Chronicle on Cuba - March 2004

Foreign Affairs

March 1: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said he was pleased with his visit to Argentina. He highlighted that it proved very fruitful and that there are possibilities for strengthening and increasing bilateral relations. "We have restored a respectful political dialogue without confrontation points and have reached a clear understanding on Cuba´s reasons to oppose the blockade and Argentina will not get involve in campaigns against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission," Perez Roque asserted. The Cuban minister highlighted that Argentina´s solidarity with Cuba is stronger than ever since Fidel Castro visited Buenos Aires to attend the inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner last May. (Prensa Latina, 1/3/04)

March 1: Visiting Cuban Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Mr Alfredo Cartaya paid tribute to President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabweans for supporting his country in fighting imperialism and economic sanctions imposed by the United States. Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Cartaya told journalists in Harare that Zimbabweans and Cubans would continue to work together in different fields and fight imperialist ideologies that were being imposed on the two countries by western powers, particularly the United States and Britain. (AllAfrica.Com, 1/3/04)

March 2: A source with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in Havana that Cuba is setting up a refugee camp to respond to a possible influx of Haitians attempting to flee their country. According to the source, only 30 Haitians have arrived in Cuba since the beginning of the current Haitian crisis, but more are expected. (Reuters, 2/3/04)

March 2: The Saharawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek arrived in Havana invited by his Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque. "This visit will strengthen the historical cooperation and friendship links between Cuban and Saharawi people," Ould Salek said on his arrival at Havana International Airport. (Prensa Latina, 2/3/04)

March 2: Despite the serious political crisis and social instability in Haiti, Cuban doctors have continued to provide health service to the people, the Cuban TV reported. Cuba has been cooperating with Haiti for over a period of five years and doctors are distributed throughout the country assisting 75 percent of the population. They are working restlessly in coordination with the Pan American Health Organization and the International Red Cross. The Cuban embassy in Haiti said the team of 525 physicians will not abandon the Haitian people and will continue to work under any circumstance. (Prensa Latina, 3/3/04)

March 2: South Africa stands to benefit in terms of job creation and tourism growth from Cuban labour experts who will be visiting the country this year. Cuban Minister of Labour and Social Security Alfredo Morales Cartaya signed an agreement with his South African counterpart, Membathisi Mdladlana, allowing for improved co-operation in the fields of employment, social security and occupational health and safety. The ministers said priorities would include exchanging advice on medium and long-term employment projection, the creation of jobs for "vulnerable groups" of society, skills development for the youth and campaigns for apprenticeships and training. (Independent Online, 3/3/04)

March 2: The Spanish embassy has opened its library to all Cubans, who can obtain cards that allow them take out books. The decision by the embassy was considered by Cubans to be a response to an order by the Cuban government last September to turn over operation of the Spanish Cultural Center in Havana to Cuban officials. (Cubanet, 2/3/04)

March 2: The Cuban Ambassador in Haiti officially declared that Cuban doctors will not abandon the Haitian people and will continue to offer essential medical services regardless of developments in the current tense situation in the country. Cuban medical personnel have worked in Haiti for the last five years with 75 percent of the population receiving treatment from Cuban doctors. The only hospital to remain open is in Port-au-Prince and is staffed almost entirely by Cubans, now receiving support from the Pan American Health Organization and the International Red Cross. ( Radio Habana Cuba , 2/3/04)

March 2: The Cuban Ambassador to Spain, Isabel Allende, demanded that the two governments move once again toward closer ties. Following a meeting with the president of the National Council of the Galician Nationalist Bloc, Xosé Manuel Beiras, Allende stressed how smooth relationships between non-governmental organizations, associations and universities from both countries are. (Europa Press, 2/3/04)

March 3: Communications within the war on terrorism will be one of the topics to be discussed in the seventh Ibero American Meeting on Marketing, Publicity and Advertisement starting in Cuba. The gathering that will session under the name "Dialogue 2004" at Havana´s Conference Center will also look into the case of five Cubans jailed in the US. Delegates from Spain, France, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Colombia as well as 120 Cuban experts are attending the conference. (Prensa Latina, 3/3/04)

March 3: The Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce in Zimbabwe, Kenneth Manyonda declared that Zimbabwe and Cuba should increase mutual co-operation in the wake of sanctions imposed on the two nations by some Western countries. Manyonda's comments came during the official opening of the ninth session of the Zimbabwe-Cuba Joint Commission in Harare. The Zimbabwean Minister thanked Cuba for its "total commitment, support and solidarity" with the African nation. (Radio Habana Cuba, 3/3/04)

March 3: Uruguay's lower house of Congress passed a resolution denouncing Cuba's intelligence services for listening in on telephone calls made from inside the congressional building. The resolution, which passed with 41 votes of 77 deputies present, expresses "the most severe condemnation" for all acts carried out on national territory or from another territory toward Uruguay aimed at violating the legislative body's rights. Nationalist lawmaker Jaime Trobo, who reported the case, said that a visiting member of the Cuban National Assembly, Lazaro Barredo, said on February 25 that Cuban intelligence had probed the origin and destination of phone calls and email messages sent by a Uruguayan deputy from Congress. [See Chronicle on Cuba, Foreign Affairs, February 2004] (AFP, 4/3/04)

March 4: Cuba and Ethiopia will sign a cultural agreement, as part of bilateral efforts to increase cooperation particularly to develop joint programs, exchange delegations, publications and general information. Cuban Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto, and Ethiopian Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Teshome Toga Chanaka, will preside over the ceremony. Toga Chanaka signed a cooperation protocol with the general secretary of Cuban Communist Youth Union (UJC), Otto Rivero. (Prensa Latina, 4/3/04)

