Friends of Cuban Libraries News Bulletin
Date: March 30, 2000
NEW REPORT BY AMNESTY: "STOP HARASSING LIBRARIANS"
Amnesty International released a report today entitled "Cuba: Short
Term Detention and Harassment of Dissidents." The 24-page report notes that
"freedom of expression, association and assembly are severely limited in law
and in practice" for Cuban citizens. "Those who attempt to express views,
organize meetings or form organizations that conflict with government policy
are frequently subjected to punitive measures." Independent librarians are
listed among the groups of Cuban citizens whom Amnesty says have been subject
to intensified repression in recent months. Focusing on 13 methods of
intimidation, the world-renowned human rights organization expressed concern
because "certain punitive measures used by the Cuban Government to stifle
dissent are becoming more frequent, including short term detentions,
interrogations, summonses, official warnings, threats, intimidation,
eviction, loss of employment, restrictions on travel, house searches, house
arrests, telephone buggings and physical and verbal acts of aggression...."
Some of the physical attacks, according to Amnesty, are carried out by
paramilitary groups known as "Rapid Response Brigades," organized by the
government in 1991 with the avowed goal of "confronting and liquidating any
sign of counter-revolution or crime...."
Amnesty International cites particular incidents to illustrate each of
the 13 categories of repression outlined in the new report. Under "mass
detentions," for example, the report describes the case of an activist for
the blind, Ms. Milagros Cruz Cano, who was among a group of people attacked
and arrested on November 27, 1999, while demonstrating outside a courtroom
where an independent journalist was being tried. This nonviolent protest was
disrupted when "Rapid Response Brigades, State Security agents and police
came to the scene and began to beat the demonstators with clubs.... [On
December 4] Milagros Cruz Cano, who is blind, was re-detained by State
Security officials.... She was initially held at the Maria Luisa police
station in Havana where she was reportedly beaten by police officers which
resulted in a swollen cheek and a bruise and a scab below her eye. She was
then transferred to Mazorra psychiatric hospital in Havana where she was held
in an isolated cell...." After being subjected to further mistreatment, Ms.
Cruz Canos was released without charge on December 14.
Incidents involving Cuba's independent librarians are included in the
Amnesty report to illustrate two of the 13 categories of heightened
repression being used by the security forces. Under the category of "house
searches," the report notes that "Independent libraries in Cuba have also
been subjected to searches and the confiscation of books. The first
independent library in Cuba, the 'Biblioteca Felix Varela,' was established
in April 1998 by Berta Mexidor Vazquez and her husband, Ramon Humberto Colas
Castillo. Since then several other independent libraries have emerged.
However, most have reportedly been subjected to searches and the confiscation
of books and magazines." Under the category of "evictions," the report
describes the forced expulsion of Ramon Colas, Berta Mexidor and their two
children from their home in the town of Las Tunas, which also served as the
site of the Felix Varela Library. Amnesty describes how the family "had
lived in their home for 13 years before being told they were illegal
occupants. According to Berta Mexidor, the authorities removed all their
belongings into lorries in spite of their protests and told them they were
being moved to another area, some 60 kilometers from their home. They were
taken to a military camp where some 300 other people were reportedly housed."
In an earlier report issued in November, 1999, Amnesty had named Ramon Colas
as a Prisoner of Conscience following his arrest during the incident
described above.
Comments on the repression of the independent librarians and other
members of Cuba's emerging civil society, as outlined in Amnesty's report,
may be sent to: President Fidel Castro, Consejos de Ministros y del Estado,
Havana, Cuba. E-mail may be sent to Cuba's official librarians' association,
known as ASCUBI, at: ([log in to unmask]).
BACKGROUND: More than 33 independent libraries now exist in Cuba with
the goal of offering uncensored reading materials to the Cuban people. These
popular institutions have been welcomed in a nation where strict censorship
has prevailed for many years. Because of their efforts to promote
intellectual freedom, the independent librarians are being subjected to a
campaign of persecution. The full text of a report on this subject by the
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) is on the Internet
(http://www.faife.dk, in the "news and events" section). In news too late to
be included in Amnesty's report, the Felix Varela Library continued to
operate in Las Tunas until February, 2000, when the entire collection of over
1,000 volumes was stolen, allegedly by burglars. For details on this
incident, please refer to the Friends of Cuban Libraries news bulletin dated
March 9, 2000.
The Friends of Cuban Libraries, founded in June, 1999, is an
independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit support group for Cuba's independent
librarians. We oppose censorship and all other violations of intellectual
freedom, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regardless
of whatever administration may be in office in Cuba. We are funded entirely
by our members and do not seek or accept contributions from other sources.
For further information about the Friends, send e-mail to:
[log in to unmask] or telephone (U.S.) 718-340-8494. Mailing address: Robert
Kent, 474 48th Ave., #3-C, Long Island City, NY 11109 USA.
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