, officials said he would return to office in December, but that timetable was postponed indefinitely in the fall. The information, scarce and imprecise as it was, fueled speculation that Castro might not return to power in full capacity.

Foreign journalists flocked to Cuba to report on one of the year's top stories, but many, including Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, were rebuffed, ostensibly because they did not have proper visas. CPJ documented at least 10 cases in which the government barred entry to foreign journalists carrying tourist visas. Under Cuban immigration law, foreign reporters must apply for specialized journalist visas through Cuban embassies abroad. CPJ research shows that Cuban officials have historically granted visas to foreign journalists selectively, excluding those from media outlets deemed unfriendly. Cuban law further specifies that foreign journalists who travel to the country on a tourist visa „should abstain from practicing journalism.“

The government also canceled the visas of at least four foreign journalists who had received approval to travel to Havana, according to CPJ research. Several Reuters reporters who managed to get into the country on tourist visas were told to leave. And Ginger Thompson, a reporter for The New York Times, was tracked down and expelled after her paper published a non-byline story from Havana. The Miami Herald succeeded in getting some of its reporters into Cuba on tourist visas. They went undetected for several weeks, filing stories that surveyed Cubans about their thoughts on the transfer of power and the nation's future.

Contrary to some predictions that the regime would crumble in the absence of Castro, the episode showed that the ruling elite could retain a tight grip on power. A government headed by Raúl Castro, younger than his brother by five years, was expected to eventually institute some economic reforms but continue to suppress the press and political rights.

In a report marking World Press Freedom Day, May 3, CPJ named Cuba one of the world's 10 Most Censored Countries. CPJ's analysis noted that the Cuban Constitution grants the Communist Party the right to control the press, and it recognizes the rights of the press only „in accordance with the goals of the socialist society.“ The government owns and controls all media outlets and restricts Internet access. The three main newspapers represent the views of the Communist Party and other organizations controlled by the government.

The media operate under the supervision of the Communist Party's Department of Revolutionary Orientation, which develops and coordinates propaganda strategies. Those who try to work as independent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened with prosecution or jail, or barred from traveling. Their relatives are threatened with dismissal from their jobs. A small number of foreign correspondents report from Havana, but Cubans do not ever see their reports.

Independent Cuban journalists, who file stories for overseas news Web sites, continued to cover news that the official media ignored. During 2006, independent journalists reported extensively on outbreaks of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, that were occurring throughout the island. Meanwhile, authorities and the official media refused to recognize the existence of dengue fever in Cuba for much of the year, focusing instead on government efforts to eradicate the mosquito that transmits the disease. Finally, in October, the Cuban Ministry of Health informed the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) about dengue outbreaks in four Cuban provinces. Health officials claimed the number of cases had declined significantly-without providing PAHO with figures for the total number of documented cases.

Cuba continued to be one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, second only to China. During 2006, two imprisoned journalists were released, but two more were jailed. One of them-Guillermo Espinosa Rodríguez, who was sentenced to two years of home confinement-had covered an outbreak of dengue fever in Santiago de Cuba.

Of the 24 journalists who remained imprisoned, 22 were jailed in a massive March 2003 crackdown on the independent press. Their prison sentences on antistate charges ranged from 14 to 27 years. Many of them were jailed far from their homes, adding to the heavy burden on their families. Their families have described unsanitary prison conditions, inadequate medical care, and rotten food. Some imprisoned journalists were being denied religious guidance, and most shared cells with hardened criminals. Many were allowed family visits only once every three months and marital visits only once every four months-a schedule of visits far less frequent than those allowed most inmates. Relatives were harassed for talking to the foreign press and protesting the journalists' incarceration.

Country summaries in this chapter were reported and written by Americas Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría, Research Associate María Salazar, Program Consultant Sauro González Rodríguez, and Washington Representative Frank Smyth. The Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation provided substantial support toward CPJ's work in the Americas in 2006.

source: Committee to Protect Journalists.