According to various testimonies in June, 2009, the human rights situation in Cuba continues to deteriorate. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged European leaders to ensure that Cuba releases imprisoned journalists and permits freedom of expression and information. The journalists live in inhumane life-threatening conditions, and no international humanitarian organizations have been permitted to visit. Recent prisoners include Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández, director of the news agency Habana Press. In “Alarming Statistics of Human Rights Violations in First Half of 2009“, democracy activists in Cuba report “over 500 political arrests, at least 26 trials and prison sentences of peaceful opposition activists and a high prison mortality rate”. The daughter of one prisoner, Yenysel Díaz Sánchez, pleas for his release from the Castro gulag. Former prisoner of conscience José Gabriel Ramón Castillo testified before the UN Human Rights Council, appealing for justice for the thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured.
This blog post is based on recent online sources as indicated by the hyperlinks.
This blog Thinking Upstream, about ideas and human rights, is based on online news of some of the bloggers and journalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries. As one blogger among many, I hope to draw attention to the people mentioned, urging that we each seek peaceful ways to secure their freedom. They have been hurt by authoritarianism and its cruel repression, and by those who execute that repression or gain from it. I have no experience of the countries mentioned, but am convinced of the accuracy of the news, by the variety of reputable publications, to which I refer in the hyper-links of my posts. I blog about human rights because: all freedoms and rights are fragile, and at risk of being lost, if we are even a little careless. Thinking Upstream is now a PDF file on Scribd.com for easy offline reading, even in places where Friendster is blocked. I used Google Translate to machine-translate it into various languages, also in PDF format on Scribd.com.Thinking Upstream is at: http://cmcallister.blog.friendster.com/. Your comments are welcome.
Active blogger Yoani Sánchez (photo) expresses her joy about the expanding blogosphere in Havana, Cuba. In her blogpost “Arco iris en la blogósfera” (Rainbow in the blogosphere), she reports on the rapid growth of blogging since she started her blog Generation Y in April 2007. In addition to being an inspiration to new bloggers, she enjoys meeting them, and giving technical advice, such as: How to use Wordpress, and how to maintain a regular online presence, where Internet connections are hard to obtain.
In her blog post “Young Pro-Democracy Advocate Edgar Lopez Trapped in Cuba”, Yoani petitions for Edgar Lopez to be permitted to travel to join his family in the USA. Foreign travel is one of the many activities that are restricted in Cuba. The country is also tightening the net on bloggers: “Cuban bloggers, an endangered species? ”. Only official government websites are permitted to register on the “.cu” Cuban domain. Hotels are among the few places where it is possible to get Internet access in Cuba, but access cards are only provided to foreign tourists. Yoani is also under attack from an official state journalist who seems to be severely out of touch with how the Internet works.
The “Petition to help Edgar Lopez” explains that Edgar López has been denied a travel visa because he is a member of a political group that does not support Cuba’s communist party.
Yoani Sánchez is listed as Hero and Pioneer in the Time 2008 Top 100.
The 2008 storm Cyclone Nargis caused devastation in the Irrawaddy Delta. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) marked the one year anniversary of the disaster by releasing a report: AAPP_Cyclone_Nargis_Anniversary_Report.pdf. The report includes details of some of the twenty one cyclone relief volunteers who are still in prison. Those imprisoned were: fund raising, providing relief supplies, burying the victims and, as journalists, reporting from the disaster zone. Some of the volunteers had been involved with the Saffron Revolution and had come out of hiding to help with the relief efforts. The military government’s indifferent attitude to the 2008 disaster, and its frustration of relief efforts was extensively reported in: BURMA: Cyclone Nargis Exposes Junta’s Anti-People Attitude and in newspapers around the world. Residents of the delta still face a critical shortage of drinking water because of the salt water surge from the cyclone. Aid groups (French INGO) that assist in distributing drinking water are complaining about red tape, and appealing for better cooperation from authorities.
