Chronicle on Cuba - June 2009

Foreign Affairs

Junio 1: La Asamblea General de la OEA que se celebra en Honduras es una oportunidad para que el Gobierno estadounidense de Barack Obama "rectifique" la política hacia América Latina, y en particular hacia Cuba, asegura el periódico oficial Granma. "No se trata de analizar si Cuba debe o no ingresar a la OEA (Organización de Estados Americanos), sino de reparar una injusticia histórica", dice un artículo del diario del gobernante Partido Comunista. "Es hora de pasar de las palabras a los hechos y dejar a un lado la retórica anticubana. No existen razones para que Estados Unidos mantenga el bloqueo y no restablezca sus relaciones con la isla", agrega Granma. El artículo, titulado "El 'futuro' de la OEA se parece al pasado", recuerda que el presidente cubano, general Raúl Castro, y su hermano y antecesor Fidel, han reiterado en los últimos meses que el Gobierno de La Habana jamás regresará a ese organismo que lo suspendió en 1962 (EFE, 1/6/09).

Junio 1: Cuba debe seguir fuera de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) mientras el régimen castrista persista en negar los derechos fundamentales de sus ciudadanos, declaró la organización de defensa de los derechos humanos Human Rigths Watch (HRW). "La OEA no debería levantar la suspensión de Cuba como miembro pleno hasta que no termine la sistemática negación de las libertades fundamentales de los cubanos", señaló HRW en un comunicado. La OEA analiza en su XXXIX Asamblea General, en San Pedro Sula (Honduras), el caso de Cuba, suspendida de la organización en 1962 a causa del régimen instaurado por Fidel Castro (AFP, 2/6/09).

June 1: With the United States at one pole and Venezuela at the other, the countries of the Americas stood divided over ties with Cuba as they gathered in Honduras for annual talks.  Despite marathon negotiations in Washington and San Pedro Sula, envoys to the 34-member OAS said they had reached no compromise over how and when to readmit communist Cuba to the body from which it was suspended in 1962. "We have arrived at the deadline, and it's passed," a senior diplomat told reporters on the condition of anonymity, referring to the failure to clinch a compromise before the two-day OAS General Assembly begins at 9 am on June 2. And few, if any, of the envoys could predict the outcome of the event in the Honduran economic hub, north of the capital Tegucigalpa. The United States wants Cuba to release political prisoners and improve basic rights before it can return to the fold. Venezuela -- Havana's closest regional ally, backed by fellow leftists Bolivia and Nicaragua -- sets no conditions. A more flexible plan for the readmission of Cuba than that proposed by Washington has generated support from 26 of the 34 countries, such as more moderate leftist countries like Brazil and Chile, those close to the negotiations say (AFP, 2/6/09).

June 1: El Salvador and Cuba formally reestablished diplomatic ties, broken since the Cuban revolution 50 years ago. The move came after former journalist Mauricio Funes -- the first leftist leader elected here in 20 years -- was sworn in as president of El Salvador.
In his first act as new leader, Funes said he was restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba, becoming the last Latin American nation to do so. Senior diplomats from both countries signed an accord officially reestablishing relations broken since 1961. El Salvador's newly installed foreign minister, Estaban Lazo, said "they should never have severed ties with Cuba," referring to his predecessors. Funes, the first leftist to be elected president of El Salvador, also vowed to renew and expand ties with the United States, at the ceremony attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (AFP, 1/6/09).

June 2: The future of Cuba''s relations with Botswana and those it maintains with the rest of Africa and the world is "brilliant", Botswana Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Phandu Skelemani, asserted in Gaborone. Relations between Cuba and Botswana have been encouraged since Cuban Ambassador to Gaborone Jorge Luis Lopez Tormo presented his credentials recently. Any help Cuba could give to Botswana has been given. If we needed doctors, they came. If we needed sports trainers, they came, the Minister explained. Cubans, despite being subject to totally incorrect sanctions by the United States, have decided that it is not enough to develop alone, Skelemani said (Prensa Latina, 2/6/09).

June 2: Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo thanked the Cuban people and Government for their solidarity with his nation upon arriving in Havana for an official visit at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro.  “More than ever, we need a united and supportive Latin America and I think that, in this sense, Cuba has been an example for us all,” Lugo told reporters at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana.
After expressing his joy for being in Cuba, the Paraguayan leader said he hopes this visit can contribute to the strengthening of bilateral bonds of friendship and solidarity between Cuba and the South American country. Lugo recalled that this is the first official visit of a Paraguayan president to the Caribbean nation, which he described as the “cradle of solidarity in the Americas” (ACN, 2/6/09).

June 2: Cuba came closer to ending its 47-year suspension from the Organization of American States, but after working throughout the weekend, diplomats failed to come up with a way to readmit the communist nation in a way that satisfies both its leftist allies and those who insist on democratic principles. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said the divisive issue threatens the very existence of the OAS, a hemispheric group founded in 1948 that serves as the region's principal multilateral forum. If Cuba isn't let back in, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega suggested Latin American nations should form a breakaway group that excludes the United States and Canada. Several nations proposed resolutions that would lift Cuba's suspension, but with different conditions. When ambassadors could not come up with a consensus, a team of foreign ministers including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton locked themselves behind closed doors to hammer out a compromise. ''The Organization of American States can continue to exist, or collapse for lack of will,'' Zelaya said. At a news conference, Ortega railed against the OAS and its primary funder, the United States. Sources close to the talks say Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia are blocking any moves by Washington to put conditions on lifting Cuba's suspension. Another source who was included in the discussions said Nicaragua had little support. Honduras proposed the 1962 suspension be lifted, and that the next step on whether Cuba should formally engage the organization would take place only if Cuba and the OAS desired it (The Miami Herald, 3/6/09).

