Chronicle on Cuba - June 2008
Foreign Affairs
June 2: The President of Namibia's Parliament, Theo-Ben Gurirab, paid homage to Cuban National Hero Jose Marti during an official visit to the island. In statements to the press after the ceremony, Gurirab reiterated the support of his people with Cuban struggles, in particular in favor of the release of the five Cubans imprisoned in the US since 1998. He noted that the Namibian parliament recently passed a motion demanding the immediate release of the five men known as the Cuban Five: Gerardo Hernandez, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez and Ramon Labañino. (ACN, 2/6/08)
June 2: Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura leads Cuba's delegation at the opening of a conference in Rome on the global food crisis. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization called the summit at the end of last year to discuss the dangers of climate change on food security throughout the world. The Cuban delegation was welcomed at the Ciampino airport by FAO Deputy General Director Modibo T. Traore, who is also FAO’s representative for Africa. The Caribbean delegation is also comprised of Vice President Esteban Lazo; the head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party, Fernando Remirez de Estenoz; Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque; and Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Deputy Minister Orlando Requeijo Gual. Machado Ventura will speak in the plenary session of the event and will hold bilateral meetings with other heads of delegations. He will also attend a rally in solidarity with Cuba called by organizations and friends of Cuba. (Sun Sentinel, ACN, 2/6/08)
June 2: Europe bears special responsibility for Nazism and communism and their consequences as both totalitarian systems were first established in it, former Czech president Vaclav Havel told the international conference The Conscience of Europe and Communism. Havel said Europe had special responsibility also for man's freedom worldwide. The EU should more radically support those who fight for freedom in countries like Cuba, Belarus and Burma irrespective of any political and economic interests, he said. “This is something that the European Union recently learned the hard way when it thought -- partly out of naivete, partly out of expediency -- that a more forthcoming attitude toward Fidel Castro's regime would lead to a more forthcoming attitude on the part of Castro toward his political prisoners and dissent in general. But Castro made a fool of the EU. He released a few critically ill prisoners, secretly jailed some others and did not let some European parliamentarians into the country. Those parliamentarians who somehow managed to slip in were unceremoniously expelled”, Havel said. The two-day conference, opening in the Czech Senate, proposed that August 23 be declared the international day of victims of totalitarian systems. (CTK, 3/6/08)
June 3: Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, sent together with Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, a congratulatory message to Raul Castro Ruz, on his 77th birthday. (KCNA, 3/6/08)
June 3: Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura met with the presidents of Brazil and Iran, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, respectively. The Cuban official, who is in Rome for a High Level Conference on World Food Security organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), met in private with both leaders. During the talks, Machado Ventura was accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party. (ACN, 3/6/08)
June 3: Cuban singer-songwriters Silvio Rodriguez and Amaury Perez dedicated a concert in Beijing to the victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, China. Accompanied by flute player Niurka Gonzalez, Silvio and Amaury performed at the main hall of the Jintai Art Museum in Beijing. Amaury said they were thrilled to perform in China and were honored to contribute to a stronger friendship between Cuba and China. Silvio sang new and old songs from his repertoire. The concert was attended by Chinese Foreign ministry officials, Cuban embassy officials, Latin American diplomats, Chinese students, and other Cubans currently collaborating in China. (ACN, 3/6/08)
June 3: Cuba stressed in Rome that hunger and malnutrition are the consequences of an international world order that maintains and deepens poverty, inequalities and injustice. In his statements at the World Summit on Food Security, Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura criticized developed countries for their responsibility in today’s food crisis, which have imposed a commercial liberalization among unequal actors. As a result of financial recipes based on structural adjustments, developed countries caused the bankruptcy of many small producers in the South and they turned countries that used to be self-sustainable, into importers of food said Machado Ventura. The Cuban First Vice President, who heads the island´s delegation to the three-day summit underway at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said that the crisis can be successfully addressed at its very roots. Machado Ventura explained that the situation can not be countered with palliative measures or with symbolic donations, which would neither meet the actual needs nor result in sustainable actions. [Address by Machado Ventura] (ACN, 3/6/08)
June 4: Cuban President Raul Castro met with Dr. Theo Ben Gurirab, President of the Namibian National Assembly, who concluded an official visit to Cuba. According to Granma news daily, during the meeting, the visitor praised the solidarity and friendship bonds between the peoples of Cuba and Namibia that were born during the fight for the independence of the African country and has continued with the presence in Africa of hundreds of Cuban health and education professionals. Raul and Gurirab exchanged ideas about the situation in both countries and the development of the excellent bilateral ties. They also discussed topics of regional and international interest. The President of the Cuban National Assembly (Parliament), Ricardo Alarcon, also participated in the meeting and reiterated the support of the Cuban legislative body to Gurirab’s nomination for the post of president of the Interpaliamentary Union next October. (ACN, 5/6/08)
June 4: Cuba’s First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, as part of his working agenda in Rome, where he is attending the FAO Summit on Food Security. During the meeting, Machado Ventura and Cardinal Bertone expressed their satisfaction for the results of the trip the representative of Pope Benedict XVI made to the island in February. (ACN, 6/6/08)
June 4: Cuba's insistence that a UN summit document deal with embargoes helped hold up agreement on a worldwide anti-hunger strategy, UN food agency officials and delegates said. Delegates are trying to secure agreement on a final document on how to tackle growing hunger and civil unrest sparked by skyrocketing prices of food and fuel. Insistence by Cuba and some other Latin American countries on language condemning embargoes, notably long-standing sanctions against the communist-run island, figured in the failure of a late-night round of talks to reach agreement, said Nick Parsons, a spokesman for the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the summit host. The United States, a huge aid donor, opposes efforts to condemn the long-running embargo. The US delegation refused comment on the embargo snag because the closed-door negotiations were still in progress. At least one delegate said there was much effort to overcome the embargo snag. "I think we must not confuse the goal of this summit with political goals," said Alberto Lopez, a member of the Spanish delegation. "We are looking for an agreement to solve the dramatic situation" of widening hunger in the world, Lopez told The Associated Press. "We cannot have political declarations coming at the advantage of a single nation." (AP, 5/6/08)
June 5: The United Nations food summit sputtered to a close with a pledge to take “urgent” action on the global food crisis, but making no efforts to curb the rapidly expanding biofuels industry or quickly break down trade barriers. Under pressure from the United States, Brazil and other countries with massive biofuels industries, the delegates watered down the declaration's biofuels' statement. The final document of the United Nations-sponsored World Food Summit was adopted by the "committee of the whole,'' which included all the countries participating in the conference, over the objections of Argentina, which wanted to delete a reference to minimizing "restrictive'' measures, code for trade barriers. Cuba and Venezuela also made statements objecting that the group failed to recognize a "right to food'' and does little to change the dominance of the US and Europe in agriculture because it does nothing about subsidies. Those two countries agreed to back the document on condition their statements were appended to it. Cuba attacked the US, accusing it of having adopted "an aggressive policy" and of having used "agriculture as a weapon of power" against Havana. (Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, AGI, 5/6/08)
June 7: Egypt and Cuba have signed an agreement whereby the two countries' nationals carrying diplomatic or special passports will be exempted from entry visas to the other country. The agreement was signed by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Costa, and Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister for American Affairs, Hatem Seiful-Nasser, during the latter's visit to Cuba, which ended on June 5, the Egyptian news agency MENA said according to a statement from the Cuban embassy in Cairo. (Xinhua, 7/6/08)
June 7: Mexico's navy said it detained 34 Cuban migrants who were in a yacht off Cancun's coast. Lt. Wilberth Vargas said navy personnel found 28 men, four women and two children on June 6 during a routine patrol near the Mexican resort. Vargas said the migrants told authorities they left Cuba on a makeshift boat and while at sea were spotted by two men in a yacht who offered to take them to the US. Vargas didn't say if the two men sailing the yacht had been arrested. Cubans are increasingly traveling through Mexico to try to reach the US by land instead of trying to get past US Coast Guard patrols off Florida. Most Cubans who arrive in Mexico are released after being held 90 days at an immigration center. (The Miami Herald, 7/6/08)
