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EDGING BACK FROM the podium during a joint press conference with Barack Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro began to fidget with his headphones and look around the room quizzically.
“What did you say about political prisoners? Can you repeat that question about political prisoners?” the 84-year-old Castro asked.
Obama and Castro talked up a new era in US-Cuba relations yesterday, but two cultures, two political systems and two generations collided spectacularly during a sometimes testy and frequently awkward joint appearance.
The scene inside the Palace of the Revolution – carried live on Cuban television – appeared nothing short of revolutionary for a former guerrilla commander who has spent a lifetime near the apex of power in a one-party state.
For weeks before that moment, Cuban and American officials had been locked in intense negotiations about whether reporters would be allowed to ask questions after a historic meeting between the two leaders in Havana.
After all, Chinese President Xi Jinping had faced reporters’ questions when Obama went to Beijing.
Differences
In the end, Castro had agreed to mark the first visit of a US president in 88 years with one question from journalists less reverential than Cuba’s state-controlled media.
It was just one of a series of differences to overcome between old Cold War enemies and two men who were born 30 years apart — one in the heart of global capitalism, the other in a tropical testing ground for Communist ideology.
Cuba and the United States lie just 90 miles apart, but appear to operate in different centuries.
While Americans fetishise the new and shiny, Cubans out of necessity tend to favour cars that were built before Obama was born.
As the questions rolled in, the negotiated common ground between those two worlds appeared to fall away.
“You are asking me too many questions,” Castro half-joked. “I think questions should be directed to President Obama.”
Asked by a US journalist about the fate of political prisoners, Castro responded angrily that there were no such prisoners.
“After this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners, and if we have those political prisoners, they will all be released before the night ends,” Castro said.
One and a half questions
The tension built as Obama appeared to fear he had gone too far in pushing for more questions, before pressing his point yet further.
“He did say he was only going to take one question, I was going to take two, but I leave it up to you if you will address that question,” Obama said, adding: “I’m sure she’d appreciate just a short brief answer.”
“There is a program here to be fulfilled,” said Castro. “I know that if I stay here, you’ll make 500 questions. I said that I was going to answer one. Well, I’ll answer one and a half.”
After sketching out another answer, Castro declared, “We have concluded.”
But the awkwardness was not yet over.
As the two leaders milled around the stage, feeling their way to the exit, an effort by Castro to raise Obama’s arm in victory fell flat.
Instead of the leftist symbolism of a clenched fist, Obama opted to let his wrist go limp.
- © AFP 2016.
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Is there a link to a more detailed breakdown of the plan? It’s going to affect more than just hauliers…
Is there any chance that Irish Ferries would reverse their decision to end the Rosslare to Cherbourg route? It would relieve some pressure at Dublin.
@Harry Comber: there’s a new Rosslare Dunkirk service starting up.
@Harry Comber: IF management are completely useless
Its the governments fault for cramming everything into dublin,it’s a two tier economy.half of irelands GDP comes from dublin alone,totally unsustainable.meanwhile Waterford cork limerick and Galway were starved.the planning in this country is a disgrace
@snotser: When you see who has represented Waterford politically in the past, you’ll understand why nothing has happened there.
Ireland is too Dublin centric.
@The world outside the M50: break it into 4?
And is making Beach/Strand Road in Sandymount one way out of town supposed to help deal with this traffic congestion?
@GClare: oh yes I had forgotten about that ridiculous plan
@Fi Wyse: isn’t that “parked” now?!?
@GClare: I’m not sure how allowing people to drive towards town on the beach road in Sandymount would somehow alleviate traffic at Dublin port?
@Shane Cormican: starting in January apparently
@OnlyHereForTheComments: it will cause backlog on all the Merrion Road and all through Ringsend, Irishtown and Pearce Street, which will lead to backlog all over the area
@GClare: Allowing less traffic to drive from the beach road into irishtown and ringsend will cause backlog all through irishtown and ringsend? I don’t think you’ve thought this complaint through.
@GClare: No port-traffic HGVs use Strand Road, the Port Tunnel was built to direct them away from there, and from the Liffey Quays. The trucks on Strand Road are local traffic, not (directly) affected by Brexit.
Will affect anyone living or working around the IFSC/docks area or living near/using the M50 or any other motorway near any of the ports.
@Jacqueline McCabe: If you live in the area I’d recommend you stockpile bread, johnnies and jax roll.
Going to be fun with driving hours and tacograph rules
Say there’ll be a few smart drivers avoiding the M1 and hitting the likes of the malahide road and Fairview to make the boat on time
Just pull the plug on the UK and when they sink which they will, then we can sail right across to continental Europe in a straight line, any port, just pick one, there’s lots to choose from….. A friend was just sayin’.. ehh!! Just sayin’.
Just a suggestion, but I think we’ll see an increase in UK haulage through Ireland via Northern Ireland as they try to circumvent tariffs so would it be realistic to suggest that Irish haulage takes precedence over Uk haulage or is that too unreasonable?
have your say