Chronicle on Cuba - February 2006

Foreign Affairs

February 1: The Czech Foreign Ministry considers the explanation of the arrest of Czech supermodel Helena Houdova and psychologist Mariana Kroftova, which Cuba's Chargé d'Affaires Aymee Hernandez presented, incomplete and unsatisfactory, Richard Krpac from the ministry said. "The Foreign Ministry expects to receive additional information from the Cuban diplomats as soon as possible," Krpac said. Cuban police detained both Czech women when they were taking photographs of a slum in Havana. Hernandez said they were arrested because they deliberately waged a campaign against Cuba in cooperation with Cuban dissidents. Krpac said that Hernandez was not able to say why Houdova and Kroftova had not been allowed to contact the Czech Embassy in Havana. He added that Hernandez said she will require the information from the authorities in Havana. According to the ministry, Cuban police "clearly violated international law." (CTK, 1/2/06)

February 1: Venezuelan Vice-Minister for Africa, Reinaldo Bolívar, informed that his office will have Cuba’s support in the development of five cooperation projects in African countries, modelled after social missions that the Venezuelan Government finances in the country. Havana’s participation “is indispensable” given that Cuba is the Latin America nation with the most embassies in that continent. (El Nacional, 1/2/06)

February 1: Cuba and Venezuela are the first countries to offer aid to flood victims in Bolivia, where several areas were declared under state of emergency due to recent strong rains, Bolivian President Evo Morales has confirmed. Morales said that Venezuela is sending food and material aid, while Cuba offered six tons of medicine and 140 physicians to assist some 55,000 victims. (Prensa Latina, 1/2/06)

February 1: Fidel Castro told the 843 Cuban participants at the recently closed World Social Forum in Venezuela he hopes consciousness and internationalist spirit were strengthened with the meeting, Granma daily reported. Addressing members of the Cuban delegation, specifically the health workers who took part in Cuban missions worldwide, the Cuban leader praised their international mission. “Integration, solidarity and making use of human capital to solve the problems of humanity like war, terrorism, genocide, torture, lies, and imperialism are the actions progressive forces should carry out now,” the Cuban president declared. (Prensa Latina, 1/2/06)

February 1: President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, started a working visit to Cuba, responding to an invitation by Fidel Castro. According to Granma newspaper, the aim of his visit is to step up the excellent ties of friendship and cooperation existing between the two Caribbean nations and respective governments. (Prensa Latina, 1/2/06)

February 2: Six Cubans have died and eight have been rescued after being stranded at sea for more than two weeks, family members said. Miriam Valiente Rodriguez told the press that her son, Yohan Concepcion Valiente, 29, was one of the survivors spotted by a fishing vessel on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. The Coast Guard has not confirmed if the migrants were the same ones aboard a rickety boat spotted on January 26 about 46 miles (74 kilometers) southeast of Marathon. Authorities lost track of that boat in bad weather and called off the search after 48 hours. (AP, 3/2/06)

February 2: Cuba and Venezuela said they would oppose moves to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over an atomic program the West fears could be hiding weapons development. "We will vote No," Venezuelan Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Gustavo Marquez Marin, told reporters, as the UN nuclear watchdog gathered in Vienna, where it was expected to endorse a European-led resolution demanding referral. If Venezuela holds out it would force the issue to a vote, rather than the IAEA's usual tradition of achieving decisions by consensus. Cuba, a new member of the board of governors, said in a statement it would also vote against referral, saying it would amount to "manipulation by the United States and their allies". (AFP, 2/2/06)

February 2: Cuba’s Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque laid a wreath at the Monument to Cuban Heroes in Namibia and highlighted friendship and cooperation between the two countries. In a two-day visit to this capital, Perez Roque gave Namibian President Hifikepunje Pohamba an official invitation to attend the 14th Non-Aligned Countries Movement (NAM) Summit, to be run in Havana next September 11-16. (Prensa Latina, 2/2/06)

February 2: The European Parliament urged EU member states to increase their pressure on Cuba to release all political prisoners. In a resolution, the lawmakers also called for human rights issues to be raised by every high-level EU visitor to Cuba. "Cuban authorities have not provided the significant signs that the EU has been demanding relative to full respect for fundamental liberties and, especially, freedom of expression and political association." The European legislators condemned "the worsening repression" in Cuba, as well as the increase in the number of political prisoners and ban on the Women in White - relatives of jailed dissidents - from traveling to Strasbourg, France, in December to accept the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament. "In 2005 no prisoners of conscience held in Cuba were released and (…) the number of political prisoners significantly increased," said the resolution, which didn't call for renewed sanctions against the island. Members of the European Parliament during the debate ahead of the vote stated that it was particularly unacceptable and shocking that some of the political prisoners are not receiving the help they need and are in very poor medical condition. "These facts deceive the aspirations to improve relations between Cuba and the EU," MEPs stated, adding that repression in Cuba is worsening, despite a recent attempt by the EU to boost diplomatic ties with Fidel Castro. The European Union's member states plan to formally review relations with Cuba in June. (EFE, AP, EUObserver, 2,3/2/06)

February 2: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was to travel to Cuba to receive an award from the United Nations and inaugurate an international book fair in the capital, Cuba's state-run media reported. Chavez was expected to arrive on February 2, with the ceremonies being held February 3. Thousands of medical students from Venezuela, Bolivia and other Latin American countries, as well as some 200,000 Cubans were expected to fill Havana's Revolution Plaza as Chavez receives the UNESCO award, the Communist Party daily Granma reported. (AP, 2/2/06)

February 2: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias, who leads election polls in Costa Rica, considered “useless” to try to improve relations with the government of Fidel Castro. “20 years ago I talked with him a lot on many issues, but nothing has changed”, said Arias to the foreign media covering the electoral process in his country. “I doubt Costa Rica could improve relations with Fidel’s Cuba”, he added. (AFP, 2/2/06)

February 3: US and European delegates at an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency worked to broaden support for Iran's virtually certain referral to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program. The UN nuclear watchdog is considering a US-backed resolution sponsored by Britain, France and Germany that would open the door to possible Security Council action against Iran. Support for Iran has shrunk since Russia and China lined up behind the United States, Britain and France during overnight talks with the three other permanent Security Council members earlier in the week. Cuba, Venezuela and Spain are among the few nations still opposed to the referral. (The New York Times, 3/2/06)