June 9: Protest actions continued in different parts of the world against the recent decision by the US 11th Circuit of Atlanta Court of Appeals, which ratified the convictions in the case of the five Cubans held in US jails. In Montreal, Canada, dozens of activists gathered in front of the US Consulate to condemn the court decision. Bearing placards and Cuban flags, the demonstrators shouted slogans in support of the release of the Five and against the decision by the three-judge panel of the Atlanta Court of Appeals, which affirmed the convictions of Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez and Antonio Guerrero. The Montreal protest action was organized by the Table de Concertation de Solidarité Québec-Cuba and its Comité Fabio di Celmo pour les Cinque. (ACN, 9/6/08)
June 9: Former Polish president Lech Walesa criticized Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, and former Cuban president Fidel Castro for the way they have led their respective countries. In a television interview, Walesa, on a visit to Ecuador, said that the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, “as opposed to Chavez”, is an “intelligent” man, although in his view “he chose the wrong way of governing the country.” “Castro believes that the communist system is a good system,” said Walesa, whose labour union played a key role in the overthrow of the communist regime in Poland, and insisted that “this system spoils hard-working people.” “Cuba is a wonderful place for mankind,” added the Polish leader, for whom “different systems should be created that allow taking advantage of what Cuba has to offer” and “fight those who abuse the working people.” (EFE, 9/6/08)
June 9: EU states are nearing a deal to permanently lift sanctions on Cuba despite protests from human rights activists and hundreds of political prisoners remaining in jail. "The time could be right because of changes undertaken by Cuba's new leadership," a EU diplomat told the press ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on the topic on June 16. "Sanctions could possibly be lifted (…) we are working on finding the exact formula," another diplomat said. The EU froze high-level diplomatic relations with Havana in 2003 after the jailing of 75 dissidents and the execution of three people trying to flee to the US. The EU measures were temporarily suspended in 2005 and are reviewed every six months. (EUObserver, 9/6/08)
June 9: Several ex-presidents and other well-known Ibero-American figures signed a statement in support of Cuban journalist and writer Carlos Alberto Montaner, in response to the “defamation campaign” launched against him by Cuban Member of Parliament and director of the official Cuban newspaper “Granma”, Lázaro Barredo. The declaration of support, circulated by the Ibero-American Association for Freedom, is signed among others by, former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, and former presidents Luis Alberto Lacalle and Václav Havel, of Uruguay and the Czech Republic respectively. The signatories express their “solidarity” with Montaner and “condemn this type of slanderous act, as one more example of the relentless attack against all those who think differently, whether Cuban or foreign, who dream of the full realization of democracy and freedoms” in Cuba. At the end of May, during a session of the Cuban parliament, Barredo asked for an extradition request against a group of individuals who have evaded Cuban justice or who have outstanding trials and now live in the USA and other countries, citing as examples the case of “terrorists” Carlos Alberto Montaner and Santiago Alvarez Fernandez Magriña. (EFE, 9/6/08)
June 9: Jamaican Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Kenneth Baugh is in Cuba for an official visit at the invitation of Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. Baugh, who is also Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, is heading a large delegation of his country to participate in the Fifth Session of the Cuba-Jamaica Intergovernmental Commission that takes place in Havana until June 10. According to a note published by Granma news daily, this visit will contribute to the strengthening of the excellent friendship and cooperation ties that exist between both governments. (ACN, 9/6/08)
June 9: In a meeting with Jamaican Foreign Minister Kenneth Baugh, Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo said, “I believe we are at one of the best moments in relations between our two countries.” Lazo said that the recent visit to Cuba of Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding “consolidated the results we had achieved, opened new paths and committed us to continue advancing in the strengthening of ties for the benefit of both peoples,” Granma newspaper reported. The Cuban vice president also expressed his government’s willingness to increase both cooperation and commerce with Jamaica. Foreign Minister Baugh spoke about Cuba’s advances in different fields, among them, research in agriculture, health and the pharmaceuticals. “We know that Cuba has been very generous with Jamaica, with the Caribbean, with the peoples of Latin America and the rest of the world. We appreciate that generosity very much,” he said. (ACN, 9/6/08)
June 10: The Fifth Session of the Cuba-Jamaica Intergovernmental Commission was officially inaugurated in Havana by Jamaican Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Kenneth Baugh and by the Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta
Lomas. There are currently 131 Cuban professionals working in the education and health sectors in Jamaica where they have worked in literacy programs using the Cuban ‘Yo si puedo’ (Yes, I Can) method, and in the Operation Miracle free eye-surgery program with more than 4,000 ophthalmological surgeries. In addition, nearly 300 Jamaican youths are studying in Cuba, 85 of them in medical schools. (ACN, 9/6/08)
June 10: Canadian activist Bella Sheer Skup was awarded the posthumous Friendship Medal, a distinction granted by the Cuban Council of State, for her restless work in favour of fair causes and her support of the Cuban Revolution. The Medal was handed over to Bella’s husband, Paul Skup, by the first vicepresident of the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP) Basilio Gutiérrez during a ceremony attended by representatives of that organization and by Simon Cridland, Canadian diplomat at the Embassy in Havana. Bella’s son Eric Skup said that, for her mother, solidarity was a synonym of mutual understanding, of restless struggle against indifference; he noted that her mother always considered Cuba her second homeland and the Cuban people her brothers and sisters. (ACN, 10/6/08)
June 10: European Union states are nearing agreement on ending sanctions on Cuba in defiance of US calls for continued pressure for democratic reform on the communist island, diplomats said. Closed-door talks on the move are continuing as EU leaders host President George W. Bush for a farewell summit in Slovenia. EU foreign ministers could endorse the step at a meeting in Luxembourg on June 16, the envoys said. The measures were imposed after a crackdown on dissent in 2003 and include a freeze on visits by high-level officials. They were formally suspended in 2005 but an outright abolition would be the EU's way of encouraging Cuba's new leadership after the February 24 retirement of Fidel Castro. "The time could be right because of changes undertaken by Cuba's new leadership," said one EU diplomat. Signs of an opening include new rules allowing Cubans to buy cell phones, rent rooms in hotels once reserved for foreigners, and an increase in public debate. "Sanctions could be lifted (…) but linked with dialogue, with a review. We are working on finding the exact formula," another EU diplomat said of the ongoing talks ahead of the June 16 meeting of EU foreign ministers. (Reuteers, 10/6/08)
June 10: A Vietnamese delegation headed by Tran Van Hang, member of the Central Committee and president of the Foreign Relations Commission of Viet Nam’s Communist Party is in Havana at the invitation of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). According to Granma news daily, this visit is an expression of the strengthening of bilateral ties between the governments and communist parties of both countries, based on the historic bonds of solidarity and brotherhood between the peoples of Cuba and Viet Nam. During their stay in Havana, the delegation has met with Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of the PCC. They have also met with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and with Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. (ACN, 10/6/08)
June 10: Following US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals of Atlanta’s decision of continuing to deny freedom to the Cuban Five, more than 50 people lined up in the pouring rain outside the US Consulate in Vancouver, Canada, to protest the ruling. According to a press release by the Cuban embassy to Canada, the Free the Cuban Five Committee-Vancouver (FC5C-Van) made the callout for this picket action immediately after the decision was announced. A statement issued by the Free the Cuban Five Committee-Vancouver was read by the coordinator of the committee, Noah Fine, demanding that the five Cubans “who were protecting their people from terrorism organized and financed in Miami, with help from the US Government against Cuba are immediately freed”. (ACN, 10/6/08)
June 10: Cuba's First Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met in Havana with Algeria's Foreign Affairs General Secretary Madjid Bouguerra to discuss bilateral relations. The officials exchanged information on Latin American, the Caribbean and African situations. They also talked about issues related to the Non-Aligned Movement, currently chaired by Cuba. Accompanying Bouguerra on the visiting delegation was Fatiha Alman, general director for the Americas of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, and the country's ambassador to Cuba Ahcene Kerma. Cuban deputy foreign ministers Marcos Rodriguez Costa and Eumelio Caballero also attended the meeting. (ACN, 10/6/08)
