Chronicle on Cuba - October 2006

Foreign Affairs

October 1: In a report presented during its 62nd General Assembly in Mexico, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) maintains that government control over the exercise of journalism in Cuba "has clearly intensified" following Fidel Castro’s temporary transfer of power to his brother Raúl. The organization elaborates that censorship is also practiced through "(…) acts of repression against independent journalists, mistreatment of jailed reporters and very strict government surveillance." (AP, 1/10/06)

October 1: Twenty more hospitals equipped by Cuba will join a previous 20 supplied by the Cuban government to Bolivia this year, said Cuban Ambassador to Bolivia Rafael Dausa. The announcement was made by Dausa during the opening of a diagnosis center in San Cristobal, in the Bolivian southern department of Potosi, at which Bolivian President Evo Morales was also present. Dausa said equipments will be supplied soon, with the help of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which will also finance acquisition of 200,000 lenses for people learning to read and write by means of Cuban method "Yo Si Puedo." (Prensa Latina, 1/10/06)

October 2: Criticism of Cuba and Venezuela over freedom of expression there and of Mexico for a decrease in security for reporters are the focus of the annual meeting of the Inter American Press Association, which began in Mexico City. The opening ceremony of the 62nd IAPA general assembly was presided over by Mexican President Vicente Fox, IAPA chief Diana Daniels of The Washington Post Company and the president and director general of the Mexican daily El Universal, Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, all of whom are on the host committee. In an analysis of the regional journalism panorama, Daniels said that "big question marks still remain concerning Cuba and Venezuela" and she called for attention to be paid to the circumstances of "the 24 independent journalists imprisoned" on the Communist island. She said that those professionals are "true heroes of freedom of expression who remain locked up for daring to exercise their rights." "We will continue our struggle until the last journalist (in Cuba) is freed" and all of them are allowed to exercise their basic human rights, Daniels said. (EFE, 2/10/06) 

October 4: Mexican president elect Felipe Calderón expressed his decision to maintain cordial relations with Venezuela and Cuba, which governments questioned his narrow electoral victory over leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Calderón said that he will seek closer relations with the countries of Latin America, "including Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba. I hope that such willingness is mutual." (AP, 5/10/06)

October 4: The Costa Rican President, Oscar Arias, rebuffed an allegation made by the Cuban press that he was "militarising" the Costa Rican police to curb opponents of his government. The allegation, published in the official Cuban daily Granma on 3 October, is the latest chapter in the quarrel between Arias and the Cuban administration. Arias recently advocated "regime change" in Cuba. The Granma article accused Arias of being "a representative of the Costa Rican agricultural elite" and of "militarising" the police to curtail opponents of his administration. The article went on to say that Arias was using "coercive politics" and carrying out "political trials" to silence the opposition. Arias considered Granma's allegations "ridiculous". He said they were "typical of a dictatorial regime where only the official media is allowed". He went on to say that his opponents were "on the streets and can tell me whatever they want" while the opposition in Cuba had to flee into exile or are in prison. Arias, however, made sure he is not seen as a pawn of the US. He also criticized the US administration for the embargo on Cuba, which to his mind just helps to perpetuate the Cuban dictatorship. (Latin News Daily, 5/10/06)

October 4: Cuba pointed out to the UN Disarmament Commission that just 10 percent of the current money spent on military build-up would help meet UN Millennium Development Goals. Cuban Ambassador to the UN Rodrigo Malmierca repeated his nation´s proposal to devote at least half those costs to socio-economic development. With the money used for weapons, the 852 million hungry people could be fed for 12 months or medication supplied for 40 years for the 38 million AIDS HIV patients, he said. The Cuban diplomat noted that at the recent 14th Non Aligned Summit in Havana, leaders from 118 countries agreed to promote priorities on disarmament and security. (Prensa Latina, 4/10/06)