March 4: The chairman of the Slovak Parliament's human-rights committee, Laszlo Nagy, visited Cuba where he met with opponents of the Fidel Castro regime, including well-known dissident Osvaldo Paya Sardinas, along with a Czech lawmaker, he said at a press conference. Nonetheless, Nagy added, he would prefer not to mention which Czech MP had accompanied him, or even which party he belonged to. "The name of the representative of the Czech Parliament is one I presently cannot state, since he is still in Cuba fulfilling his mission. He will return by the end of the week," Nagy said, adding that both politicians had travelled there to support the opposition's fight for freedom and democracy. The trip to visit Cuban dissidents, which also supplied them with money and other items, was prepared by the European People's Party and a Swedish NGO, and included three Swedish politicians in addition to Nagy and the unnamed Czech MP. British and Spanish politicians also planned to take part, but they cancelled at the last moment. (CTK, 4/3/04)

March 4: Western Sahara's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, arrived in Havana on the invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Pérez Roque. Ould Salek met with the Cuban Education Minister Luis Ignacio Gómez to examine current bilateral accords and to discuss future Cuban participation in the African nation's education system. The Western Saharan Minister expressed confidence that his visit would "strengthen the historical links of cooperation and friendship between Cubans and Western Saharans". ( Radio Habana Cuba , 4/3/04)

March 4: Cuban technicians are to work with their Mozambican counterparts in designing programmes for the National Social Security Institute (INSS) Professional Training Centre, in Chokwe district, in the southern province of Gaza, reports the Mozambican daily paper "Noticias". Mozambican Labour Minister Mario Sevene made this announcement, shortly after signing an agreement to that end with his Cuban counterpart Alfredo Morales Cartaya. (AllAfrica.com, 4/3/04)

March 6: The 35 th World Congress on Human Rights that ended its sessions in Quito recommended that Fidel Castro eliminate the death penalty. (AFP, 7/3/04)

March 6: Hemingway scholars from the United States are collaborating with the Cuban National Council of Patrimony in the preservation of Ernest Hemingway's papers, books and photographs. The beneficiary of the effort is the Hemingway museum at Finca Vigía, the US writer's estate on the outskirts of Havana, which houses a wealth of documents and objects. Pennsylvania State University Professor Sandra Spanier, one of the academics involved in the preservation project, told the US publication “The Digital Collegian” that a Rockefeller grant of $75,000 had been awarded for the conservation effort. (Radio Habana Cuba, 6/3/04)

March 7: Vietnam's Communist Party chief, Nong Duc Manh, has met with Fidel Castro, at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. The two communist leaders posed for photographs before their talks, on the second day of a five-day visit to Cuba. Mr Nong Duc Manh will also receive Cuba's highest honour, the order of Jose Marti, and visit scientific research stations in Havana. (Asia PacificBreaking News, 7/3/04)

March 7: In a letter to MP Yves Bur, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said that the French Ambassador to Cuba received instructions to intervene with Cuban authorities to obtain a "swift improvement of the incarceration conditions" of the jailed dissidents. (AFP, 7/3/04)

March 8: An introduction to Cuba's culture and lifestyle is being presented for the first time in Malaysia with an exhibition of seven well-known films from Cuba at Kuala Lumpur's Stonor Center. Entitled "Cubanismo," the exhibition is sponsored by the Cuban embassy and the Equator City Club both based in the Malaysian capital. (Radio Habana Cuba, 9/3/04)

March 8: At least 30 Haitians fleeing violence in their homeland have sought refuge in Cuba, authorities said, adding that they don't expect a mass exodus from the nearby country. "I can confirm the presence of 30 Haitian immigrants in Maisi," a town on Cuba's east coast, the Foreign Ministry said in response to queries from the press. The Haitians came by sea, but the spokesman's office gave no other specifics. Maisi is about 45 miles from Haiti's shore. For decades, it has been a destination point for small groups of Haitians escaping political violence at home. (AP, 9/3/04)

March 8: Fidel Castro attended an event in solidarity with Vietnam -- just one day before the secretary general of Vietnam's Communist Party wrapped up his official visit to the island. Addressing the rally, Nong Duc Manh said that Cuba can always count on the support of Vietnam. He thanked the Cuban Communist Party and people for their hospitality during his four-day stay, which he described as productive and fruitful. (Radio Habana Cuba, 9/3/04)

March 9: The Congolese press highlights existing cooperation between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cuba in higher education and short term development projects. Under the headline "Cooperation without Traps", the L’ Avenir daily reports on the recent signing of an agreement between the International University of Congo (IUC) and Universidad de Oriente (UO) in Santiago de Cuba, a Cuban eastern province, that envisions an exchange program. (Prensa Latina, 9/3/04)

March 9: The Chief of Military Intelligence Col. Noble Mayombo has said the Cuban spirit of resilience against US imperialism should inspire Uganda's own struggles against evil forces. Mayombo praised Cuba for her bilateral assistance to Uganda especially in human resource aid. Cuba helped government establish the Mbarara University of Science and Technology. "Cuba has on several occasions sent its doctors to help us overcome our health problems. But these doctors are also different. They serve with great responsibility and at times in difficult areas like Karamoja," Mayombo observed. (AllAfrica.Com, 9/3/04)

March 9: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the Cuban government's support to Ethiopia was in tune with the development strategy the Ethiopian government pursues. The Cuban vice-president has described his visit to Ethiopia as fruitful. During talks with Cuban Vice-President Esteban Lazo, Prime Minister Meles said Cuba has been providing support to Ethiopia in the areas, among others, of agriculture, education, health and human resource development. (BBC, 10/3/04)

March 9: The leaders of Vietnam and Cuba, two of the world's last five communist-run societies, pledged to stick together in their march to build socialism. The secretary-general of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nong Duc Manh, ended a four-day visit to Cuba where he visited Havana's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Information Technology University supplied with Vietnamese computers. "We are two small countries, fighters with experience, and we march forward together as an example," Fidel Castro said as he bid Manh farewell at Havana airport. "We will continue together, Vietnamese and Cubans," Manh said. (Reuters, 9/3/04)

