> ----------
> From: robert kent[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, June 14, 1999 08:03 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Arrest of Cuban librarians
>
> DEAR COLLEAGUES: Please spread the message - on listserves and bulletin
> boards - about this outrageous violation of freedom of speech, as
> outlined
> in the press release below. It is not a crime to be a librarian! Polite
> letters of protest can be sent to: Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, Presidente de los
>
> Consejos de Estado y Ministros, La Habana, Cuba.
>
> PRESS RELEASE
>
> CONTACT:Robert Kent FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> (718)340-8494 or [log in to unmask] June 8, 1999
>
> CAMPAIGN TO OPPOSE REPRESSION OF LIBRARIANS IN CUBA
>
> The Friends of Cuban Libraries, a newly-formed international support
> group, launched a campaign on June 8 to oppose what it terms "the
> systematic
> intimidation and arrest of independent librarians in Cuba and the seizure
> of
> their book collections." Since April, 1998, sixteen independent
> libraries,
> entirely free of government control, have opened in the Caribbean nation.
>
> The new libraries, offering collections donated by the public, explicitly
> reject the censorhip to which Cuba's government-funded libraries are
> subjected. The libraries aim to offer reading materials for all age
> groups,
> including children, who for many years have not had access to children's
> literature due to the island's sharp economic decline.
>
> According to Berta Mexidor, a founder of the Felix Varela Library in
> the
> city of Las Tunas, "the public has responded enthusiastically to the
> chance
> to read books that cannot be found anywhere else." The new libraries, she
>
> emphasized in a recent telephone interview with the Friends of Cuban
> Libraries, are eager to acquire materials which reflect all points of
> view,
> not just the officially-approved ideology. The independent libraries also
>
> sponsor lectures, discussion groups, and children's programs where the
> expression of all shades of opinion is welcomed and encouraged.
>
> The Cuban government has responded harshly to the emergence of
> independent libraries. The librarians of these institutions have been
> subjected to harassment, threats, short-term arrests, and the confiscation
>
> of their book collections. Berta Mexidor was arrested on May 19 by the
> State Security police. She was detained for two hours before being
> released
> with a warning to cease her activities. Among the other librarians
> arrested
> in recent months are Manuel Jerez of Granma Province and Rolando Bestart
> of
> the city of Santiago.
>
> In its newly-launched campaign, the Friends of Cuban Libraries calls
> on
> the Cuban government to "put an immediate end to the harassment,
> intimidation, and arrest of independent librarians." In addition to
> condemning these human rights violations, the organization also demands
> the
> prompt return of all books confiscated from the independent libraries by
> the
> State Security police.
>
> For further information about the Friends of Cuban Libraries, contact
> Robert Kent at (718)340-8494 or e-mail him at [log in to unmask]
>
> --###--
>
>
> _______________________________________________________________
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