Cuban News December 20 2006. Visit our web
site at: (http://havana.usinterestsection.gov/)
Some Cuban dissidents decry snub by U.S. lawmakers, others
don't (EFE)
U.S. Delegation Probes Cuba for Hints of the Future (NPR)
Analysis: "Subversive" media at the end of Fidel Castro's
reign in Cuba (BBC)
Rice says; Secretary: U.S. will not engage Castro's brother (CDT)
Radio, TV Martí facing a congressional probe
(MH)
TV Marti buys space on private radio, TV to elude Cuba jamming
(EFE)
RADIO, TV MARTI SEAL DEAL IN S. FLORIDA...(SS)
Cuban expects no change in U.S. policy while Bush is president (EFE)
Castro's absence to dominate national assembly meeting (AFP)
Fake money prompts issue of new bills...(MH)
Cuban Sugar Crop Expected to Beat Last Year’s Tally (Global Insight
Daily Analysis)
HONDURAS: Border agreement with Cuba. (LND)
EDITORIAL: ... while congressional trip to Cuba is signal of change
closer to home (MC)
THE ISSUE: U.S. RELATIONS WITH CUBA (AR)
It's high time U.S. talked to Cuba (St. Petersburg Times)
Cuba:
no habrá cambios en la era Bush (AP)
Cuba dice
congresistas "descaracterizan" imagen deplorable EEUU (EFE)
Congresistas
por cambio en nexos con Cuba (El Diario)
‘Hora de dialogar con Cuba’:
Solís (La Opinión)
"Es posible una
cooperación entre Estados Unidos y Cuba"
(Clarín)
EE.UU.: Culpables de espiar
para Cuba (BBC)
Granma se burla de derrota del PP en Parlamento español en moción
sobre Cuba (AFP)
El PSOE enmienda a Moratinos
su acercamiento al PP sobre Cuba (ABC)
Incendio
sin víctimas en la embajada de Cuba en Pekín (EFE)
Cuba abre primer ingenio azucarero con miras en recuperación
(Reuters)
Cuba saca nueva versión de "Paradiso" (El Mercurio)
Informaciones tomadas de Encuentro
en la Red (http://www.cubaencuentro.com/)
Thomas Shannon considera
positiva la relación de Canadá con Cuba
Informaciones de Cubanet (http://www.cubanet.org/)
Detenido el
periodista Carlos Serpa Maceira
Someten a
registro a disidentes en aeropuerto
Protestas en
Holguín por apagón general
Multan a
periodista por salida ilegal
Entrevista al abogado invidente Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva
Cualquier
parecido es pura coincidencia
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Some
Cuban dissidents decry snub by U.S. lawmakers, others don't
Havana, Dec 20 (EFE).- Several high-profile members of Cuba's
dissident movement blasted U.S. legislators for ignoring the pro-democracy
activists during their visit to the island, while others said they understood
the omission and did not take it as a slight.
"The
result of the visit is deplorable. They gave up the chance to meet with the
opposition and lobby for the release of political prisoners in the hopes of a
meeting with Raul Castro, and they didn't even get that," said Miriam
Leiva, a member of the Women in White human rights organization hailed
internationally for its work on behalf of those persecuted by the Communist
regime.
A
10-person bi-partisan U.S. Congressional delegation came to Cuba last Friday -
the biggest such party to visit the island in nearly a half-century - and spent
three days meeting with high-ranking Communist officials.
The
group also met with Roman Catholic prelates, but saw their explicit request for
a meeting with provisional President Raul Castro, the younger brother of the ailing
Fidel, denied.
"The
legislators left not only with empty hands, but with dirty hands," said
Marta Beatriz Roque, of the Assembly for Promoting Civil Society.
"Nothing
positive" emerged from the encounters, she said.
"It
would have been positive if, in the first place, they would have spoken with
the opposition and thus been able to take back to their country the issue of
human rights, of the release of political prisoners, of the repression here.
But they did not do that," she said.
Rights
activist Oscar Espinosa described the omission as "a bit
inexplicable," noting that in the past other U.S. lawmakers have met even
with Fidel Castro and the opposition during the same visit.
"It
was too much of a concession (to the regime)," he opined.
For
his part, Manuel Cuesta Morua of the Arco Progresista (Progressive Arc) told
EFE: "Looking at it realistically, I don't think it's bad that they didn't
meet with the opposition."
"Taking
into account 48 years without political dialogue and of confrontation ...
taking into account the importance that some dialogue between the two countries
has for making the climate less tense, I think the first step should not be
jeopardized over a symbolic act" he said.
Cuesta
Morua said a meeting with the dissidents would have served only to provide
"an exchange of opinions already well known."
Elizardo
Sanchez, president of the not-officially-recognized Cuban Commission for Human
Rights and National Reconciliation, said the lawmakers' decision not to meet
with dissidents was "understandable."
"There
is much more closeness between us - between the congressmen and the opposition
- than there is between them and the government of Cuba," he said,
implying that seeking to bridge the broader gap makes sense.
Wrapping
up their trip, the lawmakers said Sunday that their visit was the beginning of
a new and promising phase in the ever-difficult bilateral relationship even if Havana,
in light of Fidel Castro's illness, is not ready to acknowledge that yet.
Arizona
Republican Jeff Flake, who headed the delegation, insinuated that it was
perhaps out of respect for the ailing "maximum leader" that those
currently running the country declined to herald any sort of watershed moment
in the relationship with Washington.
