Chronicle on Cuba - May 2007

Domestic Affairs

May 1: Cuban First Vice President Raul Castro presided over the main event on International Workers Day at Havana’s Revolution Square. In a speech just before the huge annual parade began, Salvador Valdes, secretary general of Cuba's central workers union, hinted it was highly unlikely that Fidel Castro would make his first public appearance since stepping down from power. ``I know I express the unanimous feeling of our people when I send the most fervent wishes for recovery to he who has not only been with us on days like this but has guided us with his proverbial wisdom for more than 50 years,'' Valdes told hundreds of thousands of people swarming around Revolution Square. ''A speedy recovery and lots of health, dear Fidel,'' Valdes said, adding ''Viva Fidel!'' as the crowd shouted back ''Viva!'' The acting president and defense minister, five years younger than his sibling, stood stiffly and smiled, occasionally waving as marchers streamed past, waving plastic Cuban flags, portraits of Fidel Castro and banners denouncing US ''imperialism.'' Many marchers wore red or white T-shirts that appeared to have been distributed by the Cuban government with a May 1 slogan reading, ''More solidarity, unity and strength than ever.'' (Prensa Latina, AP, Reuters, 1/5/07)

May 1: Fidel Castro failed to appear at Havana's annual May Day parade, fuelling speculation about the state of his health. It was only the third time in 48 years that Castro missed the parade called each year to celebrate International Worker's Day. Castro also was absent in 1959 and 1963 when he was traveling in the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively. Instead of appearing, Castro put his name to an editorial in Granma, Cuba's main communist daily paper, criticizing Brazil for embracing ethanol, which Castro argues will rip food away from the poor. The piece also called on participants in the march to protest against the release on bail of the Cuban exiled militant Luis Posada Carriles in the US. [Reflexions by the Commander in Chief](BBC, The Miami Herald, 1/5/07)

May 2: The Central Workers' Union of Cuba (CTC) awarded as Outstanding Hero Havana historian Eusebio Leal, along with another three prominent workers. The CTC, fulfilling a mandate of the Cuban Council of State, also awarded Alvaro Serrano, a Sugar Industry operator, Juan Jose Maiquez Fernandez, a Chemical, Mining, Energy Industry mechanic, and Jorge Gomez Jomarron, a Food Industry driver. (Prensa Latina, 2/5/07)

May 2: A new Cuban government regulation will make it more difficult for some Cubans abroad to invite relatives and friends on the island to visit them. Resolution 87/2007, issued by the Foreign Ministry, requires such invitations to be submitted through Cuban consulates abroad, notarized and in accordance with the laws of the country where they are requested. But the consulates will ''have the authority to reject the invitation when there are elements that recommend that,'' added the resolution, published in the official gazette. Many Cubans have long used such invitations as a way of obtaining Cuban government permission to leave the island and remain abroad. Before the new regulation, the invitations could be certified in Cuba at the International Legal Consultancy, a quasi-government agency with branches in Havana and other parts of Cuba. [Gaceta Oficial de Cuba, no. 20] (The Miami Herald, 3/5/07)

May 3:  A pair of fugitive army recruits killed a Cuban military officer, one of several hostages in a failed attempt to hijack a plane to the United States, authorities said. Interior Ministry officials identified the slain officer as Army Lt. Col. Victor Ibo Acuna Velazquez, in an official statement. "Despite being unarmed, [Acuna] heroically tried to prevent the commission of the terrorist act," the statement said, adding that the other hostages were unhurt. The predawn drama began when the renegades commandeered a bus with at least seven passengers, witnesses said, and ended in a wild shootout on the tarmac of José Martí International Airport. The recruits were arrested at the scene. They and a third recruit, captured before the shootout, had been the focus of an intensive manhunt. On April 28 they had escaped with AK-47 automatic rifles from the Managua military base, about 15 miles from the airport, after killing a fellow soldier identified as Yoendris Gutierrez Hernandez and wounding another who was not identified, the government statement said. The Defense Ministry had distributed circulars with their names and photos around Havana and described them as armed and dangerous. The recruits, all from the eastern province of Camaguey, were identified as Leandro Cerezo Sirut and Alain Forbus Lameru, both 19, and Yoan Torres Martinez, 21. In March 2003, two domestic passenger planes were hijacked to Key West, Florida. A month later, three men who hijacked a Havana Bay ferry in a bid to cross the Florida Straits were executed by firing squad. [Acto de terror promovido por Estados Unidos] (Sun Sentinel, The Australian, 4/5/07)