October 4: Newly appointed Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba Alí Rodríguez Araque presented his agenda before the Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, and claimed he intends "to enlarge and deepen bilateral relations, by moving forward to new stages, both regarding bilateral ties and our joint efforts in international organizations." The former Foreign Affairs Minister added that Caracas and Havana are to join efforts "particularly in the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO)," two bodies he labelled as "emblematic." Questioned about an alleged reduction in bilateral humanitarian programs, the diplomat replied: "Social missions will continue. Evidently, some missions are to change slightly. For instance, in the case of Miracle Mission (intended to provide free eye surgery), sending patients to Cuba will not be necessary as long as we have started to improve domestic capacity to perform eye surgery in Venezuela. This way, such treatment is less expensive." Rodríguez Araque declined to respond whether President Hugo Chávez' Government was considering the possible scenarios in the event that Fidel Castro dies. "Only the President and the Foreign Affairs Minister have that answer." (El Universal, 4/10/06)

October 6: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will do its best to further boost all-round co-operation with Cuba. He made the affirmation when receiving in Hanoi Cuba’s Standing Deputy Minister of Economic Co-operation and Foreign Investment, Ramon Ripoll Diaz, who is the head of the Cuban delegation to the 24th session of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee. He said the two countries need to co-ordinate more closely to increase the efficiency of their co-operation and execute signed economic contracts so as to contribute to fulfilling their socio-economic targets. (Nhan Dan, 7/10/06)

October 6: Thunder Bay, Ontario, is providing some medical assistance of a different kind to a small centre in Cuba. Several shipments of obsolete medical equipment from the old Regional Hospital have already been sent to Cuba. But last week, a medical team, including two local orthopedic surgeons, also arrived to help teach surgical procedures. And the experience was so rewarding, they're already planning a return visit. The group of volunteers made the day for many people when they offered their materials and knowledge to hospital staff in Cuba. Dr. David Puskas and Dr. Tracy Wilson, led by Dr. Jerome Harvey, spent a week at the hospital in Placetas, Las Villas province, teaching the surgeons different techniques on performing surgery. The two Thunder Bay doctors demonstrated these techniques, while performing shoulder surgery and twelve knee scopes on patients at the Cuban hospital. Wilson says they didn't think twice about joining this organization to help the people of Placetas. (Thunder Bay’s Source, 6/10/06)

October 7: Fourteen Cuban raft people traveling on a flimsy makeshift craft were rescued by a cruise liner oin the Caribbean Sea, just off the coast of Cozumel Island, where they were handed over to immigration authorities. (AFP, 7/10/06)

October 9: A nine-year-old Vernon, British Columbia, girl who has allegedly been forced to stay behind in Cuba after her mother got in trouble with the law may not be able to get much help from Foreign Affairs. Dunia Garcia, 25, a Cuban-born permanent resident of Canada, says her daughter, Amanda, was not allowed to return home with her after an August visit to Cuba. Catherine Gagnaire, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, declined to say what role the government is playing in getting the girl home. Ms. Gagnaire said Canada has little influence on cases involving citizens of Cuba. Cuba does not recognize dual citizenship and anyone born in Cuba is considered a Cuban citizen while in Cuba. Ms. Garcia said Amanda is "doing fine" and staying with relatives in Havana. Ms. Garcia was charged with assault after an incident with a police officer. After being released, officials ordered her daughter to stay behind to ensure the mother would return to the country to deal with the charge. (Ottawa Citizen, 10/10/06)

October 9: "After two and a half years, the medical mission to Guatemala has been a very rich experience that has fostered human and revolutionary values," said doctor Yoandra Muro, who headed the Cuban medical brigade to that Central American nation. The first Cuban doctors arrived in Guatemala on the heels of the devastating passage of Hurricane Mitch through that country in 1998. At that time, a small medical team arrived at the southern Guatemalan port town of San Jose, while another group went to the town of La Tinta, a remote settlement in the northern department of Alta Verapaz. Today 350 Cuban medical specialists are offering assistance in 17 of Guatemala's 22 departments,  Dr. Muro told the press. (Prensa Latina, 9/10/06)

October 9: China, Russia, South Korea and Japan quickly joined the United States in condemning North Korea for its reported test of a nuclear weapon. Cuba's communist government did not comment on North Korea's reported test. In Havana, state media only carried a news dispatch from Pyongyang, without offering a point of view. (AP, 9/10/06)

