Chronicle on Cuba - March 2005

Foreign Affairs

March 1: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque arrived in Montevideo as head of a delegation attending the inauguration of Uruguay’s president-elect Tabaré Vázquez. Vazquez, an oncologist and former Montevideo mayor, is expected to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. He had said that Castro would not attend the ceremonies because of "health reasons.'' The 78-year-old Castro is still recovering after falling down and shattering his left kneecap and breaking his right arm during a public appearance in October. Pérez Roque was met at Military Air Base Number 1 by Uruguay's Foreign Minister-designate Reynaldo Gargano and future presidential secretary Jorge Vázquez. (The New York Times, Prensa Latina, 1/3/05)

March 1: Uruguay's new president restored full diplomatic ties with Cuba in one of his first acts, more than two years after a diplomatic row divided the two Latin American countries. President Tabaré Vázquez was joined by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque as he made the announcement only hours after being sworn in as Uruguay's first leftist president. (AP, 1/3/05)

March 1: Cuba has reasserted its willingness to help improve education throughout Latin America. Cuba's higher education minister, Fernando Vecino Alegret made the statement during the 14th Congress of the Latin American Students Organization, known by a Spanish acronym (OCLAE), which is currently underway in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Brazilian Education Minister, Tarso Genro, is also attending the meeting. (Prensa Latina, 1/3/05)

March 1: Cuba expressed support for Nepal's new regime that is fighting Maoist insurgents, saying the recent political developments in the Himalayan kingdom were Nepal's "internal matter". Cuba's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Abelardo Moreno is in Kathmandu on an unofficial visit, at a time when the international community has been condemning Gyanendra's actions and several high-level delegations have put off their visits. Moreno, who handed over a letter from Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque to Nepal's newly appointed Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, said Cuba supported Nepal's efforts to establish peace, the state media reported. (Times of India, 1/3/05)

March 2: French solidarity with Cuban organizations and individuals denounced Washington's anti-Cuba actions in the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva and urged the French government and the rest of Europe to stand up to the United States. Activists published a document in Paris entitled: "France and Europe must not join anti-Cuba measures at the United Nations". (Radio Habana Cuba, 2/3/05)

March 2: A group of Brazilian congressmen from the ruling party and the opposition questioned an agreement between the governments of Brazil and Cuba to cooperate on intelligence issues. According to the daily “Folha de Sao Paulo” Congressman Fernando Gabeira, of the allied Green Party (PV), tabled a motion requesting an explanation from the director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), Mauro Marcelo de Lima e Silva. (Notimex, 2/3/05)

March 2: A special UN rights envoy has urged Cuba to free all political dissidents, grant freedom of expression and lift restrictions on travel. In her annual report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, French magistrate Christine Chanet said
Cuba had continued to arrest dissidents, while journalists had been "threatened and intimidated." She also accused Cuba of giving "disproportionate" sentences to those jailed for the mere expression of views, and repeated her alarm at the jail conditions some prisoners faced. Chanet, who was appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in early 2003 to probe allegations of abuse in Cuba, has been repeatedly refused permission to visit the Communist Caribbean state. "The personal representative of the High Commissioner is alarmed at the allegations of ill-treatment in detention submitted by families of prisoners," she said, repeating a concern she raised in her first report in February 2004. Chanet said that Cuba could point to many positive developments in the economic, social and cultural areas, particularly in health and education. It was also "impossible to ignore the disastrous and lasting economic and social effects" of the economic embargo enforced by the United States, and which had worsened in 2004. Far from encouraging the granting of more freedom, the tensions created by the embargo, which she noted had been condemned by the UN General Assembly, such acts "provide the Cuban authorities with an opportunity to tighten repression”. (Reuters, La Jornada, Notimex, 2/3/05)

March 3: The government of Spain is inviting more than 200 elderly Cubans, most of them Spanish-born, on an all-expenses-paid trip to get reacquainted with the motherland. Spain's Labor and Social Ministry is picking up most of the transportation tab, though the travelers are paying $26 apiece. Among the 225 elderly people flying to Spain this year are two who are over 90 and five over 80. (EFE, 3/3/05)

March 3: Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba Alberdo Moreno called on Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Islamabad. They discussed matters of mutual interest, including the forthcoming session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and the reform of the United Nations. (The News International Pakistan, 4/3/05)

March 3: Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago have signed a joint declaration in Port of Spain, before winding up the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Commission between both member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The encounter was presided over by Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas and Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Minister Knowlson W. Gift, who signed the statement. Gift said both delegations deliberated on "matters related to the expansion of bilateral activity in areas of health, tourism, trade, culture and education". (Prensa Latina, 3/3/05)

March 3: The first secretary of Cuba's Young Communist League, (UJC), Julio Martinez, is currently in Beijing, China, as part of the last stage of a tour which also took him to Malaysia and Vietnam. The Cuban youth leader is in China to inform his counterparts of the preparations for the 16th World Festival of Youth and Students to be held in Caracas, Venezuela, in August. (Radio Habana Cuba, 3/3/05)

March 3: A Cuban swimming coach who fled his homeland will be tried on immigration charges for allegedly trying to sneak his Cuban wife into El Salvador, officials said. Jose Guillermo Herrera, 36, was hired as a swimming coach by El Salvador's National Institute of Sports in 1999, but announced three years later he was staying in San Salvador for good and instead of returning to his homeland. Investigators say that Herrera's wife Yusmara Alvarez, 32, flew from Cuba to the northern city of San Pedro Sula in neighboring Honduras and joined a group of Salvadoran swimmers in town for a one-day event. Herrera is accused of dressing his wife in athletes' clothing and placing her on a Salvadoran sports federation bus with other swimmers as a means of sneaking her into this country. (The New York Times, 3/3/05)

March 3: The director of Cuban Foreign Ministry's Multilateral Affairs Department, Juan Antonio Fernández Palacio gave a conference at the Autonomous University of Dominican Republic. In the presence of professors and students, Fernandez talked about complex international relations in the current single-option world and condemned the US economic blockade on Cuba. Fernández is Cuba’s expert at sessions of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. (Prensa Latina, 3/3/05)

