Miami Herald. Posted
at 1:02 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 6, 2001
HAVANA -- (AP) -- A Puerto Rican independence leader gave the president of
Cuba's parliament a big hug and a Puerto Rican flag, along with thanks for the
communist government's support of the fight against military exercises on
Vieques, a small island off the U.S. territory's coast.
"If there is a human being who our people respect and love it is
'Companero' Ricardo Alarcon,'' said Julio Muriente, of the New Puerto Rican
Independence Movement. "We very much appreciate your solidarity.''
Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly, had hoped to travel this
week to Puerto Rico to attend an event celebrating the 35th anniversary of the
opening of the Mission of Puerto Rico in Cuba, a foundation in Havana that
promotes ties between the two Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands.
But the U.S. government denied his request for a visa.
Although some of Puerto Rico's lawmakers earlier said Alarcon should be
denied a visa because of concerns about human rights in Cuba, Gov. Sila Calderon
said she would not intervene.
During a small ceremony at the Havana house that serves as the Puerto Rican
mission, Alarcon noted that it was the U.S. government, not Puerto Rican
officials, who made the decision on the visa.
"It is really the federal authorities who govern Puerto Rico,'' Alarcon
said. "And the visa was denied for U.S. reasons that have nothing to do
with Puerto Rico.''
In the same way, the U.S. Navy has continued bombing exercises on Vieques,
despite protests by Calderon and other Puerto Rican authorities, Alarcon said.
President Fidel Castro last month led thousands in a Havana protest against
the exercises on Vieques, a move that sparked debate among Puerto Rican
lawmakers over whether the island should accept his government's support.
Opponents of the exercises say that bombing on the island endangers the
health of Vieques' 9,400 residents, a charge the Navy denies.
Puerto Rican independence supporters in particular have long found support
in Cuba, which has not had diplomatic relations with the United States for four
decades.
Independence has gained less than 5 percent of support in recent plebiscites
on Puerto Rico's status with the United States. Puerto Rico has been a U.S.
territory since 1898, and islanders have U.S. citizenship.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 