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U.S.
Department of State. Released by
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. March 31,
2003
(3
of 6)
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Although the Constitution provides for the inviolability
of a citizen's home and correspondence, official surveillance
of private and family affairs by government-controlled mass
organizations, such as the CDRs, remained one of the most
pervasive and repressive features of daily life. The State
assumed the right to interfere in the lives of citizens, even
those who did not oppose the Government and its practices
actively. The authorities utilized a wide range of social
controls. The mass organizations' ostensible purpose was to
improve the citizenry, but in fact their goal was to discover
and discourage nonconformity. Citizen participation in these
mass organizations declined; the economic crisis both reduced
the Government's ability to provide material incentives for
their participation and forced many persons to engage in black
market activities, which the mass organizations were supposed
to report to the authorities.
The Interior Ministry employed an intricate system of informants
and block committees (the CDRs) to monitor and control public
opinion. While less capable than in the past, CDRs continued
to report on suspicious activity, including conspicuous consumption;
unauthorized meetings, including those with foreigners; and
defiant attitudes toward the Government and the revolution.
The Government controlled all access to the Internet, and
all electronic mail messages were subject to censorship. Dial-up
Internet service was prohibitively expensive for most citizens.
The Interior Ministry's Department of State Security often
read international correspondence and monitored overseas telephone
calls and conversations with foreigners. The Government also
monitored domestic phone calls and correspondence. The Government
sometimes denied telephone service to political dissidents.
Cell phones were generally not available to average citizens.
Dolia Leal Francisco of the Cuban Institute of Independent
Economists reported that state security officials pressured
her local CDR to deny her home telephone service because of
her "counterrevolutionary activities." State security
officials threatened to terminate telephone service of Leal
Francisco's neighbors if they allowed her to use their phones.
A CDR member and a state security agent warned one neighbor
that she would lose her job and that her daughter's education
would be affected if she allowed Leal Francisco access to
a telephone.
On February 8, state security officials threatened to evict
activist Adonis Castro Martinez from his home, which he had
rented for 4 years from his employer, the Ministry of Health,
because he had used the home for meetings of the Cuban Pro
Human Rights Party Affiliated with the Andrei Sakharov Foundation
(see Section 2.b.).
In late March, police instructed a neighbor of independent
labor organizers Luis Sergio Nunez and Gabriel Sanchez of
the Independent National Labor Organization to report on any
calls made by them from her telephone (see Section 6.b.).
On April 22, police arrested Milka Pena Martinez of the Cuban
Pro Human Rights Party for protesting a police search of her
home (see Section 1.d.). Police claimed to be searching for
an individual who did not live at that residence. Asked by
Pena Martinez to produce a warrant, a police lieutenant wrote
out a warrant on a blank sheet of paper. Police also arrested
Luis Ferrer Garcia of the Christian Liberation Movement, who
was present at the time of the search of Pena Martinez' home,
and Ramon Collazo Almaguer, who led a group of dissidents
to Pena Martinez' home to protest her arrest. All three were
released after Pena Martinez was fined $80 (2,000 pesos) for
being unable to explain the presence of a large quantity of
flour in her home.
On May 8, telephone service was cut to the home of Luis Octavio
Garcia Gonzalez, spokesman for the Cuban Pro Human Rights
Party Affiliated with the Andrei Sakharov Foundation. When
service was restored, unknown persons made repeated calls
to Garcia Gonzalez shouting revolutionary slogans.
On May 17, police went to the home of Pedro Veliz, president
of the Independent Medical School of Cuba, and instructed
him to leave Havana for the day to prevent his attendance
in ceremonies marking the founding of a prerevolutionary political
party (see Section 2.b.). Veliz, along with his wife and children,
were forced to leave their home and were followed by state
security officials until they left the city.
On June 2, the National Office for the Receipt of Information
on Human Rights Violations in Cuba reported that workers at
a popular cyber cafe had been instructed to review all outgoing
e-mails and to track websites viewed by individual patrons.
On June 19, state security officials threatened to block
the university admission of the son of human rights activists
Carmen Luz Figueredo and Sergio Gomez Fernandez because of
their failure to sign a government petition making socialism
an "untouchable" element of the Constitution. That
same day, CDR officials warned independent journalist Carlos
Serpa Maceira that his public refusal to sign that government
petition threatened his 9-year-old daughter's future. In late
June, directors of an agricultural cooperative in Camaguey
province suspended food subsidies to cooperative member Jorge
de Armas for failing to sign the government petition (see
Section 3).
There were numerous credible reports of forced evictions
of squatters and residents who lacked official permission
to reside in Havana. For example, on June 1, police in Havana
province arrived in the neighborhood of Buena Esperanza to
remove persons from eastern Cuba living in the area without
authorization. An unknown number of men were removed in trucks
on that date, while women and children were given 72 hours
to depart (see Section 2.d.).
