Cuban News November 29 2006

Cuban leader Fidel Castro Tuesday missed the opening event of his 80th birthday celebrations, instead sending a note to a large gathering of supporters in Havana that he was ``in no condition, according to the doctors, to face such a colossal gathering.''

In a brief written statement read aloud to an audience of hundreds of guests at the Karl Marx Theater, Castro said he faced a dilemma: only the mammoth theater could fit all the invited guests, yet doctors said he couldn't be around so many people.

''I opted for the variant of speaking to all, using this means,'' said the statement. ``My thought about glory and honor, as expressed by [José] Martí, is well-known, when he said that all [glory and honor] fit inside a grain of corn.''

Castro's note also said the United States' leadership had created a crisis of such magnitude that ``the American people themselves will almost surely not allow him [President Bush] to finish his term.''

He went on to say that he had sent a letter to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez congratulating him for his efforts to save energy by adopting a Cuban program of issuing power-saving light bulbs.

''We have a duty to save our species,'' Castro said.

The Cuban leader stunned the world almost four months ago by announcing that he had undergone intestinal surgery and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raúl. He also asked that celebrations marking his 80th birthday on Aug. 13 be postponed until Saturday to give him time to recover from surgery.

U.S. officials have said they believe he suffers from terminal cancer, but the Cuban government has steadfastly refused comment on his illness, saying only that he has been recovering. Castro himself has made only infrequent statements since his illness was announced.

More than a dozen missile launchers are standing by and MiG fighter jets are soaring across Havana's skies. Traffic is being diverted and loudspeakers are up at the Plaza of the Revolution.

The festivities to honor Castro began Tuesday night with the ceremony at the Karl Marx Theater. Other activities include a three-day conference that begins today, an art exhibit and a concert Thursday featuring Cuban and Latin American performers like Cubans Silvio Rodríguez and Los Van Van; Cabas, a Colombian pop fusion artist; and Danny Rivera of Puerto Rico.

''Every day, every hour, every minute, the success of this event is more evident,'' organizer Alfredo Vera told the Cuban media.

The largest preparations are being made for a parade Saturday, where 300,000 people are expected. The event will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Castro's yacht Granma, the one used to launch his leftist revolution.

Castro's 700-word note Tuesday, which also stated that ''it is still not known what effect the radiation of thousands of millions of computers and cellphones will have on human beings,'' did not clarify whether he would attend or miss the Saturday event.

Military tanks have been lined up since Sunday to rehearse for the parade, the first of its kind in 10 years. Traffic has been paralyzed, several people contacted in Havana said.

''This is a way to tell people there is power,'' said Martha Beatriz Roque, a dissident in Havana.

``But it's the end of the month, which means above all people are worried about finding food to eat, so these things don't interest them. There will probably be plenty of people there: Anyone whose workplace has been mobilized has to go.''

Attendance at mass marches and rallies in Cuba is generally guaranteed, because the government mobilizes government workplaces, which require their workers to attend.

This week's cultural events were organized by the Guayasamín Foundation, an Ecuadorean group named after the late painter Oswaldo Guayasamín, the first to paint Castro's portrait.

Among those attending are Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Mexican actress María Rojo, former Ecuadorean President Rodrigo Borja and Argentine ex-soccer star Diego Maradona.

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Castro sends his regrets, too ill for birthday kickoff

By Gary Marx, Tribune foreign correspondent.

29 November 2006

Chicago Tribune

HAVANA

Cuban leader Fidel Castro sent a message Tuesday evening that he was too ill to meet with guests attending the kickoff event to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Shortly before the festivities began, a Cuban narrator stepped onstage and read a brief statement attributed to the ailing Castro in which he explained that his doctors advised him against attending the gala at the Karl Marx Theater.

"As I reflected on this address, I found myself in a dilemma, since I could not find a small meeting room to accommodate you all. It was only in the Karl Marx Theater that all guests could be seated, but, according to the doctors, I was not yet ready for such a challenging engagement," read the statement, which was broadcast on national television.

The message was met by a standing ovation from the crowd. Tuesday's concert and dance performance was the opening of a five-day birthday celebration honoring Castro.

Castro's message left open the possibility that he could appear at other events, including a scheduled military parade Saturday in Havana's Revolutionary Plaza.

The festivities originally were scheduled for Castro's birthday Aug. 13. But after falling ill, Castro postponed them until Dec. 2.

Castro has not appeared in public since he underwent surgery and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul and a handful of other top officials July 31. Officials say Castro is recuperating, but many diplomats and Cubans think he is terminally ill.

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gmarx@tribune.com

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Castro Fails to Appear at Birthday Bash

By ANITA SNOW

Associated Press Writer

29 November 2006

HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro was too sick to meet thousands of admirers who traveled to Cuba for the kickoff of his delayed 80th birthday celebrations, according to a note purportedly from the ailing leader that raised new questions about his health.

The message, which was read to a crowd of 5,000 Tuesday at the Karl Marx Theater and on state TV, indicates that Castro is far from recovered from a mysterious ailment that forced him on July 31 to turn over power to his brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro.

The Cuban leader turned 80 on Aug. 13 but delayed his birthday celebrations as he recovered from surgery two weeks earlier for intestinal bleeding. Castro, who has not been seen in public for four months, wanted the delayed birthday celebration held on Dec. 2, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the date that he and fellow rebels landed by boat in Cuba to launch their revolution.

The announcement Tuesday raised doubts about whether he will appear at all.

The message read at the celebration's inaugural party said doctors had told Castro that he was not in condition to meet with a large crowd.