June 3: Fidel Castro had nothing good to say about the Organization of American States in his public pronouncement. "The OAS," he said, "was an accomplice in all the crimes committed against Cuba" and doesn't deserve to exist. Alluding to President Obama, Castro said that "it is naive to think that the good intentions of a president of the United States justify the existence of that institution, which opened the doors to the Trojan horse that supported the Summits of the Americas, neoliberalism, drug trafficking, military bases and economic crises. "Ignorance, underdevelopment, economic dependence, poverty, the forcible repatriation of those who emigrate in search of a job, the theft of brains and even the sophisticated weapons of organized crime were the consequences of the interventions and plunder from the North." After quoting liberally from the speeches in Honduras and news agency reports, Castro ends by saying: "Cuba is not an enemy of peace, or reluctant to exchanges and cooperation among countries with different political systems, but it has been and will be intransigent in the defense of its principles" (The Trojan Horse; The Miami Herald, 3/6/09)

June 3: After two days of intense negotiations, the Organization of American States agreed to lift a cold war provision that suspended Cuba from the group but also accepted a list of conditions, backed by Washington, that Havana would have to meet before being allowed to return. The compromise was a stunning about-face for the 34-nation group, which had been in what appeared to be an intractable stalemate that threatened to polarize the hemisphere. On one side, Washington had opposed any measure that would have ended Cuba's suspension - imposed in 1962 - without requiring that the island nation agree to abide by the organization's democratic principles before being allowed to return. Venezuela and Nicaragua led the opposition to any provision that set conditions for Cuba's return. However, Venezuela and Nicaragua suddenly backed away from their hard line. A Latin American diplomat said that the risk of losing United States support for the organization, which gets 60 percent of its funds from Washington, weighed heavily on the group's thinking. In the end, each side claimed victory, hailing the compromise as historic, even though it was largely symbolic. The resolution, for example, says that Cuba cannot return unless it asks to, and Havana has said repeatedly it has no interest in rejoining the group, which President Raúl Castro has denounced as a tool of American domination (OAS Resolution on Cuba; The New York Times, 4/6/09).

Junio 3: La Habana aplaudió la decisión de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) de anular la suspensión a Cuba como miembro activo de la organización. En una declaración oficial leída en la televisión oficial cubana, el gobierno dijo que la derogación de esta expulsión supone "un día histórico y de reivindicación para los pueblos de nuestra América". "Pese a presiones, condicionamientos y maniobras de Estados Unidos, la fuerza formidable de la América Latina que está naciendo hizo posible el desagravio, la rectificación histórica, la condena implícita al oprobioso pasado". Sin embargo, Cuba reiteró que no piensa integrarse en la organización, a la que considera un "ministerio de colonias yanqui". "Cuba no ha pedido ni quiere regresar a la OEA, llena de una historia tenebrosa y entreguista, pero reconoce el valor político, el simbolismo y la rebeldía que entraña esta decisión", añade la declaración (BBC Mundo, 4/6/09).

June 3: Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz presided over the official welcoming ceremony for visiting Paraguayan head of state Fernando Lugo at Havana’s Revolution Palace. Also members of the Paraguayan delegation are Foreign Minister Hector Lacognata and Health and Social Wellbeing Minister Esperanza Martinez, among other officials. The Cuban delegation was made up of First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer and Culture Minister Abel Prieto, all of them are members of the Political Bureau of Cuba´s Communist Party. Presidents Fernando Lugo and Raul Castro held official talks at the Revolution Palace with the attendance of First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura (ACN, 4/6/09).

June 4: The Honourable Peter Kent, Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas), issued the following statement welcoming the consensus resolution lifting the 1962 suspension of Cuba from the Organization of American States (OAS): “It gives me great pleasure to join with member states of the Organization of American States in a historic decision with significant implications both for the future of the OAS and for the inclusiveness of this hemispheric body”. “I would like to reiterate Canada’s strong support for the democratic principles of this organization. It is our hope that Cuba will embrace these principles. I am pleased that the spirit of consensus—a touchstone convention of this organization—has prevailed in our deliberations”. “This historic resolution lifts the 1962 suspension and sets out a process for Cuba’s eventual return to active participation in accordance with the principles, purposes and practices of the organization. Member states reiterated that our efforts would be guided by the OAS Charter and fundamental instruments relating to democracy, human rights, security, non-intervention, self-determination and development”. “Canada played an active role as a member of the working group in the negotiations resulting in this historic resolution” (ISRIA, 4/6/09)

Junio 4: El gobierno de Uruguay concedió una visa de turistas por 90 días al cardiólogo Ramón Crespo Almería y su esposa Ivette, oftalmóloga, así como a uno de sus hijos, menor de edad, que viaja con el matrimonio. Alfredo Toledo, ex presidente del Sindicato Médico del Uruguay (SMU), informó: "Crespo Almería, que es cardiólogo, en realidad tenía mucha influencia en Cuba y nosotros lo conocimos en congresos médicos en La Habana, donde nos ayudó mucho. Además, fue presidente de la comisión de salud del Parlamento Latinoamericano y miembro de la Asamblea Nacional de Cuba". Según Toledo, "todo comenzó a gestarse cuando recibimos correos electrónicos de Ramón donde nos pidió ayuda para ingresar al Uruguay y donde proyectan radicarse", pues el matrimonio está actualmente en París. "Suponemos que sólo tenían los permisos para viajar a París y retornar a La Habana", dijo Toledo a propósito de las gestiones con el gobierno de Uruguay, donde intervino "expeditivamente" la cancillería uruguaya (AP, 4/6/09).

