SUMMARY

This report provides an update for the International Relations Committee (IRC) and the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IRC) on the issue of the “independent library” movement in Cuba. 

It includes

1)    A chronological background on some of the major activities over the past 10 years.
2)    An update on ALA’s March 2007 Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) to USAID and the State Department.
3)    Information known to date on the U.S. government to support for “independent
            library” movement in Cuba.
4)    Some activities of the Friends of Cuban Libraries (FCL).

Some findings:

-    U.S. government funds used to try to influence library associations outside of the United States (Latin America and Europe) to support the “independent library” movement in Cuba.

-    Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba organization in 2005 and 2006 received 98% of its support from U.S. government funds.

-    U.S. Government Accountability Office 9GAO) report in November 2006 notes that 8 of 12 grantee organizations audited supported the “independent libraries” in Cuba in 2005.  

-    In GAO report USAID program director said that the [Cuba] program office and grantees were concerned about creating records that might be released under the Freedom of Information Act, because the release of such information could damage program activities and/or result in the harassment or imprisonment of aid recipients in Cuba.

1.  BACKGROUND

1998

•    In February, 1998, Fidel Castro, speaking at the Havana International Book Fair said “En Cuba no existen libros prohibidos; lo que faltan son los recursos para adquirirlos” ("There are no banned books in Cuba, only a lack of resources to acquire them.") http://www.aciprensa.com/notic2000/octubre/notic1082.htm. Taking these words at face value, in March, 1998, Ramón Colás and Berta Mexidor, husband and wife Cuban academics, opened their own personal library for public use and began to solicit book donations from throughout Latin America and the United States as the start of an “independent library” movement that was intended, in Ramón’s words, "offer another cultural opinion … in a country accustomed to reading what its leaders want." The independent libraries would provide "access to books, magazines, documents and other publications to which there is no access in state institutions because they were being considered enemy propaganda and stereotyped as a crime against the powers of the state".

•    In March 1998, Ramon Colas and Berta Mexidor, who are husband and wife, opened up their home library in Cuba as the start of an “independent library” movement. A quick succession of “independent libraries” opened in homes of other individuals.   Based on their biographies, most were individuals who had been imprisoned or harassed by the Cuban government for their political beliefs/activities before they set up their “independent libraries.” http://www.bibliocuba.org/english/

1999

•    By June 1999 a group called the “Friends of Cuban Libraries” had formed in the United States.  One of the co-founders, Robert Kent, was an ALA member and librarian at New York Public Library. The other co-founder was Jorge Sanguinetty, who reportedly worked for Radio Martí (which is funded by the U.S. government to broadcast into Cuba)
http://www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org
Note:  Mr. Kent is not currently a member of ALA

•    IFLA’s Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE), in response to messages from the “Friends of the Cuban Libraries” describing harassment, short term detention, confiscations, threats, warnings and evictions of these “independent libraries,” issued a report on the situation in 1999 based on phone conversations to Cuba without a site visit. http://www.ifla.org/faife/faife/cubarepo.htm

Concerns were quickly raised by a number of individuals (in the U.S. and elsewhere) on independence of this library movement.

2001

•    In January 2001, ALA’s Latin American and Caribbean Subcommittee held an open hearing on the issue in which Mr. Kent and others participated.  Due to the inconclusiveness of determining the accuracy of claims brought forward on both sides of the issue, the committee’s recommendation was not to take any action http://www.ala.org/ala/iro/iroactivities/alacubanlibrariesreportcuban.cfm
  
•    In June 2001, ALA leaders and IFLA leaders take advantage of the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) Conference in Havana to discuss the “independent library” movement with members of the Cuban Librarians Association (ASCOLBI), and to meet with owners of “independent libraries.” 

IFLA issues a new report, and ALA issues a separate report on their investigations and findings. ALA’s delegation was led by ALA President John Berry and Past President Barbara Ford.

ALA Delegation Report http://www.ala.org/ala/iro/iroactivities/alacubanlibrariesreport.cfm
            IFLA Report
            http://www.ifla.org/faife/faife/cubareport2001.htm
 
•    In June, ALA Council passes “Resolution on Access to Information by Cuba’s Libraries” urging
“…the U.S. government to share information materials widely in Cuba, especially with Cuba’s libraries, and not just with individuals and independent nongovernmental organizations…”
                  http://www.ala.org/ala/iro/iroactivities/alacubanlibrariesresolution.cfm

•    In August at the 2001 IFLA Conference in Boston, following another open hearing on the issue, IFLA passes a resolution asking both the U.S. government and the Cuban government to eliminate obstacles to access to the Cuban people to information. http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/resol-01.htm

2002

•    Independent Library founders Ramon Colas and Berta Mexidor emigrate from Cuba to Florida, accepting political asylum.

•    In May, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter arrived in Havana.  On May 16, during his meeting with dissidents and human rights activists in Havana, former President Carter expressed support for the island's uncensored library movement. President Carter presented Gisela Delgado Sablón, the National Director of the Independent Libraries Project, with a gift of books he had brought for the libraries, and stated that the Carter Center in Atlanta would continue to supply Cuba's independent libraries with shipments of books, magazines and other materials. President Carter signed and dedicated to Gisela a copy of Vincent Roussel's biography of Martín Luther King: Contra todas las exclusiones, (Bilbao: Desclee de Brouwer, 1995) ISBN-13: 978-8433011091], which she proudly displayed to those assembled in her Dulce María Loynaz Library: 

This book was later confiscated from her library during a police raid.

