The Cuban Independent Librarians Affair

I stand against any library or any librarian anywhere in the world being imprisoned or punished in any way for the books they circulate. I plead with Castro and his government to immediately take their hands off the independent librarians and release all those librarians in prison and send them back into Cuban culture to inform the people. --Ray Bradbury, 28 June 2005

2003, February 28: Cuban crackdown on reading materials

By John Steinbeck, Spencer Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., et al. A shipment of American books intended for independent libraries and dissident groups was intercepted and seized by the government of Cuba; claiming the reason for the seizure was not the content of the books, but the intended recipients. The government claims such groups rely on American contacts to help support their opposition of Castro's policies. This shipment was apparently sent by the U.S. State Department. The intercepted works include:

• The Grapes of Wrath,
• Who Moved My Cheese,
• speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
• journalism textbooks.

Pat Schroeder, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, is quoted as having said, "Books represent a serious threat to all authoritarian regimes, otherwise they wouldn't go to such lengths to suppress publication and intimidate authors and publishers. Cuban officials frequently point with pride to claims that illiteracy has been virtually wiped out in Cuba. What they still doesn't get is that teaching people to read is meaningless unless they are given the freedom to read what they want."

2003, April 05: Cuban independent librarian jailed

Julio Antonio Valdés was one of at least fourteen volunteer librarians who have been sentenced to long prison terms for taking part in Cuba's innovative free library movement. He was convicted of committing "crimes against the national sovereignty and economy of Cuba." One of the charges made against him was the founding of a "self-proclaimed Independent Library" to "ideologically subvert the reader with the clear purpose, by means of inducing confusion, to recruit persons for the counter-revolution..." Among the "subversive" books in his library were:

• reports by Human Rights Watch,
• issues of TIME magazine,
• pamphlets on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• Catholic periodicals, and
• a book by Aung San Suu Kyi.

After sentencing Mr. Valdés to twenty years in prison, the presiding judges in his trial ordered that the books from his library be burned on the grounds they were "lacking in usefulness."

2003, June 05: ALA's independent Cuban library policy excoriated

By Nat Hentoff. A civil liberties advocate, Mr. Hentoff rebuked the American Libraries Association for its failure to speak out against the suppression of independant libraries in cuban, and against the incarceration of ten librarians on sentences averaging 19.6 years apiece; the longest sentence being 26 years. Mr. Hentoff is a columnist for the Village Voice and author of several books, as well as a winner of the ALA's Immroth Memorial Award for Intellectual Freedom. In his condemnation of the ALA's silence he wrote:

It would be astonishing - and shameful, if the American Library Association does not support - and gather support for - the courageous independent librarians of Cuba, some of whom have been imprisoned by Castro for very long terms for advocating the very principles of the freedom to read and think that the American Library Association has so long fought for in this country. This would make the principles of the American Library Association a bad joke.

In a crackdown on human rights in March 2003, 75 independent journalists, poets, and human rights activists were jailed, including the 10 librarians, and a number of libraries were raided in which thousands of volumes were confiscated. Along with the lending records in which patrons were identified. Amnesty Internation has declared all of the detainees to be prisoners of conscience.

Robert Kent, co-founder of Friends of Cuban Libraries, commented on the ALA's long term inaction.

After years of silence, double-talk and cover-ups by the ALA, the current vicious attack gives the ALA no excuse for failing to take action. The heel of the Cuban government's boot has been stamped on innocent people whose only alleged crime is to have defended intellectual freedom, which is supposed to be the ALA's most cherished principle.

For four years various ALA Councilors and committees have refused to acknowledge the validity of Cuba's innovative movement to create uncensored libraries, but instead have called their directors agents of the US government or non-librarians because they do not have university degrees, even though the ALA's own policy manual recognizes the legitimacy of all libraries.

Now that the International Federation of Library Associations and other major human rights groups have condemned President Castro for this latest outrage, why are certain leaders of the ALA still trying to ignore or stifle free debate on this issue?

To further worsen the situation, the ALA has invited Eliades Acosta, The head of Cuba's state-controlled library association, to the upcoming annual ALA convention in Toronto, Ontario, where Mr. Acosta is scheduled to take part in a panel discussion on Cuban libraries. Mr. Acosta challenged Mr. Kent to a debate on the topic, but the ALA has reportedly refused to permit any critics of the Cuban government to speak.

