Argentine writer blocked
at Havana airport
Committee
to Protect Journalists,
February 21, 2006.
New York, February 21, 2006-The Committee
to Protect Journalists condemns Saturday's
deportation of writer, columnist and historian
José Ignacio García Hamilton
by Cuban authorities at Havana's José
Martí International Airport.
Immigration authorities barred the Argentine
writer from entering Cuba, saying that they
were following government orders but could
not provide further explanation, the Argentine
press reported. García Hamilton and
his wife held tourist visas approved on
Thursday by the Cuban Embassy in Buenos
Aires.
According to Argentine press reports,
a Cuban immigration officer told García
Hamilton that only the writer's wife would
be allowed into the country. García
Hamilton and his wife were escorted back
to their plane, which was routed to Panama.
García Hamilton told the press
that he had planned a one-week vacation
on the island. He said he also scheduled
meetings with Cuban intellectuals and several
gatherings to publicize his new book, Simón.
Vida de Bolívar, a biography of Simón
Bolívar. García Hamilton is
a contributor to newspapers and magazines
in Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States.
García Hamilton met with dissidents
in visits to Cuba in 1996 and 2005, according
to press reports. A 1997 book by García
Hamilton analyzed authoritarian governments
in Latin America and included a preface
by Carlos Montaner, an opponent of the Castro
regime, the Argentine press reported. In
an interview with an Argentine radio station
today, he said he believed the deportation
may be related to the book and its preface.
Argentina's Embassy in Cuba sent the Cuban
government a letter on Saturday asking for
an explanation. That was followed on Monday
by an official request for information from
Argentina's Foreign Ministry.
"The Cuban government's actions make
clear that it is continuing a longstanding
pattern of retaliating against writers who
offer critical viewpoints," CPJ Executive
Director Ann Cooper said.
© 2006 Committee to
Protect Journalists. http://www.cpj.org
E-mail: info@cpj.org
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