March 10: The organization "People in Need", with headquarters in the Czech Republic, is preparing different activities to commemorate the first anniversary of the crackdown on dissidents in Cuba. A replica of a cell will remain in one of the most important arteries in Prague, the Wenceslao Square, for 75 hours, one hour for each dissident sento to prison. The whole activity will conclude with a peaceful protest cose to the Cuban embassy. (Puente Informativo, 10/3/04)

March 10: Botswana has praised Cuba's medical assistance to this southern Africa nation in its fight against AIDS and HIV infections. Mathias Chakalisa, Botswana's permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, told the press that Cuban medical personnel have worked tirelessly to help confront this terrible disease. (Prensa Latina, 10/3/04)

March 10: As indicated by Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, the Presidency of the European Union, currently held by Ireland, affirmed that diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, implemented since June 2003, are "symbolic in nature" and only affect the work of the EU member states and European officials. Mr. Roche stressed that these sanctions do not interfere "at all" with private sector activities nor individuals attending cultural events in Cuba. (Europa Press, 10/3/04)

March 10: Reporters Without Borders must pay 6,000 euros ($7,348) in compensation to the daughter of Cuban photographer Alberto Korda for having used a picture of the late revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara without permission, the organization reported. The damages set by a Paris court are much less than the 1.14 million euros ($1.4 million) sought by Diana Diaz-Lopez, a sum which would have meant the disappearance of the press-freedom watchdog known by the French initials RSF, according to its directors. RSF Secretary General Robert Menard called the court's ruling "reasonable." "The only objective of Diaz Lopez's lawsuits were to drown our organization and the court has not followed up on those," Menard said. (EFE, 10/3/04)

March 11: After nearly a year in custody, five Cuban refugees have been released and given permission to live in Curaçao while authorities consider their asylum requests, the government said. Authorities detained the five in April in St. Maarten, another territory in the Netherlands Antilles where they had been working illegally, the government said in a statement released. The five were to be deported back to Cuba, but they applied for political refugee status and were transferred in August to Curaçao, the seat of the Antillean government. (AP, 12/3/04)

March 11: Cuba and Brazil are negotiating a film exchange agreement that will allow for the annual exhibition of five motion pictures from each country. According to the Audiovisual Secretariat of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, the proposal would allow a Brazilian producer to have the exhibition rights of a Cuban film within the country. Orlando Senna from the Brazilian Ministry of Culture told reporters in Brasilia that the agreement provides for the sharing of profits from the film showings. (Radio Habana Cuba, 11/3/04)

March 11: Cuba is the world's second leading jailer of journalists, after China, says an independent advocacy group called the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The New York-based CPJ said in a new report that the regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro took advantage of the fact that international attention in 2003 was focused on the war in Iraq to launch a "massive attack" against Cuban independent media and political dissidents. The crackdown marked the "culmination of years of repression and intimidation" against journalists, the CPJ said, noting that 29 Cuban journalists were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 27 years. (USInfo, 11/3/04)

March 11: A group of parliamentary leaders from Finland have been touring the island in recent days. Arriving in Havana, the legislators are meeting with their Cuban counterparts and have visited a number of hospitals and schools in the capital. The Finland-Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Group is led by its chair, Esko-Juhani Tennila, and includes representatives Sinikka Hurskainen, Helena Comi and Marja Johanna Tiurna. (Radio Habana Cuba, 11/3/04)

March 12: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said that the Cuban government is willing to resume its dialogue and ties with the European Union on condition that they stop inviting "mercenaries" --referring to local dissidents -- to their embassies in Havana. (El Nuevo Herald, 12/3/04)

March 12: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed its concern about the deterioration of the rule of law in some countries of the region, including Cuba. At the end of the Commission’s 119 th regular session, José Zalaquett, president of the IACHR referred specifically to the situation in five countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela: “The grave human rights situation in Cuba has not changed, according to information received by the IACHR, due to the general violation of public liberties, particularly the right to freedom of expression, and due to the systematic repression of dissidents and independent journalists. The Commission will continue to study the general human rights situation in that country, not only in its general reports, but also as it considers individual cases and petitions, and issues precautionary measures”, Zalaquett said. (IACHR Press Release, 12/3/04)

March 12: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe thanked in Harare the solidarity of the Cuban people towards the African nation. Mugabe also characterized Fidel Castro as "a friend and brother." During an interview, the Zimbabwean president recalled that not only did Zimbabwe receive Cuban support during its liberation struggle, but now they are receiving Cuban doctors and other specialists to contribute to the country's health and development. (Prensa Latina, 12/3/04)

March 13: Fidel Castro has accused Spain's government of deceiving its citizens over the Madrid train bombings for electoral gain. In a television interview, Castro said the government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had known an Islamic group was behind the explosions that killed 200 people but preferred to blame Basque separatists ahead of Sunday's general elections. "They are deceiving the Spanish people (...) it is a most important factor in the elections on Sunday" because a majority of Spaniards opposed the war in Iraq, he said. (Gulf Daily News, Reuters, 13/3/04)

March 13: Gladys Marín, president of the Chilean Communist Party, was awarded by Fidel Castro the Jose Marti Order, the country’s highest decoration. Following presenting the award, the Cuban president talked with Marin and several comrade-in-arms, among them the Chilean Communist Party (PCCH)’s general secretary Jorge Teillier. (Prensa Latina, 13/3/04)

March 14: An enthusiastic Cuban government had the local TV channels interrupt their regular programming to announce the Spanish Popular Party's electoral defeat, "(brought about) by its war-mongering and servile pro-US imperialist policies." (La Jornada, 15/3/04)

