Farrakhan visits Cuba denounces US Katrina aid

Farrakhan visits Cuba, denounces US Katrina aid
21 Mar 2006 01:02:20 GMT
Source: Reuters

HAVANA, March 20 (Reuters) - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is
visiting communist Cuba to learn about disaster relief, a visit prompted
by the failure of the U.S. government to cope with Hurricane Katrina, he
said on Monday.

The controversial Nation of Islam leader, who is visiting Cuba for a
week, criticized Washington for refusing a Cuban offer to send doctors
after Katrina devastated New Orleans last August, flooding neighborhoods
mainly populated by blacks and the impoverished.

"After Hurricane Katrina and the failure of federal and state
government, we felt it was our duty to come to Cuba to learn disaster
management from the Cuban people who have had many hurricanes and have
not lost lives," he said.

Farrakhan, who led the Million Man March on the Washington Mall in 1995
to promote black self-reliance and responsibility, said he intended to
"spread the knowledge" among impoverished black, Hispanic and Native
American communities.

He met with young Americans studying medicine in Havana on Cuban
scholarships and encouraged them to go back to their communities to
deliver medical services needed by those who lack health insurance.

"This is a difficult road that you have chosen, but you must not give
up," he told some of the 74 Americans studying at Havana's Latin
American Medical School.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba and enforced
an economic embargo after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. The Bush
administration stepped up sanctions in 2004 to undermine what it calls
an "outpost of tyranny."

Farrakhan said the U.S. State Department "represents the rich and the
powerful."

"We do not believe that Miss Condoleezza Rice, no matter how beautiful
she is, represents policies that represent the poor people of our
nation," he said.

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