Chronicle on Cuba - May 2004

Domestic Affairs

May 1: Fidel Castro addressed more than one million people gathered at Havana's Plaza de Revolución for International Workers' Day. Looking out over the massive crowd, the leader of the Cuban Revolution -- just before beginning to read his prepared speech -- commented that it appeared this morning's gathering had "broken all records." [Fidel Castro’s May Day speech] (Radio Habana Cuba, 1/5/04)

May 3: The Cuban Radio and Television Institute (ICRT) announced that the new TV channel, Educativo 2, will go on the air with special new musical, film and other educational programming. On the weekends, this second Cuban educational channel will begin broadcasting at noon with a varied programming of concerts, documentaries and childrens´ programs, informed Ovidio Cabrera, ICRT vice president. (Prensa Latina, 3/5/04)

May 3: Two websites dedicated to the daughter of Rene Gonzalez, one of the five Cubans imprisoned in the United States on political charges, launched by the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada, are now available in Internet. The websites www.daddy.cu and www.quieroveramipapito.cu were inspired by Rene Gonzalez´ youngest daughter, Ivette, who turned six without hardly knowing her father, because he was sentenced shortly after her birth. The websites reflect aspects of Ivette´s school and social life, including stories and a description of her environment, as well as other topics of interest for young people. They also reveal details of Rene´s life as a father. (Prensa Latina, 3/5/04)

May 4: More than 200 social scientists, activists and political leaders from 40 countries met in Havana for the opening of a four-day meeting on contemporary Marxist thought around the world. The Second International Conference 'Karl Marx and the Challenges of the 21st Century', originally founded by the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment's (CITMA) Philosophy Institute, is being held in Havana's Convention Centre. After a presentation by Canadian professor Leo Panicth, from the University of Toronto, about the contemporary concept of imperialism, a debate followed among participants. (Granma, Radio Habana Cuba, 4/5/04)

May 5: Three members of a small, illegal Cuban dissident party have been sentenced to prison for four to five years for taking part in a demonstration, according to relatives and a local human rights group. Rafael Corrales Alonso, Ricardo Ramos Pereira and Jose Enrique Santana Carreira took part in a Jan. 28, 2002, protest outside a Havana church, where they chanted for freedom for political prisoners, according to Ramos' mother, Carmen Pereira. They were arrested a month later. A Havana court sentenced Corrales to five years and Ramos and Santana to four years, according to a relative. (AP, 6/5/04)

May 6: René Montes de Oca, leader of the Cuban Party for Human Rights, denounced the mental and physical condition of two inmates at Canaleta prison, Ciego de Ávila province, who require immediate medical care for their self-inflicted injuries. One of the inmates severed his remaining arm, while the other injected himself intravenously with petroleum, to protest the inhumane treatment he suffered. The latter was then put in solitary confinement, following which both his arms had to be amputated. (Grupo Decoro, 7/5/04)

May 6: Several posters saying "Oust Fidel" and "Long Live Liberty, appeared in different locations in Havana, sources of the independent press reported. The signs were painted in the portal of a medical post in Centro Habana, and in the indoor walls of the well known Finca de Los Molinos. Also, posters appeared in the washrooms of the Heladería Copelia. (Grupo Decoro, 6/5/04)

May 9: According to sources with the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops, the Cuban Catholic Church welcomes between 80- and 100 thousand mass-goers every Sunday and has implemented several social programs throughout the island. The programs, coordinated through some 600 parishes, enabled four thousand church volunteers to visit nearly 19 thousand sick nation-wide, an effort carried out by the Catholic charity organization Caritas. (AFP, 9/5/04)

May 9: Félix Gerardo Vega Ruiz, a political prisoner serving a seven year sentence at a prison in Guanajay, Pinar del Río perovince, was stabbed by common prisoners. Vega Ruiz was stabbed while he was making a telephone call, because prison authorities had canceled his family visit. Xiomara Ruiz, mother of the political prisoner sent an urgent appeal to the international community in support of the physical integrity of her son and of all political prisoners. Vega Ruiz is a member of the Cuban Pro Human Rights Party, affiliated to the Andrei Sajarov Foundation. (Puente Informativo, 9/5/04)