February 3: Fidel Castro had a fraternal embrace for Hugo Chavez, his closest ally in what both men call the battle against US "imperialism," as the Venezuelan president arrived in Havana for a UN award ceremony. Cuba's state-run media reported that the 79-year-old Castro was waiting for Chavez shortly before 2 a.m. local time at the foot of the stairway of the plane that brought Chavez to Havana. They embraced and remained on the tarmac conversing for several minutes, according to the reports. "A hug and a kiss for Cuba, which I love," Chavez said before getting into a car with Castro and leaving the airport. UNESCO says the Marti Prize, first proposed by Cuba, was created by the agency in 1999 to honor a person who has "contributed to the unity and integration of the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean and to the preservation of their identities, cultural traditions and historical values.'' Previous winners of the US$5,000 (euro 4,140) prize, chosen by a seven-member international jury, have included Mexican sociologist Pablo Gonzalez Casanova in 2003, Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamin in 1999 and Dominican historian Celsa Albert Bautista in 1995. (EFE, AP, 3/2/06)

February 3: Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez signed a cooperation agreement to set up the Cultural Fund for the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas Regional Integration Project, known by its Spanish acronyms ALBA. The signing ceremony took place during the inauguration of Havana's 15th International Book Fair, which is dedicated to Venezuela this year. The initiative, which is aimed at strengthening the cultural identity of Cuba, Venezuela and the rest of the Latin American nations, includes the creation of the AlBA publishing house to promote the work of intellectuals of the region. It will issue a publication on culture and thinking and another one aimed at children, under the title "La Edad de Oro" (The Golden Age). The accord signed by both heads of state also sets up the ALBA record label and will bring benefits for both countries´ radio and TV sectors. (AIN, 3/2/06)

February 3: Some 200,000 Cubans crowded Revolution Plaza for the ceremony granting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez UNESCO's 2005 Jose Marti International Prize. Fidel Castro himself handed over the framed certificate to Chavez, a close ally. The forum gave Castro and Chavez a chance to promote regional solidarity while bashing the US government. Fidel Castro strongly rejected recent statements by US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who compare Chavez with German dictator Adolph Hitler. The Cuban Head of State also lashed out at Washington’s statements regarding the democratic election of the indigenous leader Evo Morales as President of Bolivia. “They do have reasons to be concerned; this is a new and unexpected event for those who, like Hitler, dreamed of a one-thousand-year empire,” said Fidel Castro in direct reference to the hegemonic policy of the Bush administration.  Thousands of young Venezuelans, Bolivians and other Latin Americans studying medicine for free in Cuba attended the ceremony, screaming their support for both leaders. (AFP, AIN, 3/2/06)

February 3: Members of the Cuban medical brigade who have gone to Bolivia to help the victims of the heavy rains left for the affected areas to initiate their labors. The leader of the group, Daniel Posadas, informed the press that 140 professionals are to be distributed in a total of 47 towns in Santa Cruz province. At least two doctors will go to each of the communities and larger groups have been formed for more populated areas. Each brigadista will take two backpacks with 13 kilograms of medicines and work materials, he explained, while highlighting the warm welcome they have received from the Bolivians. The Cuban professionals arrived in Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia, with Luis Felipe Vázquez, the Cuban ambassador to Bolivia, and were received by María Luisa Ramos, deputy minister of International Economic Relations, and Santa Cruz City Councilor Oswaldo Pérez from the governing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). (Granma International, 3/2/06)

February 3: Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo described his talks with Fidel Castro as very productive. In a statement to the Cuban press, the Guyanese Head of State explained that after a 14-hour meeting with Castro, they considered different initiatives aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between Cuba and Guyana. (Prensa Latina, 3/2/06)

February 3: Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala is “eager” to travel to Cuba and meet Fidel Castro. “I will not hesitate to travel to Cuba when the opportunity arises”, he said in an interview with Prensa Latina . “I hope to be able to meet Commander Fidel Castro”, added the ex-military, who visited Venezuela some weeks ago. (EP/AP, 3/2/06)

February 4: In a move that could change the course of international diplomacy towards Iran, the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency approved a resolution to report the country's nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council. Cuba, Syria and Venezuela voted against the resolution. (The New York Times, 4/2/06)

February 5: Cuba will grant nearly 1,000 scholarships to Guyanese students during the next five years, set up an eye care clinic and send 20 doctors to work for free in Guyana, officials said. The 965 scholarships would mostly be given to medical students, said Guyana's presidential spokesman Robert Persuad. The students would begin studying in Cuba in September, he said. "We will see the benefits of this down the road, in about six to seven years when the doctors start to return," Persuad said. The announcement comes just days after Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo traveled to Cuba, where he and Fidel Castro discussed new programs to provide Cuban health care assistance to Guyana. (AP, 5/2/06)

February 5: Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad welcomed Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque in Teheran. Perez Roque was carrying a letter from Fidel Castro to the Iranian leader. While in the Iranian capital, the Cuban Minister said that Cuba honours friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a meeting with mullah-run majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, Perez Roque said that Cuba supports Iranian legitimate rights in the context of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). "I've come to Iran to convey the respect and support of the Cuban government and nation to the Iranian government and nation," Perez Roque said. "Cuba supports the Islamic Revolution and the Cuban government and nation appreciates the solidarity of the Iranian nation with Cuba." Perez Roque said that economic relations lag behind diplomatic ties and hoped that the upcoming visit to Havana of Gholam Shire'i would help boost economic ties. (Persian Journal, Encuentro en la Red, 6/2/06)

February 6: The 8th International Meeting of Economists on Globalization and Development that opened in Havana will discuss during four days the main economic challenges the world is facing today. Since its first meeting, different economic trends have been exposed with the aim of providing concrete solutions to favour sustainable growth. Delegates from the Latin American Economic System, the UN Commission for Latin America and the World Bank, among other institutions, are attending this international forum. (Prensa Latina, 6/2/06)

