Chronicle on Cuba - August 2006

Domestic Affairs

August 1: The Cuban government sought to reassure citizens after Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power for the first time in 47 years, releasing a statement from the world's longest-serving head of government saying his health is stable, his spirits good and the defence of the island guaranteed. "The important thing is that in the country everything is going perfectly well, and will continue to do so," said the statement by the elder Castro. It was not known when or where the surgery took place, nor where Castro was recovering. No images of the leader were shown. Castro, 79, acknowledged the that operation was serious, saying ``I cannot make up positive news." But he said his health was ``stable" and "as for my spirits, I feel perfectly fine," according to the message read on the Cuban nightly public affairs show "Mesa Redonda," or "Round Table," by government journalist Randy Alonso. He apologized for not giving more details, but said the threat posed to his government by the US means his health must be treated as "a state secret," and he called on Cubans to remain calm as they carried out their daily routines. "The country is prepared for its defence," he said, apparently to assure Cubans the island was safe from potential US attack. His brother and designated successor, Raul Castro, remained silent and out of sight, issuing no statements of his own. [Mensaje de Fidel Castro] (EFE, Chicago Tribune, AP, 2/8/06)

August 1: The Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, the Cuban government's neighbourhood watch group, stepped up its volunteer night patrols, and the pro-government Rapid Action Brigades — used in the past to handle civil disturbances — was placed on standby. (EFE, 2/8/06)

August 1: As a show of support, the Cuban authorities organized rallies in several places throughout Havana, including outside Havana's colonial-era customs offices on the shores of Havana Bay. But they were short and low-key by Cuban government standards. The rally outside Customs lasted barely 30 minutes, a crowd of several hundred state workers listening quietly to speeches urging support for Castro and the government.  The main newscast on state-run television ran a string of man-on-the-street interviews with Cubans wishing Castro well and professing confidence in the revolution's staying power. The anchor said Castro had the people's "unconditional support." (EFE, AP, 2/8/06)

 August 1: A placard bearing the inscription “Never Caught Off Guard” appeared across from the residence of Laura Pollán, a member of the Ladies in White, a group of relatives of political prisoners. This and two other posters proclaiming “With Our Guard Up” and “Always Vigilant” were put up following the broadcast of a message from Fidel Castro to the people of Cuba. (Cubanet, 3/8/06) 

August 1: Leaders of Cuba's opposition urged caution and restraint.  "The dissident community in Cuba is pacifist," said Oscar Espinosa Chepe, an independent journalist and economist. "None of them are calling for protests."  Dissidents said they expected the government to be on the defensive, with a high security presence and a low tolerance for political acts. "It's clear that this is the start of the transition," said activist Manuel Cuesta Morua. "This gives Cuba the opportunity to have a more rational leadership" because top leaders will be forced to work together rather than following one man. Oswaldo Paya, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement called for “calm” and for “a change among Cubans”. Marta Beatriz Roque, leader of the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society, said the the situation is “irreversible”. "I don’t think he (Castro) will be in control again”, “It’s a situation that demands cautiousness and intelligence", Roque said.  (AP, The Independent, EFE, 2/8/06)

August 2: The newspaper Granma, mouthpiece of the Communist Party - the only one allowed in Cuba - ran a big headline reading, "Fidel, get better." It published an array of best wishes and expressions of solidarity received by Castro, who never before in his 47 years of rule had delegated command. Juventud Rebelde, another paper, said in its banner headline: "The Revolution continues." Its summary of messages expressing hope for Castro's complete recovery was titled, "Long life to a unique man." Thousands of workers took part in officially organized "acts of patriotic reaffirmation" to demonstrate their loyalty to the Castro brothers and commitment to the regime. (EFE, 2/8/06) 

August 2: The speaker of Cuba's parliament told the press that Fidel Castro, who underwent surgery to stop intestinal bleeding, is "very alive and very alert." In his remarks, parliamentary speaker Ricardo Alarcon said that he met with Castro before his illness was announced and was also in communication with him the day he went into surgery. "I must say that he's perfectly conscious. He's in very good spirits, as always. We talked for over half an hour on many things: what's going on in the world and yesterday (August 1) about the impact that the announcement has had," the official said.
"Of course, he is forced to have a period of rest. He underwent a complicated surgery. And he's in, I would say, a normal period of recovery after an important surgery - that's essentially what I would say - but very alive and very alert, as always, very interested in what's going on around him and around the world," Alarcon said of Castro. During the recovery process Castro "cannot be at the same time holding certain responsibilities," the Cuban official said. (EFE, Reuters, 1/8/06)

August 3: Two days after a statement attributed to Fidel Castro was read out on Cuban television which delegated power to his younger brother, Raúl, the provisional president has still not been seen in public nor addressed the nation. The reason why was unclear. The elder Castro could be reluctant to relinquish power after his 47-year rule, even if it's temporary, or media run by the Communist government could be focusing solely on him out of respect and habit. Raul, who has long deferred to his elder brother, could be keeping a low profile for the same reasons. (Latin News Daily, AP, 3/8/06)

August 3: The highest-profile Cuban democracy advocate who has remained on the island says he hopes for political change, but that it must come about amid tranquility, which should not be disturbed by ardent anti-Castro activists abroad. He also said "the culture of fear" that pervades Cuban society after 47 years of one-party Communist rule prevents everyday citizens from talking about what is going on with Fidel Castro and his brother, but that many are worried about the near future. "We're facing a new experience for Cubans," Oswaldo Paya, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, told the press. For Paya's group, "the view has always prevailed that changes are necessary in Cuba with Fidel (in power) and not waiting for his death, because they are of vital importance for the Cuban people." Within Cuban society, "there's fear of repression because there's a culture of fear that has been established for many years, but there's also a fear of change and real uncertainty about how that change could come about." Paya said support from abroad should contribute to a "climate of peace, harmony and understanding." (EFE, 3/8/06)

