Castro leads march outside Spanish Embassy in Cuban protest of European Union
ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, June 12, 2003
©2003 Associated Press
(06-12) 08:44 PDT HAVANA (AP) --
President Fidel Castro led hundreds of thousands of Cubans Thursday in a march outside the Spanish Embassy to protest what he sees as Europe's alignment with U.S. policies toward the communist island.
Surrounded by security men and his closest aides, the 76-year-old Castro led a river of people past the white, colonial Spanish mission. The demonstration lasted about two hours but Castro stayed for only about 10 minutes.
"Down with fascism," an announcer chanted over a public address system along the coastal highway in Old Havana. "Long live the revolution!"
Marchers carried small red, white and blue Cuban flags and signs accusing Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of being a U.S. puppet.
European officials have joined U.S. officials in protesting Cuba's imprisonment of 75 political dissidents for terms of up to 28 years and its execution of three men who hijacked a ferry.
The protests, which paralyzed traffic and business in the nation's capital, came in response to the European Union's announcement last month that it would review its policies toward Cuba.
The 15-nation bloc is the economically struggling island's largest source of trade and tourism.
Castro accuses the United States of "neofascist policies" and says Europe's support for Cuban dissidents is yet another sign of Washington's growing world influence.
"Aznar, marionette! Cuba will be respected," one man shouted over a loudspeaker.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, Castro's brother and designated successor, Defense Minister Gen. Raul Castro, headed a march outside Italy's Embassy.
One sign showed Italian Prime Silvio Berlusconi with strings attached to his hands. "Berlusconi: are you, or are you not a puppet?" it said.
Using tough language usually reserved for Washington, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque lashed out Wednesday at the EU, singling out Spain for allegedly funding dissident groups supported by the United States.
Perez Roque also criticized Italy for cutting numerous cultural and cooperation programs with Cuba to protest the crackdown on the opposition and the firing-squad executions of the three men who hijacked the ferry and tried to reach the United States.
"After exhausting its patience and capacity for dialogue and tolerance, Cuba feels obliged to reply to what it considers to be the European Union's hypocritical behavior," the foreign minister said at a news conference.
In Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday, EU spokesman Diego de Ojeda declined to specifically address Cuba's charges, instead repeating the bloc's desire to "to integrate Cuba back into the community of democratic and market economy nations."
In its statement last week, the EU said it was "deeply concerned about the continuing flagrant violation of human rights and of fundamental freedoms of members of the Cuban opposition and of independent journalists."
EU members unanimously agreed to cut down on high-level governmental visits, reduce participation of member states in cultural events on the island and review relations overall.
In April, the 75 activists were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 28 years on charges of working with American diplomats to subvert the island's socialist system. Both the dissidents and U.S. officials deny the allegations.
Ramon Colas, a prominent Cuban dissident and former political prisoner, warned that Castro's crackdown hasn't ended with the arrest of 75 activists and the firing-squad execution of three hijackers.
"Now others are being arrested," he told a news conference in New York Wednesday. "We're knocking on all doors to plead to the world to help us so that we can avoid a greater tragedy in Cuba."
©2003 Associated Press