October 9: A Cuban proposal to control air quality was one of the issues of the International Conference of Atmospheric Chemistry and its inter-phases held in Cape Town, South Africa. Barbaro Moya, researcher of the Meteorological Center in the western Cuban province of Matanzas, and delegates to the event, told the press that the action plan opened spaces for the future collaboration between the island and other nations. The expert stated the project is in a phase of development in Matanzas, towards a monitoring network for decision-making. (Prensa Latina, 9/10/06)

October 10: Cuba has warned on high tensions within international political and diplomatic circles in the coming next days, when the UN will begin debating severe sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The international measures against the Asian country are based on its recent nuclear test, according to the official note appearing in Granma daily. (Prensa Latina, 10/10/06)

October 11: China and Cuba signed in Beijing a five-year agreement to cooperate in the field of meteorology, Cuban diplomatic sources reported. Fernando Gonzalez Bermudez, acting minister of Science, technology and Environment (CITMA), and Zheng Guoguang, deputy director of the Chinese Meteorological Administration, inked the document. The accord establishes and regulates bilateral collaboration on weather changes, meteorological satellites and their applications to other spheres, impact of natural disasters, and monitoring wind resources. Likewise, the parties agreed to collaborate in environment issues like damage due to droughts, flooding and forest fires. (Prensa Latina, 11/10/06)

October 10: Honduras announced that it will send an ambassador to Cuba in 2007, 45 years after the staunch US ally pulled its diplomatic representative from the communist-run island. Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez said that President Manuel Zelaya already was considering candidates for the January posting. Honduras withdrew its ambassador in 1962 after the US imposed an embargo against Fidel Castro's administration. The government re-established diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2002 but still has no ambassador in Havana. Cuba sent an ambassador back to Honduras four years ago. Jimenez said Zelaya wants to "open Honduras to the world" and had discussed the matter with Washington. (AP, 11/10/06)

October 11: A Cuban doctor who claims to have fled Venezuela and Chile went on a hunger strike on the Panamanian border with Colombia in an attempt to obtain refugee status, confirmed Pablo Pérez, director of the National Office for Refugees (ONPAR). The Cuban is currently at Obaldía’s Port, after entering Panama illegally from Colombia. (AFP, 11/10/06)

October 11: A group of political personalities who participated in the Forum 2000 conference recently concluded in Prague sent a letter to acting Cuban leader General Raúl Castro, petitioning for neurosurgeon Hilda Molina to be allowed to leave the country. "We write to you as president of Cuba, but also as a father and grandfather," former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and French philosopher Andre Gluckman said in the letter. (El Nuevo Herald, 12/10/06)

October 13: A protocol of the 25th meeting of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Cuba’s inter-governmental economic, scientific and technological consultative committee, and a protocol on exchange of commodities in 2007, were inked in Pyongyang. Present at the signing ceremony from the Korean side were Rim Kyong-man, minister of foreign trade, and officials concerned and from the opposition side were members of the Cuban government economic delegation headed by Ramon Ripoll Diaz, first vice-minister of foreign investment and economic cooperation, and Ruben Perez Valdes, Cuban ambassador to the DPRK. (KCNA, 13/10/06)

October 13: Eastern European officials urged anti-Castro groups to present a united front against Cuba's government and cautioned against banning political leaders there from involvement in any future government. The officials shared their countries' experiences transitioning from communism to democratic societies in a daylong forum on the future of Cuba, hosted by Florida's Cuban-American congressional delegation and Governor Jeb Bush, and attended by more than 300 people. "We were subject to an embargo. We suffered, and the regime continued," Poland's assistant secretary of foreign affairs, Witold Waszczykowski, said. "They need the contact. They need to see that we are not the bad guys." Waszczykowski cautioned against excluding communist leaders from helping craft a new government, comparing possible problems to the situation in Iraq, in which the government and military was disbanded. Poland held its first partially free elections in 1989. By bringing former leaders to the table as Poland did, the communists will be invested and take responsibility for the new government, rather than simply trying to undermine it, he said. Opposition groups are often split, and the communist party can take advantage of that, Estonian Ambassador Juri Luik said. "When change starts, you don't have time to argue," Luik said. No one can predict what Cubans will choose to do in the future, but some Eastern European countries' experiences could serve as lessons, Hungarian Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz said. She said the growth of civic society was a slow process in Hungary. (Sun Sentinel, 14/10/06)

