Cubans oblivious to what goes on inside Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO, Cuba, Feb 5 (Reuters) As international prisoners in the US ''war on terror'' languish at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cubans living nearby are completely unaware of what goes on inside the base.

Some younger Cubans in the town of Guantanamo yearn for the music, clothes and gadgets of the United States, but the older generation are staunch supporters of ailing President Fidel Castro, and life goes on as if the base didn't exist.

''Things are so quiet in Guantanamo that we didn't even realize the Americans had brought Talibans to the base,'' said Gines, a 40-year-old physical training instructor, who gave only his last name.

The first prisoners arrived in January, 2002, after US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan for harbouring al Qaeda, the group behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

US military prosecutors filed charges against three of the prisoners on February 2, after the US Supreme Court in June struck down a military tribunal system used to try 10 prisoners.

The legal status of the prisoners and the concern about their conditions has drawn criticism on the United States from around the world, and strained relations with Australia over David Hicks, an Australian being held at the base.

But the international furore has largely passed by the baking-hot streets of Guantanamo, a town of 200,000 people at the eastern tip of the island and 25 km north of the base.

''I've lived here for 65 years and I've never seen the base.

It's as if it didn't exist,'' said Carmen, who asked that her last name not be used.

The 117 sq km base is home to the only McDonald's restaurant on the island of Cuba, but eating there is out of the question for Cubans.

An 28 km security perimeter around the facility is mined and some Cubans have lost legs trying to defect.

On the streets of Guantanamo, cars are few and far between, bicycles plentiful and US influence scant.

The local hero is Cuba's only cosmonaut, Arnaldo Tamayo, who ventured into space in 1980 aboard the Soviet Union's Soyuz 38. His reentry capsule is on show in a local square.

Perhaps the only US presence is the radio station that broadcasts from inside the base.

''Let it roll, baby, roll,'' blares a radio to the driving beat of ''Roadhouse Blues'' by the The Doors.

More Reuters AKJ VV0954