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for citizens' freedoms of speech
and press insofar as they "conform to the aims of socialist
society." This clause effectively bars free speech. In
law and in practice, the Government did not allow criticism
of the revolution or its leaders. Laws against antigovernment
propaganda, graffiti, and disrespect of officials impose penalties
between 3 months and 1 year in prison. If President Castro
or members of the ANPP or Council of State were the objects
of criticism, the sentence could be extended to 3 years. Charges
of disseminating enemy propaganda, which included merely expressing
opinions at odds with those of the Government, could bring
sentences of up to 14 years. In the Government's view, such
materials as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international
reports of human rights violations, and mainstream foreign
newspapers and magazines constituted enemy propaganda. Local
CDRs inhibited freedom of speech by monitoring and reporting
dissent or criticism. Police and state security officials
regularly harassed, threatened, and otherwise abused human
rights advocates in public and private as a means of intimidation
and control.
The Constitution states that print and electronic media are
state property and can never become private property. The
Communist Party controlled all media except for a few small
church-run publications. Even the church-run publications,
denied access to mass printing equipment, were subject to
governmental pressure. Vitral magazine, a publication of the
diocese of Pinar del Rio, continued to publish during the
year.
Citizens did not have the right to receive publications from
abroad, although news stands in hotels for foreigners and
certain hard currency stores sold foreign newspapers and magazines.
The Government continued to jam the transmission of Radio
Marti and Television Marti. Radio Marti broadcasts at times
overcame the jamming attempts on short-wave bands, but its
medium-wave transmissions were blocked completely in Havana.
Security agents subjected dissidents, foreign diplomats, and
journalists to harassment and surveillance, including electronic
surveillance.
All legal media must operate under party guidelines and reflect
government views. The Government attempted to shape media
coverage to such a degree that it not only exerted pressure
on domestic journalists but also pressured groups normally
outside the official realm of control, such as visiting international
correspondents.
The 1999 Law to Protect National Independence and the Economy
outlaws a broad range of activities that undermine state security
and toughens penalties for criminal activity. Under the law,
anyone possessing or disseminating literature deemed subversive,
or supplying information that could be used by U.S. authorities
in the application of U.S. legislation, may be subject to
fines and prison terms of 7 to 20 years. While many activities
between citizens and foreigners possibly could fall within
the purview of this law, it appeared to be aimed primarily
at independent journalists; however, no one has been tried
under this law.
The Government continued to threaten independent journalists,
either anonymously or openly, with arrests and convictions
based on the 1999 law. Some journalists were threatened repeatedly
since the law took effect. Independent journalists noted that
the law's very existence affected their activities and increased
self-censorship, and some said that it was the Government's
most effective tool to harass members of the independent press.
The Government continued to subject independent journalists
to internal travel bans; arbitrary and periodic detentions
(overnight or longer); harassment of family and friends; seizures
of computers, office, and photographic equipment; and repeated
threats of prolonged imprisonment (see Sections 1.d., 1.f.,
and 2.d.). Independent journalists in Havana reported that
threatening phone calls and harassment of family members continued
during the year. Dozens of reporters were detained repeatedly.
The authorities also placed journalists under house arrest
to prevent them from reporting on conferences sponsored by
human rights activists, human rights events, and court cases
against activists. Independent journalists reported that detentions,
threats, and harassment were more severe in the provinces
than in the capital. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,
the Inter-American Press Association, Reporters Without Borders
(RSF), and the Committee to Protect Journalists repeatedly
called international attention to the Government's continued
practice of detaining independent journalists and others simply
for exercising their right to free speech. In addition, police
increasingly tried to prevent independent journalists from
covering so-called sensitive events (see Section 1.d.).
On February 24, state security officials arrested independent
journalist Carlos Alberto Dominguez for participating in a
commemoration of the four civilian pilots killed in February
1996 by military aircraft (see Section 1.d.).
On February 28, police beat a British and an Italian journalist
as they were filming asylum seekers breaking into the Mexican
Embassy (see Section 1.d.). Castro ordered an investigation
into the beating of the pair, and the Foreign Minister apologized
to both journalists for their mistreatment.
On March 4, state security officials arrested independent
journalist Carlos Brizuela Yera while he and nine other activists
were protesting the earlier beating of an independent journalist
during which police beat and arrested blind dissident Juan
Carlos Gonzalez Leyva (see Section 1.d.). In August prosecutors
charged Brizuela with "public disorder, contempt for
authority, resistance, and disobedience." He had not
been tried by year's end and remained in jail.
