Reporters Without Borders

[johnh101]

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Government House

Bangkok

Kingdom of Thailand

Paris, 7 November 2005

Dear Prime Minister,

When journalists recently asked you about the decline in press freedom in Thailand revealed by the Reporters Without Borders 2005 World Press Freedom Index, you said that in your view “Thai journalists have the maximum amount of freedom to do their work.” You added that you were ready to take Reporters Without Borders on a tour of newspaper offices so we could verify that journalists enjoy real freedom.

We thank you for this invitation which would doubtlessly allow us to appreciate your close relations with certain newspapers. But we prefer to question reporters, editors and press freedom activists ourselves. We would of course be very honoured to meet you in order to present to you directly our comments and proposals for guaranteeing press freedom in Thailand.

We believe there is an urgent need for your government to take a number of measures that would enable Thailand to get a better ranking in the 2006 index :

1. Withdraw all the criminal and civil defamation actions brought against journalists and press freedom activists by your lawyers or by members of your government or family, or by Shin Corp, a company controlled by your associates. It is inconceivable in a democracy that the most senior officials and their associates file lawsuits against journalists in such an abusive manner.

2. Abolish prison sentences for press offences by amending the criminal code. Countries such as Sri Lanka and Ghana have recently decriminalised defamation without any decline in the quality of the press being noted.

3. Ensure that impartial and exhaustive investigations are conducted into the murders of Santi Lammaneenil, the editor of the local Pattaya Post daily newspaper and a correspondent for Channel 7 television and the national dailies Khao Sod and Khom Chad Luek, and Pongkiat Saetang, the editor of the local Had Yai Post fortnightly newspaper. The instigators and perpetrators of the attempted murder of Manop Rattanacharungporn of the daily Matichon must also be punished as a matter of urgency.

4. Withdraw all the complaints brought by the authorities against the managers of community and commercial radio stations. Allow these stations to continue broadcasting while a definitive solution is found to the issue of frequency allocation.

5. Put an end to political and economic pressure on news media owners aimed at getting journalists fired or getting radio or TV programmes withdrawn, as was the case with Channel 9’s talk show.

6. Ensure that state advertising in the news media is allocated in a really fair and transparent manner.

The Reporters Without Borders index which you publicly questioned measures the state of press freedom throughout the world. It reflects the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and news media in each country and the efforts undertaken by governments to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.

We are of course aware that your government and your associates do not have a monopoly of harassment or violence against the press. The index does not reflect just government abuses but also abuses by armed militia, clandestine organisations and pressure groups. In Thailand, criminal networks, corrupt local politicians and armed groups are also partly to blame for this deterioration in the situation of journalists.

We stand by our position that this world press freedom ranking, in which Thailand fell from 59th place in 2004 to 107th place in 2005, is based on hard facts and not on subjective interpretation.

We would also like to inform you that, for the first time in 15 years, Reporters Without Borders has decided to carry out field investigations into the state of press freedom in Thailand and recent violations of freedom of expression there with a view to publishing a report. We will send you a copy so that you can have a better understanding of our evaluation of the situation.

Prime Minister, there are simple measures that can be taken to improve press freedom in Thailand and it is your duty to halt this sharp decline. Do not lose this chance to keep your country at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in a region where press freedom already has enough problems.

Sincerely,

Robert Ménard

Secretary-General

[stumonster]

I will be interested to see if this letter makes the papers...

as an open letter where was it posted. What is your source?

[taxexile]

Journalist watchdog accused of bias

ALLEGATIONS: Recent reports claim Reporters Without Borders is on the payroll of the US State Department and part of a `neocon crusade against the Castro regime'

THE GUARDIAN , LONDON

Friday, May 20, 2005,Page 6

The international journalists' organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been accused of receiving money from the US State Department and Cuban exile groups and of pursuing a political agenda.

The claims of political bias, published in a report in Washington this week, were denied by the group on Wednesday.

RSF was set up in France in 1979 by Robert Menard, who still heads the organization. It monitors abuses of journalists and has offices throughout the world.

Its Web site highlights countries where journalists are killed, jailed or intimidated as a result of their work, and currently features stories on Uzbekistan, Gambia and Ukraine.

The attack on RSF came in reports published by the Washington-based non-profit organization the Council on Hemispheric Affairs and the US Newspaper Guild journal. Both were written by journalist Diana Barahona.

