It’s been reported consistently during the past year or so. The last report on the Cuban blogosphere by BBC news (8th October) stated:
Cuba’s dynamic emerging blogging community has recently been testing the limits of free expression with posts ranging from vivid accounts of everyday life to sometimes risky calls for political change in the Communist-run state.
Up to now such tests have resulted in verbal intolerance, marginalisation and extensive surveillance. However, the response turned to violence today in Havana as the police detained Yoani Sanchez and Orlando Luis Pardo. They were bundled violently into a police car and deposited a few minutes later a few miles away.
The speed of the the reporting here is remarkable. Tweeted by Yoani, later blogged by her, the story is one of being ‘jumped’ by the police during a march (uploaded to YouTube) against violence. Here’s a taste of the flurry of reports (taken from Desarraigos Provocados that soon followed:
- Penúltimos días: La Seguridad de Estado detiene a Yoani Sánchez y otros blogueros cuando iban a participar en una manifestación-performance en la calle 23 (updatn ed)
- Reuters: Bloguera Yoani Sánchez es detenida brevemente en Cuba
- Nuevo Herald: Yoani Sánchez golpeada por la seguridad del Estado
- rtve.es: La bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez, retenida y golpeada por la policía
- ElMundo.es: La bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez, retenida y golpeada por la policía
- ABC.es: La bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez denuncia que fue golpeada y retenida por policías
- ElPaís.com: La bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez, retenida y golpeada
- Radio y televisón Martí: Golpeada en La Habana Yoani Sánchez junto a otros blogueros
- LaRepública.pe: Bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez detenida y golpeada
- infobae.com: La bloguera Yoani Sánchez, golpeada y detenida en Cuba
- En A Freedom Blog: Brutal Arrest and Detention of Cuban Bloggers in Havana on Friday (Translation)
- En Perú.com: Bloguera cubana Yoani Sánchez dice que fue retenida y golpeada por policías
No doubt these will be updated in the following days. And here’s the theory espoused so often by Yoani: the blogosphere/twittersphere is an enormous echo-chamber where dissenting voices can be protected by increasing the attention focused on them. Any attempt to silence such voices would create so much ‘noise’ as to be counter-productive.
Lets hope it’s true.