May 4: A Cuban army officer killed during a failed airplane hijacking was buried with military honors, decorated posthumously with one of the communist regime's top medals. Lt. Colonel Victor Ibo Acuna Velazquez, a 41-year-old communications engineer, was among eight people being held aboard a plane sitting at Havana's international airport when he quarreled with one of the captors and was shot by the other, officials said. The deserters reportedly were captured later by soldiers, but the government gave few details.  Hundreds of civilians lined streets in Pinar del Rio, Acuna's home town, to pay respects as an olive green army truck carrying his black casket wrapped in a red, white and blue Cuban flag made its way to the cemetery. Soldiers at the cemetery marched alongside the truck to the grave as a military band played a solemn march. Riflemen fired a salute. Family members told the press that Cuba's governing Council of State, still officially headed by convalescing leader Fidel Castro, decided to posthumously award Acuna the country's Antonio Maceo Medal of Valor. (AP, Granma, 4,5/5/07)

May 4: A group of women resisting the oppression of the Cuban government through non-violent means, continues to agitate for the release of those imprisoned by Fidel Castro’s government. They are called the “Women in White” because they wear white clothing for their protests. According to statements by Berta de Moya, wife of Cuban prisoner of conscience, Angel Moya, the silent protest of the Women in White, who meet each week at the Church of St. Rita of Acacia to publicly pray for their imprisoned family members, is encouraging more people to publicly speak out in Cuba. “By pressuring the government we can get what we want,” Berta explained in a recent interview published online.  “These men,” she explained in reference to the family members of the Women in White, “are not killers, they are not violent, they are peaceful men.  We have the truth in our hands.” She also expressed her confidence that change would soon come to Cuba.  “The situation is bad for the people and for the government.  This silence (…) there is a lot of uncertainty, we don’t know anything (…) We have Raul Castro who is worse than Fidel Castro.  There is no change, no improvement and increased repression.  And on top of it all there is not enough money; many elderly sell peanut shells or coffee because they can’t make ends meet, and to make matters worse the police make them leave and go home.” Repression in Cuba, Berta said, “is not only levied against the opposition but against the entire nation. The nation is tired; we want change. When they see that breach open, 60% of Cubans will come with us and the government will not have it easy.” (CNA, 4/5/07)

May 5: The renowned Cuban film “Strawberry and Chocolate” was shown for the first time on Cuban television, 14 years after its theatrical release. “Whatever the reasons or circumstances behind it, I never understood nor will I ever be able to understand that, to protect the Cuban Revolution, it was deemed necessary to resort to media censorship of movies, documentaries or national newscasts portraying opinions and perspectives other than the official party line,” remarked Cuban filmmaker Enrique Colina. (La Jornada, 7/5/07)

May 6: A makeshift motorboat with 14 individuals onboard, including several women, children, and a dead person, ran aground close to Surgidero de Batabanó. All were severely sunburned and dehydrated. According to paramedics at the scene, they had set off from somewhere in the central area of the island’s southern coast, possibly trying to reach Florida, and had been set adrift when the boat’s engine broke down. (Cubanet, 6/5/07)

May 7: Primary care and aging are on the table of the 15th International Seminar on Assisting Senior Citizens, which started in Havana. The event, taking place at the Habana Libre Hotel, brings together 100 experts on geriatrics, gerontology and family medicine, among other branches related to the care of these people. The agenda also includes issues like geriatric evaluation, community rehabilitation, dementias, chronic diseases in the community, nutrition, physical activity and health. (Prensa Latina, 7/5/07)

May 7: Two Cuban soldiers who attempted to hijack an airplane to fly to the United States are both wounded and awaiting trial, Fidel Castro announced, while accusing the United States of fomenting illegal emigration. "A great deal of serenity and sangfroid are needed to face these issues," said the convalescent Castro, 80, in an article published on the front page of Granma, the newspaper of Cuba's governing Communist Party, on May 8. It is the fifth he has written in the last two months. Castro gave details, hitherto unknown, about the case, which he links with the April 19 release of Cuban anti-Castro terrorist Luis Posada Carriles from US custody on bond. The two soldiers involved in the hijacking attempt have not yet been tried because both were wounded during the incident, one of them by shots fired by the other inside the plane, Castro said. The wording of the disclosure seems to imply that the deserters may face a different kind of trial from that of the Cubans who hijacked a ferry, kidnapping the passengers, in April 2003. Three of them received the death penalty. [The Tragedy Threatening Our Species] (VOA, IPS, 8/5/07) 