2003

•    The U.S. Interest Section in Havana, led by Chief of Mission James Cason, increases its open activity by having high-profile meetings and engagement with Cuban dissidents.  In March, the U.S. invades Iraq. In March, the Cuban government arrests 75 individuals and by April 10 has sentenced them in one-day summary trials to long prison terms, including a number who operated “independent libraries.” 

The main designation of individuals who are identified as operating “independent libraries” in most reports define them under their other activities, such as “independent journalist”, “union organizer”, etc.

Note: The number of incarcerated individuals who operated “independent libraries” seems not to be a definite number.  Reports from supporters vary from 10 to up to 17.  In June 24, 2004 article in the Orlando Sentinel interview of Ramon Colas notes “as many as 17.” 

•    Approximately 23 individuals operated or were closely affiliated with independent libraries. To the best of our knowledge, they are:

1.    Nelson Alberto Aguiar Ramirez    Eddy Chibás Independent Library (Havana)
2.    Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos    Biblioteca sindical Emilio Máspero (Havana)
3.    Ariel Sigler Amaya        General Pedro Betancourt Library (Matanzas)
4.    Guido Sigler Amaya        General Pedro Betancourt Library (Matanzas)
5.    Miguel Sigler Amaya        General Pedro Betancourt Library (Matanzas)
6.    Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona    Reyes Magos Library (Pinar del Río)
7.    Carmelo Augustin Díaz Fernandez    Biblioteca Sindical Emilio Máspero (Havana)
8.    Edel José Garcia Díaz            Bibliotecas de Pedagogos Independientes (Havana)
9.    José Luis García Paneque        Carlos J. Finlay Library (Las Tunas)
10.    Lester Gonzalez Pentón        Jorge Mas Canosa Independent Library (Santa Clara)
11.    Leonel Grave de Peralta Almenares    Bartolomé Masó Library (Santiago de Cuba)
12.    Iván Hernández Carrillo        Juan Gualberto Gómez Library, Branch II (Matanzas)
13.    José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández    Sebastián Arcos Library (Havana Province)
14.    José Miguel Martínez Hernández    Gen. Juan Bruno Zayas Library (Havana Province)
15.    Luis Milán Fernández        11th of September Library (Santiago de Cuba)
16.    Fabio Prieto Llorente            “created an independent library in his home”
17.    Juan Roberto de Miranda Hernández    Padre Félix Varela Library (Havana)
18.    Omar Pernet Hernández        20th of May Library, Branch II (Villa Clara)
19.    Blas Giraldo Reyes Rodríguez    20th of May Library (Sancti Spiritus)
20.    Raúl Rivero Castañeda        Dulce María Loynaz Library Branch II (Havana)
21.    Fidel Suárez Cruz        St. Paul Library (Pinar del Río)
22.    Ricardo Severino Gonzales Alfonso    Jorge Mañach Library (Havana)
23.    Julio Antonio Valdés Guevara    private library of the unofficial Unión de Activistas y Opositores "Golfo de Guacanayabo" Manzanillo)

•    On May 8, IFLA, through FAIFE, expresses their deepest concerns to the Cuban government about the arrest, trial and long prison sentences given to Cuban political dissidents http://www.ifla.org/V/press/faife-cuba03pr.htm

•    On June 4, Gisela Delgado Sablón, Director of the Independent Library Project of Cuba, sent an appeal to Michael Dowling, Director of the ALA International Relations Office: “… Sir, I would like to send this message seeking your solidarity with this library project and because of the repression to which we have been subjected.  Many Cubans have been arrested because of their manner of thinking and for their promotion of culture within Cuba. … Our library movement was founded with the goal of offering the Cuban people access to uncensored reading beyond the limits imposed by a required ideology.  …  What we are asking, sir, is that your association show solidarity with our project and with the innocent persons who are now in prison.  We would like you to ask the Cuban authorities to immediately release these detained persons.”   
The American Library Association would not respond to this appeal for 13 months.

•    In June, IFLA issues call on U.S. government to allow visits and information to and from Cuba.  http://www.ifla.org/V/press/faife120603pr.htm

•    In June, ALA jointly held its Annual Conference in Toronto with the Canadian Library Association.  ALA’s International Relations Office was able to secure a grant to support the attendance of five Cuban librarians, which would have been impossible had the meeting been held in the United States.

At the program on Cuban libraries Ramon Colas, Mr. Kent and others were able to question Cuban librarian leadership on the “independent libraries.”
 
The International Relations Committee brought forward a resolution on Cuba, which Council sent back to both the IRC and IFC to create a joint task force to further study the issue, and submit a report.

The Canadian Library Association did pass a resolution requesting “IFLA to convene an international Commission of eminent librarians to hold public hearings to investigate further the role of “independent libraries” in Cuba and charges that they are funded through foreign agencies whose political program is regime change.”  http://www.cla.ca/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutCLA/Governance/AnnualGeneralMeetings/AGM2003/default.htm

Note: The IFLA Governing Board decided not to undertake such an investigation due to lack of resources.

•    A Task Force of IRC and IFC members review materials and resources on the issue, including the sentencing documents from Cuba’s provincial courts that are posted in September on the Rule of Law and Cuba website set up at the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights (CAHR) at Florida State University http://www.ruleoflawandcuba.fsu.edu/index.cfm

•    By the close of 2003, the following organizations had issued calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April crackdown:

Campaign for Peace and Democracy (March 2003)
http://hnn.us/comments/11516.html and at http://www.cpdweb.org/statements/1003/stmt.html.