She claimed that RSF was failing to follow the non-partisan example of Medecins sans Frontieres -- Doctors Without Borders -- and suggested that it was part of a "neocon crusade against the Castro regime."

The reports suggested that RSF had highlighted Cuba rather than countries that were more dangerous for journalists, such as Colombia.

Barahona also claimed RSF was "on the payroll of the US state department" and had received money from the Center for a Free Cuba, an exile group. The reports suggested that Menard had campaigned to have Cuban government accounts at European banks frozen in the same way as "the bank accounts of terrorists."

Jeff Julliard of RSF denied the allegations of a political agenda from its headquarters in Paris on Wednesday.

"We have no political agenda," he said. "We are not a political organization."

He also denied that RSF received money from the US state department directly, but confirmed that it had received a grant of US$40,000 from the conservative National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NED's Web site states that it receives annual funding from "the US Congress through the state department."

This money, he said, had been used exclusively for a project to help journalists threatened in Africa and none of the money had been used elsewhere.

Julliard said that RSF had also received money from the Center for a Free Cuba and that money had been given to the families of journalists jailed in Cuba. Two-thirds of RSF's funds came from the sales of photography books and the rest of its money was from private donors.

He added that, while Menard had called for the freezing of Cuban bank accounts in Europe, RSF had made similar calls regarding the accounts of other governments which mistreated journalists, such as Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

RSF believed that this was a legitimate tactic to put pressure on the authorities. He added that, while RSF was very critical of Cuba, it had published more reports about abuses in China. Its main current concern was the position of journalists in Iraq. It had also campaigned on the issue of protection of sources in the US.

Aidan White of the International Federation of Journalists, based in Brussels, said on Wednesday: "The RSF is a fantastically successful organization in terms of exposing those governments that treat journalists in pretty nasty ways. You can only applaud their efforts and the more that is done the better." However, "sometimes there have been moments when our community and their network have not seen eye to eye. Sometimes there is not as much cooperation as there could be."

A spokesman for the UK's National Union of Journalists in London said on Wednesday: "It is very dangerous when press freedom organizations get themselves politically compromised by accepting payment from any government. It is really vital that all such organizations are truly independent."

[Kringle]

I do NOT see this happenning EVER.

[britmaveric]

Most non-profit groups will take dosh from satan himself.

[johnh101]

I will be interested to see if this letter makes the papers...

as an open letter where was it posted. What is your source?

WWW.rsf.com

Reporters Sans Frontiers Website

[toptuan]

WWW.rsf.com

Reporters Sans Frontiers Website

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's: www.rsf.ORG

[patrickq]

hmmm .. but then anything printed in The Guardian has to be treated with extreme caution, one of the more deceptive and misleading publications in the UK. I'm not saying that the article isn't true, just that I'd do my own research before believing anything it has to say. For an interesting look at bias and misleading reprting in The Guardian and other supposed balanced media check out MediaLens and check out the Media Alerts section.

Journalist watchdog accused of bias

ALLEGATIONS: Recent reports claim Reporters Without Borders is on the payroll of the US State Department and part of a `neocon crusade against the Castro regime'

THE GUARDIAN , LONDON

Friday, May 20, 2005,Page 6

The international journalists' organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been accused of receiving money from the US State Department and Cuban exile groups and of pursuing a political agenda.

.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[taxexile]

the guardian is not the only organisation with the knives out for reporters without borders.

how true any of these articles are is anybodys guess , every tom dick and harry organisation and newspaper have some agenda these days that they have to promote.

but if theres a gravy train to jump on they all seem quite happy to jump on it.

trust nobody !!!

The Reporters Without Borders Fraud

by Salim Lamrani  May 13, 2005

The strong suspicions that have surrounded the dubious and partisan activities of Reporters without Boarders (RSF) were not unfounded.

For many years, various critics have denounced the largely political actions of the Parisian entity, particularly with regards to Cuba and Venezuela, whose characteristics that utilizes propaganda is obvious. The positions of RSF against the governments of Havana and Caracas are found in perfect correlation with the political and media war that Washington carries out against the Cuban and Venezuelan revolutionaries.