June 11: The dissident group Agenda for Transition asked the European Union to work in favour of the Cuban people instead of the Cuban government, and stressed that more than 200 dissidents still remain in prison in Cuba. “More than 200 political prisoners remain in Cuban prisons, including 55 prisoners of conscience from the 2003 Black Spring crackdown that triggered (the EU) sanctions in the first place and which are now due for review,” indicated the group in a statement released in Havana. Dissident Vladimiro Roca, member of the secretariat of Agenda for Transition, said that the letter was delivered to the French Embassy in the Cuban capital. (EER, 11/6/08)
June 11: The Mexican Navy said it rescued 17 Cuban rafters from a tiny coral island off Mexico's Caribbean coast. Navy personnel said the 11 men and six women were suffering from dehydration and had arrived aboard a makeshift raft with a diesel motor. They were taken to the mainland. Cubans are increasingly traveling through Mexico in a bid to reach the United States instead of trying to get past US Coast Guard patrols off Florida. (The Miami Herald, 11/6/08)
June 11: Nine Polish members of parliament and senators of the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the liberal Citizens’ Platform party have formed a coalition in support of Cuban dissidents to promote democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba. “Our mission is to work in support of democracy, human rights and the political prisoners on the island,” said MP Maciej Plazynski. (EER, 11/6/08)
June 11: “We will not accept any kind of sanctions against Cuba as we have not accepted the sanctions imposed on our country either,” said Radojko Bogojevic, Secretary of State of the Republic of Serbia. Bogojevic, who is in Havana to participate in a meeting between officials from the foreign ministries of Cuba and Serbia, said in an interview with Granma news daily that his country rejects any European approach that implies sanctions against the Caribbean nation. “You have resisted the sanctions imposed by the United States and also those of the European Union. In both cases, we believe they are unjust and we reject them,” he added. With regards to bilateral relations between Cuba and Serbia, he expressed his satisfaction at the results of his meetings in Cuba and noted that bilateral ties are very good. (ACN, 11/6/08)
June 11: Cuba demanded in Geneva that the United States unconditionally lift all valid sanctions to establish, maintain and worsen the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on the Caribbean country. The representative of Cuba’s permanent mission in Geneva, Jorge Ferrer, addressed the World Trade Organization during the ninth session that debates Washington policy in this organization, reported Prensa Latina news agency. "The end of the blockade will be the only solution to abolish incompatibility of the US legislation with the WTO rules and cease the largest violation of a member to GATT principles and the Multilateral Trading System," Ferrer noted. "The reality of the Washington trade policy is far from such formal statements and seems more like a case of do what I say and not what I do," the Cuban diplomat stressed. He recalled that a 2007 General Accountability Office document recognizes that the US government applies sanctions in 20 countries and that the blockade on Cuba is of all the group of economic sanctions with widest span. "Cuba cannot use the dollar currency in its commercial transactions, has no access to credits, nor can operate with multilateral and regional financial institutions," Ferrer said. (ACN, 11/6/08)
June 12: Cuban choreographer Lizt Alfonso has been nominated for the Canadian ‘Dora’ Awards with her show ‘Vida’ (Life), which was recently premiered in Havana. Alfonso, director of the Lizt Alfonso Ballet Company, was nominated in the categories of Best New Musical, Best Musical Direction and Best Musical Choreography. In the first two categories she shares the nomination with Canadian Kelly Robinson, co-artistic director of ‘Vida’. The ‘Dora’ Awards are granted annually since 1978 by the Alliance of
Stage Arts of Toronto to recognize the best theatre and dance productions of Canada. The award was named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish professional theater in Canada. (ACN, 12/6/08)
June 12: Armed men hijacked a bus carrying 33 Cubans and four Central American migrants detained in southern Mexico after forcing immigration agents away at gunpoint, officials said. A half-dozen assailants wearing masks and carrying guns blocked the road, stopped the bus and forced the seven unarmed agents and two bus drivers to get off, Mexico's National Immigration Institute said. The hijacking occurred late on June 11 in the southern state of Chiapas. None of the immigration agents or bus drivers were harmed. "The armed men took off with the foreigners to an unknown destination," the Immigration Institute said in a press statement. An immigration official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the assailants threatened the agents with "heavy caliber weapons." He initially said 34 Cubans had been involved. The bus was later discovered, empty near the jungle city of Ocosingo. The Cubans had been detained June 5 on Mexico's Caribbean coast near Cancun. Immigration officials said they did not know who carried out the attack, or if they were immigrant smugglers seeking to recover their charges. Migrant traffickers have sometimes been known to kidnap groups of migrants from their rivals, and later ransom them off. (AP, 13/6/08)
June 12: Mexico and Spain are calling for an easing of sanctions against Cuba in the light of recent reforms by the communist-run island. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said, "The steps taken by Cuba have a positive tint." He said the European Union should fully lift sanctions imposed after the 2003 arrest of dissidents in Cuba. They were suspended in 2005. At a joint press conference in Madrid, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his country has full relations with Cuba and rejects the US embargo, which has been in place for nearly 50 years. "The embargo has not worked," Calderon said. Calderon said Cuban President Raúl Castro is "on the right path" with recent housing reforms and an end to bans on owning cell phones, staying in tourist hotels and buying electronics. (AP, 12/6/08)
June 13: In Hamburg, Germany, Arena executive Ahmet Oner announced that Cuban boxer Erislandy Lara, 25, illegally left Cuba on a speedboat and reached Mexico. The boxer traveled to Germany on a provisional passport and signed a professional contract for an undisclosed sum. Oner offered no more on Lara's escape, saying: "We don't want to endanger anybody." Lara, who will likely fight in the middleweight division, is to make his pro debut July 4th in Istanbul. "I don't want to talk about the details of my escape," Lara said in a statement from Arena. "I am looking forward to turning professional and becoming champion of the world." Lara, the 2005 welterweight world champion, and the 27-year-old Guillermo Rigondeaux disappeared last July during the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, though Hamburg-based Arena Box Promotion announced that it had signed them to five-year contracts. The German embassy in Brazil reported that both men had applied for visas. The athletes were arrested for overstaying their Brazilian visas and returned to Cuba. (Sun Sentinel, 13/6/08)
June 13: Mexican officials searched for 37 illegal migrants from Cuba and Central America snatched from a government bus at gunpoint by armed men whom authorities believe belong to an international migrant trafficking ring. The migrants were being taken to a detention center in southern Chiapas state when about six masked men with assault rifles forced seven unarmed immigration agents and two drivers off the bus late on June 11. The gunmen fled with the 33 Cubans and four Central Americans. Mexico's federal Attorney General's office opened an investigation into the unusual kidnappings and planned to question immigration agents about the attack. Authorities believe an international smuggling ring may be involved and may be trying to take the migrants to Miami, Florida, said an immigration official in Chiapas, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give his name. The official said authorities are still trying to identify the armed men and their nationalities. A search is under way to find them. Mexico's Navy detained the Cubans on June 7, after they were found on a yacht off Cancun's coast. The Cubans told authorities they had left Old Havana on a makeshift boat and later boarded the yacht, aboard which two men had promised to take them to Florida, the immigration official said. (AP, 13/6/08)
June 15: Minister of Justice in the Mexican state of Chiapas, Amador Rodriguez, said that US-based Cuban mafias are suspected of kidnapping at least 33 illegal Cuban immigrants on 11 June, when they were being transferred to an illegal alien centre near the border with Guatemala. The Cubans were initially detained by Mexican authorities in open waters off the coast of Cancun, in the south-east of Mexico, and were going to be deported back to Cuba. However, the bus in which the immigrants were traveling was intercepted by a group of heavily armed men, who left the guards and the driver on the road before disappearing with the Cubans and four Central Americans. Rodriguez also said that authorities believe the Cuban nationals must be close to the United States now, but are confident US authorities will be able to detain them before they arrive on US soil. (Global Insight Daily Analysis, 15/6/08)
June 15: Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos will defend in Luxembourg the lifting of sanctions imposed on Cuba by the European Union in 2003 to protest the imprisonment of 75 opponents of the Castro regime. Moratinos will speak in the Council of Ministers for general affairs and foreign relations of the need to remove the diplomatic sanctions, which were suspended in 2005, to open up a dialogue with Cuban authorities coinciding with the process of change recently initiated on the communist island. Spain, along with Germany, France and Italy, is leading the effort to take steps toward dialogue and cooperation with Cuba, but other EU members such as the Czech Republic refuse to resume relations as long as there are no equal gestures by Havana toward the dissidents. (EFE, 15/6/08)