March 14: The humiliation of independent journalists imprisoned or threatened by Fidel Castro's regime, was among the topics debated during a plenary meeting of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), currently in progress. Humberto Castelló submitted the report on the Cuban situation, on behalf of journalist Raúl Rivero, an IAPA regional vice-president, who is presently serving a 20-year jail sentence for contesting the state's media monopoly. (El Nuevo Herald, 15/3/04)

March 14: No Cuban officials attended the mass held in the Havana Cathedral in memory of the victims of the Madrid commuter train attacks. Cuban Foreign Affairs Vice Minister, Angel Dalmau, signed the book of condolence at the Spanish Embassy in Havana. (EFE, 14/3/04)

March 15: A Cuban response to escalating threats against Cuba from the administration of US President George W. Bush will be presented in a series of public meetings throughout New Zealand. Juan Pozo, the Asia-Pacific representative for non-governmental organisation ICAP (Cuban Institute for Friendship With the Peoples), is visiting this country as a guest of the New Zealand-Cuba Friendship Societies. (Scoop, 15/3/04)

March 15: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque is in Geneva to attend the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Speaking with reporters upon his arrival in Geneva, Pérez Roque said that Cuba will fight to rescue the UN human rights agency, which is a virtual hostage of the powerful nations of the world. He said that a small minority of countries has converted the Human Rights Commission into a court to put poor, Third World countries on trial. (Radio Habana Cuba, 15/3/04)

March 16: A new report by Amnesty International reveals the current state of 75 prisoners of conscience arrested during the March 2003 crackdown when scores of dissidents were detained in a series of targeted sweeps. Some were subsequently released, but many were subjected to hasty and manifestly unfair trials and sentenced to long prison terms. "After a detailed review of the legal cases against them, it is clear that they are prisoners of conscience -- detained for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. They should be released immediately and unconditionally," Amnesty International said. [Cuba: One Year Too Many] (Amnesty International Press Release, 16/3/04)

March 16: In a meeting with outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Mongolia, Pedro A. Moran Tapanes, Mongolian President Natsagiin Bagabandi highlighted the historic friendship and cooperation ties between Mongolia and Cuba. "Although Mongolia and Cuba are geographically distant from each other, they have been united with good relations for more than 40 years," Bagabandi told Moran Tapanes, who concludes his four years as Cuban diplomatic representative. Bagabandi noted the economic capacity of both countries that allows increased cooperation in different areas, such as health care, biotechnology and education. The Mongolian doctors and dentists who studied in Cuba are working well and have great popular acceptance, the Mongolian leader added. (Prensa Latina, 16/3/04)

March 15: The Deputy President of the Government of Cuba and of the Council of State, Esteban Lazo, arrived in Luanda, Angola, for a five-day working visit meant to reinforce the diplomatic ties between the two contries. During his stay in Luanda, Lazo will meet with the Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. (Angola Press Agency, 15/3/04)

March 16: According to Uruguayan legislator Jaime Trobo, his parliament denounced Cuban covert eavesdropping actions against him before the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Trobo said that the Human Rights Commission of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) decided in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to move the venue for its next meeting to Santiago de Chile. (Europa Press, 16/3/04)

March 16: Fidel Castro has congratulated Spain´s newly elected Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and expressed support for his decision to withdraw the Spanish troops from Iraq before June 30. Considering that decision, Fidel Castro has called on Rodriguez Zapatero not to forget that under pressure from Jose Maria Aznar as President of the Spanish Government thousands of young men from small and empoverished Latin American countries were sent as cannon fodder to Iraq under the command of the Spanish Legion. [Mensaje del Presidente del Consejo de Estado de Cuba ]

March 16: Czech senate chairman Petr Pithart said that even up to 15 years ago there were political prisoners in the Czech Republic and that is why he volunteered to spend one hour in a symbolic prison cell in protest against the imprisonment of 75 Cuban political prisoners today. "Only 15 years ago there were political prisoners in this country, and it is in human nature not to forget. Our duty is to remind people of it," Pithart said. The four-day "Stop Repression in Cuba" campaign started when a mock prison cell was erected in Prague's Wenceslas Square. Seventy-five Czech political and cultural personalities will gradually spend one hour in the mock prison during the action by day and night. (CTK, 16/3/04)

March 16: Over 600 writers linked to the US and Latin American media requested from Fidel Castro the release of Cuban journalists imprisoned in the island since last year. The letter was released by the Committee to Protect Journalists to the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, and is signed by well-known Latin American journalists and writers like Tomás Eloy Martínez (Argentina), Elena Poniatowska and Carlos Monsiváis (Mexico), Sergio Ramírez (Nicaragua) and Fernando Vallejo (Colombia). Also US writers Carl Berstein, Ed Bradley, Anthony Lewis, Clarence Page, David Remnick, Gwen Ifill and Michael Massing signed the letter. (El Nuevo Herald, 17/3/04)

March 16: Vladimiro Roca, president of the illegal Cuban Social-Democrat Party (PSC), congratulated soon-to-be Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Last February, the PSC submitted its official bid for membership during the latest Socialist International (SI) Council meeting. The SI is a bloc of social-democrat organizations that includes Mr. Rodríguez Zapatero's political party, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). [Carta a Rodríguez Zapatero ] (Notimex, 16/3/04)

March 16: Awaiting the repatriation of his body, relatives of Michael Mitchel Rodríguez, 26, the only Cuban victim in the Madrid train station terrorist attacks, blamed his death on José María Aznar's government's involvement in the occupation of Iraq. (ANSA, 16/3/04)

March 16: Fidel Castro says 1,000 Latin American troops are "cannon fodder" in Iraq and calls for them to withdraw along with the Spanish unit they are serving in. Castro, a fierce critic of the US-led occupation of Iraq, applauded Spanish Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero for his decision to withdraw Spain's contingent of 1,300 troops by the June 30. In a message published by the ruling Communist Party daily Granma, Castro said "more than 1,000 young men from small and impoverished Latin American countries were sent to Iraq as cannon fodder under the command of the Spanish Legion." [Mensaje de Fidel Castro a Rodríguez Zapatero ] (Financial Times, 16/3/04)

