Media News - Friday, September 11, 2009

Journalism watchdog calls for Cuba blogger freedom

A U.S.-based journalist watchdog group called Thursday for an end to what it described as "systemic harassment" of bloggers and independent journalists in Cuba, and urged the international community to step up its lobbying on the bloggers' behalf. The Committee to Protect Journalists said a surprisingly vibrant blogging community has sprung up on the communist-run island, despite government intimidation, official barriers and the high cost of going online. Cuba has the lowest rate of Internet use in the Americas. "The bloggers, mainly young adults from a variety of professions, have opened a new space for free expression in Cuba, while offering a fresh glimmer of hope for the rebirth of independent ideas in Cuba's closed system," the group said in a report. The New York-based CPJ also called on Cuba to unconditionally free imprisoned independent journalists and to honor international commitments that the country has signed that should in theory allow all journalists to report freely without fear of reprisal. A few Cuban bloggers have gained fame in recent years for irreverent reports that have openly criticized the government and reported on hot button issues like food shortages, low wages, crumbling housing and inept bureaucracy. According to the report, 22 online journalists are currently imprisoned in Cuba. Many others are tolerated by the government, though their Web sites are sometimes hacked and several have been called in for questioning by the authorities. Even those allowed to post have their pages routinely blocked in Cuba. (AP)

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