By: Peter Orsi, Associated Press
HAVANA (AP).- A prominent Cuban artist said he has been removed from his legislative post and forced to close his studio over his contacts with dissidents and a commentary that was posted on an anti-government blog. Pedro Pablo Oliva said in a message on his own website Monday that he was summoned by officials and told of a complaint filed by one of his colleagues in the Pinar del Rio provincial legislature. He said he was expelled and that members of the legislature called him a counterrevolutionary, traitor and “annexationist” — someone who wants Cuba to be taken over by the United States. He accepted that his behavior violated a code of ethics he accepted when he assumed the legislative post. but denied being disloyal, saying he was just expressing his opinions. “We made the difficult decision to close Casa Taller (his workshop) because the leadership of the assembly felt the project had strayed from the cultural objectives for which it was f