Chronicle on Cuba - April 2004

Domestic Affairs

April 1: The Cuban Catholic Church urged the communist government of Fidel Castro to pardon or reduce the sentences of the 75 dissidents sentenced to up to 28 years in prison in April 2003. "Such a move would be very positive for Cuba," Catholic Church spokesman Orlando Márquez wrote in a local magazine. "Pardoning the prisoners of conscience or reducing their sentences would be a sign not of weakness but of moral strength." The latest edition of the same magazine called on the government to perform a meaningful act of clemency as urged also by Pope John Paul II. (ANSA, 1/4/04)

April 1: In a letter, Gisela Delgado, wife of dissident in jail since las year’s crackdown Héctor Palacios, urged the Cuban government to broadcast in full the interview she gave to journalists from the official Cuban TV. Delgado sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, signed on March 31 st that was distributed to the foreign press based in Havana. (Notimex, 1/4/04)

April 1: “You are breaking precedent and historical ground in education for the world”, Fidel Castro told the more than 460 young people studying to be elementary and junior high teachers in Cuba´s innovative program. Castro spoke with the students at Havana Convention Center during the events preceding the VIII Young Communist Union Congress about the audacious junior high program now underway in the country. (Prensa Latina, 1/4/04)

April 1: Several residential areas in Havana have been without drinking water due to low levels affecting supply sources. This has created discomfort among the population who consider the government’s water tank service is not enough. (Cubanet, 1/4/04)

April 1: Maritza Calderín Columbié, w ife of Juan Carlos González Leiva, blind Cuban lawyer imprisoned for more than two years by Cuban State Security without a trial, denounced the unfortunate case of her husband. In a letter addressed to the Sixtieth Session of the United Nations' Commission for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, Calddrín Columbié says that her husband remains in prison since March 4, 2002 in the State Security Department of Pedernales in Holguin, Cuba, many kilometers away from his home. She reiterates that “he is kept behind bars, deprived of sunlight and fresh air for months in a cell as filthy as a pigpen; denied a trial, and the opportunity to seek release under bail”. “In addition, he is physically, mentally, and emotionally tortured systematically by intentionally exposing him to toxic substance with penetrating odors, which are also thrown on his body and inside his cell”, she adds. (Cubanet, 1/4/04)

April 2: The illegal Cuban Independent Workers Confederation (CTDC), reorganized their National Executive Committee, informed the Press Secretary, Eduardo G. Estrada. According to Estrada, members José Alfonso González Torriente and Pedro Arrocha Arguelles were elected as president and vice prdsident in function, respectively. Fernando A. González was promoted to National Coordinator. Victor Yunier Fernández Martínez, Bernando Lázaro González Nodarse will be in charge of other Secretaries, while Maité Vazquez Gonzalez and Eduardo G. Estrada were voted Honorary Members, added the source. (Puente Informativo, 2/4/04)

April 3: Cuban dissident Pedro Pablo Alvarez, jailed for 25 years, was allowed to assist at the Havana burial of his mother. State authorities let the president of the illegal Unitarian Council of Cuban Workers leave prison and remain for two and a half hours at the funeral home where friends and family kept vigil over the remains of his mother, Raquel Ramos Soto. Later he attended the burial ceremony in Havana's Cristobal Colon Cemetery, watched by plainclothes agents. (EFE, 3/4/04)

April 4: Jos&dacute; Enrique Santana Carreira, National Coordinator of the Democratic Party November 30 "Frank País" began an indefinite hunger strike at the Prison 1580. "Our brother is in a hunger strike demanding that his condition of political prisoner be respected and also, because on March 15, prison authorities endorsed common prisoners to force José Enrique to comply with the so called "prison regulations", according to Yamile Casas Sánchez, member of the National Executive Board of the illegal political party. (Puente Informativo, 4/4/04)

April 4: The Cuban Young Communist League celebrated its 42th anniversary hosting activities for children and teenagers such as parties, concerts and theater plays throughout the island. More than 500,000 youths are members of the organization. Its main objective is to continue the cultural, political and ideological training of young Cubans. Its priority is tn consolidate the achievements of the Revolution. The Children´s organization "Jose Marti"in which all the primary and secondary students are members of also celebrated its anniversary. (Prensa Latina, 4/4/04)

