Cubans forced to change hotels over US trade boycott

Jan 4, 2007, 15:54 GMT

Oslo - A Cuban business group visiting Norway that was forced to change hotels over a US law that bans trade with Cuba has sparked a debate over possible discrimination Thursday.

The Cuban delegation were slated to attend a tourism fair later this month and had planned to stay at their usual hotel in Oslo but were advised just before the Christmas holidays that they could no longer stay at the hotel, Oslo tabloid Verdens Gang reported.

The Edderkoppen Hotel is operated by the Scandic Hotel chain, one of the largest in the Nordic region with 140 hotels in nine countries, that since last March is owned by the US-based Hilton group.

Geir Lundkvist, head of the Hilton and Scandic group in Norway, said he 'regretted' the incident, adding that the delegates had found a different hotel, he told VG.

Lundkvist later told public broadcaster NRK that the decision was solely due to the US trade boycott.

The Antiracist Centre in Oslo said it had filed a complaint citing Norwegian anti-discrimination legislation, the news agency NTB said.

The Oslo chapter of the blue-collar trade union federation LO said the Norwegian government should act against companies that abide by 'the illegal boycott and blockade imposed by the US' against Cuba and prevent these companies from operating in Norway.

The state Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud that handles discrimination cases would likely also review the case.

State secretary Raymond Johansen at the Foreign Ministry told VG that the hotel's decision was 'unacceptable,' noting that Norway had diplomatic ties with Cuba.