-News for Fri. 05 April & Sat. 05
April 2002 Cuba
Lashes Out at US-UN Human Rights Meeting
VOA
News 6
Apr 2002 06:35 UTC
 
The Cuban government
has lashed out at Argentina, Costa Rica and Uruguay for announcing plans to
support a U.S. backed motion condemning Havana's human rights record at an
upcoming U.N. conference.
Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque accused the three Latin American nations of being pawns of
the United States and of serving what he called a U.S. political war against
President Fidel Castro's government.
Argentina, Costa Rica
and Uruguay have said they will vote against the communist-ruled island if a
motion censuring its human rights record is presented at the U.N. Human Rights
Commission meeting later this month. Their governments have not responded to
Mr. Perez Roque's remarks.
The Czech Republic
last year sponsored a U.S. backed motion to censure Cuba that narrowly passed
the assembly.
In another
development, Cuba accused diplomats at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana
this week of what it calls the "subversive" distribution of radios to Cuban
citizens so they can listen to U.S. government funded Radio Marti programs.
Radio Marti is located in Miami, Florida.
The Cuban government
denies it violates human rights and does not keep any political prisoners.
Officials routinely say that those held in Cuban prisons are what Havana calls
"counter-revolutionaries" convicted of crimes against the
state.
Washington and Havana
do not have formal diplomatic relations, but keep Interests Sections in each
others' capitals. The U.S. Interests Section in Havana is located in the Swiss
Embassy. The two countries broke official ties some 40 years ago after Mr.
Castro seized power of the Caribbean island in a violent coup and instituted a
communist government.
Some information
for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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