April 5: The Noni tree—whose fruit, leafs, roots and seeds hold promising properties for improving the quality of human life—is being researched in Cuba. The plant has raised high expectations as an effective stimulant and antioxidant. Cuban researcher Isidoro Scull has been studying for some years the therapeutic benefits of the plant as well as its use as a nutritional supplement. (EFE, 5/4/04)

April 5: Cuban parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcon defended last year's crackdown on 75 activists, telling a group of American newspaper editors that internal security outweighs international image. "I think you should take into acbount the problem of image," Alarcon told the board of directors for The Associated Press Managing Editors. But, he added, "No nation can base its conduct relating to fundamental national security based on how the media might reflect what you do." Alarcon's comments came during a two-hour meeting with the APME board of directors, which represents 1,700 newspapers in the United States and Canada. The board arrived in Havana for a two-day stay after visiting Mexico, where they met with President Vicente Fox. (AP, 5/4/04)

April 6: About 30 opponents of Fidel Castro launched a 24-hour fast seeking the release of more than 300 Cuban political prisoners, including 75 who were rounded up and jailed in a crackdown a year ago. In a cramped flat in the El Vedado neighborhood, seated under a huge red, white and blue Cuban flag bearing the names of 75 dissidents sentenced to lengthy jail terms last year family and friends demanded freedom for loved ones they say are held in dismal conditions. (AFP, 6/4/04)

April 7: A Cuban human rights activist, jailed for hatching plans to honor the late Brothers to the Rescue fliers, has lapsed into a coma after a prolonged hunger strike, according to sources monitoring his health. Sources described as ''delicate'' the condition of Leonardo Miguel Bruzón Avila, imprisoned without trial since Febbruary 23, 2002. (El Nuevo Herald, 9/4/04)

April 7: Cuba hopes to win the "2004 Stop Smoking And Win" International contest to take place worldwide in May, according to the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). Dr. Milvia Ramirez, an official of the MINSAP Epidemiology Department, said the competition is promoted by the World Health Organization. An estimated 200,000 Cuban smokers plan to register in April to give up tobacco during the four wdek period in May, after which they will receive tests to verify their having met the challenge. ( Radio Habana Cuba , 8/4/04)

April 7: Cuban dissident Vladimiro Roca, rejected statements by Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban National Assembly. Alarcón stated that the 75 dissidents, imprisoned since last year, were sent to jail for “national security reasons”. “That is a way to justify a major political mistake that they do not want to rectify”, Roca said. (El Nuevo Herald, 8/4/04)

April 8: The first international conference on Values in Education will review more than 100 papers submitted by European and Latin American experts on ways to instil positive values in children, adolescents and young people. Deans, academics, researchers and other professionals on this field connected to institutions in Portugal, Spain, Lexico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and the host country, Cuba, are meeting in Camaguey, to discuss training of ethics and new realities in developed societies, among other topics. ( Radio Habana Cuba , 8/4/04)

April 8: One year after a firing squad executed her son and two other ferry hijackers, Ramona Copello says there is nothing left for her in Cuba. Her son, Lorenzo Enrique Copello, 31, was among a group of armed men who seized a ferry full of passengers and tried to force it to sail to the United States. "I keep asking myself why they executed him," Copello said in an interview. "I want to leave this country." She wants to exit legally, as a political refugee to the United States. Her paperwork was submitted months ago; now, she awaits final word from American officials. (AP, 11/4/04)

April 8: After more than two ydars of being divided into two factions, operating under the same name, The Democratic Party November 30 "Frank País", celebrated its merger. More than 30 activists and executives of the organization participated in the political act, celebrated at the home of the National Coordinator Ada Kaly Márquez Abascal. (Puente Informativo, 13/4/04)

April 9: It is reported that new regulations restricting the sales of cars to Cuban nationals in US dollars have become effective in the island. Under Resolution 54/2004 of the Ministry of Finances and Prices, the purchase of cars --in US dollars obtained abroad-- will only be allowed to “the ruling class, officials, technicians, professors, scientists, public health personnel, artists, administrative personnel working in official missions abroad”, and “artists, athletes technicians, professors and scientists that have received international awards”. The resolution was approved after Cuban police carried out the “HK Operation”, aimed to confiscate all vehicles bought by foreigners and driven by Cuban nationals. (El Nuevo Herald, 9/4/04)

April 9: Cuban universities have welcomed more than 13,945 foreign students from 113 countries, via a cooperation program that is systematically growing. In the past semester, 17,654 students received their degrees, with 70% of them from African countries, and it is expected that the number of those from Latin America and the Caribbean will grow during upcoming semesters. (Granma International, 9/4/04)

