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Cuba Erects Sign Linking U.S. and Fascism
HAVANA, 17 (AP) - Cuba responded Friday to U.S.
diplomats' refusal to take down Christmas decorations
by putting up a huge billboard in front of the
U.S. Interest Section emblazoned with a swastika
and showing photographs of Iraqi prisoners being
abused by American soldiers.
The billboard, put up overnight, had a large
swastika in red and the word "fascists"
covered with a "Made in the U.S.A."
stamp. It sat prominently on the Malecon, Havana's
coastal highway, facing the mission's offices.
An American diplomat in Havana speaking on condition
of anonymity said Friday that the torture of prisoners
at Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison has been reported and
discussed openly, and that those responsible are
being prosecuted.
"On the other hand, the Cuban government
does not allow a single word of dissent in its
media, jails those who dare espouse different
ideas and has not allowed (anyone) to visit Cuban
political prisoners since the late 1980s,"
the official said.
The U.S. Interest Section, headed by chief James
Cason, ignored a demand earlier this week to remove
Christmas decorations that included a reference
to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro's government.
The trimmings included a Santa Claus, candy canes
and white lights wrapped around palm trees - and
a sign reading "75" - a reference to
75 Cuban dissidents jailed last year.
All of the decorations will stay up until after
the holidays, the U.S. official reiterated Friday.
Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called
the sign "rubbish" this week, and said
Cason seems "desperate to create problems."
Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section to
remove the decorations or face unspecified consequences.
No other officials from Castro's administration
have commented on the spat.
U.S. Ignores Cuba's Christmas Warning
By Vanessa Arrington, Associated
Press Writer. Wed Dec 15.
HAVANA - U.S. diplomats on Wednesday refused
to take down their offices' trimmings of Santa
Claus, candy canes and white lights wrapped around
palm trees, ignoring a demand by Cuba to remove
Christmas decorations that include a reference
to dissidents jailed by Fidel Castro's government.
The element that irked the Cuban authorities
most was a sign among the decorations that reads
"75" - a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents
jailed last year, according to U.S. Interest Section
Chief James Cason.
Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon called the
sign "rubbish" on Wednesday, and told
reporters that Cason seems "desperate to
create problems."
Cuba had warned the U.S. Interest Section in
Havana to remove the decorations or face unspecified
consequences, but Alarcon did not say what the
consequences would be. No other officials from
Castro's administration have commented on the
spat.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher defended the decorations, and said there
are no plans to take them down until after the
holidays are over.
The "75" sign "shows our solidarity
with Cubans who struggle for democracy and freedom,
when we think it's appropriate, at the holiday
season, to remember ... these people who are missing
because of political repression," Boucher
said.
A reporter who drove past the Interest Section
on Wednesday saw the sign and the other decorations
still displayed along Havana's coastal Malecon
highway. There were no onlookers and little traffic
because of a tidal surge that threatened the area
with flooding.
"Our intent, in the spirit of Christmas,
was to call attention to the plight of these 75,"
Cason told reporters. "We're prepared to
pay whatever price for the things we believe in."
Cuban Foreign Ministry officials insisted in
meetings Saturday and Tuesday that the decorations
be taken down, Cason said.
"They could expel us, they could continue
to hinder our activities," Cason said. "We
don't know what they're going to do."
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., in Havana for trade
talks between American agribusinesses and the
Cuban government, declined to comment specifically
on the Christmas decorations.
Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance
Committee, said instead: "I just believe
that we have a great future ahead of us, both
the United States and Cuba, if we just stay on
a positive course, and work to build relationships."
U.S. relations, never good during four decades
of communist rule, have deteriorated under President
Bush (news - web sites), whose administration
has toughened economic sanctions and publicized
its plan for a democratic Cuba after Castro.
The United States and Cuba have not had diplomatic
relations since shortly after Castro took over.
In lieu of embassies, interest sections provide
consular services and limited official contact.
The dissidents imprisoned last year were accused
of receiving money from U.S. officials to undermine
the island's system - a charge the activists and
the U.S. government denied.
They were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison,
but 14 have been released for medical reasons.
Baucus, in opening remarks at the trade negotiations
Wednesday, thanked Cuba for releasing those prisoners.
He later told reporters that both the United
States and Cuba should "refrain from actions
which tend to incite, which tend to give ammunition
and fuel to those who want to complain."