May 9: Thirty-three female relatives of imprisoned Cuban dissidents marched for half an hour, on Mother's Day, and then rallied in an upscale area of Havana to demand release of their loved ones. The mothers, wives and sisters, all dressed in white and holding pink gladiolas, filed out of a church in the district of Miramar after mass then marched 14 blocks down posh 5th avenue, before returning and rallying in a nearby park. The women read aloud the names of 336 people they said were political prisoners, including 75 jailed last year for terms averaging 19 years. They shouted "libertad," or freedom, after each name. (Reuters, 9/5/04)

May 10: The Cuban poet and political prisoner Manuel Vázquez Portal declared himself in a hunger strike after he learned about the limitations the Boniatico penitentiary authorities put to the amount of food and other goods he could receive. Vázquez Portal has been in solitary confinement since February in a dark, filthy, rat-infested cell, according to his wife, Yolanda Huerga Cedeño. Vazquez Portal was one of the 75 Cuban dissidents incarcerated and condemned to a long term in prison for expressing ideas different to the Cuban government. (NetforCuba, 10/5/04)

May 11: A prominent Cuban human rights activist said that the island's prison system has grown dramatically since Fidel Castro's government came to power in 1959. Elizardo Sanchez of the independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation presented what he said was the first fairly detailed study of the evolution of the prison system under communism. Sanchez displayed side-by-side maps of the prison system in 1959 and today: the first a scattering of 14 dots on the map of Cuba, the second a constellation of what he said were 200 prisons and detention camps that he said constitute "a tropical gulag." Sanchez said Cuba had about 4,000 prisoners in 1956 and about 100,000 today -- a figure similar to that used by some international human rights groups. He acknowledged that the figures were not precise, but said the government "has exact information about the total number of people now imprisoned in our country" and he urged officials to make it public. (AP, 11/5/04)

May 13: The 1st Bioinformatics Conference -dedicated to debate the latest advances in this field- has opened in Havana with a lecture by Agustin Lage, director of the Molecular Immunology Center. Lage´s presentation focussed on the biological aspect of the discipline that harmoniously brings together the sciences of life and computing. The organizing committee of the 2004 Informatics Convention and Fair -taking place in Havana- said experts will talk about the design of bioinformatics instruments and biological problems, mainly those referred to as genomics and proteomics problems that can be solved through computer science. (Prensa Latina, 13/5/04)

May 13: Granma, the Cuban official newspaper, reported that 90 % of all 171 Cuban beaches are being affected by man-made erosion. The daily added that, with shorelines receding at an annual rate of 3'4", the erosion process is considered moderate. (Cubanet, 13/5/04)

May 14: The government of Fidel Castro put to the test its capacity to draw Cubans onto the streets to protest Washington's latest tightening of the four-decade embargo. And Havana residents answered the call en masse, just four days after the Cuban government announced unpopular economic adjustment measures, triggering fears of an across-the-board rise in prices. Castro and his brother Raúl, the head of Cuba's armed forces, headed the march of around one million people (according to official figures). (IPS, 14/5/04)

May 15: Through the streets of Managua, in Havana, hundreds escorted a likeness of St. Isidro Salvador, the town's patron saint. The procession was part of a locally developed, 9-day Catholic Church program to commemorate Managua's anniversary. (Cubanet, 18/5/04)

May 15: In Havana, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega opened a Cuban contemporary art exhibit entitled "Deus Verus Verus Homo", dedicated to Jesus Christ and featuring works by renowned and budding local artists. The exhibit is sponsored by the Office of the City's Historian, as well as other institutions. (NotiCuba Internacional, 16/5/04)