The
absence of a meeting with Raul "is interpreted by us that the Cuban
government is not ready to concede the new era or that a new era has
begun," he told a press conference.
"But
the dialogue has begun, with this the biggest (congressional) delegation in a
half-century," said Flake. "And there will be more visits and more
dialogue."
Authorities
of the 48-year-old Communist regime have treated Fidel Castro's ailment as a
"state secret." The 80-year-old leader has not been seen in public
since shortly before the July 31 announcement of his intestinal surgery and the
"temporary" transfer of power to Raul, the longtime defense minister
and Fidel's desginated heir.
Meanwhile,
the speaker of the Cuban parliament was quoted Wednesday as saying there was
little possibility of any significant change in U.S. policy towards Cuba while
George W. Bush is president.
"We
shouldn't believe that there will be any important changes while Bush is
president and as long as the current political balance exists in the United
States," Ricardo Alarcon told a session of the legislature.
Alarcon,
quoted by the Prensa Latina official news agency, said Cuba is quite far down
the list of priorities for American politicians at the moment because their
attention is focused on other problems, such as the war in Iraq. EFE jlp/dgm
-------------
U.S.
Delegation Probes Cuba for Hints of the Future
19
December 2006
NPR:
Morning Edition
RENEE
MONTAGNE, host:
This
is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I’m Renee Montagne.
STEVE
INSKEEP, host:
And
I’m Steve Inskeep, good morning.
Coming
up, we’ll report on two Latin-American leaders. One is a U.S. ally who faces a
corruption scandal. Then there’s a U.S. opponent, who’s making his nation a
little more like Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
MONTAGNE:
We don’t know how much longer it will be Fidel Castro’s Cuba. And it’s at this
uncertain moment that a congressional delegation visited Havana. It was
an effort to open a dialogue, now that the ailing president has ceded
day-to-day authority to his brother Raul.
As
it turned out, the lawmakers met neither Castro, as NPR’s Michele Kelemen
reports.
MICHELE
KELEMEN: The official line members of Congress say they were given in Havana,
was that Fidel Castro doesn’t have cancer and plans to appear in public soon.
He’s been out of public view since late July, when he temporarily handed power
to his brother Raul. Congressman Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, expressed
some disappointment that Raul Castro didn’t meet the delegation from
Washington.
Representative
JEFF FLAKE (Republican, Arizona): Disappointed, but not surprised. The Cuban
government doesn’t seem to be ready to move beyond the Fidel era. And to have a
meeting with Raul would have suggested that that era is done.
KELEMEN:
Flake and nine other members of Congress did meet with Cuba’s foreign minister,
a top communist party official, and with the head of the National
Assembly.
Rep.
FLAKE: They seemed to be a lot more guarded in talking about what changes might
come to the economy or politically. They didn’t to say anything that would,
perhaps, put them out of favor with those who might come in later.
KELEMEN:
Still, Flake came away with some advice for U.S. policy makers. He says if
Washington wants to promote a transition to democracy, it should ease travel
restrictions, especially for students and for Cuban-Americans.
He’d
also like to see Washington test Raul Castro’s recent calls to open
negotiations with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon has
ruled out a dialogue with Raul Castro, saying the offer was nothing new.
Assistant
Secretary THOMAS SHANNON (U.S. State Department): I mean, we’re getting all
kinds of advice in terms of what we should be doing with Cuba. And there’s, you
know, kind of genuine, kind of honest disagreement about how you best approach
a regime like this.
KELEMEN:
For now, the Bush administration has decided on a wait-and-see approach.
Shannon told reporters last week that the Cuban regime is becoming harder and
more orthodox as it gets closer to Fidel Castro’s end. And he sees no reformers
emerging.
Mr.
SHANNON: It has been evident to us for over a year that as Fidel Castro got
older, as he got more infirmed, as he approach his health crisis, that this was
a regime that was locking down and was preparing for this moment of
succession.
KELEMEN:
But Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York, came away with a
different impression from his weekend with the congressional delegation in
Cuba.
Representative
GREGORY MEEKS (Democrat, New York): We’ve just about met with everyone else
that we wanted to meet with, with the exception of Raul. They were very
accessible and very available and wiling to talk.
KELEMEN:
They talked, Meeks said, about business opportunities.
Rep.
MEEKS: They are willing to open up the opportunities for the American Tourism
Industry to come and work in Cuba and open up those gates. So there’s
opportunities on both sides, and we need to change the direction in which we’re
going in. And I think that we’re going to explore that in Washington in the
coming months ahead.
KELEMEN:
Meeks, who’s on the House International Relations Committee, predicts lots of
hearings and some legislative moves to try to chip away at the U.S. embargo on
Cuba. Congressman Flake would also like to see the embargo ease, though he
doesn’t really believe the Cubans want too many American tourists.
Rep.
FLAKE: Let them deal with spring break a few times and see how it is. If
somebody is going to restrict travel, I think it ought to be a communist
government - not our government.
KELEMEN:
The Bush administration, though, has tightened the travel restrictions in
recent years and tightened the embargo to try to undermine the communist
party’s grip on power.
Michele
Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.