August 3: Prominent dissidents seem just as confused as many of their countrymen about what is happening in Cuba after Fidel Castro ceded power to his brother, Raul Castro, and what it means for them. "At this point, all of this is not having an impact on the dissident movement, none whatsoever," Vladimiro Roca, once one of Cuba's best-known political prisoners, said in a telephone interview from his Havana home. "We just don't know anything. And we have no way to mobilize." Roca said that he had no plans to speak publicly or conduct dissident meetings because there would be "tremendous risks" for anyone who attended. "If the movement was united and was open to everything, maybe this would be an opportunity -- but we have so many differences," Laura Pollán, a well-known human rights advocate, said in a telephone interview from her Havana home.
Pollán is a leader of "The Women in White," a group of political prisoners' wives who march every Sunday in Havana wearing white dresses and each carrying a single flower. Pollán's husband, independent journalist Hector Maseda Gutierrez, is serving a 20-year prison term after being accused of mercenary activity, Pollán said. The announcement of Castro's surgery also placed dissidents in a difficult position because they do not want to be perceived as celebrating his illness or possible death, Pollán said. "From a human perspective, we have no ill wishes toward anyone," she said. "We don't wish for the death of Dr. Castro, even though he has brought such suffering to us and to the Cuban people." (The Washington Post, 4/8/06)

August 3: If Fidel Castro hands over power to his long time deputy and brother, Raul Castro, the editor of a Cuban Catholic journal has expressed hopes for cautious reforms, perhaps even with the help of Florida-based exiles. "It would be a catastrophe if the successors did not manage to clear up the mess after 47 years of economic mismanagement," said Dagoberto Valdez, chief editor of the critical Catholic magazine Vitral. Valdez who also leads a centre for civic education under the auspices of the Bishop of Pinar del Rio, in Western Cuba, has been a long time critic of the Cuban regime. However, he has previously been quoted as saying: "We don't say we're undermining socialism. We say we're preparing people for living in a more democratic society." (Playfuls.com, 4/8/06)

August 3: The house of Dr. Jose Luis Garci­a Paneque’s wife and four children in Las Tunas, Cuba, was surrounded and attacked by a mob of about 100 persons armed with sticks, stones, and parasols shouting "Get out of here!" "Assassins!", "Terrorists!". For an hour and a half, neighbors, ranging from young children to elderly people, shouted insults at Yamile Llanes and her young children, as well as at seven Catholic young people who were staying at her house while on their way to the Sanctuary of The Virgin of Cobre in Santiago de Cuba. "My seven-year old daughter, Mari­a, held on to her older sister, and her screams were uncontrollable because she was terrified when a woman shouted that they were going to set the house on fire so that they would do away with the ‘worms’", Yamile said.  Dr. Jose Luis Garci­a Paneque, a Cuban physician and prisoner of conscience, was summarily tried and is serving a 25-year sentence for expressing independent ideas. He remains in "Las Mangas" prison hospital in Bayamo alongside common prisoners. He is suffering from an intestinal disease. (Medicina Cubana, 21/8/06)

August 4: Cuba's Communist leadership launched a campaign emphasizing the revolutionary roots of Fidel Castro's brother and designated successor, attempting to reassure Cubans that the regime remains stable after the leader's hospitalization.  "We Cubans are prepared for the defense (…) and Raul is there firmly at the helm of the nation, of the Revolutionary Armed Forces," the Communist Party newspaper Granma said. Granma recounted Raul Castro's decision to assume responsibility for the disastrous 1953 attack on a military barracks, which launched the Cuban Revolution.  Official media continued to line up Cubans expressing confidence both in Fidel's ability to recover quickly and in Raul's competence to govern in the meantime. "Every Cuban trusts Raul, and every one of our leaders," an unnamed woman said on state television news. "We are certain that the revolution will continue." (AP, 4/8/06)

August 4: The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC) called on its congregation to pray for the recovery of Fidel Castro. In a letter to all Catholics in the country, the COCC asked communities "to offer prayers so that God accompanies President Fidel Castro in his illness and illuminates those who have provisionally received the responsibilities of government." The Catholic hierarchy stated that "the delicate state of health from which the President is suffering (…) constitutes an especially significant moment for our people." "The Catholic Church, as part of this community, shares this concern and the petitions of all its followers," continues the text, at the same time invoking the Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre. To the Cuban Patron Saint, continues the communiqué, "We confide everything that concerns us at this time in our country’s history with a profound wish for peace and fraternal coexistence among all Cubans." The document, which the COCC asked to be read out on Sunday, August 6, at masses offered around the island, also alerts that the prevailing stability and social harmony in Cuba "cannot be disturbed by any internal or external situation." (Prensa Latina, 4/8/06)

August 4: Cuba's state-run press mocked talk abroad of "transition" of the Communist state due to the illness of Fidel Castro, denying uncertainty among citizens and underscoring what are described as the fine qualities of brother Raul as he stands firmly at the nation's helm. The official daily Granma said that Cuba "remains calm”. "The incorrectly characterized 'transition' is a word that is not in the vocabulary of Cubans here. For us the news today is about working harder and better to fulfill Fidel's mission," the publication said. The article added that "faced with the frustrated ambitions against the nation, the treachery and threats, we stand united in a tireless struggle. Countless messages wishing the quick recovery of the commander in chief (Fidel Castro) continue arriving in this country." (EFE, 4/8/06)

August 4: Though there was no official word in Cuba on Fidel's condition, Cuban Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer commented in Guatemala, where he was on hand to inaugurate a Cuba-donated clinic. “Fidel underwent a surgical operation from which he is recovering satisfactorily," Balaguer told journalists in the town of San Cristobal Verapaz in central Guatemala. Balaguer, along with Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, inaugurated a facility for treating eye ailments. The clinic's surgical and other equipment were donated by Cuba, which also is providing its doctors, nurses and technical personnel. When pressed on Castro's prognosis, the Cuban health minister declined to provide details. (EFE, 4/8/06)