March 16: During day 2 of the UN Human Rights Commission's 60 th session in Geneva, Sweden's Foreign Minister, Laila Freivalds, expressed harsh criticism of the Cuban government. Freivalds reminded that, nearly a year ago, "in open violation of minimum UN standards for the application of the death penalty," Havana executed three men who hijacked a passenger boat in an attempt to flee the island. (Encuentro en la Red, 16/3/04)

March 17: Russian Army General Anatoli Gribkov, who supported Cuba´s international mission in 1962 during the Missile Crisis, received an imitation of the Granma Yacht on the 85th anniversary of his birth. The recognition -in the name of Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro- was given to Gribkov in a solemn ceremony at the Cuban embassy to Russia with the participation of Cuban Ambassador Jorge Marti. (Prensa Latina, 17/3/04)

March 17: Cuba defied the United Nations' top human rights body by rejecting a report by Christine Chanet, special representative of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights. "She has ended up acting as an instrument at the service of the US government," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Perez del Roque said Cuba "does not accept" a request that Chanet visit the country, even though the demand is regarded by human rights groups as a soft option. Cuba also railed against any nation that disapproves of Havana's practices, saying if it does so it must be a pawn of Washington. Perez Roque wondered if this year Costa Rica would be "the new pawn at the service of the imperial master," presenting the customary resolution against Cuba at the commission's annual meeting. In the same vein, Perez Roque predicted that the US government will again seek "to fabricate condemnation against Cuba (...) to justify its criminal embargo and its plans for military aggression." [Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister’s speech at the UN HHRR Commission] (AP, EFE,17/3/04)

March 17: The Bush administration identified a Canadian travel company that it says is linked to Cuba and thus forbidden from doing business in the United States. The Treasury Department's action against Hola Sun Holidays Ltd. of Richmond Hill, Ontario, just north of Toronto, marks the latest development from President George W. Bush's call for more aggressive enforcement of provisions that prohibit most travel to Cuba. The department alleged that the travel agency is "controlled by Fidel Castro and his regime." (Canada News, 18/3/04)

March 17: A Venezuelan court ordered the Criminal Forensic Investigation Corps (CICPC) to take into custody the mayor of the Venezuelan municipality of Baruta, Henrique Capriles, for his alleged involvement in the attacks of April 12, 2002 against the Cuban embassy in Caracas, during the attempted coup against President Hugo Chávez. (Europa Press, 17/3/04)

March 18: The Cuban Ambassador to Holland, Elio Rodríguez Perdomo, refused to accept a letter signed by seven organizations demanding the release of the 75 dissidents incarcerated a year ago and of all prisoners of conscience in the island. The letter, addressed to the Cuban authorities, was signed by Amnesty International, CLAT, CNV, Cuba Futuro (Future Cuba), Glasnot en Cuba (Glasnost in Cuba), the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ), and Pax Christi Netherlands. (El Mundo, 19/3/04)

March 18: Mass and social organizations in Cuba announced their intention to mark the first anniversary of the US aggression against Iraq, with a Day for Peace and against War, an initiative that will be extended to also include the commemoration of Palestine's Day of Land. During a press conference in Havana, Cuban Peace Movement president Orlando Fundora read a declaration issued by organizations calling themselves "Against War and Against Occupation." This urges people in the world to express solidarity with the plight of the Iraqi and the Palestinian peoples. (Radio Habana Cuba, 18/3/04)

March 18: The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) demanded the "immediate release" of the independent journalists jailed in Cuba, following an act in commemoration of the first anniversary of the repressive crackdown in Cuba that culminated with harsh prison sentences for 75 political opponents and independent journalists. (Europa Press, 18/3/04)

March 18: During a conference in Argentina, former Czech President Vaclav Havel expressed his sympathy for the victims of the repression in Cuba. In a video released in Buenos Aires, Havel said that the Cuban situation is of great importance to him and that he wishes to do more to promote freedom in the island. (Radio Martí, 18/3/04)

March 18: Argentina said it will not vote against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission. Argentinean Minister of Justice, Gustavo Beliz, told the press in Geneva that his country will abstain from voting on an upcoming resolution expected to try to condemn Cuba at the Commission. Foreign Minister Gustavo Beliz noted that the priorities of Néstor Kirchner's government were to unceasingly battle against measures to address “social genocide”. (Radio Habana Cuba , 18/3/04)

March 18: Proclaiming "Europe says no to repression in Cuba," Reporters Without Borders held a news conference at the European Parliament in Brussels to mark the first anniversary of the start a wave of arrests in Cuba on 18 March 2003, which ended with a total of 75 dissidents, including 27 journalists, being sentenced to long prison terms. Leading personalities and witnesses of the crackdown came to voice their views on the situation in Cuba. Spanish film-maker Fernando Arrabal was among those at the event, which was sponsored by Polish former dissident and former foreign minister Bronislaw Geremek and French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. The organisation's secretary-general, Robert Ménard, urged European parliamentarians to sign a "Brussels Declaration" in which they undertake to constantly petition the Cuban government for the release of the 75 dissidents and to call on the "European Commission and Council to pursue policies consistent with this goal." The declaration's first signatories included Daniel Cohn-Bendit of France (president of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance); Emma Bonino of Italy (radical group of Non-Attached); Pervenche Berés of France (vice-president of the Group of the Party of European Socialists); Graham Watson of Scotland (president of the Group of the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party - ELDR); José Ribeiro e Castro of Portugal (Union for Europe of the Nations Group); Gérard Deprez of Belgium (European People's Party) and Jules Maaten of Netherlands (ELDR). (Press Release, 18/3/04)

