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U.S. Raps Cuba on Its Presence Abroad
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer.
Sat Oct 9.
WASHINGTON - The State Department is accusing
Cuba of training Colombian rebels and says
it is troubled by a large presence of Cuban
personnel in Venezuela, whose president,
Hugo Chavez, is a close ally of Cuban President
Fidel Castro.
The department's view was outlined in response
to a press question Friday about Secretary
of State Colin Powell's comments in an agency
interview that Castro is "causing his
own people to suffer greatly" and has
become a troublemaker in the neighboring
South American countries.
Elaborating Friday night on Powell's remarks,
a State Department official said in an authorized
comment that the United States continues
to be concerned by Cuba's support for terrorist
organizations in Colombia.
It said the two largest leftist guerrilla
organizations there, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation
Army, continue to maintain a presence and
receive training in Cuba. Both are on the
State Department's list of international
terrorist organizations.
The official, who could not be identified
under State Department ground rules, said
in the written response that the United
States worries that the large Cuban presence
in Venezuela might harm Venezuela's democratic
system.
In an attempt to bolster the Chavez's Venezuelan
government, Cuba has dispatched thousands
of health care workers, teachers and sports
trainers to poor neighborhoods in the country.
The populist Chavez is widely popular among
poor Venezuelans, who consider his self-proclaimed
revolution a means for them to get better
health care, education and greater access
to the country's vast oil wealth.
His adversaries accuse Chavez of increasingly
authoritarian tactics. They contend he uses
inflammatory rhetoric to stoke tensions
between rich and poor and is trying to impose
a Cuban-style dictatorship marked by deteriorating
relations with the United States.
Venezuela has insisted it maintained strict
adherence to democratic processes in a referendum
last August in which an effort by such opponents
to remove Chavez from office failed. The
outcome was certified by the Organization
of American States and the Carter Center,
an Atlanta-based pro-democracy group led
by former President Jimmy Carter.
Chavez's opponents contend the results
were rigged in the president's favor.
Academics Protest Barring of Cuba Scholars
By Christina Almeida, Associated
Press Writer. Fri Oct 8.
LAS VEGAS - A group of academics protested
the State Department's decision to deny
visas to 65 Cuban scholars seeking to attend
the Latin American Studies Association's
annual meeting.
In a symbolic gesture, dozens of chairs
representing the Cubans were kept empty
Friday during a panel discussion on the
effect of the U.S. government's decision
not to allow the Cuban scholars to attend
the meeting.
The Cubans had been invited to participate
in the meeting and a panel discussion of
a new book titled, "The Cuban Economy
at the Start of the 21st Century."
Instead, their absence became the topic
of discussion in a room packed with about
75 academics.
Jorge Dominguez, director of the Weatherhead
Center for International Affairs at Harvard
University and coeditor of the book, said
he was bewildered by the State Department's
decision.
"What message do you want to send
to Cuba, that government censorship is OK?
That the government should stand in the
way of a free expression of ideas?"
Dominguez said.
He noted that nearly all the Cubans had
traveled to the United States previously
- including attending the group's meeting
last year in Dallas.
Association members also planned a resolution
Friday condemning the State Department's
decision. The group says it is the world's
largest professional association for those
who study Latin America and the Caribbean,
with an estimated 4,500 members.
The decision "creates a sort of cold
climate for the interchange of ideas,"
said Marysa Navarro, the group's president
and a history professor at Dartmouth College.
The State Department has refused calls
to reconsider, describing the Cubans who
sought visas as government officials whose
aim was to "spout the party line."
On the Net:
Latin
American Studies Association.
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