"I direct myself to you, intellectuals and prestigious personalities of the world, with a dilemma," said the note. "I could not meet with you in a small locale, only in the Karl Marx Theater where all the visitors would fit, and I was not yet in condition, according to the doctors, to face such a colossal encounter.

"My very close friends, who have done me the honor of visiting our country, I sign off with the great pain of not having been able to personally give thanks and hugs to each and every one of you," the note read.

The crowd responded with a standing ovation.

More than 1,300 politicians, artists and intellectuals from around the globe were attending the tribute to the man who governed this communist-run island for 47 years.

Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rene Preval of Haiti have confirmed their attendance, along with former Ecuadorean President Rodrigo Borja and Nicaraguan President-elect Daniel Ortega.

Also expected are Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona, South African singer Miriam Makeba and Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, an Argentine human rights campaigner, was also expected.

Castro's good friend and political ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wasn't expected to come; he is up for re-election on Dec. 3. But Chavez has promised to dedicate his anticipated electoral victory to Castro.

Cuban officials insist Castro is recovering, but U.S. officials say they believe he suffers from some kind of inoperable cancer and won't live through 2007. His ailment is a state secret.

Castro has been seen by the public only in photos and videos since he announced he was temporarily ceding power to his brother.

Some birthday activities include a three-day academic conference starting Wednesday, a concert with Cuban and other Latin American artists on Friday night, and an art exhibit.

More than 300,000 people are expected at a military parade on Saturday, the anniversary of the start of the revolution that was victorious on Jan. 1, 1959.

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Castro too sick to join public birthday celebration

HAVANA, Nov 29, 2006 (AFP) -

Cuban President Fidel Castro on Tuesday said he was too ill to attend the start of public celebrations marking his 80th birthday.

A letter attributed to the ailing revolutionary -- unseen in public since undergoing intestinal surgery on July 27 -- was read to guests and supporters at Havana's Karl Marx Theatre at the kick-off event of the celebrations.

The letter raised doubts that Castro would participate in any of the festivities, which culminate Saturday with Cuba's first military parade in a decade.

"I was not yet well enough, according to my physicians, to take part in such a challenging event, so I decided to speak with you in this way," said the letter, read by a state television news presenter.

"I bid farewell with great sorrow for not having been able to personally thank you and embrace every one of you," said the letter.

Castro's birthday was on August 13 but celebrations were postponed until this week in the hope he would have recovered enough to attend.

Some 5,000 people attended the late Tuesday gala event, including Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and some 1,800 visitors from 80 countries. Absent however was Raul Castro, Cuba's interim leader and the president's younger brother.

On July 31 Castro handed over Cuba's helm temporarily for the first time in more than four decades to his brother Raul, the defense chief, as he recovered from surgery.

Cuban authorities have disclosed few details on Fidel's health, which is considered a state secret. Speculation has been widespread that he will be unable to return to work full time.

Castro last appeared in a video October 28 to refute rumors he was seriously ill or even dead.

At that time he warned that his recovery would be long and "not without risks."

Elizardo Sanchez, a political dissident living on the island, described the birthday celebrations as "pharaohnic" in scope, and with shades of a farewell event.

Castro's somewhat disjointed missive, dated November 28, included jabs at the United States and concerns about the environment.

Referring to US President George W. Bush, Castro said that Cuba is "facing an adversary who has dragged the United States to such a disaster that the American people are almost sure to prevent him from completing his presidential term."

He went on to say that "Today, thanks to technology, the works and knowledge created by man in thousands of years are within everybody's reach, even if the impact of radiation from billions of computers and cell phones is still unknown."

And "a few days ago, the prominent organization World Wildlife Foundation, based in Switzerland and considered the most important NGO in the world to monitor global environment, acknowledged that the set of measures implemented by Cuba to protect the environment made it the only country on Earth to meet the minimum requirements for sustainable development," it added.

"This was for our country an encouraging honor, albeit one of limited world impact due to the low significance of its economy," the text said.

"If the industrialized and wealthy countries succeeded in ... the miracle of reproducing solar fusion on the planet, within several dozen years, devastating before then the environment with their hydrocarbon emissions, how could the poor peoples who make up the immense majority of mankind live in this world?" the text asked, with the admonition: "It is our duty to save our species." mdl-mis/ch/wdb

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UPDATE 3-Castro not well enough for birthday gala

By Anthony Boadle

(Adds new Castro quote, background)

HAVANA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he was not well enough to attend a gala kicking off five days of celebrations of his 80 years.

Castro, who has not appeared in public since he underwent intestinal surgery in late July, said in a message that was read out to 5,000 supporters and admirers from dozens of countries that doctors had not allowed him to attend the packed event in Havana's Karl Marx theater.

"It was only in the Karl Marx Theater that all guests could be seated but, according to the doctors, I was not yet ready for such a challenging engagement," he said in the message.

"I bid you farewell with great sorrow for not being able to personally thank you and embrace every one of you," he ended.

Castro's birthday was Aug. 13 but he postponed celebrations after undergoing emergency surgery for an undisclosed illness that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his brother Raul in late July.

Questions about whether he would be well enough to appear this week have dominated the run up to celebrations that some guests said feel more like a farewell than a birthday bash.

The leftist firebrand who seized power in a 1959 revolution could still make a brief appearance at the closing event, a military parade in Havana's Revolution Square where workers are erecting an elevated platform.

But, after the release on Oct. 28 of a video that showed a gaunt, shuffling Castro, many Cubans believe he is too old and too ill to resume governing.