March 19: Hola Sun Holidays opened for business in the Toronto area, in 1992, and is a part of Havanatur, an operator based in Havana with more than 200 employees in Cuba and 90 tour operators in 50 countries. Martha Chapman, a spokesperson for Signature Vacations, said it is well known that Hola Sun is Cuban-owned, and it deals entirely with trips to that country. Pat Georgiades, owner of Rex Travel, said Hola Sun is one of her preferred wholesalers. She said she didn't know about Hola Sun's affiliation with Cuban leader Fidel Castro's regime, but she doesn't think Canadian travellers will care. "People want to go to Cuba because it's a nice destination and it's a cheap holiday," she said. About 452,000 Canadians travelled to Cuba last year, Toronto's Cuba Tourist Board says. Most go on all-inclusive packages like the ones offered by Hola Sun. (The Toronto Star, 19/3/04)

March 20: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said that the new integrating model of Cuba and Venezuela “worries the oligarchies of the region”. Speaking in a ceremony to bid farewell to the country's ambassadors to Cuba, Iran and India, the Venezuelan leader spoke thoroughly of the current relations of cooperation and friendship that exist between the two Caribbean nations. (Radio Habana Cuba, 20/3/04)

March 21: Czech Senate Speaker Petr Pithart has pointed out that Fidel Castro's anger at the Czech support for human rights in Cuba might be so strong because of the support provided to his regime by Czechoslovakia in the communist era. (CTK, 22/3/04)

March 22: Cuba and the Islamic Conference Organization (ICO) issued a red alert on the increase of racism and xenophobia in the world. This issue was raised during the 60th session of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of the United Nations in Geneva. During the Committee's annual session, non-governmental organizations have spoken at length on agenda item five of the plenary session which focuses on people's right to self-determination. Cuban delegate María del Carmen Herrera used her address to the session to challenge the United States representative whose presentation focused on the supposed liberty and democracy of that northern nation. (Radio Habana Cuba, 22/3/04)

March 22: The former Spanish president, socialist Felipe González, told the Colombian press that the end of the United States blockade against Cuba will occur in 2005, regardless of who wins the elections this November. In an interview with the magazine Cambio, González said: "I am convinced that in 2005 the United States' blockade against Cuba will disappear." The former leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), stressed that he had received reports confirming his opinion on the ending of US blockade against the island. (Radio Habana Cuba, 22/3/04)

March 23: The Cuban press is reporting that the Palestinian Embassy in Cuba will make a condolences book available for signing on the occasion of the murder by Israel of Ajmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Hamas movement. “The distinguished Palestinian politician”, the Cuban news agency says, was killed in the city of Gaza, “a loss that has shocked the international community”. (Prensa Latina, 23/3/04)

March 24: Cuba reiterated its total support to the cause of the Palestine people, condemned the assassination of leader jeque Ahmed Yassin and co-sponsored a condemnation resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). The document was approved with 31 votes in favor, 18 abstentions and two against (US and Australia). Juan Antonio Fernandez, chief of the Cuban delegation at the UNHRC, said that the world, almost used to the terrorism and horror against the Palestine people, was shaken and felt indignant with the assassination of leader jeque Ahmed Yassin. (Prensa Latina, 24/3/04)

March 24: The 22nd session of the Mixed Commission of Cuban- Guyanan Collaboration began in Georgetown with the objective of analyzing the mutual bonds in a dozen areas, these include health, education, technical cooperation, culture, agriculture and several others. (Prensa Latina, 24/3/04)

March 23: Stopping terrorism requires reducing global inequality by implementing policies that reduce military spending and increase aid for development, Cuban diplomat Jorge Ferrer Rodriguez told the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. "Terrorism cannot be defeated nor can armed conflicts be prevented if the abysmal inequalities that divide us are not overcome," Ferrer Rodriguez insisted. "What the world needs is to declare global war on underdevelopment, hunger, poverty, illiteracy and preventable diseases, like AIDS," said the representative from Cuba, one of the 53 countries that make up the UN commission. (EFE, 24/3/04)

March 24: The Guatemalan Congress has requested the government of President Oscar Berger to abstain from supporting a resolution promoted by US against Cuba at the 60th UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Geneva. A proposal by the parliamentary group Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) was supported by 86 out of 120 deputies, which showed their solidarity with Cuba in face of the US hostility. Legislators recalled the fact that the Guatemalan Congress granted the Quetzal Order to the team of Cuban doctors who have been working in Guatemalan rural areas since 1998. The Guatemalan Congress recognizes that the Cuban doctors have made more than 10 million consultations over the five years of Cuba´s support and 157,000 of them were significant in saving the lives of Guatemalan people. (Prensa Latina, 24/3/04)

March 24: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent a new group of medical students to Cuba on Wednesday, urging them and other compatriots to forge ahead with his "revolution." The president noted that 50 graduates from the first class of Venezuelan medical students sent to Cuba - in 1999 - would be coming home in September to join the "Barrio Adentro" (Inside the Neighborhood) mission. An air shuttle linking Caracas and Havana has allowed thousands of Venezuelans to receive specialized medical treatment in Cuba under an agreement signed in 2000 in Caracas. (EFE, 24/3/04)

March 24: Cuba is protesting UNESCO's decision to award jailed independent reporter Raul Rivero its World Press Freedom Prize, saying the action is an echo of US policies intended to isolate the island and promote dissidents. "It is deplorable and embarrassing that the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award has been used for ends separate from UNESCO's fundamental ideals, objectives and principles," read a communique posted on Cuba's Foreign Ministry web site. "Giving the award to this Cuban citizen who is serving a prison sentence for activities related to subversion of the constitutional and legal order of the Cuban system -- acting as a mercenary at the service of a foreign power -- threatens the legitimacy of the Press Freedom Award," the communique said. Last year, UNESCO granted Cuba an award for its work in literacy campaigns, also Michael Olomewa, president of the 32 nd UNESCO’General Conference visited the island. [Official Statement by MINREX] ( AP, La Jornada, 24/3/04)

