HAVANA: Thousands of youths shouting anti-American slogans protested yesterday [May 23] against the killing of a Cuban frontier guard allegedly by United States troops at Guantanamo naval base.

The youths chanted “Yankee murderers” and “Yankees out of Guantanamo” through the streets of Santiago about 50 miles from the naval base on Cuba’s south coast.

The soldier — 22-year-old Luis Ramirez Lopez — died of a bullet wound received on Saturday night [May 21].

Cuba yesterday accused US troops of shooting Ramirez while he was at his post near the base’s eastern boundary.

An Armed Forces Ministry communiqué said the shot was fired from a lorry carrying US troops. It claimed American servicemen also opened fire on other posts and shouted: “Hi Cubans we have killed another.”

Workers throughout Cuba yesterday held lightning protest meetings and in Guantanamo top Army Officers and Party leaders formed a guard of honour around the dead soldier’s coffin. — Agencies

[Meanwhile in Lahore] the Provincial Minister for Law and Information, Mr Ghulam Nabi Memon, held out an assurance on the floor of the House today [May 24] that the moratorium announced by President Ayub on the Press and Publication Ordinance last year would be observed in “letter and spirit”.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2016