June 16: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba’s Minister of Government, who is on official visit to Tehran heading the Cuban delegation to the Iran-Cuba Joint Commission. President Ahmadinejad expressed his satisfaction with the growing trend of Iran-Cuba economic ties. "Iran and Cuba have always supported each other on the international scene," Ahmadinejad said. Cabrisas stressed that his country has always defended the stands and rights of the Iranian government and nation and considers itself as Iran's ally in its fight against imperialism. (IRNA, 17/6/08)
June 16: The Czech Republic and Sweden said they would likely block efforts to lift European Union sanctions against Cuba unless it improves its respect for human rights. Many EU countries, led by Spain, are eager to improve ties with Cuba's new leader, Raul Castro, who took over from his ailing brother, Fidel Castro, last year. These countries want the 27-nation EU to lift the diplomatic sanctions it imposed five years ago. The oddity about this debate, however, is that the sanctions are not even in effect at the moment. They have been suspended since 2005. But European Union officials, along with Spain, are pushing to have the EU scrap the sanctions altogether in an overture to show Cuba that the EU is ready to rebuild ties. Diplomats said the plan would "recognize changes in Cuba" in improving rights for its citizens. It would also continue an annual review of human rights in Cuba -- and leave open the possibility that the European Union might impose the sanctions again. But the extent to which human rights in Cuba have improved is a point of dispute. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Monday that, before his country would support ending the sanctions, it would have to see evidence that Raul Castro is doing more to release dissidents and support the rights of its citizens. "If we don't achieve any progress in human rights issues, we'll block it," Schwarzenberg told reporters in Luxembourg for EU foreign ministers talks. And Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Cuba did not even seem interested in forging closer ties, which would include talks on rights and reforms. (AP, 16/6/08)
June 16: European Union foreign ministers postponed a decision on whether to lift sanctions on Cuba, leaving the controversial issue for a summit of the 27-nation bloc on June 19. The measures were imposed after a crackdown on dissent in 2003 and include a freeze on visits by high-level officials. They were formally suspended in 2005 but abolition would be seen as EU encouragement for reforms by Cuban President Raul Castro, who took over after the Feb. 24 retirement of his brother Fidel. "The foreign ministers' debate on Cuba is postponed to Thursday," the EU Presidency said. "They have enough difficult topics to discuss today," an EU diplomat said, referring to talks on the bloc's reform Lisbon Treaty, rejected by Irish voters. (Reuters, 16/6/08)
June 16: Nine Polish members of parliament and senators of the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the liberal Citizens’ Platform party have formed a coalition in support of Cuban dissidents to promote democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba. “Our mission is to work in support of democracy, human rights and the political prisoners on the island,” said MP Maciej Plazynski. (EFE, 16/6/08)
June 16: A Cuban dissident group asked the EU to press Havana for "real" reforms ahead of a review of its Cuba sanctions, dismissing changes introduced so far by President Raul Castro as cosmetic. Arco Progresista said the "limited changes" since Raul Castro took over from his ailing brother Fidel, 81, on February 24 tilt Cuba "toward a consumer society, but are not real steps toward a democratic society." Raul Castro, 77, has allowed Cubans to buy computers, own mobile telephones, rent cars and spend nights in hotels previously only accessible to foreigners. "This year we haven't seen any political change. Nor is there a timeline for political reforms or a democratic opening," Arco spokesman Manuel Cuesta said in the group's statement. Arco did not ask for the sanctions to be lifted altogether, but said the European Union should strive for "closer relations" while forcing the Castro government to institute real political reforms. (AFP, 16/6/08)
June 16: The First Vice-president of the Cuban Council of State and Ministers, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, signed the book of condolences opened at the Vietnamese embassy in Havana on the death of Vo Van Kiet, ex Prime Minister from that Asian
nation. Machado Ventuira, who is also a member of the Politburo of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), wrote in the book: “The fruitful life of comrade Vo Van Kiet is an example of commitment to the revolutionary cause of freedom and well-being of the people of Viet Nam”. (ACN, 17/6/08)
June 17: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with Fidel Castro to discuss the world's food, energy and financial crises during a private three-hour meeting, state media reported. No details about the health of the ailing 81-year-old Castro were released by the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma in its report on the June 16 meeting. The newspaper released no new images of Castro, who has not been seen in public since he fell ill nearly two years ago. Castro's last official photograph was released in January. Granma said during the "animated and affectionate" encounter that the men also discussed the strengthening of Venezuela's state oil company and regional elections. They also talked about the need to deepen the two countries' social missions, the newspaper added. Castro gave Chavez a copy of a new book called "Fidel, Bolivia and Something More," about Castro's relationship with the Andean nation. The two also met with President Raul Castro, Granma said. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque greeted Chavez upon his arrival in Havana. Chavez said the two nations would help "ensure life and security to our people." (AP, 17/6/08)
June 17: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that Fidel Castro, 81, is "alive and well" and his brother and President Raul Castro "at the helm" of the Cuban revolution, which is "marching on to a drumbeat". Chavez, 53, arrived in Cuba to visit his convalescing friend Fidel, who on February 24 ceded power to his brother a year-and-a-half after undergoing delicate gastrointestinal surgery. "Fidel is sitting there, alive and well, thinking, writing and dictating important strategies for Cuba and our Latin America," Chavez told reporters. "Raul, he's holding the reins," he said about the Cuban president with whom he is expected to revise some bilateral agreements. "This (Cuban) revolution is marching on to a drumbeat (…) it's more alive than ever," Chavez said adding that Venezuela was on the same path. "In the end, we're one and the same revolution," he said. (AFP, 17/6/08)
June 17: Civil organizations demanded the Mexican government to explain the “disappearance” of 33 illegal Cuban migrants, captured by an armed group in Chiapas. The organizations Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) and the Cuban-Mexican Civic Association have pointed out the incompetence of the authorities to ensure the protection of detainees during transfers. “It is the responsibility of the Mexican government to follow up on this type of event and to investigate and protect not only Cubans but all others being transferred from one immigration centre to another,” said Karina Arias, a spokeswoman for Sin Fronteras. The head of the Cuban-Mexican Civic Association, Eduardo Matías López, said that “low-ranking” immigration officers may be involved in the kidnapping of the bus. “Cuban or Central American migrants are not only victims of harassment and abuse from mafia groups but also from low-ranking immigration officers who would release them for $5,000 dollars,” said the activist. (EFE, 17/6/08)
June 17: The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) deemed as “unacceptable” Havana’s refusal to allow dissident Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz to travel to Mexico to attend a seminar sponsored by FIDH. “It is unacceptable and we said as much during the opening session of the event,” criticized Gimena Reyes, head of FIDH’s Americas desk. Sánchez Santacruz, president of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), had plans to fly to Mexico City on June 14 to take part in the seminar. He already had plane tickets and a Mexican visa. (Cubaencuentro, 17/6/08)
June 17: Cuba reiterated in Geneva that the current international food crisis is unjustifiable as the world can produce enough food to satisfy the demand of the planet’s population. During the North-South Forum of the UN Human Rights Council, Cuban ambassador Juan Antonio Fernandez stressed that this crisis is the result of the inequality of the current international economic order. Fernandez also criticized the passivity with which many governments today listen to the fact that more than 850 million people starve in the world every day. (ACN, 18/6/08)
June 17: Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez Rosas arrived in Cuba on for an official visit at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro Ruz. Vazquez, who is accompanied by the Uruguayan First Lady, Maria Auxiliadora Delgado de Vazquez, several ministers, other Government officials, trade union leaders, and a group of Uruguayan businesspeople, was welcomed at the Jose Marti International airport by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. “Once again, I want to express my satisfaction at being here in Cuba, whose people we love so much,” said the Uruguayan leader. The South American head of state will have a tight agenda that includes the official welcoming ceremony at the Revolution Palace in Havana. Later, he will lay a floral wreath at the monument of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti in the Revolution Square also in the Cuban capital and he will meet with 362 Uruguayan youths who are currently studying at the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine. (ACN, 18/6/08)