March 25: Canadian TV is broadcasting a documentary film on Fidel Castro filmed over three days in 2002. The film, Commandante, a new Oliver Stone movie, is a close-up portrait of a man who has defied a US embargo since 1960. Cuban leader Fidel Castro paces around his office like a condemned man, saying: "I can't help it, I am a prisoner here, this is my cell." The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) says the documentary had been due to air on United States network HBO last year. (ABC Online, 25/3/04)

March 25: Cuba protested what it called a "biased report" submitted by a representative of the UN Human Rights Commissioner to the HRC in Geneva. Ivan Mora, the Cuban ambassador to the Geneva-based UN organizations, responded to the report's accusations but was repeatedly interrupted by committee chair, Mike Smith of Australia. Cuba had previously objected to Chanet´s report, calling it an instrument of the unrelenting US aggression against the island, filled with misinformation and fabrications from the White House and from Miami, where militant anti- Cuban groups were said to operate with the blessing of their host government. (Radio Habana Cuba, 25/3/04)

March 25: The Committee for Non Governmental Organizations of Africa and the Caribbean described as "extremely helpful" the assistance that Cuba has been providing to Haiti over the past 5 years. Wilfred Grey, speaking on behalf of that group, stressed that the work carried out by Cuban volunteers, mostly doctors, has been- especially beneficial during this latest crisis. (Radio Habana Cuba, 25/3/04)

March 25: Chile's governing Socialist Party urged the administration to abstain from voting on a UN resolution concerning human rights in Cuba, while the conservative opposition Independent Democratic Union (UDI) asked it to condemn abuses on the island. Socialist Party leader Gonzalo Martner was quoted by local newspapers as saying the decision by Argentina and Brazil to abstain could influence Chile to join them when the resolution is voted on at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. Martner suggested the Chilean government, at the time of abstention, call on its Cuban counterpart to carry out domestic reforms on the island. (EFE, 25/3/04)

March 27: Belize Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Emergency Management Organization, Godfrey P. Smith, began an official visit to Cuba. The Belizean minister is participating in the 3rd Meeting between the Cuban and Belizean Foreign Ministries and holding important meetings with Cuban officials. Cuba and Belize established diplomatic relations on July 14, 1995. (Prensa Latina, 27/3/04)

March 28: Referring to the changes implemented in Venezuela, Fidel Castro said that they are "highly transcendent" and, as in Cuba, they "aim for social justice." "The Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is fighting a stale oligarchy that is using every old political trick in its bag to defeat him," said the Cuban ruler. (DPA, 28/3/04)

March 28: According to government spokespersons, the First Lady of Honduras, Spanish-born Aguas Ocana, traveled to Cuba seeking expert guidance for the creation of two treatment centres for abused women and children, respectively. (AFP, 28/3/04)

March 29: Cuba is to support the newly-established Kampala International University (KIU) medical school location. The Cuban ambassador, Ricardo Antonio Danza Sigas, said this while meeting KIU vice-chancellor Prof. Muhammad Ndawula, and the deans and heads of various departments at the university. "The Cuban Government wants everyone to attain university education. We want to help the people and countries of the Third World. Our doctors work for a small fee. Those at Mbarara University are not paid a salary but only get pocket money of about $500," he said. (AllAfrica.Com, 29/3/04)

March 29: D efenders of human rights in Cuba exhibited for the first time the documentary "The spring of Cuba" in the Palace of Nations where the UN Human Rights Commission is presently in session. Presenting the exhibition was the producer of the documentary Carlos González, member of the Czech ONG People in Need, as well as Jannet Rivero De Toro and John Suárez, activists of the Cuban Democratic Directorate and representatives before the Commission for the International Liberal and the Christian Democrat International, respectively. (Puente Informativo, 29/3/04)

March 29: The Provincial Governor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Anatoly Zasuja, arrived in Cuba on the invitation of Havana provincial leaders for top-level talks on economic co-operation and solidarity. In a press conference given just moments after his arrival on the island, Zasuja told reporters he had come to see development in Cuba first hand and to sign an agreement on a twin-town project between Kiev and Havana. (Radio Habana Cuba, 29/3/04)

March 30: Pope John Paul II named Italian Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi papal nuncio to Cuba, the Vatican said. The 56-year-old Italian prelate had been the papal nuncio in Haiti until now. (EFE, 30/3/04)

March 30: Carlos Ahumada, an Argentine-born businessman with companies in Mexico, was arrested in Cuba at Mexico's request, as authorities seek his extradition on fraud charges, the Mexican Attorney General's Office said. Ahumada, who owns a newspaper, soccer team, construction company and other businesses in Mexico, had fled to Cuba after a Mexico City judge issued a warrant for his arrest on March 10 on charges he defrauded the Mexico City government, the attorney general said in a statement. (Bloomberg, 31/3/04)

March 30: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and his Belize counterpart Godfrey Smith, signed an agreement in Havana concerning the repatriation of illegal Cuban immigrants in the Central American nation. Pérez Roque said the accord establishes the foundations for legal and organised migration between the two countries, adding that the number of cases of illegal Cuban immigrants in Belize is relatively low. (Radio Habana Cuba, 31/3/04)

March 30: Ukrainian officials visiting Havana reiterated their gratefulness to the Cuban people for their assistance throughout the years following the Chernobyl crisis in 1986. Letters of interests were also signed between the Ukrainian province of Kiev and Havana for developing closer relations in the areas of commercial, economic and cultural cooperation. (Radio Habana Cuba, 30/3/04)