August 4: Dissidents in Cuba's eastern provinces said the country's military has beefed up its presence on the streets and is telling citizens they have permission to respond with force against anyone who speaks out against the government. In a series of interviews conducted by phone, dissidents said they are fearful about retaliations against political opponents of the government. "Everybody now knows that that Fidel is ill, but everyone is waiting," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, 41, an attorney from the province of Ciego de Avila. "They are wondering what is going to happen. There is a grave silence. It's like being in the centre of a hurricane." Gonzalez, who became blind as a child and went on to study law in Havana, was accused in 2002 of insubordination to Castro and spent more than two years in prison. His case gained international attention after Amnesty International called for his release. (Gainesville.Com, 4/8/06)

August 4: In Banes, in the Holguin province, dissident Guillermo Llanos Ricardo, 30, said the town's only independent library was surrounded by citizen patrol groups checking the identification of anyone seeking to enter. "These are well-known groups that have incited violence against dissidents in the past," he said. Meanwhile, Eliecer Consuegra Rivas, 33, the head of the opposition group Eastern Democratic Alliance in the city of Antilla also in Holguin, attributed the relative calm on the streets to fear of reprisal. He said he has been repeatedly warned not to speak out informally by neighbours and officially by government representatives. (Gainesville.Com, 4/8/06)

August 5: Official daily Granma ran a series of emotional front-page statements by some of the island's top cultural figures, wishing Castro a steady recovery and pledging loyalty to Castro and the socialist system he created. "This is a delicate moment and it's necessary to prepare, because the enemy might have illusions," Juan Formell, the director of Los Van Van, one of the island's most popular musical groups, said from Japan. "I trust in our Armed Forces, and in our people, Formell said." Folk singer Pablo Milanes, also traveling outside Cuba, said he promised to represent Castro and the Cuban people "as this moment deserves: with unity and courage in the presence of any threat or provocation." (AP, Prensa Latina, 5/8/06)

August 5: Singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez rejected a transition to capitalism in Cuba and said that he would give Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro more than his music, but his own person. Before an audience that included Cuban and foreign reporters gathered at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), for the release of his CD “Érase que se era”, Rodríguez noted that if he liked a transition he would be in the other side and not in Cuba. I’m still in this side and I will continue because I don’t care about the transition, Rodríguez highlighted. (Radio Cadena Agramonte, 5/8/06)
 
August 5: Cuban officials said that Fidel Castro was steadily recovering from surgery and the government was still preparing for its worst-case scenario: an attack by government opponents taking advantage of the leader's health crisis. Vice President Carlos Lage said that Fidel Castro is recovering satisfactorily from surgery and that the communist leader sent his "fraternal greetings" to the people of Bolivia, according to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina. Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon said in comments broadcast by CNN en Español that Castro "remains in stable condition" and "is resting in order to recover as quickly as possible." Culture Minister Abel Prieto said that "there is no danger of Cuba becoming destabilized. That's all an illusion, craziness, feverish delirium of people who have shown in recent days what little human values they have," a clear reference to Cuban exiles in Miami who this week celebrated Castro's illness. (AP, 5/8/06)

August 5: Independent journalist Santiago Albert DuBouchet Hernández, head of the news agency 'Havana Press', was released after serving out a one-year prison term in the province of Havana. DuBouchet Hernández had been sentenced to 312 days in prison by the Artemisa Municipal People’s Court for allegedly resisting arrest. (Puente Informativo, 5/8/06)

August 6: Elián González, the Cuban boy whose arrival in Miami six years ago set off a custody battle between his father in Cuba and several of his Miami relatives, sent a message to ailing Fidel Castro. ''We send you this letter to let you know that we are worried about your health,'' stated a letter addressed to ''grandpa Fidel'' and penned by Elián and published in the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde. (The Miami Herald, 7/8/06)

August 6: The Ladies in White, comprised of the wives and loved ones of imprisoned Cuban dissidents, asked Raul Castro to give a signal of change on this Communist island by freeing the regime's political prisoners, and they announced that they would continue their peaceful demonstrations. Eight members of the group, which was formed in 2003 after the regime sentenced 75 dissidents to lengthy prison terms, came to the Santa Rita Church in Havana's Miramar neighborhood as they do every Sunday to pray for their family members, and afterwards they marched down Quinta Ave. carrying gladiolas and lilies. With very few other worshippers on hand, the Ladies in White members listened to the Cuban Bishops Conference communique read at the end of the Mass in which the Catholic hierarchy asks Cubans to pray for God to be with Fidel Castro during his recovery from emergency intestinal surgery and to enlighten his brother Raul, to whom Fidel temporarily turned over power for the first time ever. (EFE, 7/8/06)

August 6: At the colonial-era Catholic cathedral in Old Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega prayed ''for the fatherland, for Cuba and those who are leading it (...) Above all, our plea is that nothing breaks the concord among Cubans, nor disturbs the peace among us,'' Ortega said. "What we are asking our communities to do at this moment is pray," Ortega said."That is our way of putting the future in God's hands." But his message upset at least one parishioner, reflecting the split between those Cubans who -- at least in public -- say they support the 47-year-old communist system and those who oppose or are frustrated by it. ''Things are very bad,'' said the man, who declined to be identified. He added that Cubans are afraid to express their true feelings because of fear of repression.  ''They are afraid of a ghost,'' he said. ``This country is being run by a mummy.''  But others expressed optimism that Castro would recover and that life on the island would improve.  (The Miami Herald, Reuters, 7/8/06)

August 6: Organized by Cuban authorities, an angry demonstration (acto de repudio) took place outside the residence of dissident Caridad García Braojo, in the Vedado neighborhood, Havana City. Among the demonstrators were members of the “quick response brigades” and the political police. (Bitácora Cubana, 9/8/06)

August 6: Castro was remembered by practitioners of Santería, a religion blending African and Catholic beliefs, and in prayers at Protestant churches. ''As followers of Jesus of Nazareth, we will maintain our personal and community prayers for the rapid reestablishment of our president's health,'' the Reverend Raúl Suárez, a Baptist minister and member of the legislature, said in a communiqué. (The Miami Herald, 7/8/06)