March 7: A former advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien reveals in a new book how in the late 1990s Canada unleashed intense secret diplomatic activities aimed at reforming the Cuban regime. James Bartleman, then Chrétien’s diplomatic advisor, was tasked with presenting Fidel Castro with a program of political and economic reforms designed by Ottawa to foster a peaceful transition to a liberal democracy on the island. Bartleman explains in detail the process followed by Chrétien’s government and Castro’s reaction to the Canadian proposals in his memoirs "Rollercoaster":. (EFE, 7/3/05)

March 7: Shocked by the death of Gladys Marín, president of the Chilean Communist Party, Cubans remembered the expressions of friendship and solidarity from the communist leader with the island. Although for the hour difference, it was not published by the morning papers, the sad news was immediately broadcast by local radio and TV and spread among the people that attentively followed the health situation of the tenacious fighter. Radio and TV broadcasts inserted obituaries on the death of Marín, passages of her life and notes on her special relationship with Fidel Castro. (Prensa Latina, 7/3/05)

March 7: Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, the most senior British official to travel to communist Cuba since a lengthy freeze over EU support for dissidents, has used a visit to the capital for the freeing of political prisoners serving lengthy prison terms. "I will be talking directly to the Cuban government about the importance of the release of political prisoners and the need for international organizations such as the IRC (Red Cross) to have access to prisons," Rammell told the press at Cuba's Foreign Ministry. He was expected to meet Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque in the afternoon. Rammell, the minister responsible for Latin America, is the highest ranking official from a European Union state to visit Cuba since it lifted a 19-month diplomatic freeze over European support for Cuban dissidents. During his two days in Cuba, Mr Rammell will be attempting to improve relations. He will be reviewing a UK-funded anti-money laundering course. He will also be looking to increase sporting links between the two countries. (Reuters, BBC, 7/3/05)

March 7: Felipe Pérez Roque said that Mexico doesn’t have reasons to vote against Cuba in Geneva. R esponding to a question from a Mexican journalist as to the approach expected by the Mexican government of President Vicent Fox, on the Cuban case at the UN Human Rights Commission, Roque replied that Mexico didn't have a single reason to vote in favor of a plan fabricated by the US in accordance with its policy against Cuba, and against which almost every nation on the planet has spoken in the past - including Mexico. Should a vote in favor of a US supported resolution condemning Cuba be made by Mexico not only would it go against the majority of nations in Latin America, said Pérez Roque, but also be an act that the people and government of Cuba could not possibly understand. (Radio Habana Cuba, 8/3/05)

March 7: The Cuban foreign minister said that a critical statement on the Commission by a group of experts brought together by the UN General Secretary, was very sound: "Cuba does not seek to reform the UN Human Rights Commission, it seeks to reform the world, to reform economic relations and international political relations (...) and a deep and wide-reaching reform and democratization of the United Nations. The criticisms of the Commission made by Cuba and other nations are valid (…) this Commission is the most politicized in the entire United Nations system”, Felipe Pérez Roque said in an interview with the press in Havana. (Radio Habana Cuba, 8/3/05)

March 7: Several of Air Transat's Airbus planes were temporarily grounded after the rudder on one of the aircraft flying to Quebec City from Cuba nearly fell off. The pilot reported mechanical difficulty about 30 minutes after taking off from Varadero, Cuba, on March 5. He immediately returned to Cuba, where the plane landed safely. The airline then grounded three Airbuses in Toronto and two in Vancouver until they were inspected. No problems were found. There were no flight cancellations and the planes were back in operation. An investigation into the incident continues. (The Globe and Mail, 8/3/05)

March 8: Cuba has praised Spain, Britain, and Belgium as the main movers behind a recent thaw in relations with the European Union, but made clear the bloc's demands for the release of jailed dissidents were in vain. "We do not interfere in the internal affairs of members of the European Union, so why should we allow those countries to interfere in our internal affairs?" Cuban deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno told the press in an interview. Moreno, on a visit to London, singled out three nations for helping bring about what he termed the EU-Cuban "detente". "Several European countries have been much more realistic and objective than others," he said. "The UK, Spain, Belgium and a few other countries have been very constructive (...) The UK sensed what was happening was really a non-issue, that Europeans in general had made a mistake." (Reuters, 8/3/05)

March 8: Cuban Parliament Chairman Ricardo Alarcon is leading his country’s delegation to the funeral of Chilean Communist leader Gladys Marin. "We bring a message of solidarity and affection from the Cuban people and government to her relatives, the Communist Party and Chileans," said Alarcon shortly after arriving in Santiago. (Prensa Latina, 8/3/05)

March 8: The highest ranking European official to visit Cuba since a diplomatic dispute over human rights erupted in 2003 said he urged the government to free all political prisoners and stop harassing dissidents. British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, responsible for Latin America and human rights, said he had frank talks with members of Fidel Castro's government on the need to improve its rights record as part of a new policy of engagement with Cuba. "I have raised my concerns directly about the need to release all political prisoners within Cuba, especially the 75 that were imprisoned following the crackdown on the peaceful opposition in March 2003,'' Rammell said at a news conference shortly before his departure. Cuba last year released 14 of the jailed dissidents, leading to the temporary lifting of European Union diplomatic sanctions and a thaw in relations. But Rammell said: "We want to see all of them released.'' "I have urged Cuban ministers to accept international access to their prisons, to end the harassment of individuals by the state and take steps toward the abolition of the death penalty,'' he added. Rammell met with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque for two hours without reaching an agreement. (The New York Times, 8/3/05)

March 8: A group of Cuban dissidents asked British Secretary of State for Latin America, Bill Rammell, that the European Union continue to lobby for the freedom of Cuban political prisoners and the defence of human rights on the island. Hours prior to his departure from the island, Rammell met with several dissidents. He first met with Marta Beatriz Roque and Vladimiro Roca and minutes later met with Oswaldo Payá, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a member of the "group of 75" recently released from prison on health grounds. (EFE, 8/3/05)

