Viewing from December 2006

Fidel sends New Year message

Campaign News | Sunday, 31 December 2006

Praises `serenity' of Cuban people during recoveryCuban leader Fidel Castro praised his countrymen for their ``serenity and maturity" during the five months of his recovery from intestinal surgery and called on them to endorse the nation's Communist regime next year.Castro said in his annual year-end address that his convalescence from ... read more

Cuba on the threshold of a critical year

Campaign News | Saturday, 30 December 2006

Cuban journalist Dalia Acosta writing for the Inter Press Service News AgencyHAVANA, Dec 29 - After a year marked by great uncertainty as to the future, Cubans are awaiting 2007 with a sense that it will bring major changes to the lives of every one of the 11.2 million people ... read more

The year in Cuba

Campaign News | Saturday, 30 December 2006

Most Important Events During 2006January: "Year of the Energy Revolution"This strategic program was prioritized during the year. Its main objective is to guarantee efficient generation of electricity and maximize savings. The work was centered on generators, improvement in the distribution network and the allotment of twelve million more efficient and ... read more

Cuba outraged by remarks from Costa Rican president

Campaign News | Thursday, 28 December 2006

Statement from the Ministry of Foreign AffairsOscar Arias: Vain, mediocre and obsessed with being a starTHE Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba has learned with profound indignation of the most recent statements against our country and President Fidel Castro pronounced by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. They ... read more

More trees, less pollution in Cuba

Campaign News | Thursday, 28 December 2006

Forest cover is increasing while bays are being cleaned upHavana, Dec 27 (Prensa Latina) Cuba has dramatically increased its forest and reduced pollution in its main bays and water sources.Vice Minister for Science, Technology and Environment, Dr. Jose A Diaz, said Cuba is among the few countries in the world ... read more

Spanish doctor confirms that Fidel does not have cancer

Campaign News | Tuesday, 26 December 2006

Expert says Cuban leader is recovering slowlyMADRID, Spain: A Spanish surgeon who is helping treat Fidel Castro said Tuesday the Cuban leader does not have cancer and is recovering slowly from a serious operation."He hasn't got cancer" said Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, chief surgeon at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon Hospital. Garcia ... read more

Congresswoman admits calling for Fidel's assassination

Campaign News | Monday, 25 December 2006

Ros-Lehtinen is forced to retract denialMIAMI -- U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami acknowledged Saturday that she called for Fidel Castro's assassination -- after earlier claiming a video clip of her making the comments was a fake.Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, said she has not seen the unedited footage of her interview, ... read more

Raúl urges university students to develop debate, analysis and differences

Campaign News | Sunday, 24 December 2006

Granma Internaitonal newspaperBY MARÍA JULIA MAYORAL AND KATIA SIBERIA GARCÍA“THIS is a history-making congress, if we are capable of giving continuity and carrying out what we have agreed on,” affirmed General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, speaking on December 21 at the 7th Congress of the University Student Federation ... read more

US sends foreign aid to third countries to promote change in Cuba

Campaign News | Saturday, 23 December 2006

From the Bradenton Herald newspaperMIAMI - While Cuban leader Fidel Castro's health crisis has sparked new debate over federal funding of U.S. groups pushing for change on the communist island, the United States has for years quietly funneled millions of dollars to groups working in Europe to also promote Cuban ... read more

Probe of militant Cuban emigre reaches financiers in New Jersey

Campaign News | Saturday, 23 December 2006

From the The Bergen County Record newspaperBy PETER J. SAMPSONA federal grand jury in Newark has been delving into a murky world of bombers and would-be assassins, exploring allegations that prominent members of North Jersey's Cuban community sent more than $30,000 to a notorious anti-Castro militant suspected of directing attacks ... read more

Cuba's economic growth in 2006: 12.5 percent

Campaign News | Saturday, 23 December 2006

Highest in hisory of revolution and in Latin America last yearHavana, Dec 23 (RHC).- Cuba's Economy Minister José Luis Rodríguez said on Friday in Havana that the island's economy grew 12.5 percent in 2006.During the report on the island's economic results during 2006 at the plenary session of the Cuban ... read more