August 6: Dissidents like Oswaldo Paya said Fidel Castro's illness has changed the communist country forever by exposing a system ruled by one man for nearly a half century to the influence of others -- even if only temporarily. In the week since Castro underwent surgery and temporarily stepped down, everyone on the island has been forced to imagine what Cuba would be like without Castro, said Paya. "This temporary absence has made people confront the real possibility of a new Cuba," the well-known activist told the press. He said that possibility could bring out discontent in the system that has been building for years, opening the way for demands for more economic freedoms and greater political participation. "No one can claim that we'll be able to keep living in the same way," he said in an interview conducted in his Havana living room filled with photographs of Cuban political prisoners and portraits of Jesus Christ. "It's time to consider making Cuba's 11 million people the protagonists," he said. "The lives of 11 million Cubans are more important than the memory of one man." (AP, 7/8/06)

August 7: Cuba has set in motion a peaceful political succession, dashing US government expectations of chaos following Fidel Castro's hand-over of power to his brother, a leading Cuban intellectual and government member, Roberto Fernandez Retamar, said. "They (the US government) had not expected that a peaceful succession was possible. A peaceful succession has taken place in Cuba," Fernandez Retamar said at a news conference. The writer and member of the Council of State was the first government official to say a succession under Raul Castro was in motion after Fidel Castro relinquished power a week ago following gastric surgery. (Reuters, 7/8/06)

August 7: The Cuban Workers’ Union (CTC) informed that over three million workers have taken part in about 80,000 stop-work meetings to express their support of Fidel Castro, the Communist Party and the Cuban Government. (EFE, 7/8/06)

August 7: Senior Cuban officials have in the past few days assured Cubans that Fidel  Castro, who turns 80 on August 13, is on the road to recovery. The Communist Party newspaper Granma published a poem comparing Fidel Castro to a sturdy Cuban hardwood tree called the caguairan -- known as the axe-breaker because it is so tough. (Reuters, 7/8/06)

August 8: Veteran Cuban dissident Gustavo Arcos Bergnes, a former Fidel Castro loyalist who was wounded in the 1953 Moncada attack that launched the revolution but was later imprisoned as a dissident, died. He was 79. Clara Villar, a family friend and neighbour of the Arcos family, said Arcos died in Havana at 11:40 a.m. “He was one of the most respected people in the human rights movement in Cuba," said Carlos Menendez, of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and Reconciliation. The organization traces its roots to the group Arcos led in the late 1970s and 1980s. Menendez characterized Arcos as "moral, selfless and courageous." Arcos had been hospitalized recently for respiratory and kidney problems. Arcos' remains were to be cremated and no memorial service was immediately scheduled, the woman at the mortuary said. (AP, 9/8/06)

August 8: Hundreds of flag-waving people rallied in Cuba's capital to publicly declare their support for ailing leader Fidel Castro, as assurances he was recovering began to ease Cubans' worries about their long-ruling leader. Cubans gathered in a working-class neighbourhood sang the national anthem and chanted ''Long live Fidel! Long live Raul!'' in support of Castro and his brother Raul, to whom he has temporarily ceded power. Local Communist officials, meanwhile, made patriotic statements from a sound stage on a tractor-trailer. ''We are praying for the life of our commander in chief because we love him,'' said neighborhood resident Alejandrina Legran. ''He's the prince of our people. We owe him our respect and obedience.'' Juventud Rebelde, Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper, published letters to Castro from children and teenagers across the country. (AP, 9/8/06)

August 9: Cuba's Communist government has signaled a crackdown on the use of black-market satellite dishes, just over a week after ailing leader Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished power to his brother. The Communist Party newspaper Granma warned that the dishes, which many Cubans use to watch Spanish-language television programs from Miami, could be used by the US government to broadcast subversive information. "They are fertile ground for those who want to carry out the Bush administration's plan to destroy the Cuban revolution," said the newspaper, the official voice of the government. Such an article in Granma usually signals that action is on the way. The article also decried the "avalanche" of capitalist advertising in commercial television programs. Since Castro provisionally relinquished power to his brother Raul on July 31 after undergoing gastric surgery, Cubans have been anxious for more information on his condition and the political direction of their country. (Reuters, 9/8/06)

August 9: For dissidents on the island, the uncertainty about Cuba's future since Castro, in a July 31 statement, announced he was delegating power to his brother Raul Castro, 75, has given way to frustration and disappointment. "It is the same government. I believe there is no transition. Simply put, Fidel Castro is sick and has delegated his functions to the number-two," said Hilda Molina, who for the past decade has sought authorization to leave the country. "They say the former ruler is recovering, but we don't know what he is recovering from, we don't know what illness, because it is a state secret," said Marta Beatriz Roque, another leading Cuban dissident. This, she says, has left Cuba in its "usual abnormal normality," with the situation remaining calm but residents in the dark about what is going on behind the closed doors of Castro's inner sanctum. While dissidents are pessimistic that the transfer of power to hardliner Raul will bring about change in the near future, Roque stressed this did not mean the opposition had given up. "We won't move backwards. We remain where we are, with caution. If we did not hope for change, we would not work for it," she told the press. (AFP, 9/8/06)

August 9: Cuban actor Jorge Perugorria, world famous for his starring role in the 1993 Oscar nominated “Fresa y Chocolate”, wished a prompt recuperation to Fidel Castro, who recently underwent surgery. Interviewed by Prensa Latina, the internationally known actor said that he and the staff presently filming the life of Spanish painter Lucas Fernandez in Spain, are concerned for the health of the Commander-in-Chief. Victoria Abril, Emma Suarez and Joaquim de Almeida, cast colleagues, have commented on Fidel´s health and their wishes for his recovery, said the actor. (Prensa Latina, 9/8/06)

August 10: A deaf adolescent from the Cuban province of Camaguey with pigmentary retinitis received an eye cochlear implant, free in this country. Yaimi Rodriguez Ramirez, 16, has suffered since the age of six months from an infection in the alimentary canal that provoked her hearing problems and later deafness, Granma newspaper reported. The girl also suffered from pigmentary retinitis, a visual illness that causes blindness due to the degeneration and death of photo receivers. A medical team from Havana's Cira Garcia Hospital operated the girl. (Prensa Latina, 10/8/06)

