Introduction
Cuba is one of the most censored countries in the world. According to the World Press Freedom Index for the year 2013 by the reporters without borders ranks Cuba at position 171 out of 179 countries (p. 23). This makes it the ninth most censored country in the world. According to the same organization, Cuba is the only country in the western hemisphere that does not tolerate independent media. While the government says that the censorship is to protect its citizens from the erosive American culture and external influence, critics have condemned the government claiming that the extensive censorship is a violation of human rights. This raises the question whether Cuban censorship is good for the nation, or whether censorship is bad and does not give people their right. This paper examines the background of censorship in Cuba and demonstrates how it is detrimental to the nation of Cuba. Censorship in Cuba is a tool by the government to suppress the human rights of Cubans.
According to the American union of civil rights, censorship refers to the situation in which the government or leadership suppresses words, images or sounds used to express a particular message if they view the message as offensive. The world encyclopedia of censorship proposes that the word censorship is a derivative of the Latin word censere, which means, “to officially proclaim,” “to evaluate” or “to officially describe”. When used in the Latin context, it means that what the government has assessed and verified is the only information that the media should disseminate.
The Cuban people have been under censorship for more than half of a century. In his article titled Violations of Freedom of the Press in Cuba: 1952–1969, Kelsey Vidaillet demonstrates the levels freedom of expression and speech in Cuba under different regimes. The three regimes are, prior the coup led by Fulgencio Batista, during the reign of Batista and after the coup by Fidel Castro. Through the review of empirical evidence and testimonies available, he shows that before and during the leadership of Fulgencio Batista, there was some level of press freedom. However, when Fidel Castro took over the reins of power, Cuba has never experienced any press freedom since then. The rule of Fidel ushered Cuba into an era of censorship.
Today, independent press does not exist in Cuba. The government regulates all types of media from music to broadcasts and publications. The government also closely regulates and restricts the access to the internet and the use of mobile phones. The government must verify or publish all publications in Cuba before release to the public. The Cuban constitution has clauses that provide for the prosecution and imprisonment of those who comment on the government in a critical manner. For instance, the desacato (disrespect) clause in first and second articles of 144th item of the penal code outlines the reprimand for those who disrespect the government. The government takes advantage of the vagueness of the definition of disrespect in the constitution to victimize all those who present dissenting voices.
The evil of censorship
There has been widespread criticism of the government for its censorship agenda. To counter the arguments that censorship is bad for the Cuban people, the government has defended itself over time saying that censorship is to protect the sovereign interest of the Cuban people. By closely regulating the internet usage, the government says it can check on hacking and cultural poisoning from vices such as pornography. The national intranet only offers access to the email and government services. The internet is restricted for the public unless one has a special permit that is only available to the government officials and some journalists. However, the government is hiding behind this argument. In reality, the censorship exercised by the government is bad for the people of the nation of Cuba. Some of the shortcomings of censorship are,
Effect of censorship to the economy
The first shortcoming of censorship is that it depresses the economy. Media and the other outlets of information are business entities and censorship puts a lid to their expansion. In addition, the access to a wide pool of information is important for the growth of businesses. Without independent platforms to disseminate such information, the information that gets to the businesses is limited and this caps their capacity and ability to grow. Another facet of the economy that censorship takes a huge toll on is the tourism industry. The tourists are harassed by the authorities if they are found to share their internet connection with the locals. This discourages some people from travelling to the Caribbean island.
Effect of censorship to the image of Cuba
The second shortcoming of censorship is that it ruined the reputation of Cuba in the international community. The censorship saw many international organizations imposing sanctions on Cuba. These included the European Union, which imposed sanctions on Cuba from 2003. These sanctions hurt the relations of the Cuban people with the European countries. In addition to this, the continued suppression of the freedom of expression in this age of progressive democracy and global freedom of expression invokes a dad perception by the global community.
The fact that the government controls all what comes from the Cuban media makes the media highly unreliable because it is most likely biased. Rodriguez argues that the conventional media is always on the lookout for the blog commentaries to issue an alternative story every time a critique on the government airs on the blogs (p. 15). This has earned the Cuban media a bad reputation. In her paper, Anaya agrees with this and points out that the global community treats the reports from the Cuban media as lacking credibility and one-sided (p. 19).
Effect of censorship to the education standards
Censorship lowers the quality of education. While Cuba has high literacy rates with 97% of its population being able to read and write, the quality of the education received is a concern. In the current times, internet has made it possible to share information across the globe. It is so unfortunate when this information is only available to a fraction of the population. The rest cannot access this information and as the world progresses super fast, the Cuban people remain behind. This raises concerns whether even if the literacy rates are high, can the Cuban people compete with professionals at a global scale.