It was reported that Acosta has called independant Cuban librarians, "traitors", "criminals", and "mercenaries", and in the past several ALA Councilors and other members have condemned Cuba's independent librarians as "fakes" and a "CIA front group".

2003, June 17: Waffling on free speech

By the American Library Association. The 2003 Annual ALA conference was scheduled for 21 Jun in Toronto. On the agenda was time for Cuban officials to justify their oppression of independent libraries and suppression of freedom of information. The ALA had ruled that dissenters would not be allowed to rebut the communista apologia, which raised a very big stink. On 15 Jun, Mitch Freeman, president of the ALA, responded to criticisms of the policy by scheduling time in a separate event, citing time constraints that wouldn't allow the critics to debate the Cuban officials in a panel disscussion. On this day Mr. Freeman abruptly announced he was cancelling this event. His stated reason was that he couldn't get one of the people he wanted because that person would not be attending the conference.

2004, January 14: Cop out stance on Cuban librarians

By American Library Association. In what appears to have been a pure political-publicity move, the ALA governing council voted to adopt a report from two of its committees on the issue of the Cuban crackdown on independent librarians. The four-page report said the association expresses its "deep concern" over the arrest and jailing of the librarians and urges the Cuban government to "respect, defend and promote" basic human rights. It also called on the U.S. government to lift travel restrictions to the island. However, when association member Karen Schneider tried to amend the report to include a call for the immediate release of the librarians, the amendment was rejected. The council then voted to adopt the unamended report. The source article described the votes on both motions as overwhelming, although an exact vote count was unclear because the 182-member council voted by a show of raised hands. Council members who opposed the amendment said the report was a good consensus, and also said that calling for further action would drag the association into a foreign-policy matter. Robert Kent, a New York librarian and leading critic of the association's stance on the issue, reportedly said in a phone interview that the report was a modest advance but didn't go far enough, and is quoted, "I think the vote declining to take any meaningful action with regards to Cuba's imprisonment of independent librarians marks a very sad day in the history of the ALA."

[Given the contention and fractiousness raised over this issue, I have no doubt that the ALA is merely trying to deflect criticism of its moral turpitude. My call on this one is: they're a bunch of fucking sell outs. --MN]

2004, January 31: Latest broadside in the Cuban Indy Librarians Affair

By Judith Krug. On this day, WorldNetDaily published an article about a letter Judith Krug wrote to Nat Hentoff about Mr. Hentoff having written in his column for Thursday, 29 Jan, "I now publicly renounce the Immroth Award and demand that the American Library Association remove me from the list of recipients of that honor." The citation on the award, from Jun 1983, reads: "For courageous and articulate advocacy of the First Amendment as an author, speaker, and activist for human rights." Mr. Hentoff is said to have written in his column, "To me, it is no longer an honor." Ms. Krug wrote that she was saddened.

[Personally, I applaud Mr. Hentoff's high ethical standards and refusal to compromise on his profound interest in and respect for civil liberties and human rights. Now, that's how you make a stand! Read that article, by the way. Some of the members reportedly did not vote in favour of an amendment to the ALA policy toward Cuban indy librarians due to concern over possible repercussions. --MN]

2005, August 14: International Federation of Library Associations conference

By librarians from around the world. In the days leading up to the 2005 conference, a controversy was developing over Eastern European demands for a resolution condemning the reported persecution of librarians in Cuba. Some Eastern European delegates to conference, concerned by what they regard as IFLA's inaction on Cuba, called for the association to pass a resolution condemning repression in Cuba. The dissension was expressed in an 04 Aug statement by the Estonian Library Association which declared: "Estonian librarians join other Eastern European librarians in support of the independent library movement in Cuba and . . . protest against the persecution and repression of independent librarians by the anti-democratic regime."

2005, October 12: Castro's Library Pass (Part I - IV)

By Walter Skold. An excoriating look at the actions of the American Library Association resulting in its non-opposition to Cuban censorship and Castro's crackdown on independent librarians. Part I was published on this day, with the others following in quick succession.

• Castro's Library Pass Part I: this is also, obliquely, an examination of the silly heights which censorship can attain;

• Castro's Library Pass Part II: in which Mr. Skold thoroughly deconstructs and debunks the rationales, excuses, obfuscations, and utter falsehoods of the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom, including blowing the whistle on outright misrepresentations of censorship by that body;

• Castro's Library Pass Part III: an examination of the interplay between opposition to Cuban censorship and the complacent turning of a blind eye to it;

• Castro's Library Pass Part IV: a look at the internal politics that led to this situation.