Finally the truth has come to light. Mr. Robert Ménard, secretary general of the RSF for twenty years, has confessed to receiving financing from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization that depends on the U.S. Department of State, whose principal role is to promote the agenda of the White House for the entire world. Ménard was indeed very clear. “We indeed receive money from the NED. And that hasn’t posed any problem.” (1)

Former U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, created the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 1983, during a period in which military violence took the place of traditional diplomacy in order to resolve international matters. Thanks to its powerful ability of financial penetration, the NED’s goal is to weaken governments that would oppose the foreign hegemonic power of Washington. (2) In Latin America, the two targets are Cuba and Venezuela.

For example, the NED financed and continues financing the Venezuelan opposition, responsible for the coup d’état against President Chávez, April 2002. Since then, the Venezuelan oligarchy has organized, with the help of Washington, several unsuccessful destabilization attempts, since the failure of the recall referendum, the popular legitimacy of Mr. Chávez has been only reinforced. In 2004, thirteen groups opposed to the Bolivarian government received 874,384 dollars from the NED. In 2003, 15 splinter groups opposed to the Venezuelan presidents benefited from subsidies from the NED for a total of 1,046,323 dollars. (3)

At the same time, RSF has regularly whipped the government of Mr. Chávez, for example, accusing him of threatening the freedom of the press in a report that criticizes a law reform proposal about the broadcast media. (4) This reform proposes criminal punishment against broadcast media guilty of criminal activities such as the initiation of an armed uprising or subversion. This new legislation is an answer to the role of capital and makes it a criminal offense for those who operated the private information media during the fascist coupe of 2002 against the Venezuelan president, and their real outrages. Outrages that the RSF refrains from denouncing.

But the enemy par excellence for RSF continues being Cuba. The unceasing repetition of Mr. Ménard is almost obsessive, as the new propaganda campaign against the island shows, bound to cause harm to tourism. (5) The Bush Plan against Cuba must not be forgotten, which allocates a budget of five million dollars for the NGO’s who carry out activities looking for methods to discourage tourists from visiting Cuba, and which also makes an example of a name to follow, Reporters without Borders. (6)

Additionally, RSF admits providing economic help in Cuba to the “families of the thirty jailed journalists so that they can face the loss of income caused by the arrest of their family members.” If the ideological rhetoric of this sentence is suppressed, it reads that the RSF remunerates the families of the jailed people by receiving a salary from the Bush government, seriously threatening the integrity of the Cuban nation by collaborating with the development of economic sanctions. Given that Mr. Ménard received economic rewards from the United States government, it is the same as saying that Washington, directly financing from afar, also finances, by means of the RSF, people who are at their service in Cuba, which constitutes of course a serious violation of Cuban law. (7)

According to the 2004 annual report from the RSF, “at last 53 information professionals lost their lives in the practice of their jobs or for expressing their opinions.” Iraq is, according to this report, the most dangerous country for journalism with 19 reporters murdered. The U.S. Army, who has occupied Iraq since 2003, is responsible for these murders, since they control the country. However, the RSF, far from accusing the U.S. authorities, limits itself to once again taking up the official statement from Washington and describes the shots, which caused the deaths of the various journalists, as “accidental.” However, Iraq is not a priority for Mr. Ménard. (8)

On the American continent, according to the RSF, “twelve journalists lost their lives” in Mexico, in Brazil, and in Peru. Nevertheless, the target of the Parisian organization is again Cuba where, it has to be emphasized that not one journalist has been murdered since 1959. Venezuela is also found in the line of sight while no journalist there has lost their life. There are those who have established a relationship between the targets of the RSF and those from Washington and pointed out the strange coincidence. (9) The reprimands from the Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleeza Rice, were specifically destined towards Mr. Castro and Mr. Chavez, whose growing closeness concerns the United States a lot. (10) Of course it’s not just a matter of personalities (Fidel and Chavez), its the Cuban and Venezuelan societies’ programs in favor of the poor which are being attacked.