May 16: ”Theatre May”, convened by the governmental Casa de las Américas cultural centre, has reaffirmed Cuba as an atypical forum, with the tradition and modernity of the Latin American stage, drawing a dozen theatre troupes from across the region. The organisers usually put together a programme that alternates between well-known Latin American and Caribbean figures and new talent, who find in Cuba a platform to potentially launch international careers. The fifth edition of this event was attended by groups from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico, alongside local theatre companies, receiving prizes awarded by a panel of critics -- and maintaining a dialogue about what is going on in the Latin American theatre world. (IPS, 22/5/04)

May 16: The Cuban government is stepping up efforts to further restrict Internet access for Cubans and to better control telephone services through a centralized structure. The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications has implemented an Information Technology Security Policy, under the supervision of Ministry of the Interior experts. Restrictions involve warning authorized cybernauts against "indiscriminate use" of e-mail through charge-free internet-based service providers like Yahoo! or Hotmail, as well as of international chat rooms. (El Nuevo Herald, 16/5/04)

May 17: Fidel Castro's doctor denied rumors that the Cuban president's health was ailing, saying Monday the 77-year-old leader is in excellent health and maintaining he can live to at least to 140. "I am not exaggerating," said Selman, who believes people are capable of living five times the number of years it takes for the human body to fully grow - which he said is around 25 years. (AFP, 17/5/04)

May 17: Vitral Magazine, run by the archdiocese of Pinar del Río, revealed on-line distribution restrictions imposed by new Information and Telecommunications Ministry regulations. According to the magazine, Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S.A. (Cuban Telecommunications Inc.), internet e-mail service provider for the Pinar del Río province will no longer allow multi-address e-mailing exceeding five recipient addresses at once, thus "preventing traditional use of address books." (Vitral, 17/5/04)

May 18: Three Cuban dissidents who participated in a meeting to discuss human rights were sentenced to three years each in prison, a local human rights group said. Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Raul Arencibia Fajardo and Virgilio Marante Guelmes were arrested December 6 of 2002 while meeting in a private home in Havana to study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were convicted in a one-day trial of contempt for authority, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, said Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the independent Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. (CNN, 18/5/04)

May 19: Cuban political prisoners Diosdado González Marrero, José Daniel Ferrer García and Leonel Grave de Peralta have initiated a hunger strike in Kilo 5 prison, Pinar del Río province. The political prisoners began the strike in solidarity with imprisoned dissident Normando Hernández González, who was beaten and sent back to jail together with common prisoners. According to Directorio Democrático Cubano, an organization based in Miami, Hernández González, an independent journalist sentenced to 25 years in jail, went on hunger strike in protest for abuses perpetrated by the prison’s authorities. (Encuentro en la Red, 19/5/04)

May 21: Two peaceful activists from the Democracy Movement in Santo Domingo, Villa Clara province, were arrested in the city of Santa Clara. Police authorities occupied the documents that Diolexis Orestes Rodríguez Hurtado and David Díaz-Oliver Delgado, were carrying after attending a meeting of their dissident organization. (Cubanet, 25/5/04)

May 21: Over 200 Christians from 31 different Evangelical churches met for several days at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Havana to debate the current situation in the island following the US government decision to increase sanctions against Cuba. The final Agreement by the Cuban Pastoral Forum calls all Cuban and US churches, and the Cuban population and authorities to a dialogue. [Foro Pastoral Cubano] (Caminos, 28/5/04)

May 22: A member of the "Damas de Blanco" (Ladies in White) illegal opposition group, which demands the release of dissidents jailed by the Fidel Castro government, was arrested in Havana. According to a Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) press release, María Alpizar Ariosa was taken to a police station in Havana, where she was informed that she would be immediately escorted back to her hometown, Placetas, 250 km east of the capital. (El Nuevo Herald, 23/5/04)

May 25: One of Cuba's best-known dissidents still at liberty, Oswaldo Paya, announced the start of a "National Dialogue" involving all his compatriots and aimed at drafting a peaceful "transition program" for the Communist-ruled island. Paya, leader of the outlawed Liberation Christian Movement, or MCL, released a statement in Havana explaining that the process is based on a working document he released several months ago. "All Cubans without exception may take part in this dialogue, whether or not they live on the island and whether or not they support or are members of the government, and regardless of political membership, religious affiliation, experience, age and social or economic status," the opposition leader said. (EFE, 25/5/04)