June 4: Cuba welcomed the lifting of a Cold War-era ban on its membership in the Organization of American States as "a major victory", but made clear Havana does not want to rejoin the group. "I think it's a major victory for Latin America and the Caribbean and for the Cuban people as well," said Ricardo Alarcon, head of the Communist-ruled island's parliament. Asked if Cuba would seek re-entry to the OAS, Alarcon said the consensus vote at an OAS general assembly meeting in Honduras, changed nothing.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said repeatedly that Cuba had no desire to rejoin the OAS, which he has described as an instrument of neoliberal economic policies and US intervention in Latin America. "I don't know how many times we've said the same thing. What happened yesterday does nothing to change what we thought yesterday, the day before yesterday and even today," Alarcon told reporters (Reuters, CNN, 4/6/09).

June 4: Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos received Cuban Ambassador Pedro Ross Leal, who was the bearer of a friendly message from Cuba. Dos Santos and Ross discussed bilateral relations, further strengthened in the wake of the visits by Dos Santos to Cuba (2007) and by Cuban President Raul Castro to Angola (February this year.) They also discussed the resolution recently adopted by the 39th General Assembly of the Organization of American States abolishing Cuba's exclusion from OAS. The Cuban diplomat also met with Angolan Foreign Minister Asuncion de los Angeles. Also attending was a visiting delegation of the Communist Party of Cuba led by Rodolfo Puente Ferro, at the invitation of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. Later, Puente Ferro and Cuban Ambassador Ross also met with President of the National Assembly of Angola, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos (Prensa Latina, 4/6/09).

Junio 4: Fidel Castro se reunió durante dos horas con el presidente paraguayo Fernando Lugo, con quien conversó sobre salud, educación y las relaciones bilaterales, indicaron fuentes paraguayas. Castro recibió al presidente paraguayo en su casa, según informes oficiales de Paraguay. Lugo asistió a la reunión acompañado del canciller Héctor Lacgnata, y la ministra de Salud, Esperanza Martínez, con lo que concluyó su visita oficial de dos días a la isla, la primera de un mandatario paraguayo en medio siglo de revolución. El líder cubano, de 82 años, ''se mostró interesado en la marcha del proceso político en Paraguay'' y habló con los ministros sobre sus áreas, con particular interés en los casi 800 jóvenes de ese país que estudian medicina en Cuba, precisó la página de la presidencia de Paraguay (AFP, 6/6/09).

June 5: Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo ended his first visit to Cuba, after arriving from Honduras. Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez bid the Paraguayan head of State farewell at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. Lugo's official agenda included meeting with his peer Raul Castro, and touring the Latin American School of Medicine, where he talked with some 800 Paraguayan youth from his nation. Both leaders expressed satisfaction for the good state of bilateral relations, and ratified the will to strengthen them more (Prensa Latina, 5/6/09).

Junio 5: El Gobierno de Canadá dijo que Cuba tiene que aceptar "los principios y prácticas democráticas" para reintegrarse a la OEA, que derogó esta semana la suspensión que pesaba contra el país caribeño. El secretario de Estado de Canadá para Asuntos Exteriores en el continente americano, Peter Kent, dijo durante una conferencia telefónica que "la eventual reintegración (de Cuba) con completa participación será condicional a la aceptación de los principios y prácticas democráticas de la OEA". Kent sostuvo a través de un comunicado que Canadá había participado activamente en el acuerdo que permitió derogar la suspensión contra Cuba impuesta por la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) en 1962 y que Ottawa apoyaba totalmente la iniciativa. La declaración de Kent parecía contradecir declaraciones previas del portavoz del primer ministro canadiense, Stephen Harper, en las que afirmó que Cuba no podría reintegrarse a la OEA hasta que se transformara democráticamente. "No ha habido ningún cambio en la posición de Canadá", afirmó Kent a preguntas de los periodistas (EFE, 5/6/09).

June 8: Cuba is formally rejecting an offer to rejoin the Organization of American States, echoing the sentiments of Fidel Castro who has long maintained his island has no use for the group. The OAS voted to lift a decades-old suspension of Cuba's membership. A statement published in the communist newspaper Granma says the government is satisfied "with this expression of sovereignty and community" but repeats that Cuba "will not return to the OAS." It said the OAS has long supported Washington's hostility toward Cuba and that this country prefers to retain its independence (Declaración del Gobierno Revolucionario; AP, 8/6/09).

