It Is State Policy To Misinform People

"It Is State Policy To Misinform People" / Cubanet, Roberto Jesus Quinones
Posted on February 15, 2015

Cubanet.org, Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces, Havana, 13 February 2015 —
Raul Castro's government, in spite of rapprochement between Cuba and the
United States, continues the work of keeping people from freely
accessing the internet.

On Monday, January 19 Cubanet published a report about the detention of
the young Guantanemero Leinier Cruz Salfran on Saturday, January 17 by
State Security agents. The reason? Leinier was gathering together a
group of young people outside of the Hotel Marti, connecting through his
laptop to the building's WiFi and sharing the Internet with the others
present who had also brought their portable computers to the location.

We contacted the young man who agreed to grant us this interview:

Q: Leinier, why did State Security detain you?

Because according to them I was committing a crime of Illicit Economic
Activity.

Q: What did you do?

I shared the use of the Internet with other people through Hotel Marti's
wifi connection.

Q: How many users came to connect to the Internet at the same time
because of your initiative?

There was no fixed number, there were days when more than fifty people
connected on the ground floor of the Hotel Marti which was generally
where I was connected.

Q: What was the typical connection speed when everyone was connected at
the same time?

The Hotel Marti has a bandwidth of 6 mbps (megabits per second) which
equates to a download speed of 600 kb per second. The speed was
sufficient for chatting, participating in a video conference or carrying
out an audio session on Facebook. The speed was acceptable.

Later the hotel managers applied a speed limit of 2 mbps for each direct
client. Only three people could connect directly to the hotel without
interference. If another person connected the speed was divided among
the four.

In the end, I had to tell the users that they could not do video
conferences because now the bandwidth was insufficient for everyone.
Everything was limited to opening pages, downloading email and voice
sessions.

Q: How would you rate the internet connection opportunities that exist
today in the city of Guantanamo?

There are very few internet access points, just two Internet rooms with
10 computers for a city of more than 150,000 residents. Furthermore, now
the Hotel Marti denies Internet access to Cubans, who now cannot even
pay a dollar to go up to the terrace which is where they have placed the
wifi access.

Also, in the Hotel Guantanamo, the equipment for the point of access
used to be in the lobby and now they put it on the second floor and even
removed the antennas, which they only put up between 4 and 8 pm. Whoever
wants to access the internet has to pay one dollar per hour. This part a
decision by the government itself.

Q: The police accuse you of supposed illicit economic activity. Did you
charge for sharing Internet access or did you share the cost of the
connection with your friends?

I never charged because I knew they were following me. After I started
sharing the connection I knew that I had become a dangerous enemy for
the authorities and I knew that at some point I was going to confront
them face to face, obviously on their terms, so I just shared the cost
of the connection.

Q: Is there a law in Cuba that prohibits sharing the connection cost
among several users?

I don't know. During the interrogations they spoke to me of a crime
called Violation of Contractual Services, something like that, in which
the crime of violating a contract incurs a penalty of up to three years
incarceration. Apparently they were convinced there was no evidence of
any illicit economic activity, however, they emphasized that I violated
the contract with ETECSA (Telecommunications Enterprise of Cuba) by
using the Nauta (Internet) service, but in my opinion they did not want
to go to the extreme of sentencing me.

Q: Did they return your laptop, flash drives and camera that they took
during the search of your home?

No, they still have not told me what they will do with them. They took
them from me and have left me disarmed because I am a programmer.

Q: Do you plan to do it again?

No, no I cannot trip on the same rock, it would be stupid if I did that.
I think I have to focus my efforts on other artists, other projects that
I have in mind until I find a person with strength and the chance of
helping me carry them out.

Q: Why do you think they authorities hinder cheap Internet access for
young Cubans?

I believe that it is the policy of the State to maintain massive
disinformation for the Cuban population, and that is demonstrated by the
fact that this government has never permitted free access to
information. Here we have no chance of getting computers, mobile
devices, access to satellite TV, the Internet, there are no satellite
phone connections or access to information technology. What they have
done to me proves it.

Q: What is your current legal situation?

Apparently I am not going to have a trial. They told the mother of my
daughter who communicates with me to go to the Operations Unit to
process the application of a fine, God knows for how many pesos, but I
have decided not to go until such time as they communicate it to me as
the law provides, through a document. The same way that they came with a
search warrant the very day that they arrested me in front of my
neighbors as if I were a delinquent and arrested me, that's how they
must do it for me to go there.

(We went to the Hotel Marti, the place where Leinier carried out his
supposed derelict activity for which he was arrested. This reporter
tried on three occasions to speak with the hotel manager, leaving his
address and telephone number with a note in which we expressed that our
intention was to bring to her attention what Cubanet published so that
she could offer her viewpoint. In spite of our efforts, the lady did not
agree to an interview.)

About the author

Roberto Jesus Quinones Haces

Born in the city of Cienfuegos September 20, 1957. He is a law graduate.
In 1999 he was sentenced unfairly and illegally to eight years
incarceration and since then has been prohibited from practicing as a
lawyer. He has published poetry collections "The Flight of the Deer"
(1995, Editorial Oriente), "Written from Jail" (2001, Ediciones Vitral),
"The Sheepfolds of Dawn" (2008, Editorial Oriente), and "The Water of
Life" (2008, Editorial El Mar y La Montana). He won the Stained Glass
Grand Prize for Poetry in 2001 with his book "Written from Jail" as well
as Special Mention and Special Recognition from the Nosside
International Poetry Competition in 2006 and 2008, respectively. His
poems appear in the 1994 UNEAC Anthology, in the 2006 Nosside
Competition Anthology, and in décimas selections "This Jail of Pure Air"
by Waldo Gonzalez in 2009.

Translated by MLK

Source: "It Is State Policy To Misinform People" / Cubanet, Roberto
Jesus Quinones | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/it-is-state-policy-to-misinform-people-cubanet-roberto-jesus-quinones/