May 26: Cuba's Roman Catholic bishops rejected sanctions adopted by the Bush administration against the Cuban government and said the island's future should be decided without foreign interference. The Catholic Bishops Conference said new sanctions announced by the White House only served to aggravate the hardships and burdens already suffered by Cuban families under communist rule. The bishops also criticized price increases implemented by Fidel Castro's government because they hurt Cuba's poorest families. "It is unacceptable that the future of Cuba be determined on the basis of exclusions and much less with the intervention of a foreign government," the bishops said in a statement. The Catholic leaders repeated their call for a national dialogue to solve Cuba's problems peacefully. (Reuters, 26/5/04)

May 26: A ten-year study has given Havana the ability to predict tidal waves caused by tropical storms 18 hours in advance. The announcement was made at a meteorology seminar in Ciego de Avila, located in central Cuba. According to leading meteorologists at the seminar, mathematical studies take into consideration predicted climatic changes and are valid for the rest of this century. The ability to accurately predict tidal waves will obviously provide protection from these natural occurrences, which are responsible for nine out of every ten deaths during tropical hurricanes in the world. (Radio Habana Cuba, 26/5/04)

May 26: Cuba's first wax museum is scheduled to open soon in the western city of Bayamo, with the likenesses of music legends Compay Segundo and Polo Montañez among the many on display. The National Information Agency (AIN) said the exhibit will include 70 lifesize wax figures fashioned by brothers Rafael and Leander Barrios Milan and their father, Rafael Barrios Madrigal. (EFE, 26/5/04)

May 27: A Press Release in the official daily Granma informed that, at the suggestion of Fidel Castro, 72-year old José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera, with a lengthy leadership career, has been appointed Public Health minister, due to the "importance and intensity" of work in that sector. (AFP, 27/5/04)

May 27: An electrical failure provoked a fire in the Havana building housing three Cuban radio stations (Progreso, Radio Habana Cuba and COCO), causing an interruption in broadcasts but no loss of life. According to a report released to the press by officials of the Ministry of Interior, the fire started when a short circuit ignited spilt oil in the basement where several technicians were installing a central refrigeration device. (Prensa Latina, 27/5/04)

May 28: A train carrying boarding school students back from the countryside derailed for unknown reasons south of Havana. A local hospital reported treating some of the teenagers for injuries. An Associated Press Television crew and AP photographer later saw flattened passenger seats and twisted steel inside three yellow passenger cars toppled on their sides, along with the locomotive, in Jamaica, a town about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Havana. There was no immediate statement from authorities about the cause of the accident, or the number of casualties. Officials at one nearby hospital confirmed they had treated several people injured in the derailment. (AP, 28/5/04)

May 28: Cuba's national team has walked off the pitch in protest during a practice match against Brazilian club Fluminense after veteran striker Romario scored what they claimed to be an offside goal. Cuba's Peruvian coach Miguel Company said his side was already upset at having two goals disallowed earlier in the game when it abandoned the game while trailing 3-2 in the 75th minute. (Reuters, 28/5/04)

May 28: Renowned Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés filled in for his exiled father, Bebo, during the first Cuban concert to promote the hit album "Lágrimas Negras" ("Black Tears"), a collaboration between the latter and young flamenco cantaor (singer) Diego el Cigala. A packed Karl Marx theatre gave a resounding standing ovation for Bebo Valdés, an 85-year old self-exiled Swedish resident who has not returned to the island since his departure in 1960. (El Nuevo Herald, 28/5/04)

May 28: Three hundred community informatics clubs will be soon inaugurated, the National Informatics Program director Nestor Rodriguez said. He added that the increase of such community centers will further consolidate ongoing national education and cultural programs, such as the expansion of higher education courses at community level as well as socially-oriented initiatives aimed at providing the community with access to information technologies. (Prensa Latina, 28/5/04)