Whether or not Fidel Castro reappears in public, most Cuba watchers agree a successor government led by his brother and designated heir Raul is firmly in place.

For four months, the low-key Raul Castro -- the world's longest serving defense minister -- has run the country with few speeches and less fanfare than his brother.

BUSY ACTING PRESIDENT

Government sources say the acting president has been very active holding dozens of meetings, strengthening the ruling Communist Party and coming to grips with Cuba's economic problems.

"It makes little difference if Fidel shows up or not. The succession has begun," said an Asian diplomat in Havana.

"Many people got it wrong. They thought Cuba would fall apart. But Cubans are not pushing for political change. They want more cheese and ham."

Fidel Castro's absence has not dampened the enthusiasm of visitors who came from as far away as Ethiopia and Laos for the celebration of a man they view as a champion of Third World countries. Events include a two-day colloquium on Castro's place in history.

"We came to celebrate his birthday. Twenty-five years ago he did a good job for the Ethiopian people," said artist Lemma Guya, recalling the thousands of Cuban troops Castro sent to fight in his country and hundreds of doctors who served there.

"Fidel Castro is a representative of oppressed peoples and activist intellectuals," said left-wing American author and State University of New York professor James Cockcroft. "All of us are worried about his health."

Officials said 1,500 guests from 80 countries will attend the celebrations, including presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rene Preval of Haiti and president-elect Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

(Additional reporting by Esteban Israel)

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Posted on Wed, Nov. 29, 2006

U.S. AND CUBA

Complaint filed against Cuban lobbying group

A watchdog group in Washington has filed a complaint against a Cuban-American lobbying group, which called the allegation a `political hit job.'

By PABLO BACHELET

pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON - A watchdog group has alleged a Cuban-American lobbying organization that favors tougher sanctions against Cuba broke Federal Election Commission regulations by having illegal links to a nonprofit group.

But the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee denied the allegations and noted that the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which has filed several complaints against it, has received donations from groups opposed to U.S. sanctions on the island.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics filed a complaint in September asserting that several members of the nonprofit Cuba Democracy Advocates Inc. had illegal links to the PAC, which is supposed to operate independently of any other organization.

Leopoldo Fernández Pujals founded two nonprofit U.S. organizations in 2000 to oppose the communist government, using some of the proceeds of his $366 million sale of Spanish fast-food chain Telepizza in 1999, according to the FEC complaint.

Those two organizations eventually became Cuba Democracy Advocates, and Fernández appointed Mauricio Claver-Carone as director and Miami-Dade car dealer Gus Machado as treasurer. Machado then went on to create the PAC and Claver-Carone became its Washington director.

Claver-Carone and Machado, according to the complaint to the FEC, have ''day-to-day operational control'' of both the PAC and Cuba Democracy Advocates.

THE RULES

According to FEC rules, a connected PAC can only raise money from its affiliated organization, but the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC has raised $1.25 million from 3,000 individuals, mostly members of the Cuban-American community.

The group has donated to dozens of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and is widely seen as successfully influencing congressional votes on Cuba sanctions.

Claver-Carone denied the two organizations had done anything wrong, noting that the PAC is run by a 26-member board and a seven-member executive committee, most of whom have no connection with Cuba Democracy Advocates.

''So long as majority of board members do not cross over, there's absolutely no problem whatsoever,'' he told The Miami Herald. ``Of the 26 board members, only one crosses over, and that's me.''

Claver-Carone said the latest complaint is the fourth filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics against his organization, constituting what he called a ``political hit job.''

`AGAINST US'

''They're getting money from people that advocate against us,'' he said, citing a $75,000 donation to the watchdog group by the ARCA Foundation, a family-owned foundation, which says on its website that it pursues more social justice and equity. The ARCA group also has donated to groups like the Latin America Working Group and the Lexington Institute -- all opposed to U.S. policies on Cuba.

The FEC decided against prosecuting the group's previous allegations. Claver-Carone says refuting each allegation means paying a law firm between $15,000 and $20,000.

Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, denied the group is targeting the Cuba Democracy PAC for political reasons.

''We believe they should follow FEC law,'' she said.

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28 November 2006

U.S. Lauds Press Freedom Advocates’ Criticism of Cuba

Press groups also condemn attacks on media in Venezuela

By Eric Green
USINFO Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. State Department has applauded a group of global press advocacy organizations for criticism of the Cuban regime’s continued human rights violations against independent journalists in the Caribbean nation.

In a November 27 statement to USINFO, the State Department’s Office for Cuban Affairs praised the Global Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations for deploring the lack of press freedoms in Cuba and for what the office termed the “unjust jailing of journalists” throughout the island nation.

In a resolution adopted at its meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 21, the committee called for the “immediate” and “unconditional” release of all imprisoned journalists in Cuba and an end to government reprisals against the media in that country. The committee also demanded that the Cuban government “end its selective policy regarding the issuance of visas to foreign journalists.”

The members of the global coordinating committee are: the International Association of Broadcasting, based in Montevideo, Uruguay; the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers; the World Press Freedom Committee, based in Reston, Virginia; and the Miami-based Inter-American Press Association.

The State Department’s Cuban affairs office said in its November 27 statement to USINFO that another press group, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, “considers Cuba one of the top worst countries for journalists, and that in addition, over 330 prisoners of conscience continue to languish in Cuban jails.”

The State Department Cuba office said the Cuban people “deserve to control their destiny; to do so they need the information that only a free press can provide.” As the State Department has done many times previously, the office said the Cuban regime should “release political prisoners, respect human rights, and call for free and fair multi-party elections.”

The Global Committee’s resolution 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.”

