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7TH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

President Raúl Castro Ruz, Cuba to participate on an equal footing in 7TH Summit of The Américas

7TH SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
Cuba will continue to defend the ideas for which our people have assumed the greatest sacrifices and risks
Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, thanked the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean for their solidarity, which enabled Cuba to participate on an equal footing in this hemispheric forum, as well as the President of the Republic of Panama for the invitation to attend and the minutes granted for his speech
Author: Raul Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu
april 14, 2015 09:04:36

Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, thanked the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean for their solidarity, which enabled Cuba to participate on an equal footing in this hemispheric forum, as well as the President of the Republic of Panama for the invitation to attend and the minutes granted for his speech

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(Council of State Transcript)
It was high time I spoke here on behalf of Cuba. I
tough I made a great effort, along with my Foreign Minister, to reduce it to eight minutes, and as I’m owed six summits from which we were excluded, 6 times 8, 48 (laughter and applause), I asked President Varela a few moments before entering this magnificent hall, to allow me a few minutes more, especially after we have been hearing so many interesting speeches, and I am not only referring to that of President Obama, but also that of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, President Dilma Rousseff and others.

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Summit of the Americas

PANAMA.— Given the presence of mercenaries, Cuban delegation abandons Civil Society Forum

 

Before the event began, shouts of “Out, worms out” and “get them out of here,” were heard from the almost 70 Cuban delegates

Author: Sergio Alejandro Gómez | internet@granma.cu
april 8, 2015 18:04:13
PANAMA.— This Wednesday, the representatives of the Cuban delegation temporarily abandoned the Civil Society forum of the 7th Summit of the Americas, given the unacceptable presence of a group of mercenaries, previously denounced by the delegation.

The Cuban delegation left the Civil Society forum with the national flag held high.

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Photo: Juvenal Balán

The Cuban contingent returned to the workshops this afternoon demanding that the accreditation issued to a group of individuals who do not represent true Cuban society and have proven links to terrorists, be revoked.

“Genuine Cuban civil society has left the room as we will not share the space with representatives of an alleged society, which is not our own, which receives financing from others,” explained Delegate to the National Assembly and member of the delegation, Luis Morlote.

For reasons of dignity we can not be asked to share the same roof with these mercenaries, added Morlote, also vice president of the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (Uneac).

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Photo: Juvenal Balán

Before the event began, shouts of “Out, worms out” and “get them out of here,” were heard from the almost 70 Cuban delegates.

Enrique Alemán, from the Inter-religious Dialogue Platform, sent a message to President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, alerting him to the presence of genuine terrorists in the Hotel Panamá, headquarters of the forum.

Joel Suárez, from the Martin Luther King Centre and member of the delegation, recalled that the Summit of the Americas and its parallel forums have a dark history, and that since 1994, when the regional event began, the people have always been shut out and repressed.

However, we hoped that this time would be different and meetings were held in Cuba in order to bring a constructive agenda to Panama, noted Suárez.

In a previous incident, almost 20 Cuban delegates had problems securing accreditation for the forum, and were still unable to enter the space minutes before the event was scheduled to start. A dozen Venezuelan delegates also experienced the same situation.

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Photo: Juvenal Balán
A spontaneous protest broke out at the entrance to the forum, to which dozens of people joined in, including other journalists.

The delegations waved Cuban and Venezuelan flags and chanted “We don’t want to be a U.S. colony; yes, yes we want to be a free and sovereign homeland,” “Pin, pon, out, down with the worms” and “Cuba yes, terrorists no.”

Eventually, the organizers of the forum allowed them to enter via the official list, not through the established accreditation system.

Ruben Castillo, Panamanian coordinator of the forum, stated that situation was the result of delays caused by technical problems and denied any type political selectivity.

Cuban Revolution

Fidel Castro appears in public for first time in 14 months

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Fidel Castro appears in public for first time in 14 months
Photographs show former Cuban president greeting group of Venezuelan visitors

Fidel Castro greeting a member of a Venezuelan delegation in Cuba last month. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Fidel Castro greeting a member of a Venezuelan delegation in Cuba last month. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Elisabeth Malkin

Former president Fidel Castro of Cuba made a surprise appearance in public for the first time in 14 months, greeting a group of Venezuelan visitors as they toured a Havana school, the Cuban media has reported. The report, which was published in the official Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde, was accompanied by four photographs of Dr Castro seated in his van and shaking hands with enthusiastic visitors who reached through the window.

