U.S. lawmakers request public meeting in Cuba*** HAVANA - (AP) -- Eight American lawmakers working to change U.S. policies toward Cuba said Monday they will ask the communist government to let as many as 25 U.S. Congress members hold a public meeting with the Cuban people later this year. ''It would be a demonstration of American democracy,'' said U.S. Congressman William Delahunt, a Democrat.
Ideally, Delahunt said, the gathering -- commonly known in the United States as a ''town hall'' meeting -- would be broadcast live on Cuban television and radio across the island, just as former President Jimmy Carter's speech to the Cuban people was aired live last year. ''It is time to forget the rancor, the bitterness of the past,'' Delahunt told a news conference. He said it was time to ''have a civil and respectful discourse'' between the two nations.***
Cubans harass U.S. envoys passing out Mark Twain novels - economics 101 textbooks *** Cuban agents have increased harassment of U.S. diplomats in recent months in a campaign that includes house break-ins, vandalism and crude acts of intimidation, the State Department says in a memo warning U.S. foreign service officers of tough times if they are posted to the island. Similar acts of harassment are being reported by organizers of Project Varela, a recent petition drive calling for free speech and free elections in the single-party communist state, according to news reports from the island. The memo obtained by The Washington Times lists three pages of "officially sanctioned provocation," including the "leaving of not so subtle messages behind, (including unwelcome calling cards like urine or feces)."***
***Cardinal's case for reform -There is no homeland without virtue - Only free men can build Cuba - I understand and share this - ....... It shouldn't be only the pastor's or the bishop's eyes that turn mercifully to the crowd; the leaders' eyes should, too. The time has come to go from the avenging State that demands sacrifices and settles accounts to the merciful State that is ready to lend a compassionate hand before it imposes controls and punishes infractions.***
EU Opens New Office in Cuba [Full Text] HAVANA - The European Union opened a new office in Cuba on Monday in an attempt to deepen relations with the communist island. The 15-member EU is Cuba's largest trade partner, accounting for 80 percent of Cuba's imports in 2001. "We are opening a new relationship," EU Development Commissioner Poul Nielson said in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Havana.
Nielson, here on a four-day visit, said that in Cuba the EU planned to put into practice a wide range of projects, from social programs to mordernizing the economy. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who met with Nielson, said he hoped the EU mission would usher in "a new era based on respectful dialogue." Perez Roque expressed thanks for the EU's consistent opposition to the U.S. trade embargo against the island.
Cuba has applied to join the EU's Cotonou Agreement, which offers trade advantages and economic help to 78 developing nations. EU officials have said it is unclear if the governments would approve the deal. Britain, Sweden and others are expected to press Havana on human rights before approving Cuba's membership. [End]
CASTRO stocks CHAVEZ'S state-run stores ***As the protesters gathered, Chavez told a meeting of supporters in a Caracas theater that Venezuela had received donations of sugar and beans from communist Cuba to help his government fight food shortages caused by the recent strike. Chavez thanked his political ally and friend, Cuban President Fidel Castro, for the cargoes of 10,000 tonnes of sugar and 5,000 tonnes of black beans. He said these were being sold cheaply to the poor in the government's food program. "The Cubans gave up 10 million kilos (10,000 tonnes) of sugar from their own reserves ... they didn't want to accept payment, they said we could pay for them whenever we could," the president said. Cuba receives oil from Venezuela on preferential terms under a bilateral energy deal.
Chavez's opponents, who include private business leaders, union bosses and dissident military officers, accuse him of ruining the economy with his anti-capitalist rhetoric and left-wing, statist economic policies. They say he is trying to recreate Cuban-style communism in Venezuela. The president condemns his opponents as a rich, resentful "oligarchy" opposed to his self-styled "revolution."
Chavez announced the creation of a state-run network of shops which would sell cheap food to the poor. The idea appeared to be a replica of a similar system existing in Cuba. ***
