Ogata meets with Cuban ambassador

   Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ogata Yasuo met Cuban Ambassador to Japan Orlando Hernandez on May 11 at the JCP head office.

   Hernandez spoke in detail about recent developments in which Luis Posada Carriles who had been suspected of being involved in a number of terrorist actions, including the explosion of a Cuban aircraft, was released in the U.S. by court order. He expressed his appreciation for the Akahata coverage regarding this issue, and asked for further JCP cooperation in order to put the international terrorist on trial.

   Expressing gratitude for the ambassador’s explanation, Ogata stressed the grave problem of the Bush administration’s double standard of releasing the notorious terrorist while emphasizing his administration’s “war on terror.”

   They also discussed the wave of transformation sweeping over Latin America, including the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA), an initiative for regional cooperation led by Cuba and Venezuela.                                    - Akahata, May 12, 2007