Laritza Diversent
The personal freedoms of members of the alternative blogosphere are at
risk after the official media publicly accused them of being mercenaries.
On March 22nd, the Granma newspaper (official paper of the Communist
Party) published an article titled "Cyberwar: Mercenaries on the
Internet". A day prior to this publication, the televised documentary
series "Cuba's Reasons" used terms such as "cyber-mercenaries" and
"cyber-terrorists" to describe the independent bloggers on the island.
Such terms imply very serious accusations. The penal legislation states
that mercenaries and terrorists are perpetrators of serious crimes which
attempt to attack State Security. Sentences for such crimes range from 5
to 30 years in jail. Meanwhile, Cuba ratified international instruments
which oblige punishment for such activities.
Granma affirmed that "through bloggers and social networks like Twitter
and Facebook, massive protests and uprisings have been inspired
throughout the world". According to the TV, bloggers use internet tools
to destabilize internal Cuban social order.
Granma also asserted that thousands of "international media specialists
have orders to keep a watch on the Twitter messages and blog updates of
the mercenary", referring to Yoani Sanchez, the author of the blog
"Generation Y", which up to this day has been a target of attacks on
behalf of state-run media.
The International Convention Against the Recruitment, Utilization,
Financing, and Training of Mercenaries defines "mercenary" as a person
recruited to engage in combat in an armed conflict or act of
concentrated violence in exchange for personal benefit or material
payment. Neither nationals of a specific country or any of its residents
can be considered mercenaries under this law.
In 2007, the Cuban government ratified the mentioned Convention, but
with its share of reserves. It declared that it is enough with simple
material payment, for whatever length, to consider an activity as
"mercenary" and that it will continue applying the definition given by
the Penal Code.
According to Cuban law, "mercenary" is someone who, "with the intent of
obtaining a payment" joins a "military formation" whose membership is
"individuals who are not citizens of the State, and it is there where
they intend to act", and who "collaborate or execute any other act" to
achieve the same objective.
"Against Cuba and other countries considered enemies of the United
States there is a form of Cyber-War: the fostering of a blogosphere
which, although it claims to be 'independent' is totally subordinate to
the interests of Washington", Granma stated.
"The Cyber-War is a model of conflict which has appeared on the social
scene of new information and communication technologies (NTIC),
providing a military context", the newspaper continued.
There is a political dispute between US and Cuba which has lasted more
than 50 years. "Undoubtedly, the conservative Yankee wing has begun to
formulate new pretexts and scenes of confrontation to finish the Cuban
revolution and start an eventual military conflict," affirmed Granma.
And, it continued: "These bloggers are people who have called for
popular uprisings in Cuba during interviews. They have encouraged
violence. These new faces of the counter-revolution lend themselves to
the strategy game of subversion through the internet while deliberately
using omission, distortion, and lies".
Law No. 93 Against Terrorism also sanctions "employed acts executed
through the media" with the specific purpose of provoking a state of
alarm, fear, or terror among the population, by imminently endangering
or affecting Cuban State Security. Among those listed are "acts carried
out through the media and through information technologies".
The norm condemns any person who uses, creates, distributes, or
possesses equipment, means, programs, networks, and information
applications to use, alter, etc. security information or national
entities capable of producing the same effects.
Perhaps the official media is only aiming to discredit the members of
the independent blogosphere. However, if that is their objective, the
usage of such terms is completely unjustified. Cuban Penal Law is
all-encompassing, for it allows the authorities to interpret it in
multiple ways.
The case of Alan Gross provides the most recent example. The US citizen
was judged and sanctioned in Havana to 15 years of imprisonment for
bringing satellite connection equipment into the country. For the Cuban
courts, this act represents a move against the territorial independence
and integrity of the State.
The activities carried out by the new faces of the internal dissidence
are completely peaceful. They have no relation whatsoever to armed
conflicts or acts of violence. With that said, it is completely
groundless to qualify them as "mercenaries" or "terrorists". It is very
possible that, by using the State-controlled media, they are preparing
an operation to silence the alternative voices of Cuban society.
Translated by Raul G.
April 9 2011
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