--------------
Analysis:
"Subversive" media at the end of Fidel Castro's reign in Cuba
20
December 2006
BBC
Monitoring Media
Analysis
by George Ballantine of BBC Monitoring on 20 December
Fifty
years since the start of the December 1956 revolution, ailing leader Fidel
Castro is not in power any more. But his legacy is still present in communist Cuba's
renewal fight against "anti-revolutionary" and "subversive"
media, either domestic or foreign.
Cuba, considered to be the most media repressive country in the
world after China, is under rigorous scrutiny from media organizations. Since
Fidel Castro's relinquishing of power to his brother Raul, international
watchdogs have intensified their condemnation of human rights abuses, the lack
of media freedom and the jailed journalists' conditions of detention.
While
broadcast media remain under strict governmental control, print media and
especially the internet are now the focus of increased surveillance from
Castro's inheritor.
Unjust
jailing of journalists
There
are more than 70 Cuban writers, independent journalists and opposition party
leaders who have received sentences of between 18 and 25 years from Cuban
courts in recent years. According to CubaNet.org, the harassment, intimidation
and brutality towards the independent press have not in any way diminished
during Raul Castro's interim four months in power. Journalists left at liberty
in Cuba are kept under surveillance, while measures to control the
internet have increased.
The
Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations has deplored the
lack of press freedoms in Cuba and what the organization termed the
"unjust jailing of journalists" throughout the island. In a
resolution adopted at its meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 21 November, the
committee called for the "immediate" and "unconditional"
release of all imprisoned journalists in Cuba and an end to government
reprisals against the media. The committee also demanded that the Cuban
government "end its selective policy regarding the issuance of visas to
foreign journalists".
The
Global Committee also called on the Cuban government "to respect
international standards concerning the necessary mobility of journalists and to
permit imprisoned journalists who already have visas to emigrate for health
reasons to leave the country". It also demanded that the internet in Cuba
"be accessible by all Cuban citizens without restriction".
The
committee's resolution said many of the 23 journalists being held in Cuban
jails are suffering from serious health problems. The prisoners are held in
conditions of "unhealthiness and overcrowding", which are "made
worse by poor diet, lack of medical treatment, abuse of the inmates and forced
sharing of cells with highly dangerous common prisoners", said the
resolution.
Watchdog
demonstrates in support of jailed journalists
The
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) "considers Cuba one of
the top worst countries for journalists, and that in addition to 23 jailed
journalists, over 330 prisoners of conscience continue to languish in Cuban
prisons". In solidarity with the 23 journalists imprisoned in Cuba,
RSF demonstrated at the human rights square in Paris on 1 December 2006, the
eve of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution.
Twenty-three
cages were placed in Trocadero Square, each holding a masked inmate, clad in
prison dress. Each cage bore the journalist's name, media, sentence and the
reasons for their imprisonment. The demonstration was attended by Cuban exiles,
including dissident journalists, and drew journalists from the French and
foreign press.
"Twenty-three
journalists are paying with their freedom for having tried to inform the
public, outside the control of the state. The Cuban government would earn
respect by releasing them," RSF said. Twenty of the 27 journalists who
were arrested in the March 2003 crackdown are still being held in prison,
including RSF'correspondent Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso. Mostly accused of being
"mercenaries in the service of a foreign power", they received
sentences ranging from 14 to 27 years in prison.
The
internet under surveillance
With
less than 2 per cent of the population online, Cuba is one of the
world's most backward countries as regards internet usage. It is no surprise
that Raul Castro, who has for years fought to prevent "counter
revolutionary" talk in his country, wants to maintain the same kind of
grip on the Cuban internet.
According
to RSF, Cuba has more or less banned private internet connections. To
visit websites or check their email, Cubans have to use public access points
such as internet cafes, universities and youth computing centres where it is
easier to monitor their activity. The Cuban police have installed software on
all computers in internet cafes and big hotels that triggers an alert message
when "subversive" key-words are noticed.
The
regime also ensures that there is no internet access for its political
opponents and independent journalists, for whom reaching news media abroad is
an ordeal. Moreover, in a country where even buying a computer requires
government approval, very few Cubans even bother to try anything.
"In
Cuba, you can get a 20-year prison sentence for writing a few
'counter-revolutionary' articles for foreign websites," says RSF,
"and a five-year one just for connecting with the internet in an illegal
manner. Few people dare to defy the state censorship and take such a
risk."
In
order to draw attention to the lack of media freedom in Cuba, RSF
honoured the independent journalist Guillermo Farinas Hernandez with a
"cyber-dissident" award on 12 December. Hernandez, director of the
independent news agency Cubanacan Press, has been on 20 hunger strikes since
1995 to protest against the government's decision not to allow him home internet
access, a privilege denied to almost all Cubans. Farinas was also honoured on
10 December with the human rights prize by the German city of Weimar for his
commitment to freedom of expression and of the press.
RSF's
findings are confirmed by others who have studied Cuba's internet
censorship. Shanthi Kalathil and Taylor Boas in their book, "Open
Networks, Closed Regimes", published by the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, said: "Cuban authorities have carefully planned out
the diffusion of the internet, controlling the medium's pace of development and
the sectors in which internet access is granted. Cuban authorities seek control
over the internet not through a massive, centralized censorship mechanism but
rather by denying internet access where it could be potentially
subversive."
Internet
restrictions blamed on USA
The
Cuban authorities attribute all the responsibility for the poor bandwidth of Cuba's
link to the internet to the US government, which is said to be blocking all
attempts in the island to connect to high-speed links. The general argument is
that, as the overall connection speed of Cuba is not sufficient to serve
the entire country, the government has to control this scarce resource in order
to use it optimally for the benefit of everyone, albeit indirectly.
