IFLA PROTESTS CUBAN INTERNET CRACKDOWN
NEW YORK, January 19, 2004 (Friends of Cuban Libraries) - On January 16 the
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) expressed "deep
concern" over the Cuban government's latest effort to restrict Internet access on the
island. In its report, IFLA's intellectual freedom committee... protested a
new law which prohibits Cuban citizens from surfing the Internet through the
telephone service available to the general public....
"Once again," notes the new report, "IFLA and its worldwide membership urge
the Cuban Government to respect, defend and promote the basic human rights
defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We urge the Cuban Government to eliminate all obstacles to access to the
Internet imposed by its policies." The full text of the IFLA report can be read on
the Internet at: (www.ifla.org/V/press/cuba160104.htm)....
Internet access in Cuba had already been illegal before the newly-enacted
decree... but some enterprising Cubans had managed to evade the ban by using the
public telephone system and illegally-acquired passwords to surf the Net. With
the enactment of the new law, however, it will be easier for the government
to carry out its vow to track down and prosecute anyone who logs onto the
Internet without authorization.
In response to intense foreign press coverage, the Cuban Minister of
Information and Communications, Ignacio González Planas, denied that Cuba is
tightening access to the Internet. In an interview with the official press (Juventud
Rebelde, Jan. 18), González Planas asserted that "everywhere, every day,
measures are taken [in other countries] to prevent disorder, which is essential if
the Web is to function well. When we ourselves take certain basic measures to
control illegality, criticism immediately flares up from people claiming to be
worried about the 'freedom' of the Cubans, even though [the critics] could
confirm for themselves, although it pains them to do so, that the Cuban people
are the freest people on Earth."
For the complete text of our press release, please refer to the "Recent News"
section of our website: (www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org).
Sincerely,
The Friends of Cuban Libraries
(WWW.FRIENDSOFCUBANLIBRARIES.ORG)
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