Cuba Rejects US Charges on Terrorism

The US State Department had included Cuba in its annual list of "state sponsors of terrorism"
The US State Department had included Cuba in its annual list of "state sponsors of terrorism". Havana says Bush is trying to overthrow Castro

In an official statement published by the local daily "Granma" on Thursday, Cuba's Foreign Ministry declared that its inclusion in the US annual report "on terrorism aims to justify "- with false accusations - the cruel and inhuman policy of blockade, hostility, and aggression" against the Island. On April 30, the State Department issued its annual list of "state sponsors of terrorism", including Cuba this year with Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

"The Cuban government energetically rejects, once again, the infamous inclusion of our country on this unilateral and spurious list," reads the statement issued on Thursday. Then, Cuba replied chapter and verse on each and every accusation of the US State Department in the declaration entitled "Cuba has nothing to hide, nor to be ashamed of".

The US report accused Cuba of continuing to oppose the U.S.-led coalition to fight global terrorism, supporting guerrilla movements in Colombia, harboring Basque ETA terrorists from Spain and U.S. fugitives. Cuba said provided US with information for anti-terrorist fight; replied that ETA presence in the Island responded to Spanish and Panamanian request; affirmed that has always collaborated with Colombia's peace negotiations and does not host US fugitives in the Island.

The document ends with a strong declaration against US’s foreign policy. "Our country has firmly and decidedly opposed the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq and the new Nazi-fascist doctrine (of preemptive war) that the United States is attempting to impose on the world", concludes the statement.

Cuba knows how dangerous is to be in the U.S. annual "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report. In May 1st traditional Cuban parade, Fidel Castro blamed Washington on being behind a plot to overthrow the communist regime and masterminding his assassination. Castro accused James Cason, head of the US mission to Havana of fueling internal dissidents.

Last month Cuba sentenced 75 dissidents to long prison terms for working with the United States and executed three men for hijacking a ferry in a failed bid to reach the United States. Cuba's crackdown led to an open debate between intellectuals that condemned Cuba and those who warned about an allegedly US intention to create an immigration crisis as a pretext for U.S. military action.