August 11: Prominent dissident leader Oswaldo Paya made a call to “reconciliation and harmony between Cubans”. In an op-ed published in a Florida newspaper, Paya said that, “if there is something for which many Cubans have worked and fought for -- including our brothers, the "Cuban Spring" prisoners and all of the peaceful political prisoners -- it is for peaceful changes, for reconciliation and harmony between Cubans”.  “Those changes and reconciliation are vital needs of the Cuban nation, as well as an obligation that we have for the new generation and for the future of Cuba. These changes can only be defined and led by Cubans themselves, without foreign interference and without exclusion of any Cubans, in a process of dialogue and democratic participation”, Paya said. “The role of the European Union, Latin America, Canada, the United States of America and the rest of the world should not be anything else but that which helps contribute toward an environment of peace and calm among Cubans. Any expression and action that presumes to define or decide what must happen in Cuba, or any other exhortations that are not toward calm and peace, can increase tensions, distrust and misunderstandings among Cubans. That is not what Cuba wants or needs”, he added.  (Sun Sentinel,11/8/06)

August 11: The country has had no new medical reports on Castro's health, and his younger brother, Raúl Castro, 75, now temporarily at the helm, has not deviated from his customary behind-the-scenes profile, avoiding all public appearances. Cubans are going about their daily routine; although some say it is little more than a superficial normalcy, weighted down by anxiety about the future. "Honestly, to me it looks like people have returned to their day-to-day challenges of survival: their search for ways to supplement their income because salaries aren't sufficient to make ends meet, or to get to the beach for even just one day on their vacation, despite inadequate public transport," said one Cuban journalist, who asked to remain anonymous. In his opinion, the business-as-usual atmosphere owes a lot to the fact that "of all the possible scenarios, the one we're experiencing is the least traumatic." He based his conclusion on official reports regarding Castro's recovery, but also on the smooth and orderly transfer of power to the team headed by Raúl. (IPS, 11/8/06)

August 11: Cuban singer and songwriter Pablo Milanes will dedicate a concert to Fidel Castro on August 17 at the Mexican capital’s National Auditorium, organizers of the event reported. Before traveling to Mexico, Pablo, in a message to the Cuban head of State, convalescing from complicated surgery, expressed his commitment to representing him and the island s people "with unity and courage faced with any threat and provocation." Milanes will sing, accompanied by his daughters Haydee and Suylen, songs from the recent CD "Como un Campo de Maiz," Granma newspaper reported. (Prensa Latina, 11/8/06)

August 11: The first edition of the Latin American and Caribbean Festival of the Amateur Theater International Association (AITA) started in San Antonio de Los Baños, south Havana. That prestigious institution, catering to independent theater exponents in the region, has called 24 groups and 220 actors and technicians to the event marking Havana’s cultural life until August 18. Fernando Rojas, president of the Municipal Culture Centers National Council and organizer of the festival, described it as an unprecedented meeting and confirmed San Antonio de Los Banos and the capital’s historic center would be the official venues. (Prensa Latina, 11/8/06)

August 11: A Cuban minister said Fidel Castro was recovering as the country, anxious to see him reappear almost two weeks after undergoing surgery, prepared to celebrate his 80th birthday with or without him. ``We are waiting for new messages but I can say with complete confidence that he is recovering,'' said Culture Minister Abel Prieto upon opening a photo exhibit of Castro in Havana. ``The people are waiting. Fidel asks us to be patient because what's at stake is more than the health of one person,'' said Prieto, who sits on the powerful Communist Party Political Bureau. Dozens of musicians will perform on the night of August 12 on the ''Anti-Imperialist Stage'' opposite the US diplomatic mission on Havana's Malecon seafront boulevard. They plan to play through midnight to sing Castro ``Happy Birthday.'' Neighborhood watch groups called Committees to Defend the Revolution, which play a central role in mobilizing rank-and-file support for the government, called on Cubans to spend August 13 sweeping and cleaning up their blocks. Some Cubans will do what officials termed voluntary work to pay homage to the ailing revolutionary. Sugar industry workers will work four extra hours in cane fields, officials said. Communist youth organizations will man building sites and other workplaces. (Reuters, 11/8/06)

August 12: Fidel Castro is sitting up, walking, talking and even working to some degree during his recovery from intestinal surgery that forced him to step aside temporarily as president, the Communist Party newspaper said on the eve of the leader's 80th birthday. The report on the front page of Granma was the most optimistic report since the July 31 announcement that Cuba's longtime leader had undergone surgery and was temporarily ceding presidential powers to his brother Raul, the No. 2 in the government. The paper headlined its three-paragraph story "Firm Like a Caguarian," comparing Castro to a hardwood tropical tree native to eastern Cuba. (AP, 12/8/06)

August 12: According to his wife, Cruz Delia Aguilar, non-violent opposition activist Julio Antonio Valdés Guevara was the target of a public act of “citizen’s rejection” carried out by members of the Quick Response Brigades. Nearly 50 demonstrators from the so-called “brigades” stood outside our home, yelling out insults, said Aguilar. Valdés Guevara, 52, a former prisoner of conscience from the Group of the 75, is currently at home under the terms of an extrapenal license because he suffers from a chronic renal condition. For months the authorities have denied him authorization to leave the country. (Cubanet, 15/8/06)

August 13: Fidel Castro, who turned 80, released his first message to the Cuban people since undergoing surgery for intestinal bleeding and turning power over temporarily to his brother. In a message to the Cuban people accompanied by photos and carried by the online edition of the Juventud Rebelde newspaper, the Cuban leader said his condition was improving but his recovery would not be quick and everyone should be prepared for possible "adverse news." The statement, however, provided no specific details on the medical condition of the Cuban leader. Havana has said that Castro's condition is a "state secret" and has not published any medical updates or prognosis on his condition. "Saying that the stability of the condition has improved considerably is not inventing a lie. Asserting that the recovery period will be short and there is no risk would be absolutely incorrect," Castro said in his message to the citizens of the island which was accompanied by four color photographs of the Cuban leader wearing a track suit in the red, white and blue of Cuba's flag. [Message to the People of Cuba] (EFE, 13/8/06)