June 8: The head of the Organization of American States said he was confident Cuba would eventually rejoin the 34-member organization, but that it would require more dialogue. Cuba's government welcomed the OAS move but said it was not interested in joining the institution, which it sees as an instrument of US dominance in the region. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the OAS, told reporters in Montreal he expected that view to soften. "I expect things to change," Insulza said on the sidelines of an economic conference. "They were saying very bad things about the OAS before. They're not saying those bad things now. People change and I think that we always have to promote a dialogue," he said. Insulza said he planned to start talks with the Cuban government in a few months but said the OAS had no specific agenda or timeline for advancing the issue.
"Right now we're looking more to the bilateral dialogue they are going to begin with the United States. I think that's the main issue today," he said (Reuters, 8/6/09).

Junio 8: Los cancilleres de Brasil, Celso Amorim, y de Colombia, Jaime Bermúdez, aseguraron que la decisión de Cuba de regresar o no a la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) es soberana y calificaron de paso histórico la revocación de la resolución por la que se expulsó a la isla caribeña de ese organismo en 1962. Ambos ministros ofrecieron una rueda de prensa en la que señalaron que la OEA salió fortalecida de su última Asamblea General celebrada en Honduras, donde se revocó la resolución sobre Cuba. Amorim afirmó que se logró corregir una situación "históricamente inadecuada" y se hizo de tal manera que la OEA resultó fortalecida. "Cuando a Cuba le interese entrar en la OEA lo va a decir, y si no le interesa lo va decir también, tiene la libertad de hacerlo como todo Gobierno soberano, lo que sí era importante era enterrar un cadáver insepulto que hacía mal a Cuba, pero sobre todo a la propia OEA", advirtió. Bermúdez se "adhirió" a las palabras de su colega brasileño y agregó que si Cuba decide estar de nuevo en el sistema interamericano se iniciará un proceso de discusión, y si por el contrario lo rechaza "la OEA seguirá" (EFE, 8/6/09).

Junio 10: La Confederación Internacional Sindical rindió en Bruselas su informe anual en el que indica la restricción a la libertad sindical que padecen los trabajadores cubanos.
En el informe se señala que los trabajadores cubanos se adscriben a un sólo sindicato, tienen restringida la libertad sindical, no poseen derecho de huelga y varios activistas sindicales independientes han sido condenados a largas penas de cárcel. La Confederación agrega en su informe que en Cuba los derechos sindicales están subordinados a objetivos políticos y que el Estado controla el mercado del empleo, decide los salarios y condiciones de trabajo en el sector estatal (Radio Martí, 11/6/09).

June 11: The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a report presented by Cuba to the HRC’s Working Group before the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
According to Granma news daily, the HRC adopted on June 10 the Cuban report reviewed by the UPR on February 5th and 9th earlier this year. Juan Antonio Fernandez Palacios, Cuba’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the UPR allowed Cuba to put forth best practices, challenges faced in the country, and an opportunity to listen to all delegations. In the context of the UPR of Cuba there was a
clear confirmation of the international community in condemning the US embargo against the island. The diplomat affirmed that the area of economic, social and cultural
rights was universally supported. Of the 89 recommendations, Cuba fully accepted 60, and provided additional information and comments on 17. Cuba objected to a few recommendations due to “their incompatibility with the right to self determination of
the Cuban people”, according to Granma (ACN, 11/609).

June 11: Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in Havana for a working visit, at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro. “I come to ratify Bolivia’s solidarity with the Cuban people and their Revolution,” Morales said upon arriving at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. “I also want to take the opportunity to express our respect and gratitude for all the solidarity that our country and our cultural-democratic revolution have received from Cuba and its Government,” he stressed. Morales reiterated his admiration for Fidel Castro. “I long to see him and to speak with him and also with President Raul Castro because I always learn something when we meet,” he explained. The South American leader was welcomed at the Airport by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (ACN, 11/609).

June 11: Seventy more Cuban doctors arrived in Zimbabwe and will soon be deployed to health centres around the country, Cuba's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Cosme Torres Espinosa has said. This brings to 110 the total number of Cuban doctors who are in the country. Ambassador Espinosa paid a courtesy call on Vice President Joice Mujuru at her Munhumutapa offices. "We are just coming from the airport where we were receiving another group of doctors to Zimbabwe. "Right now we have a full brigade of Cuban doctors in Zimbabwe," Espinosa told VP Mujuru. Cuba, he said, wanted to widen areas of cooperation and he was inviting senior Government officials to visit Cuba for exchange programs. "We are also looking at areas to increase cooperation when we have our Joint Commission meeting. We in fact have opportunities in areas of tourism, science and technology, and informa- tion communication technology so we are inviting the Ministers to Cuba," Ambassador Espinosa said (The Herald, 12/6/09).

June 12: Bolivian President Evo Morales met with Cuba's Fidel Castro in Havana and said the ailing revolutionary icon was "very lucid" and looking much "stronger" than last year. "He appeared very lucid, very wise and stronger, because after my previous visit, months back, I was worried. But now I know that Fidel is feeling very well," Morales told reporters shortly before leaving Havana after a one-day working visit to the island nation. He stressed after his latest two-hour meeting that the former Cuban president, 82, was "as always, preoccupied with politics," society and economics. Morales also met with President Raul Castro to discuss bilateral cooperation, attended a conference at the University of Havana and played a game of soccer with Bolivians studying medicine in Cuba (AFP, 12/6/09).

June 11: The decision to maintain cooperation accords in fields like health, transportation, tourism and sport, is a reflection of the excellent relations existing between Cuba and the Republic of Namibia. At the end of the 10th Intergovernmental Session for Scientific and Technical and Economic Cooperation between the two countries, the implementation of exchanges in spheres like agriculture, forest development, construction works, energy and resettlement was also agreed on, as well as the continuation of the training of Namibian students in Cuba at different educational levels. The Session, held in Havana from June 8-11, was attended by a large delegation from Namibia, headed by the Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Abraham Iyambo (ACN, 12/609).

June 11: The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, met with visiting Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo, who is in this Caribbean country heading the Cuban
delegation to the 6th Petrocaribe Summit. Douglas welcomed the Cuban delegation that also includes Ricardo Cabrisas, Vice President of the Council of Ministers, and Yadira Garcia, Minister of Basic Industry. He expressed his gratitude for Cuba’s solidarity and
sent greetings to Fidel Castro, and to Cuban President Raul Castro. For his part, Lazo ratified Cuba’s interest in further developing cooperation ties (ACN, 12/609).

June 12: European Union nations want to continue and deepen dialogue with Cuba, while remaining concerned at the lack of progress on human rights, diplomats said. A draft text drawn up for EU foreign ministers to approve in Luxembourg on June 15 gives the clearest indication yet that Europe is working towards normalizing relations with a country once deemed a diplomatic pariah. EU nations believe "that the political dialogue with Cuba should be pursued and deepened on a comprehensive, equal and result-oriented basis," according to the statement. The text also stresses that the "comprehensive dialogue" should not only be with the Cuban authorities but also "with representatives of civil society and peaceful pro-democracy opposition" (AFP, 12/6/09)

June 14: A dissident Cuban surgeon who had been denied permission to leave the island for more than a decade hugged her grandchildren for the first time after arriving to an emotional family reunion in Argentina. Dr. Hilda Molina, who quickly took advantage of the communist government's surprise decision to let her leave, was also met by her son, Roberto Quiñones, whom she hadn't seen in 15 years. She will visit her ailing 90-year-old mother, who was allowed to leave Cuba months ago. "Thank God and everyone who helped me," said Molina, a once-prominent neurosurgeon who became a political pariah after criticizing Cuba's health system. The surprise authorization was seen as a nod to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, a Cuba ally, who along with her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, had been asking the Castros since 2003 to allow Molina to leave (AP, 14/6/09).

June 15: European Union nations want to deepen dialogue with Cuba, despite concerns over the lack of progress on human rights, EU foreign ministers agreed. The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, gave the clearest indication yet that Europe is working towards normalizing relations with a country once deemed a diplomatic pariah. EU nations believe that "political dialogue with Cuba should be pursued and deepened on a comprehensive, equal and result-oriented basis," the ministers from the 27-nation group said in a joint statement. "We keep the door open for continued dialogue," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, after chairing the talks as his country holds the rotating EU presidency.  The text stressed that "comprehensive dialogue" shouldn't only be with the Cuban authorities but also "with representatives of civil society and peaceful pro-democracy opposition" (EU Council Evaluation; AFP, 15/6/09) 

Junio 16: La presidenta argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, recibió en la Casa de Gobierno a la médica disidente cubana Hilda Molina. La neurocirujana estuvo acompañada por su hijo, Roberto Quiñones; su nuera, la argentina Verónica Scarpatti, y sus nietos, Roberto Carlos, de 13 años, y Juan Pablo, de ocho. El diario argentino La Nación reportó que la mandataria escucho a Molina por más de una hora. "Fue una conversación muy positiva. Le agradecí todo lo que habían hecho por mí", dijo la neurocirujana tras el encuentro. "No me puedo ir sin pedirle que como mujer, madre y estadista ayude a hacer más fluidas las relaciones familiares de los cubanos. Nosotros no podemos seguir teniendo que pedir permiso para salir del país", le expresó Molina, de acuerdo con La Nación. Kirchner le habría dicho que, a su manera, "silenciosa y perseverante", había gestionado para lograr su permiso de salida. La Nación dijo que la presidenta argentina tiene previsto escribir una carta de agradecimiento a Raúl Castro (Cubaencuentro, 19/6/09).

Junio 16: El gobierno de Cuba donó por duodécimo año consecutivo 2,500 toneladas de azúcar crudo a proyectos del Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) en Colombia y Corea del Norte, informó en La Habana ese organismo de la ONU. En Colombia, el azúcar será entregado a desplazados y a otros grupos vulnerables con limitado acceso a los alimentos, y en Corea del Norte será parte de una operación de emergencia, precisa un comunicado del PMA. En años anteriores, el azúcar ha sido enviado a la República Dominicana, Jamaica, Honduras, Haití, Etiopía y Angola, entre otros países, y el valor total de las contribuciones suma más de 8 millones de dólares, según el comunicado (EFE, 16/6/09).

June 17: Bedouma Alain Yoda, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation of Burkina Faso, began an official visit to Cuba. Alain Yoda heads the delegation of his country to the 11th Session of the Cuba-Burkina Faso Intergovernmental Commission for Technical, Scientific and Economic Cooperation. The visitor will hold official talks with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, and with other government authorities (ACN, 17/6/09).

Junio 17: Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, hijo de Fidel Castro, discutió en Bruselas con la Comisión Europea diferentes posibilidades de cooperación mutua en materia de ciencia e investigación entre la UE y la isla. Castro Díaz-Balart, que es asesor científico del Consejo de Estado de Cuba, se reunió con el comisario europeo de Ciencia e Investigación, Janez Potocnik, así como con el titular europeo de Desarrollo y Ayuda Humanitaria, Louis Michel, encargado de las relaciones con La Habana. El encuentro se centró en el "potencial desarrollo de áreas de cooperación científica mutua" y no abordó en ningún momento aspectos políticos, indicaron fuentes comunitarias (EFE, 17/6/09).

June 17: Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla and Bdouma Alain Yoda, Foreign Ministers of Cuba and Burkina Faso respectively agreed that their countries currently share excellent relations. During official talks with Rodriguez Parrilla at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the African official said that the Cuban Revolution has played and continues to play a key role in the liberation of the oppressed peoples. He pointed out that his country and Cuba have found common grounds during their talks in regards to development problems and
current world situation. Bdouma Alain Yoda is paying a five-day official visit to Cuba, whose agenda include a meeting with Ricardo Alarcon, Cuban National Assembly President, among other activities. Cuba and Burkina Faso established diplomatic relations on December 11th, 1975 (ACN, 17/6/09).

June 17: Cuba became the 54th state to join the UN International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. Cuba's UN representative Abelardo Moreno delivered the signed document at United Nations headquarters, according to his spokesman, Alaim Pena. “This sovereign decision of the Cuban government illustrates its irrevocable commitment to the fight against terrorism under all its forms,” a statement from the Cuban UN mission said. While joining the convention, Cuba made clear that the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, where some 230 'war on terror' detainees are held, is located on its territory against its will and that Havana bears no responsibility if the United States “deployed nuclear material or nuclear arms in this illegally occupied territory” (AFP, 18/6/09).

June 18: Colombia´s Culture Minister Paula Marcela Moreno said she was pleased with her recent visit to Cuba and stressed that both countries must work towards the consolidation of bilateral cultural relations.The Colombian minister made her statements upon returning to her country after visiting Cuba. She explained that she met with her Cuban counterpart Abel Prieto and signed a memorandum of understanding to back cultural diversity and the preservation of heritage in both countries. The document also includes the development of community culture activity and artistic exchange (ACN, 17/6/09).

Junio 18: El vicepresidente primero y canciller panameño, Samuel Lewis Navarro, afirmó que Panamá y Cuba han consolidado y perfeccionado sus relaciones políticas, comerciales y culturales desde que fueron reiniciadas en 2005. "Este ha sido el periodo del perfeccionamiento de importantes instrumentos de cooperación y la formalización de múltiples encuentros de nivel", destacó Navarro en el acto de despedida del embajador cubano, Carlos Eloy García, el primero de ese país en Panamá tras el restablecimiento de las relaciones diplomáticas. Indicó que la consolidación de las relaciones se tradujo "en un significativo incremento en el comercio, la promoción recíproca de las inversiones, y los invaluables avances en el área de cooperación, especialmente en materia de salud, educación, deporte y energía" (EFE, 18/6/09).

Junio 19: Raúl Castro conversó sobre "asuntos de interés bilateral" con el embajador de México en La Habana, Gabriel Jiménez Remus, quien le entregó un mensaje del mandatario mexicano, Felipe Calderón, según un comunicado oficial. "El señor Jiménez Remus fue portador de un mensaje del presidente Felipe Calderón para el mandatario cubano", señaló el comunicado leído en el telenoticiero de la noche. En el encuentro, al que también "asistió el canciller cubano Bruno Rodríguez", Castro y Jiménez Remus "abordaron además otros asuntos de interés bilateral", añadió el texto oficial (AFP, 19/6/09).

June 23: Cuba and Bolivia will sign an outline agreement in the field of environmental cooperation, within the framework of the 7th International Convention on Development and the Environment to be held in La Paz from July 6th through the 10th. The accord will allow for the establishment of mechanisms to jointly make good use of institutional capacities on the basis of actions linked to social and climatic matters, announced the Bolivian Deputy Minister for Biodiversity, Water and the Environment, Pablo Ramos (ACN, 24/6/09).

June 24: The Venezuelan city of Maracay, in the state of Aragua, hosts an extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a Latin American and Caribbean bloc for integration and cooperation. During the meeting, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda, will officially become full members of the organization that is already comprised of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia,
Nicaragua, Honduras and Dominica. First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado
Ventura heads the Cuban delegation, that also includes Ricardo Cabrisas, Vice President of the Council of Ministers, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla (ACN, 24/6/09).

June 24: The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, held that with the change in the name from Bolivarian Alternative for the People's of Our America into Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (Alba) and with the new projects emerged during the VI Summit of the Alba, it starts a new dynamic for this regional integration mechanism. At the end of the VI Extraordinary Summit of the Alba, carried out in Aragua state (north-central region of Venezuela), The President explained that this not only represents a name changing, but “a change of codes, sense and content.” “It has a great meaning, as said the Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Alba is not a theoretical proposal anymore, but a platform of territorial politics, geopolitics and of power,” Chavez stated. “We are building a new reality. The voice of the Alba will be heard more day after day, having a greater impact on the geopolitical reality of this Continent,” he added (ABN, 24/6/09).