"This
may indeed explain the slowness of the Cuban internet and the endless lines
outside internet cafes," RSF says in a report on Cuba, "but in
no way does it justify the system of control and surveillance that has been put
in place by the authorities. In a country where the media are under the
government's thumb, preventing independent reports and information from
circulating online has naturally become a priority."
Still,
given the crush of new communication technologies hitting the market every
year, this head-in-the-sand approach may not work for Cuba much longer.
Better connection options, long-distance WiFi, and other new choices may soon
open up the island in ways that the government can't control.
usinfo.state.gov/
Source:
BBC Monitoring research 20 Dec 06
--------------
Bush
considering more troops in Iraq, Rice says; Secretary: U.S. will not engage
Castro's brother
By
Warren P. Strobel
McClatchy
Newspapers
20
December 2006
Centre
Daily Times
WASHINGTON
-- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that President Bush is
considering a surge of additional U.S. troops into Iraq to help secure Baghdad
-- despite strong reservations by some U.S. military leaders and the incoming
chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
"The
president has to decide whether he thinks some adjustments in American troop
levels and what American troops would do is necessitated by current
circumstances," Rice said.
"Anything
he considers will certainly look at what can be done about the security of
Baghdad," Rice said, describing sectarian violence in the capital as the
main stumbling block to a more peaceful Iraq.
Rice
said Bush, who's due to announce his new tactics in early January, wouldn't
decide before further consultations with new Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates
and military commanders.
But
a number of active and retired generals already have expressed serious doubts
about sending more troops to Iraq, saying there's little likelihood that the
20,000 to 30,000 troops under discussion would make a difference.
Rice's
predecessor as secretary of state, retired Gen. Colin Powell, said Sunday that
sending more troops would strain the overstretched U.S. Army and wouldn't
necessarily do much good.
"What
mission is it these troops are to accomplish? Is it to secure Baghdad? In which
case, the American Army isn't large enough to secure Baghdad, and we should not
use our troops as policemen," Powell told CBS News.
Rep.
Ike Skelton, D-Mo., incoming chairman of the House Armed Service Committee,
told reporters Tuesday that sending more troops probably wouldn't stop the
violence and "could actually exacerbate the situation even
further."
The
White House sought to play down reports of a rift over Iraq strategy with the
uniformed military.
"I
think people are trying to create a fight between the president and the Joint
Chiefs where one does not exist," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. He
confirmed that the president is considering more troops but emphasized that
Bush has made no final decisions.
Rice's
comments on Iraq came during an hour-long interview with McClatchy Newspapers
and other papers, much of which she spent defending U.S. foreign policy in the
Middle East and elsewhere from rising public criticism.
On
another topic, Cuba, Rice reiterated that should ailing leader Fidel
Castro die, the United States won't try to engage his brother, Raul, who's
temporarily in charge and is Fidel's presumed successor.
Giving
an impression of American outreach "from one dictator to another"
would be "the worst betrayal" of Cubans, she said.
With
Iraq in near chaos, Palestinian factions fighting in the streets of Gaza, and
Iran flexing its muscle throughout the Middle East, Rice's stewardship of
foreign policy has come under increasing criticism.
In
an implicit rebuke two weeks ago, the Iraq Study Group called on the administration
to open talks with Iran and Syria, a move Bush and Rice almost immediately
rejected.
Rice
dismissed the idea that the administration might back off pushing for democracy
in the Middle East, a course that critics say has added to instability and increased
the strength of Islamists.
Asked
what would be new about U.S. foreign policy in 2007, Rice replied: "Let's
talk first about what is constant."
The
Middle East, Rice argued, is at a "clarifying moment," with
extremists on one side and moderate forces on the other. In the first camp she
put Iran and Syria; in the second, mainstream states such as Egypt, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia.
--------------
Posted on Wed, Dec. 20, 2006
BROADCASTING
Radio, TV Martí facing a congressional
probe
A
congressional investigation of TV and Radio Martí is slated for early 2007, a
Massachusetts Democrat said.
choag@MiamiHerald.com
Congress early next year will investigate
allegations of mismanagement and political cronyism at taxpayer-funded Radio
and TV Martí, a ranking Democrat said Tuesday.
Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. -- slated to
chair the oversight and investigations subcommittee for the House International
Relations Committee -- said he will move to hold hearings on the Martís in late
January or early February. His comments came a day after Radio Mambí, WAQI-AM
(710), and Azteca América, WPMF-TV 38, each began carrying an hour of Martí
programming daily for payment.
''This will be a priority,'' said Delahunt,
who was in Cuba this week as part of a congressional delegation. ``There's
mismanagement . . . that really demands a thorough review.''
Government-funded media such as the Martís
cannot broadcast on U.S. airwaves because their mission is to present the U.S.
viewpoint to foreign audiences. However, there are loopholes in the law: Time
on an AM transmitter can be leased to circumvent signal-jamming, and TV Martí
can be ''inadvertently'' picked up by U.S. viewers as long as it reaches Cuba.
The Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which
oversees the Martí operation, portrays the contracts as just another way to
reach Cubans on the island. Radio Mambí's signal can reach Cuba under certain
circumstances, and WPMF-TV is carried on DirecTV, which some Cubans can receive
via a pirated signal.