June 18: A delegation from the Jamaican People’s National Party (PNP), headed by its leader and former Prime Minister Portia Simpson, concluded a working visit to Havana at the invitation of the Cuban Government. During their stay in Cuba, Simpson and her accompanying delegation held meetings with the President of the Cuban National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon; and with Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC), among other PCC officials. They also paid a courtesy visit to Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and met with the General Secretary of the Cuban Women’s Federation (FMC), Yolanda Ferrer. (ACN, 19/6/08)
June 18: Cuban dissidents have called on the European Union (EU) not to definitively end its diplomatic measures imposed on the island’s communist government in 2003. “I’m glued to the radio to see what happens, and intrigued,” said Oscar Espinosa Chepe, one of the 75 government opponents whose jailing in Spring 2003 prompted the EU to impose sanctions on the communist country. While Espinosa and 19 others - one of whom later died - have been released on medical grounds, 55 of the group of dissidents popularly known as “Group of 75″ still remain behind bars. Speaking about EU’s ties with Cuba, Espinosa told the press that the postponement of the EU meeting on Cuba was evidence of the “controversy” that exists within the EU over the possibility of lifting the measures. “I’m in favour of improving relations with the Cuban government, they should encourage the possible reforms (in progress) … but not at the cost of throwing out a series of accords. The government has not released anyone. It hasn’t given real signs of change,” he noted. Espinosa said that the lifting of the sanctions could become a victory for the most hardline elements in the Cuban government. Martha Beatriz Roque, the head of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, also criticised Spain for its effort to get the EU sanctions on Cuba revoked. “Spain can’t do that because there are ex-socialist countries that know what this totalitarianism is,” said Roque. “I don’t know what the result is going to be, but I can certainly say that the postponement indicates that there is no consensus,” she said, emphasizing that “if anyone needs to change, it’s the Cuban government and not the European Union.” (EFE, 18/6/08)
June 18: Cuban President Raul Castro met with his Uruguayan counterpart, Tabare Vazquez Rosas, who arrived in Cuba for an official visit. After the welcoming ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, both leaders analyzed bilateral relations between Cuba and Uruguay, which they described as excellent. They also discussed the need to find ways to increase bilateral trade and to promote cooperation and the exchange of experiences between the two countries. Castro and Vázquez also spoke of topics of regional and international interest. Tabare Vazquez was accompanied by Foreign Minister Gonzalo Fernandez; the Minister of Agriculture, Stockbreeding and Fishing, Ernesto Agazzi; the Minister of Social Development, Marina Arismendi; Economy and
Finance Minister Danilo Astori; Health Minister Maria Julia Muñoz; and the Uruguayan Ambassador in Havana, Jorge Mazzarovich. On the Cuban side, Vice President Carlos Lage Davila; Public Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer; Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque; Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez; Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC); and the Cuban Ambassador in Uruguay, Marielena Ruiz Capote; were present. (ACN, 19/6/08)
June 18: Uruguay´s President Tabare Vazquez thanked Cuba for its solidarity with his country in the field of health. During a visit to Havana’s Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), the Uruguayan Head of State spoke with a group of youngsters from his country and acknowledged, on behalf of his people and government, “the excellent work Cuba is carrying out in this sector and the opportunities it gives young people of humble families to bring health to other people in need.” At present, there are 361 Uruguayans studying in Cuba, while 139 doctors have already graduated from Cuban medical faculties. Another 44 medical doctors will graduate this year, while 21 students will continue their courses, said ELAM rector Juan Carrizo upon welcoming the Uruguayan President and his delegation. (ACN, 19/6/08)
June 19: Vietnam´s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung described bilateral relations with Cuba as excellent and he called for increasing investment and economic cooperation between both countries. During a farewell meeting in Hanoi for Cuban ambassador Jesus Aise Sotolongo, who concluded his diplomatic mission in Vietnam, Tan Dung favoured the promotion of comprehensive cooperation, the implementation of joint projects and the accelerated development of new plans according to the potentiality of each country. Prior to the meeting, the Cuban diplomat was granted the Peace and Friendship Medal in recognition for his active contribution to the development of relations between Vietnam and Cuba. (ACN, 19/6/08)
June 19: A fraternal encounter was held between the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, and Fidel Castro. For two hours and 20 minutes, they talked about their respective impressions of the Uruguayan leader’s visit to Cuba, and dedicated special attention to the energy situation and fuel prices. They discussed the experience of both nations in energy conservation, particularly the mass use of energy-saving light bulbs and alternative energy. The two leaders also conversed about the impact of climate change and the food crisis. They discussed rice production and the development of stockbreeding and their genetic improvement. Fidel noted the advantages of Uruguay’s climate for its production of cattle and milk, the latter of which is as high as 26-30 liters per cow. Castro presented the Uruguayan President with a copy of the book “Fidel, Bolivia y algo más”. Others participating in the meeting were Jorge Vázquez, deputy secretary of the presidency of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, and Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana City Historian. (Granma International, 20/6/08)
June 19: Several actions are taking place in different Canadian cities in an effort to pave the way for the 19th Pastors for Peace Friendship Caravan to Cuba. The Victoria Goods for Cuba Campaign called on all friends and supporters of the Cuban government to help the 19th Friendship Caravan to get on its way towards Cuba. Prior to the departure, the Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association held on June 13 a fundraising dinner in Kingston, in which about 65 people participated. The evening began with a blessing by Queen Street United Minister Laurie McKnight Walker followed by a delicious meal prepared and served by CCFA members and friends, the report described. In addition, a bus bought by the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) was loaded with medicines. The vehicle, which will be one of the five making up the caravan, was named after one of the Cuban Five men imprisoned in the US, Ramon Labanino. On June 12, Ottawa-Cuba Connection also held a fundraising dinner with the attendance of over 60 people. Likewise, in Montreal, the Table de Concertation de Solidarité Quebec-Cuba crossed the border near Champlain New York on June 15 in defiance of the US Blockade, while expressing its support to The Cuban Five. (ACN, 19/6/08)
June 19: The European Union agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but imposed tough conditions on the communist island to maintain sanction-free relations, officials said. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the bloc felt it had to encourage changes in Cuba after Raul Castro took over as the head of the country's government from his ailing brother Fidel. ''There will be very clear language also on what the Cubans still have to do (…) releasing prisoners, really working on human rights questions,'' she told reporters at an EU summit. ''There will be a sort of review to see whether indeed something will have happened.'' The largely symbolic decision takes effect on June 23. The diplomatic sanctions, which banned high-level visits to EU nations by Cuban officials, have not been in force since 2005. They were imposed in 2003 following the arrests of dozens of dissidents but suspended two years later. (AP, 19/6/08)
June 19: The European Union deal on Cuba was struck after the Czech Republic and Sweden - backed by Germany - dropped their opposition to the policy shift. "The EU's passive policy is becoming an active policy," reads the agreement's final wording distributed by the Czech foreign ministry. The new EU line is to be annually reviewed and unanimously assessed by all 27 member states, with special attention to be paid to human rights issues. "If the assessment results are not satisfactory, this EU policy will come to an end," the paper says, translated from the Czech language. When asked about what "real progress" means, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg replied by pointing to a number of Prague's priorities. They include a change in the "horrifying" situation of some 200 political prisoners and the international community having access to them. In addition, every high-level visit to Cuba should also include meetings with representatives of the democratic opposition. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Sweden has tried to establish high-level contacts with Cuba since 2005, when the EU sanctions were suspended, but was rebuffed by Havana. "We're explicit about what we expect: democratic changes, releasing political prisoners, open economy," Mr. Bildt said. Cuba said we've been "too tough in our language," he added. (EUObserver, The Wall Street Journal, 20/6/08)