October 13: The Non-Aligned Movement of 118 developing nations urged North Korea -- one of its members -- to discontinue nuclear testing and adhere to the group's disarmament goals. The NAM, led since last month by communist-run Cuba, also called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and resumption of six-nation talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. (Reuters, 13/10/06)

October 14: The Japanese Cabinet appointed a new ambassador to Cuba. Akira Takamatsu, 56, new ambassador to Cuba, has served as Japanese consul general in Vladivostok, Russia. (Japan Times, 16/10/06)

October 15: The Cuban government plans to build 20 more hospitals in Bolivia, Bolivian Health Minister Nila Heredia said. Havana, along with Venezuela, has been among the biggest providers of aid to Socialist President Evo Morales since he took office in January. As of September, Cuba had built and equipped 20 hospitals, most of them in rural areas. Cuba has also established seven eye clinics in the Andean nation under "Operation Miracle," a health-care initiative being carried out by Havana and Caracas. The program was initially launched by Cuba and later joined by Venezuela, and it provides free eye surgery, especially for cataracts, to the poor, with the goal of helping some 250,000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean. The hospitals currently in operation have the equipment needed to provide diagnostic services, such as X-rays, electrocardiograms and lab tests, and are staffed with surgical and specialized personnel, the health minister said. Heredia told the press that 10 similar hospital would be set up in different municipalities, and 10 others would be established with lesser levels of equipment. Where necessary, the Cuban Medical Brigade, which has 1,681 members in Bolivia, will provide volunteers to staff the medical centers, Heredia said. (EFE, 15/10/06)

October 16: Despite the temporary transfer of governmental power in Cuba on July 31, the Cuban government continues to subject independent journalists in the Caribbean nation to "constant harassment," says a human rights official for the Organization of American States (OAS). In an October 12 quarterly report on the state of freedom of expression in the Americas, the OAS official, Ignacio Álvarez, reiterated his concern over the situation of journalists in Cuba who have been imprisoned or face other forms of repression from the Cuban dictatorship. Álvarez, the OAS "special rapporteur" for freedom of expression in the Americas, said that from the most recent period reported -- July 1 to September 30 -- independent journalists in Cuba were "arbitrarily and repeatedly imprisoned, and were physically attacked and threatened by agents" of the Cuban government. The OAS official said that he has not "perceived any change in the situation of total lack of respect for freedom of thought and expression in Cuba" since the change in power in Cuba.  Álvarez once again urged the Cuban government to release imprisoned journalists and "to respect the right of all Cubans to freedom of thought and expression." (Washington File, 16/10/06)

October 16: Cuba and Antigua & Barbuda explored ways in Havana to fight drug trafficking, which will be controlled by an accord that both nations will sign on October 20. This initiative was detailed at a meeting between Justice Minister Colin Derrick and his Cuban counterpart Roberto Sotolongo, during a one-week visit to Havana by the Antiguan minister. Minister Sotolongo highlighted the Cuban government’s total political will to quicken steps in the area of combating the drug trade. Derrick stressed Antigua & Barbuda’s interest in fostering very positive ties with Cuba in areas like health and education. (Antigua Sun, 18/10/06)

October 17: Cuba's Ambassador to Tehran stressed his country's full support for Iran. Speaking in a press conference in Tehran, Fernando Garcia referred to Iran's nuclear issue, and reminded that all the world states are entitled to the enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes. The diplomat stated that Cuba has always held a transparent stance in the face of Iran's uranium enrichment since the very beginning of the issue, and stressing that the production of nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes should not be monopolized by any specific group or power, he underlined, "We stand beside the Iranian nation while we are opposed to the use of nuclear weapons." (Fars News, 17/10/06)

October 17: Cuba’s embassy in Mexico will carried out an extensive agenda as part of the celebration for the Cuban Culture Day, the embassy’s cultural adviser Margarita Ruiz stated. According to Ruiz, the screening at the National Cinema of Cuban film "El Benny," premiered with great international success and candidate for an Oscar award, is one of the most relevant events in these activities. Also included is the 10th Workshop for Mexican-Cuban Fine Arts, the performance of Cuban improviser Alexis Pimienta and his group, and a Cuban dance contest. (Prensa Latina, 17/10/06)

