Group+10B

=dsss CENSORSHIP IN CUBA bk =

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Translation:Petition against the Internet Block in Cuba. New measures against freedom of expression in Cuba are being dictated by the regime of the Castro brothers. For the people, Internet access can be found in hotels that provide this service in foreign currency. Cuban tourist facilities are among the few places that have Internet access in Cuba. People are required to pay in the "convertible money," as the currency in which they receive their salaries.There are no personal uses of the Internet in your own country. Through this letter, the undersigned denounce this situation and sympathize with the victims in Cuba. We advocate that the Cuban people can freely access the Internet, without censorship or discrimination by national origin. To inform, to communicate, and to express an opinion, is the right of every human being.

﻿History ﻿Andrea Alfano   Since the signing of the Treaty of Relations in 1934 with the United States, Cuba has been governed by authoritarian political and military figures that obtain and remain in power by force. Beginning in September of 1933, a non-commissioned officer revolt was organized by Fulgencio Batista, an army sergeant. He gained significant power until he was finally elected president in 1940. Batista was voted out in 1944 and did not return to office until 1952 when he began ruling by decree. Batista’s dictatorial rule was already being challenged by urban and rural resistance groups. The corrupt military was dispirited by a U.S. government embargo on weapon sales to Cuba along with the resistance by the citizens led to Batista eventually fleeing the country in 1959 (U.S. Department of, 2010). When Batista left Cuba, Fidel Castro, a man with a history of violent political activity and who had organized the “26th of July Movement,” was able to use his control of the military to become the new leader. Castro promised the people a return to democratic elections and constitutional rule, but instead he used his power to execute about 3,200 people and imprison many others between the years of 1959-1962 alone. As the revolution got more and more extreme, thousands of people left Cuba (U.S. Department of, 2010).

In response to Cuba’s adaptation of a one party communist system as well as its expropriation of U.S. properties, the United States under the leadership of President Kennedy imposed an embargo around Cuba in 1960. In January of 1961, diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were broke. On April 16, 1961, Castro declared Cuba to be a socialist state. In October of 1962, tensions between the two governments were at an all-time high under the Cuban Missile Crisis (U.S. Department of, 2010). Today, Cuba is led by Fidel Castro’s brother, Raul Castro. Since officially taking over for his brother in 2008, Raul Castro began to oust the people in the government that were loyal to Fidel’s communist agenda. Raul Castro and his new government have reduced the powers of the vice-president as well as consolidating many government ministries. There are still no immediate indications that the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba will be mended, but there is some hope for change (Associated Press, 2009). 

Legal Aspects of Censorship in Cuba Christal Bundang Article 62 of the Cuban constitution says, “None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law.”(Rule of Law and Cuba, 2004). The communist party is granted legal control of the media. Cuba is also the only country in Latin America where journalists are imprisoned. According the Committee to Protect Journalists (2006), independent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened jailed time, and are sometimes prevented from traveling. Consistent with its constitution, the government is harsh to any individuals who publicly show disapproval of the communist party.

In February 1999, Cuba’s National Assembly passed Law 88, called //Ley de Protección de la Independencia Nacional y la Economía de Cuba.// Under the law, individuals who are found to be giving information of an anti-Cuban nature may be sentenced to 7- 15 years of imprisonment. It also bans ownership, distribution, or reproduction of supposedly subversive U.S. government materials. Those who are discovered to be collaborating with US policy influenced TV, radio stations, and publications may also be subject to 5 years in prison.

Amnesty International published a reported titled //Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba// in June 2010. According to the report, the Cuban Penal Code has also been used as justification for prosecutions of journalists. Under the Penal Code arises several criminal provisions which have been used as grounds for arrests. The code contains common charges used against journalists such as insulting the president, illicit association, enemy propaganda, espionage, and spreading false news. Many arrests made are done so under the vague provisions of the Cuban Penal Code (Amnesty International, 2010).

The judicial system in Cuba is neither independent nor impartial. Individuals who are critical of the givernment are still currently being brought to criminal proceedings,The trial system is also inconsistent with international fair trial standards (Amnesty International, 2010).

Internet Access in Cuba Gina Payne  In 2009, a survey was taken in order to establish how much access the citizens of Cuba truly had to the Internet. For every one thousand residents, there were only sixty-two computers owned or available for citizens to use. Of those computers found in the study, the majority of them were in government offices, health centers and education facilities. Internet use is further hindered due to the fact that there is no broadband in the country and they have an extremely slow Internet connection. For those limited Internet users, the wait to view emails or photos can be brutally long. Not only does the wait discourage citizens from using the Internet, but also hampers the practices of both businesses and the government (Frank, 2010). The limited and poor access to computers and the Internet comes from the government’s enforcement of high censorship. The regime ensures that political opponents and independent journalists are forbidden from utilizing the Internet. In 2006 alone, twenty-four journalists were detained in Cuba for using the Internet and in many cases were there because the journalists wrote for websites based in the United States. The prison sentences extended anywhere from a few years up to twenty-seven amongst the twenty-four detainees. One can receive a twenty year prison sentence simply for writing a “counter-revolutionary” article for another country’s website and even as high as five years for connecting to the Internet in an “illegal” manner (Pain, 2006). Cuba holds the United States’ government responsible for their lack of Internet access. Recently, President Obama allowed U.S. telecommunications firms to offer services in Cuba as an attempt to begin communication between the two countries and help ease tensions between Cuba and the United States because of the 48-year-old embargo. Although Cuba’s leaders are pleased with this endeavor, they continue to aspire to have the entire embargo lifted from their country (Frank, 2010)