August 13: Fidel Castro's younger brother, Raul, made his first public appearance as Cuba's interim president. Raul received Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at Havana airport. Cuban state television images showed Chavez arriving in Havana to visit his political ally Fidel Castro on his 80th birthday. No comments were made to the press. (Reuters, 13/8/06)

August 13: In an effort to prevent any dissident activities on the day of Fidel Castro's birthday, a mob of communist militants besieged the home of former political prisoner Minaldo Ramos Fernández, also the headquarters for the "Comision Nacional Cuba", a civil organization that promotes peaceful civil disobedience in the island. "The mob in question surrounded my home for over twelve hours, not allowing anyone to enter the house and prevented me from going out of the house, stating that they were not going to allow counterrevolutionary activities on Castro's birthday", Ramos Fernández said to the independent press. (Puente Informativo, 17/8/06)

August 14: Cuba's Communist daily Granma published new photographs of ailing leader Fidel Castro, showing him in bed on his 80th birthday during a visit with his brother Raul and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The official Granma newspaper posted the six photographs on its online edition, one day after the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde published the first images of Castro since the Cuban leader announced two weeks ago he had undergone intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to Raul, the defense minister and No. 2 in the government. In all of the most recent pictures, Castro is in bed, wearing what looks like a red sweatshirt. In a seventh photograph, Raul Castro is shown embracing Chavez when he arrived in Havana. It was the younger Castro's debut appearance as acting Cuban president. "An Unforgettable Afternoon Among Brothers," Granma said of the afternoon visit by Chavez, who is Castro's closest friend and political ally in Latin America. (AP, 14/8/06)

August 14: Cuban state television aired the first video of Fidel Castro since he stepped down as president to recover from surgery, showing the bedridden Cuban leader joking with his brother and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Castro appeared tired and pale, yet alert in the videotaped encounter, speaking quietly but clearly enjoying himself as he chatted with Chavez, his close friend and political ally. Acting president Raul Castro was also present for the encounter on his brother's 80th birthday. As the men bantered back and forth, Castro's voice was inaudible. He was later shown in animated conversation with Chavez, but music played over his words. The videotape showed the friends sharing a snack and looking at an album of photographs showing them together — including one from a trip Castro took to Venezuela during an earlier birthday. Sentimental music accompanied the footage, which lasted about 10 minutes. The televised footage — released after still pictures of the same encounter were published in the Communist Party daily Granma— appeared aimed at dispelling any lingering doubts about Castro's recovery from intestinal surgery. Cuban officials have not released details of his condition or disclosed where he is being treated. (AP, EFE, 15/8/06)

August 15: A Dengue outbreak that the Cuban authorities have maintained under wraps has resulted in at least 20 fatalities while dozens more have been hospitalized, leaving several hospitals in Havana struggling to cope with the epidemic. The most serious cases of this particular strain of Dengue, known as Type Four or Dengue hemorrhagic fever are being treated at the Pedro Kouri Hospital, attached to the Tropical Medicine Institute, where some fifty people have been admitted with symptoms of the disease. (El Nuevo Herald, 15/8/06)

August 15: Famous Cuban sports commentator Eddy Martin died in Havana. Martin had suffered serious injuries in a car accident. Although the 77-year-old journalist and radio and TV presenter underwent weeks of intense medical treatment, he could not overcome the results of the crash between his car and a bus. Cuban radio and television recalled Martin’s work, well-known both in the island and the international sports world. (Prensa Latina, 15/8/06)

August 15: Cuba's ruling Communist Party vowed that the revolution launched almost 48 years ago by the now 80-year-old and ailing Fidel Castro would continue under the leadership of his brother Raul. The statement, published by the state-run newspaper Granma, came after Cubans saw the first photographs and video footage of the communist strongman since he announced on July 31 that he had undergone intestinal surgery and ceded power to Raul Castro, 75.  Rolando Alfonso, who heads the Communist Party's ideological department, wrote in Granma that Cubans were ready to defend the revolution "under the guidance of the party" and "the firm leadership of Raul." "Recover, commander," he said in reference to Castro, adding: "Our people are guarantors, and you know it, that the revolution is here to stay."  (AFP, 15/8/06)

August 16: The promotion of actions to support the Latin American regional integration will be the focal point for delegates at the 19th Congress of the Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC), to be held September 24-27 in Havana. CTC International Relations Secretary Leonel Gonzalez said that a  commission specially designed to address the topic will propose initiatives which support talks and promote awareness of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a regional integration effort launched by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as an alternative to the US-led Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and free trade agreements between the US and individual Latin American countries. The CTC congress will include political and ideological working sessions and will address issues such as the defence of socialism, union training policies and performance. (ACN, 17/8/06)

August 17: With members of the diplomatic corps and opposition leaders in attendance, Cardinal Jaime Ortega officiated a mass in memory of the dean of Cuban dissidents, Gustavo Arcos Bergnes, who passed away on August 8. In the ceremony, Arcos’s wife was accompanied by members of the Ladies in White, European diplomats and the head of the US Interests Section in Cuba, Michael Parmly. Also present were, among others, opposition leaders Oswaldo Payá, Martha Beatriz Roque, Vladimiro Roca, Hilda Molina and Oscar Espinosa Chepe. (EER, 18/8/06)

August 17: The leader of the moderate opposition’s umbrella organization Arco Progresista, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, warned against the danger that the dynamics of the clash between the positions of the governments of Cuba and the United States poses for the Cuban people. In a press release, Cuesta points out that "Cuba is in danger," and warns that the risk the country is facing can affect "not just the present and future of the nation but of all Cubans as well, particularly those who reside on the island.” (EFE, 17/8/06) 

August 18: Fidel Castro is recovering gradually, acting President Raul Castro said in an interview published, in his first statements since he took over from his ailing brother last month. Raul Castro, 75, said his brother's improvement had been "progressive." Fidel Castro's physical and mental strength have helped his "satisfactory and gradual recovery," he said.  "As a matter of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in public, except at times when it is required," Raul Castro told Granma, speaking from his office at the Ministry of Defense. He said many of his activities as defense minister were best kept out of the public light, adding, "Moreover, I have always been discreet, that is my way, and in passing let me clarify that I plan to continue that way." [Ningún enemigo podrá derrotarnos] (Reuters, 18/8/06)