Cason also on Tuesday applauded the release of
some of the political prisoners, but said all
of the original 75 should be freed. He also said
fundamental changes in Cuba - such as freedom
of expression - were still necessary.
Cuban dissident denies she sought asylum in
Argentina
HAVANA, 17 (AFP) - A prominent Cuban dissident
denied that she and her mother had sought asylum
in Argentina after their visit to that country's
embassy sparked speculation that the women were
trying to leave the country.
Hilda Molina, a neurosurgeon, 61, has campaigned
for 10 years to try to get permission to travel
to Argentina to see her son, Roberto Quinones,
two grandchildren she has never met and other
members of her family.
Molina, who is renowned as a pioneer in the transplant
of fetal stem cells into the brains of patients
with Parkinson's disease, ran afoul of President
Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s Communist regime
in 1994 when she raised ethical concerns about
the process.
Facing persecution for her beliefs, she renounced
her Communist Party membership and joined a dissident
doctors' group.
Molina and her mother, Hilda Morejon, had entered
the embassy earlier in the day, triggering speculation
the women were trying to seek asylum in Argentina.
They both left the embassy in the evening, and
Molina later told reporters that she had gone
there in an attempt to speak by telephone to her
son.
"I never had any intention to ask for political
asylum," she said. "We planned to speak
from the embassy by telephone with my son, who
is in Argentina. But because of technical problems
the call could not be made."
She added she will never seek asylum in Argentina
or any other country.
In Havana's leafy Miramar neighborhood, a clutch
of curious Cubans gathered outside the mission
near a group of international reporters following
the story. A larger than usual Cuban security
unit patrolled the perimeter.
Argentina's La Nacion newspaper reported earlier
that Molina and her mother, Hilda Morejon, 84,
had entered the Argentine mission in a bid to
seek asylum.
Argentina's ambassador to Cuba, Raul Taleb, rushed
to Havana from Buenos Aires to handle the case,
Jorge Arguello, head of the Argentine Chamber
of Deputies' foreign affairs committee, said.
Earlier this month, Argentine President Nestor
Kirchner wrote to Castro, asking him to allow
Molina to visit Argentina.
Castro wrote back saying that Molina's family
should visit her in Cuba. The ambassador to Havana
said Wednesday that the response "did not
satisfy the government."
In Buenos Aires, Quinones, the dissident's son,
told reporters outside his home his mother and
grandmother had not requested asylum but acknowledged
they were pressing their case to travel to Argentina.
A physician like his mother, Quinones, who has
lived in Argentina for a decade and married an
Argentine, said his grandmother had suffered a
high-blood-pressure-related episode inside the
compound.
"For 10 years I have tried for this case
not to be treated as something political. That
is not what we want," he said.
He said he feared that with so much commotion,
his mother and grandmother "would be even
more repressed and besieged."
His mother, Quinones said, "has no state
secrets, no military secrets, no secrets related
to the health of Fidel Castro.
"She dedicated her life to helping ailing
Cubans and when she no longer was in agreement
she broke with the system, but that is no reason
for her to be punished."
Castro Back on His Feet After Fall
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated
Press Writer. Thu Dec 16.
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro is back
on his feet less than two months after breaking
his left kneecap and right arm in a fall.
During a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
this week, Castro vigorously shook hands - with
his right arm - and stood unassisted for several
minutes at a time.
The 78-year-old has not started walking, however,
at least not in public view.
"His ability to recover and be back in public
and doing his normal daily routine is testament
to his good health," said Dr. Lawrence D.
Dorr, a Los Angeles physician who has led several
medical missions to Cuba to provide hip and knee
replacements.
"His rapid recovery is also a testimonial
to the high quality of orthopedic surgeons that
are there in Cuba," Dorr added in a telephone
interview.
The Cuban leader made headlines around the globe
when he stumbled and fell Oct. 20 in the central
city of Santa Clara.
"I'm all in one piece," Castro declared
on state television after tripping on a concrete
step while returning to his seat at the end of
an hour-long speech.
The following day, an official notice in Cuban
state media said that the president's general
health was good and that he hoped to be "back
in place" soon.
A few weeks later, Cuban television showed Castro
sitting in a wheelchair, his arm in a sling, during
a surprise visit by Chavez on Nov. 7. Castro was
dressed in sporty clothes, in contrast to the
suit or olive military fatigues he generally wears
to receive visitors.