Liberal International (March 2003)
http://www.ndi.org/worldwide/lac/cuba/statements/li.asp
http://www.liberal-international.org/editorialIndex.asp?ia_id=1217&keywords=adolfo|||fernandez|||sainz

Christian Democrat International (21 March 2003)
http://www.ndi.org/worldwide/lac/cuba/statements/cdi.asp

Presidency of the European Union (26 March 2003 and 5 June 2003) http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/75232.pdf and http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/76075.pdf

Socialist International (28 March 2003)
http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticleID=1475

French Communist Party (8 April 2003)
http://www.pcf.fr/?iddoc=2565 and http://www.pcf.fr/?iddoc=2567

The International Press Institute (8 April 2003)
http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1144853522811&year=2003

World Council of Churches, General Secretary (18 April 2003)
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/4/prweb63321.htm

Italian legislature (29 April 2003)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/americas/2986897.stm

Amnesty International (beginning 3 June 2003, then in 2004 and again in 2005 and 2008)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250172003?open&of=ENG-CUB

International Federation for Human Rights, a.k.a. FIDH: La Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme (21 March 2003)
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article2337
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article264 (8 April 2003)
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article257 (1 July 2003)

German Bundestag Commission of Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid (11 Nov. 2003) http://www.netforcuba.org/News-EN/2003/Nov/News277.htm

179 American leftists, in a Letter to the Editors of New York Review of Books, vol. L, no. 19 (December 4, 2003), p. 62.  http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0420-10.htm

International PEN (5 December 2003)
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=36&query=cuba (inactive)
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.php?pid=33&aid=158&return=33 (inactive)

Note: Documentation on the Rule of Law website were provided to the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights from the U.S. Interest Section in Havana.

2004

•    Frank Hernández-Trujillo published the sentencing documents in book form as Juicios A Opositores Pacíficos en Cuba: Terrorismo de Estado (Miami: Grupo de Apoyo a la Democracia, 2004), ISBN 1-890829-25-0, and also issued a CD version. In a sworn and notarized statement of June 22, 2007, he testified that he “received copies of the trials against the dissidents from a human rights group in Cuba with the help of a foreign delegation in Havana other than USINT.  The documents were … given to this group by the relatives of the accused.” http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/web/verification-of-sentencing-documents-by-frank-hernandez-trujillo

•    At Midwinter 2004, Council adopted the International Relations Committee and Intellectual Freedom Committee’s Report on Cuba and joined IFLA in its deep concern over the arrest and long prison terms of political dissidents in Cuba. 

It also noted “This political climate brought on primarily by U.S. Government and Cuban Government legislation and policies in recent years should not be  countered by censorship and imprisonment.”

Note:  IFLA has not called for the release of individuals. The Council overwhelmingly voted down an amendment to call for the release of individuals. 

 
The 2004 Chair of the ALA's International Relations Committee, interviewed in March by Peacework online, stated his opinion that the prisoners should be released. John Berry, who is also a former President if ALA, is quoted as saying, “Some people try to discredit them by claiming they're not professional librarians, but that's not a distinction which I believe is important. I love these people. I wish Castro would let them go. I understand the argument the Cuban government is making, but I disagree, and I oppose it. … I was surprised by the overwhelmingly negative vote. Actually, I would have supported the amendment myself." http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/pwork/0403/040307.htm  

•    Ramon Colas and Berta Mexidor set up the 501 C3 Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba. 
  
Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba pay for an exhibit booth at the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.

•    On July 27, 2004 – 417 days after receiving the June 4, 2003 appeal for solidarity from independent library project director Gisela Delgado Sablón – the ALA finally sent its official reply in the form of a letter from the Chair of the ALA International Relations Committee. His letter included a copy of the January 14, 2003 IFC/IRC joint task force report on Cuba, together with a copy of his letter of the same day to the Cuban Foreign Minister. Instead of a hoped-for statement that would “ask the Cuban authorities to immediately release these detained persons,” the letter to the Foreign Minister concluded, “We thank you very much for your attention and assistance to ensure the health and welfare of these detained individuals.”
Note: The average sentence imposed by library prisoners by the Cuban courts exceeds 18 years of detention.

•    During 2004, the following organizations issued or reiterated calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April 2003 crackdown:

Amnesty International
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR250052004

International Society for Human Rights (Germany) (early 2004)
http://www.ishr.org/activities/countries/cuba/hrcuba2003.htm#5

International Federation for Human Rights, a.k.a. FIDH: La Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article459 (19 January 2004)
http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article754 (18 March 2004)

International PEN (campaign of 6-12 September 2004)
http://penusa.org/go/news/comments/108/

PEN American Center (19 July 2004, 2 December 2004)
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/365
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/136

International Society for Human Rights (Germany) (early 2004)
http://www.ishr.org/activities/countries/cuba/hrcuba2003.htm#5

Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and Freedom House, et al (17 March 2004) http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/03/17/cuba8126_txt.htm
Freedom House, International League for Human Rights, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch (17 March 2004)
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=52
Human Rights First (21 March 2005, 21 February 2008 and 18 March 2008)

Council of the European Union (14 June 2004)
http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/gena/80951.pdf

2005-2006

•    Eastern European library associations are contacted by the Friends of the Cuban Libraries, and urged to pass resolutions in support of the “independent libraries,” and the release of those operating independent libraries that were arrested and imprisoned. Estonia, Poland and the Czech library associations pass resolutions.

Mr. Kent announces on the ALA WORLD discussion list that a resolution on Cuba will be brought forward by some of these associations at the IFLA Conference in Oslo in 2005. Mr. Kent attends the Conference.  No resolution is brought forward to IFLA.

•    Beginning in July 2005, Mr. Kent and his colleagues begin urging the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom to post, on its “Book Burning in the 21st  Century” web site, news of the incineration or otherwise destruction of six entire independent library collections. Among the titles order to be burned are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Roussel biography of Dr. King pictured here, on the grounds that its “content is based on ideas that could be used to promote the social disorder and the civil disobedience”:

 

http://www.ruleoflawandcuba.fsu.edu/documents-matanzas-2e.cfm, the sentencing document for the trial of Felix Navarro Rodriguez and Ivan Hernandez Carrillo of the Juan Gualberto Gómez Library (Branch II, Matanzas), in Matanzas, 4 April 2003.

The ALA OIF Director declined to post news of the book burning because those events have not been reported in “independent third party reports.”  This reply ignored the 30,000 word Amnesty International report of June 2003 that contained more than 70 references to the trial records.  Her reply also overlooked the fact that the research undertaken by the Task Force of IRC and IFC members had included – and presumably accepted as valid – these documents in which the orders to destroy library collections can still be found. http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/web/books-ordered-burned-or-destroyed-by-cuban-courts-april-2003

•    During 2005, the following organizations issued or reiterated calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April 2003 crackdown:

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17659

Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (4 January 2005)
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/102/49/PDF/G0510249.pdf?OpenElement, accessed via http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/CUIndex.aspx by clicking on Report of Christine Chanet, Personal Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Cuba, (E/CN.4/2005/33)

PEN American Center (August 2005)
http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1022

Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, and Freedom House, et al (17 March 2004) http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/03/17/cuba8126_txt.htm
Freedom House, International League for Human Rights, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and Human Rights First (call renewed 31 March 2007 at http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/CubaFourYears/8bd5d7brrt555e8?), and
Human Rights Watch (17 March 2004, reiterated 19 February 2008)
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=52
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/02/19/cuba18102.htm
Human Rights First (21 March 2005)
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/2005_alerts/hrd_0321_cuba.htm

Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Association of Library and Information Professionals of the Czech Republic (2005 January 18)
http://skip.nkp.cz

Inter American Press Association (22 February 2005)
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/64884/

Committee to Protect Journalists (16 March 2005)
http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2005/cuba_crackdown_05/cuba_crackdown_main.html

National Congress of Delegates of the Polish Librarians Association (2005 June 5)
http://ebib.oss.wroc.pl/sbp/interwen10_6.html

President of the Estonian Librarians Association (2005 August 4)
Letter to Robert Kent

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy (2005 October 12)
http://www.liberal-international.org/newsletter.asp?ia_id=1209


•    On January 22, 2006, American Library Association President Michael Gorman called for the release of the library prisoners during a question and answer session following the Midwinter conference Presidential Keynote address by Andrei Codrescu.  Mr. Gorman said, “[T]these people should not be in prison. They should be freed immediately. They should never have been sentenced, sent to prison for the activities connected with any kind of dissemination of information or literature.”
http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/web/anrdei-codrescu-and-michael-gorman-discuss-cubas-library-prisoners-22-january-2006

•    The “AL Direct” online poll of 25 January 2006 asked, “Should ALA Council pass a resolution condemning the Cuban government for its imprisonment of dissident ‘independent librarians’?” In the largest returns (609 in number, with more than 110 comments) of any AL Direct poll, the results were 24% “No” and 76% “Yes.”  http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aldirecta/2006pollresults/2006polls.cfm#jan25

•    In 2006, the Latvia and Lithuania library association pass resolutions, but the Lithuania leaders retract their resolution, sending out a message that they were duped by Mr. Kent into passing the resolution.  Mr. Kent had tried to use the Lithuanian resolution to convince the Hungarian library association to also pass a resolution. 

•    An e-mail poll of candidates for ALA Council, conducted by Steve Marquardt, asking whether they would support an ALA Council resolution calling for release of the library prisoners, obtained a response of 16 candidates saying “Yes” and four “No.”

•    On October 21 the Organization of American States Inter American Commission for Human Rights publishes a comprehensive 39,000-word report, the first recommendation of which calls for the Cuban state to “Order the immediate and unconditional release of the victims in this case, while overturning their convictions inasmuch as they were based on laws that impose unlawful restrictions on their human rights.”  This report makes 78 direct references to the sentencing documents. http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2006eng/CUBA.12476eng.htm

•    During 2006, the following organizations issued or reiterated calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April 2003 crackdown:

Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (20 January 2006)
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/102/49/PDF/G0510249.pdf?OpenElement, accessed via http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/CUIndex.aspx by clicking on Report of Christine Chanet, Personal Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Cuba, (E/CN.4/2005/33)

Library Association of Latvia (2006 February 28)
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla72/Cuba-Resolution2006.pdf

Pax Christi of the Netherlands (members of which have also adopted individual prisoners and have published their own individual appeals in the Netherlands media) (18 March 2006)
http://www.paxchristi.nl/ons_werk_campagnes_campagne_open_de_wereld_voor_cuba_adoptieactie.htm

Association for International Affairs (Czech Republic), People in Need (Czech Republic), and the Pontis Foundation (Slovakia) (26 April 2006).
Accessed May 28, 2007 at http://www.icdcprague.org/index.php?id=32.

