May 9, 1997

NEWS FROM THE INDEPENDENT PRESS BUREAU IN CUBA

1) THE DECREE AGAINST INTERNAL MIGRATION IN CUBA CLAIMS THE LIFE OF POLICE OFFICER.

2) HAVANA CONTINUES TO BE SUBJECTED TO FREQUENT BLACKOUTS

1) The Decree against internal migration in Cuba claims the life of police officer.

HAVANA, May 7, 1997 (BPIC).- Yorismil Paneque Estrada, a young man from the eastern town of Manzanillo, and 1st sub-officer of the National Police, committed suicide on April 22, in the capital city, after refusing to obey superior's orders to participate in the forced eviction of members of his family.

This incident places Paneque Estrada as the first mortal victim of Law Decree 217, passed by the Cuban government, to control internal migration towards Havana.

The dead man's wife, Katia Remedios Palacios, an 18-year old pregnant woman, told the Independent Press Bureau in Cuba, that he had been despondent because his superiors were pressuring him to abandon her and to leave their ramshackle home, located in a marginal neighborhood at the entrance to Las Palmas, in the town of Casablanca where, according to the authorities, they were being evicted from, because they are considered illegal residents.

Paneque Estrada, who fatally shot himself while in a shelter at the police station in the Havana neighborhood, left a letter to his wife Katia, according to what friends of the dead man told his wife.

Katia Remedios Palacios is upset because she hasn't been given the letter, but she heard that in the letter, Paneque Estrada wrote to her that he would never help evict anyone, and much less the woman in his life, that he loved her and that, from heaven, he would continue helping her out of this predicament.

Reported by Omar Rodriguez Saludes and Mercedes Moreno.

2) HAVANA CONTINUES TO BE SUBJECTED TO FREQUENT BLACKOUTS

HAVANA, May 7, 1997 (BPIC).- Blackouts, some lasting for more than ten hours daily, are affecting homes, medical centers, schools and community offices throughout the Cuban capital since May 5, after official sources announced that there had been breakdowns at the thermoelectrical plant in Santa Cruz del Norte, in Havana.

They also officially informed that the problem would be fixed within 24 hours starting on May 5th. On Tuesday, May 6th, Cuban television announced that the problem had been resolved, but this Wednesday, May 7th, the blackouts continued throughout the Cuban capital.

Reported by Luis Lopez Prendes.

Translated for CubaNet by Lourdes Arriete