Government is funding the controversial visit of a Cuban cultural ambassador who has defended his country's crackdown on dissidents, a Bermuda College official said yesterday. The visit has attracted the wrath of one parent who instructed his daughter to boycott Lazaro Rodriguez's talk to Berkeley students yesterday for fear he would preach communism.

And human rights organisation Amnesty International are to investigate the visit.

Last night Bermuda College's Eugenie Simmons said Monday night's free lecture had been her idea and that Government departments such as Education, Tourism, Telecommunications and Cultural Affairs had all chipped in for the visit.

She said she didn't know how much it had cost but probably covered the flight and hotel accommodation.

Yesterday Mr. Rodriguez defended his country's execution by firing squad of three men who tried to hijack a Cuban ferry to escape the Communist regime and the sentencing of 75 dissidents to lengthy prison terms.

He said the executions had been the first in years and compared the hijackers to those responsible for the September 11 attacks. Asked if there was a difference between those intent on mass murder and those seeking to leave an oppressive regime Mr. Rodriguez said the ferry hijackers had held knives to the throats of their victims and threatened them.

He said seven people had been accused of the crime and the three who were shot were criminals who had been given a fair trial. But Mr. Rodriguez denied he had come to Bermuda to spread propaganda and said it was to build cultural ties.

He claimed the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, who he works for, was not a government organisation although it had to be officially registered.

Yesterday Berkeley parent Joshua Richardson said he had instructed his 14-year-old daughter to walk out if she was asked to listen to Mr. Rodriguez.

He said: "I have no problem with his visit but whether I want him to speak to my underage daughter is another matter.

"I have strong views about communism and I don't want to expose her to that."

Mr. Richardson, who is from St. Vincent, said he was exposed to communism as a teen by teachers bent on indoctrinating children. "To me this is the tip of the iceberg."

Last night Amnesty International Chairperson Lucy Attride-Stirling said: "We will be investigating because we always like to look into these things."

Government has applied to sign a memo of understanding over cultural exchange with Cuba and is trying to sell used ferries and donate old buses to the Caribbean country run for decades by Fidel Castro.

Last night Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said: "Government seems to have lost their way on this and is not looking at the larger picture.

"We really have to question why they continue to wave a red flag in the face of the US government, our largest and most important trading partner. Where will this end?''