October 17: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Cuba, Francisco Arias, congratulated the island for decreasing differences between the countryside and the city, a local source reported. The FAO representative, on occasion of the World Food Day being held every October 16, visited an urban agriculture center in the capital suburb of Alamar. During the tour, Cuba's Deputy Agriculture Minister Jose Puente, stated that his country is engaged in over 130 technical cooperation projects, sponsored by the FAO. (Prensa Latina, 17/10/06)

October 17: The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, defended the socialist Government’s efforts to seek "the best relations possible" with Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia as it does with the rest of the Latin-American countries. He emphasized that the most important thing is to maintain a dialogue with all of them, “regardless of who it is" that is ruling in each State. (Europa Press, 17/10/06)

October 16: Cuba would pursue in providing assistance to Ethiopia in the efforts being made to improve the sports and youth sector, Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Investment and International Cooperation said. While conferring with Ethiopian State Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdissa Yadeta, Ramon Ripoll said Cuba would provide the necessary assistance to the efforts geared towards producing skilled manpower needed to improve the sports sector in Ethiopia. According to the Deputy Minister, Ethiopia could draw lessons from Cuba in the youth and sports sector. (AllAfrica.Com, 18/10/06)

October 19: A press freedom watchdog accused Cuba of trying to prevent people from reading independent media, saying less than 2 percent of Cubans connect to the Web at closely monitored Internet access points. "In a country where the media are under the government's thumb, preventing independent reports and information from circulating online has naturally become a priority," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report on Cuba. Cuba, like China, controls access to the Internet. Direct access to the World Wide Web is generally only available to government-approved individuals, though passwords can be purchased on the black market. "With less than 2 percent of the population online, Cuba is one of the world's most backward countries as regards Internet usage," RSF said. "This is quite surprising in a country that boasts one of the highest levels of education in the world," it added. Internet access points such as the 'Correos de Cuba' Internet cafes were closely monitored, RSF said, and messages seemed to be scanned for suspect keywords, such as those linked to dissidents, which trigger the shutdown of programmes. [Going Online in Cuba] (Reuters, 20/10/06)

October 19: Solidarity actions among nations are essential to the fulfillment of the UN's Millennium Goals draw up in 2001, said the President of Cuba's parliament at the opening session of the 13th Ibero-American conference on youth. Ricardo Alarcon said one of the main principles of the Ibero-American Youth Organization (OIJ) is to speak out for the creation of global alliances for development that could be instrumental in the attaining of the UN's goals for the millennium. Alarcon cited the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, the reduction in infant mortality and the guarantee of worldwide primary education as attainable goals. He also pointed to equality of gender and the fight against HIV/AIDS as achievable targets. (ACN, 20/10/06)

October 19: Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he was disappointed that Fidel Castro, the ailing leader of communist Cuba, had missed his chance to implement a "democratic opening."  "I am a lover of the Cuban Revolution," Lula, his country's first democratically elected leftist, who has had fairly warm relations with Cuba, told the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo in an uncharacteristic criticism. "I only regret that Fidel Castro did not carry out a process of political opening while he was alive," Lula added, apparently misspeaking on the state of Castro's health. "In my opinion, (Castro) could have taken Cuba on a great leap forward. He did not do it. Now Raul has taken over the interim presidency and I do not know what he will do, but I think that our (Cuban) comrades missed their chance to move closer to democracy," said Lula, a founder of the Workers Party. (AFP, 19/10/06) 

October 19: Cuba expressed its satisfaction with the content of the main proposals to be discussed at the 16th Ibero-American Summit, scheduled to take place in Montevideo from November 3-5, an official source said. “To date, the principal documents are in line with our expectations,” Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno told Prensa Latina. The high-ranking official attended a meeting of national coordinators, the final one prior to the meeting of heads of state and government, in order to discuss and clarify details on the content of the Montevideo Commitment. Moreno said that his delegation feels satisfied with the Special Communiqués that are to be endorsed at the highest level of the meeting. (Granma International, 19/10/06)

