Reply #70: internet, print media, television programming restricted

[Bacchus39]

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba/cuba-internet.htm

why does Cuba restrict access in the first place??? Can you Castrophiles even answer a question?

freedom in Cuba reiterated:

Dishes serve entire families and extension lines sometimes connect them to neighbors. Taped programs renting for about 25 cents reach a still larger audience.

The government is determined to confine Cubans to the state broadcasting system, where Thursday night's 90-minute discussion show was devoted to "Cuba confronting the fascist policies of Bush."

Few Cubans will talk openly about the dishes: They're strictly banned for homes, and police sometimes raid them to confiscate antennas and fine their owners.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/17/Worldandnation/Satellite_TV_s_war_on.shtml




again, why?

http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/americas5.html

Carter drew attention to some of the country's most serious human rights problems. A one-party state, Cuba restricted nearly all avenues of political dissent. Although the criminal prosecution of opposition figures was becoming increasingly rare, prison remained a plausible threat to Cubans considering nonviolent political dissent. The government also frequently silenced its critics by using short-term detentions, house arrests, travel restrictions, threats, surveillance, politically-motivated dismissals from employment, and other forms of harassment.

Cuba's legal and institutional structures were at the root of rights violations. The rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, movement, and the press were strictly limited under Cuban law. By criminalizing enemy propaganda, the spreading of "unauthorized news," and insult to patriotic symbols, the government curbed freedom of speech under the guise of protecting state security. The government also imprisoned or ordered the surveillance of individuals who had committed no illegal act, relying upon laws penalizing "dangerousness" (estado peligroso) and allowing for "official warning" (advertencia oficial). The government-controlled courts undermined the right to fair trial by restricting the right to a defense, and frequently failed to observe the few due process rights available to defendants under domestic law.