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 **  *****  *****    ***           COMMUNIQUE # 4 - 37
 **  **     **      ** **          25 SEPTEMBER 1995
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International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House
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CUBA: INDEPENDENT PRESS BUREAU HEADED BY YNDAMIRO RESTANO OPENS

The newly-formed Independent Press Bureau of Cuba (IPBC) went
into action on 19 September, reported Reporters sans frontieres
(RSF). IPBC's first press release was about the new law on
foreign investment in Cuba. RSF said, "This is the first time in
thirty-five years -- since the last independent paper, `Prensa
Libre', was closed on 16 May 1960 -- that a free press has
operated in Cuba." About 15 journalists and collaborators work at
the IPBC, which is directed by journalist Yndamiro Restano Diaz.
Restano was released in June after being arrested in 1991 and
sentenced to ten years in prison for "rebellion". The IPBC has
two foreign bureaus, one in the United States and one in France.
The agency is independent of any political party and has received
support from the Lillian Helman Foundation. Yndamiro Restano Diaz
asked RSF to send a delegation to Havana for the opening of the
bureau. RSF said they "were there to bear witness in solidarity
and demand that the Cuban authorities respect the freedom of the
press." RSF reported that during last week several members of the
IPBC were harassed.


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   Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires
      World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
          Asociacion mundial de radios comunitarias
3575 Blvd. St. Laurent, Suite 704     Email: amarc@web.apc.org
Montreal, Quebec                             Tel: (1-514) 982-0351
CANADA  H2X 2T7                           Fax: (1-514) 849-7129
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