The Cuban leader then surprised many people when
he suddenly stood up from his wheelchair during
a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao on
Nov. 23, a month after the fall. He leaned on
a metal cane with an arm support while the Chinese
and Cuban national anthems played.
On Tuesday, during a military ceremony attended
by Chavez, Castro again popped up from his wheelchair,
this time standing for several minutes with no
support.
Later that day, he again stood up after signing
agreements with Chavez to increase trade between
their two countries. He initially braced himself
on a table, then stood up tall.
After his accident, presidents and high-profile
friends around the globe sent Castro get-well
wishes. American movie director Oliver Stone sent
a letter saying Castro could play the movie role
of "Superman's grandfather" for handling
the operations and recovery so well.
In the last several years, Castro's knees have
seemed more wobbly, his step less steady. But
given his age, he appears to be strong and maintains
a busy schedule that frequently includes all-night
meetings with aides and visitors.
Requests to speak with Castro's doctors were
not immediately granted.
Dorr, the American doctor, speculated Castro
was already walking a bit in private, but probably
stiffly. He said it could take several more months
for the leader to be able to walk comfortably.
"After that kind of injury, healing could
take as long as six months," said Dorr, who
works at the Arthritis Institute of Centinela
Hospital Medical Center in Southern California.
He pointed to the example of American football
star Jerry Rice, who he said tried to return to
play three months after a kneecap operation but
suffered a relapse.
"I don't care whether you're 20 or 70 years
old, you've got to let the bone heal," Dorr
said.
The biggest problem after breaking a kneecap
is being able to bend the knee comfortably again,
he said.
"The longest recovery for (Castro) will
be in activities like climbing stairs," Dorr
said.
US eases sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Sudan
WASHINGTON, 16 (AFP) - The United States has
quietly eased sanctions against three of its old
nemeses -- Cuba, Iran and Sudan -- to facilitate
literary, cultural and scientific exchanges that
could help foster dissent there.
A new rule, unveiled by the Treasury Department
Wednesday, enables Americans to freely engage
in most ordinary publishing activities with Cuban,
Iranian and Sudanese individuals and groups.
Restrictions on "certain interactions"
with the local governments in the area of publishing
will be maintained.
Robert Werner, director of the Office of Foreign
Assets Control, said people seeking to publish
works by Cuban, Iranian and Sudanese authors in
the United States, or to publish their own materials
in the three states, will henceforth be able to
do so "without seeking permission" from
his office first.
"This rule provides clarity and promotes
important policies aimed at the free exchange
of ideas without undermining the national security
objectives of these country sanctions," Werner
stated.
Although introduced at different times, the US
sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Sudan bar most
types of trade or other exchanges because the
US government believes these countries promote
terrorism, suppress basic freedoms, and are run
by oppressive governments.
All three nations are listed by the US State
Department as state sponsors of terrorism.
While easing the restrictions on publishing,
the Treasury Department made clear the bulk of
other sanctions will remain in place because they
are "critical to US interests."
The action follow two lawsuits against Treasury
Secretary John Snow and other top government officials
that claim the restrictions were tantamount to
blocking free exchange of ideas and therefore
unconstitutional.
One of these suits was filed by representatives
of the Association of American Publishers, PEN
American Center and other groups in September.
Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi filed a related
complaint in late October.
The plaintiffs said government crackdowns against
scientists and cultural figures doing business
with Cubans, Iranians and Sudanese have cost them
nearly 30 million dollars in fines since 1993.
They cited the case of musician Ry Cooder, who
was fined 25,000 dollars in 1999 for collaborating
with Cubans to record the Grammy-winning album
The Buena Vista Social Club.
When Cooder sought to record in Cuba a second
album, lawyers said, the US government first denied
permission, then reversed itself but made the
trip contingent on Cooder agreeing to forgo all
profits.
In 2003, the government barred the Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers from publishing
articles by Iranian scientists because "the
reordering of paragraphs and sentences,"
or, in other words, editing their work, was prohibited.
Even works by Iranian and Cuban dissidents could
not be published in the United States under the
former regulations, legal experts said.
Attorneys Edward Davis and Linda Steinman, who
represent the publishers in the case, said the
new rules remove "significant obstacles"
faced by American artists and authors.
"Works of critical importance to the advancement
of science and our understanding of international
affairs can now be published without threat of
civil and criminal sanctions," they pointed
out.
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