Latin America conference tremendous success

Campaign News | Friday, 22 December 2006

Nearly 500 people attendLatin America conference reflects growing interest in a continent on the moveNearly 500 people took part in a day of discussions and presentations about the exciting changes taking place in Latin America at a special conference held in London on 2 December jointly organised by Cuba Solidarity ... read more

"I'm Jealous of Cuba" : Gore Vidal

Campaign News | Friday, 22 December 2006

An Interview with Gore VidalBy ROSA MARIAM ELIZALDEHavana.Gore Vidal was in Cuba for five days, following a frantic and packed program that took him from the University of Computer Sciences, the Latin American School of Medicine, the University of Havana's main campus, to the National Ballet School, from Old Havana ... read more

Sydney Morning Herald: Raul wants more debate in Cuba

Campaign News | Thursday, 21 December 2006

Speech to students highlights importance of disagreement in finding solutionsCuba's interim leader Raul Castro, signaling a different style of government from his ailing brother Fidel Castro, on Wednesday called for greater debate on public policies in the communist-run country."Sometimes people fear the word disagree, but I say the more debate ... read more

Cuba helps 50,000 Bolivians to see

Campaign News | Thursday, 21 December 2006

Operation Miracle spreads across continentLa Paz, Dec 20 (Prensa Latina) The number of people in Bolivia who have received free ophthalmology surgery this year through Cuban and Venezuelan cooperation in Operation Miracle has reached 50,300.During the celebration of this achievement, Cuban Ambassador Rafael Dausa highlighted that this modest contribution to ... read more

Spanish Parliamentary motion against Cuba beaten

Campaign News | Wednesday, 20 December 2006

Effort to get Spain to support the Bush plan failsMadrid, Dec 19 (Prensa Latina) A motion of the Spanish Popular Party against Cuba was beaten in the Spanish Legislature Tuesday with 165 votes against, and 132 PP votes in favor, with 17 abstentions.The political party led by Mariano Rajoy, of ... read more

Miami Five write to supporters in the UK

Campaign News | Wednesday, 20 December 2006

Seasonal message from the five prisonersFive Cuban patriots serving long prison terms in the United States for crimes they did not commit, have written the following letter of thanks to all those in the UK who have suported their struggle for justice:Dear Brothers and Sisters in the UK, Thank you very ... read more

US lawmakers call for change in policy toward Cuba

Campaign News | Monday, 18 December 2006

Delegation pushes for end to long standoffHAVANA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ten visiting U.S. lawmakers on Sunday called on the U.S. government to change its policy toward Cuba and open dialogue with the South American country."We unanimously believe that the United States should respond positively to the proposal made by ... read more

Oliver Stone fined for filming in Cuba

Campaign News | Friday, 15 December 2006

By Pedro de la Hoz - Granma daily staff writerTHE U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has just fined well-known filmmaker Oliver Stone for violating the laws of what they euphemistically refer to as an embargo, actually nothing more than a barbaric, brutal, systematic blockade, universally recognized as ... read more

Cuba vows to defy US efforts for change on island

Campaign News | Friday, 15 December 2006

From the International Herald Tribune newspaperHAVANA: Cuba vowed to defy U.S. efforts for economic and political change on the island in a front-page editorial in the Communist Party's newspaper that also referred to Cuban dissidents as "mercenaries" and "counterrevolutionary puppies."Members of the U.S. government "should not fool themselves," Thursday's editorial ... read more

Gallup Poll: Two in three Americans want diplomatic ties with Cuba

Campaign News | Friday, 15 December 2006

Surprise findingNEW YORK: Judging by press coverage and political rhetoric, one would imagine that most Americans take a very dim view of establishing diplomatic ties with Fidel Castro's Cuba. A new Gallup poll, however, reveals that this is far from true.The national poll, taken Dec. 8-10, found that two in ... read more

