The Friends of Cuban Libraries
                              Date: September 24, 2000

              CANADIANS TAKE ACTION ON CUBAN LIBRARIES

      Lorraine McQueen, the President of the Canadian Library Association, 
has written a letter to President Castro protesting the campaign of 
repression being waged against independent librarians in Cuba.  The letter, 
written in April, was brought to the attention of the Friends of Cuban 
Libraries after it was posted on the website of the Canadian Library 
Association (CLA), where the full text may be read 
(http://209.217.90.93/resources/cuba.htm).  The letter from Ms. McQueen, 
written on behalf of the CLA and its members, "urge[d] the Cuban government 
to respect the basic principles of intellectual freedom and to put an end to 
the intimidation of the Independent Libraries in Cuba."  In a rebuke to the 
Cuban government and the official Cuban library association, which flatly 
deny the existence of any persecution, President McQueen also "urge[d] the 
Cuban government, Cuban libraries and librarians to adhere to the principles 
of freedom of access to information and freedom of expression...." 

      President Lorraine McQueen's letter was sent in response to a request 
from the intellectual freedom committee of the International Federation of 
Library Associations (IFLA), which in September, 1999, issued a landmark 
report documenting the repression of the independent librarians and "urg[ing] 
other concerned parties to send appeals on this matter to President Castro."  
IFLA's conclusions, issued after a three-month investigation, have been 
confirmed in several reports by Amnesty International; Amnesty named the 
co-founder of the independent library movement, Ramon Colas, as a Prisoner of 
Conscience after his most recent arrest.   

      The Cuban government has not responded to the letter from the Canadian 
Library Association, nor has a substantive response been received by any of 
the other library associations and human rights groups which have called for 
a halt to the systematic persecution of Cuba's independent librarians.
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 ***  LATEBREAKING NEWS  ***  LATEBREAKING NEWS  *** 
  
      TWO LIBRARIANS ARRESTED, ONE CONVICTED:  Two more of Cuba's independent 
librarians have been arrested.   Rolando Bestard, the director of the Pedro 
Luis Boitel Library, and Edel Jimenez, the director of the Jose Mayia 
Rodriguez Library, were arrested in the city of Santiago on September 7.  The 
charges against Rolando Bestard are unknown, but on Sept. 14 Mr. Jimenez was 
convicted of "disobedience" after a two-hour trial held at Santiago's 
Municipal Court.  Five agents of the State Security police kept the courtroom 
under surveillance during the brief proceedings.

       This updated information is contained in a news report by Alida Viso 
Bello  published in the Sept. 15 edition of the CubaNet website 
(www.cubanet.org).  According to this report, Edel Jimenez was convicted and 
fined 200 pesos for "disobedience" after he refused to comply with a police 
order to stop selling fruit drinks without a license.  Cuba's independent 
librarians are often fired from their official jobs and forbidden to hold any 
other type of legal  employment.  Denied any kind of legal work, he was 
arrested for trying to support his family by selling refreshments without a 
license.  Such arrests are one of the pretexts used by the government to 
suppress the independent library movement. 

      ACTION TO BE TAKEN:  The Friends of Cuban Libraries recommend that 
readers of this bulletin send courteous e-mail messages to government 
officials deploring the mistreatment of Rolando Bestard and Edel Jimenez.  
Please protest their arrest, which is part of the Cuban government's ongoing 
campaign of persecution being directed against the independent librarians.  
In your messages to officials, please refer to the reports and protests 
issued by organizations such as IFLA, Amnesty International and the Canadian 
Library Association.  Your e-mail messages can be addressed to Mr. Eliades 
Acosta ([log in to unmask]) and Ms. Marta Terry ([log in to unmask]).  
They are leaders of the official, government-sponsored library association of 
Cuba, which denies that any of the independent librarians are being arrested 
or persecuted.  Please notify the Friends of Cuban Libraries if you receive a 
response.

      BACKGROUND: The Friends of Cuban Libraries, founded in June, 1999, is 
an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit support group for the independent 
librarians.  We are concerned exclusively with intellectual freedom issues, 
as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regardless of 
whatever government may be in office in Cuba.  We are funded entirely by our 
members and do not seek or accept contributions from other sources.  For more 
information, contact us by e-mail ([log in to unmask]) or telephone (USA) 
718-340-8494.  Mailing address: Robert Kent, 4-74 48th Avenue, #3-C, Long 
Island City, NY 11109 USA.
                                          
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