June 19: Leading Cuban dissidents expressed disappointment over the European Union's decision to lift their sanctions against Cuba, fearing it could lead to further crackdowns. Oswaldo Paya said he hopes the move does not signify the EU' approval of Raul Castro's government. ''This regime has not announced any change that is significant for rights or liberty, and we know we have to conquer that ourselves,'' Paya said. "We are going to expect horrible things to happen to the opposition," said Martha Beatriz Roque, the sole woman among the 20 released dissidents. With the sanctions in place "the government was tremendously aggressive with us and with the people -- now that (the sanctions) have been eliminated, their aggression will double," Roque told the press. The decision implies "telling the Cuban government to continue violating human rights," she said. "The EU no longer remembers the 75 prisoners." Oscar Espinosa, another one of the released dissidents, said the EU decision "is truly distressing because it could encourage the most hard-line sectors within the government." The move "could be interpreted as a sign that an intolerant stance (towards political dissidents) yields benefits in the relations with the European Union," Espinosa said. The Ladies in White -- wives and mothers of the 75 political prisoners, a group that won the European Parliament's 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- also lamented the decision. "The situation in Cuba will remain the same," said Ladies in White member Berta Soler. "There will only be a change when these political prisoners are in the streets." (AFP, AP, 20/8/08)
June 19: The European Union's decision to lift sanctions against Cuba appears to be "a step in the right direction" but still must be fully evaluated, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said. The EU's foreign ministers agreed to lift the diplomatic sanctions that, despite having been suspended since 2005, impeded the normalization of relations between the communist island and the European bloc. "If it has happened (as described in the news), I think that, yes, it's a step in the right direction," Perez Roque told the press during a reception for visiting Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez. "We've seen the news, but we'll take our time in evaluating the issue, knowing the official decisions and, in the appropriate moment, we will react in an official way," he said. Perez Roque said Cuba would not accept any pressure from the EU. "Our position has been very firm the whole time, that a rectification by the European Union was necessary, that without that it was impossible to negotiate with them, because Cuba doesn't accept negotiating under pressure or under impositions," he said. (Reuters, 19/6/08)
June 20: Fidel Castro slammed an EU decision lifting diplomatic sanctions against Cuba but imposing tough human rights conditions, calling it an ''enormous hypocrisy'' in light of Europe's new rules on illegal immigration. The ailing 81-year-old former leader said in an online essay that the EU has no right to lecture Cuba on human rights given what he called the ''brutal'' immigration policy. ''At my age and in my state of health, you don't know how long you're going to live,'' he wrote on the CubaDebate Web site. ''But from now on I wish to register my scorn for the enormous hypocrisy behind this decision.'' Castro also said neither the sanctions nor their end would have ''absolutely any economic consequence'' for Cuba, which is also the target of a decades-old U.S. economic embargo. The immigration measures adopted by the European Union seek to standardize the process by which illegal immigrants are held and deported in member nations. It contains some contentious provisions, such as allowing for migrants to be held for as long as 18 months before being expelled. Raul Castro's government has yet to comment on the lifting of the sanctions. [Estados Unidos, Europa y los derechos humanos] (AP, 20/6/08)
June 20: The European Union dropped diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, defying the US and ending the "cocktail wars" with the communist island. Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development, said it was a "positive step forward. The EU-Cuba relationship has been in a state of limbo for several years. This decision clears the way for a more open and frank dialogue on a range of issues including human rights, the environment, science and technology." Mr Michel said Cuba could become eligible for EU aid. "We can now look forward to improving and deepening co-operation on issues of common interest, such as climate change or external development assistance. It is essential that the EU be in a position to accompany Cuba in any future developments. This can only be to the benefit of all sides and most especially the people of Cuba," he said. The commissioner, who visited Cuba in March, welcomed recent social reforms including changes to property ownership rights, salaries, agriculture and access to mobile phones. (The Financial Times, 20/6/08)
June 20: The status of bilateral political and multilateral relations ranging from economic and security issues have dominated the 6th Session of the South Africa-Cuba Consultative Forum. "We hope that we will discuss more recent crises [such as] fuel, food security and climate changes and more importantly to use this opportunity to discuss African crises and post conflict resolutions," said Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad, while welcoming his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez. Addressing delegates during the 6th Session of the South Africa-Cuba Consultative Forum in Pretoria, Mr Pahad said the Palestinian-Israeli issue, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Iran issues will be dealt with accordingly. The deputy minister said he was happy that Mr Rodriguez visited the country for the first time. "In hope that your first visit will be an experience that you will be able to enjoy, both to see our country and to participate in what we regard as important discussions. "We have always found our discussions invaluable, and especially now that you are chairing the Non-Aligned Movement as you have handled your chairpersonship so excellently," said Deputy Minister Pahad. First Deputy Minister Rodriguez expressed his appreciation for South Africa's permanent support it had given to Cuba for many years. (BuaNews, 22/6/08)
June 20: Hundreds of police and military sharpshooters guarded an immigration detention center in southern Mexico amid threats that gunmen would try to rescue a Cuban man being held there, a state official said. Immigration officials received several anonymous phone calls from someone saying that assailants planned to free the man from an immigration detention center in Chetumal, the state capital, said Gumersindo Jimenez, a Quintana Roo state officer. Jimenez initially identified the man as Cuban-American Hanoy Cardentey. He was detained on June 18, after authorities found his boat drifting off Quintana Roo's Caribbean coast and accused him of trafficking Cubans to the United States via Mexico. But Jimenez said that Cardentey was released after questioning, and his companion on the boat, a Cuban man, was the one being held. Authorities declined to say whether either man is linked to an attack last week in which masked gunmen forced immigration agents off a bus and then fled with 33 Cubans and four Central Americans on board. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Chiapas state. This week 18 of the Cubans walked across an international bridge in Texas and handed themselves over to U.S. authorities, according to Mexico's Attorney General's office. (AP, 20/6/08)
June 20: The president of Uruguay, Dr. Tabare Vazquez, and the delegation accompanying him, visited Havana’s Molecular Immunology Center (CIM). Devoted mainly to basic research, development and manufacture of products used to diagnose and treat cancer by way of cultivating cells, the CIM, one of the island’s 200 scientific institutions, is one of the emblematic centers of the nation’s biotechnology industry. Dr. Agustin Lage, director of this institution inaugurated on December 5, 1994, and Jose Miyar Barruecos, secretary of the Council of State, welcomed the Uruguayan Head of State and his delegation. (ACN, 20/6/08)
June 21: Brazil welcomes the European Union (EU)'s decision to lift sanctions against Cuba, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim has sent a message welcoming the move by the EU to his Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, according to the statement. In reiterating Brazil's position that favours commitment to dialogue, Amorim expressed his hope that this decision would lead to a total normalization of relations between the EU and Cuba, said the statement. The EU agreed to lift its five-year-old sanctions against Cuba, which include limits on high-level official visits and the role of EU diplomats in Cuba's cultural events. (Xinhua, 21/6/08)
June 22: Fidel Castro followed his scathing on the European Union's decision a day earlier to lift its sanctions on Cuba. Fidel branded the EU's decision "a great hypocrisy" because it is conditioned on human rights progress and democratic reforms in Cuba, and also in view of the "brutal" immigration law it passed a few days earlier that made illegal immigration a crime. “In the reflection I wrote three days ago, I stated: ‘Our country has demonstrated that it can stand up to all pressures and help other peoples’. Could Europe affirm the same thing?, Castro said “This is the second time Cuba is thus recognized by UNESCO. It is reasonable to assume that no country where human rights are systematically violated can reach such high educational levels”, Castro wrote. [Truth and Diatribes] (AFP, Radio Habana Cuba, 23/6/08)
June 22: In an article published in the official web site Cubadebate, for the third time Fidel Castro slammed a European Union decision that lifted diplomatic sanctions on Cuba but imposed tough conditions on Havana to maintain sanction-free relations with the union. The ailing 81-year-old former leader, who handed power over to younger brother Raul in February, said the EU has no right to lecture Cuba on human rights. [Los derechos humanos, el deporte y la paz] (The Scotsman, 23/6/08)
