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Yahoo! February 24, 2003.
U.S. Senator Criticizes U.S. Cuba Policy
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA, 22 (AP) - North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad criticized Cuba's
centralized economy and one-party rule Saturday and argued that ending U.S.
travel and trade restrictions would bring positive change to Cuba.
"I am leaving with a strong feeling that this is an economic system
that is not working as well as it should," the Democrat told an afternoon
news conference. "It falls short."
As for communist Cuba's political system, "it is a one-party state that
does not enjoy the freedoms and the democracy that has contributed to the United
States' success," Conrad said.
But Conrad also criticized U.S. policy toward the Caribbean island nation.
While the United States is waging a war against terror, "I think it's
unwise to continue a policy of hostility toward a country 90 miles off our
shores," Conrad said.
Dropping restrictions on American travel to Cuba "is more likely to
bring about political changes in this country than our current embargo policy."
Conrad has backed legislation to end long-standing restrictions that prevent
most U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba and favors eliminating the four-decade old
embargo preventing most American trade with Cuba.
One new exception to the embargo is a law allowing cash sales of U.S. farm
goods to the island nation.
Conrad traveled to Cuba on Wednesday and was returning to the United States
later Saturday.
Mig Shootdown of Cuban Pilots Remembered
Mon Feb 24, 8:45 AM ET - WPLG Click10.com
The families of four Cuban men who were shot down over international waters
seven years ago today are holding a memorial service.
Cuban Migs blew the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots from the sky while
they were on a humanitarian mission in 1996.
The men will be remembered in a memorial at Florida International University
at 3 p.m. today. A mass will also be held at St. Agatha Catholic Church at 1111
Southwest 107th Avenue in Miami.
For 13 years the pilots of Brothers to the Rescue flew the skies over the
Florida Straights, rescuing people who left Cuba to find freedom in the United
States. Although they recently ceased operations, they will make a commemorative
flight today to mark the somber anniversary.
Cuba to host 2006 Non-Aligned Movement Summit
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 21 - Cuba has been chosen to host the next summit of
the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement, officials said Saturday.
That means that Havana will receive the movement's presidency when it hosts
the next summit in 2006, said Milos Alcalay, Venezuela's representative to the
United Nations. Cuba last hosted the summit in 1979.
The presidency is rotated every few years among the group's major regions:
Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The decision to appoint Cuba was made by the movement's Caribbean and Latin
American bloc during preparations for Non-Aligned Movement leaders summit Monday
and Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur. No other countries challenged Havana's bid, Alcalay
said.
The communist island has spoken out against any U.S.-led attack on Iraq,
which has been the focus of this year's summit.
South Africa is handing the presidency to Malaysia this year. The movement
was created in 1955 to pave a neutral path between the United States and the
Soviet bloc during the Cold War. It is trying to reinvent itself as a forum for
developing countries facing the onslaught of globalization.
Castro receives grand welcome in Vietnam
By Margie Mason, Associated Press Writer.
HANOI, Vietnam, 22 (AP) - Cuban and Vietnamese flags flapped side by side
Saturday as Cuban President Fidel Castro received a grand welcome from many old
communist friends during his first visit to Vietnam in nearly a decade.
Castro, in a blue suit and tie, walked down a red carpet outside the
Presidential Palace with Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh. A band blared both
nations' national anthems. Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong and Prime
Minister Phan Van Khai hugged the Cuban leader, and he was saluted by the head
of the military honor guard.
Castro also met with Vietnam's legendary Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, 91, the
mastermind of its fight against the United States during the Vietnam War and the
most prominent Vietnamese figure still living from that era.
"He's a leader who led the Cuban people to victory, and he will lead
them to further victories," Giap said of Castro after the half-hour meeting
at his home. "He's Vietnam's friend."
Other Vietnamese leaders also hailed Castro's visit as a symbol strength
achieved by both nations through tireless fighting.
"In my heart, and in the heart of each Vietnamese, I believe the image
of Fidel Castro is a noble and excellent symbol of a staunch revolutionary
fighter, fighting for independence and freedom not only for the Cuban people,
but also for the oppressed nations in the world," Manh told Cuban
journalists in an article carried by Vietnam News Agency.
"He is a big friend of the Vietnamese people for his famous statement:
'For Vietnam, the Cuban people are willing to give their blood,'" Manh
said.
He said Castro's visit marks 43 years of strong diplomatic ties between two
of the remaining five communist countries in the world. In the past, Vietnam has
donated rice to Cuba, and two-way trade between the two nations has increased in
recent years.
"In camaraderie and fraternal spirit, the leaders of the two countries
will inform each other of the social and economic development of each country,
discuss measures to promote bilateral relations, especially in the economic and
trade fields, and exchange views on the international issues of mutual concerns,"
said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh.
Castro was also expected to pay tribute at the mausoleum of communist
Vietnam's founding father, Ho Chi Minh, and attend a concert at Hanoi's Opera
House.
Vietnam is the first of three stops on Castro's tour of Asia. He was to
leave Sunday for Malaysia to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit and will
also visit China.
Castro's other visits to Vietnam were in 1973 and 1995. During his last
trip, he toured the Cu Chi tunnel network where communist soldiers hid from U.S.
troops during the Vietnam War.
13,000 Castro Victims Honored At Tamiami Park
Mon Feb 24, 8:28 AM ET WPLG Click10.com to My Yahoo!
The Cuban-American community is creating a temporary memorial at a Tamiami
park.
Organizers say a symbolic cemetery represents those who died at the hands of
Cuban leader Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s regime. Nearly 13,000 crosses
adorn the names of those who died over the decades.
"This is sort of closure because there have been a lot of people who
disappeared in Castro's regime and families have not been able to say anything.
At least here they'll have a cross with a name," said Miriam de la Pena,
who said her son died because of the Castro regime.
Memorial services at the park will be held today and tomorrow. | 