On March 5, RSF protested the detention of independent journalists
Jesus Alvarez Castillo, Lexter Tellez Castro, Carlos Brizuela
Yara, Normando Hernandez, and Juan Basulto Morell in various
incidents. RSF requested that Interior Minister General Abelardo
Colome punish the authorities responsible for the arrests.
At year's end, the Government had not responded to that request.
On June 7, a state security official threatened to arrest
the president of the Independent Human Rights Center in Santiago
de Cuba if he did not cease providing information to foreign
radio stations.
On June 14, state security officials beat and arrested independent
journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira while he was covering a march
by human rights activists on the Isle of Youth (see Section
1.d.).
In October the authorities seized material from a French
journalist departing the country, according to RSF.
In December RSF released a report "Cuba, where news
is the exclusive reserve of the State," which criticized
the complete absence of freedom of the press. RSF also described
the constant harassment of independent journalists and the
prison conditions faced by independent journalists jailed
for trying to practice their profession (see Section 1.c.).
In February 2001, Edel Garcia, director of the Central Norte
del Pais press agency, was detained for 12 hours to prevent
him from participating in the commemoration of two planes
that were shot down by military aircraft in international
airspace in 1996. At year's end, Garcia was not in detention,
and his trial on charges of collaborating with the enemy,
providing information to Radio Marti, and conspiracy to commit
crimes and espionage remained pending.
Jesus and Jadir Hernandez of Havana-Press were charged with
trafficking in illegal migrants and collaboration with a foreign
mission in 2000; their trial was pending at year's end.
During the year, at least five independent journalists were
denied the right to emigrate, including Manuel Vazquez Portal,
Edel Morales, Jorge Olivera, Dorka Cespedes, and Normando
Hernandez.
The authorities often confiscated equipment when arresting
journalists, particularly photographic and recording equipment.
It was possible to buy a fax machine or computer, payable
in dollars; if a receipt could be produced, the equipment
usually was not confiscated. However, police seized a telephone
and fax machine from independent journalist Angel Pablo Polanco
despite the fact that he demonstrated proof of purchase in
the country for both items (see Section 1.d.). Photocopiers
and printers either were impossible to find on the local market
or were not sold to individuals, which made them a particularly
valuable commodity for journalists.
Resident foreign correspondents reported that the very high
level of government pressure experienced since 2000, including
official and informal complaints about articles, continued
throughout the year. The Government exercised its ability
to control members of the resident foreign press by requiring
them to obtain a government exit permit each time they wished
to leave the country.
Distribution of information continued to be controlled tightly.
Importation of foreign literature was controlled, and the
public had no access to foreign magazines or newspapers. Leading
members of the Government asserted that citizens did not read
foreign newspapers and magazines to obtain news because they
did not speak English and had access to the daily televised
round tables on issues with which they needed to concern themselves.
The Government sometimes barred independent libraries from
receiving materials from abroad and seized materials donated
by foreign diplomats.
The Government controlled all access to the Internet, and
all electronic mail messages were subject to censorship. Access
to computers and peripheral equipment was limited, and the
Internet only could be accessed through government-approved
institutions. Dial-up access to government-approved servers
was prohibitively expensive for most citizens. E-mail use
grew slowly as the Government allowed access to more users;
however, the Government generally controlled its use, and
only very few persons or groups had access. The Government
opened a national Internet gateway to some journalists, artists,
and municipal-level youth community centers, but the authorities
continued to restrict the types and numbers of international
sites that could be accessed.
The Government officially prohibits all diplomatic missions
in Havana from printing or distributing publications, particularly
newspapers and newspaper clippings, unless these publications
exclusively address conditions in a mission's home country
and prior government approval is received. Many missions did
not accept this requirement and distributed materials; however,
the Government's threats to expel embassy officers who provided
published materials had a chilling effect on some missions.
The Government restricted literary and academic freedoms
and continued to emphasize the importance of reinforcing revolutionary
ideology and discipline over any freedom of expression. The
educational system taught that the State's interests took
precedence over all other commitments. Academics and other
government officials were prohibited from meeting with some
diplomats without prior approval from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Ministry of Education required teachers to evaluate
students' and their parents' ideological character and to
place such evaluations in school records. These reports directly
affected students' educational and career prospects. As a
matter of policy, the Government demanded that teaching materials
for courses such as mathematics or literature have an ideological
content. Government efforts to undermine dissidents included
denying them advanced education and professional opportunities.
President Castro stated publicly that the universities were
available only to those who shared his revolutionary beliefs.
Artistic expression was less restricted. The Government encouraged
the cultural community to attain the highest international
standards in order to sell its work overseas for hard currency.
However, in 2000 the Government began implementing a program
called "Broadening of Culture" that tied art, socialism,
and modern "revolutionary" ideology and legends
into its own vision of culture. The Government used the government
media and the schools to impose this vision on the public,
particularly the youth.
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