Pham Thanh Nghien
As reported on their website,”The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN is alarmed by reports that imprisoned writers Nguyen Hoang Hai and Pham Thanh Nghien (f) are at risk of ill-treatment, in poor health, and denied full access to family visits.” The article names five other writers who are still detained. A website, Free Them Now, describes the crackdown on democracy activists in Vietnam, and includes Pham Thanh Nghien’s Open Letter, written before her arrest. Her picture (courtesy of ThanhNienLacViet) is from the website Radio Free Vietnam. The arrests are contrary to United Nations’ Article 19, to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger Kareem Amer
“It could be you. But it’s not. It’s Egypt’s Kareem. Don’t forget him. It’s what Egypt’s leadership would like you to do.” is a quote from The Committee To Protect Bloggers, in the article “Kareem Amer’s Second Anniversary in Prison“. There is increasing worldwide concern on the restrictions on free speech, and on the cruel and unjustified treatment of many bloggers and journalists. Imprisoned bloggers are subject to a range of ill treatment, torture and sometimes death, as was recently reported for a young blogger, Omid Reza Misayafi, in Tehran. This tragic news is reported in many online articles, such as “Egypt : Detained Bloggers complain Torture and Ill treatment“. These cases from many countries around the world are confirmed by the UN Human Rights Council, and by interviews with the prisoners or their lawyers, friends and family. The organisation ARTICLE 19 reports “ARTICLE 19 Applauds UN Experts’ Decision on Arbitrary Detention of Egyptian Blogger Kareem Amer.” The linked PDF file explains their support. The blog post “Letter from an Egyptian prison” presents Kareem Amer’s own view, that he fears for his safety in Egypt because he is an atheist, and also reports the concerns of his close friends. Imprisoned Kareem Amer was a student at Egypt’s Al-Azhar University. He has been in prison since his arrest in November 2006. Blogging is not the only technology on which there is a crack down. 27 year old Ahmed Maher was arrested and tortured for starting a support group on Facebook: “Facebooker falls foul of Egypt” as reported by the Guardian Weekly. Another Facebook activist, Rami al-Swisi, has been kidnapped in Egypt: “Human rights group attacks kidnapping of Facebook activist.” The magazine Wired.com goes into more detail, in a 5-page article “Cairo Activists Use Facebook to Rattle Regime.”
Reporters Without Borders said on 18 March 2009 that it was deeply shocked at the death in a Tehran prison of blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi and called for the immediate opening of an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy. Mirsayafi was arrested in 2008 for posts on his blog, which has been shut down by Iranian authorities. He told Reporters Without Borders, “I am a cultural and not a political blogger. Of all the articles I have posted online, only two or three were satirical. I did not mean to insult anyone.” The Guardian has a detailed article “Call to prosecute officials after Iranian blogger dies in prison.” Mirsayafi’s photo is from the report “Second Prisoner of Conscience to Die in the Past Two Weeks” at www.iranhumanrights.org.
Journalist Zaw Thet Htwe
Imprisoned Journalist Zaw Thet Htwe is facing 15 years in prison, on charges arising out of his aiding of storm victims and reporting on their plight. The extent of the flooding caused by the 2008 storm, Cyclone Nargis, is shown by NASA satellite photographs. Zaw Thet Htwe is one of 14 journalists, among the estimated 2000 political prisoners in Myanmar (Burma). Attempts by family members to visit prisoners are often frustrated or denied, and any kind of information in the country is heavily censored. UN special rapporteur on human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana has just returned from a widely reported visit to the country. Advocacy groups including Amnesty International and Reporters without Borders continue to petition for journalists and other victims of human rights violations around the world. (Photo from http://penreporter.blogspot.com/)
Imprisoned Blogger Nay Pone Latt
The Union of Myanmar (Burma) has plans to become a high-tech nation, yet it has imprisoned and frightened the very people who try to use Internet and video technology to improve their country. 28 year old blogger Nay Pone Latt is serving 12 years in prison. His sentence was reduced to 12 years, from the original sentence of over 20 years, in coincidence with a short visit to Burma by a UN Human Rights representative. This is reported in the news article “Popular Burmese Blogger’s Jail Term Reduced“, 20 February 2009, at http://www.irrawaddy.org. Nay Pone Latt was a popular blogger and also managed two Internet Cafes. The country has announced its schedule for installing WiFi and other ICT infrastructure, but users risk sentences of up to 60 years if they breach the draconian Electronic Transactions Laws; as reported at New Mandala, http://rspas.anu.edu.au/. The RSF (Reporters Without Borders) provides an online form to petition in support of Mr. Nay Phone Latt. A 2008 article “Defend blogger Nay Phone Latt” gives a good description of, and background to his dire situation. The above Photo is from http://burmanewscasts.blogspot.com/.
Burmese comedian and poet Maung Thura, known as Zargana, has had his prison sentence reduced by 24 years. This is no laughing matter, as his total sentence was 59 years. His family will appeal against the remaining 35 year sentence. Zargana’s so called criminal lifestyle included delivering aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis, and making people laugh. Zargana’s videos and poems have been banned. Oppressed individuals in the Union of Myanmar (Burma) include: the Rohingya ethnic minority, monks, journalists, bloggers and the pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. I became aware of this news through the website “Centre for Independent Journalism“. The article “Zargana’s prison term reduced by 24 years” by Than Htike Oo, 16 February 2009, is in the online news publication Mizzima. Anyone interested in appealling against human rights violations, can find out more from organisations like English PEN, International PEN Writers in Prison and the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. (Above photo is by AP)