April 11: Painstakingly recovered from under 27 layers of paint, the colonial-era murals at 12 Tacon St. are known to local art historians as the "Sistine Chapel of Old Havana." Located halfway between Old Havana's cathedral and the port, the colorful floor-to-ceiling murals offer a window into the city's past. Almost all homes, government buildings and stores in Old Havana's majestic but badly deteriorated historic quarter were once decorated with wall paintings that were obscured for a century or more under successive layers of paint. Now they are gradually being rediscovered and restored. The murals at Tacon Street are unusual in that they cover all the walls, rather than selected portions, of a small room in a former colonial residence, giving art historians a unique pictorial depiction of a bygone era. (Sun Sentinel, 11/4/04)

April 11: Every newspaper stand in Cuba is selling "Cuba and the Defense of All Human Rights for Everyone," a Cuban Foreign Ministry text that details the respect for human rights (economic, social, cultural, civil and political) on the island, Granma daily reports.[Cuba and its Defence of All Human Rights for All] (Prensa Latina, 12/4/04)

April 11: Dissident Leonardo Bruzón Avila was transferred from Salvador Allende Hospital to the military hospital “Carlos J. Finlay”, in Havana, after having been lapsed into coma. After two years in jail, Bruzón initiated a hunger strike claiming for the celebration of his trial. (El Nuevo Herald, 11/4/04) (El Nuevo Herald, 11/4/04)

April 12: Dancer and choreographer Alberto Méndez received the National Dance Award 2004 after being chosen by jury among a group of five. Méndez was a founder of Danza Contemporánea de Cuba and has had a long and prestigious career as both a dancer and choreographer of the National Ballet of Cuba. (Granma, 12/4/04)

April 13: Roger Curbelo Tamayo, member of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and Coordinator of the Civic Committee of the Varela Project in Las Tunas province, has been arrested for over two weeks without due process. Since the beginning of his confinement in El Típico prison, Holguín, Curbelo Tamayo initiated a hunger strike in protest for his unjust incarceration. Osvaldo Payá Sardiñas, national coordinator of the MCL gave this information to the foreign press in Havana. (Puente Informativo, 13/4/04)

April 14: Fidel Castro denied he’s considering stepping down after 44 years in power, and his influence on the Cuban people could grow after his passing, he said in a documentary aired in the United States. “I’m not willing to please Mr. (George W.) Bush,” said Castro, 76, in reply to a question from U.S. movie Director Oliver Stone as to why he doesn’t transfer power to a younger successor. “I’ve had no time to consider that option. It does not cross my mind to step down from my post of Commander in Chief,” added Castro. “I believe I will die working,” he affirmed. (AFP, 14/4/04)

April 15: A group of Cuban dissidents handed some 400 leaflets with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to passers-by in Central Havana’s Parque de la Fraternidad, so that they have a “real knowledge” of the document. (EFE, 15/4/04)

April 15: Cuban dissidents welcomed the UN vote condemning the human rights situation on the communist-ruled island, though they expressed skepticism about the possibility of it bringing about changes. Elizardo Sanchez, who heads the Cuban Human Rights Commission, said the resolution "is appropriate and perfectly justified" given &qunt;the terrible situation of civil, political and economic rights that continues to prevail in Cuba." "Its impact will be minimal, because the Cuban government continues to ignore the calls of the international community on this matter," Sanchez told the press. Nonetheless, he said, the narrowly approved resolution "is important for the human rights and pro-democracy movement, like a practical form of moral support." Vladimiro Roca, head of the All United Movement, said the passing of the resolution constitutes "moral support for our struggle." "It's nothing more than moral support. Despite all the times they've singled out the Cuban government, the human rights situation worsens for days instead of improving," he said. "I don't think there are going to be changes. There's no will on the part of the government to carry out these changes," said Roca. (EFE, 15/4/04)

@pril 15: Cuban dissident Julio Antonio Valdes Guevara, one of 75 dissidents jailed a year ago, has been temporarily released to receive a kidney transplant, he said. "I'm happy to be free, despite the fact that my health is very bad," Valdes told a group of foreign journalists before being admitted to the Nephrology Institute of Havana. Valdes, 52, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars during a series of summary trials which sent 75 dissidents to prison in the spring of 2003, but due to the gravity of his condition, he was granted a temporary release to attend to his health problems. (EFE, 15/4/04)