Reporters Without Borders said Cuba is on the list of 15 “Internet enemies” that the press group drew up for the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Tunis, Tunisia, in November 2005. (See related article.)

The committee’s resolution said many of the 26 journalists being held in Cuban jails are suffering from serious health problems. The prisoners are being subjected to 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.

The repression against Cuban independent journalists also is documented in the State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. Released March 8, the report says the Cuban Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press insofar as it conforms “to the aims of socialist society," a clause which the report said effectively bars free speech. In practice, criticism of the Cuban government and its leaders is not allowed, said the report.

In addition, the Bush administration created the Cabinet-level Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba in October 2003 to explore ways in which the United States could help "hasten and ease" a democratic transition in Cuba. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice serves as chair of the commission, while the U.S. government's Cuba transition coordinator, Caleb McCarry, oversees the commission's day-to-day operations.

PRACTICES IN VENEZUELA DRAW FIRE

The Global Committee also issued in Rio de Janeiro a resolution on Venezuela assailing anti-press laws in that country. The committee’s resolution said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s control of the country’s executive branches has enabled him to “legislate and put pressure on the judiciary and the actions of the Attorney General’s Office,” leading to a “structured legal framework” that punishes the media “to the point of closing them down.”

The resolution said that in recent months in Venezuela, violence against independent journalists and the news media has increased “dramatically, with the murder of journalists, sabotage and aggressions being reported.”

The pressure against the country’s media, said the resolution, has resulted in news executives and journalists being put on trial for “reporting and expressing opinions.” Such pressure was said to restrict freedom of expression and encourage self-censorship in Venezuela.

The resolution on Venezuela warned that “any act of intimidation, hostility, or direct or indirect attack that restricts the work of journalists and the independent media or that limits or controls the free dissemination of ideas and opinions is considered an attack upon freedom of expression that affects information concerning the electoral process.” That statement referred to the fact that Venezuela is holding presidential elections December 3.

The committee expressed its support for Venezuelan journalists and news media, and reiterated to Venezuela’s government that it “should restore respect for and observance of the norms on which the right to freedom of expression and to information in that country are based.” The committee said it would maintain a “permanent watch over the situation of independent journalists and news media in Venezuela.”

The State Department’s report on human rights practices said Venezuela’s laws provide for freedom of speech and of the press, but that the “combination of new laws governing libel and broadcast media content, legal harassment, and physical intimidation resulted in limitations on these freedoms and a climate of self-censorship.”

The Global Committee made similar denunciations June 4 regarding attacks against journalists in the Western Hemisphere. (See related article.)

The Global Committee’s resolutions are available on the Web site of the Inter-American Press Association.

For more on U.S. policies in the region, see The Americas.

Sections of the State Department human rights report dealing with Cuba and Venezuela are available on the State Department Web site.

More information on the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba is available on the White House Web site.

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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CUBA WONDERS: WILL CASTRO SHOW? LEADER'S VISIT AT BIRTHDAY EVENT WOULD TELL MUCH FOR THE FUTURE

By Doreen Hemlock Havana Bureau

29 November 2006

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

HAVANA

It's the talk of the town: Will Fidel Castro attend his 80th birthday celebrations this week?

Cuba has organized five days of activities honoring the veteran socialist leader, culminating Saturday with the largest military parade in a decade. The event is expected to draw some 300,000 people to Revolution Plaza.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, Nicaraguan President-elect Daniel Ortega and Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez are likely to be among the 1,000 dignitaries from around the world coming to the celebrations.

But the burning question is whether Cuba's comandante for four decades will be healthy enough to appear or what his absence might mean for the future of the communist island.

"No one can replace Fidel, no one," said Madeline Hermida, 42, as she sold handicrafts in colonial Havana. "The people have faith he will recover and show up."

Tuesday night, Castro sent a message broadcast live on Cuban television, saying doctors had told him he was "not yet ready" to attend that evening's cultural performance.

Fidel temporarily ceded power July 31 to his brother and long-time defense minister, Raúl Castro, after sudden intestinal surgery and asked for celebrations of his Aug. 13 birthday to be delayed until Dec. 2. On that day in 1956, the private yacht Granma returned Fidel, Raúl and 80 others from exile in Mexico to Cuba to launch the guerilla war that toppled the government in 1959 and brought the Castro brothers to power.

Since that announcement four months ago, Castro, the world's longest-serving leader, has not appeared in public. Government media has published occasional photos and video. The latest was broadcast on Oct. 28 and showed a frail Castro walking. Details of his condition are guarded as a state secret, though officials insist he's on the mend.

Many in Havana expect the strong-willed Castro, long dubbed "the Horse," will appear, if only briefly on Saturday.

Lazaro Garcia, 61, worries a no-show could signal the chief is sicker than expected. He dreads to think of a future without Castro, although Cuba has remained calm and stayed its communist course under the temporary rule of Raúl Castro.

"The military parade will show the world we're protected," said Garcia, a newspaper vendor. He fears without Castro, Washington might try to undo the advances of the revolution, especially free education and free health care. "You know how much an operation costs in the United States? And in capitalism, not everyone works. Homeless people die in the winter," Garcia said.

Amid birthday preparations, Cubans are even debating how Castro might appear -- perhaps with a cane or in a "Fidel mobile," similar to the vehicle the late Pope John Paul II used in his final years.

"If he shows in a wheelchair, there will be bittersweet emotions: joy to see him but pain to know he's not his strong former self," said Julio Zulieta, 64, a parking attendant in Old Havana. Whatever happens, he expects Cuba to defend its revolution, "because we can't give up our gains."

