आईसीटी समाचार
Cuba's foreign minister said on Wednesday that the US is behind human and civil rights rallies scheduled for November 15 in the communist-run nation, and that US-based social media network Facebook is assisting in their promotion. Dissidents on the island, coordinated through the Archipielago Facebook page, obtained permission to hold the protests in September. Cuban authorities declined their request, claiming that demonstrators were plotting to topple the regime with the help of the US.
Before a conference of foreign diplomats in Havana, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez reaffirmed such claims, claiming that the US had helped to fund and organize the protests in order to undermine the regime. "The United States' policy is going to fail. It's impossible. For the past 60 years, it hasn't worked. It doesn't work today, and it won't work in the future "he stated. Rodriguez singled out Facebook, claiming that dissidents organized in Facebook groups had broken the platform's own rules by "altering logarithms, altering the geolocation mechanism to simulate the massive presence in Cuba of people with accounts that are known to reside outside our country, primarily in Florida and US territory."
According to Rodriguez, these tactics were illegal under both US and international law. "As has already happened, Facebook might be prosecuted for these tactics against Cuba if strict respect to the regulations is maintained." A Reuters request for comment was met with silence from the US State Department and Facebook, which just changed its name to Meta. People in Cuba have new means to voice grievances and mobilize online because to the recent spread of internet access. Archipielago, the Facebook group orchestrating the demonstrations, claims to have 31,501 members, more than half of whom live in Cuba. Yunior Garcia of
Archipielago, a Cuban dissident, could not be reached for comment right away. Cuba's government controls telecommunications and frequently blames trolls and foreign operatives for inciting unrest on social media. Following huge anti-government rallies in July, the island nation's internet and social media connectivity was disrupted in an apparent attempt to deter additional protests. Rodriguez also informed ambassadors that the US had provided Cuba one million doses of coronavirus vaccination last week. Given that Cuba has previously vaccinated practically its entire population with home-grown medications, he dismissed the offer as "opportunistic" and irrelevant. Instead, he presented a counter-proposal, recommending that Cuba and the United States both provide vaccinations to a country that is in desperate need of them.