February 6: Slovakia will request that the European Union assess its relations with Cuba more strictly, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Juraj Tomaga. Slovakia thus reacted to the European Union's call on its member states to increase pressure on Cuba and demand the release of all political prisoners. (Sme, 6/2/06)

February 7: Fidel Castro invited Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to an upcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held in Cuba in September this year. The invitation came as Islamabad embarked on a new policy to expand ties with Cuba, which extended 'whole hearted' support to the quake-hit Pakistan by establishing 32 field hospitals in the quake ravaged areas. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque met Gen Musharraf and handed over the invitation to him. Cuba has offered Pakistan one thousand scholarships in medical studies. The offer was made by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque during a meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad. Perez Roque said Cuba would be ready to receive one thousand Pakistani youth for this purpose by the end of this year. The Cuban Foreign Minister said his country would soon be opening its embassy in Islamabad. (Pakistan Press, New Kerala.Com, 7/2/06)

February 7: Mexico issued a complaint against an American-owned hotel that -- under pressure from the US government -- expelled a group of Cuban businessmen meeting with US energy executives, saying the company violated investment and trade protection laws. Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said the Mexican government is considering a diplomatic complaint against the United States in the case. He said his department had formally started a complaint process against the Sheraton for violating investment and trade protection laws, and that the hotel would have 15 days to respond. The hotel could face fines of nearly $500,000 (US) or even be shut down, officials said. “I think that there was evident contempt for Mexican law on the part of the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton (…) and it is going to be punished for discrimination, consumer fraud and, moreover, for applying laws that do not apply in Mexico,” Mr. Derbez told reporters in London, where he is on an official visit. A Mexican diplomat is currently in Washington to find out how it all occurred, and "he will bring back information so that we can decide if it will be necessary or not to present a complaint with the US government, Derbez said. Three Mexican agencies -- the Mexico City government, the federal consumer protection office and the national commission against discrimination -- will look into the incident, said Rubén Aguilar, spokesman for President Vicente Fox. Mexico ''will certainly not tolerate any discrimination against any person visiting Mexico,'' he said. Other officials said the Sheraton María Isabel hotel in the heart of the Mexican capital could be fined or even shut. (The Globe and Mail, AP, The Miami Herald, 8/2/06)

February 7: The main Iranian leaders, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Parliament President, Ghoilam Ali Haddad, announced they would visit Cuba as a show of appreciation of the support offered by Fidel Castro on the controversial issue of Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, confirmed his attendance to the Non-Aligned Countries Summit that will take place in September in Cuba, after receiving Cuban Foreign Minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, in Teheran. (AFP, 7/2/06)

February 8: British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Venezuela to "observe the rules of the global community" and added that he would like to see Cuba operating "as a true democracy." During the weekly question and answer session, Labor Congressman Colin Burgon asked Blair about the takeover in Latin America of leftist governments. Blair emphasized that Latin American nations should act in accordance with international community rules. (El Universal, 9/2/06)

February 8: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador informed that another group of people travelled to Cuba to undergo eye surgery under the “Operation Miracle” program. This is the fourth group of Salvadorans that have gone to Havana, bringing to 185 the number of those who have undergone sight correction surgery in the framework of a program carried out by the governments of Cuba and Venezuela in Latin America. (Notimex, 8/2/06)

February 9: The Mexican foreign secretary said in Mexico City that Washington did not violate Mexican law nor apply US law outside its own territory by ordering a US-owned hotel in this capital to expel a group of Cubans. At a press conference, Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said that Mexico will not send a diplomatic note to the US government to complain about the February 3 expulsion, when a group of Cuban officials meeting with US businessmen in the Hotel Maria Isabel Sheraton were forced to leave the facility and the deposit they had paid for their rooms was confiscated. At the press conference, a legal expert from the foreign ministry, Joel Antonio Hernandez, said that Mexican sovereignty was not violated and US law was not applied in Mexico because the US government did not directly sanction a firm established in Mexican territory. He said that the US government demanded that the hotel owner, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, order the expulsion of the Cuban delegation, which the establishment did. "There was a transnational act, but not a violation of sovereignty, because the capability of the Mexican state to exercise its laws on its territory was not damaged," Hernandez said. Derbez added that one of his aides currently on a visit to Washington delivered a verbal message to the US Treasury Department about the Mexican government's concern that "a US law could have been applied in Mexico." (EFE, 9/2/06)

February 9: Video of a Miami television reporter attacked by a guard outside a notorious Bahamian immigration jail is snowballing into a political crisis for the island government, as Cuban exile groups called for a tourism boycott. Univisión reporter Mario Vallejo said he received seven stitches just above his eyebrow after a jail guard slammed his head against a car bumper, knocking him unconscious for about two minutes. Among the witnesses was a Telemundo 51 reporter and Cubans who traveled from Miami to visit relatives kept at the immigration detention center. Vallejo was in the Bahamas to report on eight Cuban migrants found on the tiny, uninhabited Elbow Cay by the Coast Guard -- survivors in a group in which six others perished at sea and one man was taken to a Florida Keys hospital for treatment. The Coast Guard turned over the seven migrants to Bahamian authorities because Elbow Cay is Bahamian territory. The Bahamian consul in Miami, Alma A. Adams, said the government had launched an investigation into the incident, in which at least two other journalists were detained by jail guards. (The Miami Herald, 9/2/06)

February 9: Nobel peace laureate and former Polish President Lech Walesa expressed support for Cuba's internal dissident movement and said he expected a rapid transition on the island at the end of Fidel Castro's reign. The founder of the Solidarity Movement said Castro's communist regime "will not survive" and urged Cubans both on the island and in Miami to be prepared for the dictator's fall, "because there could be anarchy." Walesa made his remarks during a breakfast sponsored by Miami Dade College, whose president, Eduardo J. Padron, awarded the Pole his institution's highest honor, the Presidential Medal. (EFE, 9/2/06)

February 10: Thailand Foreign Vice Minister Virachai Virameteekul will begin a week-long visit to Cuba and Guatemala to boost political and economic ties. During the first leg of the trip to Cuba, Virachai will attend the second meeting of the Thailand-Cuba Joint Commission (JC) in Havana. He will discuss increased cooperation in trade, tourism, investment and bilateral ties. (Thai News Swervice, 13/2/06)