March 8: A delegation of Canadian adolescents started an exchange visit to Cuba Tuesday, and met Cuban young people, as part of a friendly project now more than 10 years old. Colette Laveragne, president of International Cooperation -a non-governmental organization (NGO) which promotes such events- told the Cuban press that 30 youngsters from Toronto, Canada, between 15 and 18 years old, are in the city of Camaguey, 331.2 miles east from Havana. This friendly meeting sponsored by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples, the Ministry of Education and the Jose Marti Pioneers Organization, includes a program of visits to cultural and educational institutions, ecological places and others. (Prensa Latina, 8/3/05)

March 8: The General Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women, Yolanda Ferrer, warned the United Nations on the worsening situation of women under the present unjust international order, while outlining the progress of Cuban women, comprising 45 percent of the total number of Cuban workers. Yolanda Ferrer who is heading a delegation from the island to the UN session evaluating the Beijing platform, pointed out that the advances of Cuban women have taken place despite Washington's embargo against the island. (Radio Habana Cuba, 8/3/05)

March 8: Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister, Felipe Pérez Roque began his European tour in Strasbourg and met with European Parliament President Joseph Borrell. The Cuban diplomat delivered an invitation to visit Cuba to Parliamentary President, Borrel, on behalf of his Cuban counterpart Ricardo Alarcón. Pérez Roque held talks in Strasbourg with European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission chairman Elmar Brok and European Parliament's Socialist Group president Enrique Barón Crespo. (Radio Habana Cuba, 11/3/05)

March 8: Luxembourg's deputy foreign minister, Nicolas Schmit, called on visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque to engage in "constructive dialogue" with the EU and, at the same time, release all political prisoners. According to a communique released by the EU presidency, the ministers, who met in Strasbourg, France, exchanged viewpoints "on recent political and economic developments in Cuba." "The EU continues to be willing to engage in constructive dialogue with Cuban authorities with the goal of achieving tangible results in the political, economic, cooperation and human rights spheres," Schmit said. On the last point, Schmit reaffirmed "the EU’s call for the release of all political prisoners in the group of 75" jailed in March 2003, as well as the other "political prisoners still in custody." The meeting was held during Perez Roque's visit to EU institutions following Cuba's decision to resume contacts with EU embassies in Havana and the EU's temporary suspension of diplomatic sanctions on the Cuban government. (EFE, 9/3/05)

March 9: Chilean candidate for Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said that he is in favour of Cuba’s reintegration into the Inter-American system. However, he will not allow the issue to create divisions within the regional entity. (AP, 9/3/05)

March 9: Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez denied rumours that his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Pérez Roque’s statements are a veiled threat that Mexico should not vote against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission to avoid repeating a crisis similar to last year’s. He said Mexico will not promote any resolution against Cuba or any other nation at the UNHRC, but when such a resolution is presented by another country Mexico will analyze it and then cast its vote. (Notimex, 9/3/05)

March 9: Sixteen Cuban rafters rescued at sea by Yucatán fishermen were sent to Mexico City to initiate their repatriation to Cuba, said Yucatán’s head of immigration, Guibaldo Vargas Madrazo. The stowaways had left from the port of Camagüey aboard a 23-foot-long boat. (Notimex, 9/3/05)

March 10: Argentina will maintain its position and abstain from voting on Cuba during the UN Human Rights Conference that will take place in Geneva next month. Argentina will maintain its position in favour of abstention as expressed last year and introduced by the Eduardo Duhalde administration that ended with years of voting against Cuba following the policy instituted by former Presidents Carlos Menem and Fernando de la Rua. (BBC, 10/3/05)

March 10: The President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcón arrived in Santiago de Chile and was welcomed by the president of the country, Ricardo Lagos. Also attending was Cuba's ambassador to Chile, Alfonso Fraga and member of Cuba´s Communist Party Nestor Leon Sobral. Both sides discussed issues related to bilateral relations and general information on the international political situation, according to Prensa Latina News Agency. Alarcón travelled to Chile to participate in the commemoration service on the cremation of the secretary of the Chilean Communist Party, Gladys Marín. (Radio Habana Cuba, 10/3/05)

March 10: Cuba will attend the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, with ten resolutions “of interest for the Third World and the rest of humanity”. A draft on arbitrary detentions in the US Naval Base of Guantanamo will be submitted by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. The Cuban delegation will also propose projects linked to the promotion of a democratic, fair world order, the right for food, and membership in the office of the UN top commission for Human Rights. Texts dealing with peace as an essential requirement for the full exercise of human rights, people´s participation, non-discrimination as a basis for democracy, cultural rights, effects of structural adjustment policies, and foreign debt in this sphere will be also presented. (Prensa Latina, 10/3/05)

March 10: The competency of a Cuban doctor who amputated a woman's right arm after a car accident in 2001 came under fire in Pretoria High Court. Maria Zwane, 55, is claiming the money from the Road Accident Fund and the Mpumalanga health department. According to a medical report by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Corné Ackerman, there was "no obvious reason" to amputate the arm. The State and the Road Accident Fund are opposing the claim. (News 24, 10/3/05)

March 10: Cuban Foreign Minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, told European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel, that to truly make progress in relations with Cuba European countries "should move away from the futile affairs [that take place] in Geneva", where a new resolution against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission will be voted in April. During their meeting, Michel told Pérez Roque “clearly” that the EU expects Cuba to make progress toward political openness and to release political prisoners. Pérez Roque said that the release of jailed oppositionists "is not the subject of political negotiations". (ABC, 11/3/05)

March 11: As part of a tour of several European countries, Cuba's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Felipe Peréz Roque was officially received by Belgium's Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. The two statesmen analyzed the state of bilateral relations and issues of international politics in a mutually respectful and friendly atmosphere. In Brussels, Pérez Roque met with Flemish Socialist Party President Steve Stevaert and Belgian Francophone Socialist Party President Elio Di Rupo. The Cuban diplomat invited the Belgian Employment Minister Freya Van Den Bossche to visit Cuba. (Radio Habana Cuba, 11/3/05)

March 11: The OAS's Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) announced that rights violations continue in the Americas despite "important progress." In one of its most notable resolutions at the close of its first session of 2005, the Organization of American States' CIDH said that the US economic embargo "on the Cuban regime has a serious impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights" on the communist island. Although it acknowledged that Cuba had freed some persons "who had been unjustly imprisoned," the commission said that no significant changes had occurred in that country's "systematic repression of dissidents, human rights defenders and independent journalists." [Human Rights Situation in the Americas] (EFE, 11/3/05)

March 11: Venezuela's permanent representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) Jorge Valero said that the organization needs Cuba as a fully-fledged member and added that Venezuela supported any initiative that would result in its return although that remained Cuba's sovereign decision. During a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he is attending a preparatory meeting for the Fourth Summit of the Americas to be held in Mar del Plata in November, Valero said the Venezuelan initiative presented in 2001 now has total support and expressed his conviction that his country's proposal for a Social Charter for the Americas will become a reality. ¨The only exception is the United States, but it has been isolated within the continental community, so it will eventually be forced to match other countries´ views, he said. (Radio Habana Cuba, 11/3/05)

March 13: Human rights will be a key feature of bilateral Spanish-Cuban talks, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said as he prepared to meet Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque. Moratinos told Spanish radio that "through dialogue, the situation in Cuba with regard to human rights can be improved," while stressing that Madrid had "consistently called on the Cuban government to free all prisoners of conscience." (AFP, 13/3/05)

March 13: UN Secretary General Kofi will issue a plan in the coming weeks for "a complete revamping of the human rights machinery'' at the United Nations, said his chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown. The goal of the plan would be "to try and restore the credibility of this and have people on that commission who really are people of stature and reputation and record and come from countries of the same thing, with real human rights standing in the world,'' Malloch Brown told the press. Numerous governments with questionable rights records are among its current members, including Cuba, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia. (The New York Times, 14/3/05)

March 14: Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister, Felipe Perez Roque met with Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and with King Juan Carlos, whom he invited on behalf of Fidel Castro to visit the Caribbean island. No date was set for the visit, the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, said. Perez Roque also announced Castro's intention to attend the annual Iberoamerican summit, which this year will be held in the Spanish city of Salamanca. (EFE, 14/3/05)

March 14: Cuban's foreign minister called on the European Union for a renewed dialogue on the issue of human rights, but declined to say if there would be more releases of imprisoned government dissidents in his country. "Cuba's disposition is to advance with the European Union in a political dialogue on human rights" Felipe Perez Roque told a joint news conference with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos. He noted that the annual nation-by-nation vote at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva routinely led to political tensions, and said Cuba asks the 25-nation European bloc to abandon its common stance to condemn the island's human rights record. "We ask the EU to leave the actual road of common position and replace it with a reciprocal and frank dialogue," he said. "The decision to release a prisoner (in Cuba) is for the courts to take. It's not a government decision," he said. "The prisoners that were released some months ago were released because of health problems." (EFE, 14/4/05)

March 14: The Committee to Protect Journalists issued its annual report, Attacks on the Press 2004. Most of the journalists jailed were locked up on vague "anti-state'' charges, such as sedition, subversion and working against the interests of the state, the CPJ says. According to the report, Cuba accounts for 23 of the 122 journalists imprisoned around the world. [Attacks on the Press 2004] (The New York Times, 14/3/05)

March 14: In a moving farewell to the Cuban brigade of medical doctors, the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, thanked them for the help given to thousands of people suffering from recent floods in that Caribbean country. The ceremony was held at the President's office in Georgetown, and was attended by members of the cabinet who also said goodbye to the 40 Cuban doctors and technicians. (Radio Habana Cuba, 14/3/05)

March 14: About 200 intellectuals, activists and artists from Latin America and the United States issued a letter urging the top United Nations human rights watchdog to choose Cuba's side in an expected battle over the communist country's rights record. The letter said the US government has no moral authority to criticize Cuba's human rights record after its own scandals over treatment of terror suspects at prisons in Iraq and the Guantanamo naval base. "We urge the governments of the commission's member countries to not permit (the resolution) to be used to legitimize the anti-Cuban aggression of the administration of (US President George W.) Bush," the letter said. [Detengamos una nueva maniobra contra Cuba] (AP, 14/3/05)

March 14: Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki received and held talks with the Cuban delegation headed by the country's vice-president of the State Council, taking part in the third joint ministerial meeting. The president said that Eritrea highly values the contribution Cuba is making to train health professionals, especially through the teachers it had deployed to the College of Medicine. President Isayas further called for similar Cuban support to train Eritrean nationals in the College of Agriculture. (BBC, 14/3/05)

March 14: The Inter American Press Association concluded its midyear meeting with a statement that censured Venezuela for "restricting" freedom of expression and urged Cuba to free 25 journalists now behind bars on the Communist-ruled island. The imprisoned Cuban journalists, according to the IAPA, are suffering from harassment and cruelty, are being held under unhealthy conditions, are receiving awful food and many of them are in punishment cells and are "intimidated by repressive measures against their families." (IAPA Press Release, 14/3/05)

March 15: The Bahamas government repatriated 29 illegal Cuban migrants, three months after they rioted at a detention center, officials said. The men were flown to Cuba without incident, Immigration Minister Vincent Peet said. The migrants had been held in a prison after a riot at Carmichael Road Detention Center in Nassau in December. The riot left 20 people injured, including 11 immigration officers. (Latin American and Caribbean Briefs, 16/3/05)

March 15: Cuba backed China's latest move to prevent Taiwan from seeking formal independence, saying that a new law passed by the Asian giant will help it maintain its territorial integrity. Cuba's Foreign Ministry, in a statement published in the Communist Party daily Granma, reiterated "its strict adherence to the principle of 'only one China,' with Taiwan as an inalienable part of it." The Cuba statement made no mention of the attack authorization, saying the law "promotes peaceful national unification, the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan straits and ensures the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of China." [Declaración del Minrex] (AP, 15/3/05)

March 15: Cuba defended its rights record in a document prepared for an upcoming United Nations meeting, saying that giving medical parole to 14 of the 75 dissidents rounded up in a crackdown two years ago demonstrated its penal system's "profound humanism." The reference, contained in a text written for the UN Human Rights Commission meeting that opened in Geneva, was the government's first public reference to the early releases last year of 13 men and one woman for health reasons. Two new chapters of the book Cuba and Human Rights are “the latest contribution to the effort against lies and deceits”, President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcon stated at the launching of the book. The volumes were launched in the former nursery school Le Van Than, target of a sabotage that jeopardized the life of 570 children and 156 workers on May 8, 1980. "Very few places are better than this, the target of one of the most abominable terrorist actions against our people, to present these books citing evidence of the US's long history of violence against Cuba and its desire to overthrow the Cuban Revolution," said Alarcon. [White Book 2005] (AP, 15/3/05)

March 16: In a speech to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that Cuba will not cooperate with the Commission’s designated Representative to investigate the situation of human rights in Cuba. "We will not cooperate with the representative of the High Commissioner, or with the spurious resolution behind her," Perez Roque said, referring to the commission's decision to ask the UN High Commissioner to appoint a special investigator. French magistrate Christine Chanet was appointed to the post in early 2003, but Havana has refused to let her visit. "Why is not such a prestigious lawyer appointed special representative of the High Commissioner to the Guantanamo Naval base," Perez Roque said. "Because it cannot be done. Because it is about the human rights violations committed by the United States and they are untouchable," he added. [Statement by Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister] (Reuters, 16/3/05)

March 16: More than 100 prominent writers, editors, and reporters throughout Latin America joined the Committee to Protect Journalists in calling on Fidel Castro to immediately release 23 jailed journalists, saying the two-year-long imprisonments violate "the most basic norms of international law" and represent "an affront to human dignity." The demand, made in a letter sent to Castro and signed by 108 writers from 18 countries, comes nearly two years to the day that Cuban authorities swept up dozens of independent journalists and dissidents in a massive effort to silence political criticism. Signatories of today's letter include Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, Argentine author Tomás Eloy Martínez, Brazilian journalist Geraldinho Vieira, and Venezuelan editor Teodoro Petkoff. (CPJ News, 16/3/05)

March 16: With an official welcoming ceremony at the Palace of Government in Havana, Sierra Leone´s President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah started a four-day visit to Cuba, responding to an invitation of Fidel Castro, aimed at broadening bilateral relations. The African dignitary arrived at Jose Marti International Airport, where he was met by Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Jose Armando Guerra Menchero and Marta Lomas, Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration. (Prensa Latina, 16/3/05)

March 16: Finnish Foreign Ministry Assistant General Director for Latin America, Matti Johannes Pullinen, highlighted in Havana the state of bilateral relations with Cuba and interest to further expand them. Cuban Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told the Cuban press that Mr. Pullinen's visit attest to the traditional and fruitful ties binding both countries. Havana and Helsinki established diplomatic relations in April 1929. (Prensa Latina, 16/3/05)

March 16: Former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar said that his country's government was practicing ''irresponsible'' foreign policy, citing the coziness Spain is fostering with Cuba and Venezuela. Aznar said that under his administration, Spain stood proudly with the two strongest democracies in the world, the United States and Great Britain. And now, he said, Spain stands with Cuba and Venezuela, countries he called bedfellows in exporting trouble throughout Latin America. Aznar made his statements in a meeting with the Herald's editorial board. (The Miami Herald, 16/3/05)

March 16: Ricardo Alarcón, head of Cuba’s parliament, traveled to Chile to represent his country at Gladys Marín’s funeral, when he was interviewed by the conservative magazine Qué Pasa. In the interview, Alarcón touched on a number of topics, including José Miguel Insulza’s candidacy for the Organization of American States. Alarcón was asked if Cuba would be pleased with a victory by José Miguel Insulza in the race for the OAS presidency. “I don’t want to prejudge any candidate. But of the three candidates, I have only dealt with Insulza, and I like him. I have no doubt that he has the ability and qualities needed to help the OAS”. About Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, Alarcón said that “he is an outstanding person”. In the case of the third candidate, El Salvador’s ex-President Francisco Flores, Alarcón said that he was “supported by the United States”. “We don’t have any relationship with him. But the OAS has also been changing, as seen by the fact that there are three candidates. There was a time when there would only be one candidate – the one proposed by the North Americans – and so there was no doubt about who would be the secretary general of the OAS”, Alarcón added. (Santiago Times, 16/3/05)

March 17: The Peruvian Congress requested President Alejandro Toledo to advise his Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez to abstain from any resolution condemning Cuba at the UN Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR) in Geneva. According to Prensa Latina News Agency, the Peruvian legislators said their country must defend the people's right to self-determination and express solidarity with Latin American and Caribbean nations. The initiative was promoted by opposition congressman Javier Diez Canseco, President of the Friendship with Cuba Parliamentary Group and was signed by 78 of 117 legislators of the single-chamber Peruvian Parliament. (Radio Habana Cuba, 17/3/05)

March 18: The limitation of freedom of expression, association and assembly are serious human rights violations. They must stop immediately, said Amnesty International as it published a report on prisoners of conscience in Cuba on the 2nd anniversary of the 2003 crackdown. Amnesty International currently recognizes 71 prisoners of conscience imprisoned across the island for peacefully expressing their beliefs and opinions and calls on the Cuban government to immediately and unconditionally release all of them. (AI Press Release, 18/3/05)

March 18: Amnesty International urged a high-ranking EU official about to visit Cuba to pressure the Castro regime to release all political prisoners jailed in the Caribbean nation. Louis Michel, European Union commissioner for development and aid, is set to visit the Communist-ruled island as a step in a tentative rapprochement between the 25-nation bloc and the 46-year-old regime. "As dialogue with Cuba is renewed, the EU must reiterate its petition to authorities of that country for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience," said the international human rights organization. Cuba's outlawed Commission on Human Rights says the government has imprisoned some 300 people for political offenses. "The EU must pressure Cuba to put an immediate end to such violations," he said. "In Cuba, exercise of the freedom of expression is considered a crime, as is working with a human rights organization or publishing articles and giving interviews to media considered critical of the Cuban government," said the communique. (EFE, 18/3/05)

