Bibliotheken in Kuba, Systemwechsel und die USA

Die Zeitschrift "Laurentius" hatte des öfteren über die Situation der sog. Independent Libraries in Kuba sowie die Kontroverse darüber berichtet. Im DOBI steht z. B. zu lesen:

Kubanische Bibliotheken im Visier - eine Diskussion im Internet. In: Laurentius. - Seelze. - 16 (1999),2, S. 90 - 91
Es werden die Aufrufe zweier Gruppen wiedergegeben, die diametral entgegengesetzte Einstellungen hinsichtlich der kubanischen Bibliothekspolitik widerspiegeln. Das ist einerseits der der Friends of Cuban Libraries, die die Gründung unabhängiger Bb verteidigen, deren teilweise Schließung und die Abschiebung der Bibliothekare an Verbannungsorte verurteilen. Das ist andererseits der der Cuban Libraries Support Group, die die Regierungsmeinung unterstützen, die gen. unabhängigen Bb werden von US-amerikanischen Stiftungen unterstützt, die der kubanischen Regierung feindlich gegenüberstehen. (tr)

Hier Ausz. aus einem im Internet zugänglichen Regierungsdokument (USA, 2004), das ein Licht auf die Rolle der USA wirft. Gegenstand sind sowohl die Einwirkung der USA auf einen Machtwechsel in Kuba als auch auf den politischen Wandel unter einer zukünftigen Übergangsregierung. Bibliotheken wird eine wichtige Rolle auf dem Erziehungssektor zugedacht. Chapter 3 (s. u. letzter Absatz) wirft ein Licht auf die Gegenwart: die US-Agency for International Development (USAID) versorgt kubanische Haushalte mit Newslettern per E-Mail, eine Aktion, die ausgedehnt werden könne, und stellt für die Independent Libraries und andere unabhängige Organisationen Medien und Informationsmaterial bereit, was während der Übergangsphase intensiviert werden sollte.

Ein Dankeschön geht an Zapopan Martín Muela Meza, der mich in seiner Mailingliste "Library, Information and Society"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lib-info-society/
auf das Dokument aufmerksam machte.


Report to the President / Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/

Introduction
[...]
Chapter 1 of this report thus identifies additional means by which the United States can help the Cuban people bring about an end to the Castro dictatorship, taking into account the various methods the regime has instituted in recent years to sustain itself in power. The strategy is multi-dimensional: adopting measures to empower Cuban civil society; [...]
What follows in Chapters 2 through 6 is a survey of the areas in which the U.S. Government can assist a free Cuba in all facets of its reconstruction and renewal. This document proposes a wide range of actions that the U.S. Government might propose to a Cuban transition government. They are not intended to be a prescription for Cuba?s future.
[...]
It is likely that a Cuban government embarked upon a democratic transition will have aspirations and needs similar to those of other transition countries from former communist rule. As such, a free Cuba can be expected to seek assistance:
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/32244.htm

Chapter 1: Hastening Cuba's Transition
[...]
The same resilience and determination of Czech leader Vaclav Havel?s Charter 77 and of the ?Solidarity? movement is also embodied today in the activists of the Cuban independent library movement, and the scores of independent journalists who risk everything so that the world no longer can claim ignorance about the repressive practices of a ruthless dictatorship.
[...]
Independent Civil Society Groups: Despite years of repression, there is a growing independent civil society movement on the island. Cubans have organized, or attempted to organize, and identify themselves as ?independent journalists,? ?independent librarians,? ?independent writers,? ?independent economists,? etc. The key is their willingness to depart from the existing Stalinist structure. These groups are hampered, however, by a lack of basic materials and access to the equipment necessary to conduct their work. Independent libraries operate out of people?s homes and the majority lack even the most rudimentary equipment.
[...]
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A Robust U.S. Assistance Program to Empower Cuban Civil Society:
[...]
Work with willing third-country allies to support creation of an international fund for the protection and development of civil society in Cuba. This fund should engage, train, and provide resources for volunteers of different nationalities to travel to Cuba for several weeks to provide logistical and technical assistance to independent libraries, professional organizations, charity organizations, journalists, educators, nurses, and medical doctors working independently of the regime;
[...]
RECOMMENDED FUNDING
A. Building Democracy by Empowering Cuban Civil Society:
[...]
$ 2 Million: Independent Libraries: Programs to re-stock, strengthen and expand the Cuban independent library network and to promote their solidarity with national library associations in Europe and Latin America.
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/32238.htm

Chapter 2: Meeting Basic Human Needs in the Areas of Health, Education, Housing, and Human Services
[...]
B. Seven Foundations for Action in Cuba?s Transformation
[..]
6. The United States and others should be prepared to help Cuba depoliticize its institutions and promote justice and reconciliation. The U.S. Government can assist Cuban efforts to eliminate profoundly politicized Castro-era textbooks, other instructional materials and media resources, as well as support the Free Libraries of Cuba network to enhance the physical presence of diverse materials and circulation of free ideas.
[..]
To promote national dialogue on school reform, the United States could assist a transition government in establishing a National Commission on Progress through Education, in association with Cuba?s existing network of libraries. Each library could be designated as the organizing entity for a local ?Progress through Education? dialogue.
[...]
Working with a new Cuban Ministry of Education, community education boards could encourage local community participation in local school affairs by establishing an outreach program focused on community ownership and investment in schools. Building from the success of similar initiatives in the region, officials from the Inter-American system and the United States could work with the Cuban Ministry of Education, the Independent Libraries network, and other national stakeholders to establish local school community education boards.
[...]
v. Improve Cuba?s Educational Infrastructure
[...]
c. Libraries and Information Resources
The renovation and modernization of Cuba?s libraries, museums, and other information resources will be a major undertaking that might best operate in coordination with reforming and modernizing the education system. Public libraries, school libraries, and university libraries, will need adequate current materials to replace outmoded and deteriorated holdings. There could also be assistance in providing needed technical services and in upgrading facilities in conjunction with other educational infrastructure improvements. Cuban libraries and information centers can benefit from modern information technology, and their staffs can be trained or retrained to provide modern information services for a free society. Foreign assistance providers and Cuban experts could cooperate in revitalizing Cuban libraries. Organizations such as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the American Library Association, and other interested private sector organizations should be encouraged to support this endeavor.
[...]
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/32247.htm

Chapter 3: Establishing Democratic Institutions, Respect for Human Rights, Rule of Law, and National Justice and Reconciliation
[...]
Despite the opposition of the current regime, USAID grantees now sending thousands of newsletters each month by e-mail to Cuban households across the island. The number receiving such materials could be greatly expanded. In addition, USAID and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana provide thousands of books, videos, and other informational materials to Cuba?s independent libraries, and other independent organizations. This effort should increase during the transition, and Cuban government libraries should receive substantial USAID and other assistance for administration as well as in the form of reading and audiovisual materials.
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/32250.htm