Likewise, it is well-known that Mr. Ménard frequently visits the extreme Cuban right in Miami with which he has signed agreements relative to the media war carried out against the Cuban Revolution. (11)

The financing of the RSF also raises some important questions. How can an organization that depends economically on the FNAC, the CFAO, Hewlett Packard Foundation from France, the Hachette Foundation, the EDF Foundation, the Bank of Deposits and Consignments (la Caja de Depósitos y Consignaciones), the Open Society Institution, the Royal Foundation Network, Sanofi-Synthelabo (now Sanofi-Aventis), Atlas Publications, Color Club, Globenet, and Cadena Ser be independent? How can an organization financed by the French state act impartially? It is impossible, and RSF’s positions supporting the coup d’état against president Aristide of Haiti shows it very clearly. (12) How can an organization that expects to defend journalists rejoice at the overthrow of a democratically elected president?

The budget for RSF for 2003 was up to 3,472,122 euros. According to annual accounts the revenue came from: 11% from the State, 12% from patrons, 4% from contributions and donations, 15% from the European Commission, 10% from operations, and 48% from the organization’s publications. This last figure is surprising for its importance. The sum of 1,984,853 euros supposedly came from only the sale of calendars. (13) The calendar costs 8 euros, which is the same as saying that the RSF manages to sell more then 249,106 calendars per year, or 680 calendars every day! This figure is much too excessive to be credible.

When expenses are looked at for 2003, the accounts show that only 7% of the budget is allocated to direct help for journalists with problems.(14) What happens with the remaining 93% of the budget? It is devoted to the job of propaganda and disinformation at the service of the interests of those who finance Reporters without Borders, namely the French state, and the large economic and financial groups, the extreme Cuban right from Florida and the U.S. Department of State.

“Defense of freedom of the press” is only a facade. Reporters without Borders is at the service of governments and the powerful economic and financial interests. It is the reason why the main threat to freedom of the press, the concentration of the means of information, has never been denounced by Mr. Ménard’s organization. It is the reason by which the RSF, among others, never has been interested in the luck of Mr. Mumia Abu-Jamal, the U. S. journalist jailed for over twenty years for his writings and his political positions. Unfortunately, the collusion between Mr. Ménard, the large press, and financial capital hinders citizens from discovering the real objectives that they hide behind a humanitarian smokescreen.

Notes

(1) Robert Ménard, « Forum de discussion avec Robert Ménard », Le Nouvel Observateur, 18 de abril de 2005. www.nouvelobs.com/forum/archives/forum_284.html (sitio consultado el 22 de abril de 2005).

(2) National Endowment for Democracy, « About Us ». www.ned.org/about/about.html  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(3) National Endowment for Democracy, « NED Venezuela Programs ». www.ned.org/grants/venezuelaFacts.html  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(4) Reporters sans frontières, « Reporters sans frontières dénonce une régression de la liberté de la presse », 26 de noviembre de 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3id_article=12968  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(5) Reporters sans frontières, « Deux ans après le « printemps noir » : urgence humanitaire pour 21 journalistes emprisonnés », 16 mars 2005. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12882  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(6) Colin L. Powell, Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, (Washington: United States Department of State, mayo de 2004). www.state.gov/documents/organization/32334.pdf  (sitio consultado el 7 de mayo de 2004), p. 20.

(7) Reporters sans frontières, « Aides apportées aux journalistes emprisonnés et aux médias en difficulté », 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7581  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(8) Reporters sans frontières, « Bilan 2004. L’année la plus meurtrière depuis dix ans : 53 journalistes tués », 2005. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12232  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(9) Ibid.

(10) El Nuevo Herald, « Castro y Chávez llaman a una alianza contra EEUU », 30 de abril de 2005.

(11) Salim Lamrani, Cuba face à l’Empire : Propagande, guerre économique et terrorisme d’Etat (Outremont, Lanctôt, 2005), capítulo VI.

(12) Reporters sans frontières, « La liberté de la presse retrouvée : un espoir à entretenir », julio de 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10888  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(13) Reporters sans frontières, « Comptes de Reporters sans frontières 2003 », 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10589  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(14) Ibid.

Edited November 13, 2005 by taxexile

[chownah]

the guardian is not the only organisation with the knives out for reporters without borders.

how true any of these articles are is anybodys guess , every tom dick and harry organisation and newspaper have some agenda these days that they have to promote.

but if theres a gravy train to jump on they all seem quite happy to jump on it.

trust nobody !!!

The Reporters Without Borders Fraud

by Salim Lamrani  May 13, 2005

The strong suspicions that have surrounded the dubious and partisan activities of Reporters without Boarders (RSF) were not unfounded.