Delahunt said the U.S. government is
essentially hiring the stations to reach mostly local audiences, funded with
taxpayer money. The six-month contracts call for Mambí to be paid $182,500 and
WPMF $195,000. WPMF general manager Enrique Landín said Channel 38 also will
sell commercials during the Martí newscasts -- which enraged Delahunt.
''Now we're subsidizing private commercial
stations,'' said Delahunt, who called the Martís politically motivated
boondoggles. The Martís will receive $37 million this year. ``This is
outrageous.''
The criticisms didn't surprise U.S. Rep.
Lincoln Díaz-Balart, who earmarks funds for the Martí operation.
''I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for
Delahunt . . . to stop trying to help the Cuban dictatorship,'' Díaz-Balart
said through his chief of staff, Ana Carbonell.
Larry Hart, a spokesman for the Broadcasting
Board of Governors, the government arm that oversees the Martís, said the
charges of political patronage were ``ridiculous.''
Both Radio Mambí and WPMF-TV were selected
after a media market survey, Hart said. Although many government contracts are
awarded through competitive bidding, the law allows some vendor contracts to be
issued as ''sole source'' -- without bidding -- under circumstances such as
urgency or a unique service. In this case, Hart said, time was of the essence
after Cuban leader Fidel Castro transferred power to his brother Raúl in July.
''We have been redoubling efforts to get
through,'' Hart said.
Two other South Florida stations were
approached, WSBS-TV 22 and WJAN-TV 41, but neither was willing to lease the
blocks of time Martí was seeking. Representatives at WSBS-TV had no comment,
and calls to WJAN were not returned.
HIGHLY RATED
Radio Mambí is one of the highest-rated radio
stations in South Florida and is known for its strong anti-Castro stance.
Popular Mambí commentator Ninoska Pérez-Castellon is also a board member and
spokeswoman for the hard-line Cuban Liberty Council.
Mambí is the only Spanish-language AM station
that carries a 50,000-watt signal through the night and is able to reach Cuba,
Hart said.
Most AM stations reduce their signal at night
when there are fewer listeners.
Hart acknowledged that the Cuban government's
Radio Rebelde transmits on the same frequency as Mambí -- 710 AM. But he said
the jamming does not block Mambí in all locations or at all times, and that the
signal gets through, particularly on the northern coast.
Representatives at Univisión, Mambí's
corporate owner, had no comment.
WPMF-TV is a small, low-power TV affiliate of
the Azteca América network, owned by Mexico's TV Azteca. The station is carried
on local cable systems, as well as DirecTV and over the air. It was selected
because it is carried on DirecTV Latin America, which is pirated in Cuba, Hart
said.
Landín and Jorge De Cárdenas, a marketing
consultant to the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, are former business partners.
State corporate records show De Cárdenas and Landín were partners in Creative
Developers, a real estate investment company that dissolved in 1980. They also
had a 30-year business relationship, De Cárdenas said, when Landín sold radio
time to De Cárdenas, then an advertising executive, to place ads for his
clients.
De Cárdenas said a 2003 consultant report for
the Office of Cuba Broadcasting recommended using radio stations around the
Caribbean to transmit Radio and TV Martí. That never happened, but the idea
remained.
Calls to Pedro Roig, director of the Office
of Cuba Broadcasting, weren't returned Tuesday.
VIOLATION OF LAW
Former Director Herminio San Roman, who ran
the operation from 1997 to 2001, said the Martís transmitted via a Miami
station, WCMQ, in the late 1980s for several months. But an attorney for the
U.S. Information Agency found such transmissions violated the law, he said. He
could not provide a copy of the opinion.
This is not the first time the U.S.
government has contracted U.S.-based radio stations to air its propaganda, said
John Nichols, associate dean of Pennsylvania State University's College of
Communications.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the
government leased time on private radio stations in South Florida and as far
away as New Orleans to beam Voice of America into Cuba.
And in September 1987, Radio Mambí and
WQBA-AM La Cubanísima rebroadcast a Martí interview with Cuban defector
Florentino Azpillaga Lombard after U.S. officials did not make him available to
U.S. media.
Nichols noted that using the Miami stations
to broadcast overseas violates international law because they are licensed to
serve only U.S. audiences. Cuba has long complained to international
telecommunications authorities about the Martís.
''This gives more fuel to the Cuban
government's position,'' he said.
The hearings are almost certain to be
politically charged. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, a longtime critic of the
Martís, said Tuesday that the transmissions over the Miami stations appeared to
be legally fuzzy.
-------------
TV
Marti buys space on private radio, TV to elude Cuba jamming
Miami,
Dec 19 (EFE).- In a new attempt to get around jamming by the Havana
government, Washington-funded Radio and Television Marti is paying to have its
programming aired on private broadcasting outlets whose signals can, in theory,
be received in Cuba.
This
is "an effort to penetrate Havana's interference barrier,"
Joseph O'Connell, spokesperson for the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, told
Efe Tuesday.
TV
Marti began transmissions Monday via Miami's WPMF-38 television, an Azteca
America affiliate owned by TVC Broadcasting, while some Radio Marti content
began going out over Radio Mambi.
OCB
is hoping that the WPMF signal, which is carried on satellite provider DirecTV,
will reach between 10,000 and 30,000 Cubans who have "hidden satellite
antennas," O'Connell said.
