September 22, 1997
Washington, Sep 21 (EFE).- Non-governmental organization Freedom House admitted on Sunday that it secretly sent literature and men to Cuba in the past six months, but denied these were subversive or spies.
Cuban-born Frank Calzon, who coordinated the operation, told EFE that the men sent to Cuba were not CIA agents nor had any links with intelligence services.
Calzon, who has been with Freedom House for 11 years, said the organization was considered dangerous by Fidel Castro's regime because it was working for Cuba's transition to democracy.
The shipments to Cuba included books that were openly published in Spain years ago, but are banned by Havana, Calzon said.
Possession or distribution of these books is punishable by prison sentences, he added.
The Granma newspaper accused Freedom House on September 12 of running a subversive propaganda machine that was more of a spy network than a non-governmental organization.
According to Granma, Calzon had instructed David Norman Dorn, a teachers' union leader, to get in touch with the different counter-revolutionary groups and provide them with funds.
Calzon allegedly gave Dorn a list of people to contact in distinct places in Cuba.
Dorn, who was deported from Cuba more than a month ago, voluntarily agreed to filter books and other printed material into Cuba, Calzon said.
Calzon added that Dorn received written instructions to avoid any contact with groups that professed violence and that the money he was carrying was only intended to help the families of dissidents and political prisoners.
The material smuggled into Cuba also included copies of the U.N. declaration on human rights, the last law signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton that pertained to Cuba and a chapter on Cuba taken from the human rights report of the Organization of American States.
The printed materials were mainly brought to Cuba by volunteers who were not U.S. citizens.
These volunteers came to the island through Canada and Spain.
Some of their trips to Cuba were partly or entirely shouldered by Freedom House.
Calzon refused to give the names of the messengers, but affirmed that they were respected journalists, professors and union members who shared the hope for a peaceful change to democracy in Cuba.
Due to the difficulty of bringing huge amounts of literature to Cuba, Freedom House went to the U.S. State Department and got permission to use diplomatic routes.
This operation was uncovered in April when Cuban police opened one of the sacks sent to the U.S. interests section in Havana and found this type of literature inside.
The White House responded with a forceful protest to the violation of its diplomatic rights.
Freedom House has an annual budget of dlrs 700,000 for this operation, including dlrs 500,000 that came from the U.S. government in 1996 as part of its program to promote the exchange of information with Cuba. EFE