February 10: Cuba criticized the response of Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez to the action taken by the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City against the group of Cuban officials who were expelled from the hotel under pressures from the US government. While Derbez's office filed the formal complaint against the hotel and the secretary himself said it should be hit with the maximum fine, he rejected calls to issue a diplomatic protest to the US government. "If there was anything missing in (Derbez's) declarations, it was to humbly seek pardon for the terrible trouble it would mean for the (U.S.) Department of State to dedicate a few minutes of its very busy time" to listen to his request to review the application of U.S. law in Mexico, Granma said. [Un suceso verdaderamente penoso ] (AP, 10/2/06)

February 10: Chen Zhili, State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China, reiterated her country’s rejection of pressures against Cuba, and ratified her government’s support of the island’s government, the people of Cuba, and their revolution, shortly after her arrival in Havana for an official visit. The high-ranking Chinese representative was welcomed at the Jose Marti International Airport by the Minister of Higher Education Fernando Vecino Alegret, the Chinese Ambassador to Havana, Chao Rongxian, and other Cuban and Chinese officials. The State Councilor is in charge of overseeing Education, Science and Technology in her country, and has come to the island to attend the University 2006 Conference, where she will make a presentation during the inaugural session. (Granma, 10/2/06)

February 10: Cuba and Venezuela criticized the decision-making process of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), saying a few states are forcing through agreements despite opposition from many developing countries. In a document made public, the two countries said the adoption of a treaty at December's Hong Kong meeting was pushed through against the opposition of several of the WTO's 149 members and undermined the organisation's credibility. "A number of procedures were implemented to seek consensus, which did not have the support of all members, and in many cases received the manifest disagreement of a majority of developing countries," said the statement, which was distributed to other delegations. "However, with the support of some members, they were imposed by decision of the secretariat, which thus exceeds its functions," Cuba and Venezuela added, noting that only two formal, on-the-record meetings were held during the six-day conference. (Jamaica Gleaner, 10/2/06)

February 12: A group of 23 Cuban rafters arrived at the village of Sangrelaya, in Honduras, with the intention of travelling to the United States. The Cubans said that they built a boat themselves and left Cuba on February 2 from the port of Santa Cruz de Camagüey, on the south of the island. (AFP, 15/2/06)

February 13: Gennady Novitsky, chairman of the National Assembly's Council of the Republic, announced that Aleksandr Lukashenko plans to visit Cuba this year in his second trip to the country in five years. In addition, he said, Mr. Lukashenko and Fidel Castro may hold another meeting during a summit of the Non Aligned Movement in 2006. The parliamentary speaker noted that the Belarusian leader's first visit to Cuba had resulted in a number of agreements that laid the foundation of long-term cooperation between the two countries. (BelaPan, 13/2/06)

February 13: Pakistani victims of the devastating October 8 quake arrived in Cuba to end a rehabilitation treatment started at field hospitals, Granma newspaper reported. The group, made up of six children, two girls and six men, will received their prostheses in the island. Meanwhile, a specialized workshop is being stationed at a Cuban medical facility in the Pakistani village of Abbottabad to expand care for more people. (Prensa Latina, 13/2/06)

February 13: A Vatican cardinal is heading to Cuba, saying he will stress Pope Benedict XVI's recent message that the Catholic Church cannot remain on the political sidelines in the fight for social justice. Cardinal Renato Martino, who heads the Vatican's pontifical council for justice and peace, leaves for Havana to present a compendium of the church's social doctrine. In a statement, he said he hoped to have a meeting with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, though there was no confirmation. In his first encyclical released January 25, Benedict said the church had no interest in taking the place of government in creating a more just social order. But he wrote that the church can’t remain on the sidelines in the search for justice, either. Martino said that message would be the "leit motiv" of his visit to Cuba, as well as his subsequent travels to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. (AP, 13/2/06)

February 13: The French Socialist Party (PS) criticized the attacks against Cuban opponents that have taken place recently, and called on Cuban authorities to put an end to this situation. “The Socialist Party is outraged about these actions which constitute an attack on freedom of expression, and urges Cuban authorities to correct this situation as soon as possible”, said the French PS in a communiqué. (EFE, 14/2/06)

February 13: T he sixth group of Panamanian patients traveled to Havana under the sponsorship of Panama’s First Lady, Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos, in coordination with Cuban authorities. Over 700 Panamanians from the Kuna Yala and Gnobe Bugle ethnic groups had already benefited from the Operation Miracle, and patients from Panama and Colon provinces were on their way. (EFE, 13/2/06)

February 13: Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez indicated that if in 2006 a new resolution is presented a the UN Commission on Human Rights urging Cuba to allow the visit of a special rapporteur to verify the situation in the matter, Mexico will vote in favour as it has done in recent years. The diplomat emphasized that Mexico has endorsed these resolutions while refraining from “judgments on the human rights situation in Cuba”. (AP, 13/2/06)

February 13: Relations between Mexico and Cuba would complicate if the Mexican government votes in favour of the visit to the island of a commission to verify human rights, warned Cuba Ambassador to Mexico, Jorge Bolaños. Regarding the statements by Mexican Foreign Minister, Bolaños said: “I am not surprised, that has been the position of the (Mexican) Government on the issue and that is not well received (...) such a vote would complicate relations”. (EFE, 13/2/06)

February 13: Mexican president, Vicente Fox, said that relations with Cuba are “normal” and relations with the US are “moving well”, denying allegations by the opposition that links with Havana and Washington have deteriorated in the wake of the expulsion of an official Cuban delegation from a hotel in Mexico City. “We work very well with Cuba (...) what exists are deep ideological differences, which I fully respect”, said Fox. (EFE, 13/2/06)

February 13: An exhibition of Iranian art and handicrafts opened at the Asian House in Havana, the Persian service of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. The two-week exhibition features Iranian cultural works including paintings, antiques, earthenware dishes, hand-woven carpets, kilims, traditional women’s costumes, and photos of ancient monuments. Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Edrisian delivered a speech during the opening ceremony, which ambassadors, diplomats, and cultural attachés based in Cuba also attended. (IranMania.Com, 15/2/06)