Cuba Full with Life and Hope, says Gore Vidal

Campaign News | Thursday, 14 December 2006

US giant of letters in HavanaHavana, Dec 13 (ACN) Distinguished US writer Gore Vidal described Cuba as a country full of life and hope, as he was honoured with a plaque bestowed by the University of Havana on Tuesday.During a meeting with students and professors at the University of Havana, ... read more

Caribbean nations praise Cuba for generous assistance

Campaign News | Tuesday, 12 December 2006

Caricom wishes Fidel Castro a quick recoveryBASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, DECEMBER 12TH 2006 (CUOPM) - The Caribbean Community in celebrating the fraternal links with the Government and People of the Republic of Cuba has expressed its appreciation of the solidarity which has characterised their relations as well as the technical and ... read more

CBS Canada: Clash in Cuba shows government is on high alert, says professor

Campaign News | Monday, 11 December 2006

Crowd of government supporters break up demoA crowd of government supporters swarmed a small group of dissidents in the Cuban capital Havana on Sunday, an incident a Canadian expert on Cuba suggests is part of a message being sent to Washington.The demonstrators were on a silent march in a Havana ... read more

Xmas campaign for the Miami Five

Campaign News | Thursday, 7 December 2006

Please send Xmas cards to the Miami FiveThis December marks the fifth anniversary of their sentencing on spurious charges ranging from failure to disclose themselves as foreign agents to conspiracy to commit espionage and even murder. They are presently serving between fifteen years and double life in prisons scattered across ... read more

US time warp on Cuba must end soon

Campaign News | Wednesday, 6 December 2006

From the Jamaica Gleaner newspaperSunday | December 3, 2006Robert Buddan, ContributorFidel Castro has celebrated his 80th birthday this weekend and the Cuban Revolution has marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the revolutionary campaign. No other event has transformed the international politics of the Caribbean as this revolution has ... read more

Bush administration calls Raul 'dictator in waiting'

Campaign News | Tuesday, 5 December 2006

US rejects Cuban offer to talkWASHINGTON - The State Department on Monday rejected an offer of talks with Raul Castro, Cuba's acting president, saying it saw no point in a dialogue with what it called the Caribbean island's "dictator-in-waiting.""The dialogue that should be taking place is not between Raul Castro ... read more

Hugo Chavez dedicates electoral triumph to Fidel and Cuba

Campaign News | Tuesday, 5 December 2006

Crowds celebrating throughout VenezuelaHavana, Dec 4 (ACN) “I repeat what I said some days ago, we dedicate this victory to the Cuban people and President Fidel Castro,” said President Hugo Chavez after he learned of his electoral triumph in Sunday’s presidential elections.The vote counting confirmed what was predicted by surveys, ... read more

Cuba willing to negotiate with US on equal basis: Raul Castro's speech

Campaign News | Monday, 4 December 2006

Full text of speech by General of the Army Raúl Castro RuzSpeech by the Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, at the Official Political ... read more

Another US mistake, by Wayne Smith

Campaign News | Sunday, 3 December 2006

From Morning StarAnother US mistake(Tuesday 28 November 2006)WAYNE SMITHWAYNE SMITH, the former chief of mission at the US Interests Section in Havana highlights his country's failed strategy to destabilise CubaPRIME Minister Blair certainly thought that he was doing the right thing when he endorsed his friend President Bush's invasion of ... read more

A new aura of economic prosperity over Cuba

Campaign News | Sunday, 3 December 2006

From the Jamaica Gleaner newspaperBy David JessopThree weeks ago, I was in Cuba, a country I have been travelling to since the mid-1970s. My visit took place after a period of international media speculation about the country's future, fed, it would seem, by those who are unable to comprehend that ... read more

Cuba's foreign minister tells Castro admirers that communist system will survive

Campaign News | Saturday, 2 December 2006

From the International Herald Tribune newspaperHAVANA: The unity of the Cuban people will guarantee the island's communist system remains after its aging leaders are gone, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Thursday amid 80th birthday celebrations for ailing President Fidel Castro."The enemies of the Cuban revolution ... are counting the ... read more