Analysts abroad and dissidents across the island also are on Castro watch.

"Whether he shows or not may indicate a shift in the balance of power," said Dan Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank in Washington, D.C. An appearance by an extremely frail Castro, for example, could signal he is still strong enough to override his handlers, said Erikson.

Guillermo Fariñas, an independent journalist in Santa Clara, said Castro might show looking healthier than he really is, just as an ailing Eva Peron in Argentina was made up and propped up during her later appearances.

"Like it or not, we're in a process of succession," said Fariñas. The opposition's role will be "to negotiate with Raúl to bring more economic, social and political gains to the people."

Spearheading Castro's birthday celebrations is Ecuador's Guayasamín Foundation, named for the late Ecuadorean painter and sculptor Oswaldo Guayasamín who was Castro's friend.

Birthday celebrations kicked off Tuesday, with a cultural performance at the Karl Marx Theatre.

Doreen Hemlock can be reached at dhemlock@sun-sentinel.com.

PARTY PREP: Cuban soldiers drive an antiaircraft vehicle Monday in Havana during a rehearsal for the Dec. 2 parade to celebrate President Fidel Castro's 80th birthday. AFP photo/Rodrigo Arangua

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Cubans, wary of change, still count on Castro

HAVANA, Nov 28, 2006 (AFP) -

After more than four decades led by Fidel Castro, many Cubans are as emotional about their ailing leader's uncertain health as they are unprepared to imagine change.

"I think things are going to change a little, but I don't want them to change a lot. Everything is going well with Fidel," said Daniel Diaz, 20, an Old Havana greengrocer who earns the equivalent of 20 dollars a month.

He is among the 70 percent of the country's more than 11 million people who have never known a leader other than Castro, whose 80th birthday Cuba is celebrating with great fanfare this week.

That is, until July 31, when Fidel handed power temporarily to his brother, defense chief Raul Castro, after intestinal surgery. Cuba then postponed the fiesta for Fidel's August 13 birthday until now.

Many eagerly expect Castro, who has not been seen in public for four months, to turn out in his olive-drab army uniform at a December 2 military parade. It could be a sign of whether Fidel might be able to return to work full-time.

"What he has done for us is amazing, and nobody did it before," said Felicia Matos, 73, selling peanuts to commuters. "At my age, I wasn't able to study. Why? But my children and grandchildren are teachers and professors. Fidel has given us the chance to have a home, everything. He loves us a lot."

"I have a granddaughter who has asthma and she has had great care, and no one ever asked for a cent. We could not have it better," added Matos, on the verge of tears.

"He has always looked out for the people, especially the children," said Vladimir Diaz Solano, an artist with a gallery amid the wrought iron and crumbling colonial-era homes.

"He is our Comandante. He has to get well soon. He has to show up" at the military parade Saturday, added Diaz Solano. "People are waiting for him, waiting to hear from him."

The United States, over decades of opposition to Castro, long expected that in Latin America's only communist-ruled country, Fidel Castro would leave power only when he died.

The scenario turned out differently, with Fidel stepping aside, launching a so-far smooth communist passing of the baton.

Raul Castro, 75, has kept a low profile, while speaking out against corruption, as everyday life has gone on largely unchanged. Some Communist Party officials rarely seen in state media in the past have had their profiles raised on television.

"I am counting on the system that we have continuing," said Matos.

Rather like Britons who dream of their queen, Cubans have internalized Fidel to the point that they see him as part of the family, part of life itself.

Many younger people see him as something of a clever grandpa who they willingly or grudgingly say knows best. Not dissidents or rights groups, of course, who say the regime tramples civil rights.

For those who don't call him Fidel or Comandante, Cubans have a universally understood three-fingered chin-rubbing hand signal for the bearded Castro.

"He is our Comandante, and we love him a lot," glowed Madelin Esquijaroza, 35, a children's hospital administrator. Of Castro's uncertain health, she said: "He is strong. He has never let us down. And I am not worried because I don't think the system here is going to change. Nobody is going to take away our right to be free."

But "the system has to change a little bit, there has to be a little more freedom and economic opening," a 25-year-old father with a second baby on the way, selling glass bottles to supplement his salary, said privately.

"I had, and I have, hope for change. I don't know if I'll see it or if it will be my next child who does," he said, adding: "I don't expect radical change: there are good things like health care and education. But I would like to have things like a DVD, and be able to travel the world."

"And hear the news, travel and buy the things I want, because I have earned it!" his wife interjected.

For the young fruit vendor Diaz, who sports a pierced tongue, "Cuba has social equality. It has culture.

"I wouldn't mind change if it is for the better," he added. "But what is capitalism going to solve here? Nothing. The United States may be interested in Cuba, but just for business, consumerism, not for the people.

"We don't need anything from those people," Diaz added, taking a slow drag on his cigarette. mdl/ksb

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Cuban exile's lawyers seek secret files; Defense lawyers for a Cuban exile charged with housing an arms cache want security clearance so they can determine their client's relationship with local and federal authorities. CALIFORNIA

By WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA

El Nuevo Herald

29 November 2006

The Miami Herald

The attorneys for Cuban American Robert Ferro -- arrested in California for possession of an arsenal of weapons and ammunition -- have asked the government to turn over documents regarding the prisoner's links with federal agencies, which, they say, spanned years.

''We have submitted a request asking that the government make available to us the files on my client's relationship with police and U.S. intelligence agencies,'' lawyer Arturo Hernandez said Monday in Miami. ``We are making a wide-ranging petition, so the court may order the release of classified information.''