The
30-minute televised transmissions will go out daily at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT) and
11:30 p.m. (0400 GMT).
O'Connell
said that they have "trustworthy information" that Cubans with
satellite dishes "will be able to see the news live on TV
Marti."
OCB
is spending a total of $377,500 for the contracts with WPMF and Radio
Mambi.
The
initiative, according to OCB, has "the full legal authority" bestowed
by the approval of U.S. congressional committees and by government
attorneys.
Radio
and Television Marti was created through the U.S. Radio Broadcasting to Cuba
Act of 1983 during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and Radio Marti began to
transmit in May 1985 from Washington.
TV
Marti began its daily television transmissions to Cuba at the beginning of August
from a C-130 aircraft, and by way of a trial, beamed a message from U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Cuban people with assurances that
they can count on the unconditional support of Washington in the struggle for
democracy.
Last
October, TV Marti obtained a new aircraft from the U.S. government with which
it planned, according to OCB director Pedro Roig, to "break through the
information blockade of the Cuban dictatorship." EFE
-------------
RADIO,
TV MARTI SEAL DEAL IN S. FLORIDA; NEWS REPORTS SEEN AS WAY TO BOOST CUBAN
AUDIENCE
By
Vanessa Bauzá and Madeline Baró Diaz
Staff Writers
20
December 2006
South
Florida Sun-Sentinel
Federally
funded Radio and TV Martí have struck six-month deals with two commercial South
Florida stations to broadcast news reports to Cuba in the latest attempt
to circumvent jamming of their anti-Castro programming.
U.S.
law prohibits the use of public airwaves for propaganda aimed at foreign
audiences, such as Radio and TV Martí and Voice of America. However, Tish King
a spokeswoman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Cuba
broadcasting programs, said the law that created Radio Martí allows U.S.
stations to carry the programming if signals to Cuba are jammed.
After
consulting with a congressional oversight committee, the board decided similar
rules could be applied to TV Martí, King said. The agreements represent the
first time private stations are allowed to carry programming from Radio and TV
Martí. The broadcasts began Monday.
The
agreements, worth $377,500 combined, are an attempt to boost Radio and TV
Martí's Cuban audience at a critical time. In Havana, it is unclear whether
Fidel Castro will ever return to the presidency, while in Washington
anti-embargo legislators are increasingly criticizing the administration's hard
line against the island nation.
A
bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation visited Havana last week and plans to
hold hearings on legislation to ease travel restrictions to Cuba. They
will also examine federally funded programs that have mismanaged millions of
dollars for Cuban dissidents, according to a government oversight board, and
they question the effectiveness of spending millions on broadcasts that are
rarely seen or heard.
Rep.
Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who led the 10-member delegation, called the decision to
air Radio and TV Martí on local commercial stations a politically motivated
maneuver meant to appease South Florida's Cuban American community.
"It's
always been a show in search of an audience and I think now they are simply
removing the charade that this is intended for Cuba," Flake said of
Radio Martí.
U.S.
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, said he supported "all available
technologies and broadcasting methods for TV and Radio Martí to break through
the information blockade imposed on the Cuban people."
According
to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Radio Mambi, one of the top Spanish
language stations in South Florida, will receive $182,500 to broadcast Radio
Martí between midnight and 1a.m. on weekdays. In a similar contract worth
$195,000, half hour newscasts of TV Martí will be aired twice daily on WPMF-TV,
Channel 38, a Miami-based affiliate of the Spanish-language Azteca Americas
network picked up by DirecTV.
Authorities
on life in Cuba estimate Cuba has 10,000 black market DirecTV
dishes, which are regularly confiscated by the Cuban government.
Hans
de Salas del Valle, a research associate at the University of Miami's Institute
for Cuba and Cuban American Studies, said Cubans' access to DirecTV is
too limited to make an impact.
"It
seems again that the Cuban government has been able to anticipate the tough
measures that the administration has taken over the years," de Salas del
Valle said. "They seem to be a step ahead in terms of knowing where their
vulnerabilities are and taking steps to prepare. I don't think this will have a
major impact."
Enrique
Landin, general manager of WPMF-TV, said he did not think the programming would
affect South Florida viewers.
"This
is something that we are doing for the benefit of Cubans," said Landin,
who was born in Cuba.
Vanessa
Bauzá can be reached at vbauza@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4514.
-------------
Cuban
expects no change in U.S. policy while Bush is president
Havana, Dec 19 (EFE).- The speaker of the Cuban parliament said
there was little possibility of any changes in U.S. policy towards Cuba while
George W. Bush is president.
"We
shouldn't believe that there will be any important changes while Bush is
president and as long as the current political balance exists in the United
States," Ricardo Alarcon said during a session of the legislature.
According
to the state-run news agency Prensa Latina, Alarcon answered lawmakers'
questions about the recent Havana visit of a delegation of 10 U.S.
congressmen to talk with high-ranking members of the Cuban government about
bilateral relations.
Alarcon
said that Cuba is quite far down the list of priorities for American
politicians at the moment because their attention is focused on other problems,
like the war in Iraq.
Nonetheless,
he said that while a majority in the U.S. Congress might conceivably vote to
modify or eliminate restrictions on trips to the island, it would not get the
two-thirds necessary to override a presidential veto.
"This
is a matter that, regardless of the existing situation between the two
countries, is destined to be eliminated because it affects many people and
violates the U.S. Constitution itself," he said, referring specifically to
the travel restrictions.