February 14: Haiti’s election results have been obviously and shamelessly manipulated, “amid an evident attempt to conceal candidate Rene Preval´s win in the February 7 elections,” Cuba´s Granma daily denounced. In its editorial “Yankee Government Has Ordered a Second Round: Blue Helmets Suppress the Haitian People,” Granma sustains that two of the Electoral Council (EC) members have condemned the manipulation of the vote counting. [ El Gobierno Yanqui Ha Ordenado Segunda Vuelta ] (AFP, Prensa Latina, 14/2/06)

February 14: A Cuban doctor has illegally crossed the Indonesian border from East Timor and refused to be sent back either to East Timor or to his own country, an Indonesian military officer said. Ramon Ballesteros Escobar, 39, had been walking for two days from East Timor's Suai district when he was detained by soldiers manning the border post in Indonesia's Belu district, said army Colonel Noch Bola. Bola, the local military commander, told the press that Escobar refused to be returned to East Timor or to Cuba and requested deportation to the United States instead. (AFP, 14/2/06)

February 14: Shortly after stepping off the plane at the airport in Havana, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, told the Cuban press that, "the Operation Miracle eye treatment program is fantastic." The prime minister said that thanks to this program, since July 21 of last year, 1,092 patients from his country received operations in Cuba and another 670 are on waiting lists to come to the island and receive the same care. He pointed out that the main difficulty the program has faced in his country has been transportation, as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines doesn’t have an international airport, so only small, 37-passenger-capacity planes can land. In this respect the PM noted that a project is currently underway with the cooperation of Cuba and Venezuela to build an airfield that will be completed by 2011. (Granma, 15/2/06)

February 14: Puerto Rican Rangers Corps’ agents spotted eleven Cubans who reached Mona Island illegally, said the police. The group of five women, four men and two girls, had sailed from the Dominican Republic. Mona Island is used by immigrant smugglers as a drop-off point for Cuban nationals, as once they land on American territory they are granted asylum automatically. (EFE, 14/2/06)

February 14: The governments of Switzerland and Cuba are planning a cooperation strategy on scientific research, announced in Havana the Swiss State Secretary for Education and Research, Charles Kleiber. Kleiber met with the Cuban Minister for Higher Education, Fernando Vecino Alegret. (EFE, 14/2/06)

February 15: Pope Benedict XVI urged Cubans in a letter to the Communist-ruled island's top bishop to "trust in one another, despite differences in ways of thinking or beliefs." Benedict delivered his message in a letter - made public by the Vatican - that was sent to the head of the Cuban Bishops Conference, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, on the 20th anniversary of the Cuban national ecclesiastical conference. The pope said that God was with all Cubans, believers and non-believers alike. The Roman Catholic leader also said it was worth remembering the words used by the late Pope John Paul II on his visit to the Caribbean nation in January 1998: "Cuba needs to open herself to the world and the world must open itself to Cuba." [Carta del Santo Padre] (AGI, AFP, EFE, 1 5/2/06)

February 15: The government of the Bahamas rejected accusations of alleged mistreatments of immigrants detained in its territory and confirmed it will soon decide on the fate of two Cuban doctors whose custody the United States requests. Nassau authorities indicated that the case of doctors, Marialys Darias Mesa and David González Mesa, detained for almost ten months in the Carmichael detention centre despite having American visas, “is being reviewed and a decision will be made as soon as the requirements of the case allow it”. Darias and González fled Cuba in a raft due to Cuban authorities’ refusal to grant exit permits to public health personnel. (El Nuevo Herald, 16/2/06)

February 15: Reporters Without Borders called for the immediate release of José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández, jailed since the March 2003 crackdown, and whose prison doctors have said his state of health is incompatible with imprisonment. “The condition of José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández requires care that cannot be provided in jail, the prison doctors have recognised it themselves”, said the press freedom organisation. “The journalist’s recovery calls for him to be freed immediately, or failing that, to be granted a release on licence for health reasons. We hope that the Cuban authorities will respond favourably to this humanitarian request”, it added. Doctors meeting in Havana on February 9 confirmed that Izquierdo Hernández’s condition in Guanajay prison in Havana province had seriously deteriorated over the past nine months. (RWB Press Release, 15/2/06)

February 16: The president of Cuba’s National Assembly (Parliament) Ricardo Alarcon warmly welcomed Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Speaker of the Islamic Republic Consultative Assembly of Iran, at Havana´s Jose Marti International Airport. Alarcon offered support to his visiting Iranian counterpart in an escalating international dispute over the Middle Eastern nation's use of nuclear power. "No one has the right to monopolize any source of energy fundamental for humanity," Alarcon said at the start of a meeting with Gholam Ali Haddad Adel. Led by the United States, some countries and international organizations are voicing concerns that Iran is using its nuclear power program to develop weapons of mass destruction -- something Iran denies. Haddad Adel expressed Iran's respect for the Cuban government and people but did not address the debate. Haddad Adel’s agenda includes meeting with his Cuban counterpart Ricardo Alarcon, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Vice President Carlos Lage. (Prensa Latina, CNN, 16/2/06)

February 16: The value of a community based university system that breaks with the model imposed since colonialism was discussed in Havana at the first International Meeting on the Universalization of the University. The event —considered one of the most significant within the Fifth International Meeting on Higher Education— allowed for reflection and the sharing of experiences on the social impact of extending university access to the local level in both Cuba and Venezuela. Fernando Vecino Alegret, Cuban minister of Higher Education, said Cuba believes that everyone should have equal access to education. He noted that the country has 712,000 university graduates with a total population of fewer than 12 million. He said that in the near future the figure will reach a million. Samuel Moncada, Venezuelan minister of Higher Education, said his country is also making an unprecedented effort in education. He said the founding of the Bolivarian University System in mid-2003 has proven an alternative to the traditional model. Both the Cuban and Venezuelan ministers of Education, Luis Ignacio Gomez and Aristobulo Isturiz, agreed on the need to create educational models that match up to the political and social needs of their time. (Prensa Latina, 16/2/06)