The defense strategy aims to buttress the defendant's statements during the initial interrogations in April and in documents submitted later to the court, in which Ferro claims the weapons were given to him by U.S. agents.

The move to obtain classified information has forced the court to postpone Ferro's trial until April. His lawyers say they need time to obtain the security clearance that will allow them to review confidential documents.

Ferro, 62, remains jailed without bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. A hearing is set for Dec. 4, where his lawyers will ask for his release on bond.

''He is very sick, with severe diabetes, and we're asking for release on bail and house arrest, which would allow him to be looked after by his private doctor,'' the lawyer said.

The arsenal -- 1,571 firearms, grenades and ammunition found in his home in Upland, Calif. -- is the largest cache of weapons in a private home ever found by the FBI.

At the time, Ferro claimed he was a member of Alpha 66 and that the Miami-based organization paid for part of the arsenal to be used against the regime of Fidel Castro. Alpha 66 leaders say Ferro is not a member and rejected his claims.

Assistant U.S. attorney Dennise D. Willett was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, federal Judge Virginia A. Phillips has denied all defense motions. In late September, she rejected a defense bid to suppress evidence found by police during the raid of Ferro's house.

Following the ruling, Ferro released an ''open letter to the Cuban community and Latinos in general'' blasting the judge.

''With this judge I have no chance to obtain my freedom,'' he wrote. ``My only crime is to have weapons to fight terrorist Castro; and I believe that is a noble thing to do in defense of freedom, not only for Cuba but also for the U.S.A. because I would have eliminated a threat to our National Security.''

In the letter, Ferro criticizes the silence of the Cuban Americans in Congress and President Bush regarding his case.

Hernandez declined to comment on the letter.

Ferro, a Vietnam veteran and a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer, claims to be a great-grandson of Cuban hero Vicente Garcia, a general in Cuba's war of independence against Spain.

Police records show that in 1992 Ferro was sentenced to two years in a California prison for possession of explosives.

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Castro demasiado débil para celebrar

BBC

Aún no está claro si Castro podrá asistir a alguna de las veladas en su honor.

El presidente cubano, Fidel Castro, no pudo participar de la ceremonia de apertura de los cinco días de festejos en La Habana por su octogésimo cumpleaños debido a su estado de salud.

"Yo no estaba todavía en condiciones, según los médicos, de afrontar tan colosal encuentro", explicó Castro en un mensaje escrito, leído por un locutor ante decenas de artistas, políticos e intelectuales llegados de todo el mundo.

El líder cubano, quien cedió temporalmente el poder a su hermano Raúl el 31 de julio de 2006 antes de ser sometido a una operación intestinal, dijo que se despedía con gran dolor "por no haber podido darles personalmente las gracias y abrazar a cada uno de ustedes".
El inicio de los festejos había sido planeado originalmente para el 13 de agosto pasado, fecha de su cumpleaños, pero luego fue postergado hasta este martes con la esperanza de que pudiera estar presente.

Según el gobierno de Cuba, Fidel Castro está recuperándose satisfactoriamente, pero no se sabe si podrá asistir a alguna de las restantes veladas en su honor.

Castro apareció en video por última vez el 28 de octubre para desmentir rumores sobre su muerte.

El evento más importante de los festejos será un desfile militar programado para el sábado en la Plaza de la Revolución en La Habana, para recordar los 50 años transcurridos desde su desembarco al frente del grupo de rebeldes que derrocó al entonces gobernante militar, Fulgencio Batista.

Fidel Castro no ha hecho apariciones públicas desde que fue comunicada su enfermedad y sólo pudo ser visto durante la convalecencia en fotografías y videos.

Sus últimas imágenes corresponden al 28 de octubre pasado, cuando la televisión cubana lo mostró caminando con mucha lentitud y desmintiendo los insistentes rumores sobre su muerte.

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Comienzan en Cuba los homenajes a Castro sin su presencia

Agence France Presse

Nuevo Herald

LA HABANA

UN GRUPO de obreros realiza el montaje del proyecto "Cinco Palmas'' en una calle aledaña al Museo de Bellas Artes de La Habana. En este proyecto participan 30 artistas cubanos.Unas 1,800 personalidades de 80 países iniciaron ayer en La Habana un homenaje sin precedentes por el 80 cumpleaños del gobernante Fidel Castro, quien no aparece en público desde que fue operado hace cuatro meses y cedió el poder a su hermano Raúl.

Una gala en el Teatro Karl Marx inauguró el festejo a las 21H00 locales (02H00 GMT del miércoles), sin que hasta ahora se conozca si el gobernante podrá asistir a alguno de los eventos organizadas por la Fundación Guayasamín.

''Lo vamos a ver el último día que él va a asistir'', dijo ayer la primera esposa del pintor Oswaldo Guayasamín, Maruja Monteverde, al referirse a la clausura del homenaje, el viernes.

Pero el ministro de Cultura, Abel Prieto, dijo que no podía ''anunciar nada'', aunque mencionó que Castro sigue de cerca el evento: ``Yo sí sé que Fidel está informado de lo que se está haciendo, ha estado al tanto, preguntando''.

La expectativa está centrada en el sábado, cuando todos los cubanos esperan verlo, enfundado en su traje verde oliva, en la Plaza de la Revolución, en un desfile militar que conmemora los 50 años del desembarco del yate Granma, inicio de la lucha guerrillera en la Sierra Maestra.

Aviones de combate Mig y helicópteros MI-17, tanques, misiles antiaéreos, carros blindados y más de 300,000 personas en la marcha: todo está listo para una espectacular aparición de Castro en el desfile.

