Cubaverdad

20 May 2009

Anyone can browse the Internet… unless they are Cuban

On the anniversary of the Republic of Cuba's creation on 20 May 1902,
Reporters Without Borders calls for continued diplomatic efforts that
could help improve access to news and information on the island. When
Raúl Castro was installed as president on 24 February 2008, he said he
wanted to do away with "the excess of prohibitions and regulations" but
Cubans are still denied the Internet access enjoyed by foreign visitors
and 24 journalists are still in prison.

"Raúl Castro's first actions as president raised hopes of more freedom,
but the reforms have fallen far short of initial expectations and the
population continues to be the victim of oppression," Reporters Without
Borders said. "We call for the repeal of regulations that discriminate
against Cubans and the continuation of diplomatic efforts likely to
change the situation."

The press freedom organisation added: "We would also like to see the
lifting of the US embargo that has been in force since 1962. Condemned
by the entire international community, this embargo just bolsters the
regime while penalising the population."

When Raúl Castro took over from his brother Fidel, he lifted a ban on
Cubans entering tourist hotels, which are one of the few places where
the Internet can be accessed. Nonetheless, it is often still impossible
for Cubans to get online (see video:
http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/?p=929). Many hotels ask would-be
Internet users to prove that they live abroad.

Restrictions on the Internet

- average wage: 20 dollars a month
- average price of a computer: 800 dollars
- average Internet connection charge: 6 dollars an hour

Raúl Castro also announced on 3 May 2008 that it would no longer be
illegal to possess a personal computer but they are so expensive that
most would-be bloggers cannot afford them. Computers are nonetheless
being used to circulate personal accounts and videos on the island, but
a Cuban can get 20 years in prison under article 91 of the criminal code
for posting a "counter-revolutionary" article online and five years for
connecting "illegally" to the Internet.

Cuba is the world's second biggest prison for journalists, after China.
Nineteen of the journalists currently in prison were arrested in 2003
and are serving sentences ranging from 14 to 27 years that they received
on the spurious charge of being "mercenaries in the pay of the United
States." They include Reporters Without Borders correspondent Ricardo
González Alfonso, the editor of the magazine De Cuba, who is being held
in Havana's Combinado del Este prison.

Four other journalists have received sentences ranging from three to
four years in prison since the "transition" from Fidel to Raúl Castro
began in July 2006. The latest to be jailed was Alberto Du Bouchet of
the Habana Press news agency, who was sentenced to three years in prison
on 12 May on a charge of disrespect for authority.

Read Yoani Sanchez's text challenging the authorities

Article 53 of the 1976 constitution says:

"Freedom of speech in accordance with the socialist society's objectives
is recognised for citizens. The material conditions for the existence of
this freedom are guaranteed by the fact that the press, radio,
television, cinema and other mass media belong to the state or to
society, and under no circumstances are owned privately. This ensures
that they exclusively serve the working people and the interests of
society."

Reporters sans frontières – Cuba (20 May 2009)

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31386