The American Library Association (ALA) has affirmed its shameful and cowardly stance towards Fidel Castro's repression of intellectual freedom, libraries and librarians in Cuba. As noted earlier, this is hypocritical in the extreme, given ALA's vociferous devotion to a universal Freedom to Read, which is supposed to mean more than shelter for the consumption of pornography. Infuriating.
The largest U.S. library association this week opted not to demand the release of private Cuban librarians jailed by Fidel Castro's government in the spring, despite voting to support an investigation of the incarcerations by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.Posted by Alan at January 16, 2004 12:46 AMAt its national meeting in San Diego, the American Library Association, noting that individuals operating private libraries in Cuba consider themselves "political dissidents" not librarians, left out specific language calling for their release Wednesday.
"Today marks a tragic date in the history of the American Library Association," said Robert Kent, head of the New York-based advocacy group Friends of Cuban Libraries. "They failed to live up to their highest ideal, which is a support for intellectual freedom as a universal human right."