For many years, various critics have denounced the largely political actions of the Parisian entity, particularly with regards to Cuba and Venezuela, whose characteristics that utilizes propaganda is obvious. The positions of RSF against the governments of Havana and Caracas are found in perfect correlation with the political and media war that Washington carries out against the Cuban and Venezuelan revolutionaries.

Finally the truth has come to light. Mr. Robert Ménard, secretary general of the RSF for twenty years, has confessed to receiving financing from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization that depends on the U.S. Department of State, whose principal role is to promote the agenda of the White House for the entire world. Ménard was indeed very clear. “We indeed receive money from the NED. And that hasn’t posed any problem.” (1)

Former U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, created the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 1983, during a period in which military violence took the place of traditional diplomacy in order to resolve international matters. Thanks to its powerful ability of financial penetration, the NED’s goal is to weaken governments that would oppose the foreign hegemonic power of Washington. (2) In Latin America, the two targets are Cuba and Venezuela.

For example, the NED financed and continues financing the Venezuelan opposition, responsible for the coup d’état against President Chávez, April 2002. Since then, the Venezuelan oligarchy has organized, with the help of Washington, several unsuccessful destabilization attempts, since the failure of the recall referendum, the popular legitimacy of Mr. Chávez has been only reinforced. In 2004, thirteen groups opposed to the Bolivarian government received 874,384 dollars from the NED. In 2003, 15 splinter groups opposed to the Venezuelan presidents benefited from subsidies from the NED for a total of 1,046,323 dollars. (3)

At the same time, RSF has regularly whipped the government of Mr. Chávez, for example, accusing him of threatening the freedom of the press in a report that criticizes a law reform proposal about the broadcast media. (4) This reform proposes criminal punishment against broadcast media guilty of criminal activities such as the initiation of an armed uprising or subversion. This new legislation is an answer to the role of capital and makes it a criminal offense for those who operated the private information media during the fascist coupe of 2002 against the Venezuelan president, and their real outrages. Outrages that the RSF refrains from denouncing.

But the enemy par excellence for RSF continues being Cuba. The unceasing repetition of Mr. Ménard is almost obsessive, as the new propaganda campaign against the island shows, bound to cause harm to tourism. (5) The Bush Plan against Cuba must not be forgotten, which allocates a budget of five million dollars for the NGO’s who carry out activities looking for methods to discourage tourists from visiting Cuba, and which also makes an example of a name to follow, Reporters without Borders. (6)

Additionally, RSF admits providing economic help in Cuba to the “families of the thirty jailed journalists so that they can face the loss of income caused by the arrest of their family members.” If the ideological rhetoric of this sentence is suppressed, it reads that the RSF remunerates the families of the jailed people by receiving a salary from the Bush government, seriously threatening the integrity of the Cuban nation by collaborating with the development of economic sanctions. Given that Mr. Ménard received economic rewards from the United States government, it is the same as saying that Washington, directly financing from afar, also finances, by means of the RSF, people who are at their service in Cuba, which constitutes of course a serious violation of Cuban law. (7)

According to the 2004 annual report from the RSF, “at last 53 information professionals lost their lives in the practice of their jobs or for expressing their opinions.” Iraq is, according to this report, the most dangerous country for journalism with 19 reporters murdered. The U.S. Army, who has occupied Iraq since 2003, is responsible for these murders, since they control the country. However, the RSF, far from accusing the U.S. authorities, limits itself to once again taking up the official statement from Washington and describes the shots, which caused the deaths of the various journalists, as “accidental.” However, Iraq is not a priority for Mr. Ménard. (8)

On the American continent, according to the RSF, “twelve journalists lost their lives” in Mexico, in Brazil, and in Peru. Nevertheless, the target of the Parisian organization is again Cuba where, it has to be emphasized that not one journalist has been murdered since 1959. Venezuela is also found in the line of sight while no journalist there has lost their life. There are those who have established a relationship between the targets of the RSF and those from Washington and pointed out the strange coincidence. (9) The reprimands from the Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleeza Rice, were specifically destined towards Mr. Castro and Mr. Chavez, whose growing closeness concerns the United States a lot. (10) Of course it’s not just a matter of personalities (Fidel and Chavez), its the Cuban and Venezuelan societies’ programs in favor of the poor which are being attacked.