People In Need (Czech Republic) (undated)
http://www.clovekvtisni.cz/english/humanitarnipomoc/cuba/international.php.

Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(21 October 2006)
http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2006eng/CUBA.12476eng.htm

2007

•    Responding to yet another request to post news of Cuban court orders to burn six independent library collections, the Director of the ALA OIF wrote on February 6, 2007: “I must once again ask for independent news accounts to verify the facts in your report. Based upon our guidelines, I cannot rely solely upon machine-translated documents provided by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to a website funded by grants from the U.S. government.”

•    In March 2007, ALA Submits FOIA request for information from USAID and the U.S. State Department.

•    An e-mail poll of candidates for ALA Council, conducted by Steve Marquardt, asking whether they would support an ALA Council resolution calling for release of the library prisoners, obtained a response of 17 candidates saying “Yes” and one “No.”

•    Responding to challenges to the veracity of the sentencing documents, Frank Hernández-Trujillo of the Grupo de Apoyo a la Democracia that published them in books form, stated in an e-mail of June 20, 2007 from "cubano1841@aol.com," saying that “Whoever doubts their authenticity is free to contact the political prisoner’s families and perhaps travel to Cuba and look at the originals. We will be happy to provide them with an OFAC license to that effect.”

•    Frank Hernández-Trujillo also testified In a sworn and notarized statement of June 22, 2007 to Steve Marquardt, that he “received copies of the trials against the dissidents from a human rights group in Cuba with the help of a foreign delegation in Havana other than USINT.  The documents were … given to this group by the relatives of the accused.  Accompanying the notarized statement were four photocopies of four original court documents. See the file “Verification of sentencing documents by Frank Hernandez-Trujillo.pdf” at http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/files

•    In a letter of September 26, 2007, FSU CAHR Program Director Mark Schlakman wrote that “the Center received copies of the original sentencing documents though the US Interests Section in Havana My colleagues and I at the Center have every reason to believe that these documents are authentic. … I am not aware of any mainstream reporting or editorial writing that has called the credibility of these documents into question.” See the file “Verification of sentencing documents by Florida State University.pdf” at http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/files

•    Federal grant funding was denied by Mark Schlakman of the FSU CAHR “Rule of Law and Cuba” web site, in his letter of September 26, 2007, copied to the ALA OIF Director: “I can unequivocally represent that the Center did not seek nor did it accept any grant funds from the US government or any other entity external t the University toward these ends … in an effort to insulate the project from such claims of bias and/or complicity. We placed a premium upon project independence and, of course, out own personal and professional integrity. See again the file “Verification of sentencing documents by Florida State University.pdf” at http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/files.

•    During 2007, the following organizations issued or reiterated calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April 2003 crackdown:

Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (26 January 2007)
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G07/105/23/PDF/G0710523.pdf?OpenElement, accessed via http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/CUIndex.aspx by clicking on
Report of the Personal Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Cuba, Ms. Christine Chanet (A/HRC/4/12)

Human Rights First (31 March 2007) http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/CubaFourYears/8bd5d7brrt555e8?), and

Council of the European Union (17 June 2007)
http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_7117_en.htm

Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights  (2007 Annual Report)
http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2007eng/Chap.4b.htm

English PEN (2 May 2007)
http://www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/cubaoscarsnchezmadansentencedtofouryearsfourthcubanjournalisttobejailedaspre-criminaldangertosocietyinthelastsixmonths/

Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, being “Representatives of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Commonwealth Press Union, International Association of Broadcasting, International Press Institute, North American Broadcasters Association, World Association of Newspapers, World Press Freedom Committee and Inter American Press Association” (3 December 2007)
http://www.sipiapa.org/pressreleases/chronologicaldetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=2036

2008

•    A table talk on the “independent library movement” is held at the Public Library Association national conference in Minneapolis, organized by ALA Honorary Member Sanford (Sandy Berman) and ALA member Steve Marquardt, who is also the Amnesty International USA Legislative Coordinator for Minnesota.  Ramón Colás attends, along with his wife Berta Mexidor. They tell their story and answer questions.  American Libraries editor Leonard Kniffel is present for the entire session and takes photographs, but in its report of PLA conference highlights AL makes no mention of this first-ever appearance of the independent library movement pioneers. The editor-commissioned article, “ALA’s Stand on Cuba’s Independent Libraries,” by Peter McDonald, in the June/July American Libraries, similarly makes no mention of this event or the founders’ point of view.  Notes of this event are available at http://groups.google.com/group/Cuba451Letters/web/pla-conference-presentation-by-independent-library-founders.

•    An e-mail poll of candidates for ALA Council, conducted by Steve Marquardt, asking whether they would support an ALA Council resolution calling for release of the library prisoners, obtained a response of 27 candidates saying “Yes” and none (zero) voting “No.”

•    Book burning in Cuba is reported in the May 200 issue of Harper’s Magazine (The Battle of Ideas: Searching for the opposition in post-Fidel Cuba”,” by Patrick Symmes, pages 50-62).  A copy is sent to the ALA OIF in hopes of the “Book Burning in the 21st Century” web site posting this news at last.

