Cuban Government Faces Off Against Bloggers
A debate over social policy in Cuba is shaping up on the blogosphere.
Cuban bloggers have been outspoken in their opposition to the government. But the government says the US and other governments are supporting the commentators in hopes of overturning Cuban policy.
"Their entries are full of worn-out political theories that the US State Department used for years in order to include Cuba on all the black lists," according to the official Cuban portal Cubadebate.cu. Former president Fidel Castro published his column to the Web site.
According to AFP, the Cuban government says it reserves the right to ban access to Web sites that “encourage subversion.”
The government has put together a Web site to refute claims of opposition bloggers. A recent post showed internationally-renowned blogger Yoani Sanchez in a photo in a luxurious hotel. The photo was presented next to text saying "the unhappy girl who sells herself as a victim of ruthless persecution."
"I didn’t say I was in hiding. I prefer to save money to go online and recount the reality that isn’t reflected in the Cuban press, which repeats the official discourse," Sanchez told AFP.
Since Cuba has banned Internet accounts, citizens are limited to using email services in state cybercafés, but are not allowed to access the Web.
Bloggers work hard to submit their posts. They compose the messages offline and save them to memory cards before updating their blogs either at hotels or by emailing friends who post the update to the page.
But the option to submit materials from hotels is also wearing thin. The Spanish Melia hotel chain was once friendly to bloggers, but has now banned Internet services to Cuban visitors.
Sanchez posted a video captured from a hidden camera in which a Melia Cohiba hotel employee informed her that the new policy change was the result of an order from the Tourism Ministry.
"They want to push us into illegality, to ‘underground’ accounts. They accuse us buying domains outside of Cuba, but us Cubans cannot buy a ‘.cu’ domain. What do they want, silence?" said Sanchez.
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