[Part I, at least, is a tad long on rhetoric and scorn, but also full of information. --MN]

2006, April 17: Report on upsurge in opposition to Cuban librarian oppression

By Robert Kent. A co-founder of Friends of Cuban Libraries, Mr. Kent issued a newsletter on this day about the ongoing movement to oppose ALA silence concerning the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of independent librarians. He reported, principly, on a sudden upsurge in opposition on the international scene. See my commentary on this issue.

2006, June 07: An appeal regarding Cuban indy librarians

By American Library Association members. The appeal was made to ALA foreign policy officials on this day. It reads in part:

Gentlemen and Colleagues:

We the undersigned Council members, ALA members and working librarians request that the ALA delegates at the upcoming 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council on 20-24 August 2006, in Seoul, Korea, be directed to support and vote in favor of two official resolutions submitted by the Lithuanian and Latvian Library Associations, which address the topics of human rights, the freedom to read, Cuba's independent library movement, and US border actions. [...]

We urge that ALA delegates to the IFLA conference be directed to vote for these resolutions, or for a resolution that may combine the two.

The full text of the appeal can be read at the FREADOM web site.

2006, July 02: A press release about Castro-ite reactionism to Madeleine Albright's pro-freedom speech

By The Friends of Cuban Libraries. In an e-mail issued on this day, Robert Kent wrote about reactions to the keynote speech delivered by Ms. Albright on 24 Jun, at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans. She is a former U.S. ambassaodor to the United Nations, and was Secretary of State to President Bill Clinton. In her speech she called on libraries to be "laboratories for freedom" and also defended the right of Cubans to loan books and to open libraries free from government control. The 30 Jun issue of the weekly magazine Librinsula, carried an article by Cuban National Library director Eliades Acosta in reply to this speech. The diatribe appears to have been long on empty rhetoric and vanishingly short on information. It was reported that Senor Acosta said:

• the speech was intended to: "convince American librarians, traditionally friendly toward their Cuban colleagues, that they should 'convert their institutions into laboratories for freedom.'";

• he then dismissed Ms. Albright's criticism of the Bush administration as: "a hypocritical fig leaf designed by Versace";

• then said she: "launched directly toward her objective: a call to support the misnamed 'independent libraries', a delicious euphemism with which the CIA has denominated this particular version, in the Imperial style, of the battle of ideas [to overthrow the Castro government].";

• accused her of acting from commercial motives: "Waving her pedigree as an anti-Communist Czech emigre, Ms. Albright concluded her performance by making astute propaganda for her latest book [on religion and politics] before an audience which has, among its other functions, precisely the task of acquiring books. . . . ";

• ridiculed her as if the way she carried herself or had her hair done was pertinent to her remarks: "I leave it to the readers' sagacity to imagine the manner in which this pious personage concluded her speech, elevating her eyes toward heaven, as if her well-coifed head, the pride of Washington hair stylists, were surrounded by the divine splendor of a halo, exactly as appears in the paintings of El Greco.";

• and finished off by showing his own abject ignorance about democratic politics: "Ms. Albright failed to achieve her objective to poison relations between Cuban and American librarians, despite having employed all of her histrionic skills in the New Orleans theater. There was no change whatsoever made in the traditional position of the ALA toward Cuba."

Number One: Of course there was no change in the ALA's stance, because there had been no vote on that stance at the New Orleans conference.

Number Two: Unlike in Cuba where Acosta can speak for all librarians leashed by the state, the ALA cannot speak for anyone, and not all American librarians support the stance of the ALA. The fact of the controversy is a demonstration of the democratic process in action. Moreover, much of the support for Cuban librarians was for the independent librarians. It is primarily the ALA that is supporting the government in its oppression, and that is not a governing body, it is an umbrella organization. It can decide policies for its members to follow, but it has no wherewithal to keep any member institution in line.

The greatest grotesquery in this matter, however, was pepetrated by an ALA official. Councilor Mark Rosenzweig, following the keynote speech, demanded that the ALA screen potential speakers to eliminate critics of the association's Cuba policy. That this blatantly unAmerican violation of free speech principles should come from an association whose charter demands the open and free flow of information and viewpoints is distincly paradoxical, although it is somewhat understandable given that this is the second embarrassment in a row for the freedom-of-information violators.