May 7: A leading Cuban human rights group urged governments around the world to petition Havana to spare the lives of army deserters who could face a firing squad for allegedly killing soldiers as they fled military bases. The statement by the non-governmental Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation referred to a deadly attempted hijacking at Havana's main airport, as well as a previously unreported December shootout and escape in eastern Cuba. Signed by veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez, the statement noted that Cuban military law calls for capital punishment for deserters older than 20. The two cases of escaped soldiers involved six men, only two of whom were old enough to face a death penalty. The statement called on organizations and governments around the world to protest capital punishment in Cuba, where several dozen prisoners are on death row. In the most recent case of desertion, three conscripts shot their way out of the Managua base southeast of the Cuban capital in late April, killing at least one soldier. The earlier desertion came on December 20, when three soldiers killed two Interior Ministry officials and made off with machine guns in fleeing El Manguito garrison near Santiago de Cuba, 525 miles east of Havana, according to the committee. The suspects were captured a short distance away following an "intense military operation," it added, saying only one of them was 21. Cuba's government has not reported the incident. (AP, 7/5/07)

May 8: Cubans think their country's communist authorities will execute two military deserters who shot dead an officer and a soldier in an attempt to hijack a plane to the United States. Human rights groups are calling on Cuba not to apply the death penalty, which is carried out by firing squad. On the streets of Havana, Cubans take for granted that the would-be hijackers will be shot. ``When innocent people lose their lives in Cuba, people are enraged and demand that heads roll,'' said taxi driver Arturo, who declined to give his surname. ``A violent kidnapping like this is considered an act of terrorism in Cuba and you pay heavily for that,'' said house painter Jose. ``I think they will be executed.'' (Reuters, 8/5/07)

May 8: The emeritus bishop of Holguín, Msgr. Héctor Peña Gómez, 78, admitted to “Cresol”magazine that "there are many things that the Cuban Church has kept silent about, but also many others it has not kept back (…) with time they will find their place in history." Rock added that the Church in Cuba "supports a dialogue and collaboration with the government based on a healthy autonomy;" however, it affirmed that the issue requires patience, "because on more than one occasion the dialogue has become a monologue." (EER, 8/5/07)

May 9: Cuba released a dissident reporter who spent nearly two years in prison for joining an anti-government protest, an opposition group said. Roberto de Jesus Guerra, who reported for US-based Web sites, was freed on May 8, the group Assembly to Promote Civil Society said in a statement. The 28-year-old dissident was arrested on July 13, 2005, during protests marking the anniversary of the 1994 drowning of 37 people who tried to leave for the United States in a tugboat that was rammed and sunk by the Cuban coast guard. He was held without trial until February this year, when he was sentenced to 22 months in prison for disorderly conduct in public. Twenty dissidents have been released from prison since ailing Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother, Raul, nine months ago, according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. The commission, which is illegal but tolerated by the communist state, estimates that 280 Cubans are in prison for political reasons. (Reuters, 9/5/07)

May 10: The Cuban Liberal Movement (MLC) informed that it has adopted the name of National Liberal Party of Cuba (PLNC). The MLC had requested its inclusion in the Liberal International. (Cubanet, 10/5/07)

May 10: Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Paya, the head of the Christian Liberation Movement, or MCL, says that the Varela Project he presented in 2002 before the communist island's National Assembly calling for a national referendum on legislative changes continues to be in effect because the demand for such changes persists. Paya said in a communique released in Havana that the Varela Project, which he presented to the legislature on May 10, 2002, continues to be "alive and in force because the citizens' legal demand that the laws change and guarantee certain fundamental rights continues."    "We didn't come to commemorate the past but to announce the road to liberation," said the statement, in which he emphasized that 11,000 people who signed the Varela Project petition five years ago and "those who are signing now (...) can be proud of their liberating and solid efforts that are opening the road to hope." Paya added that the denial of rights in Cuba "has no justification but it certainly does have a solution," which must be "peaceful (...) among Cubans (...) without foreign intervention or interference (...) [and based on] reconciliation without hate or violence."  Pushed by Paya starting in 1996, the project proposes modifying certain Cuban laws and opening areas for free and responsible participation of the citizenry in government and society, and it requests the support of the public for a referendum on changing those laws. [Declaración Movimiento Cristiano Liberación] (EFE, 10/5/07)  