•    To date in 2008, the following organizations issued or reiterated calls for the release of the library prisoners and others sentenced in the March/April 2003 crackdown:

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17659
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17660
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/cuba-58-prisoners-conscience-must-be-released-20080218
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/new-cuban-leadership-can-improve-human-rights-20080219
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGUSA20080317005

International PEN (21 February 2008, 13 March 2008)
http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/internationalpen/index.cfm?objectid=F600B811-E0C4-ED84-0F6E1C23DB228FDC

Human Rights First (21 February 2008 and 18 March 2008)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-jordan/a-fresh-start-for-human-r_b_87897.html
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/hrd/2008/alert/436/index.htm

Human Rights Watch (17 March 2004, reiterated 19 February 2008)
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/02/19/cuba18102.htm

Lech Walesa and Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's leading liberal daily (21 January 2008)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ifSlpKIq6TraoOU_RqYnrXay5QHw

Reporters Without Borders (18 February 2008)
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25781

International Committee for Democracy in Cuba, including former presidents or prime ministers of Albania, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Canada (16 March 2008)
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/vclav_havel/2008/03/europe_needs_solidarity_over_c.html

Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations (18 June 2008), representing:
Committee to Protect Journalists, Inter American Press Association, International Association of Broadcasting, International Press Institute, World Association of Newspapers, and World Press Freedom Committee
http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/statements_detail.html?ctxid=CH0055&docid=CMS1213871920113

European Union External Relations Commissioner (20 June 2008)
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2008/06/200861923359562111.html


2. U.S. Government Support of the “Independent Library” Movement in Cuba

ALA FOIA Request

To find out the extent of U.S. government support for the “independent library” movement in Cuba, the International Relations Office, with the assistance of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, submitted Freedom of Information Requests (FOIA’s) to USAID and the State Department in March 2007.

The request was spurred by a report from the Government Accountability Office November 2006 Report (GAO-07-147) entitled “Foreign Assistance: U.S. Democracy Assistance for Cuba Needs Better Management and Oversight.” 

The report raises concerns about the lack of control of oversight on the spending of 74 millions of dollars (1996 to 2005) from various organizations that received money in mainly non competitive grants from USAID and the State Department for “U.S. Democracy Assistance for Cuba.”

The report notes (on page 23) that of the 12 organizations audited, 8 received funds in 2005 to support the “independent libraries” in Cuba.  The names and details on the organizations are not listed in the report. 

ALA’s FOIA request is to get the names of these organizations and information on their activities, as well as information on other organizations back to 1997 that might have been supporting the “independent libraries.”

ALA has yet to receive any documents so far.  Recent correspondence with USAID suggests some documentation has been gathered. USAID FOIA staff is currently reviewing them.  One grantee, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is being notified to address how to release some confidential information.  No timeline has been given for when ALA may receive anything.

In footnote 40 in response to GAO staff noting that USAID and grantees did not prepare trip reports or summaries of their meetings:

•  40 The USAID program director said that the program office and grantees were concerned about creating records that might be released under the Freedom of Information Act, because the release of such information could damage program activities and/or result in the harassment or imprisonment of aid recipients in Cuba. However, in technical comments on this report, USAID officials said that concerns related to protecting sensitive information have been addressed through the application of Freedom of Information Act exemptions and, thus, in the future, will not present an obstacle to recordkeeping. 

A May 29, 2008 article in Granma, entitled “Mercenary NGOs meet in Washington
USAID reveals its plans for subversion in Cuba,” alleges that at a recent meeting of USAID officials and grantees, USAID staff stated that should applications for the declassification of documents be made via a FOIA, USAID would only issue a “general summary” and would keep secret details of each NGO’s program, given that these concern “secret materials.”
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2008/mayo/juev29/USAID.html

Note: Granma is official news agency of the Cuban government, a biased source, but information is included as it supposedly pertains to FOIA requests.

Note: Cuba is one of 73 countries in which USAID operates or supports programs, as of March 2008. http://www.usaid.gov/locations/
By 2007, USAID Cuba program grants and cooperative agreements to more than 35 U.S. universities and non-governmental organizations had resulted in:

•    More than 300,000 pounds of food and medicine provided to the families of political prisoners and to other victims of repression inside Cuba.
•    More than 4 million newsletters sent to Cuban households and more than 700,000 sent to e- mail addresses on the island.
•    More than 26,000 short-wave radios, with rechargeable batteries and re-chargers provided to the Cuban people.
•    More than 100,000 books, videos, and DVDs have been provided to Cuba’s independent libraries and to other independent organizations on the island.
•    More than 20,000 reports from Cuba’s independent journalists distributed worldwide via the internet.  Correspondence training provided to more than 100 independent journalists in Cuba.
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin_america_caribbean/country/cuba/index.html

What Is Known So Far About U.S. Government Support?

Even without receipt of any material from the FOIA requests, some information is known regarding U.S. Government support for “Democracy Assistance in Cuba” and support for the “independent library movement.”

Freedom House and Robert Kent
 http://freedomhouse.org 

•    Freedom House, in 1995, is one of the first grantees to receive funds from USAID for “Democracy Assistance in Cuba” http://www.monthlyreview.org/mrzine/barahona030107.html

“Mr. [Robert] Kent acknowledged that some of his 10 trips to Cuba were paid for by Freedom House, a human rights group, and the Center for a Free Cuba, an anti-Castro organization, which had received grants from the United States Agency for International Development. And the co-founder of the Friends group, Jorge Sanguinetty, is a Cuban exile and economic consultant whose main client is the aid agency.” (“A Library in Cuba: What Is It?” by Felicia Lee, New York Times, June 28, 2003)

Sabre Foundation
http://www.sabre.org/

•    Sabre Foundation, which received funding from USAID and the United States Information Service (USIS) [now part of the State Dept.] reported in their 1998 990 Form (p. 25) $12,980 in inventory (books) to “individual recipients through USIS/Cuba.”