August 18: At half a dollar per minute of use and 150 to 200 dollars in the black market for the phone itself, cell phone service is prohibitively expensive for the average Cuban. The two entities selling cell phone service on the island, Telcel, and Secom, only offer it to foreigners and to Cubans who are specifically authorized to have the service. In any case, the service must be paid for in dollars; pesos are no good here. Yet, with scarce land lines and often little hope of getting one, some Cubans who have access to dollars sometimes take a chance on a cell phone. A young couple who gave up waiting for a land line recently decided to obtain a cell phone. They managed to find someone who sold them the unit, with the condition that should there be a problem with the phone, they need to go through the rightful owner to obtain service. Still, they say, it's hard to pay that much money and be constantly at risk that the line could go down and they would lose their investment. Also, they point out, not everyone has a friend or relative abroad who will send the required hard currency. (Cubanet, 18/8/06)

August 19: Cuban dissidents differed in their reactions to the first public statements from Raul Castro since he took over as provisional leader of Cuba. For Vladimiro Roca, founder of the illegal opposition group All United, the interim leader's statements are "more of the same; it's repetition, it doesn't contribute anything new to the national situation." "They authorized him (to give the interview); without getting Fidel's order, he wasn't going to speak," Roca told the press. "To date there's not one thing that shows that (Raul Castro) is in charge of the country, not the least sign of change," he said. By contrast, Manuel Cuesta Morua, leader of the moderate dissident organization Arco Progresista, said that "we are already seeing an acting head of state." "We're seeing the second step that confirms that the succession is for real and that strangely he's trying to legitimize himself to the United States with this call for them to respect what is established in the Cuban constitution, which is the same as calling for them to respect the succession," he said.  Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who was jailed along with 74 other democracy activists and independent journalists in the spring of 2003 but later released for health reasons, said it is "desirable that in future statements (Raul Castro) expresses the interim government's position regarding the measures to take with regard to the current worrying problems in Cuba."  Laura Pollan, a member of the Ladies in White, which comprises relatives of the 75 imprisoned Cuban dissidents, said that the wives of the jailed opponents of the regime believe that "the Cuban problem should be solved by Cubans." "We ask (Raul Castro) to make a goodwill gesture, so that the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement is celebrated in a more euphoric manner, and release the prisoners and return them to our homes," said Pollan. (EFE, 19/8/06)

August 19: Ramon Castro, the older brother of Fidel Castro, said his more famous sibling is steadily improving after intestinal surgery that has left their younger brother Raul temporarily in charge of the country. "He's much better," Ramon Castro said of Fidel. "He works savagely and that has a cost."  Ramon Castro, who turns 82 in October, is a lifelong farmer who has stayed out of national politics. He indicated he had not yet read his brother Raul's interview with the Communist Party newspaper Granma, which was published the day before. The eldest Castro brother spoke at the international airport awaiting the arrival of Florida cattleman John Parke Wright IV, with whom he has formed a strong friendship during the American's frequent visits to the island. (AP, 20/8/06)

August 19: Cuban author Jorge Angel Perez won the Julio Cortazar Ibero-American Prize for Short Stories in a contest involving 414 works submitted from writers in 18 countries. The jury, made up by Cuban writers Francisco Lopez Sacha, Alejandro Alvarez and Margarita Mateo praised the story for its "precise, but at the same time daring, understanding of the genre; the mastery of expression; the high quality reached in establishing the atmosphere, setting and characters; and the artistic solution of a metaphor that enshrouds the coded message of the story and conversely underlines the obvious tale of a contemporary situation." (Granma, 19/8/06)

August 21: A photographic exhibition centered on the figure of Fidel Castro was inaugurated in Havana. The exhibit “I Sing to Life” features the work of local photographers including Alberto Korda; Liborio Noval; Chinolope; Osvaldo Salas and Alex Castro, son of Fidel; as well as works by foreign artists such as Cándido Mayo, from Spain; Pedro Valtierra, Mexico; and Sven Creutzmann, from Germany. (EFE, 21/8/06) 

August 22: Activist Martha Beatriz Roque has an unusual request for the Cuban government: stop the harassment or send her back to jail. The former political prisoner, who has opposed Fidel Castro for 17 years, says she can no longer endure the threats and insults by government supporters, who yell at her when she walks down the street, slip menacing notes under her door and last weekend banged a pistol against her window in the middle of the night. "This life has become just about impossible," Roque, one of Cuba's most high-profile dissidents, told the press in her small Havana apartment. "I would rather be behind bars than dealing with this constant harassment." Roque said harassment has been steady since July 31, when Castro announced he was ceding power to his younger brother while he recovered from stomach surgery.  Every time Roque opens her door, she's greeted with a huge portrait of Castro, hung by his supporters.  "This has been an offensive with no end," she said.  Roque says she suspects that state security agents are among her new neighbors. "Put me in a prison cell, where no one can bother me," said Roque, who sent letters to the island's Justice and Interior Ministries in May asking the government to either stop the aggressive acts or put her back in jail. Earlier this month, the Justice Ministry told her the issue did not fall under its jurisdiction and that she should contact the attorney general's office. She's deciding whether to do that or, instead, to launch a protest outside government offices in Havana's Revolution Plaza. (AP, 23/8/06)

August 22: Over 3,907 national and international physicians were graduated in simultaneous acts throughout the country, with a main ceremony at the Victoria De Giron Medical Institute. In the ceremony in this capital, Public Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera addressed those graduating, terming the school emblematic for the history of this humanitarian profession in the country. In the recently concluded 2005-2006 academic year, 1,593 foreign students from 26 nations and 2,314 Cubans concluded their medical studies, in which they received solid training in the country s 21 medical schools. (Prensa Latina, 23/8/06)