April 16: An international workshop on democracy and the role of local and national governments will be held in Matanzas, in October. Legislators, academicians, historians, economists, philosophers, lawyers and students will attend the conference sponsored by the Matanzas Provincial Assembly (equivalent to State Legislature), Granma daily´s website reported. (Prensa Latina, 16/4/04)

April 16: On April16, Cubans remember the response of the Cuban people to Fidel Castro´s proclamation in defense of the socialist character of the revolution. Castro´s speech was made at the burial of the 56 Cubans (48 of them civilians) who were killed in the attack bombardment by mercenaries on Cuban airports on April 15. Cuban newspapers recall how thousands of new Cuban militia, with no combat experience, responded to that proclamation by joining the Rebel Army and the National Revolutionary Police in repelling the 1,500 strongly-armed amphibious 2506 Brigade landing that day at Playa Giron on the Bay of Pigs, in the island´s south central coast. (Prensa Latina, 16/4/04)

April 16: Ten members of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights (Fundación Cubana de Derechos Humanos), FCDH, imprisoned since 2002 will go to trial. The information was provided to Martiza Calderín, wife of Juan Carlos González president of FCDH, imprisoned without trial since 2002, by a police investigator from the Pedernales Prison, Holguín. The FCDH members waiting for trial are Juan Carlos González Leiva, Lázaro Iglesias Estrada, Léxter Téllez Castro, Carlos Brizuela Yera, Enrique García Morejón, Antonio Marcelino García Morejón, Delio Laureano Requejo Rodríguez, Virgilio Mantilla Arango, Odalmis Hernández Márquez y Ana Peláez García, these last two released on bail. (Cubanet, 16/4/04)

April 16: CMHW, the provincial radio network of Villa Clara, announced that the census for the distribution of sanitary pads to women has concluded. To register, women between the ages of 10 and 55 had to present their current ration card and ID document. Several women of the area who were interviewed regarded the initiative as a very positive one. As a result, it is expected that the supply of sanitary pads will be normalize, since the current distribution system of 2 or 3 times a year is insufficient. (Cubanet, 16/4/04)

April 17: On the first anniversary of the wave of arrests and summary trials that took place last year, eleven political prisoners initiated a hunger strike in protest for these events. The prisoners are confined in the Cerámica Roja prison, Camaguey. Francisco Pacheco Espinosa, Lázaro Iglesias Estrada, Jorge Luis Suárez Varona, the brothers Enrique and Antonio García Morejon, Delio Laureano Resquejo Rodríguez, Egberto Ángel Moral Escobedo, Jorge Liriano Linares, Elizardo Calvo Hernández, José Aguamonte Leyva, and Yosbel González Plaza, have been on hunger strike fnr 48 hours. (Puente Informativo17/4/04)

April 18: The 2nd Cuban Sports Olympics, with the participation of three thousand Cuban athletes and over a thousand foreigners opened, with competitions in track and field, baseball and volleyball. The day began with 45 runners competing in the marathon followed by the opening ceremony at Havana´s Sports City Coliseum, which holds 15,000 people. During the inaugural speech, Fidel Castro announced the use of new techniques in schools for athletes in the island. Castro said that these techniques constitute a revolution in Cuban sports. [Speech by Fidel Castro at the inauguration of the Cuban Sports Olympics] (Europa Press, 18/4/04)

April 18: Cuba's fourth television channel went on the air, kicking off programming with coverage of the second-ever National Olympics. It is Cuba's second educational channel. During its first two weeks on the air, Canal educativo 2 will cover the athletic games. Following the athletic event, the station will "continue to broadcast experimental programs with educational goals," the official press reported. (EFE, Europa Press, 18/4/04)

April 18: Reina Luisa Tamayo requested from Cuban authorities that her son be released from prison. Orlando Zapata Tamayo has being held without due process since his arrest in March 2003. Cuban State Security has accused him of the alleged crime of public disorder. During this time, the State Attorney has set his case for trial in 4 occasions, but prison authorities have refused to take him to the Tribunal, she added. "If they refuse to take him to trial then they should set him free", she said. (Puente Informativo, 18/4/04)

April 20: Cuban Minister of Culture Abel Prieto explained Cuba´s project to bring authentic culture, from any point of view, to every Cuban family, by quoting Jose Marti "without culture there is no true freedom." The minister, in Argentina for the Buenos Aires Book Fair and to meet with Argentine government and cultural leaders, told a university audience about culture as part of the battle of ideas, pointing out, also in the words of Marti, that to be cultured is the only way to be free and to able to withstand manipulation or exploitation. (Prensa Latina, 20/4/04)