'Dentro de unos días vendrá un `jonrón' cuando aparezca Fidel al frente del gobierno cubano'', dijo el lunes el presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, su más estrecho aliado y amigo, quien lo ha visitado cuatro veces en la convalescencia.

Las autoridades cubanas, no obstante, insisten en que una aparición en el desfile u homenaje dependerá del propio Castro y la opinión de los médicos.

Antes de la gala, una donación de la Fundación de 60 obras del pintor ecuatoriano a la Casa Guayasamín en La Habana abrió el homenaje.

''Arranca con la donación de una de las mejores colecciones de gráfica de la Fundación'', dijo a la AFP Pablo Guayasamín, hijo del artista y presidente de la organización.

Se espera al presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, y al gobernante electo de Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega. Ya arribaron el ex presidente ecuatoriano Rodrigo Borja, el escritor Jorge Enrique Adoum, el poeta brasileño Thiago de Mello, el nicaragüense Tomás Borge, el sociólogo belga Francoise Houtard y la argentina Hebe de Bonafini.

''Simbólicamente Guayasamín ha vuelto'', dijo Borja.

El tributo incluye un coloquio internacional, una exposición de 116 obras de Guayasamín y el concierto ''Todas las Voces Todas'' con artistas como el cubano Silvio Rodríguez, la sudafricana Miriam Makeba y el uruguayo Daniel Viglietti.
El festejo estaba previsto para el 13 de agosto, día del cumpleaños, pero fue postergado por Castro, al ser operado de urgencia el 27 de julio, luego de asistir a dos actos en el este de la isla en la fiesta patria del 26 de julio.

Desde ese día los cubanos solo lo vieron en fotos y en cinco videos, el más reciente hace justo un mes, cuando Castro advirtió que aún había ``riesgos''.

Su salud es ''secreto de Estado'', lo que ha desatado todo tipo de rumores, desde versiones sobre un cáncer terminal hasta que había muerto.
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Arrancan homenajes a Castro pero sin presencia del mandatario

Por ANDREA RODRIGUEZ - LA HABANA - Noviembre 29, 2006

Un conjunto de actividades para rendir homenaje al presidente Fidel Castro por su cumpleaños 80 comenzó el martes, pero sin la presencia del mandatario convaleciente, quien indicó en un mensaje que no estaba en condiciones médicas de asistir a la ceremonia inaugural.

Castro hizo llegar su comunicación a centenares de invitados especiales de todas partes del planeta reunidos entre unas 5.000 personas en una gala cultural en la noche.

"Al dirigirme a ustedes, intelectuales y personalidades prestigiosas del mundo, estaba ante un dilema: no podía reunirlos en un pequeño local, sólo en el Teatro Carlos Marx cabían todos los visitantes y yo no estaba todavía en condiciones, según los médicos, de afrontar tal colosal encuentro", expresó una nota firmada por el mandatario y leída por un locutor.

"Entrañables amigos, que han hecho el honor de visitar nuestro país, me despido con gran dolor por no haber podido darles personalmente las gracias y abrazar a cada uno de ustedes", concluyó el líder en su misiva.

Castro no especificó si se presentará en público en algunas de las jornadas de un coloquio, o en un concierto y una exposición también organizados por la Fundación Guayasamín de Ecuador en su honor y para el cual se inscribieron 1.500 personas de decenas de países.

Desde el 31 de julio, cuando se anunció su intervención quirúrgica, el presidente sólo fue visto en fotografías y video, demacrado pero lúcido.

Por la tarde, familiares del difunto pintor ecuatoriano Oswaldo Guayasamín habían entregado a la casa-museo dedicada al artista plástico _amigo personal de Castro_ un conjunto de obras originales del sudamericano.

"Estamos felices de festejar los 80 años de Fidel, de darle mucha fuerza para que se mejore, de acompañar a los cubanos, en esta maravilla que es tener este hombre", dijo a la AP la dirigente de la organización argentina de derechos humanos Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Hebe de Bonafini, quien estuvo en la sede cultural acompañando a los parientes del artista.

Castro representa "los idearios de nuestros hijos e hijas detenidas desaparecidas", afirmó Nora Cortiñas, también activista de derechos humanos de la nación sudamericana.

Para las programas de la Fundación también fueron invitados los presidentes Evo Morales, de Bolivia; René Preval de Haití, y el mandatario electo de Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega. Su asistencia se consideraba probable, no así la del venezolano Hugo Chávez, pues difícilmente llegue debido las elecciones en su país, dijo Alfredo Vera, directivo de la Guayasamín.

Inicialmente, los festejos para Castro se realizarían el 13 de agosto, día de su cumpleaños número 80, pero el dirigente pidió que se pospusieran por su enfermedad hasta alrededor del 2 de diciembre, 50 aniversario de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias y desembarco del yate Granma, que dio comienzo a la lucha guerrillera.
Desde entonces ejerce como gobernante interino su hermano Raúl Castro, vicepresidente y jefe de las fuerzas armadas.

Consultado por periodistas, el ministro de Cultura, Abel Prieto, se mostró satisfecho con la convocatoria de la Fundación y sus invitados. "Son gente que viene a homenajear a Fidel pero también a reflexionar sobre lo que ha significado la obra de Fidel, Cuba, la revolución cubana, para América Latina y el mundo", comentó Prieto.

Por la tarde además, funcionarios de alto rango, como los vicepresidentes Carlos Lage y Esteban Lazo encabezaron la inauguración de una sede universitaria en La Habana Vieja, dedicada al mandatario.

