MIAMI, United States. – The participants in the 88th International PEN Congress, currently being held in Uppsala, Sweden, have addressed the situation of writers, artists and journalists in Cuba, according to a report by Radio Television Martí.
The event, which will run until October 1 and whose theme is “The Power of Words – Future Challenges for Freedom of Expression”, dealt with threats to freedom of expression, the challenge of nationalists and extremists to the systems politicians, the harassment, persecution and murder of writers and journalists, and the control and surveillance of digital media by governments.
Cuban writers Rolando Morelli and Luis de la Paz, president of the PEN Club of Cuban Writers in Exile, participate in the event.
According to statements made by De la Paz to Radio Televisión Martí, the current president of International PEN, the novelist Burhan Sonmez, mentioned the Cuban issue on two occasions.
“The situation that Cuba is going through was part of his presentation,” De la Paz explained. On the part of the Committee of Writers in Prison “there was a very interesting presentation with a lot of debate on the situation (…) in Ukraine”, she added.
In this sense, the Cuban writer said that there was “a great consensus” within the PEN and applause every time a representative of the Ukrainian writers intervened and referred to “the massacre that is taking place in that country as a result of the invasion of the russian imperialists”.
“The situation in Cuba was also discussed, at that time I had the opportunity to focus on the systematic violation of human rights, the tightening of laws that is taking place in Cuba to undermine freedom of expression,” said De la Paz.
For his part, Morelli explained to Radio Televisión Martí that he had the opportunity to speak about the situation in Cuba before the Committee of Writers in Prison
“The issue of Ukraine was the dominant one, but it also focused on writers, journalists and artists who suffer prison in many parts of the world and among them was the mention of Cuba,” said the writer.
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