May 11: The book “Paraninfo, un magnicidio frustrado” (“Paraninfo, A Failed Assassination”), by TV journalist Ivon Deulofeu, was launched on May 11 during an activity held in Havana and presided over by Julio Martinez Ramirez, first secretary of the Young Communist League (UJC). The book covers the investigation into the failed Fidel Castro assassination attempt, planned for November 16, 2000. The murder was to take place during a Solidarity with Cuba event planned within the framework of the Tenth Ibero-American Summit in Panama. Juan Carlos Rodriguez, director of the Ministry of Interior’s Capitan San Luis Publishing House, explained that on that day, the main lecture hall of the University of Panama, with a seating capacity of more than a thousand, was overfilled with people to welcome Cuban President Fidel Castro. Carlos Zamora, who at that time was the Cuban ambassador in Panama, said that the judicial process carried out in Panama against Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices was a perfect example of manipulation and partiality. Attending the activity were Carlos Lage Codorniu and Patricia Flechilla, presidents of the University Students Federation and High School Students Federation respectively, and members of the UJC National Committee. (Juventud Rebelde, 12/5/07)

May 11: Cuban cardinal Jaime Ortega declared that the exhortation to Cuba to open up to the world and the world to Cuba, made by Pope John Paul II during his 1998 visit to the island, has been partially fulfilled. "There remain some rather large and long standing obstacles — as it is to be expected, relations with the United States are still difficult," said the cardinal. "Yes, it may have taken place (this opening on both sides)," he said in Aparecida, Brazil. Ortega, who is the archbishop of Havana, is attending the 5th Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishopric. (AP, 12/5/07)

May 12: Cuba awarded a posthumous medal to a soldier killed by conscripts who fled their base and later tried to hijack a plane to leave the island. The soldier, Yoendris Gutierrez Hernandez, was on guard duty at a military base on April 29. Three deserters bayoneted him to death with stolen rifles after he refused to surrender his weapon, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported. In a somber ceremony in the eastern province of Granma, a medal for heroism was given to Gutierrez's parents. Acting President Raul Castro, also the island's defense minister, saluted the soldier's "bravery and rejection and opposition to the demands of three assailants who threatened him, demanding that he give them the weapon he used for military service." (AP, 12/5/07)

May 12: The Cuban authorities have stepped up their actions against illegal possession of satellite dishes and distribution of access to satellite TV broadcasts, which are severely restricted on the island. They warned that the penalties can range from fines and impounding of the electronic equipment and appliances in question to sentences of three to five years of jail time. The official newspaper “Granma”reported that 12 Cuban citizens who ran a racket selling and providing paid support for pirated satellite TV “smart cards” will face charges in court. “Granma” underlined that "they were engaging in an illegal activity for which the Ministry of Labor and Social Security does not issue self-employed worker's licenses." (EFE, 13/5/07)

May 12: Nearly 40 members of the Ladies in White, a group made up of the wives and other relatives of the 75 Cuban dissidents arrested and sentenced in 2003 to lengthy prison terms for allegedly subversive activities, marched peacefully to Havana's La India fountain to mark Mother's Day and demand the release of political prisoners. Laura Pollan, the group's leader, told the press that the demonstration was intended to "convey our greetings to all the mothers of the world on Mother's Day, even though we have no joy." The demonstrators handed out flowers and greeted all the women they passed on the march, while marching for several kilometers through the streets of Havana to the fountain and then back to Pollan's house in the Centro Habana neighborhood. After placing a wreath at the fountain, the women chanted "freedom, freedom for the political prisoners," several times in front of curious onlookers. Pollan, the wife of dissident Hector Maseda, said after the march that the group selected the fountain because "when the Spanish arrived in Cuba, there were already mothers here and those are our roots." "Here the Ladies in White also want to say 'we are present' for the struggle for the liberation of the prisoners," Pollan said. (EFE, 12/5/07) 

May 14: In the current global environment, accounting is called to play an increasingly important role in decision-making, a Cuban expert said at the opening of several international congresses in Havana. The role of this discipline in Cuba and the world was highlighted by Cuban expert Lidia Esther Rodriguez, president of the Cuban Association of Accountants, before more than 500 specialists from 20 countries. The fifth International Accounting Meeting, the eighth Cuban-Dominican Accounting Congress and the third International Consultants Congress -CONSULT 2007 - are now in session. Lidia Esther Rodriguez noted that Cuba emphasizes development of accounting to play a more relevant role in domestic control, integrating that with administration. (Prensa Latina, 14/5/07)

