CEPOS' frihedspris, der er blevet indstiftet via en privat øremærket donation, går i år til den cubanske systemkritiker Yoani  Sánchez, der via sin blog ‘Generación Y’ insisterer på at gøre brug af sin ytringsfrihed til at kritisere forholdene på Cuba.

Dette på trods af, at andre cubanere har fået årelange fængselsdomme af det kommunistiske regime for selv mild kritik.

“På trods af store personlige omkostninger udviser Yoani  Sánchez et utroligt mod ved at ytre sig, og ytre sig kritisk, om det samfund hun lever i.

Ene kvinde og med store personlige omkostninger, har hun formået at holde fokus på en af verdens diktaturstater.
Det vil vi gerne belønne,” siger CEPOS’ direktør Martin Ågerup, som i den forgangne uge mødtes med Sánchez på Cuba.

Yoani Sánchez har skrevet bloggen ‘Generación Y’ siden 2007. Den opnåede så stor lokal og global opmærksomhed, at myndighederne allerede året efter spærrede for tilgangen til bloggen fra alle offentlige computere på Cuba.

Imidlertid har Yoani Sánchez’ ord og tanker takket være internettet ikke været til at stoppe – hver af hendes blogindlæg bliver løbende oversat af frivillige verden over til 15 sprog.

Yoani Sánchez lever en tilværelse med chikane og mistænkeliggørelse fra de cubanske myndigheder. Hun har ikke noget egentligt arbejde, men ernærer sig periodisk som tolk for bl.a. tyske turister. Da hun begyndte at blogge, måtte hun købe sig adgang til nettet via hoteller, hvor udenlandske turister bor, fordi almindelige cubanere ikke har internetadgang. Prisen for en times internetadgang svarede til en kvart månedsløn for en almindelig cubaner.

Yoani Sánchez advarer mod at se hendes blog som et udtryk for, at der er ytringsfrihed på Cuba.

“Tværtimod er den et udtryk for folks dristighed, at det selv i en sammenhæng, hvor der hverken er frihed eller teknologisk infrastruktur til at ytre sig, er det lykkedes at kommunikere med omverdenen,” siger hun.

CEPOS har inviteret Yoani Sánchez til København til en prisoverrækkelse i en nær fremtid.

“Sánchez er tidligere blevet nægtet udrejsetilladelse, men denne gang både håber og forventer vi, at de cubanske myndigheder vil lade hende komme til Danmark for at i egen person at modtage prisen”, slutter Martin Ågerup.

Fakta:
Yoani Sánchez er født i Havana, Cuba i 1975. Spansk filolog med speciale i moderne latinamerikansk litteratur.

Læs Yoani Sánchez' blog her http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/

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CEPOS’ Freedom award goes to the Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez along with DKK 300,000

CEPOS, An independent Danish think tank, has instituted an annual freedom award. This year, the  prize will  be awarded  to the Cuban dissident, Yoani Sánchez who, through her blog ’Generación Y’, demands the right to exercise her  freedom of speech when  criticizing the current conditions in Cuba. By doing so, Yoani risks facing imprisonment for years, a fate experienced by   other Cubans who have dared to utter the mildest critique of the  Communist regime.

“Despite the huge personal costs, Yoani Sánchez has shown amazing courage by expressing her honest and personal opinion of the society she currently lives in. Single-handedly and at great personal expense, she has managed to keep focus on one of the world’s most suffocating dictatorships. CEPOS wishes to show admiration of her courage and dedication by awarding her this prize.”,said  CEPOS Director, Martin Ågerup, who met with Sanchéz in Cuba this week.

In 2007 Yoani Sánchez started writing her blog ‘Generación Y’ which quickly gained so much  attention -  both locally and globally -   that the Cuban government decided to block access to the blog from all public computers in Cuba. Yet thanks to the World Wide Web, Yoani Sánchez’ words and thoughts haven’t been hushed; moreover each one of her blog contributions is  continuously translated by volunteers into over 15 different languages.

Yoani Sánchez activism has meant that she is relegated to a life of scrutiny and harassment at the hands of the Cuban authorities. She doesn’t hold a real job, but manages to support herself by periodically working as a translator for German tourists. Ordinary Cubans do not have access to the internet, so when she started blogging, she had to buy access to the Internet through hotels where foreign tourists stay. The price for a single hour online corresponds to a quarter of one month’s salary for a normal Cuban. 

Yoani Sánchez warns against seeing her blog as an evidence of freedom of expression in Cuba.

“On the contrary, it should be more seen as an act of rebellion. Yet with neither  the prevalence of freedom of speech nor that of  a technologic infrastructure, it has still been possible to communicate with the outside world”.

CEPOS has invited Yoani Sánchez to Copenhagen to attend the award ceremony in the near future.

“Sanchéz has on earlier occasions been denied an exit permit, including to this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway, but this time she both hopes and expects that the Cuban authorities will let her come to Denmark in order to accept the award in person”, Martin Ågerup concludes.

Facts:
Yoani Sánchez was born in Havana, Cuba in 1975. She has a Master of Philology degree with focus on modern Latin American literature.

Read Yoani Sánchez' blog here http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/