Yahoo! January 23, 2001
Two Czechs Charged in Cuba
PRAGUE, Czech Republic 23 (AP) - Cuban authorities holding two Czech
citizens - one of them a former finance minister - have charged them with acting
against the island nation's security and inciting a rebellion, the wife of one
detainee said Tuesday.
Lucie Pilipova, the wife of Ivan Pilip, was quoted by the CTK news agency as
saying that Cuban authorities had informed the two detainees of the charges.
Pilipova arrived in Havana on Saturday to find out more about the arrest of
her husband and fellow detainee Jan Bubenik. She was accompanied by Bubenik's
brother, Martin.
No information was available in the Czech Republic of what possible
penalties were if they are convicted of the charges.
Cuba's communist government has had no comment on the case with the
exception of a short story in state media last week announcing the arrests.
Pilip is a former finance minister and currently deputy in the Czech
Parliament's lower house, and Bubenik was a student leader in the 1989 movement
that toppled the Communist government in Prague. They were detained Jan 12 after
meeting with pro-democracy Cuban dissidents.
The Cuban prosecutor had been expected to decide Monday what further legal
steps to take against the two, but the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
Tuesday it had heard nothing official from Cuba.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan appealed to the European Union (news - web
sites) for help, Prime Minister Milos Zeman wrote a personal letter to Cuban
leader Fidel Castro (news - web sites), and President Vaclav Havel is reportedly
asking the Pope to mediate the prisoners' release.
The U.S. State Department condemned the detention last week stating that the
only "offense'' of the two was to meet with Cuban activists who seek "peaceful
change of Cuba's totalitarian government.''
Iran, Cuba Discuss Cooperation
CAIRO, Egypt 22(AP) - Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and his Cuban
counterpart met Monday and called for boosting cooperation between their
countries, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
During their meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran, both Kharrazi and Felipe
Perez Roque stressed the importance of expanding ties in all fields, said IRNA,
monitored in Cairo.
Kharrazi denounced the U.S. sanctions on Cuba, saying they are against
international rules and that no country should impose its own laws on another
country, IRNA said.
Perez Roque thanked Iran for its support, adding that the situation in Cuba
is improving despite the burden of the 39-year-old U.S. economic embargo of the
Caribbean nation, the agency said.
Iran is also under a U.S. embargo but sanctions on some Iranian goods were
eased last year.
The Cuban minister, who arrived Sunday, also held talks with Iranian
Minister of Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati on boosting trade between the two
countries, IRNA said. The two countries conduct around $100 million in trade a
year.
Perez Roque said Iran and Cuba will study an agreement on promoting joint
investments in a coming meeting in Havana. He said the accord is expected to
guarantee the rights of Iranian companies in Cuba.
Perez Roque said Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) would like
to visit Iran, IRNA reported.
The minister is on a four-nation regional tour that has already taken him to
Greece and Cyprus. His last stop will be Turkey.
Martinez Gets Nod From Committee
WASHINGTON, 22 (AP) - A Senate committee gave easy approval Monday to the
nomination of Mel Martinez as housing secretary and hailed the Cuban-born
official as an "American success story.''
The nomination now goes to the full Senate where it is expected to get easy
passage.
"This is one area where I think we can start this committee off in a
bipartisan fashion,'' Sen. Tim Johnson (news - bio - voting record), D-S.D.,
said just before the voice vote by the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Committee.
Added Sen. Wayne Allard (news - bio - voting record), R-Colo., "He is
an American success story. He's been able to take advantage of the opportunities
this country offers.''
Martinez, 54, the chairman of the Orange County, Fla., government that
includes Orlando, has promised to strengthen the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, an agency some Republicans have sought to eliminate, and to make it
more responsive to the nation's housing needs.
At hearings on his nomination last week, Martinez said he was a "living
testament to the promise of America,'' arriving at age 15 as a refugee speaking
no English, living with foster parents until his parents could leave Cuba, and
working his way through Florida State Law School. "I came to America with a
suitcase and the hope of a better life. I know the value of homeownership
because I have witnessed its great power throughout my entire life,'' he said.
On the Net:
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs: http://banking.senate.gov/
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