May 14: Cuban dissidents announced the creation of the Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs in Cuba to "monitor" cases of human rights violations on the communist-ruled island. About 40 opponents of the Cuban regime participated in the creation of the council that, according to its bylaws, is an "independent organization" that will finance itself with the contributions of its members. The council will be comprised of dissidents of different stripes and former political prisoners. Three of the councilors, Roberto de Miranda, Edel Jose Garcia and Margarito Broche, formed part of the "Group of 75" - peaceful opponents of the Castro regime rounded up in spring 2003 and sentenced to long jail terms - who were later released on medical grounds. Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, known as "Antunez," got out of prison last month after serving a 17-year sentence. "There are members of different organizations, because we're not going to exclude anyone. We're not exclusionist," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva. “The situation of human rights has worsened in all respects," Gonzalez Leyva said. Among the proposals the council will analyze will be asking the United States to reduce the quota of legal Cuban immigrants for each political prisoner in the island's jails with the aim, the initiative says, of "sensitizing" the Cuban government to the idea of implementing an amnesty. Also, the council will study the possibility of establishing mechanisms of dialogue to promote the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba. (EFE, 14/5/07)

May 16: Dissident Héctor Palacios was in a Cuban military hospital when Fidel Castro ceded power in July, and when the ailing leader was a no-show at his birthday celebration December 2. After the first announcement ''the military doctors looked nervous and impatient,'' said Palacios, 63. ``But the most important thing happened later on.''    ''When those people got over the psychological fixation they had about Fidel Castro's immortality and saw that it was possible to live without him, I saw nurses, doctors and hospital personnel sighing with relief when the man didn't show up on December 2,'' he added. Palacios, one of the 75 dissidents sentenced to long prison terms during the so-called Black Spring of 2003, was in a security wing of a military hospital. He was freed December 6 because of his health problems. He defines Cuba today as a nation halted in time: ``Neither Fidel has gone nor [brother] Raúl has arrived, and this has created a black hole that has absorbed the dreams of the new generations.'' But he believes that change will come soon, ``not within the next 24 hours, but faster than most people imagine. The day Fidel Castro dies, 80 percent of the regime's potential will die (…) and the transformations will come.'' (The Miami Herald, 16/5/07) 

May 16: A recently discovered notebook and two stories written by Cuban national hero Jose Marti were the main news at the first session of the “Common Front of Ideas” conference hosted by the Union of Cuban Journalists. “The notebook, apparently written by Marti in mid-1894 or early 1895, brings to light Marti’s assessments about the dark side of the human heart, its weaknesses, and confirms that Marti explored deeply into human feelings,” said Pedro Pablo Rodriguez, who is in charge of the annotated edition of the Complete Works of Jose Marti at the Center of Marti Studies. The two new stories (US Scenes) are entitled: “Del Viejo al Nuevo Mundo” (From the Old to the New World) and “Proa al Mar” (Bow to the Sea). The latter is about the voyage of a ship that sails out of the New York harbor. The conference “Common Front of Ideas”, being held on Cuba’s Isla de la Juventud (Island of Youth), is an event organized and promoted by the Union of Cuban Journalists about the life and work of Marti. (Prensa Latina, 16/5/07)

May 17: Hundreds of people accompanied statues of St. Isidro and the Virgin of the Remedies down several streets in Managua, Havana City province, during a procession organized as part of the town’s patron saints festivities. The Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba, Msgr. Luigi Bonazzi, delivered the homily at the Church of San Isidro. “In the last century we had ideologies, like Marxism and some savage forms of capitalism, making the mistake of removing God from the households and from the people themselves,” said Msgr. Bonazzi. (Cubanet, 18/5/07)

May 18: A group of peaceful opposition activists founded the “Gustavo Arcos Bergnes” Human Rights Movement in the city of Holguín. According to dissident José Santos Escobar, leader of the new organization, twelve activists assembled at his home gave life to the project. (Holguín Press, 27/5/07)

May 18: Cuban authorities announced the foiling of an international drug-dealing operation on the eastern coast of the island, and stressed the political will of the government to prevent the use of narcotics in the country. According to an article published in the official daily Granma, nearly a ton of marijuana was confiscated from dealers who landed on the eastern coast by speedboat and attempted to hide their cargo there. Despite the successful seizure of the banned substance, the dealers managed to escape, the information in Granma said. The paper gave no details about where or when the operation took place. (ACN, Reuters, 18/5/07) 

May 18: The opposition organization National Liberal Party of Cuba (PLNC) denounced that its spokesman, Leonel Alberto Pérez Belette, was detained in Havana, barely seven days after the creation of his organization. A number of personal belongings he was carrying at the time of his arrest were impounded by the authorities. (Cubanet, 18/5/07)

