Published Wednesday, October 9, 1996, in the Miami Herald.

Press group honors Cuba journalists

From Herald Wire Services
PASADENA, Calif. -- The Inter American Press Association on Tuesday awarded the 1996 Grand Prize for Press Freedom to five groups of independent journalists reporting on events in Cuba despite arrests and other government harassment. The prize was among those handed out at the 52nd annual meeting of the IAPA, made up of editors and publishers of news media in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Sharing the prize are the Cuban Bureau of Independent Journalists; the agencies Habana Press, Cuba Press and Patria; and the Cuban Association of Independent Journalists. None of the Cuban journalists were present to receive the award, which had been announced in July and had been followed by a new wave of government repression against the independent agencies. A message was read, however, from Raul Rivero, who founded the Cuba Press agency last year. Prensa Libre newspaper of Guatemala City received honorable mention. Other awards were given out in four categories to journalists and media from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

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