He
said that the U.S. Congress "has ahead of it the reality of not knowing
what to do with regard to Iraq" because U.S. soldiers can neither remain
there nor get out and that is going to take all the legislature's attention and
efforts at this time.
He
also said that congressmen should attend to internal problems such as health
care, the economy and employment, among others.
In
his view it is not likely that "the (economic) embargo and the elimination
of restrictions will be fundamental issues during 2007."
He
also expressed the opinion that as 2008 approaches, the year of the
presidential election in the United States, "everything will revolve
around that event, making it even more difficult to consider other
business."
The
island's official daily Granma reported Monday that the U.S. congressional
delegation was the biggest of its kind to visit Cuba in almost half a
century.
The
U.S. legislators themselves said before leaving the island that their trip was
the beginning of a new and promising phase in the ever-difficult bilateral
relationship even if Havana, in light of Fidel Castro's illness, is not
ready to acknowledge that yet. EFE
--------------
Castro's
absence to dominate national assembly meeting
HAVANA, Dec 20, 2006 (AFP) -
Raul Castro's status as Cuba's leader in the absence of his ailing brother, longtime President Fidel Castro, could become clearer as the communist Caribbean nation's legislature meets Friday.
It
will be only the second time in its 30-year history that Fidel Castro will miss
a session of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP). The meeting takes
place with the veteran leader unseen in public for more than four months and
questions about the country's future looming.
Since
its creation in December 1976, the ANPP has always been Fidel Castro's venue
for laying out in detail the country's direction. His long speeches dominated
debates and usually led to unanimous votes backing his views.
But
since Fidel Castro, 80, handed over power for the first time in late July,
deputising his brother Raul as leader while he recuperates from intestinal
surgery, the country has been in a de facto political transition, but in what
direction, and under whom, remains a huge question.
With
a more conservative, quieter style, Raul Castro will preside over the second of
the two annual ANPP sessions.
In
the days ahead of the meeting, there has been no indication that he will break
from the normal routine. The deputies will review, for instance, the state
housing construction program and the "revolutionary" program to
protect the environment, themes already discussed Monday and Tuesday by ANPP
committees.
Even
so, all attention will be focused on any signal about Fidel Castro's health and
Raul Castro's future.
The
last time Fidel Castro missed an ANPP session, in December 2002, it was
attributed to complications from a mosquito bite. But this time, even in the
absence of a clear explanation, it is clearly more grave.
With
facts about his health a state secret, Fidel Castro's absence at a December 2
military parade held to honor his 80th birthday stunned people and sparked a
wave of speculation.
He
has not been seen in public since July 26 -- just before he handed over power
to his brother. And although he has since then appeared in pictures and on film
from what appeared to be a hospital bed, no images have been issued since
October 28.
"We
cannot exclude the possibility that Fidel will choose this moment to make
important announcements through his brother, such as laying down the formal
process for a transition," said a diplomat from a friendly Latin American
country.
The
diplomat said Fidel Castro's "political wisdom" could inspire an
announcement.
However,
he cautioned, "His temperament as a fierce fighter doesn't suggest that he
would announce his withdrawal from politics prematurely."
With
a personal appearance generally ruled out, the country must hold its breath in
wait for a surprise move.
With
609 members, the ANPP gives some hints at the future leadership. It is presided
over by one of the leading figures of the regime, Ricardo Alarcon, 69, Cuba's
former representative to the United Nations.
The
legislature comprises now three generations of Cuban leaders, all bound
together by "Fidelism" -- from the old guard who rose up behind Fidel
Castro in the 1959 revolution, to the newest generation of 30-40
year-olds.
In
between are rising figures like Carlos Lage, 54, vice president and an economic
specialist; Felipe Perez Roque, 41, Cuba's top diplomat; and Francisco Soberon,
61, president of the central bank.
All
were named by Fidel Castro to back his brother in the interim.
With
no official news about the health of their leader of over four decades, Cubans
have had to turn to statements from ally Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president.
The official Cuban press reported last Friday Chavez's statement that he had
spoken by telephone with Castro.
But
Cuban media avoided mentioning statements by the 10 US legislators who visited Havana
over the weekend. They told a press conference they had been assured that
Castro, contrary to rumors, did not suffer from cancer and was not terminally
ill. ple/pmh/mac/ddl/rl
-------------
Fake
money prompts issue of new bills;
In a mission to combat fake currency, Cuba has introduced a new line of peso
bills with tougher security measures. CUBA
By
MIAMI HERALD STAFF
cuba@MiamiHerald.com
19
December 2006
The
Miami Herald
HAVANA
In
line at a Havana currency exchange house recently, 62-year-old Carlos
suddenly saw the customer in front of him dash out at top speed as he heard the
teller shout, ``Stop, chico ! This is a fake!''
''The
guy took off running,'' said Carlos, a newspaper vendor whose last name was
withheld by The Miami Herald for fear of reprisals. ``The guards went after him
and probably wherever he got the counterfeits from.
`SHARP
AS A KNIFE'
``No
one passes fake bills off on me. I'm as sharp as a knife with that.''
Responding
to increasing reports of false convertible peso bills in Cuba, the Central Bank
on Monday announced a new series of bills with enhanced security features. The
bills are worthless anywhere else in the world, but are the main tender used
for most shopping on the island.
The
new bills will include the denomination in the watermark, adding the value next
to the hidden image of patriot José Martí.
