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Open
letter from Reporters Without Borders to Lula
In an open letter, Reporters
Without Borders calls on president "Lula"
to meet with the families of the imprisoned journalists
Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President of the Republic
Brasilia D.F.
Brazil
Paris, 23 September 2003
Dear Mr. President,
On the eve of your visit to Cuba, the press freedom
organization Reporters Without Borders would like
to draw your attention to the lack of press freedom
in that country. As you know, 75 dissidents were
arrested during the crackdown which the Cuban
government began on 18 March. They included 26
independent journalists. Accused of carrying out
actions "against the independence or territorial
unity of the state," they were given summary
trials and sentenced to up to 27 years in prison.
Four other journalists were already in prison
prior to the crackdown. With a total of 30 detained,
Cuba is the world's biggest prison for journalists.
Your long friendship with President Castro and
your ideological affinities with the Cuban regime
are well known. However, no democrat of the left
or right would understand if these affinities
were to take precedence over respect for human
rights. For this reason, we urge you to intercede
on behalf of the 30 detained journalists and to
meet with members of their families and with representatives
of the opposition and human rights activists.
If you do not make any gesture on their behalf,
you personal credibility and Brazil's image will
be seriously affected internationally.
The 30 journalists currently detained are :
Ricardo González
Alfonso José Luis García Paneque
Omar Rodríguez Saludes
Jorge Olivera Castillo
Pedro Argüelles Morán
Miguel Galván Gutiérrez
Edel José García Díaz
Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona
Manuel Vázquez Portal
Adolfo Fernández Sainz
Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez
Fabio Prieto Llorente
Oscar Espinosa Chepe
Pablo Pacheco Avila
Mario Enrique Mayo
Carmelo Díaz Fernández
Mijail Barzaga Lugo
Alejandro González Raga
Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta
Raúl Rivero Castañeda
Omar Moisés Ruiz Hernández
Normando Hernández González
Julio César Gálvez Rodríguez
Iván Hernández Carrillo
Alfredo Manuel Pulido López
José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández
Bernardo Arévalo Padrón (imprisoned
since 18 November 1997)
Carlos Alberto Domínguez (imprisoned since
23 February 2002)
Lester Téllez Castro (imprisoned since
4 March 2002)
Carlos Brizuela Yera (imprisoned since 4 March
2002)
We must point out that the sanctions against
these journalists, who challenge the state's monopoly
of news reporting, did not end when they were
sentenced. They were subsequently transferred
to prisons several hundred kilometers from their
homes, their right to family visits was restricted
and several are ill or have lost an alarming amount
of weight because of poor conditions of detention.
The government meanwhile continues to harass those
journalists who have not been arrested.
Confident that you will be receptive to this
appeal, we would be grateful if you would let
us know you intentions as regards our recommendations
and if you would keep us informed of the outcome
of your meetings.
We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Robert Ménard
Secretary-General
Reporters Without Borders defends
imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout
the world, as well as the right to inform the
public and to be informed, in accordance with
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Reporters Without Borders has nine national
sections (in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United
Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok,
Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, Nairobi,
New York, Tokyo and Washington and more than a
hundred correspondents worldwide.
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