Some background information on R Kent and the self-styled "Friends of Cuban
Libraries" can be found at -
http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol4/LJ_4.9.sup.html
Aran Lewis
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2001 2:29 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: More Books Confiscated
>
> News Bulletin
> Date: June 21, 2001
>
> MORE BOOKS CONFISCATED
>
> Two shipments of books sent to independent libraries in Cuba have been
> confiscated in recent days, according to a report by Alida Viso Bello in
> the
> June 20 issue of CubaNet (www.cubanet.org). As reported by Havana
> librarian
> Ricardo Gonzalez, a package of books sent to the Jorge Manach Library from
> Italy was recently intercepted by Cuban customs agents, who confiscated
> some
> of the books after declaring them to be "counterrevolutionary" and
> "against
> the interests of the nation." Mr. Gonzalez denounced this act as a
> violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
> which
> grants everyone the right to "seek, receive and impart information and
> ideas
> through any media and regardless of frontiers."
>
> A similar complaint has been made in recent days by Jose Miguel
> Martinez,
> director of the independent Juan Bruno Zayas Library, located at #2719
> 28th
> Street, between 27th and 29th Streets, Quivican, Havana Province. He
> complains that customs agents have also seized some books sent to his
> library
> from abroad. Mr. Martinez intends to file a formal complaint to protest
> the
> book seizure, which he denounces as an "arbitrary act by the government,
> which is trying to suffocate the libraries free of its control."
>
> In recent weeks, to the annoyance of Cuban officials, the independent
> library movement has been the focus of increased attention on the part of
> the
> international press. For further details, please refer to the June 6
> issue
> of the New York Times ("In Book-Starved Cuba, Little Feasts for the
> Hungry")
> and the June 8 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education ("Independent
> Libraries in Cuba Boldly Defy Government's Lock on Information"). More
> than
> 90 independent libraries, with the avowed goal of offering uncensored
> books
> to the Cuban people, now exist in the Caribbean nation. Supporters of the
> Cuban government have denounced the independent librarians as dangerous
> subversives and "crypto-fascists." Reports documenting the Cuban
> government's repression of the independent librarians have been issued by
> Amnesty International and the International Federation of Library
> Associations.
>
> Comments regarding the confiscation of library books may be sent to
> Mr.
> Eliades Acosta, a Cuban official who denies that the independent
> librarians
> are being subjected to repression. His e-mail address is:
> ([log in to unmask]). Please forward any responses to the Friends of
> Cuban Libraries.
>
> The Friends of Cuban Libraries
>
> BACKGROUND: The Friends of Cuban Libraries, founded in June, 1999, is
> an
> independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit support group for the independent
> librarians. We oppose censorship and all other violations of intellectual
> freedom, 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 funds from other sources. For more
> information, please send e-mail to: ([log in to unmask]). Telephone: (USA)
> 718-340-8494. Mailing address: 4-74 48th Avenue, Apt. 3-C, Long Island
> City,
> NY 11109 USA.
> ###
