Spring Break
Cuban government remains firm in blocking free speech
Internet bloggers feeling crackdown
Ray Sanchez, MCT
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Perspectives
Yoani Sanchez, one of Cuba's most popular bloggers, said Cuban authorities have blocked access from the island to her Web page about everyday life in Cuba.
"So the anonymous censors of our famished cyberspace have tried to shut me in a room, turn off the light and not let my friends in," Sanchez wrote in her "Generacion Y" blog Monday.
Sanchez, 32, said Cubans trying to access her Web page (www.desdecuba.com/generaciony) are either denied entry with an "error downloading" message or must wait as long as half an hour for it to open. The restriction also applies to other blogs on the Web page of desdecuba.com, an online magazine, as well as several other sites.
"We're surprised it didn't happen sooner," said Sanchez's husband, Reynaldo Escobar, an independent journalist. "It's interesting that at a time when people are waiting for the government to lift restrictions, they would apply more restrictions."
Sanchez said the aim of an Internet filter placed by censors on her page is to block readership in Cuba, where people have limited access to the Internet.
"I think this action is directed at a phenomenon that was getting out of their hands," she said of government censors. "I don't think they're coming after me personally. I think they're moving against a phenomenon of which I am a part."
Philip Peters, a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute, a think tank outside Washington, said the openness of Cuba's new government will be demonstrated by the fate of Sanchez's blog.
"It seems to me that her opportunity and her risk are both tied to the fact that she is in unregulated territory," he said. "Her blog is probably neither legal nor illegal, but it's certainly critical, and its fate will tell a lot about the degree of criticism the Cuban government is willing to allow, and whether it will allow criticism to flourish outside of approved media."
Sanchez, a philology graduate who includes her full name and photo on the site, has become one of Cuba's most popular bloggers, chronicling daily life on the Communist island. She has criticized Raul Castro, who formally took over from his ailing brother Fidel last month, for failing to improve living standards.
"So the anonymous censors of our famished cyberspace have tried to shut me in a room, turn off the light and not let my friends in," Sanchez wrote in her "Generacion Y" blog Monday.
Sanchez, 32, said Cubans trying to access her Web page (www.desdecuba.com/generaciony) are either denied entry with an "error downloading" message or must wait as long as half an hour for it to open. The restriction also applies to other blogs on the Web page of desdecuba.com, an online magazine, as well as several other sites.
"We're surprised it didn't happen sooner," said Sanchez's husband, Reynaldo Escobar, an independent journalist. "It's interesting that at a time when people are waiting for the government to lift restrictions, they would apply more restrictions."
Sanchez said the aim of an Internet filter placed by censors on her page is to block readership in Cuba, where people have limited access to the Internet.
"I think this action is directed at a phenomenon that was getting out of their hands," she said of government censors. "I don't think they're coming after me personally. I think they're moving against a phenomenon of which I am a part."
Philip Peters, a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute, a think tank outside Washington, said the openness of Cuba's new government will be demonstrated by the fate of Sanchez's blog.
"It seems to me that her opportunity and her risk are both tied to the fact that she is in unregulated territory," he said. "Her blog is probably neither legal nor illegal, but it's certainly critical, and its fate will tell a lot about the degree of criticism the Cuban government is willing to allow, and whether it will allow criticism to flourish outside of approved media."
Sanchez, a philology graduate who includes her full name and photo on the site, has become one of Cuba's most popular bloggers, chronicling daily life on the Communist island. She has criticized Raul Castro, who formally took over from his ailing brother Fidel last month, for failing to improve living standards.
Article last update: 4/1/08 at 7:31 PM CST
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