<span style="background-color: #1a1414; color: #ae1313; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 250%;">Cellphones and Cuba <span style="background-color: #1a1414; color: #ffffff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Mallory Sharp

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2008, the former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, was succeeded by his brother Raul Castro. This was a monumental shift in the way Cuba would be run by those in power because for the first time in over 60 years, people were slowly winning rights to things never before available to them, one being cell phones.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Prior to 2008, cell phone usage was limited to “foreigners, companies and state agencies.” (Turrettini, 2010) “As of 2008, fewer than 3% of the Cuban population had access to cell phones.” ("Raíces de esperanza," 2009) The only way the public had access to them was through black market or having foreigners open accounts for them using their names instead of those of the Cubans.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Despite the allowance of public cell phones in 2008, many of the citizens still had to wait to obtain one. The problem was not access but money. Many people would obtain the phone but have to wait to pay the $65 to activate it because most Cubans live off of only $20 a month. (Booth, 2009)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once people began to activate their phones, minutes were precious and costly. Despite their ability to speak quickly, they rationed their minutes and saved them for emergencies. Instead, Cubans could be found with their phones in their hands instead of to their ears, texting away to friends and family for about $.17 a message. Many don’t even listen to voice mails or answer calls and use their phone more like a pager. (Booth, 2009)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, number of cell phone subscribers in Cuba will exceed one million by the end of this year. (Turrettini, 2010) This is truly a revolution for a country that is ruled by communism. It’s finally providing their citizens with a glimmer of freedom that the rest of the world has had for over a decade.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #c80909; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 250%;">Journalism Censorship in Cuba <span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">David Castro

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Media censorship regarding print journalism in Cuba is heavily influenced by their leading Communist political party. According to CPJ.org, “The Cuban constitution grants the Communist Party the right to control the press; it recognizes ‘freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the goals of the socialist society.’” As a result of the government’s participation in the media, several journalists are forced to compose their articles in a way that will not negatively reflect the country. However there, are occasions when reporters dare to cross that line of being able to speak their mind, which is what occurred in what was kno <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">wn as Cuba’s “Black Spring”.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During this time, 25 independent journalist “...were accused of acting against the ‘integrity and sovereignty of the state’ or of collaborating with foreign media for the purpose of “‘destabilizing the country’"(cpj.org). Unfortunately, five years after that occurred, several of the journalist remained in custody of the Cuban officials. Despite the heavy criticism that Cuba receives for its severity on journalist, government officials continue to show their authority when different opinions are presented.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Due to the lack of accessibility for public opinion and more government control over the media, Cuban society is forced to create news that is approved by the leading party or will face consequences. According to Vicente Botin, a spanish television corespondent in Cuba, “When Castro fainted again during a Feb. 18, 2006, funeral for a government supporter, ‘nobody reported nothing’ because of ‘recommendations from State Security’ ”. Politics are a touchy subject when it comes to presenting opinions and public feelings regarding canditates, and Dania Virgen Garcia, a journalist of Cubanet, may have been put in jail because of her affiliation with politics.It was said that Garcia was involved with a “Group formed by the mothers, wives and sisters of political prisoners whose activities have been suppressed by the authorities in recent days” (Reporters Without Borders). Media censorship in Cuba has kept the complete truth from their society, and verbal and physical force from authoritative figures is often a constant reminder of who controls the type of information people can retain.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">References **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Amnesty International. (2010). Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba. United Kingdom: International Secretariat.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Associated Press. (2009, March 2). Raul castro replaces top cuban officials. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Booth, W. (2009). In cuba, cellphone calls go unanswered. The Washington Post, Retrieved November 13, 2010, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202409.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Campbell, Monica. Lauria, Carlos. Salazar, Maria. (March 18, 2008). Cuba’s Long Black Spring. Retrieved from http://cpj.org/reports/2008/03/cuba-press-crackdown.php

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Committee to Protect Journalists. (2 May 2006). North Korea Tops CPJ list of '10 Most Censored Countries."

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Frank, M. (2010, June 18). Cuba reports little Internet and telecom progress. Retrieved November 15, 2010, from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65H3H320100618

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. (2004). Rule of Law and Cuba. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pain, J. (2006). Going Online In Cuba: Internet Under Surveillance. Retrieved November 14, 2010, from http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_gb_md_1.pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Raíces de esperanza. (2009). Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Reporters Without Borders For Press Freedom. (May 31, 2010). Independent journalist arrested again, 10 days after being released. Retrieved from http://en.rsf.org/cuba-authorities-imprison-one-27-04-2010,37163.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tamayo, J. Cubaverdad. (28 February 2010). Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.cubaverdad.net/weblog/coverage-comes-with-price-of-self-censorship/

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Turrettini, E. (2010, April 25). Cuba opens up to allow more cell phones. Retrieved from http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2010/04/025879.htm

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. (2010). Background note: cuba Washington, DC: Retrieved from[]