June 22: He Guoqiang, member of the Permanent Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission of Disciplinary Control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), arrived in Cuba for an official visit at the invitation of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). Guoqiang, who was welcomed at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of the Foreign Relations Department at the Central Committee of the PCC, and by the Chinese Ambassador in Cuba, Zhao Rongxian, said that this visit will contribute to the strengthening of mutual knowledge and the traditional friendship between Cuba and China. (ACN, 23/6/08)
June 23: A "clerical error" delayed the definitive lifting of European Union sanctions against Cuba, a Swedish diplomatic source said. The move, aimed at encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel era, was due to be approved by EU agriculture ministers meeting in Luxembourg. However the Swedes held up the deal as the paperwork wasn't all in place. "It's not a political problem at all, it's just a procedural issue, a clerical error," the Swedish source said. The lifting of the EU sanctions is largely a symbolic political move as the measures have been suspended since 2005. A small minority of EU member states, led by the Czech Republic, along with the Netherlands and Denmark, had been reluctant to definitively lift them, insisting that the EU should continue to press on the prisoners and wider human rights issues. (AFP, 23/6/08)
June 23: Cuba’s First Vice President, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, met with He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo, on an official visit to Cuba. Machado told He Guoqiang about the efforts made in Cuba to strengthen and improve the work of the Communist Party (PCC). He said the agreements made at the 6th PCC Plenary Session have been implemented, and mentioned a few measures discussed by the organization to boost agriculture in the island. For his part, He Guoqlang referred to the earthquake that swept the region of Sichuan, causing great human and material losses. He thanked the Cuban government, the PCC and the people for sending a medical brigade to his country to help the victims in the disaster zones. The Chinese official also thanked Fidel Castro for his reflections about the Chinese people. Present at the meeting on the Cuban delegation were Fernando Remirez de Estenoz and Lina Pedraza Rodriguez, members of the PCC Secretariat, among others. In the Chinese representation were the Head of International Relations of the Communist Party, Wang Jiarui, and other Party officials. The ambassadors to China and Cuba, Carlos Miguel Pereira and Zao Rongxian, respectively, attended the meeting. (ACN, 23/6/08)
June 23: Cuban President Raul Castro met with He Guoqiang, member of the Permanent Committee of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of its Central Commission of Disciplinary Inspection, who is heading a Chinese delegation on an official visit to the Caribbean nation. Raul and Guoqiang discussed the development of bilateral relations, which they described as excellent, and reaffirmed their willingness to continue strengthening them even more. The Cuban leader also reiterated the condolences of the Cuban people to China for the thousands of victims caused by the earthquake that devastated the Chinese region of Sichuan last month. For his part, Guoqiang gave Raul a message from Chinese President Hu Jintao to the leadership of the Cuban Revolution in which he also wishes Fidel Castro a speedy recovery. (ACN, 24/6/08)
June 23: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque began an official visit to Angola at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart, Joao Bernardo de Miranda. According to Granma news daily, this visit will contribute to the strengthening of the existing friendship and fraternal bonds. After Angola, Perez Roque will travel to Egypt to participate in the ministerial meeting of the 11th Summit of the African Union that will take place in the city of Sharm el Sheikh on June 27-28. Cuba has been invited to participate in this meeting in its condition as chair of the Movement of Non Aligned Countries. (ACN, 24/6/08)
June 23: The EU officially lifted its sanctions on Cuba in the hope of encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel Castro era. "The problems that came up during the day have been resolved. The decision has been adopted," a spokesman for the current Slovenian presidency of the bloc said, referring to a procedural error that had briefly delayed the move. The measure was a largely symbolic political step as the European Union sanctions have been suspended since 2005. It was championed by Spain, which normalised relations with Cuba last year. The political decision was taken by EU foreign ministers at a meeting on June 19, but the move received formal endorsement at a meeting of European agriculture ministers in Luxembourg. Earlier, the wrong version of the text for the decision was presented, causing a delay, the Slovenian spokesman said. The Swedish delegation noticed that an annex with conditions on the lifting of the sanctions was missing. Among the conditions tied to the lifting of the sanctions, which restricted high-level diplomatic contacts, is a clause obliging the EU to review the human rights situation in the communist-ruled island yearly. [EU resolution on Cuba] (AFP, 23/6/08)
June 23: The European Union has demonstrated its independence from Washington on foreign policy matters with a move to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, a Spanish government official said. "The EU has shown its independence and its autonomy on foreign policy because, before and after the decision, there were statements from the White House indicating its direct opposition," said Spain's secretary of state for the EU, Diego Lopez Garrido. "The White House has made it known to EU countries that it does not like this move at all," he told a news conference, but Brussels "has shown it is capable of (…) choosing its own foreign policy path." (AFP, 24/6/08)
June 23: On his arrival in Cuba, the President of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), American Harvey Schiller, praised Cuba’s role in the development of baseball worldwide. In statements to the press, Schiller said the purpose of his visit is to meet with baseball supporters to discuss how to keep this sport in the Olympic program. Schiller spoke of a meeting of the Olympic executive committee scheduled for next year, when experts will consider the inclusion of a group of disciplines in the Olympic program, and said baseball has the better chance. (ACN, 24/6/08)
June 24: The next batch of Pakistani students who have been selected by the Higher Education Commission for medical study has started leaving for Cuba. A spokesman of the Cuban embassy in Islamabad said the second group of 644 Pakistani students should arrive in the island in the course of the next weeks, joining another 330 Pakistani students who are already in Cuba. The Cuban Embassy in Pakistan has arranged different meetings with the second group of Pakistani students who have been selected for Medicine Scholarships. (ACN, 24/6/08)
June 24: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has raised his public profile in recent days, met on Tuesday with a Chinese official and told him he spends his days gathering information and analyzing policy for Cuba's leadership, state-run media reported. After almost two years behind the scenes due to health problems, Castro has re-emerged in the past week with several high-level meetings and a spate of newspaper columns, including a biting blast at what he called the "enormous hypocrisy" of the European Union. Cuban television said Castro and China's top anti-graft official, He Guoqiang, had a "cordial and fraternal" meeting that included an invitation from He to the ailing 81-year-old to attend the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Castro, the report said, spoke of "the advances of the Chinese people" and the "importance of the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics." The meeting with He, who is on a four-day visit to Cuba, followed meetings last week with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Uruguayan President Tavare Vazquez. (Reuters, 25/6/08)
June 24: The Angolan Foreign Affairs minister, João Bernardo de Miranda, said in Luanda that Angola and Cuba have an exemplary friendship and co-operation relations since 1975. The minister was speaking at the signing ceremony of two co-operation agreements with Cuba, specifically in the fields of judicial sentences execution and legal aid, during the work visit that the Cuban Foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, is carrying out to Angola. According to João Miranda there is a friendship between Angola and Cuba that is based on principles of solidarity, which bring about other elements of collaboration. "(…) We are here with Cuba in brotherhood, to project this friendship that is exemplary to us" he stressed. (ANGOP, 25/6/08)
June 24: Cuba welcomed the European Union's lifting of sanctions against the communist-rule island, saying "truth" and "reason" had defeated the punitive measures. "We never surrendered in this confrontation, because we were convinced that reason would prevail," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said during an official visit in Angola, according to the state-run agency Prensa Latina. The EU "had no other choice but to abandon its strong-arm policy," Perez Roque said. "The truth opened the way in the recent decision of the EU to lift its sanctions." It was the first reaction of Raul Castro's regime since the EU officially lifted its sanctions on Cuba in the hope of encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel Castro era. Castro, 81, described the EU's decision to end the sanctions "enormous hypocricy." He criticized the EU for demanding that human rights be respected in Cuba, while it approved a "brutal" immigration law and kept quiet about abuses committed by US President George W. Bush's administration. (AFP, 24/6/08)
June 25: The president of Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, met in Luanda with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who is on an official visit at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart, Joao Bernardo de Miranda. Dos Santos and Perez Roque spoke
