During the ceremony, Cuba’s national anthem was heard, and Díaz-Canel spoke with children there, mentioning the existence in Cuba of a street that bears the name of an Irishman, and a plaque that was visited by their President reading: “Two island towns in the same sea of struggle and hopes.”

According to the Cuban President’s Twitter account, the reception featured several highlights, including the planting of an oak tree, a traditional Irish symbol of friendship.Díaz-Canel expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you very much for the warm welcome, the attention given during my stay and for the frank discussion we just held…

“Peace and independence have been precisely the principles that have guided the Cuban revolutionary process since 1868 and are still the principles we defend today.” he added.

“It is these principles which unite us to Ireland, a friendly people who, like Cuba, have been obliged to fight for their sovereignty.“We return to the green and patriotic Ireland, that of Che’s ancestors, the one that accompanied Felix Varela, the one described by Martí, the one that generated Fidel’s admiration.

“Let us toast today for peace and independence, for friendship between the peoples of Cuba and Ireland, so that we may always continue in the same sea of ​​struggle and hope,” he said.

(Granma)

In a cordial atmosphere, both dignitaries discussed the good state of bilateral relations and highlighted opportunities to promote economic, trade and cooperation exchanges. They also addressed issues on the international agenda.

The distinguished visitor was accompanied by David Stanton, minister of State for Justice at the Department of Justice and Equality; Sonja Hyland, Irish Ambassador to Cuba; Art O´Leary, secretary-general to the President; Niall Burgess, secretary-general and minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Claire Power, advisor of the Office of the President; and Philip Hamell, assistant secretary-general at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Participating on the Cuban side were ministers of Foreign Affairs, and Justice, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and María Esther Reus González, respectively, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister, Rogelio Sierra Díaz.

(Granma)

Radio Havana journalist from Ireland tells of plight of jailed counter-terrorism agents

Date: 30 May 2012

http://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/21932

A CALL has gone out for more people in Ireland to become active to `Free the Cuban 5′, the five men jailed in the United States for monitoring right-wing exiles plotting terrorist acts against the Caribbean island.

Bernie Dwyer, an Irish journalist working for Radio Havana, and Sinn Féin Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pádraig Mac Lochlain TD addressed a Sinn Féin Ard Fheis fringe meeting on the Cuban 5 attended by 70 people in Killarney last weekend.

In September 1998, five men – Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and René Gonzalez – were arrested by the FBI in Miami and accused of conspiracy to commit espionage. The five had been sent to Miami by the Cuban Government to report on the activities of Florida-based terrorist gangs operating against the Cuban Government.

Since 1959, these groups and others have carried out thousands of acts of terrorism, leaving more than 3,400 people dead and thousands wounded. Less than a year before the arrest of the Cuban 5, these gangs killed an Italian tourist and wounded a dozen other people when they bombed the Hotel Copacabana in Havana. These and other attacks on hotels in the 1990s were aimed at destroying the tourist trade in the country.

Bernie Dwyer highlighted the irony of the US Government imprisoning and locking-up anti-terrorist officers who were attempting to disrupt terrorist activities being planned from US soil.

“The US Government was doing very little about these acts of terrorism being planned in their territory and in some cases the individuals were being financed and trained by the CIA,” Bernie said. “So the group of five went to infiltrate these groups. They were unarmed and simply reporting on their activities.”

The five were sentenced to a total of four life sentences plus 77 years. They have been imprisoned in five separate maximum-security prisons spread across the US. Their sentences were later reduced after the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that their imprisonment violated Article 14 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Liberties.

Bernie Dwyer said most Americans were unaware of the plight of these men, claiming that some journalists from mainstream US newspapers were paid by US Government sources to write what she described as “scurrilous articles” about them. Dwyer also called on more people to become involved in the `Free the Cuban 5 Campaign Ireland’ saying: “If anything is going to happen, it will only happen if there is a groundswell in public opinion for their release.”

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn spoke on the wider issue of Cuba and the ongoing economic blockade of the country by the US, which he described as “an outrage”. “The international community want the blockade to end and want Cuba to have a chance to breathe,” he said.

He went on to describe the ongoing imprisonment of four of the men as a disgrace. “Here we have five men who went to Florida to protect their people from terrorism, and this is real terrorism, right-wing terrorism, which is directed at people who have built an equal state and taken out a dirty, rotten regime.”

The Free the Cuban 5 Campaign Ireland has called on people in Ireland to get active on the issue and is looking for activists who are willing to help out in any way. The campaign can be contacted by emailing freethecubanfiveireland@gmail.com and regular updates can be found on their Facebook page: `Free the Cuban Five Campaign Ireland’.

ANTI-CUBA terrorists are suspected of the firebombing of the Airline Brokers’ offices in Coral Gables, Florida, on 27 April, the first anniversary of the death of terrorist ringleader Orlando Bosch.

Bosch and his CORU group have been responsible for hundreds of bombings and attacks across Cuba, the Caribbean and Miami, including the bombing of Cubana Flight 455 in October 1976 in which 78 people died.

© 2012 An Phoblacht.

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann.

University of Limerick

A 90-minute ride from Dublin will take you to Limerick, a beautiful city where for various reasons great progress has been made in the last 20 years.

This name seems to have very little meaning to most Cubans until they realize that part of Ireland is home to the city of Shannon, a regular port of call for Moscow-bound Aeroflot flights in times of the USSR.

