by Wene Owino. Panafrican News Agency. Africa Online. May 21, 2000
Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - A Cuban spy sent to Botswana to monitor potential defectors has himself joined the growing ranks of Cuban asylum seekers in the diamond-rich southern African country, according to press reports in Gaborone.
In a front-page story captioned, 'Botswana-Cuba Clash', The Botswana Guardian newspaper says it is in possession of the name of the spy-turned-defector who was part of a larger group of intelligence operatives sent by Havana to check on the Cuban migrant community in Botswana with a view to
identifying which ones have defection tendencies.
There have been reports in Gaborone that a number of Cuban professionals and expatriates working in the country have refused to go back home at the end of their contracts and have instead sought political asylum or defected.
Others allegedly escaped from Cuba and sought refuge in Botswana.
The Guardian newspaper reports that Cuba had put pressure on Botswana to turn down the defectors but with little success.
As a result, Cuba is said to have threatened to pull out of the Joint Commission of Scientific, Economic and Technical Co-operation which it established with Botswana in 1989.
Under a bilateral agreement signed between the two countries to form the commission, Botswana imports medical doctors, nurses, teachers and other professionals from Cuba.
The joint commission met in Gaborone last week to review its activities and explore new avenues of co- operation.
Though foreign affairs minister Lt-Gen Mompati Merafhe who led the Botswana delegation during the meeting confirmed that the issue of the Cuban defectors was on the agenda, he denied that Havana had put pressure on Gaborone over the issue.
Opening the meeting, Merafhe without being specific, accepted that the two sides have had disagreements.
He however, asserted that this is normal in life and that the disagreements have not diverted the two countries from their common goals.
But the Botswana Guardian has since asserted that Merafhe may have been trying to downplay issues.
The paper reported that it has in its possession names of Cuban defectors whose contracts are not being renewed by the Botswana government because of pressure from Havana.
It further states that its investigations have revealed that the Cuban government is so worried about the defectors that it has started sending spies to Botswana to check on the Cuban immigrant community with a view to identifying those with defection tendencies.
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