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Cuba's dissident voices
By Mary Murray, NBC
News Producer. March 09, 2007.
This week, the U.S. State Department unveiled
its latest report card on human rights progress
in Cuba and invited a group of Havana-based
journalists to review the findings.
It was not your typical news conference,
nor was it staffed with your typical reporters.
Most attending refer to themselves as "independent
journalists" - or in other words -
dissident voices silent on the island in
the face of strict government control of
the media. They mostly publish for Miami
audiences or Internet outlets the average
person here never sees.
Most came by bus and two even hitched a
ride on the back of a flatbed truck. As
far as I could tell, there wasn't a car
owned among them. Some spent hours traveling
to the colossal building on Havana's winding
waterfront drive that houses the U.S. Interests
Section here.
Most of the attendees never trained as
journalists. Instead, they say, they were
driven to report the news otherwise ignored
here. They come from all walks of life,
ranging from two guys who work in sugar
cane fields, to a retired college professor
of literature, to a married couple who once
worked as diplomats but were eventually
hounded by the government to quit their
posts.
The tools of their trade were simple. No
fancy laptops or electronic organizers.
Most didn't use spiral notebooks, just sheets
of plain white paper. And they were glad
of the free pencils the U.S. diplomats handed
out at the start of the news conference.
High cost of speaking out
But the event could not have happened without
the benefits of some high-tech gear. Video
conference technology beamed the image of
Jonathan Farrar, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, onto a large screen. For
an hour he reviewed the U.S. government
findings and answered questions while seated
at a conference table somewhere in Washington.
Little has changed, Farrar said, since
Fidel Castro temporarily stepped down eight
months ago after undergoing intestinal surgery.
The report charges that arbitrary arrest,
detention and surveillance to harass government
opponents continued. He pointed out that
at least 283 political prisoners and detainees
still linger behind bars and civil liberties
that allow dissidents to protest remain
restricted by Cuban law.
To the participants at the video conference,
this wasn't news. Most everyone listening
had paid a price at one time or another
for advocating a different political way.
What about action?
Perhaps not surprising, it was hard for
these "independent journalists"
to stay independent. Questions quickly evolved
into critiques.
"I appreciate these reports but we
never see any concrete action," said
Juan Carlos Linares. "What comes next?"
Ahmed Rodriguez, a 22-year-old who writes
for the Website "Cubanet," asked
if Farrar believed the Cuban government
would actually open things up as a result
of this new report.
"I can't speak for the Cuban government,"
was the response from Farrar. "I would
hope they would open things up. So far there's
been no reaction from the government on
the report."
Others at the video conference implied
the report didn't go far enough.
Guillermo Farinas, a frail man leaning
on a cane who embarked on a seven-month
hunger strike to protest government controls
over the Internet, wanted more emphasis
on "prisoners of conscience" -
political prisoners who are jailed for their
thoughts and ideas, rather than their actions.
Former political prisoner Oscar Espinosa
Chepe took issue with the section that criticizes
the government's strict control over who
can surf the Internet by granting users
access solely through "government approved
institutions."
The problems are "far more grave than
the manipulation of access to the Web,"
said Espinosa, an economist.
"It's not enough to say Cubans have
no access to the Internet when the issue
is more basic. We don't have the right to
buy a computer, even with money in our pockets,
unless we buy it on the black market,"
said Espinosa.
Criticism not reserved for Cuba
His criticisms, though, were not restricted
to the Cuban government. He blamed the Bush
administration for obstructing the human
rights agenda on the island by restricting
the ability of Cuban Americans to travel
back home. (Under current U.S. policy, Cuban
Americans are limited to one visit every
three years and first must apply for a government
license granting permission to travel. They
face heavy government-imposed fines if found
to have broken the law.)
"There are Congressional proposals
to loosen the travel restrictions on our
compatriots living in the U.S. so as they
can help their families. This is an important
issue for us. It can inject considerable
democracy in Cuba and spread the values
inherent in U.S. society."
Pulling no punches, he asked Farrar point
blank: "What are you doing about it?"
He was told that issue was beyond the scope
of the State Department review - a reasonable
answer but perhaps not the one this group
of "independent journalists" was
looking for.
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