of several topics related to bilateral cooperation in the areas of education, construction and public health. The Cuban diplomat told Prensa Latina that the dialogue focused on two aspects: a literacy campaign using the Cuban method ‘Yo si puedo’ (Yes, I Can) and the struggle against diseases such as cholera and malaria. Perez Roque announced that both governments will begin talks to start field trials in Angola with a vaccine against cholera produced by the Havana-based Finlay Institute. (ACN, 25/6/08)
June 25: Reporters Without Borders appealed to Raúl Castro’s government for a show of magnanimity towards the organisation’s correspondent, Ricardo González Alfonso, and other imprisoned journalists in return for the European Union’s decision on 23 June to lift the political sanctions it had imposed Cuba. The Cuban government had made this a condition for restoring normal relations with the EU. “There have been a few advances in freedom of expression and information since Raúl Castro took over as Council of State president on 24 February, with Cubans being given the right to buy their own computer equipment or enter tourist hotels that have better Internet connections,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The dialogue begun by the Spanish government undoubtedly contributed to this, just as it led to the release in February of independent journalist Alejandro González Raga and two other detainees from the 2003 ‘Black Spring’.” The press freedom organisation added: “A similar gesture is now needed with the 23 other journalists who are still imprisoned, 19 of whom have been held since the March 2003 crackdown. (…) As well as being the Reporters Without Borders Cuba correspondent, González is the founder of the Manuel Márquez Sterling journalists’ association and the independent magazine De Cuba. He was arrested on 18 March 2003 and was given a 20-year prison sentence on the absurd charge of being a “mercenary” in the pay of the United States. He has been held in Havana’s Combinado del Este prison since the end of 2004.” (RWB Press Release, 25/6/08)
June 25: Cuba's yielding of the 2009 World Cup to Europe was appreciated by the International Baseball Federation, which announced a new professional European league. The World Cup in September 2009 was shifted from Cuba to seven European nations to try and bolster baseball's bid to get back into the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee eliminated baseball and softball from the 2012 London Olympics during a vote in 2005. The committee will review baseball's success during the Beijing Games in August and the World Baseball Classic in March 2009. ''Our tentative plans also include the launch of a professional baseball league in Europe in 2010 and beyond,'' IBF President Harvey Schiller said as he wrapped up a visit to Cuba. (The Miami Herald, 25/6/08)
June 26: Chilean President Michelle Bachelet met with a visiting Cuban delegation headed by Havana Historian Eusebio Leal attending the celebrations for the centenary of former President Salvador Allende in Santiago de Chile. During a meeting with Allende’s relatives, authorities and cultural and political officials at La Moneda Palace, Bachellet greeted the Cuban delegation and recalled her visit to the Caribbean nation in 2002. The Chilean leader spoke with Leal and praised his outstanding restoration work in Old Havana. The Havana Historian, who was accompanied by the Cuban Ambassador in Chile, Giraldo Mazola, spoke with relatives of Allende, and reiterated his admiration for the former Chilean President. (ACN, 26/6/08)
June 26: Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque concluded a two-day official visit to Angola at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart Joao Bernardo de Miranda. Perez Roque traveled to Egypt to participate in the ministerial meeting of the 11th Summit of the African Union that will take place in the city of Sharm el Sheikh on June 27-28. Cuba has been invited to participate in this meeting in its condition as chair of the Movement of Non Aligned Countries. Before traveling to Egypt, the Cuban top diplomat toured the industrial area of the satellite municipality of Viana and met with the president of the Angolan National Assembly, Roberto de Almeida. (ACN, 26/6/08)
June 26: Cuba said the non-aligned countries should have a joint news agency and a TV network compared to the multinational Telesur, which has its headquarters in Venezuela. The Cuban deputy minister for foreign relations, Abelardo Moreno, said in a press conference in Havana that the initiative will be discussed at the 7th NAM Meeting of Communication Ministers to take place in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, from July 2 to 4. Cuba, as the chair of the Non-Aligned Countries Movement, presented a declaration draft and a plan of action for the creation of a NAM news agency and a TV network before the Coordination Board of the organization in New York, said Moreno, who highlighted the importance of adopting a common position to counteract the manipulation of information relevant to third world nations by certain media agencies. Moreno said it is important that the Movement creates its own mechanisms to keep the world updated on real and objective events that take place in the different NAM member countries. The NAM Between-Summit Ministerial Meeting will be held in Tehran, Iran to review agreements adopted at the Havana 2006 Summit. Egypt will take over the NAM helm in 2009. Further ministerial meetings will take place in Guatemala and the Philippines on the situation of women and cultural dialogue, respectively. (ACN, 26/6/08)
June 26: Mexico will provide police guards for all transfers of detained migrants after 33 Cubans were snatched from immigration custody by suspected people smugglers earlier this month. Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino has ordered all immigration personnel be vetted and tested to determine their honesty, and announced the firing of two immigration officials in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, where most undocumented Cuban migrants arrive. Agency officials said they did not know whether the firings were related to corruption probes. Armed men snatched the Cubans from an immigration service bus on June 11 and some were later found in Texas. (AP, 27/6/08)
June 27: Cuba proudly proclaims the African roots in its national culture and identity, stated Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who also validated Cuba’s willingness to help this continent. Perez Roque spoke on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement before the full session of the 11th African Union Summit, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Cuba feels as its own the situation in African peoples and shares with them the efforts to overcome the obstacles of underdevelopment, said Perez Roque, and recalled that over 2,000 volunteer Cuban soldiers shed their generous blood in these lands during the fight against colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. At least 400,000 Cubans shared those years of pain and glory with their African brothers, he continued, and highlighted the extraordinary relations Cuba has with the African peoples and governments. Those links are much more solid today than they were back in 1963, when the Organization of African Unity, that preceded the African Union, was founded, he said. (Prensa Latina, 27/6/08)
June 28: Cuban historian Eusebio Leal highlighted the legacy of deceased Chilean President Salvador Allende, at a ceremony in Santiago de Chile for the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Chilean President. Leal said that after the military coup in 1973, Cuba received thousands of Chilean exiles and put the names of Chilean heroes on some of its streets, hospitals and schools. He pointed out that Cuba was always the homeland of Beatriz, daughter of Salvador Allende, and that the grave of Laura, his sister, is also in Cuba. Leal highlighted the importance of a reflection by Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro, which showed the intimate relation he had with Salvador Allende. Guillermo Teillier, president of the Chilean Communist Party, Isabel Allende, president of the Salvador Allende Foundation, and thousands of Chilean citizens were present in the activity in front of Palacio de la Moneda, the presidential headquarters. Leal was accompanied by Nestor Leon, Cuban Communist Party (PCC) official, Giraldo Mazola, Cuban Ambassador to Chile and Fernando Garcia, Cuban Embassy political advisor. (Prensa Latina, 28/6/08)
June 30: Cuba doubts the viability of the July 21 ministerial meeting to boost the Doha Round talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Jorge Ferrer, Cuban representative at the United Nations and Geneva-based international organizations, said that the 30 ministers who will meet on that day do not represent all WTO members. "The pace of the process and its results must be determined by the members and by the contents of the negotiations, not by capricious deadlines set by presidents or the interests of big commercial powers," he stressed. He pointed out that meetings of the so-called G-12, which represents less than 10 percent of the WTO member countries, were held in June to negotiate key issues on non-agricultural market access. "The representatives of other groups of developing countries like the ACP, the African Group, PMAs, and Small and Vulnerable Economies, which have direct or indirect interests in those matters as well, have not been invited to those meetings," he noted. (Prensa Latina, 30/6/08)
June 30: The Supreme Court of Panama issued a unanimous ruling stating that several presidential pardons issued by former President Mireya Moscoso in August 2004 were unconstitutional. Moscoso passed decrees releasing Luis Posada Carriles and three other Cuban-born accomplices involved in an assassination plot against Fidel Castro, reports Granma newspaper. A press note read on the evening TV stated that the Supreme Court judges had declared three of the decrees—issued on August 25, 26 and 30, 2004— invalid, ordering the criminal processes against the men be reinstated. Moscoso released the men just days before current President Martin Torrijos took over the presidential mandate. (ACN, 1/7/08) |
 |
|
|
|
