With shouts of "Libertad!" -- "Freedom!" -- and the singing of the Cuban national anthem, more than 200 people on Friday opened a rare opposition assembly in communist Cuba, uninterrupted by authorities after the expulsion of European lawmakers, journalists and others who planned to attend.
"There will be a before and after for May 20 in Cuba," predicted lead event organizer Martha Beatriz Roque, calling it first in Fidel Castro's 46 years of communist rule. "This is a triumph for all the opposition."
Several years in the planning, the general meeting of the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society was aimed at bringing together diverse opposition groups to discuss promotion of a Western-style democracy in Cuba.
Roque, a former political prisoner who attempted a similar gathering nine years ago, called it "a point of departure" for future work.
"This is a really nice surprise," said veteran activist Vladimiro Roca, who with Roque was among four dissident leaders who attempted to organize the Concilio Cubano meeting. "My predictions were not realized. I didn't think the government would allow it to happen."
Concilio's planned 1996 meeting was canceled after about 50 members were rounded up beforehand. The day the convention was to be held, Cuban MiGs off the island's coast shot down two American civilian planes carrying four members of the exile group Brothers to the Rescue, plunging the countries into political crisis.
Seated in rows of plastic chairs bought with donations from exile groups, the delegates cheered as organizers played an audio message from US President George W. Bush.
"I have a message to those assembling today to protest in Cuba: As you struggle for the freedom of your country, the American people stand with you," Bush said in his traditional May 20 speech recognizing Cuban Independence Day.
"Viva Bush!" some delegates shouted. Earlier in the meeting, there were scattered shouts of "Abajo Fidel!" -- "Down with Fidel!"
Cuba on Thursday expelled two European lawmakers who had planned to attend the gathering. Six Poles -- three journalists, a human rights worker and two students -- were being expelled from the country on Friday, the Polish Foreign Ministry said in Warsaw.
"This is typical behavior of a totalitarian state," said Czech Senator Karel Schwarzenberg, one of the lawmakers police took to the airport Thursday afternoon. German lawmaker Arnold Vaatz was also expelled.
Both the Czech and German foreign ministries summoned the Cuban ambassadors in their countries for an explanation.
"It is a legitimate and natural wish for German and European politicians to want to meet with the opposition and civil rights movements," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said.
Two former Spanish senators, Isabel San Baldomero and Rosa Lopez Garnica, were also told to leave Cuba.
"We believe the political situation in Cuba has to be improved," Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in Lisbon, Portugal. "But we want to do it through dialogue."
Polish lawmakers Boguslav Sonik and Jacek Protasiewicz, members of the EU assembly's conservative European People's Party, earlier were refused entry into Cuba, as was a representative of the powerful Miami exile lobby, the Cuban American National Foundation.
In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini summoned the Cuban ambassador for clarification on the reported detention of journalist Francesco Battistini, of the top daily Corriere della Sera. Battistini was expected back in Italy on the first available flight.
Cuba typically detains, and often expels, international journalists working on the island without government approval.
"These actions demonstrate the Cuban government's fear of Cubans who assert their rights and underline the need for change," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.
ON THE MOVE: Trump unexpectedly cut short a trip to return to the White House, while the State Department warned Americans to avoid travel to the Middle East The US on Saturday warned that hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis could “escalate rapidly” after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed. US President Donald Trump on Saturday cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House. The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led
The US military came close to boarding a Chinese vessel in the Middle East earlier this year based on a flawed intelligence report prepared with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), CNN said on Friday. US intelligence indicated the ship was carrying nuclear weapons-related components, leading US forces to prepare to intercept it, the broadcaster reported, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the incident. However, the operation was called off after officials determined that an AI chatbot used by an analyst had misidentified the material the ship was carrying. The report was “entirely false,” but “almost started a war,” CNN quoted one source
World leaders gather in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, bracing for US President Donald Trump’s return to the rostrum for a second year running, with talks centering on the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly 130 heads of state meet with the post-World War II order under strain and with the UN itself struggling to remain relevant and weathering attacks from Trump, who has slashed the US’ contributions and withdrawn from dozens of UN bodies. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who last addressed the diplomatic jamboree via video
Typhoon Dujuan forced the cancellation of at least 275 flights in Japan today and prompted warnings of potentially record-breaking rainfall as the storm nears Tokyo. The typhoon, which is accompanied by high winds, has also led to the early closure in Tokyo of one the world’s biggest video game trade fairs and knocked out power for thousands. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned yesterday that rain and winds were expected to intensify even before the typhoon’s arrival. “The total rainfall through Tuesday could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September, resulting in record-breaking heavy rain,” the agency said. The typhoon’s wind speeds were at
RSS