February 17: The 12th session of the Angola-Cuba Joint Bilateral Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation will be held on February 20-24, in Havana, Cuba, an Angolan official source announced. The meeting of experts will happen on February 20-21, whereas the Ministerial session is scheduled for February 22, 23 and 24. The Angolan team to the gathering will be led by the Minister of Education, Antonio Burity da Silva, in his capacity as co-chairman of the mentioned joint commission. (Angola Press, 17/2/06)

February 17: A cruise ship sailing near Cancun, Mexico, rescued 22 Cubans who became lost in international waters while attempting to reach the United States. The Carnival Cruise lines ship made the afternoon rescue and dropped the Cubans off on the nearby island of Cozumel, where immigration authorities were discussing their fate. Plucked from a makeshift boat were three children between the ages of 5 and 8, as well as eight women and 11 men. Those onboard were treated for dehydration but were otherwise in good health, according to officials at the National Institute of Immigration's Cozumel office. The Cubans told investigators they left Havana aboard a homemade boat several days ago and had hoped to reach the US. (AP, 17/2/06)

February 17: Fidel Castro has invited Pope Benedict to visit the Caribbean island, a source at the Cuban bishops' conference has revealed. Castro issued the invitation during a meeting with Cardinal Raffaele Martino, who spent two days in Cuba as part of a regional tour to present the Catholic Church's new 'Compendium' on social teaching. News of the invitation follows a call by Benedict for the Communist nation to "open its heart" to God and the world. That call came in a message to the head of the Cuban bishops conference, which was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first meeting of bishops allowed following the Cuban revolution. Cardinal Martino, who heads the Vatican's Justice and Peace department, was in Cuba primarily for the celebrations marking the anniversary of what was a milestone for the country's Catholic Church. (ANSA, 21/2/06)

February 19: Fidel Castro reiterated Cuba's firm support of Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful means during his talks in Havana with Dr. Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Iranian Parliament president. During the meeting, the Cuban president and the Iranian Parliament president reviewed the state of bilateral relations and stressed common viewpoints in regard to the world state-of-affairs, as well as both countries´ potentials to further expand bilateral economic ties. (AIN, 19/2/06)

February 19: Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, his wife, Lois, and Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, the national church’s incoming general secretary, traveled to Cuba from January 31 to February 5. While in Cuba, the primate chaired a meeting of the Metropolitan Council of Cuba (MCC), attended the annual synod of the Episcopal Church of Cuba, and the extraordinary synod. The MCC is the official body that ties the Episcopal Church of Cuba to the Anglican Communion. It was created in 1967 when Cuba lost provincial status in the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) due to the break in relations between the US and Cuba after the Communist takeover in 1959. The Canadian primate is president of the MCC, which also includes Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the Church of the Province of West Indies and Bishop Lloyd Allen of the diocese of Honduras, who is also an ECUSA episcopal appointee (Anglican Journal, 19/2/06) 

February 20: Pedro Aníbal Riera Escalante, Cuban ex-consul in Mexico, who is on a parole in Cuba, has launched a suit against the government of Mexico before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (CIDH) of the Organization of American States (OEA), blaming Mexican authorities for his arrest in broad public view and forced return to Havana on October 4, 2000, when he was trying to request political asylum. In the document he identifies former Mexican officials and accuses them, together with Cuban authorities, of conspiracy against him. (El Nuevo Herald, 20/2/06)

February 20: The Spanish government considered “completely inappropriate” a statement by Cuban ambassador to Spain, Alberto Velazco, alleging that Florida Senator and president of the USA-Spain Council, Mel Martínez, is a “representative of the terrorists of Miami”. Mel Martínez is on a visit in Spain. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make sure to explain to the Cuban diplomat that his statements on Martínez are “out of place”. (EFE, 21/2/06)

February 20: O ver 20,000 Ecuatorians will benefit from the Operation Miracle during 2006, according to statements made by Venezuelan Ambassador to Quito, Oscar Navas. Cuba and Venezuela are planning to offer that service to six million Latin American patients in ten years, Navas said. (EFE, 20/2/06)

February 20: Cuba warned that it would not be an accomplice or silent spectator in the face of what it called the "evident pretension of imposing the creation of a Human Rights Council under the conditions of the United States and its allies." The Cuban warning, contained in a press communiqué from the Cuban mission to the United Nations, takes place on the eve of the presentation of a draft resolution for the creation of such a council. "Cuba will defend truth and reason to the final consequences and work to vindicate the right of the nations of this planet to have a Human Rights Council that will respond to their interests and expectations of a better future," it affirms. [Comunicado de Prensa] (Granma International, 21/206)

February 21: Argentine writer and historian Jose Ignacio Garcia Hamilton accused Cuba of barring him entry to the country where he was set to make a presentation. Hamilton has met with dissidents on previous visits to the island, which, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) could have created some tensions with Fidel Castro and the Cuban government. El Clarin on the other hand points to Hamilton's close friendship with anti-Castrist Carlos Alberto Montaner as the main reason for his expulsion. Argentina's Foreign Affairs Ministry has submitted a formal demand for explanation to Cuban authorities since, it argues, Hamilton had all the right documents needed to enter the country. Cuba has not yet made any formal comments on the affair. Argentine-Cuban relations are far from being under stress at this stage. However, the event is seen as an illustration of the deterioration of freedom of speech on the island. In comments repeated in La Nacion, Hamilton said that he felt “as if he was in a country ruled by Hitler or Stalin”. (Global Insight Daily Analysis, 22/2/06)

February 21: Another group of twelve Cuban immigrants arrived in Mona Island on a boat from the Dominican Republic, according to Puerto Rican police. All the members of the group were in good health. And another group of seven Cubans on a small boat en route to the United States was rescued off the Honduran coast in the Caribbean, reported a spokesman for the Immigration Department in Tegucigalpa. (CubaEncuentro, 22/2/06)