Note: Sabre Foundation provides books around the world that are donated from publishers and other sources. Inventory costs listed in their reports are the suggested retail cost of materials.

On 1999 990 Form $2,713 in inventory (books) provided to Center for a Free Cuba, which is headed by Frank Calzon, former head of the Freedom House Cuba Program.

On 2000 990 Form reports providing $75,219 in books, and $704.47 in cash and purchases to individual recipients in Cuba. 
      
    On 2001 990 Form reports $9,464 in books for individual recipients in
      Cuba, and $58,536 in books to the Center for a Free Cuba.

      On 2002 990 Form reports $138,397 in books to individual recipients in
      Cuba, and $3,455 in cash.

     From www.guidestar.org (premium service)

Commission for a Free Cuba: Report to the President
http://state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/

•    In 2004, the 458 page “Commission for a Free Cuba: Report to the President” Chair, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and the rest of the Commission budgets
      2 million dollars for:

Programs to re-stock, strengthen and expand the Cuban independent library network and to promote their solidarity with national library associations in Europe and Latin America.
      http://www.cafc.gov/cafc/rpt/2004/c18166.htm

Pan American Development Foundation
www.padf.org

•    The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) receives $45,000 in 2004 from the National Endowment for Democracy (U.S. Govt. Funds) 

“To work with and promote independent libraries inside Cuba.  PADF will provide direct assistance to independent libraries in Cuba and promote international awareness of the library movement.  Independent library representatives will travel to Latin America and Spain to meet with librarians, universities, think tanks and other organizations to enlist their support for individual libraries and the libraries movement.”
          
            From “Literacy, Censorship and Intellectual Freedom: The Independent Library
               Movement in Contemporary Cuba by Kelsey Vidaillet, Latin American and Caribbean
               Studies, Masters Student, at Florida International University, p40.

In April 2005, U.S. Embassy personnel set up a meeting for Ramon Colas with Uruguay Library Association (ULA) members in advance of the IFLA Conference in Buenos Aires later that summer. ULA members reported Mr. Colas asked for their support for the “independent libraries” movement, which they did not give.
Link to U.S. Embassy of Uruguay Ramon Colas’ visit
http://uruguay.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/362-00EN.shtml

The People in Need Foundation
www.pinf.cz

•    The People in Need Foundation (PINF), a Czech non-profit, received $65,000 in
      2004 from the National Endowment for Democracy (U.S. Govt Funds)
      http://www.ned.org/

“to work with various independent groups in Cuba to develop their capacity to    produce and distribute samizdat. PINF will also help organize the first meeting of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba [ICDC] to be held in Prague.”

From “Literacy, Censorship and Intellectual Freedom: The Independent Library Movement in Contemporary Cuba by Kelsey Vidaillet, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Masters Student, at Florida International University, p. 40

The only U.S. member of the ICDC is Madeline Albright, who criticized ALA’s position on “independent libraries” in Cuba at ALA Annual 2006

PINF Annual Reports from 2000 (earliest available) show funds received from National Endowment for Democracy, Center for a Free Cuba, and Freedom House for activities in Cuba.  Annual reports acknowledge PINF Cuba program began in 1997.
 
Ramon Colas attends the 2004 Summit in Prague and the May 2007 International Committee for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC) Conference in Prague/Berlin.

NOTE: In addition to Cuba, other nations addressed by program grants from the US National Endowment for Democracy (for 2006) include the following:
Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Somaliland, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, China (Hong Kong), China (Tibet), China (Xinjiang), Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, West Bank/Gaza Strip, and Yemen.

Biblioteca Independientes de Cuba
http://www.bibliocuba.org/espanol/
 
•    Biblioteca Independientes de Cuba”s  2005 990 Form reports that it received
      $81,821 (98% of its income) from a U.S. federal government grant

Biblioteca Independientes de Cuba”s  2006-990 Form reports that it received $129,945 (98% of its income) from a non-profit grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (U.S. Govt. Funds)

Mississippi Consortium for International Development and Jackson State Univ.
www.mcid.us and http://international.jsums.edu/

•    The USAID Cuba site lists a number of initiatives for Freedom House and the Center for a Free Cuba, along with many other grantees
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin_america_caribbean/country/cuba/overviewupdate.html

Two funded projects listed are:

1)    Mississippi Consortium for International Development (MCID) for an “Center for Study of Afro-Cuban issues”

2)    Jackson State University-”Helps develop Cuba”s independent libraries”

•    The MCID site makes no mention on its website of the Center for Study of Afro-Cuban Issues, but MCID’s 2006 990 Form lists Ramon Colas receiving a salary of $80,000 (the largest salary of any staff member) as a Program Manager for 60 hours a week of work. www.guidestar.org

•    Jackson State University is one of 4 institutional partners of MCID.  Under the Division of International Studies, Berta Mexidor is listed as Director of Independent Libraries of Cuba http://international.jsums.edu/