"Lo más importante es que está y va a estar siempre aquí (Castro), no porque ahora este ausente (físicamente) ahora está lejos de nuestro corazón", dijo el historiador de la ciudad, Eusebio Leal.

Para el jueves se programó un desfile militar en el oriente de la isla y el sábado otro en la histórica Plaza de la Revolución.
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Castro, ausente en festejo de cumpleaños por estado de salud

Noviembre 29, 2006

Por Esteban Israel

LA HABANA (Reuters) - El líder cubano Fidel Castro dijo el martes que su estado de salud le impedía participar en la apertura de los festejos de su cumpleaños 80, un evento que el mundo esperaba para evaluar su recuperación tras cuatro meses de convalecencia.
Castro entregó el 31 de julio el gobierno a su hermano Raúl mientras se recupera de una enfermedad no revelada que lo alejó del poder por primera vez en casi medio siglo y por lo que fue operado de urgencia. No ha sido visto en público desde entonces.

"Yo no estaba todavía en condiciones, según los médicos, de afrontar tan colosal encuentro," dijo en un mensaje leído en la noche del martes por un presentador ante partidarios suyos llegados de todo el mundo y reunidos en un teatro de La Habana.

"Me despido con gran dolor por no haber podido darles personalmente las gracias y abrazar a cada uno de ustedes," añadió.

El convaleciente líder no aclaró si estará también ausente el 2 de diciembre, cuando el ejército lo homenajeará con el primer desfile militar en una década. Muchos creen que ése sería el momento ideal para su reaparición.

Las últimas imágenes de Castro se remontan al 28 de octubre, cuando la televión estatal exhibió un video donde aparecía caminando y leyendo periódicos para desmentir rumores sobre su muerte.

Las autoridades cubanas insisten en que se recupera, pero no está claro cuándo ni de qué forma volverá a la vida pública.

"Que nadie espere en Cuba nada después de Fidel, porque para Fidel no hay después," dijo el martes Carlos Lage Codorniu, el presidente de la Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios

"Este es nuestro regalo, Comandante: unidad y continuidad," indicó.

FESTEJOS CON O SIN FIDEL

Unos 1.500 intelectuales y políticos de 80 países llegarán a lo largo de esta semana a Cuba para celebrar con conferencias, conciertos y exposiciones el octogésimo cumpleaños de Castro, a quien sus simpatizantes ven como la última leyenda viviente de la izquierda.

Las autoridades dieron día libre el sábado a los cubanos para que participen o vean por televisión el desfile militar, el plato fuerte del homenaje a Castro.

En la Plaza de la Revolución de La Habana, donde marcharán tropas, tanques soviéticos y unos 300.000 ciudadanos, han sido colocados dos sillones en primera fila, otra señal que aumentó las expectativas de una reaparición pública de Castro.

Estudiantes y militantes del gobernante Partido Comunista han sido movilizados para reforzar el desfile militar.

"Tenemos que demostrar al enemigo nuestro potencial y nuestro armamento," dijo Suranis, una estudiante universitaria de 19 años que marchará con uniforme y fusil al hombro.

La salida de escena de Castro atizó el debate sobre el futuro de Cuba sin el hombre que ha gobernado el país desde el triunfo de la revolución en 1959.

El gobierno asegura que el sistema socialista sobrevivirá bajo el liderazgo de Raúl, un general de 75 años que ha sido su mano derecha durante medio siglo.

Castro rechaza oficialmente el culto a la personalidad. Los festejos por su cumpleaños, que fue el 13 de agosto pero se postergaron por su enfermedad, son organizados por la Fundación Guayasamín de Ecuador.

(Reporte de Anthony Boadle y Nelson Acosta en La Habana)

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Castro habla de EEUU, de ecología y de su salud en mensaje

José Luis Paniagua

La Habana, 28 nov (EFE).- El presidente de Cuba, Fidel Castro, habló hoy de EEUU, de ecología y de su salud en un mensaje leído por un locutor en la bienvenida a los invitados a las celebraciones organizadas por la Fundación Guayasamín por su 80 cumpleaños.

En la misiva, Castro cargó contra el presidente de EEUU, George W. Bush; dijo que los médicos le desaconsejaron asistir al acto de bienvenida a los invitados a los actos de homenaje e informó de que dio consejos al presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, sobre ecología.

Castro dio la bienvenida a los visitantes y se disculpó por su ausencia del acto, celebrado en el teatro Carlos Marx de La Habana, donde estaban presentes altos cargos del gobierno cubano y el canciller de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, pero no el presidente provisional de la isla, Raúl Castro.

Este ha sido el primer mensaje desde hace un mes en el que el líder cubano, convaleciente desde que el pasado 31 de julio anunciara la delegación provisional de sus cargos tras ser sometido a una operación intestinal por una enfermedad que se mantiene como "secreto de Estado", se ha referido a su estado de salud.

"En este periodo he trabajado intensamente para garantizar en nuestro país los objetivos de la proclama del 31 de julio", señaló el líder cubano.

Explicó que decidió reunir a los visitantes, "personalidades prestigiosas del mundo", en el teatro capitalino y se disculpó por no estar presente en el acto.

"Yo no estaba todavía en condiciones, según los médicos, de afrontar tan colosal encuentro. Opté por la variante de hablarles a todos utilizando esta vía", explicó.

En el mensaje, el comandante en jefe se refirió al presidente Bush como "un adversario que ha conducido a EEUU ante un desastre de tal magnitud, que casi con seguridad el propio pueblo norteamericano no le permita concluir su mandato presidencial".

Castr