March 18: Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya accused Fidel Castro's government of "systematically" violating human rights and challenged it to lay out the alternative projects sponsored by his organization before the United Nations' Human Rights Commission. In a message to the commission, currently meeting in Geneva, the leader of the Liberation Christian Movement said the Cuban government "does not respect the commission's resolutions and calls to stop violating the rights of its citizens." "On that commission, only those that surpass the Cuban government in the violation of those rights or those who are training for totalitarianism support the Cuban government," said Paya, winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Award for human rights. ( EFE , 18/3/05)

March 19: Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah concluded a three-day-visit to Cuba. The African leader held official talks with Fidel Castro and toured schools, hospitals and other places of social interest. (Radio Habana Cuba, 19/3/05)

March 20: The 8th International Terry Fox Race in Havana registered a record participation of 10,000 people, Cuban press said. Nonetheless, taking into consideration the simultaneous races in the 169 municipalities of the island, the number of participants could reach one million. This athletic event was initiated by Canada's ambassador to Cuba, Alexandra Bugailiskis, in honor of the young Canadian who 25 years ago raced across his country after having been diagnosed with bone-cancer. Bugailiskis praised Cubans' passion for this race, which is the second largest in scale behind the race taking place in Canada to honor Fox. This year marks the race's 25th edition, and its celebration also marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and Cuba. (EastDay.Com, 22/3/05)

March 21: The Republic of Burundi's foreign minister, Therence Sinunguruza, is in Havana in response to an official invitation from his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Pérez Roque. During his stay in Cuba, the visiting foreign minister will participate in official talks with Cuban government officials and tours of areas of historical and cultural interest, Granma newspaper reported. (Radio Habana Cuba, 2173/05)

March 21: The Group of 77 (G-77) started a meeting in Havana to discuss ways to boost South-South cooperation. Delegates to a meeting of the G-77 Inter-Governmental Committee for Coordination Among Developing Countries will meet in two working groups to examine the implementation and follow-up of the Action Program and the agreements of the First Summit of the South held in Havana in 2000, as well as to formulate cooperation plans and to decide on cooperation projects for the G-77. The two-day meeting is expected to reach a consensus prior to the Second Summit of the South, scheduled for June, in Doha, Qatar. (Xinhua, 21/3/05)

March 21: Cuba will send a 1,500-member delegation to the 16th World Youth and Students Festival to be held this summer in Caracas, Venezuela, according to the First Secretary of the Young Communist League (UJC), Julio Martinez. Martinez said that the participants -to include 500 Cuban workers currently in Venezuela and 115 Venezuelan students with scholarships on the island-will participate in this festival which is scheduled from August 7 to 15 under the theme "For Peace and Solidarity, we struggle against imperialism and war”. (Radio Habana Cuba, 2173/05)

March 21: S everal Cuban dissidents met with the ambassadors of EU nations in Havana and asked them to include demanding the release of the regime's opposition prisoners on its negotiating agenda with the Fidel Castro government. Attending the two-hour meeting held at EU representative Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff's residence were Christian democratic leader Oswaldo Paya, former political prisoner Martha Beatriz Roque, Todos Unidos leader Vladimiro Roca and progressive dissident figure Manuel Cuesta Morua. The EU was represented by the ambassadors or chiefs of mission of Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium. After the meeting, Paya said that he asked the ambassadors to include lobbying for the release of imprisoned dissidents on its list of matters to discuss with Havana. "If the EU is going to have a dialogue with the Cuban government, it must include on its agenda (...) the freedom of the political prisoners, because that is something that cannot be postponed," he said. Roque, of the dissident Assembly to Promote Civil Society, said that the meeting "was very friendly and cordial," but she added that there had been "no kind of commitment (made) by the EU." (EFE, 21/3/05)

March 21: Days before the first visit of a high-ranking EU official in the context of a tentative rapprochement, Cuba described as "disgraceful" the bloc's intention to back a US resolution against Havana in a UN rights forum, "The European Union can't talk with Cuba, on the one hand, and vote with the United States, on the other. That will make (Europe) lose credibility," Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister asserted. The US resolution, the preparation of which was discussed with the press by the Cuban government, invites the personal representative of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to report to the UNCHR regarding compliance with similar past resolutions and keeps the issue on the table for the Commission's 2006 meeting. (EFE, 21/3/05)

March 21: Cuba's education system is a non-stop educational revolution and has progressed far beyond the old learning methods used in many other countries, said Congo's Education Minister, speaking in Havana. Minister Rosalie Kama - in a meeting at the Education Ministry with her Cuban counterpart Luis Ignacio Goméz - went on to rank the island's educational system as one of the best in the world. (Radio Habana Cuba, 21/3/05)

March 22: A dozen European Union legislators started four days of meetings with Cuban authorities as the EU pursues invigorated ties with the communist-run island. The delegation, representing 10 European countries, met with Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon. The group, led by Spanish lawmaker Miguel Angel Martinez, was also scheduled to hold discussions with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Investment Minister Marta Lomas throughout the week. (AP, 22/3/05)

March 23: A top UN investigator clashed with Cuban officials over her report criticizing human rights conditions on the communist-ruled island. Cuban Ambassador Jorge Mora Godoy told the UN Human Rights Commission that Christine Chanet was playing into the hands of the US campaign against Havana. "This document, based on lies and slander, only serves as a platform to justify the anti-Cuban campaign of the United States (...) which has submitted my country to aggression for 45 years,'' said Mora Godoy. But Chanet, a French legal expert, slammed Cuban authorities from banning her from the country, making it "almost impossible" to prepare a balanced report. The clash occurred when Chanet presented her report on human rights in Cuba to the 53-nation commission, which is part-way through its annual six-week session. (AP, Reuters, 24/3/05)

March 23: The new Argentinean Ambassador to Cuba, Darío Alessandro, presented his credentials to the Cuban government, after the situation created by the case of Hilda Molina, a Cuban physician who was denied permission from Cuban authorities to visit her grandson living in Argentina. The appointment of Alessandro was approved by Argentina’s Congress in a special session called by the Executive. (Diario Hoy, 23/3/05)