[See my commentary from a previous episode of this ongoing matter. The one involving the first embarrassment for the ALA. --MN]

2006, July 14: Report about an opening of a new Cuban independent library

By Alejandro Cabrera Cruz, et al. It was reported at Cuban Democratic Directorate that the independent library named "El Apóstol" (The Apostle), opened on 04 Jul; specifically in conjunction with the U.S. Independence Day. What is very special about this library is that it offers home delivery. Senor Cruz reportedly commented: "In homage to the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, we founded our library with a delivery service, created to put censured [sic] books and pamphlets in the hands of citizens, through a catalogue that is given to interested people to choose literature of their preference. This way, people who don’t come to our library for fear of repression, can access our services rapidly and securely, because we take the books to their homes."

Reinaldo Cosano Alén, an independent journalist from the Luz Info Press Agency reporting to Cubanet, further commented: "[they] have proven the success of this innovation of book loans delivered to homes by the high demand of books, and by the surprise shown by readers when they first learn about the realities and citizens' rights that the regime conceals."

2006, October 10: Further repression of Cuban lenders of books

By a Rapid Response Brigade. The Rapid Response Brigades of Cuba are government-organized mobs which are assigned the task of harassing and sometimes assaulting dissidents. On this day, the Assembly to Promote a Civil Society, a dissident organization in Cuba, began a series of meetings at independent libraries affiliated with the group. When the ten persons assembled at Noelia Pedraza Jiménez's house tried to leave at the end of the meeting, they were attacked by a mob. Accompanied by some of their attackers, Orestes and Nancy Suárez were forced into a taxi and driven to their home in Ranchuelo. During the taxi ride they were again assaulted, being inflicted with cuts and bruises. Senor Suárez also suffered three fractured ribs. Upon arrival at their residence, the assailants refused to allow the couple to leave the house or to receive medical attention. The included image is of the couple one week after the attack:

This campaign against the APSC-sponsored meetings marks the first major offensive against Cuba's independent library movement since the crackdown in Mar 2003. The above image was originally posted at BitáCubana, and is mirrored here without permission.

2007, January 05: An update on the ongoing silence in support of book-burning in Cuba

By Steve Marquardt, Ph.D. Dr. Marquardt is formerly the Dean of Libraries and Copyright Officer at South Dakota State University. As of this date, at least, he was also the Amnesty International USA Legislative Coordinator for Minnesota. He has been agitating for greater international awareness of and opposition to the crackdown on indy libraries by the Castro government for some time. His primary opponents are those in the International Federation of Library Associations and in the American Library Association who have not only not spoken out against the suppression by Cuba, but have come to actively support it by attempting to enforce what is effectively a conspiracy of silence, and have, in the bargain, engaged in censorship themselves by refusing to post comments on web journals they control, or by forbidding the subject as a topic of conversation in some listservs. On this day Dr. Marquardt issued an e-mail updating those who are following this movement.

The greatest dispute Dr. Marquardt has with his opponents in the ALA is a concerted refusal to consider the evidence that books were ordered to be burned by the courts. That such court orders were issued is not considered by Don Wood of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom itself. Mr. Wood insists that such claims cannot be verifiable unless they are reported in the American corporate press, such as The New York Times, despite the action having been reported in smaller newspapers, and despite Dr. Marquardt having provided references to the court documents in which the orders were written. Dr. Marquardt further wrote:

Reputable and objective verification does exist in the total of 151 direct references to Cuba's sentencing documents in the comprehensive reports published by Amnesty International (http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250172003?open&of=ENG-CUB) and the Organization of American States (http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2006eng/CUBA.12476eng.htm).

Dr. Marquardt also asked followers of the movement to write to Leslie Burger, the president for the ALA, among others, to ask why it is that the Cuban book-burning incident has not been posted to the ALA page about book-burning in the eighteen months since the original request for such an addition. For more information on this movement to oppose and correct the fullscale human rights violation by the Castro government; see the Freadom web journal.

2007, May 05: Independent Librarian Gustavo Colas Castillo is detained

By the State of Cuba. Señor Castillo is Director of the Independent Library Leopoldo Pita, in Amancio, Las Tunas, and Deputy Director of Independent Libraries of Cuba. He was held incommunicado, as Leonor Castillo, his mother, confirmed that a relative had received a call from the police to inform the family about his detention, but that they did not name the specific place where he was being held. Señor Castillo was traveling to several provinces in eastern Cuba to meet with other members of the Independent Libraries Project, with the intention of consolidating this cultural initiative.

