An excerpt from Burn This Book by PEN writers is presented in LiteratureBlog.net. The excerpt, entitled “Peril”, was written by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison. The peril referred to is that of writers being unable to pursue their work, due to persecution and censorship by authoritarian regimes. The essay explains why we need writers and why they need to be protected. The PEN American Center is an association of U.S. writers advancing literature and defending free expression. International PEN is a related association for writers of all cultures.
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.
Journalist Víctor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, one of 22 independent journalists imprisoned in Cuba, is on hunger strike, according to “Cuban journalist in second week of hunger strike.” María Salazar Ferro reports that Rolando went on hunger strike on 15th May 2009 to protest: lack of medical attention, bad sanitary conditions in his cell, cruel treatment, and the fact that he has not been allowed to practice religion. Rolando’s photo is from Imprisoned Journalists in Cuba, which reports that he has been imprisoned in Cuba since 18th March 2003, and is serving a 26 year sentence. Ironically, Cuba was home to Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), one of the world’s best known journalists, and the Hemingway Museum on Cuba is a popular tourist attraction. “Latin America’s Brave New World:Cuba gets a vote of confidence from the OAS” criticises the recent addition of Cuba to the OAS (Organization of American States). Inclusion of a repressive Marxist-Leninist state into the OAS stretches the meaning of the word “democracy”. Organisations which report on threats to journalists and press freedom include the RSF and The World Association of Newspapers, which organises a World Press Freedom Day initiative to draw attention to the role of independent news and information in society, and how it is under attack. In this 11 June 2009 post, “Intervencion en la 11° Sesion del Consejo de los Derechos Humanos“, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo appeals to the UN Human Rights Council for the hundreds of known political prisoners suffering in Cuba.
(This blog “Thinking Upstream” is based on various online news articles and photos that draw attention to some of the bloggers and journalists who remain unjustly imprisoned in several countries.)
Another independent journalist, Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet has been imprisoned in Cuba. “Alberto Santiago Du Bouchet, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 5/17/09“, as reported in the blog Uncommon Sense. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison for “disrespect,” one of the Orwellian catch-all “crimes” the dictatorship uses to try to silence and punish those who oppose it, according to this RSF article. The organisation English PEN, supporting writers around the world, protests his arrest, and reports that he was denied a fair trial and access to a lawyer.
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.
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/)