A major engineering center, Limerick has become Ireland’s third most important university, oweing largely to the presence in its surroundings of the huge National Technology Park and its National Center for the Excellence of Mathematics and Science.

The University was hosting a discussion on the “50th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Victory”, but a totally unexpected complication arose: a large audience had gathered at the University’s sports arena that same day for a speech to be delivered by none other than the Dalai Lama.

As I waited for my turn and the Dalai Lama spoke, the main local radio station called to ask whether I would be willing to grant a live interview about Cuba. I said yes, and a few minutes later I was on the air.

My interviewer began with the usual boilerplate topics, namely the “embargo” (that’s right, the well-known 50-year-old blockade), but no sooner had I started to answer than he interrupted me: “Sir, we’re sorry, but we must go to cover the speech the Dalai Lama is giving right here in our University as we speak. But if you don’t mind, please stay on the line. We’ll be back.”

By then the Dalai Lama was preaching “forgiveness, acceptance and serenity”. Suddenly I heard the voice of my presenter saying: “We’re back with Mr. Taladrid, the Cuban journalist, and my question is: Sir, what is Cuba like today, a brutal dictatorship or the picture-perfect paradise we see in your tourist ads?”

My answer: “Cuba is not a paradise; no country on Earth is. We have as many and diverse problems as any other country, although I’m glad to see that you’re familiar with our tourist industry. I suggest to your listeners that they should visit the Island, where they will find a very beautiful, safe, cultured and honorable nation. Whatever made you think that Cuba is a brutal dictatorship? What happens sometimes to honest, albeit misinformed, people is that they overlook the fact that Cuba is constantly examined in minute detail through the Hubble telescope, but those who describe it usually do it after a simple look through a pair of low-strength glasses that give you blurry, mistaken images.” But all of a sudden, as I was about to mention specific examples…

“Sir, I’m sorry, we’re going live again with the Dalai Lama’s speech, but please hold the line, because it seems our listeners are calling to ask questions about Cuba.” Over the phone I hear again the Dalai Lama’s voice saying: “…We must unite above all religions.” And as if on cue, my presenter again: “We’re back on the air with the Cuban journalist Reinaldo Taladrid. Sir, my next question is: if Raúl Castro succeeded his brother Fidel, does that mean another Castro will succeed Raúl? That is, could Cuba become a communist monarchy?”

“Absolutely not,” I replied. “Raúl was on his own merits the second in command of the revolutionary movement to free Cuba from Fulgencio Batista’s brutal dictatorship. I don’t know whether you’ve heard of it. Tell me, have you? No? Well, then you would be well-advised to read up on the subject so you can understand what we stand for in Cuba nowadays, and also for the sake of your own personal culture.” And there again:

“Look, sir, we must interrupt to go back to the Dalai Lama’s message from the University of Limerick.” Now the Dalai Lama was saying, “We are all the same.”

Then came my presenter again: “We’re back with the Cuban journalist who is paying a visit to Limerick. Mr. Taladrid, did Castro win at Bay of Pigs as a result of the U.S.’s failure to intervene or not?”

“Look, you should learn about that epic feat. The CIA’s masterminds had thought the Cubans would rush en masse to join the mercenary army organized to set them free from the Brutal Dictatorship, but what happened was exactly the opposite. As soon as they landed the Cuban people grabbed the arms the Revolution had given them and received the invaders with bullets instead of flowers. But even if the American troops had come as planned, our country was already prepared to wage a war of attrition against the enemy from [Cuba’s westernmost province of] Pinar del Río –where Fidel had posted Che Guevara– to the eastern region, guarded by Raúl Castro. Yes, Fidel Castro directed the military operations brilliantly, but it was the whole Cuban people who followed him and fought. Fidel alone could have never won. You should ask yourself why a whole people followed Fidel and socialism in such great numbers and…”

“Sir, I’m sorry, but we’re going again with the Dalai Lama”. I keep the receiver stuck to my ear and hear someone in the audience ask the Tibetan leader, ‘Your Eminence, what do you think about the terrible economic crisis facing Ireland and other countries?” Almost at once the Dalai Lama replied: “My knowledge of money issues is zero…”

I hear someone at the radio station’s recording studio say, “Hey, go back with the Cuban and put him on the air again; people are making calls about Cuba.” And again the presenter’s announcement: “Well, we’re back with the interview given by the Cuban journalist visiting Limerick these days. Mr. Taladrid, we’d like you to listen to and talk about what our listeners are saying… Good morning, you’re on the air.”

A first call comes in: “Look, I totally agree with the Cuban. Cuba is neither a paradise nor the awful place they say it is. They have the same problems as any other country. Why don’t you use the Hubble to see what’s going on here with the crisis?” A second caller: “I perfectly understand the Cubans. After all the things they have done and are still doing to them, of course they have to defend themselves above all else. Or do you expect them to commit suicide?” Another call: “I’m from Latin America and live in Limerick. We’re very proud of Cuba and its Revolution. What they do in Cuba they do it for us here and others anywhere else. Long live Cuba and long live Che Guevara…”

Then, without giving so much as a chance to say thanks and goodbye, the presenter brought the interview to a close: “Well, thank you very much for your time, Mr. Taladrid. We’re back to the Dalai Lama”. Had we really run out of time or did they choose to put a stop to the calls?

You have the floor.