August 22: Cuba's health minister said in Havana that Fidel Castro, the Communist longtime leader sidelined by intestinal surgery, is recovering "to be able to continue permanently in the front line of combat." Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer, one of the inner-circle party stalwarts serving as top aides to Raul Castro as he temporarily holds the reins of state, commented at a graduation ceremony for doctors. "Though Fidel is absent because he's recovering, he is here because his ideas, concepts, principles and the heart of the ideology of the Cuban revolution are here," said Balaguer. (EFE, 23/8/06)

August 22: Fidel Castro is relaxing for the first time in his life as he recovers from intestinal surgery free of his excessive workload, his older brother, Ramon Castro, said. Castro handed over the reins of power to his younger sibling Raul Castro on July 31 after undergoing emergency surgery to stop intestinal bleeding attributed by the Cuban authorities to his workaholic pace. "He is better. The problem was resolved quickly," Ramon Castro told the press. "He is relaxed, resting." Ramon Castro, the farmer in the family who has kept out of politics, said Fidel Castro was enjoying some downtime since ceding the presidency provisionally to his younger brother. "He is happy because he is free. For the first time in his life he has handed over the job to Raul," Ramon Castro said.  Asked whether his brother would attend the summit of the Nonaligned Movement that Cuba will host from September 11 to 16, Ramon Castro, who will be 82 in October, said, "Sure, he is already feeling like a lion." (Reuters, 23/8/06)

August 22: Thirty members of different opposition organizations visited the independent journalist Guillermo Fariñas at the hospital, in the city of Santa Clara, where he is in serious health condition due to a seven-month hunger strike in demand of free access to Internet for all Cubans. Idania Yanes Contreras, national coordinator of the Feminist Movement “Marta Abreu” (MFMA) said that Fariñas “didn’t say a word during the visit”. “He only opened his eyes for a few seconds and his faced looked very swollen”, Yanes Contreras added. (Cubanet, 29/8/06)

August 22: More than 500 social and education building works will soon be inaugurated in Cuba, Otto Rivero, vice president of the Council of Ministers, reported. Of that number, over 100 educational centers, including the Informatics Technical Colleges in eastern Guantanamo Province, will be finished before the beginning of the forthcoming academic year. Rivero noted the remaining social works should conclude by December 2, the 50th anniversary of the landing of the Granma expedition led by Fidel Castro. (Prensa Latina, 23/8/06)

August 22: Government repressive forces and the Quick Response Brigades resorted to violence to suppress activists from the Independent Movement “Alternative Option” (MIOA) during a fasting ceremony in which the dissidents were demanding that the Cuban authorities release all political prisoners. About 40 government enforcers gathered outside the human rights group’s head office in Pedro Betancourt, Matanzas and blocked all access to the venue while yelling out threats. Several activists were arrested. (Cubanet, 23/8/06)

August 28: Tropical Storm Ernesto drenched eastern Cuba, then aimed north toward the warm waters of the open Caribbean sea and Florida. Thousands were evacuated ahead of the storm in Cuba, where the communist government regularly undertakes mass evacuations before tropical storms and hurricanes to minimize injury and loss of life. There were no reports of damage. Cubans moved cattle to higher ground, tourists were evacuated from hotels in the southeastern province of Granma and baseball games, including a pre-Olympic qualifier between the United States and Mexico, were rescheduled for earlier in the day. Train service across the country was also stopped while the storm passes. In a four-hour period, the storm dropped 3.3 inches of water in the province of Guantanamo, authorities said. (AP, 29/8/06)

August 29: Raul Castro said his brother Fidel Castro's recovery from gastrointestinal surgery was "gradual and satisfactory," the official newspaper Granma said. The statement on Fidel Castro's health came during a meeting between Raul Castro and visiting Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal, the daily said. Raul Castro, 75, informed Bilal of his 80-year-old brother's "gradual and satisfactory recovery," since he was operated on late last month and handed the reins of power to his younger brother.  He also said "absolute tranquility reigned" in Cuba and that the entire population was behind the decision "to significantly raise the war capacity and disposition" of Cuba's armed forces. (AFP, 29/8/06)

August 30: Cuba is the second country in the world, after France, to develop a vaccine against five diseases for children, to be applied nationwide starting September 1. Dr. Miguel Angel Galindo, head of the National Immunization Program, informed that Cuba will include the combined vaccination in the Ministry of Public Health’s effort to combat diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B. Under the name Heberpenta, this product of Cuban biotechnology is certified by the National Center for the Control of Medications and will be administered to babies of two, four and six months old. (ACN, 30/8/06)

August 30: The unannounced fumigation of Mexico's dugout area by zealous Cuban health workers during an Olympic qualifier with Puerto Rico briefly stopped the game when surprised players ran out onto the field. "We started smelling something strange and we all got out before we started to feel sick," said Jose Reyes of the Mexican team. Fumigators working for Cuba's Public Health Ministry have been canvassing the capital in recent days in a campaign to wipe out mosquitoes that can carry dengue, a mosquito-borne virus found in tropical and subtropical regions. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said that Cuba is taking all possible measures to reduce the existence of Aedes Aegypti mosquito, transmitter of dengue fever. “We have two challenges ahead: an urgent one, which is to reduce the existence of Aedes Aegyti to zero; and a second one, which is to analyze how we can avoid the appearance of dengue again”. “We need to go to the roots of this”, Lage added. He also commended the will and cooperation of the State and the population, and noted the problem will not be solved simply by fumigating. CNN, AFP, Prensa Latina, 31/8/06)

August 31: A dissident journalist who refused to eat solid foods for nearly seven months in his demand for full Internet access for all Cubans ended his hunger strike, his mother said. His mother, a retired nurse, said that "I saw he was in very bad shape. He was not going to be able to stand more than 72 hours in that state" and after talking by telephone with dissidents Bertha Antunez and Martha Beatriz Roque, and with neurosurgeon Hilda Molina, they managed to convince Fariñas to abandon his hunger strike. Fariñas decided to end the strike itself "but not his demands on the government, which he will keep alive in other ways, starting the moment he finishes his recovery," according to a communique released by the banned Assembly to Promote Civil Society headed by Roque. Cuba’s communist government has not commented on the case. (EFE, AFP, 31/8/06)