May 19: These days churches in Cuba regularly draw packed sanctuaries on Sundays, with membership growing in the country's dominant Roman Catholic denomination, along with Protestant and Evangelical sects. Even Santeria, Cuba's Afro-Caribbean religion that slaves created by mixing African beliefs with those of their Catholic Spanish masters, has seen a revival in Cuba. Religious leaders in Cuba say dramatic changes in the past decade have firmly re-established the church as an important part of the lives of many Cubans. It seems that religion will play an increasing role in Cuban society in the future as longtime leader Fidel Castro, 80 and ailing, eventually gives way to a new generation. ''Our role in Cuba is growing daily, and relations with the government are improving daily, too,'' said the Reverend Juan Ramon, pastor of Havana's Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. ``But it's like a turtle, not a rabbit. We must be patient.'' ''Religious devotion and spirituality never left the people,'' he said. ``It was winter and everything looked dead, but it wasn't dead. The flowers come back and the birds sing when spring comes. And that has happened in Cuba. It is a good time for the church here.''  But while most Cubans no longer fear that going to church might get them in trouble, Cuba is still ruled by the Communist Party. Dissent is stifled, and most church leaders are careful not to cross the line from a social gospel focussing on the needs of the people into the arena of politics. (The Miami Herald, 19/5/07)

May 19: A Cuban dissident released just weeks ago after spending 21 months in prison was arrested again on charges of resisting authority, according to the banned Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. Lazaro Alonso was released from prison, along with five other opposition members, on April 24 upon completing his sentence for public disorder, rebellion and reckless endangerment after taking part in a protest to mark the anniversary of the sinking by authorities of a boat packed with dozens of would-be emigrants. The leader of the rights commission, Elizardo Sanchez, told the press that the dissident was arrested and will face a summary process on May 23 for "resistance" to authority. The arrest came after Alonso asked to know why police were constantly stopping him on the street to demand identification, the dissident organization Assembly to Promote Civil Society said. "It's something very worrying because he was released the other day as a political prisoner," said Sanchez, adding that, in his judgment, this is "a case of harassment against an opposition" figure. He said this situation reveals "the absolute lack of legal security for citizens before the police," since "any police officer can stop anyone and there's no defense against arbitrary police" actions. (AFP, 21/5/07) 

May 19: The International CUBADISCO music Fair began in Havana, a cultural event that is organized by the Cuban Music Institute in its 11th edition. Karl Marx Theater, with capacity for 5,000 people, will be the scene for the CUBADISCO award-ceremony, al which special and honor laureates awarded by the jury will be presented. The 11th edition of International CUBADISCO Music Fair will continue to be celebrated all around the country in June, from the central Province of Villa Clara to Bayamo, in Granma province. (Cubarte, 19/5/07)

May 19: Cuban author Reynaldo González, one of the promoters of an intellectuals and artists’ debate on the 1970s’ cultural policy in Cuba, affirmed that "the discussion is not over" and that there is "a ‘before’ and an ‘after’" following the so called “email war." During the presentation of the last issue of Casa magazine, González once again brought up the topic that sparked an intense debate among a group of Cuban intellectuals last January. (EER, 21/5/07)

May 20: The daughter of acting Cuban President Raul Castro spoke out in favor of tolerance and against gay-bashing on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia. "The communications media have a big responsibility in the education of the public, in developing a culture of respect for people due to their sexual identity and sexual orientation," said Mariela Castro, the head of the National Sex Education Center, in remarks broadcast by state television. Castro attended an unusual film-debate held in the "23 y 12" hall in Havana, where organizers showed the US film "Boys Don't Cry," which tells a story based on real events of the difficulties, discrimination and violence to which a young transsexual woman was subjected. "Starting with the advances we have had on these matters in our country, it's that we (are) trying to better visualize the goal of this international - and in this case national - day," said the sexologist. Castro said that "homophobia and transphobia still exist in the world in a very strong, very cruel, very distriminatory way against homosexual, transsexual and transgender people in a general sense and, above all, as a result of ignorance." (EFE, 21/5/07)

May 21: The parents of the students at the José Martí Trades School, in Boyeros, Havana, expressed their discontent with the lack of teachers in this secondary education center. The principal informed that the school would not have sufficient teaching staff, and that the current course would be the last one for that major. (Cuba Verdad, 21/5/07)