October 20: A total of 36 Cuban raft people, including an 18-month old baby, were intercepted in Cancún, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in neighboring Isla Mujeres, reported sources with the local police and the Navy. The arrivals of four rafts loaded with the Cuban illegal immigrants were detected in the span of just 36 hours. (AFP, 23/10/06)

October 21: According to the daily “El Universal”, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez may have “rushed” to Cuba recently. "Reliable Venezuelan sources revealed in Washington that President Chávez traveled to Havana to bid his farewell to the Commander in Chief," claimed the publication. It acknowledged, however, that the Venezuelan president’s trip had not been confirmed by Caracas. (EER, 23/10/06)

October 23: New countries have moved ahead of some Western democracies in the fifth annual Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index, while the most repressive countries are still the same ones. “Unfortunately nothing has changed in the countries that are the worst predators of press freedom,” the organisation said, “and journalists in North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Burma and China are still risking their life or imprisonment for trying to keep us informed. These situations are extremely serious and it is urgent that leaders of these countries accept criticism and stop routinely cracking down on the media so harshly. [World Wide Press Freedom Index 2006] (RWB Press Release, 23/10/06)

October 23: A collaboration agreement in the area of science and technology was signed between Cuba and the Republic of Serbia. The agreement was signed in the Serbian Ministry of Science and Technology, Belgrade, by professor Doctor Alexander Popovic and Fernando Gonzalez Bermudez, according to a press note from the Cuban Embassy in Belgrade. (Prensa Latina, 23/10/06)

October 23: The speaker of Cuba's legislature criticized the silence of European countries in the face of almost half a century of the "extraterritorial policy" embodied by the US economic embargo against the Communist-ruled island. Ricardo Alarcon said on state television that the economic, trade and financial embargo that the United States has been maintaining against Cuba since the early 1960s also affects the countries of Europe and those of other continents. (EFE, 23/10/06)

October 24: With the aim of reinforcing the over 30-year bilateral ties, the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry`s Sub-Saharan Africa director, Ivan Mora Godoy, arrived in Luanda. On his arrival in Luanda`s 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, the diplomat informed to the press that he will examine, with the Angolan authorities, proposals to strengthen the brotherhood between both countries. Ivan Mora Godoy, who will be received in an audience by the Foreign Affairs minister, João Miranda, is carrying a message from the Cuban Foreign Affairs minister, Felipe Pérez Roque. "On the message, it is stated Angola’s recognition in helping to solve various matters, mainly in Africa" he said. (Angola Press, 25/10/06)

October 24: Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon will tour Spain, Belarus, and Russia where he will hold bilateral meetings and attend an international event against imperialism, sources in Havana reported. Alarcon told the press that in the scheduled meetings he expected to raise issues of common interest and the reality of the situation in Cuba, besides strengthening relations with the legislative organs. He said he will attend the Second International Meeting against Imperialism in Oviedo, Spain, from October 25-28, and will discourse on data manipulation and control by the monopolies. (Prensa Latina, 25/10/06)

October 24: The former No. 2 man of the Sandinista government and brother of the ex-president who is leading polls in a bid to regain that job says he is concerned about Nicaragua eventually being lumped with Cuba and Venezuela in a perceived anti-US axis. But Humberto Ortega, erstwhile longtime defense minister under his brother Daniel's 1979-90 leadership of the Central American nation, said in Managua that he had a long talk recently with his sibling in which Daniel said he too wants to avoid being closely identified with Cuba and Venezuela. "It would be painful for the country if we were considered part of a Castro-Chavez-Ortega axis," Humberto, a retired army general, told Managua's Canal 10 television station. "I don't see that axis, but Daniel's opponents are talking about it," he said. Raul Castro for the past three months has been exercising the provisional presidency of Cuba, replacing an ailing Fidel who underwent intestinal surgery in late July. "I've kept up a relationship with Raul Castro and talk with him," said Humberto. "It seems to me that Cuba doesn't exercise a significant presence these days, because Cuba is enclosed in its own set of problems and no longer has the capacity to be wielding great influence the way it did in the 1980s with us." (EFE, 25/10/06)