The article said the encounter took place on March 30th but did not explain the publishing delay. It was also the first time Dr Castro (88) had been seen since his brother, President Raúl Castro, and President Barack Obama announced in December that the United States and Cuba would normalise diplomatic relations and loosen many of the economic restrictions Washington had placed on the island.
The agreement was a step toward halting five decades of enmity that has sustained the propaganda defining the Cuban Revolution. But for almost six weeks, Fidel Castro was silent about the dramatic reconciliation, leading to rumours in Havana and Miami that he had died. He finally spoke out at the end of January, when he published a letter in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Granma, explaining that he supported a peaceful resolution to conflicts but still distrusted US politics.
A few days later, Granma published photographs of Dr Castro in his home looking alert and animated during a meeting with a student leader from the University of Havana.
More photos
More photographs followed in early March when Castro met with five Cuban agents who had spent years in jail in the United States on espionage charges. Granma also published a letter from Castro about the five-hour meeting.
In the latest photographs, Castro was shown from inside his van, dressed in a blue Adidas jacket and a black baseball cap. The article said the encounter lasted 90 minutes as Castro greeted the 33 Venezuelans in the exchange group one by one and discussed political affairs in their country.
He called for people to petition Mr Obama to reverse his declaration calling Venezuela a threat to the national security of the United States.
The declaration last month eroded some of the goodwill in Latin America that the new easing of tension with Cuba had generated for the United States, just weeks before the Summit of the Americas meeting in Panama on April 10th-11th. Mr Obama and Raúl Castro will both attend the meeting.

The Dialogue

Cuba and the U.S. to hold talks on human rights

Cuba and the U.S. to hold talks on human rights
The dialogue is scheduled for March 31 and Cuba hopes it will develop in a constructive environment and on a reciprocal basis

Author: Sergio Alejandro Gómez | internet@granma.cu
march 27, 2015 10:03:23
Delegations from Cuba and the United States will meet in Washington to discuss human rights, as agreed in the midst of talks to restore diplomatic relations, Pedro Luis Pedroso, deputy director general of Multilateral Affairs and International Law at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, revealed on Thursday in Havana.

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Pedro Luis Pedroso, deputy director general of Multilateral Affairs and International Law at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, announced that Cuba and the U.S. will hold a bilateral dialogue on human rights. Photo: Alberto Borrego Photo: Alberto Borrego
Speaking at a press conference, Pedroso recalled that Cuba had proposed to hold a bilateral dialogue on this issue in July last year, which was repeated in January 2015 and accepted by Washington authorities.

The dialogue is scheduled for March 31 and Cuba hopes it will develop in a constructive environment and on a reciprocal basis, without conditions or discriminatory treatment, and with full respect for sovereign equality, independence and non-interference in the internal affairs of the parties, Pedroso stressed.

The Cuban diplomat said that the exchange will cover topics of interest to both countries and that the final agenda would be defined over the coming hours.
He noted that Cuba will demonstrate its achievements in the promotion and protection of all human rights, not only of its own people but also those of many nations with which it has cooperated in areas such as health and education.

He added that the country does not consider itself to be perfect and recognizes there remain important goals to achieve. However, he highlighted the recognition received at the last Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, where the international community praised and commended Cuban achievements in areas such as education, health and access to cultural rights, and the contribution the island has made in those same areas in other countries.

Pedroso noted that the dialogue will also be an opportunity for Cuba to raise its concerns regarding the human rights situation in the U.S. and elsewhere where this country has a direct impact.
”These talks are an indication of Cuba’s willingness to address any subject with the U.S. despite our differences, based on equality and reciprocity,” he said.

“We are conscious of our profound differences with the U.S. government in terms of political systems, democracy, human rights and international law, and at the same time we maintain the unwavering will that both countries interact in a civilized fashion in recognition and respect of these differences,” he added.
Asked aboutthe possiblefrictionson specific topicssuch as politicalrights, Pedrososaid thatCubamaintains thatthere are differentpolitical anddemocraticmodels,and does not accept that a single model be established as a unique reference.

He also emphasized that international law recognizes the right of each country to establish the political system it considers most appropriate in accordance with its conditions, specific characteristics and historical, economic and social history.