Cuba stresses 'sovereign right' to hold journalists visas
Sep 13, 2006, 22:33 GMT
Havana - Cuba on Wednesday stressed its 'sovereign right' to decide who
is allowed entry to the island, following criticism over the state's
refusal of visas to journalists wishing to cover the Non- Aligned
Movement (NAM) summit in Havana.
'I think the fact that two or three (journalists) are not welcome is not
going to add to this summit or make it lacklustre, considering we have
the sovereign right to admit into our country whoever we think
appropriate,' the chairman of the state International Press Centre (CPI)
Jose Luis Ponce said.
He added that 1,200 journalists are expected to cover the summit of NAM
heads of state and government on Friday and Saturday.
The German Association of Journalists (DJV) criticized Cuba's refusal of
visas to several media professionals wishing to cover the meeting that
started on Monday and will end on Saturday in Havana.
'It is unacceptable that only a portion of journalists have been granted
access. We demand that the Cuban government immediately lift
prohibitions,' DJV chairman Michael Konken said. Representatives of the
German dailies Handelsblatt and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the
TV channel ARD, among others, were refused entry.
Other media have also been refused access, including the Argentine
newspaper Clarin. The daily's chief editor Ricardo Kirschbaum said the
journalist who had been chosen to cover the meeting 'is not seen in a
good light' by Cuban authorities.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southamerica/article_1201208.php/Cuba_stresses_sovereign_right_to_hold_journalists_visas
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