October 24: The ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, His Holiness, Bartolomeo sent Fidel Castro a message wishing him a speedy recovery. In a meeting with Cuban ambassador to Greece Hermes Herrera, the Patriarch was interested in knowing about the health of the Cuban Revolution leader, and he thanked Fidel for his support of the Orthodox Church on the island. His Holiness Bartolomeo recalled a religious ceremony recently held in Salonica, the second capital city of Greece, where he made reference to Fidel Castro and the Orthodox Church in Cuba. (Radio Habana Cuba, 24/10/06)

October 24: Representatives from Cuban religious institutions from across the island are meeting at Havana’s Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to participate in the second edition of the Cuban Clerical Forum and address slanderous statements made by the Czech Republic Ecumenical Council against Cuba. "It is not love but submission and surrender to a [US] master whom they want to please that has led the Czech Republic Ecumenical Council to issue a slanderous statement against Cuba and interfere in the island’s internal affairs," said Reverend Rafael Columbie. The event was called to give a direct reply to statements made by Jitka Klubalova, general secretary of the aforementioned Ecumenical Council, who said that Christians in Cuba should not back government-supported institutions, alluding to the Cuban Council of Churches. Reineirio Arce, dean of the Matanzas-based Evangelical Seminary, pointed out that this disrespectful attitude contrasts with that of other churches that have fully supported Cuban Christians with no interference whatsoever and expressed his gratitude to the World Council of Churches, for its flat out rejection of the Czechoslovakian council’s statements. (Granma, 24/10/06)

October 25: Guatemala Vice President Eduardo Stein began a visit to Cuba with a high-level delegation, to augment bilateral relations in several fields. The entourage is made up of deputy ministers of Health, Energy, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Economy, Culture and Sports, the Presidential Commissioners of Tourism and Human Rights, as well as a group of businesspeople. "The agenda is quite large and the aim is to retake the level links had when they were renewed in 1998," said Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Fernando Andrade, member of the delegation and former counselor of the Guatemalan embassy in Cuba. In statements to the press, Andrade highlighted his country's will of increasing areas of cooperation and exchange, above all, in health, energy, biotechnology and security. (Prensa Latina, 25/10/06)

October 25: Canadians who hold a second citizenship from a country considered a security risk by the United States cannot apply for some jobs at Montreal-based CAE Inc., a multinational company that produces flight simulators. The company's job postings state that a number of positions are restricted to people who comply with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which prevent dual citizens from 17 countries, including China, Cuba, Syria and Lebanon, from working on US military contracts. (Globe and Mail, 25/10/06)

October 25: Cuban ambassador to Bolivia Rafael Dausá said his country is to back Bolivia in the bid to occupy a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council in representation of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (Grulac), if Bolivia is nominated "by consensus." "Our vote was for Venezuela. Venezuela has announced it could withdraw in favor of Bolivia. In this case, obviously we would have no problem to consider Bolivia as the candidate to the Security Council," the diplomat told radio station Erbol. He clarified, however, that Grulac wants to have "a candidate chosen by consensus so that no more ballots are needed, and which is accepted by all the countries in the region." "If Bolivia was the candidate, we would be worthily represented at the Security Council." (El Universal, 25/10/06)

October 25: The President of the General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias, Maria de Jesus Alvarez, received Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly to discuss topics of mutual interest. During talks, held at the head office of the General Assembly in Oviedo, Alarcon and Alvarez spoke about the history of immigration of people from Asturias to America, especially to Cuba. The Cuban leader also met with the spokespersons from the three parliamentary groups in Asturias: Rodrigo Grossi, from the Partido Popular; Fernando Lastra, from the Partido Socialista; and Noemi Martin, from the Partido Izquierda Unida. The Cuban vice president is in Asturias to participate in the Second International Seminar for World Progress. (Granma, 26/10/06)

October 26: The Governor of Michoacan, Mexico, Lazaro Cardenas Batel, opened a new state-of-the-art ophthalmic center donated by Cuba to the local general hospital that will be able to treat thousands of patients free. Cuban Ambassador to Mexico Jorge Bolanos noted that 2,500 locals underwent eye surgery in Cuba, and it was decided to consolidate the surgical infrastructure within Mexico to continue treating the patients. (Prensa Latina, 26/10/06)