Likewise, it is well-known that Mr. Ménard frequently visits the extreme Cuban right in Miami with which he has signed agreements relative to the media war carried out against the Cuban Revolution. (11)

The financing of the RSF also raises some important questions. How can an organization that depends economically on the FNAC, the CFAO, Hewlett Packard Foundation from France, the Hachette Foundation, the EDF Foundation, the Bank of Deposits and Consignments (la Caja de Depósitos y Consignaciones), the Open Society Institution, the Royal Foundation Network, Sanofi-Synthelabo (now Sanofi-Aventis), Atlas Publications, Color Club, Globenet, and Cadena Ser be independent? How can an organization financed by the French state act impartially? It is impossible, and RSF’s positions supporting the coup d’état against president Aristide of Haiti shows it very clearly. (12) How can an organization that expects to defend journalists rejoice at the overthrow of a democratically elected president?

The budget for RSF for 2003 was up to 3,472,122 euros. According to annual accounts the revenue came from: 11% from the State, 12% from patrons, 4% from contributions and donations, 15% from the European Commission, 10% from operations, and 48% from the organization’s publications. This last figure is surprising for its importance. The sum of 1,984,853 euros supposedly came from only the sale of calendars. (13) The calendar costs 8 euros, which is the same as saying that the RSF manages to sell more then 249,106 calendars per year, or 680 calendars every day! This figure is much too excessive to be credible.

When expenses are looked at for 2003, the accounts show that only 7% of the budget is allocated to direct help for journalists with problems.(14) What happens with the remaining 93% of the budget? It is devoted to the job of propaganda and disinformation at the service of the interests of those who finance Reporters without Borders, namely the French state, and the large economic and financial groups, the extreme Cuban right from Florida and the U.S. Department of State.

“Defense of freedom of the press” is only a facade. Reporters without Borders is at the service of governments and the powerful economic and financial interests. It is the reason why the main threat to freedom of the press, the concentration of the means of information, has never been denounced by Mr. Ménard’s organization. It is the reason by which the RSF, among others, never has been interested in the luck of Mr. Mumia Abu-Jamal, the U. S. journalist jailed for over twenty years for his writings and his political positions. Unfortunately, the collusion between Mr. Ménard, the large press, and financial capital hinders citizens from discovering the real objectives that they hide behind a humanitarian smokescreen.

Notes

(1) Robert Ménard, « Forum de discussion avec Robert Ménard », Le Nouvel Observateur, 18 de abril de 2005. www.nouvelobs.com/forum/archives/forum_284.html (sitio consultado el 22 de abril de 2005).

(2) National Endowment for Democracy, « About Us ». www.ned.org/about/about.html  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(3) National Endowment for Democracy, « NED Venezuela Programs ». www.ned.org/grants/venezuelaFacts.html  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(4) Reporters sans frontières, « Reporters sans frontières dénonce une régression de la liberté de la presse », 26 de noviembre de 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3id_article=12968  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(5) Reporters sans frontières, « Deux ans après le « printemps noir » : urgence humanitaire pour 21 journalistes emprisonnés », 16 mars 2005. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12882  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(6) Colin L. Powell, Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, (Washington: United States Department of State, mayo de 2004). www.state.gov/documents/organization/32334.pdf  (sitio consultado el 7 de mayo de 2004), p. 20.

(7) Reporters sans frontières, « Aides apportées aux journalistes emprisonnés et aux médias en difficulté », 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7581  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(8) Reporters sans frontières, « Bilan 2004. L’année la plus meurtrière depuis dix ans : 53 journalistes tués », 2005. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12232  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(9) Ibid.

(10) El Nuevo Herald, « Castro y Chávez llaman a una alianza contra EEUU », 30 de abril de 2005.

(11) Salim Lamrani, Cuba face à l’Empire : Propagande, guerre économique et terrorisme d’Etat (Outremont, Lanctôt, 2005), capítulo VI.

(12) Reporters sans frontières, « La liberté de la presse retrouvée : un espoir à entretenir », julio de 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10888  (sitio consultado el 23 de abril de 2005).

(13) Reporters sans frontières, « Comptes de Reporters sans frontières 2003 », 2004. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10589  (sitio consultado el 27 de abril de 2005).

(14) Ibid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:cheesy: