Declaración del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
El pasado 22 de abril, el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos emitió un comunicado de prensa, que fue distribuido a través de su Sección de Intereses en La Habana, en el que "deplora" el rechazo inmediato y espontáneo que nuestro pueblo propinó, el día anterior, al intento de un reducido número de elementos contrarrevolucionarios de realizar una provocación burda y descarada en los alrededores de la Plaza de la Revolución. ..... http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/04/24/interna/artic09.html,
Declaración del ALBA en respaldo a Bolivia
Caracas, 23 abr (PL) La Cumbre extraordinaria de la Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) ratificó hoy en esta capital la solidaridad y apoyo irrestricto al proceso de cambios soberano y democrático en Bolivia.Los mandatarios Evo Morales (Bolivia), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua) y Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) y el vicepresidente cubano Carlos Lage emitieron en el encuentro una declaración de respaldo al gobierno de La Paz.El texto rechaza “los planes de desestabilización que buscan vulnerar la paz y la unidad” en la nación gobernada por Morales.Con ello, el ALBA se suma a la denuncia internacional “contra el intento separatista a través de un pretendido referendo convocado en franca violación” de la Constitución y leyes nacionales.“La actual crisis política debe ser solucionada por los bolivianos” mediante el diálogo, “sin injerencias externas” y bajo los principios “de unidad e integridad territorial”.Asimismo, la Cumbre insta a la comunidad internacional, y en particular América Latina, a actuar “a tiempo y de manera decidida” en solidaridad con el pueblo boliviano y el presidente Morales.Por ello, las naciones vinculadas al bloque ratificaron “el apoyo incondicional” al gobierno de esa nación “en los esfuerzos que realiza para derrotar los planes desestabilizadores” y a favor del proceso de transformación histórica de Bolivia “en paz y democracia”.
Latin leftists line up behind politically troubled Bolivia
CARACAS (AFP) — A chorus of anti-US leftist Latin American leaders issued a strong show of support Wednesday for Bolivia where the government believes it is threatened by a breakaway bid from wealthy regions.President Evo Morales faces a referendum vote May 4 on regional autonomy, sought by the relatively prosperous eastern regions of his impoverished nation, South America's poorest.Those regions largely oppose La Paz's socialist policies.Chavez called Wednesday's urgent summit meeting of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a regional group set up to counter US trade and diplomatic efforts in the region. The group includes Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Dominica."We have decided to issue to the world a statement of support and solidarity for the Republic of Bolivia, the people of Bolivia and comrade Evo Morales," Chavez said at the Miraflores presidential palace.The statement also voiced "firm rejection of destabilization plans seeking to endanger Bolivia's peace and unity."Chavez, hosting Morales, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, also set up a food security fund with an initial capital input of 100 million dollars.The Venezuelan president called the meeting after ailing former Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned Latin America was facing another imminent tragedy in Bolivia.In Washington OAS political affairs chief Dante Caputo said that on May 4, "the possibility (the situation in Bolivia) may turn into a conflict is real."
Interviene Carlos Lage en Cumbre del ALBA
Carlos Lage, vicepresidente cubano, alertó hoy en Caracas sobre el sostenido encarecimiento de los alimentos, al intervenir en el marco de la cumbre extraordinaria de la Alternativa Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA).Lage advirtió acerca de estas afectaciones para amplios sectores de la población, como parte de una lógica capitalista donde importa la ganancia y no satisfacer necesidades.Las naciones industrializadas, dijo, destinan cerca del 10 por ciento de sus recursos a la compra de alimentos, en tanto las pobres y subdesarrolladas llegan a dedicar hasta el 65 por ciento.Por eso, añadió Lage, las economías de los países subdesarrollados no tienen respuesta para enfrentar ese escenario.El origen de esta crisis, señala la fuente, está en un orden económico internacional injusto, donde las potencias desarrolladas cuentan con extraordinarios presupuestos dedicados a preparar guerras y a llevarlas a cabo.En ese sentido, el también Secretario Ejecutivo del Consejo de Ministros mencionó el caso de Estados Unidos, país que destina cada año a esos objetivos unos 500 000 millones de dólares, a lo que se suma el manejo irresponsable de la economía norteamericana que está en recesión.Afirmó que una de las principales distorsiones está, además, en el hecho de que esa nación sostiene un enorme déficit fiscal que el propio Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) no permitió a ningún país del Tercer Mundo, concluye la fuente.
BOLIVIA: ALBA Closes Ranks Around Morales
By Humberto Márquez (IPS) - The danger of Bolivia "exploding" as a result of the "separatist plan behind the (May 4) autonomy referendum" in the eastern province of Santa Cruz was warned of Wednesday at a Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) summit. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42105,
Cuba: where were the hundred police?
Last Monday Cuban authorities broke up a protest of the Ladies in White. Theshow ended when Cuban police picked them up, helter- smelter, onto a bus totake them all home. As expected the Western press was ready and waiting totalk of fierce repression by about a hundred police.
J.M. Álvarez (Para Kaos en la Red)
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1910.html, A CubaNews translation by Ana Portela. Edited by Walter Lippmann.
"Neither provocations or exaggerations employing methods ordered by theirYankee masters, weakened the firmness or will of Cuban generations of todayand the future," the Cuban government explained in an official declaration.The declaration also mentioned a recent telephone conversation between theLadies in White and the congresswoman of Cuban origin, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,a close friend of the terrorists. This accusation is not free: in publicmeetings Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, called on all the terrorist organizationslinked to the CIA, even in the presence of the arch criminal and aged LuisPosada Carriles.
I cannot understand how you can call political prisoners - and their wives,defenders of human rights - when you hobnob with terrorists. Found in thehomes of the dissidents under house arrest were documents revealing thesalaries they received (now received by the wives) from CIA covertorganizations. And what is the CIA up to? It tortures, organizes wars ofgenocide to plunder foreign natural resources, carries out secret flights toclandestine prisons of extermination and spread terrorism around the world."The Ladies in white defend terrorism in the United states and the Mothersof the Plaza de Mayo are a symbol of love for our children assassinated bytyrants imposed by the United States ." (Hebe Bonafini).
I've tried and repeatedly looked at the video and the more I see I can onlyfind about fifteen or twenty women police. Where is the brutal repression? Where are the hundred police? I can't see uniformed beasts armed withrifles, electric clubs, helmets, shields or dogs. If anyone is interested let them take a stroll around the Bourbon regime of Spain when an anti-fascist demonstration is held.
I don't even want to think what would happen to the mothers of the Basque political prisoners if they demonstrated in front of the Chamber of Deputies in Madrid demanding democracy and freedom for the Basque country.
-VIDEO: http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/57095/cuba-donde-estaban-cien-policias,
Cuban children send letters to one of the Five
Camagüey - Motivated by the contest “Letters for a father that already is”, dedicated to Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, one of the Cuban Five, imprisoned in the United States of America for confronting state-sponsored terrorism, more than 200 letters have been received in the city of Camaguey. The contest was launched at the end of March while proposed by Junior High School student Jorge Enrique Jérez, who lives in this Cuba eastern city and has cerebral palsy. This initiative makes possible that Cuban children students, from 4th to 9th grade, can show hero Gerardo and his wife Adriana that, in spite of the fact that a cruel sentence limits them to be parents, they are regarded as such by thousands of kids and adolescents in Cuba. Recently, Gerardo answered a letter written to him by Jorge Enrique Jérez in December 2007. In the missive, the Cuban antiterrorist fighter explained the adolescent that it took so long to write back because his mail had been withheld, and also thanks the actions undertaken by him in favour of the Five. The deadline of this contest submission will be on June 4th and the results will be announced on July 11th, when Hernandez Nordelo and Adriana Pérez will be celebrating 20 years of marriage. (Yamylé Fernández Rodríguez/ Translation: Gualveris Rosales Sánchez/ Radio Cadena Agramonte). http://www.cadenagramonte.cubaweb.cu/english/up_todate/march_08/280308_01.asp,http://www.granma.cu/miami5/ingles/alegato-gerardo-i.htm,http://www.cadenagramonte.cubaweb.cu/heroes/,
COMMITTEE ON RELATIONS WITH HOST COUNTRY CONSIDERS VISA DELAYS FOR DIPLOMATS Among the topics considered today by the Committee on Relations with the Host Country were delays in the issuance of entry visas for diplomatic staff, property tax imposed by the City of New York on diplomatic premises, driver's license requirements for chauffeurs and gas tax exemptions for Mission personnel. (Media-Newswire.com) - Among the topics considered today by the Committee on Relations with the Host Country were delays in the issuance of entry visas for diplomatic staff, property tax imposed by the City of New York on diplomatic premises, driver’s license requirements for chauffeurs and gas tax exemptions for Mission personnel.On the issue of visas, Cuba’s representative expressed concern over the unjustified delay in responding to requests by three Cuban officials to participate in meetings at Headquarters in New York. http://media-newswire.com/release_1064611.html,
Cuban and Brazilian Information Institutions will Sign Agreement
Representatives from the Cuban and Brazilian Institutes of Scientific and Technological Information (IDICT) will sign a cooperation agreement next Friday in Havana.Carmen Sanchez Rojas, Director of the Cuban IDICT, announced that she will sign the accord with her Brazilian counterpart, Emir Suadien, during the last day of sessions of the INFO 2008 Congress that is underway at the Convention Center in Havana with the participation of experts from 15 countries.She explained that during her visit to Brasilia last November, the two institutions decided to implement actions of mutual exchange and cooperation that will be included in the agreement. This accord will be the first of its type between the two centers and it will include professional training and transference of technologies.Suadien is one of the guests to the INFO 2008 Congress. Other personalities invited to this event include Abel L. Packer, from the Regional Library of Medicine; and Isabel Viera, from UNESCO´s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.One of the main goals of this meeting is to evaluate the people´s access to information technologies around the world and the large gap that exists in this aspect between the so-called First World and the underdeveloped nations. / ACN
Cuba Defends Role of UNCTAD
(acn) Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas said on Tuesday that the Group of the 77 or G-77 has to show its political will to preserve the historic role of the UN agency on Trade and Development in the organization of international economic relations.According to Granma news daily, Cabrisas is participating in a high-level meeting of the G-77 plus China that is taking place in Accra, the capital of Ghana, prior to the inauguration of the 12th UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that will take place there until next Friday."Cuba reaffirms its commitment to cooperation and the coordination of efforts among our countries," Cabrisas added."In spite of enormous obstacles, we believe in the value of ideas and principles and we are confident in the fighting ability of our peoples," he added.Cabrisas also headed the Cuban delegation to the 14th Session of the Cuba-Ghana Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation that took place in Accra.On that occasion, Cabrisas expressed Cuba's interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation and thanked the Ghanaian Foreign Minister, Akwasi Osei Adjei, for his country's support of a Cuban resolution that Havana presents annually at the UN General Assembly condemning the almost-fifty-year-old economic blockade against the Caribbean nation.
European Left Asks Parliament to End Sanctions on Cuba
(acn) Euro deputies with the Socialist and Unitary LeftParties asked the European Parliament to put and end to the sanctionsimposed against Cuba in 2003 and currently enforced by certain membercountries.According to Notimex, the euro parliamentarians requested that the issuebe included in the agenda of the European Union, Latin America andCaribbean Summit to be held in Lima, Peru in May.Most European countries want to lift the sanctions, which “are good fornothing,” stated socialists’ president German Martin Schulz.The deputy noted that the countries that still oppose the lifting ofsanctions are contradictorily increasing investments in Cuba.The sanctions taken by the EU in 2003 to restrict the visit of Cubanofficials to member countries were suspended in 2005, however theEuropean countries are allowed to implement the measures independentlyif considered necessary.Spanish Willy Meyer, with the European Unitary Left said the EU shouldend its special treatment towards Cuba.In response to the Leftists’ request to discuss the issue at theupcoming Lima Summit, Slovenia’s secretary of state, Janez Lenarcic,whose country currently holds the acting presidency of the EU, said theEuropean policy against Cuba is not part of the event’s agenda.
Corporate stakes in CubaIs the future brightening for U.S. pre-Castro claims? http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/23/news/international/corporate_stakes_cuba.fortune/?postversion=2008042404,
NY mission to Cuba ends with no deals
HAVANA (AP) - A New York farm mission is winding up a Cuba visit without firm deals to sell products to the communist-run island.Trade consultant and trip organizer Kirby Jones says he hopes some contracts will be worked out after the group returns to the U.S. Thursday.New York agriculture chief Patrick Hooker says Cuban officials are interested in apples, wine and canned fruit from the state.The delegation members sampled bananas and asked about other tropical produce at a farmers market on Wednesday. The previous night, they threw their Cuban hosts a dinner with New York products including steak and cheesecake.A decades-old U.S. embargo prohibits most trade with Cuba, but some American products can be sold directly to the island. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Latin America: the attack on democracy
John Pilger argues that an unreported war is being waged by the US to restore power to the privileged classes at the expense of the poor
http://www.newstatesman.com/200804240026,
Terroristas Mediaticos ....Y el Diablos los junto http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/57238/terroristas-mediaticos-diablos-junto,
TRIBUNA: RAFAEL ROJAS ¿Cuándo termina un exilio?http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/termina/exilio/elpepuopi/20080424elpepiopi_4/Tes,
Los cubanos contratan más de 7.400 nuevas líneas de telefonía móvil en nueve días
Las autoridades del país caribeño esperan que se abran más de 1,4 illones de líneas en los próximos cinco añLa Habana.(EFE).- Los cubanos han contratado más de 7.400 nuevas líneas de telefonía móvil desde que hace nueve días fue autorizado el acceso libre individual a ese servicio en Cuba, informaron hoy fuentes de la telefónica estatal (ETECSA). El vicepresidente de Servicios Móviles de la Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA), Máximo Lafuente, dijo a medios locales que esperan la apertura de más de 1,4 millones de líneas en los próximos cinco años. Desde el pasado 14 de abril los cubanos comenzaron a adquirir libremente la telefonía móvil -hasta entonces reservada solamente para empresas y ciudadanos extranjeros- mediante la modalidad de prepago en pesos cubanos convertibles (un peso convertible equivale a 1,08 dólares).Esta autorización se enmarca en las reformas dispuestas por el presidente Raúl Castro desde que asumió el gobierno el pasado 24 de febrero, y en las que figuran también el alojamiento de los cubanos en los hoteles; la adquisición de equipos electrodomésticos como computadoras, DVD y televisores, y una profunda reestructuración del sector agrícola.Habilitar el servicio cuesta 111 pesos convertibles (CUC, unos 120 dólares) y el aparato se puede comprar desde unos 60 CUC en adelante de acuerdo con las marcas y modelos.Las inversiones de ETECSA en este apartado desde 2004 rondaron los 100 millones de dólares, lo que se tradujo en un crecimiento de 300.000 clientes, explicó Lafuente.El directivo de la compañía de telecomunicaciones afirmó que la isla garantizó las inversiones necesarias para una expansión sostenida de la tecnología celular y señaló que aún con la ampliación de estos servicios las cuatro quintas partes de la tecnología celular en Cuba mantienen su uso social.Señaló que en la actualidad el país tiene 253 radiobases (multiplicadoras de la señal), una cobertura territorial de 65 por ciento, y la poblacional llega al 77 por ciento, que resulta deficiente en 43 de los 169 municipios de la isla.
TELECOMUNICACIONES CUBANAS SE REORGANIZAN PARA EL DESARROLLO http://www.wdrc-wds.info/articulo.php?id=915,
Incrementan digitalización telefónica en Cuba Con más de un millón de líneas en servicio en el país, las inversiones permiten avizorar una expansión de esta facilidad en varias modalidades, incluida la telefonía móvilhttp://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2008-04-24/incrementan-digitalizacion-telefonica-en-cuba-/,
HB 671: A sinister monstrosity against travel to Cuba
Álvaro Fernandez interviews Francisco Aruca
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1,
Biocombustibles y crisis alimentaria
Salim Lamrani
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66452,
Nos pescan con red: La gran ofensiva del comando ciberespecial del Pentágono está cerca http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66497,
Mind the Gap: How the Miami Generation Gap Could Shape Cuba Policy
http://thehavananote.com/2008/04/mind_the_gap_how_the_miami_gen_2.html,
Things We Could Do to Help Make Cuba Libre
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120900181873340295.html?mod=googlenews_wsj,
Bolivia calls summit over crisis
The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, is in Venezuela for an emergency meeting with regional leaders about a controversial autonomy bid in Bolivia. Opposition leaders in the wealthy Bolivian province of Santa Cruz plan to hold a referendum next month to demand regional autonomy. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Morales dismissed the vote as illegal. He accused the opposition - led by wealthy landowners - of refusing to accept an indigenous president. 'Exploding point' The meeting in Caracas brings together some of Mr Morales's closest left-wing allies - the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, as well as Cuba's Vice-President, Carlos Lage. Mr Chavez called the emergency meeting, saying that Bolivia was "on the point of exploding". Four of Bolivia's nine provinces want greater autonomy - they are all in the less indigenous and wealthy eastern lowlands, home to most of the country's oil and gas reserves. One of the provinces, Santa Cruz, is due to hold a referendum on autonomy on 4 May. Mr Morales says the push for autonomy is no more than an attempt by the rich minority to keep their long-held privileges, and to undermine his policies of helping the poor indigenous majority. "They can't accept that a campesino, an Indian, can be president of Bolivia," he told the BBC's Spanish-language news website, BBC Mundo. "And if we look at history, we see that there have always been demands for federalism when the rich minority have lost control of central government, but then when they get it back again, they forget all about autonomy," he continued. Draft constitution He said the autonomy demands were creating division, but he did not expect them to lead to violence, adding he had faith in the "conscience of the Bolivian people". Mr Morales said his government could do "nothing" to prevent steps towards autonomy in Santa Cruz, but said the Bolivian public would resist them. And he said the proposed new constitution would support a kind of autonomy. "First comes the new constitution. And through the new constitution the government will guarantee autonomy. "But it will be autonomy for the people, not autonomy for the rich elite in Santa Cruz," he said. The country had been due to hold a referendum next month on the draft constitution - which grants more rights to the indigenous majority - but it has been postponed by the National Electoral Court, which ruled that there was not enough time to prepare for the vote. Opponents of the new constitution say it would unfairly privilege indigenous groups over the rest of the population. Story from BBC NEWS
Cuban May Get Gourmet Nobel Prize
(Prensa Latina) Cuban expert Yamir Pellegrino Rodriguez has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in the category of Gastronomic Literature, for his brilliant research career as well as the quality and contribution of his publications, according to the National Information Agency (AIN).Pellegrino Rodriguez, Director of the Food and Beverages Department at the Habana Libre Tryp hotel in the Cuban capital, announced the award will be granted in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 10, with the presence of the 12 candidates to obtain the "Gourmand World Cookbooks Award."For the first time, this award will join the ceremony of the Literature Nobel Prizes in the European nation, where the so-called "Gourmand Nobel", considered as the Nobel of Gastronomic Literature, will be granted, the source added.Pellegrino, also president of the Cuban Sommeliers' Club, will be the only representative from Latin America and the Third World at the ceremony.He won top awards in the culinary category in 2005 and 2006, at the regional and world levels, with his books "Mi pasion Gourmet" (My Gourmet Passion) and "Conociedo el vino" (Learning about Wine). Hambre La palabra evoca una enorme tragedia de largo desarrollo que amenaza a la Humanidadhttp://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13379,
Che films tipped for prizes as Latin American theme dominates festival
Soderbergh early favourite for Palme d'Or in contest short on British talent http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2275745,00.html,
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