The
back of each bill will also have a new picture, depending on its value. For
example, the one-peso bill will show a picture of Martí's combat death; the
three-peso bill, a picture of the 1958 battle of Santa Clara, in which rebels
scored a victory over Batista's regime; the five-peso bill, a picture of the
protest at Baragua in the struggle for independence from Spain.
`FATHERLAND
OR DEATH!'
The
bills maintain the security thread that reads ``Fatherland or death! We shall
overcome!''
The
Cuban government first introduced the convertible peso in 1994, shortly after
legalizing the U.S. dollar. The greenback was pulled off the market in 2004,
making the so-called ''cuc'' the most widely used legal tender on the island
and the only way to buy most consumer goods.
It
is worth $1.08 but cannot be exchanged anywhere but in Cuba.
The
Cuban government has denounced the use of fake bills as an exile-driven plot to
destroy the Cuban economy. During a 1999 terrorism trial in Cuba, a
self-proclaimed spy for the Cuban government testified that a Cuban American
National Foundation board member gave him thousands of fake pesos to dump on
the Cuban economy.
Some
stores in Cuba keep a log of shoppers' names and ID numbers in case a 50-peso
or 100-peso bill turns up fake.
''I
saw a fake five cuc once given to a vendor last year,'' said Lorenzo, who works
in a bookstore. ``But that is really, really rare. You're more likely to see a
fake $100 American bill. Our bills are hard to copy.''
But
several waiters, taxi drivers and currency exchange tellers in Havana
said although counterfeits are uncommon, they pop up sporadically.
`CUBANS
KNOW'
''We
have gotten fakes, mostly from tourists who don't know any better,'' said
Damián, a waiter. ``Cubans know what to look for.''
The
new bills will circulate alongside the old ones until the older bills are
gradually withdrawn, Cuba's daily paper Granma reported.
The
Miami Herald withheld the name of the correspondent who filed this report
because the author lacked the Cuban journalist visa required to work on the
island.
--------------
Cuban
Sugar Crop Expected to Beat Last Year’s Tally
Luis Carlos Niño
20 December 2006
Global Insight Daily Analysis
The
2006/2007 Cuban sugar harvest begins today in the eastern province of Santiago.
Authorities expect this crop to yield more than 1.3 million tons of sugar, as
31,000 additional hectares have boosted the production of sugar cane by 25% and
nine more refineries are set to begin operations. These new facilities and
supplementary resources, in addition to extra inflows that the government is
pumping into the sector, are part of a recovery plan for the sugar industry in Cuba,
and authorities are expecting that production will triple within two years. The
current local demand is estimated at 700,000 tonnes. Significance: In the
1990s, the Cuban government decided not to concentrate its resources in the
production of a single commodity, instead seeking to expand and diversify
production generally. Under this scheme, 60% of the land originally given over
to sugar production was used for other goods and 100,000 workers were given
training in other sectors.
These new announcements indicate a change in
strategy, which is based on the assumption that international prices of sugar
will remain high. Although such initiatives may seem as a sensible alternative
to increased production and revenues, there is also a significant associated
risk as the prices of this commodity are volatile and fluctuate easily.
-------------
HONDURAS:
Border agreement with Cuba.
20
December 2006
Latinnews
Daily
The
foreign minister, Milton Jiménez, travelled to Havana on 19 December to meet
his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Pérez Roque.
The
meeting is being held to discuss Honduras's maritime borders with other
countries in the Caribbean, including Belize, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Guatemala,
Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico.
Honduras
has been at the centre of several maritime border disputes, including an
intractable feud with El Salvador and Nicaragua over the Gulf of Fonseca. The
dispute was taken before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) eight years
ago, and a ruling is expected on the case in late 2007.
Honduran
relations with Cuba are, however, more friendly and Jiménez said that he
expected an agreement on maritime boundaries between the two countries would be
signed by the end of 2007. The two countries reinstated diplomatic relations in
2002.
--------------
EDITORIAL:
... while congressional trip to Cuba is signal of change closer to home
The
Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.
McClatchy-Tribune Business News
20
December 2006
The
Morning Call (MCT)
Distributed
by McClatchy - Tribune Information Services.
Dec.
20--It isn't just contrarian nations in the Middle East that bedevil U.S.
foreign policy. There's one notable nation closer to home -- just 90 miles
away, in fact -- that has been a diplomatic thorn for the White House and
Congress for nearly half a century. It's none other than Cuba.
While
various senators were embarking for Syria, a number of other members of
Congress flew to Havana last weekend. Some sense that it might be time
to start thawing diplomatic relations with communist Cuba, especially since
dictator Fidel Castro's mysterious, lingering illness, which began last summer.
The thinking is that it might be time to prepare for the post-Fidel era even
though the official Cuban line is to deny that he is suffering from a terminal
illness.
At
any rate, Mr. Castro turned 80 earlier this year. He hasn't been seen in public
since July, and even missed a postponed birthday party earlier this month.
However, he has communicated with people, including Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez, by phone. Also, since the summer he has turned over the day-to-day
operations of the country to his brother, Raul, who has twice called for
normalized relations with the United States. Both times, the Bush
administration rebuffed offers to talk to Cuban officials, saying the island
nation first must hold free elections and release political detainees. Rather
than easing policies toward Cuba, the Bush administration has tightened the
U.S. trade embargo and other prohibitions.