On 07 May, he was released without being charged with anything, but the police warned him to stop his activities with the independent libraries. News of this action came from Ms. Berta Mexidor, Founder and Director of the Cubans Independent Libraries Project and currently at Jackson State University, who had originally reported on this detention in a press release.

2007, May 06: An update of the ALA conspiracy of silence in favour of book burning in Cuba

By Robert Kent and The Friends of Cuban Libraries. On this day Mr. Kent e-mailed the Spring 2007 issue of the Cuban Library Newsletter. One matter he reported was that the American Library Association had declared that it will not post to its web page on which it chronicles book burning, any of the Cuban court sentencing documents from the 2003 crackdown, which order the burning of thousands of library books and the draconian prison terms for the indy librarians.

[Robert asserts that: "the ALA's dominant pro-Castro faction suspects the documents to be forgeries produced by sinister forces trying to discredit the innocent Cuban government." I will allow that that sentiment might be a bit over the top, but if it is, it's not over the top by very much. I have been witness to correspondence that illustrates that some ALA officials beleive the documents are fraudulent even though they have been validated by organizations such as Amnesty International. And remember that one ALA official has maintained that reports about the documents cannot be considered credible unless they are published by certain selected press outlets. --MN]

2007, June 27: An update on continuing inaction to support Cuban independent librarians

By the Czech Library Association. Robert Kent posted a message to the Freadom news group about the Czech Library Association's refusal to support a Cuban resolution at the IFLA 2007 conference. The CLA appears to favour a less politically sensitive action. Mr. Kent had solicited the CLA through the Czech organization People In Need. His contact in PIN forwarded an English translation of the CLA's reply. The correspondences read:

• Letter from PIN:

  [P]lease find below translated answer from the person reponsible for communication with IFLA at the Czech National Library.

  I am very sorry it is not positive. From this email it is clear the Czech library association will not do anything. When I met with the director of the Czech national library, he told me the same. There is not chance to pass something so political, the IFLA is too large of organism with too many parties interested.

  We have actually chosen in cooperation with the Czech national library another way of supporting the independent libraries, mainly through contact with them, sending letters to them and to the regime representatives. I think this will be more welcome by individual librarians and will not be subject to political pressure.

• Letter from Czech Library Assn. to PIN:

  [T]he fact that Mr. Kent came this year with a proposal for resolution took us by surprise. He knows the rules of the IFLA very well and thus he knew the resolution is irrelevant. Last year his proposals were adopted by two national associations and our delegate at the Council meeting actually was prepared to support it. Nevertheless the resolution was not passed in the end -- the important fact was that the Lithuanian association withdrew its proposal. I am not informed about the matter very well but my impression is that the management of IFLA does not support such kind of activities. There is no need to discuss the reasons, the reality is that IFLA in previous years has expressed its ideas about the freedom of expression and free access to information [...]. Mr. Kent was given an opportunity to present his statement towards the Cuban regime and in support of Cuban independent journalists. It was also taken into account and published in the "World report 2005" [...].

  Taking into account all these facts the Czech association of librarians does not see such resolution as the suitable form of disagreement with the Cuban regime and way of supporting the Cuban independent libraries.

• Mr. Kent's comment on this situation:

  I have to admit I find this very puzzling and ulcer-inducing. Now that the Eastern Euros have won their freedom, why on earth can't they, at no risk to themselves, expend a little time and energy to help others win their freedom??? The IFLA conference is in August, so there is insufficient time to press this issue, but a major, long-term effort will be undertaken for the next IFLA conference in Montreal (2008).

  The Czech Assn. says the IFLA bureaucrats don't look favorably on the Cuban issue. Doubtless, the nomenklatura in the Soviet Union and the old collaborator Czech regime felt the same way about the efforts of Czech dissidents to win freedom for their country. Is their disapproval any excuse for doing NOTHING?

  And over the years, except for one excellent statement supporting the Cubans, the Czech assn has taken no ACTION to make the IFLA resolution a reality.

[Personally, I find it very perplexing that organizations dedicated to political movements that protect their own freedom of access to information, don't want to get involved in protecting such freedom for others because it is too political to do so. --MN]

[Addendum (22 Jul 2007:) On 27 Jun, another member of Freadom, Werner Lind, posted this comment about the Czech situation: "In my opinion, the Czech library association is not failing to support the independent libraries here, but simply making a tactical judgment about the most effective way to do so. I can understand their reasoning, and I share their pessimism about IFLA doing anything in the forseeable future." --MN]