March 30: Cuba sees prospects to repair with the incoming Socialist Spanish government bilateral relations that deteriorated markedly under the outgoing conservatives. It also insists that improvement depends on acknowledging that EU sanctions against Havana are "mistaken." Cuban Ambassador to Spain, Isabel Allende, in a talk with journalists, cited what she called "objective conditions" for betterment of relations following the Socialists' upset victory in March 14 general elections. Allende noted that after winning Spain's March 14 elections, Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who will become prime minister in mid-April, expressed a desire to give a boost to Spain's relations with Latin America. "If he does, it will result in improved relations with Cuba," Allende said. (EFE, 30/3/04)

March 30: Mr. Fidele Idiarra, Malian Ambassador to Cuba, stated that relations between the two nations are excellent. The diplomat spoke at an event carried out with 101 young people from Mali, that are studying at the Caribbean Faculty of Medicine in Santiago de Cuba. (AIN, 30/3/04)

March 30: The United States has been unsuccessful so far in its search for a sponsor of its proposal to condemn Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque has informed. The United States has tried out the idea of presenting the State Department proposal on Costa Rica and Honduras, but thus far has had no bites. The Honduran ambassador has refused the honor. (Prensa Latina, 30/3/04)

March 30: Cuban TV reported that Adán Chávez, Venezuelan president’s brother, presented his credentials to Cuban authorities as Venezuelan ambassador to Havana. Cuban vice-president, Juan Almeida headed the ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. (EFE, 30/3/04)

March 30: In a letter sent to Fidel Castro, over 107 civil society organizations from around the world requested the liberation of political prisoners in Cuba. Gathered at the CIVICUS World Assembly in Gaborone, Botswana, the signing organizations include 67 NGOs from Africa, and the rest from Latin America and Europe. (AFP, 30/3/04)

March 30: Prominent Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya is urging the UN Human Rights Commission to condemn the Cuban government, arguing that not to do so "would be condemning the Cuban people," according to a letter released to media. To keep silent or justify on this commission the lack of and the violation of many rights in my country (...) indeed would be condemning the Cuban people," Paya said in a letter read before the full commission by Cuban dissident Francisco de Armas.  “The 75 prisoners of the Spring of Cuba, all peaceful citizens, were condemned to prison terms ranging between 6 and 28 years, in summary trials and later locked in cells of 1,80 by 3 meters, with a dietary regime as that of a concentration camp. One of them, José Daniel Ferrer, is presently locked in a punishment cell the size of a "cage". You know what cruel and degrading treatment is like, and that is the treatment that political and common prisoners are subjected to in Cuba”, the letter says. (AFP, 30/3/04)

March 30: The Mexican Chamber of Deputies approved by ample majority vote a motion to request President Fox's government to abstain from voting on "any condemnatory resolution against Cuba" during the 60 th session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. (Europa Press, 31/3/04)

March 31: Foreign Minister of Angola Joao Bernardo de Miranda is arriving in Havana, for a five-day official visit to Cuba. Bernardo de Miranda is scheduled to meet with his Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque, the President of Parliament Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada, and Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera, head of the Central Committee´s International Relations Department. (Prensa Latina, 31/3/04)

March 31: The IV Session of the Joint Cooperation Commission between Cuba and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is closing a working session in Havana with the signing of a collaboration protocol. Leading the delegation from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Assistant Prime Minister, also Foreign Relations and Trade Minister Louis Straker, who will attend a conference on the Cuban health system. (Prensa Latina, 31/3/04)

March 31: Specialists from over 20 countries met in Cuba for discussions on what some experts have called the critical situation of the world's children, 11 million of whom die annually from preventable diseases. Almost 500 psychiatrists, psychologists, paediatricians, general practitioners, teachers and social workers are gathered in Havana's International Convention Centre this week for the II Pan-American Congress on Child and Adolescent Mental Health. (Radio Habana Cuba, 1/4/04)

March 31: Cuba accused Honduras of agreeing to sponsor a US- roposed resolution targeting the island's human rights abuses during an upcoming UN Human Rights Commission vote. "The United States has found the government willing to be used for the shameful role of presenting the resolution against our country," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told a news conference. The United Nations body is expected to consider the resolution for a vote in mid-April during its annual meeting in Geneva. Honduran authorities earlier this week declined to comment on reports that they would present the resolution at the request of US officials. [Press Conference by the Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister] (AP, 31/3/04)

March 31: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque addressed the media during a news conference in Havana, on the Carlos Ahumada case. Perez Roque said Cuba will consider an extradition request from Mexico for Argentine-born business man Carlos Ahumada, who is wanted in Mexico in connection with an alleged US$ 3 million in missing public funds. Ahumada was arrested by Interpol in Cuba. [Press Conference by the Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister] (Reuters, 31/3/04)

March 31: Mexico's ambassador to Cuba requested that the island nation extradite a fugitive Mexican businessman implicated in several corruption scandals involving government officials. Envoy Roberta Lajous went in person to Cuba's Foreign Ministry to deliver the request for the extradition of Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada, a Mexican diplomatic official said. In accordance with the countries' bilateral extradition treaty, Mexico now has 40 days to hand over any documentation it considers relevant to the case, the official said. (EFE, 31/3/04)

March 31: Cuban journalist Raúl Rivero and Moroccan Alí Lmrabet were granted the 13 th ''Agustín Merello'' Award for the defense of freedom of expression in their countries. In a statement released to the press, the Press Association of Cádiz, Spain, explains that the jury based its decision on Rivero and Lmrabet efforts to exercise free journalism with “dignity and great sacrifice”. (EFE, 1/4/04)

March 31: The IV Session of the Joint Cooperation Commission between Cuba and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is closing a working session in Havana with the signing of a collaboration protocol. Leading the delegation from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Assistant Prime Minister, also Foreign Relations and Trade Minister, Louis Straker, who will lay a floral wreath at the monument to Jose Marti and attend a conference on the Cuban health system. (Prensa Latina, 31/3/04)