Babalu Goes to Washington

As you read this, I'm in transit to Washington DC for a very special event. I, along with a handful of other bloggers/new media users/activists, have been invited for a round table discussion with the President of the United States. The focus of the discussion will be how, through blogs and other new media technologies, each participant has been able to document and expose civil and human rights violations in their countries of origin as well as use our platforms to promote our respective countries' civil societies.

Indeed, it is an incredible honor for me personally, but moreover a confirmation that the endless hours and work we have put into this endeavor may very well have born fruit. Our goal has always been to promote the eradication of the systematic violation of civil and human rights on the island through this medium in the hopes of getting the traditional mainstream media to follow suit and also to obtain awareness and support of governments. I believe a face to face meeting with the President of the United States of America -- the most powerful nation on Earth -- pretty much meets the latter criteria and hopefully nudges the media to cover these important issues. I truly hope that it is, at least, a beginning.

This event is being held specifically on International Human Rights Day and on the sixtieth anniversary of the ratification of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

The following are brief bios on the other participants to this important event:

Mr. Alexander Klaskovskiy, Blogger (Belarus). Mr. Klaskovskiy is Chief of the Analytical Service for Belarusian independent news service BelaPAN (The Belarusian Private News Agency). He is one of the founders of BelaPAN and its primary blogger. Mr. Klaskovskiy also blogs for the independent newspaper Nasha Niva and is Chief Editor of The Commentator, a premier weekly analytical bulletin. He has worked in print, television, and online media for over 30 years.

Ms. Olga Kozulina, New Media User (Belarus). Ms. Kozulina is the daughter of former political prisoner and former presidential candidate, Alexander Kozulin, who was arrested in March 2006 and sentenced to five and a half years of imprisonment for his political actions against the Lukashenko regime. He was released in August under U.S. and international pressure. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party and the commission "Freedom for Kozulin and All Political Prisoners." Ms. Kozulina was the deputy director of the firm Alaktiv from 2005 until 2007, when she was ostensibly fired for "unauthorized absence" for attending an opposition conference in Lithuania in July 2007. She ran as a candidate in her father's party, "Gramada", in parliamentary elections on September 28, but was not elected. The elections fell far short of OSCE standards for democratic elections.

Mr. Maung Maung Win aka Maung Yit, Blogger (Burma, now living in the U.S.). Mr. Win was a member of the Generation 88 student movement in Burma who eventually fled his country. He now lives in San Francisco and runs a respected online media group, called "Moe MaKa" that is read by many inside Burma. The website provides information about the situation in Burma, calls for freedom, and offers information and postings about Burmese cultural works. Mr. Win is also well connected with Burmese activists inside the country, gets their messages, and relays them to Burmese in exile through his website. During the Saffron Revolution last year and Cyclone Nargis this year, his website reported photos and messages of these event effectively. His site also reports about the recent regime crackdown in Burma, in which hundreds of activists were given heavy sentences and transferred to remote prisons.

Mr. Qiang Xiao, New Media User (China, now living in the United States). Mr. Xiao is a well-known human rights activist and expert on China's blogosphere. He serves as Director of the China Internet Project and is an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Xiao is the founder and publisher of China Digital Times, an independent China news portal he launched in 2003. A theoretical physicist by training, Xiao became a full-time human rights activist after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. Xiao was Executive Director of the New York-based nongovernmental organization Human Rights in China from 1991 to 2002 and Vice Chairman of the steering committee of the World Movement for Democracy. He spoke at each meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva from 1993 to 2001 and has testified several times before the U.S. Congress. Xiao's research and writing interests include state censorship and control of the Internet, and the impact of information and communication technologies on China's media, politics, and international relations. He is the author of a Chinese and English blog "Rock-n-Go" and a public speaker on China's information revolution and its future. Xiao was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship in 2001 and was profiled in the 2003 book, Soul Purpose: 40 People Who Are Changing the World for the Better.

Mr. Arash Sigarchi, Blogger (Iran, now living in the United States). Mr. Sigarchi is a 30-year-old Iranian journalist who was granted asylum in the United States in November 2008. In his mid-twenties, he rose to prominence as a newpaper editor and blogger. He founded and edited the daily newspaper of Gilan, his native region in northwestern Iran. In 2004, Mr. Sigarchi led a successful nationwide campaign to draw attention to the government’s arrest and torture of dissident journalists. He also spoke out against Iran’s energy policies and treatment of women. In 2005, authorities took Mr. Sigarchi prisoner and charged him with treason because of his political views. In December 2006, he married Rafouneh Sam Daliri, a 27-year-old activist for women’s rights in Iran who was Mr. Sigarchi's vital support while he faced persecution and illness. Mr. Sigarchi escaped Iran in January 2008. Since his arrival in the United States, he has remained active in journalism, despite receiving threats from religious extremists in Iran. He has completed a book entitled Local Journalism, which trains Iranian journalists to continue their important work under repressive conditions. Mr. Sigarchi comments daily on political conditions in Iran through his blog and frequently gives interviews on the Voice of America and other media outlets. For his courage and dedication to the field of journalism in Iran, Mr. Sigarchi received the Human Rights Watch Hellman/Hammett Award in 2007.

I understand that along with those present, there may be couple other prominent blogger/activists, including our good friend and colleague Miguel Octavio from The Devil's Excrement via video teleconference.

I'm incredibly humbled upon reading the bios above as Ive been blessed with having lived in freedom my entire life here in the US and I haven't had to experience first hand some of the events described above. Yet I and all of you reading this and my fellow blog contributors do have one thing in common with my fellow participants in the White House event: we all work to expose injustice and oppression, we all work to tell the truth and we all work to help give voice to those that are silenced by others. I am just as honored and privileged to meet with these men and women as I am the President.

Given the histories and pedigrees of the men and women who'll join me in participation in this event, this welder's son may not be able to provide much information that they don't already know, but I do intend to learn from them as much as possible, and bring that knowledge back from this conference and apply it in hopes of helping those living on the island gulag ninety miles away.

Viva Cuba libre and God bless America.

Posted by Val Prieto at December 10, 2008 09:00 AM

Comments

Posted by: Cigar Mike Pancier at December 10, 2008 09:22 AM

Posted by: insideislam at December 10, 2008 09:31 AM

Posted by: therealcuba at December 10, 2008 10:03 AM

Posted by: jsb at December 10, 2008 11:29 AM

Posted by: j2tharome at December 10, 2008 11:42 AM

Posted by: asombra at December 10, 2008 11:50 AM

Posted by: Cubanita in Colorado at December 10, 2008 12:25 PM

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at December 10, 2008 01:04 PM

Posted by: wife of pitbull at December 10, 2008 01:22 PM

Posted by: Henry Agueros at December 10, 2008 01:41 PM

Posted by: Kate at December 10, 2008 10:01 PM

Posted by: Paco at December 11, 2008 09:53 AM

Posted by: Retread at December 11, 2008 01:02 PM