In one instance, the Cuban government burned books donated by the government of Spain. This was after they discovered leaflets with controversial messages. In this process, they burned the leaflets and the useful children and medical books. This was a huge setback to the educational structure in the country since it limited the exposure of its students and denied them the much-needed resources. In a recent development when the government allowed access to online global medical journals for the student, one can appreciate how the government had deprived the citizen of quality education. Through its network InfoMed, the Cuban health ministry can now provide excellent academic journals to its students. This shows how censorship disadvantages the Cuban students.
Effect of censorship to democracy
Another shortcoming of censorship is that it handicaps democracy. The laws in Cuba prohibit the media from defaming the government. The government uses the clauses in the constitution that prohibit disrespect to the government and the government officials to suppress the democratic voices in Cuba. First, the dictatorial regime uses this law to arrest all those who do not agree with their ideologies. This promotes dictatorship. Secondly, where the society cannot criticize and correct the government in a constructive forum, such system quashes their right to the leadership that they want.
Effect of censorship to human rights
The censorship endorsed by the government also depresses the human right of the Cuban people. In the constitution, the Cuban citizens have the freedom of expression. However, the censorship methods used ensure that some forms of information are only available to a select group of people who the government decides. This is an insult to progressive democracy. It also opens loopholes for malpractice such as some of the officials with access to the internet giving their s and passwords to civilians at a fee. While the initial goal was to protect the systems in Cuba from external influence, exercising censorship this way even creates an easier way or an external force to penetrate the government systems.
The methods used by the government to enforce its laws on censorship also violate human rights. The government imprisons those who appear to be dissident. The law allows some trials to proceed in a private session if the dissidents have disrespected the government. As a result, many times the arrested individuals do not go through the legal process. The judiciary is also subordinate to the regime hence the government can use the legal system to harass those who it considers as revolutionaries.
Support to censorship
While there is overwhelming facts that censorship is bad for the society, some factions argue that this is the best thing. The conservative voices argue that having media without censorship will lead to chaos. They view that lack of scrutiny and evaluation of the content will lead to the wrong information getting to the wrong people. For instance, with the possibility of hacking, access to the internet by the Cuban population may open them up to targeted attacks by the United States government to compel them to submit to their demands for them embargoes to lift the embargoes.
Secondly, unlimited access to the internet may also expose the population to bad content like pornography. This is likely to erode the moral values of the Cubans. The third concern is that the enemies of the government may use the free media to spread propaganda on the government. They may use the media to mobilize people to rise against the government and this may compromise the peace and stability in Cuba.
While these are genuine concerns, they do not warrant the denial of the freedom of speech. Many world countries have free media and they have progressive democracies. The fear of the unknown should not be the only motivation to holding onto this oppressive vice. The government can solve the emergent ethical issues that arise with free media rather than hold the development of the country at ransom for the fear of chaos in the society. Change is good and the Cuban government should be ready to accept it. In the modern times, information propels growth and without the unlimited access to information, the society cannot progress. Therefore, the government should lay frameworks that ensure media freedom in an environment where the media practitioners adhere to ethical standards.
The crumbling censorship and the future of press freedom in Cuba
In the recent times, there have been indications of the crumble of the censorship. The government has relaxed its stance on some of its strict regulations in the past. For instance, prior to the year 2008, the government had illegalized the possession and use of mobile phones in Cuba. Only those whose jobs required them to have mobile phones like diplomats and government officials could own phones. The lifting of the ban enabled the establishment of telecommunication infrastructure that supports the current cellular network in Cuba.
The recent development is in the use of the internet was the lifting of the ban to buy personal computers. The government has also held talks in 2014 with the United States of America government with an aim to see better relations between the two countries. The results of the secret talks facilitated by the pope include the release of former prisoners in the Cuban government and the relaxing of the United States embargo on the Cuban nation. This indicates that the Cuban government is willing to work with the international community to realize freedoms that are more fundamental for its people.
All these are indicators that the government is slowly giving in to pressure from within and from the international community. This signifies that the government has realized the benefits that come with a free press. Free press is a channel of keeping the government in track. In the same way, the press can also popularize a government if it is in favor of the people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the censorship in Cuba is a great hurdle to the realization of fundamental human rights and democracy in Cuba. It is oppressive and it disadvantages the Cuban people in the global community. While the government claims that the censorship is to guard the public from external elements, it takes advantage of the censorship to advance its own oppressive agenda. In addition, the benefits that the Cubans would enjoy if they had a free press devoid of intimidation and censorship by the government outweigh such speculated risks. Therefore, the government should embrace free media and grant its people the fundamental right of speech without limitations. The Cuban government is making good progress in this direction but it should fast track its progress towards a free media and show more commitment to a free society. The facts presented show that censorship is bad for the Cuban society and having a free media is the only way to go.
Works Cited
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