June 24: The Bolivarian Alternative for Our Americas (ALBA) is the most honourable response to the patterns of the industrialized North, said Cuba´s First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura during the 6th Extraordinary Summit of the Regional Integration Mechanism, held in the Venezuelan city of Maracay. Consolidating this regional integration initiative is the only way to make the dreams of Latin American independence heroes come true, he pointed out, and expressed the satisfaction of Cuba, of President Raul Castro and Revolution leader Fidel Castro for the joining by Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda of the ALBA. “We are now nine full members of this unitary project, which proofs its viability and sustainability, based on proposed concepts and concrete results,” he stressed and went to explain that the integration mechanism has allowed for the development of a political and social agenda initially focused on very sensitive sectors like health and education (ACN, 25/6/09).

Junio 24: El secretario general de la OEA, José Miguel Insulza, afirmó que la resolución que levantó la suspensión a Cuba quitó el ''cerrojo'' a su reincorporación al organismo americano, pero debe ser La Habana quien abra la puerta. La reintegración de Cuba en la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), dijo Insulza, depende de la voluntad de La Habana de aceptar los propósitos y principios del organismo interamericano. El titular de la OEA afirmó en una conferencia del Diálogo Interamericano que la resolución aprobada en la XXXIX Asamblea General de San Pedro Sula (Honduras) el pasado 3 de junio establece cómo Cuba puede cruzar la puerta. ''El cerrojo está quitado, pero la puerta no está abierta. La resolución dice cómo entrar'', señaló (EFE, 25/6/09).

June 24: It was 26 years ago and Cuba's then-leader, Fidel Castro, foresaw today's global economic crisis, a Cuban official said. During a conference of non-aligned countries in 1983, Castro said in a speech that "declining foreign trade, hunger and unemployment" would eventually take their toll on the global economy, Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz told a UN meeting on the world economic downturn. "The current state of the world economy and its gloomy outlook should lead to a profound reflection in governments and in the most lucid minds of the developed world," the minister quoted the former communist leader as saying 26 years ago. "That prognosis remains completely valid," Malmierca Diaz told the UN General Assembly. "If anything has changed, it is that the issues then raised have worsened." Malmierca Diaz added that measures recommended by the G20 club of big developed and developing nations would not be sufficient to solve the global crisis "because they are not aimed at eliminating the causes of the crisis" -- namely capitalism (Reuters, 25/6/09).

Junio 26: Fidel Castro afirmó que lo que ocurra en Honduras, a partir del enfrentamiento del presidente Manuel Zelaya con la cúpula militar, la justicia y el Congreso, "será una prueba" para el mandatario estadounidense Barack Obama y la OEA. "Lo que allí ocurra será una prueba para la OEA y para la actual administración de Estados Unidos", dijo Castro en un artículo publicado en el sitio digital Cubadebate, donde dijo solidarizarse con Zelaya. "Zelaya no ha cometido la menor violación de la ley. No realizó un acto de fuerza. Es el Presidente y Comandante General de las Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras", dijo Castro (Un gesto que no se olvidará; AFP, 26/6/09).

June 26: The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) released a statement condemning a coup attempt underway in Honduras against the democratically elected government of President Jose Manuel Zelaya. In the text, published by Granma and Juventud Rebelde newspapers, the ALBA member countries express their deep concern over the recent events in the Central American nation. The note recalls that the coup attempt aims at obstructing a referendum scheduled for June 28 to consult Hondurans on installing a Constituent Assembly to reform the Constitution (ACN, 26/6/09).
 
June 27: The Commemorative Conference of the 80th anniversary of the Hispanic-American Evangelical Congress of Havana presented Fidel Castro with a framed certificate and a letter of recognition during the closing ceremony of the event. Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo received the gifts from the hands of Brazilian Reverend Niltron Giese, secretary general of the Latin American Council of Churches. World Council of Churches' President Ofelia Miriam Ortega, gave Lazo a copy of a Bible dedicated inside to the Cuban president Raul Castro. The final document of the religious forum expressed the solidarity of the Evangelical Congress with Cuba by denouncing the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. It also demanded the
immediate release of the five Cubans imprisoned in US jails (ACN, 27/6/09).

June 28: Cuba condemned the military coup in Honduras as "criminal, brutal" and demanded the immediate return to office of deposed leftist President Manuel Zelaya.
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro called the coup "a suicidal error" and said there was no room for negotiations with its leaders. "Their resignation should be demanded and younger officers not beholden to the oligarchy should take over the military," Castro wrote in a column for Cuba's state media. "I denounce the criminal, brutal character of this coup," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference in Havana earlier in the day. Zelaya is viewed by Cuba's communist leadership as a leftist ally and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro had expressed backing for his efforts to hold an unofficial public vote to gauge support for his plan to hold a November referendum on allowing presidential re-election. "This coup has removed a legitimate and constitutional government simply for wanting to hold a vote. There is only one constitutional government in Honduras, and one constitutional president who should return immediately without conditions," Rodriguez said. The minister denounced what he called the violent treatment of the Cuban and Venezuelan ambassadors by Honduran troops (A Suicidal Mistake; Reuters28/6/09).

June 28: Honduran Constitutional President Manuel Zelaya was received at Managua’s Airport by presidents of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), headed by the
Nicaraguan head of state, Daniel Ortega. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, welcomed Zelaya at the Augusto César Sandino International Airport, according to a report aired by Telesur television network. I will return to Honduras to occupy my post as president, said Zelaya during a press conference in San José before his arrival to Nicaragua to participate in a meeting of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), made up by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Cuba, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Ecuador. Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla asked the international community, in particular the governments of ALBA, the United Nations, the Non Aligned Movement (NOAL) and the Rio Group, to condemn the coup against Zelaya (Reuters, ACN, 29/6/09).