April 20: Cuban mass organizations are telling their members to beat any person who might be talking about human rights and the Varela Project. According to a member of the dissident organization 24 de Febrero, these instructions began to be transmitted in meetings in Santiago de las Vegas, City of Havana, and have been extended to the municipalities of Centro Habana, Habana Vieja and Playa. (Lux Info Press, 20/4/04)

April 19: At the 43th anniversary of the triumph of Cuba’s army and militia at Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro said that Cuba is ready to face any attack coming from abroad . During the official TV program Round Table, Castro also stated that the internal opposition in the island is “a 0.03 percent” of the Cuban population. (World Data Service, Notimex, 20/4/04)

April 20: Cuban opposition leaders expressed concern over the health of Marta Beatriz Roque, the only woman among the 75 dissidents sentenced a year ago to prison terms of up to 28 years. Roque, sentenced to 20 years in jail, has for months been confined to a prisoners' ward of the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana because of her health. A communique issued in Havana and signed by Vladimiro Roca of the outlawed Todos Unidos movement, among others, complained that relatives have been banned from visiting Roque at the hospital for the past two weeks. (EFE, 20/4/04)

April 21: The Cuban Workers Federation (CTC) has advanced that the upcoming celebrations on May Day as a new example of Cuba´s decision to defend socialism and its national independence and sovereignty. Under the slogan Unity and Victory, a huge rally will be staged by millions of people. They will be joined by 400 delegates from 34 nations who will be participating in a solidarity meeting to be held at Havana´s Convention Center. (Prensa Latina, 21/4/04)

April 21: A group of Cuban government opponents gathered at a home in Havana to pray for the release of imprisoned dissidents on the island. The prayer chain, which brought together nearly 30 people, was organized by Yolanda Triana Estopiñan, whose husband Orlando Fundora Alvarez is one of the 75 non-violent democracy activists and independent journalists sentenced last year to prison terms averaging 20 years. Relatives of other jailed dissidents, members of outlawed opposition groups and a Greek Catholic priest co-sponsored the chain and shouted slogans in favor of human rights and the release of the prisoners. (EFE, 21/4/04)

April 23: Cuba’s Ministry of Sciences, Technology and Environment has completed the first ethno-ecological map of Guanahacabibes Peninsula, in the western province of Pinar del Rio. The Atlas involves two years of fieldwork and analysis of the population and nature of the region, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The book details the positive and negative affects of human interaction with the environment in the last 5,000 years. It further highlights the need to preserve places of cultural and archaeological interest, and endangered flora and fauna species. (Prensa Latina, 23/4/04)

April 23: Cuban dissidents and the top US diplomat in Havana gave Oliver Stone's second documentary on Fidel Castro bad reviews, saying it failed to present an objective view. "The documentary is biased. I was disappointed, even though I was interviewed by his team," said veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez. "It does not manage to give an objective picture of Cuban reality and is influenced by the enormous propaganda capability of a totalitarian regime," Sanchez said. (Reuters, 23/4/04)

April 23: Political prisoner Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, hospitalized in the “Carlos J. Finlay” military hospital in Havana, asked the political police to take her back to the Manto Negro prison, where she had been interned. The request follows a statement from Cuban forehgn minister during a televised press conference regarding the health and medical attention she’s receiving and the “great health condition”—according to him—she’s in. (Cubanet, 23/4/04)

April 25: Cuban scientists are conducting a project for the creation of a vaccine against the avian mycoplasmosis—a disease that affects particularly hens, roosters and chicken. The project was initiated three years ago at the Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA), indicated the specialized magazine Juventud Técnica. (DPA, 25/4/04)

April 25: Cuban Yipsi Moreno became one of the athletes to win the hammer gold medal at Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Moreno sent the hammer at 75,18 meters during Cuba's second national Olympic games in Havana. (Reuters, 25/4/04)

April 26: A blind lawyer and nine other opposition activists were put on trial in Cuba in the first prosecution of government opponents since last year's jailing of 75 dissidents. Blind human rights lawyer Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva and the other nine opponents of Fidel Castro were charged with disrespect for authority and public disorder, according to the Cuban Human Rights Commission. Only relatives were allowed into the courtroom for the trial, which took place in the central town of Ciego de Avila. "They face sentences of up to six years," said veteran rights activist, Elizardo Sanchez, head of the commission. All ten were arrested March 4, 2002, when they tried to visit an independent journalist, who had allegedly been beaten by police at a Ciego de Avila hospital. They have been jailed without charges since then. (CNN, 26/4/04)