March 23: Representatives of 132 underdeveloped nations making up the Group of 77 (G-77) concluded a conference in Havana: the 11th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Follow-Up and Coordination Committee on Economic Cooperation Among Developing Countries. During the three-day meeting, delegates from member-countries analyzed alternatives for promoting South-South cooperation in various fields. (Radio Habana Cuba, 24/3/05)

March 23: Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque said relations with Vietnam are excellent. Speaking after meeting with Vietnamese deputy foreign minister LeVan Bang, in Havana, the Cuban official said that Vietnam is a sister nation for which the
Cuban people have profound affection and gratitude. (Radio Habana Cuba, 24/3/05)

March 23: Cuba's top diplomat said that a pending visit to Havana by the EU development and cooperation chief showed that the communist-run Caribbean nation's relations with the European Union were back on track. "I think it is important, it's an important visit. It is a testimony to the new course bilateral relations between Cuba and the EU are taking," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told reporters, referring to Louis Michel's visit. (AFP, 23/3/05)

March 23: Venezuela´s Bolivarian News Agency and Cuba´s Prensa Latina (PL) News Agency signed a cooperation agreement in Caracas during a ceremony attended by Venezuelan Communication and Information Minister Andrés Izarra. The accord, signed by PL President Francisco Gonzalez and ABN´s Freddy Fernandez, will not only allow for rapid exchange of information but will facilitate complementary work between the two agencies. Gonzalez stressed that Prensa Latina has been working for over four decades on an editorial policy to expose and correct the misinformation of the powerful mass media. Fernandez said his country is seeking integration among people in all economic, political and cultural aspects, and one of the first steps is through information. (Radio Habana Cuba, 24/3/05)

March 24: Sierra Leone’s Information Minister, Prof. Septimus Kaikai stated that President Kabbah's visit to Cuba couldn't in any way annoy the United States or Britain despite their opposition to Fidel Castro's regime. "The American Ambassador and British High Commissioner were aware about his visit to that country," Prof Kaikai said, adding that President Bush had even sent an Edul Adah congratulatory message to President Kabbah before he left for Cuba. "This is a clear manifestation of the good relationship existing between the two countries," Prof. Kaikai said, adding, "President Kabbah visit to Cuba should not annoy anybody because he is a president of a sovereign country visiting another sovereign state." He said Sierra Leone stands to benefit a lot from Cuba in the area of sports, tourism medical and youth empowerment. (All Africa.Com, 26/3/05)

March 24: EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel arrived in Cuba on a crucial visit to rebuild ties between Brussels and Havana after a two-year rift over human rights abuses. "This is a highly charged visit that will show to what extent a rapprochement is possible in the coming months or whether we return to a new ice age," a EU diplomat based in Havana said. Michel's three-day visit is the most senior by a EU official since Fidel Castro's communist government locked up 75 pro-democracy dissidents in March 2003, just days after the EU opened an embassy in Havana. Western diplomats said they saw little scope for advance, doubting Havana would make any concessions. Cuba has released only 14 of the jailed dissidents on health grounds and has balked at EU demands the remaining 61 be freed. "The political prisoner issue is the main obstacle," a European ambassador said. "We are getting nowhere." (AP, 24/3/05)

March 24: The five Cuban prisoners incarcerated in the US sent a message to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. According to AIN New Agency, from their respective prisons where they are serving harsh sentences, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez reminded the forum that this is the second consecutive year that the violations that keeps them from receiving visits from their families is brought before the forum. (Radio Habana Cuba, 24/3/05)

March 25: The European Union commissioner Louis Michel urged Cuba to turn the page on past tensions and start a new dialogue with the European Union. "In my opinion, I don’t think it is necessary to spend more time on past difficulties. I think that the important thing is that today there already are several specific elements, and there is an expression of a very strong will to see our relations consolidate, relaunched," Michel said with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque looking on. Michel and six other members of an EU delegation began the round of meetings with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. The EU commissioner said he addressed the political prisoner issue in meetings with some of Cuba's top officials but reached no agreements on their fate. "I think there is an acceptance on the Cuban side to discuss these very sensitive issues," Michel said after meeting with parliament speaker Ricardo Alarcon. "I really have the impression there is space to make progress and that my visit is a milestone." The EU has asked that Cuba release all political prisoners, and in particular 61 dissidents who remain behind bars after a roundup of 75 government opponents two years ago. The other 14 activists were later released on medical parole. "These past few years have been difficult ones in our relationship, for many reasons," Michel told Perez Roque in initial remarks open to the news media. "The important thing today is for there to be various concrete elements and an expression of very strong determination for us to be able to strengthen our relationship." Perez Roque told Michel, "We receive you as a friend," and said he hoped the visit would represent "a new opportunity to give continuity to our discussion." Michel was expected to meet with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, academics and dissidents, dissident sources said. (The News International, Seattle Post, The New York Times, 26/3/05)

March 26: Fidel Castro met with European Union Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, the first high-ranking EU official to visit since relations with the island were normalized. Castro shares the European Union 's interest in strengthening ties and tackling sensitive issues such as human rights and the island's political prisoners, EU commissioner Louis Michel said after four-hour talks with the Cuban leader. Castro, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Michel and non-resident EU Ambassador Dino Sinigallia spoke of issues of bilateral interest, the officials said. "We spoke together about all the issues, even about the difficult issues, and sensitive issues, and there is of course a common interest to relaunch a political dialogue," Michel said as he entered a meeting with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Roman Catholic Church's top prelate on the island. The meeting with Castro was not on Michel's agenda, though it had been mentioned as a possibility. (EFE, AP, 26/3/05)

March 26: Miguel Angel Martinez, a member of Spain's Socialist party who serves as spokesman for a EU delegation of lawmakers visiting Cuba said he found "great pluralism" among the different groups of Cuban dissidents, though they all agree in calling for the release of the jailed dissidents. "All the other postures were divergent in almost every case," said Martinez, who met with Oswaldo Paya, Manuel Cuesta Morua, Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo and Vladimiro Roca. "Most of those with whom we met, I would put by head on the block and say they have nothing to do with the Untied States. On the contrary, they are critical of the blockade and condemn US policy," he said. Martinez, who said he considers the EU's common policy toward Cuba an "encumbrance," condemned the US embargo on trade with the island and argued for Europe's need to dissociate itself from Washington's Cuba policy. (EFE, 26/3/05)