May 21: Although Fidel Castro has not appeared in public for 10 months, his 16,000 words published in Granma Communist Party newspaper and repeatedly read out on state media in recent weeks have raised speculation that Castro could lead the country again.   His partial return has many wondering whether he or his brother Raul Castro -- who was named interim president when Castro fell sick -- is in charge. "Fidel is writing articles to show that he is still alive. But Raul is silent and nobody is speaking to the Cuban people," said a caretaker watering plants at an apartment building in Havana. "I love Fidel but it is time he showed up, told Cuba 'Mission Accomplished' and handed power to his aides," he said, asking not to be named. Eight articles signed by Castro have appeared since March. But not a word on his illness, which is a closely guarded state secret, on whether he plans to resume leadership of Cuba, or retire. "He has not appeared physically, so we don't know how he is," said Miriam Leiva, a dissident and former diplomat. "The articles maintain his apparent presence, but they do not deal with the real issues Cubans are facing." "Cuba needs change and economic revival. The country is in political limbo," she said. (Reuters, 21/5/07)

May 22: Dissident Antonio Moné Borrego, leader of the “Miguel Valdés Tamayo” Human Rights Movement, was arrested in the city of Baracoa on May 20. The charges being brought up against him are still unknown. (Payo Libre, 22/5/07)

May 23: Fidel Castro said he was eating enough solid food to recover from several intestinal operations that had not been successful at first. In his most detailed account of his health crisis since handing over power and dropping out of sight 10 months ago, Castro said he spent months being fed intravenously, but has recovered his weight to a stable 176 pounds (80 kilos). "It wasn't just one operation, but various. Initially there was no success and this led to a prolonged recuperation," he said in an editorial column distributed by the Cuban government by e-mail and published in official daily Granma on May 24. The Cuban leader gave no indication of when he might show up again in public or resume leadership of the government. [For the Deaf Who Won’t Listen] (Reuters, AP, La Jornada, 24/5/07)

May 23: Margarito Broche Espinosa, president of the illegal Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs in Cuba, conveyed great concern for the life of the Cuban prisoner of conscience Alfredo Pulido Lopez, who, like him, belongs to the group of dissidents who were sentenced to jail in 2003. Though it was recently detected that Pulido Lopez is infected with tuberculosis, he remains medically untreated at the Kilo 7 Prison in the province of Camaguey. Broche Espinosa demanded from the Cuban regime to show its consideration for the imprisoned dissident’s state of health and made the government responsible for any consequences thereof. He also pointed out the case of political prisoner Normando Hernandez, who also suffers from tuberculosis while confined at the Kilo 5 ½ Prison in the province of Pinar del Rio and who is presently imprisoned in Camaguey with Pulido Lopez. (Bitácora Cubana, 24/5/07)

May 24: Members of Cuba's internal opposition said that the most recent article by Fidel Castro, in which he provides details about his convalescence but does not refer to the country's domestic situation, offers no indication that he will be returning to power.   According to Elizardo Sanchez, who heads the outlawed Cuban Human Rights Commission, the elements that Castro refers to in the message "are nothing new (and) have been present over the last 10 months of strange paralysis that Cuba has endured."    He said that Cuba is experiencing an "anomalous situation" in which "Castro doesn't cede (the reins of government), nor does anyone dare take them from him; it's a strange situation of paralysis, of lack of mobility and a country can't go on like that." Miriam Leiva, co-founder of the Ladies in White, a group comprising relatives of political prisoners, said that, despite the signs the president is recovering, "it seems that he's not in condition to resume his work as normal and that suggests the possibility he'll no longer carry out the functions of government." According to Oscar Espinosa, a former political prisoner, the most significant thing is that "Castro has made no mention of Cuba 's reality in the series of commentaries he has been writing since March.” Vladimiro Roca, of the Todos Unidos (All United) movement, said the article fulfills two objectives: "gradually making it clear to Cubans that they're not going to see him anymore" and sending the message that "he remains in charge." "That's how they're justifying the paralysis that the government has maintained all this time," according to Roca, who said he is convinced "it is necessary for someone to take the decisions (needed) to lift up the country," although he added he doesn't believe anyone will fill that role. The article, according to Marta Beatriz Roque, head of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society, "tries to (subtly suggest) that he is leading the country," but "in reality we don't know who is governing" and "this is a situation that could continue for some time."  (EFE, 24/5/07) 

May 24: Cuba's minister of culture, Abel Prieto, suggested that some owners of the independent press should receive long prison sentences. "I wish that we could imprison the owner of a media outlet. With much pleasure we would give him a life sentence for lying, for confusing the people," Mr. Prieto said. The Cuban official said it was "imperative" to establish a tribunal that would "permit the evaluation and work of the media. Not only local and national but of all the great disinformation machinery in decisive media outlets with enormous world influence." Mr. Prieto was responding to journalists covering the Fifth World Conference of Artists and Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity, a Venezuelan-backed group supporting "the process of change in Latin America", that gathered in Cochabamba, Bolivia. (The Washington Times, El Nuevo Herald, 24/5/07)

