Radio and TV Martí Provide Live Coverage of President Bush's Proclamation and Cuban Reaction to 'Day of Solidarity'

May 22, 2008 | Washington, D.C.

President Bush

Yesterday the Office of Cuba Broadcasting's (OCB) Radio and TV Martí provided live coverage of President George W. Bush's proclamation of a "Day of Solidarity with the Cuban People", followed by immediate reaction from prominent dissidents on the island.

"We'll continue to support the Cubans who work to make their nation democratic and prosperous and just," said President Bush in a White House ceremony announcing the event would be an annual observance until Cuba obtains its freedom. He highlighted the important role of Radio and TV Martí in providing, "uncensored information to the Cuban people."

In a phone interview with Radio and TV Martí, former long-time political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez, known as Antúnez, reacted to the announcement saying, "This has been a very exciting, very moving, day. For us it has been very important that this Day of Solidarity has been declared for Cuba." Noting President Bush's expression of support of political prisoners, Antúnez said that the struggle would continue, "until each and every one of Cuba's political prisoners has been freed." Other prominent dissidents in Cuba echoed similar sentiments and expressed the importance of the President's support for the establishment of democracy in the island nation. The interviews followed a gathering at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to watch the proclamation live on TV Martí.

The Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which is funded by the U.S. government through the presidentially appointed Broadcasting Board of Governors, was established in 1990 to oversee the operations of Radio and TV Martí, which broadcast news and information to the people of Cuba. Radio Martí broadcasts on medium and shortwave radio and TV Martí broadcasts on DirecTV, Hispasat, and Aeromartí.

For more information, call the Office of Public Information at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail publicaffairs@bbg.gov.