Chronicle on Cuba - April 2008

Security

April 8: Russia sees no sense in deploying military bases in Cuba in response to the US missile shield in Central Europe, the Russian foreign minister said. "Our actions should be dictated by pragmatism and a search for answers that won't draw us into a new costly arms race," Sergei Lavrov told Ekho Moskvy radio, when a journalist suggested the idea. (Ria-Novosti, 8/4/08)   

April 17: In Mexico, twenty-nine countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, except Brazil and Cuba that refused to participate, agreed to put an end to cluster munitions in the framework of the Oslo Process, which promotes the global ban of this type of weapon. The Oslo Process promotes a complete prohibition on cluster bombs, a type of weapon that “commits an outrage against fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and causes indiscriminate and brutal harm to both combatants and civilians”. The only Latin-American producers of cluster munitions are Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Peru, and until not long ago, Argentina. (EFE, 18/4/07)

April 20: The need to extend the defense capacity of people faced with current US belligerence was demanded by the first International Conference on Security and Defense meeting in Havana. At the event's opening, Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad asserted that US military arrogance has made that northern nation the world's most aggressive country, as it is devoting extensive resources to military objectives. The Malaysian ex prime minister insisted that war is not the option to resolve conflicts, and noted that it has become an extremely expensive market due to its economic and human losses, especially civilian lives. However, he urgently supported military training as well as developing all possible defense capacities faced with intimidation by powers such as the United States and its allies. Mahathir Mohamad considered that the objective must be to fight for stability in the world and to not interfere in other nations' internal affairs. More than 100 delegates from 10 countries are attending the First International Conference on Security and Defense, and they were welcomed by Guillermo Rodriguez del Pozo, president of the Cuban Center for Studies on Defense Information. In his opening speech, he highlighted that the event is intended to forge well-founded proposals and formulae to face the serious problems that threaten the survival of humankind. The meeting is considered to be a contribution by the island to the scientific analysis of diverse issues related to security and defense on international, regional, and national levels. (Prensa Latina, 20/4/08)

April 21: More than 100 specialists from 10 countries began debates at the first International Conference on Security and Defense, an event which will conclude on April 23. Convoked by the Cuban Center for Defense Information Studies (CEID), the event is discussing the construction of a new security system in the Americas. Participants focus their attention on war and peace, armed conflicts, arms races, use of necessary resources for development, illegal weapons traffic and military bases. They will also analyze global problems affecting humankind, the traffic of people, migrations and the role of natural and energy resources vis a vis security. A space to discuss climate changes, their effects and how to face natural disasters also appear on the agenda. CEID, a non-governmental organization dedicated to a multilateral approach to global problems linked to national security, was created in September 2001. (Prensa Latina, 22/4/08)

April 23: The First International Conference on Security and Defense concluded with participants agreeing that the existing system in the Western Hemisphere, designed for the Cold War, must be reconstructed based on completely new concepts. Guillermo Rodriguez del Pozo, president of the Cuban Center for Studies on Defense Information (CEID), the organization that sponsored the gathering, said a new system must take into account the changing political conditions of Latin American and Caribbean countries. The three-day event brought together 139 specialists and academics including 29 foreigners from 10 countries and featured conferences by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Director of Cuba’s World Economic Research Center Osvaldo Martinez, and Raul Valdez Vivo, president of the Ñico Lopez School of the Cuban Communist Party. Del Pozo said that international security is a multi-dimensional concept and as such, several aspects were analyzed including economic, environmental and social factors. (Granma, 24/4/08)