March 26: Members of the Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba Group in the European Parliament called on the Cuban government to release jailed dissident and allow political breathing room on the island. The legislators concluded a visit to Cuba in which they met with high-ranking government officials and dissidents alike. Miguel Angel Martinez, a member of Spain's Socialist party who serves as the delegation's spokesman, said the group communicated to Cuban authorities "the need to release the prisoners." The imprisoned dissidents "pose no threat whatever to the nation's security" and should be "at home peacefully." Releasing the 61 dissidents still behind bars out of the 75 who were sentenced in the spring of 2003 "would markedly facilitate our activity in favor of normalized relations between Cuba and the European Union," the group said. In addition, Martinez said at a press conference, the group told the Cuban government it is "essential" to leave "political room" for the participation of people who think differently. (EFE, 26/3/05)

March 27: European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel has urged Cuban Fidel Castro to release imprisoned dissidents during a visit to Cuba to reopen talks between Brussels and Havana, an EU spokesman said. The Cuban leader expressed interest in mending relations with Europe during the four-hour meeting, Michel's spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said. "Michel repeated to Castro the unvarying position of the EU in favour of the release of all political prisoners on the island," the spokesman said. "The meeting was cordial and very constructive," he said. (Reuters, 27/3/05)

March 28: The pilot of a Cuban airliner carrying 93 people aborted his takeoff when an engine caught fire, sending the craft swerving off the runway and crashing. Officials said 16 people were injured but none seriously. The Cubana de Aviacion Ilyushin 18 was leaving Venezuela's main airport near Caracas when an undetermined mechanical problem caused the fire, said Jose Cabello, the airport's director. "The plane never took off. It could not reach the required speed for takeoff, forcing the pilot to try to keep the plane on land. But the runway ended," said Cabello. (AP, 28/3/05)

March 28: A conference on Latin America's social and political reality was opened in Cuba´s Varadero beach resort by the Russian non- governmental organisation (NGO) World Dialogue of Civilizations. The three-day event opened with the colloquium "Latin America in the 21st Century: Universalization and Originality," attended by Cuba´s Culture Minister Abel Prieto and Carlos Marti, president of the National Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC). Vladimir Yakumin, co-president of the Russian organization, pointed out that the awakening of social and progressive movements in Latin America is the result of current evolution of the continent. (Radio Habana Cuba, 28/3/05)

March 29: More than 18,000 children with health problems believed linked to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine have received treatment in Cuba over the last 15 years, officials said. The children receive treatment at a coastal sanatorium at Tarara, east of Havana. Cuba pays for all medical treatment, room and board. The average stay is 2 1/2 months. About 250 children are at the sanatorium at any one time. They live in houses surrounding the medical facility, often with their parents. When the program began, most of the young patients suffered from leukemia, other forms of cancer and cerebral palsy - health problems doctors believe are related to the radiation. (Canadian Press, 30/3/05)

March 29: Reporters without Borders (RSF) said that independent Cuban journalist Oscar Mario Gonzalez was being persecuted by the government. "A Cuban journalist is yet again being harassed by the political police for the sole reason that he refuses to conform to the 'code of conduct' imposed by the government," RSF said in a statement. According to the group, Gonzalez was summoned and questioned for two hours by state security agents in Havana who threatened him for criticizing the government too much. "They told me I criticized the government too much and that they would not allow this to continue," Gonzalez told Reporters Without Borders. (EFE, 29/3/05)

March 30: The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution criticizing the “sudden change of direction” of the EU’s policy toward Cuba and the provisional lifting of diplomatic sanctions agreed on by the European Council at the request of Spain. The resolution had been passed by a vast majority at the Commission and is expected to be ratified by the European Parliament. (Europa Press, 30/3/05)

March 30: A spokeswoman for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the press that the European Union as a whole has decided “to support” a resolution against Cuba from Washington. Several diplomatic sources have referred to the US document as “lacking in content” since it only reminds of previous resolutions and calls for a visit to the island by UN Human Rights Commissioner, Louise Arbour. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have expressed their intention to co-sponsor the resolution, regardless of whether there is consensus among the 25 or not. (Europa Press, 30/3/05)

March 30: Participants from the Canadian ARO Solidarity Brigade were in the eastern Cuban province of Camagüey discussing democracy in Cuba with members of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). Hundreds of members from the CDR attended the various meetings, where the Canadian visitors learned in detail about the Cuban election process and the upcoming municipal elections. (Radio Habana Cuba, 30/3/05)

March 30: The Cuban government said it is ready to assist Nigeria in order to ensure the rapid development of the nation's collapsing education system. Speaking at the National Teachers Institute (NTI) Kaduna, Cuban Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Edvardo Cruz said cooperation between the two countries in the area of education will bring about growth of the sector in the two countries. (All Africa, 30/3/05)

March 30: Fidel Castro has asserted that the human race must have values to survive and warned that it has never been as endangered as it is now. When addressing the closing ceremony of the Latin American International Conference in the 21st Century: Universality and Originality, Fidel Castro said that mankind is a wonder that deserves to survive. After having received lethal doses of barbarism and ignorance, the world needs to spread education as a means to instil human values, he noted. The Cuban leader praised the recent meeting of the Venezuelan, Colombian and Brazilian presidents with the head of the Spanish government, in which Washington´s foreign policies were criticized. (Prensa Latina, 31/3/05)

March 31: The government of Uruguay announced that it will not invite Cuban dissidents to its embassy in Havana. After a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Uruguayan Parliament, Uruguayan lawmaker Jaime Trobo told the press that Foreign Minister, Reinaldo Gargano, said at the meeting that, “the chancellery is not allowing Cuban dissidents, or representatives of dissident organizations to enter into Uruguay’s diplomatic mission in Cuba”. According to Trobo, the minister said that the current government in Uruguay does not want any “prickly” relation with Castro’s government. (AFP, 31/3/05)