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Official Urges Cuba To
Stop Restricting Internet Access
OAS human rights rapporteur
also decries killing of Venezuelan journalist
By Eric Green, Washington
File Staff Writer. 20 June 2006.
Washington -- A human rights official for
the Organization of American States (OAS)
has called on the Cuban government to stop
restricting access to the Internet.
In a June 19 statement, the OAS's Ignacio
Álvarez said he "observes with
concern" that the Cuban legal system
severely restricts the Cuban population's
access to the Internet. Álvarez said
access to the Internet can strengthen democracy,
contribute to a country's economic development,
and "uphold the full exercise of freedom
of expression."
Álvarez, the OAS special rapporteur
for freedom of expression, said the source
of Cuba's restrictions for using the Internet
lies in a government decree called "Access
to the World Computer Network from Cuba."
But Álvarez said restricting such
access to the Internet is "incompatible
with the right to freedom of expression."
The right to use the Internet, Álvarez
said, also was affirmed in a December 2005
joint resolution by his office, the United
Nations and the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. According to
the resolution, "the right to freedom
of expression imposes an obligation on all
States to devote adequate resources to promote
universal access to the Internet."
(See Internet
Freedom.)
Álvarez said a Cuban journalist,
Guillermo Fariñas, has been on a
hunger strike since January 31 in protest
of restrictions on Internet access in Cuba.
A global press advocacy group, the Paris-based
Reporters Without Borders, also condemned
Cuba's restrictions on Internet use. The
group listed Cuba among 15 nations on its
list of Internet enemies. (See related
article.)
The U.S. State Department said in a report,
released April 5, that for 47 years, the
Cuban government of Fidel Castro has "consistently
spurned domestic and international calls
for greater political tolerance and respect
for human rights." According to the
report, called Supporting Human Rights and
Democracy: The U.S. Record 2005-2006, the
Cuban people do not enjoy freedom of speech,
press or movement, and are denied the right
to assemble peacefully or to freely form
associations. The full
text of the report and the section pertaining
to Cuba and the Western Hemisphere are available
on the State Department Web site.
ASSASINATION OF JOURNALISTS IN VENEZUELA
CONDEMNED
The OAS's Álvarez also condemned
the assassination of José Joaquín
Tovar, director of the Venezuelan weekly
paper Ahora.
In a separate June 19 statement, Álvarez
urged Venezuelan authorities to investigate
the crime "to ensure that the persons
responsible are duly punished."
Álvarez said his office was informed
that Tovar's body was found with 11 gunshots
wounds on June 16 in a parking lot for a
building where Ahora operates in Caracas.
As director of the weekly paper, Tovar wrote
editorials denouncing corruption.
The OAS official said that a "meticulous,
effective, and swift investigation into
the crimes against journalists and others
who work with the media is essential to
send a firm message" that the government
of a country "does not tolerate such
grave violations of the right to freedom
of expression, and to assure journalists
that they can continue to do their work
safely."
In its June 18 statement, Reporters Without
Borders said the independent press in Venezuela
"is paying a heavy price for the generalized
climate of violence" in that country.
In addition to the killing of Tovar, Jorge
Aguirre, a photographer with El Mundo newspaper
in Caracas, was murdered April 5. Members
of Tovar's family said his assassination
might be linked to the journalist's columns
in which he criticized both the Venezuelan
government of President Hugo Chávez
and the country's political opposition.
(See related
article.)
The State Department has joined the international
community in criticizing Venezuela's restrictions
on press freedoms. In its 2005 Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices, released March
8, the department said Venezuela's Chavez
"repeatedly singled out media owners
and editors," accusing them of treason
and of provoking "political unrest."
The full text of the report and the section
pertaining to Venezuela are available on
the State Department Web site.
For additional information on U.S. policy,
see Cuba
and Venezuela.
(The Washington File
is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of
State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
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