I do not think it is fair for Yoani Sánchez, Reinaldo Escobar and the rest of the competently brave people who integrate the writing of 14 andmedio, feel shame for the storm.
HAVANA. – This Saturday, the Independent Cuban newspaper 14ymedio He published an editorial to correct an error made for his writing last week. Under the title Chronology of an error about multiple outrage in Havana, The journalists remedied the mistake incurred by pointing out, as an alleged author, an incorrect person. This is a fact that is not frequent in the practice of the prestigious newspaper.
The events date back to Monday, August 25 when the Ministry of Interior (Minint), a few hours after the crime, disclosed a brief note about it. The text proposed that a foreign citizen, to the helm of a car, ran over “in different places” from the center of the Cuban capital to a total of nine citizens, including a woman who was deceased.
As expected, the “Cuban official press” said nothing more and made silence. Keep in mind that, in accordance with the little that had been disclosed, the only reasonable thing was to think that it was an intentional attack perpetrated by the driver against the affected citizens: a fact that has occurred in other parts of the world, but that in Cuba it is observed for the first time.
I insist that there were many aspects of the case that were mired in the most complete darkness: what was the nationality of the perpetrator? How was it named? What led him to indistinctly attempt against unknown people? Who were affected? None of those aspects were approached in the laconic note of the Castrocommunist minint.
The media of the Communist Party gave no way to correct those omissions. Nor to point out the existence of the latter; And much less to claim information from the authorities! The one that did deal with those issues that interest public opinion, which did work in that regard, was the persecuted independent press.
Here in Cubanetfor example, the information “was published”First details of the massive outrage in Habana ”, whose title speaks for itself. The text was accompanied by a video where witnesses pointed the brand and color of the car. Subsequently, on Monday, September 1, when the propaganda media of the dictatorship completed seven days by worshiping Harpocrates (Greek god of mutism), the Hipólito Echegoyen colleague denounced that situation:“ a week of official silence on the multiple abuse of Havana ”.
In the same sense of seeking information about the infamous event, among others, the colleagues of 14ymedio. In that context, they stated that the author of the crime was an Italian (in what they were right) and identified him as the well -known businessman Berto Savina, which was not true. The true author, according to the minint later, was Mario Pontolillo.
For anyone, the difficulties confronted by independent journalists to develop their work in Cuba is a secret. The aforementioned editorial of 14ymedio It begins with a lapidary paragraph, which deserves well to be reproduced. He says: “We do a high -risk journalism in a country subject to a regime that represses freedom of expression and press, in addition to having taken our nation to complete destruction and misery, which has forced hundreds of thousands of Cubans to flee from an island that was prosperous.”
The text continues to mention “several collaborators arrested without trial”, to which we could add others forced by the Castrocommunist persecution to exile. It is an analogous situation to which those who work in other independent media, such as Cubanetwithout going any further. On Sunday, this newspaper denounced the site that, at home, suffers the reporter Camila Acosta. And it is recorded that it is just one more arbitrariness in a very long list.
As indicated by the title of its editorial, the colleagues of the first independent newspaper edited in Cuba make a detailed count of the editorial process they carried out to find out the identity of the crime perpetrator, as well as other aspects of the fact. They trusted “a seemingly friendly source” (and “now suspiciously silent”) that, also being Italian nationality, showed “insistence” in inculting Mr. Savina.
In 14ymedio They made other efforts to corroborate this last saying. They even went to the store governed by the alleged author and asked several employees. These confirmed that since the day of the massive abuse they had not seen the business owner. Already with these and other elements in his possession was that the writing of the aforementioned newspaper was encouraged to point out that Berto Savina was the author of the crime.
As the editorial states melancholicly: “We do not rule out that our Italian source could have been put at the State Security Service in an operation to disqualify us.” And then: “This would indicate how far the tentacles of the Political Police extend, whose only task is to ensure, at any price, the survival of an exhausted regime.”
The unfortunate experience of the friends of 14ymedio It should serve as teaching; to themselves and the rest of the Cuban independent press. As readers, we accept the sincere apologies that they have presented. And at the same time we find that, from the official press, that in lots of occasions they have offended countless people who do not please Castrocomunism, there has never been an analogous apology!
I do not think it is fair for Yoani Sánchez, Reinaldo Escobar and the rest of the competently brave ones that make up the writing of 14ymediofeel shame for the stumbling. The great culprit of what happened is the regime, which, despite counting from the first moment the relevant information, kept silent for more than a week. This, in turn, demonstrates what is the “respect” they feel for “their people.”
In summary, it comes to the end of a verse of the Camagueyan Nicolás Guillén, that the communists, not because of their literary excellence, but because it is a co -religionist of them, they insist on calling “the national poet”: “that the master is ashamed”.
