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The Main Point of the "Dissidents" within the ALA -- 60% according to an internal poll -- is that we believe
AI INDEX:
AMR 25/017/2003
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250172003?open&of=ENG-CUB
8.
Recommendations
8.1.
Recommendations to the Cuban government
Based on its
review of the information available, Amnesty International does not
accept the
Cuban government's portrayal of the 75 dissidents arrested as
mercenaries or
foreign agents. The organisation believes that the activities for which
they
have been arrested, tried and sentenced fall within the framework of
the
legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms of expression, association
and
assembly. The organisation therefore calls on the Cuban government
· to order the immediate and unconditional
release of all those arrested in the March crackdown as
prisoners of
conscience.
· to immediately and
unconditionally
release the 15 prisoners previously named by Amnesty International as
prisoners
of conscience.
·
to immediately and unconditionally release anyone else who is detained
or
imprisoned solely for having peacefully exercised their rights to
freedom of
expression, association and assembly.
Amnesty
International believes that the Cuban authorities have used the climate
created
by economic and political pressure from the
·
to reform the Cuban legislation which facilitates the ongoing
incarceration of
prisoners of conscience by outlawing the legitimate exercise of
fundamental freedoms,
and to bring such legislation into line with international standards.
8.2.
Recommendations to the
Given its grave
concerns at the negative impact of the
· to immediately
suspend decisions on any measures that could toughen the embargo.
·
to review its foreign and economic policy towards
B. RELEASE
of 32 Imprisoned Writers is the Target of PEN Writers in Prison
Committee
19
July –
As agreed at the Fifth International PEN
Writers in
Prison Committee Conference held in
WEEK 1: Appealing
for the release of Cuban prisoners
who are suffering illness (three prisoners have been released recently
for this
reason).
WEEK 3: Appealing
for the release of all 32
prisoners sentenced in April 2003 and still serving their sentences.
C. RELEASE DEMANDED by the
Campaign for Peace and Democracy
“We, the undersigned,
strongly protest the current wave of repression in
Signed
by Michael Albert, Stanley Aronowitz, Eileen Boris, Robert Brenner, Noam
Chomsky, Joshua Cohen, Mike Davis, Richard Deats, Haroldo Dilla,
Manuela
Dobos, Ariel Dorfman, Barbara Ehrenreich, Samuel Farber,
Janeane
Garofalo, Barbara Garson, Susan Griffin, Thomas Harrison, Adam
Hochschild, Doug
Ireland, Naomi Klein, Joanne Landy, Jesse Lemisch, John Leonard, Sue
Leonard,
Rabbi Michael Lerner, Nelson Lichtenstein, Michael Lowy, Grace Paley,
Katha
Pollitt, Matthew Rothschild, Edward Said, Jennifer Scarlott,
Carl
Schorske, Juliet Schor, Ellen Schrecker, Stephen Shalom, Adam Shatz,
Alan
Sokal, Chris Toensing, Immanuel Wallerstein, James Weinstein, Naomi
Weisstein,
Cora Weiss, Peter Weiss, Cornel West, Reginald Wilson, Howard
Zinn
and others.
Published in The Progressive, 2003.
D. REPRESSION CONDEMNED by
179 American leftists,
in a Letter to the Editors of New York
Review of Books, vol. L, no. 19 (
We are
women
and men of the democratic left, united by our commitment to human
rights,
democratic government, and social justice, in our own nations and
around the
world. In solidarity with the people of
-- Eric Alterman, Stanley Aronowitz, Marshall
Berman,
Paul Berman, Mitchell Cohen, Bogdan Denitch, Mel Dubofsky, Gertrude
Ezorsky,
David Garrow, Peter Gay, Todd Gitlin, Maurice Isserman, Martin Jay, Ira
Katznelson, Michael Kazin, Mark Crispin Miller, Erika Munk, Katha
Pollitt,
Samantha Power, Michael Walzer, Ellen Willis, Elisabeth Young-Bruehl,
and more
than 150 others.
E. RESTRICTIONS
ON FREEDOM OPPOSED
by
From:
"
Date:
Subject:
As a
librarian and as a visitor to
Gorman’s answer, later that same day:
I am utterly and
unalterably opposed to
restrictions on freedom of speech and experession [sic] by any
government or
government agency in any country. I believe in intellectual
freedom and
the right of free expression and wish those were available to all
people in all
countries.
F.
RELEASE of 75 PRISONERS URGED by Human Rights
Watch, Human Rights First, and Freedom House:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/03/17/cuba8126_txt.htm
A
Joint Statement by Freedom House, Human Rights First, Human Rights
Watch and
other human rights organizations on the first anniversary of the
crackdown on
peaceful dissent in Cuba
. . .
Now, on the first anniversary of their arrest, we vigorously condemn
the
continued imprisonment in Cuba of the 75 human rights defenders,
independent
journalists, democracy advocates, independent librarians and other
activists.
These Cuban citizens were imprisoned solely for exercising their basic
human
rights to free expression and assembly, and for promoting greater
respect for
human and civil rights in
G. In
less than two weeks time, even
the French Communist Party
demanded released of the prisoners. See the following press releases of
http://www.pcf.fr/?iddoc=2565.
Accessed
http://www.pcf.fr/?iddoc=2612. Accessed
And the following press release, signed by the
Party’s
National Secretary:
Bureau
de presse
- presse@pcf.fr
Suite à la
confirmation officielle des peines contre les dissidents cubains
" Je suis profondément
choquée par la vague de
répression qui vient de s'abattre à
Je tiens à le dire avec la plus grande netteté : nous condamnons ces
jugements
sommaires et cette répression pour des délits d'opinion.
Nous demandons solennellement aux autorités cubaines la libération de
ces
opposants. [Translation:
We solemnly demand of the Cuban
authorities the release of these dissidents.]
Notre
solidarité au
peuple cubain face aux agressions dont il est victime de la part des
Etats-Unis
est totale. Cette solidarité est exigeante et sans complaisance quant
aux
atteintes aux droits humains.
En l'occurrence cette répression brutale touche à des principes pour
moi
intangibles: rien ne saurait se substituer au débat politique, tout
être humain
a droit à une justice équitable, et ne saurait être poursuivi pour ses
idées.
"
Marie-George Buffet, Secrétaire nationale du PCF Paris le 9 avril
2003
Source: http://www.pcf.fr/?iddoc=2567. Accessed
H.
But, only “DEEP CONCERN”
was expressed by
2003-2004 ALA CD#18.1, 2004
CONCLUSIONS [The following is the leading
paragraph of
Since
the commitment to intellectual freedom is a core
value of the library and information profession worldwide,
At
the IFLA General Conference and Council in August
2001, ALA and ASCUBI presidents signed "A Protocol to Cooperate" that
included plans for exchanges of materials, professional exchanges
between
American and Cuban librarians, attendance at conferences, and many
other
cooperative activities. Work continues on these initiatives
intended to
build mutual respect and trust among librarians and library workers in
the two
nations.
ALA
supports IFLA in urging the Cuban government to
eliminate obstacles to access to information imposed by its policies,
and
IFLA's support for an investigative visit by a special rapporteur of
the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights with special attention given to
freedom of
access to information and freedom of expression, especially in the
cases of
those individuals recently imprisoned and that the reasons for and
conditions
of their detention be fully investigated.
Proclaiming
the fundamental right of all human beings
to access information without restriction,
I.
Release
request amendment is defeated in
At
the ALA Council meeting that considered this
report, Councilor
Somehow
ALA's "much research" missed the following reports, from 2001
forward, about the progressive (regressive, actually) closing of
Internet and
world wide web access in Cuba, and thus the Joint Task Force report
accepted on
14 January 2004 by ALA Council recommended that Cuba "safeguard" an
access that had by then been almost entirely choked off.
To
be fair, some of the following reports came out the week of ALA
Midwinter
(2004) and after. But then, it is not
unreasonable to expect that committee members concerned with this hot
issue
should have been checking their own Internet connections for the latest
news,
in order to avoid this embarrassment.
In addition, The
Joint Task
Force apparently did not consult Dr. Holly Ackerman, who is the
Here
are research resources that the ALA IFC-IRC Joint Task Force apparently
overlooked:
“
Shanthi
Kalathil and Taylor C. Boas, The Internet
and State control in Authoritarian Regimes:
“
Reporters
Without Borders web page “Enemies of the Internet” highlights
Reporters
Without Borders: “Internet use is very restricted and under tight
surveillance.
Access is only possible with government permission and equipment is
rationed.” 18.06.2003. From http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7202
“
“
“Librarians'
deep concern over
“
“
Steve
Marquardt pointed out this poor quality of research to Al Kagan, a
member of
the Joint IRC IFC Task Force. He copied
me on his forward of this question to his fellow Task Force members,
asking for
a response. Steve Marquardt has no
received response from any Task Force member to this criticism of their
research.
K. HAVE A NICE TWENTY YEARS IN PRISON,
is
On July 27, 2004, the
Chair of the ALA International Relations Committee responded to a June
4, 2004,
appeal to the ALA International Relations Office Director Michael
Dowling, from
independent library leader Gisela Delgado Sablón – “What we are asking,
sir, is
that your association show solidarity with our project and with the
innocent
persons who are now in prison. We would
like you to ask the Cuban authorities to
immediately release these detained persons.” – by sending her the
ALA
report and by writing to the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, not
calling for
the release of the prisoners, but instead saying “…
Contacts:
Robert
Kent (In New Orleans)
HOME:
(718) 340-8494
kentr50@yahoo.com
Walter Skold
(207)
865-9706
Steve
Marquardt (In New Orleans)
Dean of
Libraries and Copyright Officer
South Dakota State University
Box 2115, North Campus Drive
Brookings, South Dakota 57007-1098
WORK: 605-688-5106
FAX: 605-688-6133
HOME:
605-697-6169
Holly
Ackerman, Ph.D. (before
(305)
284-4059
FAX:
305-284-4027
Holly
Ackerman, Ph.D. (as of
Librarian
for
Holly.Ackerman@duke.edu
Tel:
919-660-5845
Fax:
919-668-3134