June 29: An extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) concluded in Managua, Nicaragua, with the approval of a declaration that urges the world to condemn the coup d’état against Honduran President Manuel
Zelaya and to isolate the de facto regime that have seized power in that Central American country. The text, which was described as clear during the Cuban radio-TV program Round Table, ratifies that Manuel Zelaya is the constitutional President of Honduras. The nine members of ALBA - Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua – decided to withdraw their ambassadors from Tegucigalpa and urged all international organizations and other regional blocs to close ranks against the coup supporters. The ALBA countries also requested a statement of the UN Human Rights Council on the coup staged in Honduras. The ambassadors of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela at the United Nations expressed their full rejection and condemnation of the use of force to drive out Jose Manuel Zelaya from power. They also requested the statements of the acting president of the Human Rights Council Alexa Van Meeuwen and from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay (ALBA Declaration; ACN, 29/6/09).

June 29: Cuban President Raul Castro arrived in Nicaragua to participate in an extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas
(ALBA), which is focusing on the coiup d’état against President Manuel Zelaya, and the current situation in Honduras. Castro will also participate in a meeting of the Rio Group (ACN, 29/6/09).

Junio 29: Varios grupos opositores cubanos condenaron el golpe de Estado que sacó del poder al presidente de Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, y pidieron el retorno al orden constitucional. El partido Arco Progresista (PARP) condenó la "interrupción del orden institucional en Honduras" y señaló en un comunicado que el hecho "constituye un regreso a fases" que "los progresistas cubanos" creían "ya superadas" en América Latina. Por su parte, Héctor Palacios, presidente de la Unidad Liberal de la República de Cuba (ULRC), dijo que "un golpe de Estado no ayuda en nada al futuro de la democracia en América Latina". El opositor liberal dijo además que a Zelaya "habrá que restituirlo en el poder", y alertó sobre las consecuencias negativas del golpe. La Comisión Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliación Nacional (CDHRN), dijo estar "preocupada" por la situación en Honduras.n "Confiamos en que, para salir de la crisis actual, se tome muy en cuenta la Carta Democrática Interamericana", señaló Elizardo Sánchez Santacruz, presidente de la CCDHRN. Por su parte, la Agenda para la Transición, a través de Gisela Delgado, miembro de su secretariado pro tempore, calificó de la acción de los militares hondureños como "violatoria" y "anticonstitucional" (Cubaencuentro, 29/6/09).

June 29: The Rio Group condemned the coup d’état perpetrated in Honduras and reaffirmed its unconditional backing for the only president of that Central American country, José Manuel Zelaya. The final declaration of the emergency meeting of member countries in Managua refused to recognize the de facto government installed in Tegucigalpa. The Rio Group particularly condemned the violence and injustice of Zelaya’s kidnapping, and affirmed that his mandate was the only one that the Rio Group would recognize. President Raul Castro participated in the meeting (Declaration by Rio Group; Granma International, 30/6/09).

June 29: President Raul Castro strongly condemned the coup d’état perpetrated against the constitutional Government and President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Speaking during a meeting of the Rio Group in Managua, Nicaragua, the Cuban leader sent a message of solidarity to the Honduran people. Raul recalled the aggression by the military against President Zelaya and Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas along with the ambassadors of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba and he added that this attack against the political constitutionality of the Central American nation has to be unanimously and strongly condemned by the Rio Group (Speech by President Raul Castro; ACN, 29/6/09).

June 30: The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, praised Cuba’s cooperation with his country in various fields, and the results of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission. In a special meeting with Cuban Ambassador to Malabo, María Regueiro, the African head of state was generous in his praise of the services Cubans are voluntarily offering in Ecuatorial Guinea. Accompanying the Cuban diplomat for her meeting with Obiang Nguema were officials from the Biological and Pharmaceutical Laboratories (LABIOFAM), a Cuban leading enterprise in the manufacturing of products to eliminate vectors causing thousands of deaths in Africa every year due preventable diseases (ACN, 30/6/09).

Junio 30: El nuevo gobierno de Honduras, encabezado por Roberto Micheletti, garantizó "el mejor trato" y la colaboración con los médicos y educadores enviados a ese país por el gobierno cubano. "Garantizo que los médicos y educadores cubanos que se encuentran en el territorio nacional recibirán, como han recibido, el mejor trato", dijo Micheletti, en una comparecencia por radio y televisión. "Velaremos por su bienestar y nos esmeraremos para que sigan teniendo una estadía grata" en Honduras, añadió. Por su parte, el ministro de Salud, Mario Villafranca, agradeció la cooperación de los médicos enviados por La Habana, que comenzó esta colaboración con Honduras desde 1998, cuando el huracán Mitch devastó ese país. Estos médicos "pueden contar con nuestra colaboración en los diferentes proyectos que ellos tienen relacionados a la salud de nuestro país", señaló Villafranca (EFE, 30/6/09).

June 30: Cuban President Raúl Castro arrived to Havana, after participating in Managua, along with heads of state from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas and other
personalities, in the actions to support Honduran constitutional president José Manuel Zelaya and condemn the military coup d’etat that took place in that Central American country. In addition, the report, aired by the Cuban television newscast, informed that President Raúl Castro also attended the extraordinary session of the Group of Rio, during which he addressed participants (ACN, 30/6/09).