•    Job postings on the Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba website lists posting from May 1, 2007 for two part-time positions from MCID- For an Independent Libraries Assistance and Support Coordinator and an Independent Humanitarian Aid Program Coordinator (with expertise in activities of Independent Librarians).  Both positions are for Miami, not Jackson, Mississippi.
            http://www.bibliocuba.org/english


New Funding For Cuba- 20 Million

After the GAO report on unsolicited bids for grants in the past, USAID now has an open call for proposals:

•    USAID grant GRO-LMA-0002-APS, with a deadline of Dec 31, 2008 is for $20 million dollars for:

The purpose of this APS is to support programs that expand the reach and impact of independent civil society in Cuba, and thereby hasten a peaceful transition to democracy. Successful Applicants will provide assistance to Cuban individuals or independent Cuban NGOs. In full compliance with U.S. Government policies, Applicants will undertake activities to: (1) Break the information blockade by increasing access to, and the flow of, accurate information on democracy, human rights, and free enterprise to, from, and within Cuba, including through independent uncensored access to the Internet particularly with the provision of innovative technology capable of by-passing Cuban Government restrictions. (2) Support advocacy efforts in Cuba that educate, train, provide equipment, and promote adoption of democratic rule of law, free market principles and internationally recognized human rights standards. Advocacy efforts shall promote human rights principles in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.(3) Aid the development of Cuban independent, nongovernmental groups and entities engaged in political competition and consensus-building activities that support democratic and representative processes. (4)Assist the Cuban people to develop peaceful, strong, and independent nongovernmental civil society organizations, professional associations, democratic political parties and other groups through capacity building, equipment assistance (including its use), and technical training. (5) Develop and maintain a dialogue with Cuban human rights activists and other independent groups in Cuba, with special focus on Afro-Cuban and other marginalized communities, on specific issues that must be addressed by a future democratic transition in Cuba. (6) Promote development of a free labor movement and small, independent enterprises.
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=LYcQ23gg7lDZFJWpXxY1hkjtjdB1QKPnby9BypYJb2HH6yDYzDyW!-537581091?oppId=40548&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW

Follow the Money

Very little of all this money reaches the ground in Cuba.  Indeed, in a March 2008 report by the Cuban American National Foundation, Assistant USAID Administrator Larry Byrne is severely criticized for his 1996 administrative “decision to ban sending cash aid,” a decision that still stands as U.S. practice. The CANF reports expresses frustration that “Perhaps the policy that has most severely crippled the programs [sic] effectiveness is a ban on providing cash assistance to dissidents or subgranting even small amounts of money to independent civil society organizations within Cuba.”  http://canf2.org/artman/uploads/1/CANF_USAID_Funding_Report_3-08.pdf; see pages 7 and 10.

Consequently, here are the slender sums found in the possession of those now imprisoned, as drawn from the court sentencing document records of their summary trials – documentation accepted by the IFC/IRC Task Force, Amnesty International and the OAS:

Ariel and Guido Sigler Amaya:    Received $500 in 2001, $2400 in 2002 and $200 in 2003, from antirevolutionary Angel D’Fana.

Blas Giraldo Reyes Rodriguez:    No dollar amount stated, but accused of receiving “dollars and other goods.”

Carmelo Augustin Diaz Fernandez    No funds mentioned.

Felix Navarro Rodriguez and    “… through supposed friends and family
Ivan Hernandez Carrillo:    members … receiving … $3352 between November 2001 and March [2003].”

Fidel Suarez Cruz:    No funds mentioned.
Hector Palacios Ruiz:    Wrote articles “in exchange for $15 to $100 ... magazines, newspapers and web pages … paid him between $15 and $25.”

José Luis Garcia Paneque    receipt of a bank transfer in the branch office 6411, Las Tunas in the amount of $300.

José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernandez:     $2,000 in his possession.

Julio Antonio Valdes Guevara:    No funds mentioned.

Leonel de Peralta Almenares:    No funds mentioned.

Luis Milan Fernandez:    No funds mentioned.

Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos:    $1,300 in his possession.

Ricardo Severino Gonzalez Alfonso:     No funds mentioned.

Raul Ramon Rivero Castañeda:    No dollar amount stated, but accused of receiving “payment for his harmful writings.”

Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona:    Deposited $315.03 (USD) in a Cuban bank. Received 2001 through 2003 a total of $2070.10.

These sums are no greater than the typical remittance amounts sent into the island from the hundred of thousands of Cuban émigrés in the USA.

Note: “Remittances are an important part of Cuba's wealth; between one-third and two-thirds of the island's 11m inhabitants are believed to receive money from abroad.”  -- from “Cuba: Spellbound,” The Economist, 6 January 2007 (vol. 382, no. 8510), page 32.

Note: “According to The Economist Intelligence Unit, an estimated $812 million were sent to Cuba in the form of workers' remittances in 2006 alone.” -- “Cubans risk raids to get satellite TV. Police in Havana to close these illegal windows on the world,” by Eloise Quintanilla, Christian Science Monitor, July 12, 2007. [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0712/p01s04-woam.html]

# # # # # # #

I thank you for considering the additional information provided here, and hope that it will inform your decision about calling for the release of these prisoners and any possible return of materials confiscated from their collections, in accordance with ALA policies 53.1.12, 53.4, 53.7, 58.1.1, 58.1.2, 58.1.4, 58.3, 58.4, and 58.4.1.   http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/aboutala/governanceresources/policymanual/intellectual.cfm