61ª Asamblea General The Westin Hotel Indianápolis, Indiana 7 al 11 de octubre de 2005

Cuba

WHEREAS

there has been no press freedom in Cuba for 46 years

in recent months 26 journalists have been incarcerated

a dozen of the jailed journalists are ill, and the authorities have refused to release them for humanitarian reasons

the jails are rife with deplorable and unsanitary conditions, physical abuse, extremely poor food and a lack of medical care, which has led to protests by the prisoners including a 23-day hunger strike by Víctor Rolando Arroyo, who is serving a 26-year sentence

Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, 62, the oldest of the imprisoned journalists, was subjected to a nine-month restricted regime in prison, and has been denied family visits in reprisal for the public activities of his wife, Laura Pollán, a leader of the civic pro-amnesty movement known as Ladies in White

four journalists released last year due to ill health have been denied government permission to emigrate and they fear re-arrest

working journalists throughout the country face ongoing threats, police harassment, threats of eviction, temporary detentions, harassment by paramilitary gangs and other forms of coercion

independent journalism in Cuba is surviving under difficult conditions, as it faces police harassment and lacks sufficient material resources or access to new communication technologies

Raúl Rivero and Manuel Vázquez Portal, two recently exiled founders of the independent press, addressed this General Assembly

Principle 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec states: “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, pressure, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators.  Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly”

THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES

to demand the immediate release of all jailed journalists and a halt to government harassment of independent journalism
to urgently demand the release of sick and elderly journalists who are being held in prison medical wards or in prisons and have been denied humanitarian release
to demand international protection and support for the Ladies in White civic movement in their non-violent struggle for amnesty for all prisoners of conscience in Cuba
to demand that four journalists released last year for health reasons be granted permission to emigrate
to demand an end to acts of repression, as well as protection for independent journalists seeking to disseminate their ideas, opinions, and news reports within Cuba and abroad
to salute the presence in this General Assembly of Raúl Rivero and Manuel Vázquez Portal and congratulate them for finally enjoying freedom and to ask them to join IAPA and continue the struggle for press freedom in their country.