February 22: The Open Democracy Club (KOD), a group of Czech senators, has supported the call by Cuban dissidents to the international community to help stop repressions against leaders of the opponents of Fidel Castro's regime and create a special international committee for this purpose. KOD member Jaromir Stetina (unaffiliated, for the Greens), paid "a semi-illegal visit" to local dissidents in Cuba. He also handed an appeal by the Cuban opposition to Rene van der Linden, head of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, in Prague. The authors of the Cuban request point out that Fidel Castro's regime has recently intensified its pressure against people voicing their disapproval of the economic and political situation in the country. The 13-member KOD group comprises senators from the junior ruling Freedom Union (US-DEU) and several small parties that are not represented in the lower house. (CTK, 22/2/06)

February 22: Prague's Langhangs gallery opened an exhibition of more than 20 photographs that Czech top model Helena Houdova made in Cuba under rather dramatic circumstances. Houdova was shortly detained during her stay in Cuba in January, over having photographed slums. "It is neither an artistic exhibition nor documents depicting Cuba. It is rather a gesture pointing out that there exists a reverse face of Cuba which normal tourists cannot see. If they try to spot it, the Cuban police arrest them," Nikola Horejs, coordinator of the Cuban programme of the People in Need humanitarian organisation, told the press. He said the exhibition is a benefit event aimed to collect money for the SOS Kuba account that People in Need established in support of the families of Cuban political prisoners. The money will be handed over to the families of the Cuban dissidents who accompanied Houdova during her stay in Cuba, he said. (CTK, 22/2/06)

February 23: The Education Minister of Angola, António Burity da Silva Neto, reiterated in Havana the Angolan Government`s political desire to strengthen the co-operation with Cuba in various sectors. Speaking during the opening ceremony of the 12th session of the Angola-Cuba joint commission in his capacity asco-chairman, Burity da Silva highlighted the efforts of Angolan authorities in the economic, social and financial development. After praising Cuba`s contribution to the training of Angolan cadres, Burity da Silva said that he observes with great satisfaction that at the moment 45,000 Cuban experts co-operate with Angola in various areas, highlighting to education and health. (Angola Press, 23/2/06)

February 22: Mexican intellectuals and activists denounced in Havana the way their government has been “excessively eager to obey the US and the extraterritorial application of the Helms-Burton law”. Invited to take part in the panel discussion titled Intellectuals in Favor of Sovereignty and Against the [US] Empire, which took place at the Jose Marti Anti-imperialist Plaza, a group of Mexican intellectuals criticized what they considered to be an obsequious and servile reaction from the highest authorities of their country to the aggressive policy of the Bush administration, not only against Cuba but also against the Mexican people. Former Mexican diplomat Gustavo Iruegas was categorical when he said, "If Mexico doesn’t apply its laws, it is surrendering independence." The panel pointed out that the United States is attempting to use Mexico as a platform to support its efforts of suffocating Cuba. Uruguayan journalist Carlos Fazio, who writes for the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, cited precedents to the Sheraton scandal such as the cancellation by this same hotel chain of business ties with Cuban tourism companies in 1992 and the cancelling of a contract with Cuba by the Mexican branch of the Goodyear Tire company in 1993. Fazio noted that both cases were frightened responses by Mexico to the then recently approved Torricelli Law. (Granma, 22/2/06)

February 23: Dominica’s prime minister, Roosevelt Skerritt, arrived in Havana for a working visit, his fourth time on the island since taking office. This visit “is an expression of the deep friendship between the two Caribbean states,” reported the Granma newspaper. Cuba and the Commonwealth of Dominica established diplomatic relations on May 18, 1996. As examples of the cooperation between the two nations, fifteen Cuban professionals are currently providing services in Dominica, while 238 young people from that island nation have graduated in Cuban schools to date. (AIN, 23/2/06)

February 23: Bolivia’s President Evo Morales thanked Cuba for its solidarity with his country at a meeting with Cuban physicians who attended a ceremony for victims of last January’s flooding rainfalls. During the meeting with representatives of the Cuban medical team, the Bolivian head of state expressed his firm friendship with the island. "We could never pay for the support given by the Cuban government and people," said Morales in the gathering held at the residence of the Cuban ambassador, alluding to the medical service provided by the doctors. At same time Morales thanked Cuba for the scholarships to study medicine granted to thousands of Bolivian students, as well as for Operation Miracle, a project that treats Bolivian low-income patients with eye afflictions. (Prensa Latina, 23/2/06)

February 23: US Representatives Connie Mack IV and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sought to increase pressure on the Bahamas to release two Cuban dentists who have been detained there since April despite having prior clearance to migrate with their families to the United States. The two Florida Republicans said that unless the Bahamian government acts soon to free David Gonzalez-Mejias and Marialis Darias-Mesa, they would begin pushing in Congress for economic sanctions. Gonzalez-Mejias and Darias-Mesa have been detained in the Bahamas since April, when a boat carrying them and 16 other Cuban migrants stalled out in Bahamian waters. The US Coast Guard picked them up and turned them over to Bahamian officials, who have an agreement with Cuba calling for repatriation of Cuban nationals. Bahamian Ambassador Joshua Sears said his government worries that releasing the men could encourage Cubans and Haitians to try to get to the United States through the Bahamas. (AP, 24/2/06)

February 24: Costa Rican ambassador to Cuba, José Maria Penabad, criticized that in February seven Costa Ricans who visited the island to marry Cuban nationals, were detained by Fidel Castro government authorities and accused them of “trafficking in persons”. Some Cubans see wedding Costa Ricans as an opportunity to leave the country, a situation that lawyers in Costa Rica take advantage of without warning their clients that they must obtain a visa from the Costa Rican Immigration Department. (Bitácora Cubana, 24/2/06)

February 24: The Cuban medical staff serving in Pakistan has assisted, up to date, more than a million patients, at least half women, Granma daily published. According to Doctor Juan Carlos Dupuy, chief of Henry Reeve International Medical Contingent, 439,894 people have been cared for at field hospitals, including 10,920 operations and over 5,000 admissions. Dupuy said that Cuban doctors have satisfactory communication with the people, especially with victims of the devastating October 8 quake. He also highlighted the support of the Pakistani Army to the doctors and nurses working in that country. The Caribbean group is currently made up of 2,386 professionals, including doctors, paramedics plus support staff. (Prensa Latina, 24/2/06)

