|
|
NEWS
VOA NEWS: MEDIA
WATCHDOG RANKS CUBA AMONG WORST VIOLATORS OF PRESS FREEDOM
24 October 2006
MIAMI, Oct. 24 -- The Voice of America issued the following story:
By Cindy Saine
The media watchdog group Reporters without Borders has ranked Cuba 165th
on its worldwide press freedom index, just ahead of the world's worst
violators Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea. A recent report by the
same group details how Cuban authorities make sure there is no Internet
access for independent journalists or political opponents. The group
Reporters without Borders, based in Paris, says less than two percent of
Cuba's population is online, making it one of the most backward
countries in the world regarding Internet usage. Cuban authorities blame
this situation on the US trade embargo, which they say prevents them
from getting the equipment they need for Internet development.
But Reporters without Borders concludes the Cuban government has a
system of control and surveillance to prevent independent information
from circulating online. State-run media is the only legal media in
Cuba. To visit websites or check their e-mail, Cubans have to use public
access points such as Internet cafes, universities, or youth computing
centers, where their activity can be easily monitored. Cuban police have
installed software on all computers in these facilities that triggers an
alert message when so-called subversive keywords are written, such as
the names of Cuban dissidents.
John Virtue is the Director of the International Media Center at Florida
International University in Miami.
"We work with independent journalists in Cuba," he said. "There are
about 100 of them who file on a regular basis from Cuba. Very few of
them are able to use the Internet. There's just a handful, two or three
have Internet accounts. But most of the articles they file they have to
do so by telephone and somebody takes dictation in Miami."
Virtue said several independent Cuban journalists his center secretly
trained are now in prison for practicing their profession. He recalls
the crackdown by Cuban authorities three years ago.
"The Cuban government arrested 75 dissidents. It did that on March the
18, 2003. And of those, 27 were journalists," he added. "And 24
journalists still remain in prison, serving sentences of up to 28 years.
And the charges are more or less charges of treason for having
cooperated with a foreign government."
Reporters without Borders says you can get a 20-year prison sentence in
Cuba for writing articles for foreign websites and a five-year sentence
just for connecting with the Internet in an illegal manner. John Virtue
says the surveillance by state security is intense.
"Several months ago state security started visiting foreigners based in
Cuba and warned them against letting Cubans have access to the Internet
on their computers, especially the independent journalists," he
explained.
Virtue said some ingenious Cubans have made their own satellite dishes
to receive television signals from abroad, and that authorities conduct
raids on Saturday evenings when popular Latin American soap operas are
broadcast.
News Archive
| Home
|
 |
|