October 26: Some 100 UN member countries officially expressed their opposition to the over 40-year economic blockade the United States has maintained against Cuba, and urged annulment of this coercive measure. The report contains evaluations by 20 UN bodies that disqualify the sustained practice of this policy in the US hostility against Cuba. UN diplomats confirm that this report, drafted by the UN secretary general, is a substantiation of the global consensus of rejection of the extraterritorial character of the US blockade. (Prensa Latina, 26/10/06)

October 27: Cuba’s expertise in preventive medicine and energy saving experiences are on the table as part of official contacts with Guatemala Vice President Eduardo Stein during his second day of visiting the island. Stein’s agenda included meetings with Public Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer and Basic Industry Minister Yadira Garcia. The encounter with Balaguer will be used to tackle aspects of the medical collaboration and professional training, while that of Garcia is to learn more details of the government’s program to save energy and substitute high-consumption equipment, denominated in Cuba the Energy Revolution. (Prensa Latina, 27/10/06)

October 29: The Ladies in White, wives and relatives of Cuban political prisoners, petitioned the heads of State and Government attending the Ibero-American Summit to be held November 3-5 in Uruguay, to intercede for the "immediate and unconditional" release of their incarcerated relatives in Cuba. (EFE, 29/10/06)

October 30: Cuba is one of the priorities of Belarus' foreign policy, official information sources quoted Aleksandr Lukashenko as saying while receiving Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly of the People's Power. The two nations have been connected by warm relations since the times of the former USSR, the Belarusian leader said. He pointed out that after the collapse of the USSR, Belarus was in fact the only post-Soviet country that preserved its ties with Cuba at the former level. "Belarus and Cuba have a huge potential for the development of bilateral cooperation," Mr. Alarcon said at the meeting. "Cuba has long had a good attitude to Belarus." He handed a message of greetings from Fidel and Raul Castro, as well as from all the Cubans, who he said watched and heard Mr. Lukashenko's speech at a summit of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in Havana this past September. According to Mr. Alarcon, the Cubans are happy about the "success and progress that Belarus has achieved."  "We express a feeling of solidarity with your country and your people," he said. (BelaPan, 30/10/06)

October 30: The Spanish Secretary of State for Ibero-America, Trinidad Jiménez, announced her plans for an official visit to Cuba within the next "six to eight months," and warned against foreign interference in the post-Castro period because "it leads nowhere" “Obviously, we are all asking ourselves what is going to happen with Cuba and the answer is, ‘That is something for the Cuban people to decide.’ (...) When I speak of the Cuban people, I mean the Government and society at large, who will be determining the pace, timing and changes that may be coming about," she indicated. In her opinion, it has already been "well demonstrated" that outside interference "leads nowhere." (Europa Press, 30/10/06)

October 31: A father whose son died on holiday in Cuba has demanded to know why his body was returned with his lungs, kidney and part of his brain missing. Andrew Redfern, 37, from the Wirral, Merseyside, UK, died after slipping and hitting his face on a marble floor in a hotel lobby in Havana in August. When his body underwent post-mortem tests in the UK it was discovered that several of his organs were missing. His father, Lawrence, from Inverness, said he had no idea what had happened. Mr Redfern, 58, said: "If his organs were taken for transplants then I wouldn't have minded but nobody mentioned anything. "Somebody just removed them without asking permission and no one seems to know why." (BBC, 31/10/06)

October 31: Fidel Castro congratulated his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for his re-election to lead Brazil’s destination for another four years. In the message broadcast by the Cuban Television, Castro said, "Dear Lula: I never doubted that your victory will be the best for Latin America and Brazil." "So, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you for your triumph," concludes the text. (Prensa Latina, 31/10/06)

October 31: The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples convened the friends of Cuba to join the 50 Anniversary of Granma International Brigade. With deadline set November 15, the (November 27 to December 10) brigade will be an excellent opportunity to know Cuba and its people, said an ICAP source. In addition to better understanding Cuba's reality the goal is to do voluntary work in agriculture and other fields of Cuban production. The brigade will attend Fidel Castro's birthday organized by the Guayasamin Foundation, the ceremony on the 50th Anniversary of Granma Yacht landing and beginning of guerrilla warfare in Cuba. (Prensa Latina, 31/10/06)