February 24: A media watchdog condemned the Cuban authorities for harassing independent journalists and failing to provide adequate medical treatment for those in prison. The Committee to Protect Journalists cited the example of journalist Jorge Olivera Castillo, who was released from jail in December 2004 on medical parole. Olivera was ordered by a Havana municipal court to work at a state-controlled office that the court would select. He also told CPJ that he was barred from attending public gatherings and leaving Havana. Olivera was sentenced in March 2003 to 18 years in prison in a massive crackdown on the independent media. While on medical parole he has contributed to the Miami-based news web site Cubanet and other international publications. "It is outrageous that Cuba, which jails more journalists than any other country in the world except China, should continue to harass journalists even after they have left prison," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "Cuba now has 24 journalists behind bars solely for exercising their right to free expression. Some of them are not receiving the medical treatment that they need, Cooper said. "We call on the authorities to release these 24 prisoners immediately and to stop harassing all journalists," she added. (AFP, 24/2/06)

February 24: Presiding Episcopal Bishop Frank Griswold embarked on a five-day visit to Cuba. He will be hosted by La Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba, a diocese governed by a Metropolitan Council in matters of faith and order. Council members of the Diocese of Cuba include the Primate of Canada, the Archbishop of the West Indies, and the President Bishop of the Episcopal Church's newest Province, the Anglican Church of the Central American Region. Griswold will be accompanied by Alex Baumgarten, international policy analyst in the Office of Government Relations; Barbara Braver, the Presiding Bishop's assistant for communication; Brian Grieves, director of Peace and Justice Ministries; Juan Marquez, Latin America and Caribbean partnerships officer in the Office of Anglican and Global Relations; and Bob Williams, director of communication. ( Episcopal News Service , 24/2/06)

February 25: After surviving a shipwreck and being stranded in Cuba for almost two weeks, a Canadian couple received a tearful welcome from family members at Pearson International airport. Kelly Aitchison and her husband, Rob, were sailing a 25-metre yacht, the Downtown, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from St. Martin when it sank about three kilometres off the coast of Cayo Coco, along Cuba's northern shore, on February 13. When the Kingston couple and two Canadian crew members reached the beach in a dinghy, Cuban officials picked them up, seized their passports and refused to let them leave the country. Officials wanted to make sure the boat owner's insurance would cover the cost of salvaging the boat and demanded the Aitchisons retain a lawyer. The couple signed a contract with a law firm and booked a flight out of Cuba. "It was harrowing but we got out," Ms. Aitchison said. She said they still don't know what caused the ship to sink. She said she would not recommend Cuba to travellers. "There are a lot of beautiful islands down there. I'd pick a different one." (National Post, 27/2/06)

February 26: Cuba continues expanding its solidarity throughout the Caribbean and encouraging regional interchange, so it stands as one of the most active promoters of integration, Cuban local press highlighted. Local papers underlined that on his visit to the island to review plans for joint cooperation, Dominican Commonwealth Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit met with Fidel Castro and referred to the initiatives encouraged by both nations in the fields of education and public health. Skerrit praised Operation Miracle, a project created by Cuba and Venezuela to offer ophthalmologic assistance to poor people in the region, and appreciated the Cuban people's support and solidarity. (Prensa Latina, 26/2/06)

February 27: The Mexican Navy rescued a group of Cuban migrants that was sailing adrift close to Isla Mujeres, in Cancun. The group, comprised of eighteen men, sailed from the Cuban western province of Pinar del Rio ten days ago. They were all transferred to the Mexican National Institute of Migration, where they will be deported to Cuba. (EFE, 27/2/06)

February 27: Thirteen Argentine parliamentarians condemned the acts of repudiation (“actos de repudio”) organized by Cuban authorities against the dissident movement in the island. In a draft presented to the Argentine Chamber of Representatives, with the number 7017-D-05, the group of parliamentarians “condemn all manifestations and acts of harassment and aggression organized and promoted by Cuban authorities against activists of human rights, dissidents and their relatives”. The draft was signed by, Federico Pinedo, Eugenio Burzaco, Pablo Tonelli, Alicia Comelli, Jorge Vanossi, Paula Bertol, Nora Ginzburg, Guillermo Alchouron, Omar De Marchi, Esteban Bullrich, Hugo Martini, Eusebia Jerez and Esteban Jerez. (Noticias Pro Cuba Libre, 1/3/06)

February 28: Colombia´s Deputy Foreign Minister Camilo Reyes and Cuba´s Rafael Daussa highlighted in Bogota the good state of relations between the two countries. At the end of the annual inter-ministerial meeting, Reyes told the press that current relations are excellent and said that Havana and Bogota respect differences and links that could benefit the future of both nations. (Prensa Latina, 28/2/06)

February 28: Fidel Castro received the head of the Episcopal Church USA and members of his delegation, local media reported. A photo on the front page of the Communist Party daily Granma shows Castro shaking hands with Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, who arrived in Cuba at the invitation of the island's Episcopal Church. The newspaper described the atmosphere as "cordial and respectful." (AP, 1/3/06)

February 28: Cuba has said that the United States and the European Union had again joined forces to weaken the United Nations by opposing a draft resolution for a new Human Rights Council. "We are witnessing a new blow to multilateralism and the United Nations," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement, a day after UN Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton rejected the proposed council. "Our country will not be a part of the silent political chicanery in the making by Washington and its chief Western allies against the interests of the developing world”, the statement added. [A New Blow to Multilateralism] (AFP, 1/3/06)

February 28: Reporters Without Borders said it feared that court summonses issued to independent journalists Oscar Espinosa Chepe and Jorge Olivera Castillo mean they will be sent back to jail. The two men, who were imprisoned in the March 2003 crackdown, were released on health grounds at the end of 2004. They then both sought and were refused permission to leave Cuba. “These ill-timed court summonses look like a judicial farce”, said the press freedom organisation. “What is the point of trying to get independent journalists to give up their work, knowing full well that they will never do so?” asked the press freedom organisation. “If the Cuban authorities are so determined to silence Oscar Espinosa Chepe and Jorge Olivera Castillo why don’t they grant their request to leave the country? The repression of dissident voices is in any event doomed to failure”, it added. (RWB Press Release, 28/3/06)