AP - May 18, 2000

HAVANA (AP) -- Fidel Castro defended his country's human rights record, saying that communist Cuba has not been plagued with the disappearances, instances of torture and death squads of other Latin American nations.

``This is the freest country in the world,'' Castro told a gathering of hundreds of farmers Wednesday.

Still bruised by last month's U.N. vote to censure Cuba for rights violations, Castro challenged his listeners to name a single such act during his four decades in power.

``Raise your hand if you know of a single disappearance'' Castro said.

Latin American governments in the past often spirited away political enemies, leaving family and friends uncertain of whether their loved ones were dead or alive.

Castro also said Cuba has had no extrajudicial executions or death squads that have surged periodically in other parts of the Western Hemisphere.

``No one can raise their hand!'' he said triumphantly during the evening speech to Cuban farmers gathered for a national congress.

The 73-year-old leader mocked those who refer to his government as a dictatorship.

``It's a dictatorship of ideas,'' he said. ``A dictatorship of thoughts, a dictatorship of ideals!''

International human rights organization do not accuse Cuba of disappearances, or of operating death squads. But they regularly criticize the government for denying citizens basic political and civil rights such as freedom of expression and assembly.

Poland and the Czech Republic, former socialist allies, submitted the U.N. motion that passed 21-18 to censure the island nation for its human rights record, especially citing political repression.