23 February 2007

Gone.... En Un "2 por 3"

Yes, Raul tells us that he's tired of excuses and that he wants to debate the problems facing the Cuban people………

……….But he doesn’t want the World to find out that its all a propaganda show. When the foreign press starts to question the Party Line …out they go.

Buh Bye, now .............. en un “2 por 3”

And the rest of you Journalists:

If you write the truth, out you go too. We can’t sentence you to 30 years, but we can kick you out of the country.

Yes let’s negotiate with Raul the pragmatic.

2 more reporters, César González-Calero From El Universal and Stephen Gibbs from the BBC. have been asked to leave Cuba in what is turning out to be a crackdown on the international press.

That is exactly what the International Free Press should do. Call it a CRACKDOWN and expose Raul the pragmatic as the repressive tyrant he is.

From Today's Herald:

3 reporters ordered to leave Cuba

Highlights:



The regime is as committed as ever to keep the truth out of Cuba and of keeping the truth about what’s going on in Cuba from getting out. Their goal is to imprison truth as they have the Cuban people.



In the harshest crackdown in years on foreign correspondents based in Havana, the Cuban government has ordered at least three of them -- including the Chicago Tribune's -- to stop writing because of their ''negative'' reporting.


Mexico City's El Universal reported that its correspondent in Havana, César González-Calero, and an unidentified correspondent for the British Broadcasting
Corp. got the same orders. More are expected to follow.



The sanctions come at a tense time for foreign journalists in Cuba. Although Cuba has always restricted news coverage of its affairs, reporters on the island say the pressures against filing negative reports intensified after leader Fidel Castro became sick in July and was replaced by his brother, Raúl.



Raúl had been widely expected to be more pragmatic and open to reforms than his
brother, but journalists in Havana have said several have been called in for extended questioning about their stories since Raúl took over.



Former Associated Press reporter Vanessa Arrington said when she arrived in Havana in 2004 she initially didn't feel any direct censorship -- just difficulty getting information. But after writing two articles the government disapproved of late last year, Arrington was barred from high-level government events and news conferences, including the weeklong celebrations in December to honor Castro's 80th birthday.

''Since Fidel Castro got sick, the pressure has increased, and my punishment for writing stories the government disliked was, in my opinion, clearly an attempt to silence other reporters by way of warning,'' she told The Miami Herald.

''Foreign correspondents walk a very fine line in Havana. . . . An ethical journalist must portray all sides of the story, which will almost inevitably lead to some conflict with the government,'' she added. Arrington left Cuba last month after almost three years and now lives in Arizona.



''If you are known for stories that are critical of Castro, you don't get the visa,'' organization spokeswoman Lucie Morillon said. ``The government controls all the media. The only thing they don't control is the foreign correspondents. The reporters have to play a game of cat and mouse with parameters changing all the time.''



At a time when waves of journalists are expected to descend upon Cuba upon Fidel
Castro's death, Marx's departure makes the South Florida Sun-Sentinel -- also owned by the Tribune Co. -- the only U.S. newspaper with a Cuba bureau.



The Miami Herald has historically been denied both permission to open a bureau in Havana and visas to visit and report on the island.



El Universal reported its reporter was told his coverage was ``not convenient
for the Cuban government.''

''At no time did they refute one bit of my information about Cuba in terms of errors or facts,'' González-Calero told the paper.

BBC Americas editor Emilio San Pedro said the company declined to comment on the report about its correspondent.

Full Article Here

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