May 26: An article published by the official newspaper “Granma” lambasted the foreign press corps in Havana for reporting about the domestic political opposition, regarded by the authorities as "mercenaries" in the service of the United States. The article did not single out any media outlet. "The propaganda apparatuses of the United States are not alone (…)," said the editorial entitled "Masters of manipulation," adding that "(…) Some of the correspondents accredited in Havana earn their keep every day by fabricating news on the alleged leaders of the domestic dissidence." (Reuters, La Jornada, 26/5/07)

May 28: Authorities at the prison “Alambradas de Manacas”, in Villa Clara province, denied family visits to political prisoner Alexander García Lima. Prison authorities told Alexander’s mother that he was punished for possessing articles denouncing the government that were to be published in the independent press. Ms Lima was told by a prison officer that Alexander would remain in a high security cell for 10 days and could be sent to Guantanamo, in the eastern part of the island. (Cubanet, 1/6/07)

May 30: As a new project to encourage the use of information technologies by senior citizens in Cuba, hundreds of computer clubs for the elderly are expected to be opened throughout the island. The initiative is organized by the Computer and Electronics Youth Clubs. It will be supported by intranet services especially designed to meet the interests of senior citizens, the official Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported. Eduardo Alfredo Triana, director of the Geriatric Center of Matanzas, said the use of information technologies would boost the quality of life of that age group by helping them to recover certain mental and physical abilities. He said the project could even help some cases to become involved in a working life again. (ACN, 30/5/07) 

May 30: Fidel Castro is recovering and is pursuing a physical rehabilitation programme after emerging from the very dangerous phase of his illness, the president of the National Assembly of Cuba, Ricardo Alarcon, said. "I can tell you (that) he has already recovered a great deal, and that his progress is going very well," said Alarcon after acknowledging that Castro had been through "delicate surgery, a very dangerous period, and a phase of recuperation that was also quite risky at the beginning." Commenting on Castro's possible return to power, which he delegated temporarily to his brother Raul, Alarcon said that he "would not advise him to go back to days in which he delivers three or four speeches and travels hundreds of kilometres." "Perhaps he might behave a little more deliberately," he added, referring to the possibility that the historic leader of the Cuban communist revolution might take up the reins of government again. In his remarks on RCN Television, which interviewed him in Havana, Alarcon added that Castro "is following a programme of physical rehabilitation and treatment that he is pursuing with a great deal of discipline. He pointed out that "this is an 80-year-old man who has led a very active life (…) Despite his age and this circumstance, fortunately things have turned out very well, and his recuperation is going very well," insisted the president of the Cuban legislative body. (BBC, 31/5/07) 

May 31: A vaccine against influenza for older people currently benefits 18.7 per cent of the population of the central province of Villa Clara where the life expectancy rate is 78 years old, the highest throughout Cuba. Over 150,000 senior citizens over 60 years old are given the vaccine in healthcare districts and homes for the elderly, Doctor Mario Sanchez, provincial head of the healthcare department in charge of the senior citizen care, told the press. (ACN, 31/5/07)

May 30: The directors of the Cuban Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), announced that the new drug HEBERPROT-P has an international patent and is available for people who suffer from complex diabetic foot ulcers, including neuropathic or neuroischemic patients. HEBERPROT-P, previously known as CITOPROT-P, speeds the healing of diabetic foot ulcers and reduces the risk of amputation. Ernesto Lopez Mola, head of the CIGB Business Development Department, said that the drug has been distributed to all the most important Angeology services of the main municipalities of each province in Cuba. (Juventud Rebelde, 31/5/07)

May 31: The presidents of the municipal assemblies of the People's Power met in Havana to analyze several tasks by local governments linked to the daily life of the population. The meeting includes reviewing the progress of the energy revolution. Participants will also discuss preparations for the next elections, fulfillment of the housing construction plan, measures to improve transportation services, highway administration and agricultural production. Organization and preparation to confront eventual natural disasters will also be part of the agenda, as will the work of social workers and implementation of the resolution to combat illegality, corruption and lack of discipline. Vice President of the State Council, Carlos Lage, the president of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, and the Minister of Finances, Jose Luis Rodriguez, chaired the meeting. (Prensa Latina, 1/6/07)