April 26: Blind Cuban dissident Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva was found guilty of disrespecting Fidel Castro and other offenses and sentenced to four years in prison, dissident sources said. Eight other dissidents received shorter prison sentences in the one-day trial in the central Cuban town of Ciego de Avila where only relatives were allowed in the courtroom. A tenth man facing trial revealed himself to be a government agent who had infiltrated the dissident group in Ciego de Avila, commission president and veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said. (Reuters. BBC, EFE, 26/4/04)

April 26: During the trial followed to blind dissident Juan Carlos González Leiva and other activists, it was known that the group included Lester Tellez Castro, an independent journalist who revealed in court he had been working as a state security infiltrator called agent "Ignacio." During the trial, he publicly renounced his work for the Cuban police. After his statement in court, Trelles was immediately sent back to jail, where he expressed his repentant for having defended what he called “an unfair and worthless cause”. The court sentenced him to 3-1/2 years in prison. (Cubanet, Reuters, 27/4/04)

April 26: Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, the former exile who returned to Cuba last year without government approval, praised the election of Spain's new prime minister in an unusual political statement. Gutierrez-Menoyo also criticized dissidents who had admired new Socialist Party President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's more conservative predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar. "For Cuba (the electoral victory) must represent a happy opportunity in which the differing groups can and must be discussed within the confines of mutual respect," Gutierrez-Menoy's statement read. In the statement, Gutierrez-Menoyo said he was "perplexed" by some of the island's government opponents, including democracy activist Oswaldo Paya. He said Pay` bade farewell to Aznar "with adolescent admiration" while approaching Social Democrat Zapatero "without even blushing from his opportunism." (AP, 26/4/04)

April 26: Oswaldo Paya, promoter of the Varela Project democracy effort, accused dissident Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo of siding with the Cuban government in its opposition to the island's dissidents. "Mr. Menoyo is among those who call themselves members of the opposition -- but without any substance -- and then criticize those of us who are working inside Cuba," Paya said after reading a statement that Menoyo sent to the press. (AP, 26/4/04)

April 26: Cuba’s Silvio Rodríguez affirmed in a talk with young people in Mexico that in Cuba, “basic human rights” are respected and expressed his desire that his country remains socialist. “Basic human rights are covered in Cuba, of that I am totally convinced, and I am proud that it’s so. And if we weren’t under so much pressure from the enemy, we would also dedicate ourselves to being a little more self-critical in some areas that need that in the Cuban process,” he commented. Silvio also expressed that Cuba “has passed through a series of realities,” and that he would not like to see it go backwards. “And if some day we did go backwards, I would at least like for us to do that on our own account, not because someone imposed it on us,” he said. (Granma International, 27/4/04)

April 27: A Cuban court granted a blind human rights lawyer and another opposition activist conditional liberty, while eight other dissidents received prison sentences of three to seven years, a prominent member of the opposition told the press. Elizardo Sánchez, the president of the illegal but relatively tolerated Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said the blind activist, Juan Carlos González, was given a four-year sentence that was commuted to conditional liberty or parole. (IPS, 27/4/04)

April 28: Cuban will participate with very young athletes at the World Figure Skating Championship scheduled for September in the United States, Alejandro Martinez Osorio, the National Commissioner, informed. The best international results by a Cuban figure skating team was in Santo Domingo during the Pan-American Games 2003 with a fifth place finish after the United States, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, Martinez recalled. He recognized Cuban skaters are still below the high technical and artistic level prevailing today in the world where more than 80 countries practice this discipline, which only began to be practiced on the island in 1989. (Prensa Latina, 28/4/04)

April 29: Thousands of Cubans, young and old, played their favorite game into the night to break the world record for most people playing chess simultaneously. Former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov was among the 13,000 people that Cuban officials claimed had succeeded in surpassing the current Guinness World Record of 11,320 players -- set in Havana in December 2002. Fidel Castro, who helped break the chess-playing record in 2002, was not present. A surprise guest, however, was Elian Gonzalez, the 10-year-old boy made famous after a high-charged custody battle between his Cuban family and relatives in Miami. (CNN, 28/4/04)