July 20, 2008
Printed below is a translated posting from the Spanish language
Penúltimos Días blog. It reports that Eliades Acosta, the former
director of Havana's National Library and the spokesperson for the
repression of Cuba's independent librarians, has resigned from his
position as cultural secretary of the Cuban Communist Party.
After years of adamantly denying the existence of Cuba's ironclad
censorship, Eliades Acosta broke with the official Party line in
November 2007 when he published a startling interview in Cubarte, an
online goverment-run cultural journal. In the Cubarte interview, Acosta
made a notable turnaround by eloquently advocating an open society in
which Cubans can express their opinions without fear. On the day
following its publication the interview was removed from the Cubarte
website. Eliades Acosta has made few public appearances since the
censorship of his startling interview.
The full text of the interview ("Eliades Acosta CENSORED," April 17,
2008) can be read in the Recent News section of our website at:
(http://www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org).
In addition to stating that Mr. Acosta has resigned or has possibly been
dismissed, the PD blog also reports a "rumor" that he is leaving Cuba to
live in Spain.
Sincerely,
The Friends of Cuban Libraries
-------------------------------------------------------
From the Penúltimos Días blog:
Eliades Acosta Is Leaving:
July 18, 2008
http://www.penultimosdias.com/
http://penultimosdias.com/2008/07/18/eliades-acosta-se-va/
A rumor confirmed and a new exclusive by Penúltimos Días: Eliades Acosta
Matos, Secretary of Culture of the Central Committee of the Cuban
Communist Party - and the author of some memorable declarations about
this blog - has been released ["liberado"] from his job. It seems he
asked to resign several months ago, and now it has been granted. He
himself has announced it in a public act.
The second part of the rumor, still not confirmed: the official will go
to live in Spain.
Eliades Acosta CENSORED
NEW YORK, April 17, 2008 (Friends of Cuban Libraries) - On November 29 a
government website, Cubarte, published a startling interview with
Eliades Acosta, the former director of Havana's National Library, in
which he called for tolerance and greater freedom of expression in Cuba.
Until now, Acosta has vehemently denied the existence of censorship in
his homeland, even while serving as the spokesperson for the repression
of Cuba's independent librarians, whom he has long denounced as
mercenaries, traitors and "informational terrorists."
But in an apparent turnaround, Acosta used his Cubarte interview to
point out serious problems in Cuban society, comparing them to "red
lights indicating a need for changes," and declared: "We aspire to a
society that speaks openly of its problems without fear, in which the
news media report on life as it really is, without triumphalism, in
which errors are publicly ventilated in order to explore problems, in
which people can express themselves honestly..."
On the day following its publication, however, the article was removed
from the Cubarte website, causing whispered speculation among readers as
to why it had vanished down the Memory Hole in the style of "1984," the
famous novel by George Orwell which is banned in Cuba and, for this
reason, one of most popular titles in the island's network of
independent libraries.
By way of context, in July 2007 Raúl Castro approved a series of limited
workplace debates on the subject of Cuba's failing economy, aiming to
generate support for modest reforms which deviate from the Soviet model
enacted decades ago by his ailing brother. But as Acosta noted in the
now-vanished Cubarte article, "when you introduce change in one sector,
it reverberates throughout the entire system." Instead of limiting their
comments to economic matters, Cubans impatient for change have begun to
broaden their complaints to forbidden topics such as censorship, free
elections, independent trade unions and the ban on Internet access. At
present only a small number of people, including the independent
librarians, dare to voice dissenting views in public. But increasing
numbers of Cubans, some of whom even use their real names, evade
official censorship by e-mailing messages to foreign websites such as
the Madrid-based Kaosenlared (http://www.kaosenlared.net/cuba), where
lively debates take place regarding human rights, future reforms and the
achievements and failures of the Cuban Revolution.
Four months after the disappearance of Eliades Acosta's interview
(fortunately copied abroad before its early demise), questions are still
being asked about his motives. In making an appeal for open debate and
pluralist reforms, was he acting as an opportunist who merely went too
far while implementing the new Party line? (See the article below,
"Secret Memo: 'Invasion of the Library Snatchers,'" Dec. 12, 2007) Or,
during the course of the long, one-sided battle he has waged with Cuba's
brave independent librarians, has Acosta been quietly converted to their
vision of a free society? The censorship of his interview offers
evidence that another Cuba is possible and that Cubans, regardless of
their views in the past, are capable of peaceful reconciliation and the
realization of Jose Martí's long delayed dream of a free, sovereign and
prosperous homeland, where everyone's right to freedom of expression is
honored.
Printed below are translated excerpts from Eliades Acosta's interview :
"Cuban Intellectuals Support Revolutionary Changes," interview with
Eliades Acosta by Isachi Fernández, November 29, 2007 (Cubarte)
Full Spanish text re-printed at:
(http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia.php?id_noticia=46585)
"One in a while it is healthy to re-think what has been done, to
calibrate how society has evolved, because when you introduce change in
one sector, it reverberates throughout the entire system."
"Criticism can help to resolve our problems, silence never solves
anything. Given a choice, we should opt for criticism. We should leave
behind this practice of silencing problems, which isn't always aimed at
helping the Revolution but rather is aimed at protecting jobs or
positions, accomodationist positions that are harmful to the ethical
climate of a society."
"A kind of self-censorship syndrome was created in Cuba: 'I'm going to
get into trouble if I talk about a sensitive subject;' 'To avoid
problems, I'll just go along with the majority.' This has caused a very
dangerous vacuum, and although society can grow economically [under
these conditions], it decreases morally. Silences are are fatal in a
society...."
"Raúl [Castro] himself... has told the people that this is the moment to
discuss our problems... but what do we find? There is reluctance, there
is inertia, the people aren't prepared [to engage in criticism] because
many years have gone by and it is hard for them to overcome the
psychological barrier. But if we read the press and also the great
non-institutional press, e-mail messages, which are here to stay, we see
that the people are participating. One notes the very healthy activation
of the civic spirit in Cubans."
"We aspire to a society which openly speaks of its problems without
fear, in which the news media report on life as it is, without
triumphalism, in which errors are publicly ventilated in order to
explore problems, in which people can express themselves honestly, where
the economy functions, where public services function, where Cubans do
not feel themselves to be second class citizens in their own country
because of some measures that once were essential but are not obsolete
or unsustainable, a society where there is much and varied information,
with products of a high cultural level, where we can be in communication
with the world in a natural manner..."
"We are in a moment which all Cuban society is crossing which requires a
leap to another level. We are dealing with that moment of collapse and
revolutionary transformation, which is dialectic. The world isn't going
to come to an end because people make lots of complaints. There is a
feeling of share disquiet which is temporary in the sense that the molds
which imprison us are being broken and we are finding new expression for
what we ourselves have created."
"There are many material problems relating to salaries and law which are
like red lights, and they indicate a need for change."
"It is necessary for people to do a lot of listening in order to carry
out these policies [leading to change.] The first step in making an
honest decision concerning human beings is to know how to listen and to
be humble; if you begin with this premise, the people will contribute,
participate, and any errors [resulting from this process] will be minor.
http://www.friendsofcubanlibraries.org/Recent%20News%202.htm#Eliades%20Acosta%20CENSORED
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