Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: Compa�ero [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2001 3:14 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: A Nobel Prize for Fidel, Bomber Released, Labor Seminar, RHC... A Norwegian MP is promoting Fidel Castro for the Nobel Peace Prize. You can actually support this nomination over the internet by accessing the following website. Monday, August 13th, Fidel Castro just celebrated his 75th birthday. Let's help show the massive international respect we all share for this amazing human being. Please support this nomination, even if he doesn't win, it is a sign of the profound respect and gratitude so many of us feel for his life which has been given to the service of humanity. Details at: http://home.online.no/%7Efranc/lag/cuba/index3.html On the 31st of January 2001 Fidel Castro, as a representative of the Cuban people, was suggested as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize by Hallgeir H. Langeland, a representative of the Norwegian Parliament. Langeland emphasizes the fact that Fidel Castro and the Cuban people have succeeded in developing their country in such a way that the creation of hostile feelings towards the USA and its people has been avoided. This they have managed in spite of the USA's embargo and its general aggression towards Cuba and the Cuban people for over 40 years. Langeland also stresses Cuba's international involvement and solidarity. After the accident in Tsjernobyl, Cuba has received and treated more than 14000 children and over 4000 adults injured by nuclear radiation ( a few hundred are still receiving treatment there). People from a number of other poor countries also receive free health services in Cuba. Cuba has had more doctors and health personnel in the Third World than the rest of the world (WHO). Thousands of Cuban doctors, health personnel, engineers and other humanitarian workers work in more than 40 Third World countries and free university education has been given to 5000 doctors from Latin America. At the UN's Main Assembly Meeting, where many of the delegates expressed concern about the grave lack of doctors in the Third World, Fidel Castro offered the UN 6000 doctors and other health personnel. Cubas international efforts for freedom and peace are acknowledged by among others the former President of South Africa and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Nelson Mandela, who in 1999 stated that: -Without Cuba's support we would not have had our freedom now. Cuba has for several years been in a very difficult economical situation. In spite of this the country has managed to achieve social and economical growth and distribution of goods. The country has accomplished and defended important social human rights such as work, housing and food for all its inhabitants. Health services and education are still free. We support the parliamentary representative Hallgeir H. Langeland's suggestion, and we believe that the Cuban people, represented by Fidel Castro, is a worthy candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. We hope that the Nobel Committee will be of the same opinion. Latin-America Group in Stavanger Guillermo Pinz�n - Leader Colombia Committee in Stavanger Adriana Sossa - Leader Solidarity Group for Chile Francisco Castro - Leder ============================================= Tampa Bay Tribune INS Releases Cuban Car-Bomber By BIRUSK TUGAN b.com"[EMAIL PROTECTED] Published: Aug 15, 2001 TAMPA - The convicted assassin of the former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and an American in a 1976 car bombing in Washington's Embassy Row was freed Tuesday. Jose Dionisio Suarez Esquivel, 62, spent nearly four years in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service after he served seven years in federal prison. He walked out of the INS Bradenton Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon. A Cuban exile, Suarez was a fugitive before he was arrested in St. Petersburg in 1990. When his prison sentence was up in 1997 he was handed over to the INS, which deports convicted aliens to their country of citizenship. But the United States has no official diplomatic ties wit Cuba, so the INS could not deport Suarez to Cuba. Instead it held him indefinitely. But this year the U.S. Supreme Court found the INS policy of detaining inmates indefinitely to unconstitutional. An immigration judge ordered Suarez's release Thursday. Virgilio Paz Romero, 49, a conspirator with Suarez, was freed in July. Both men are still under deportation order, said Rodney Germain, a spokesman for the INS. They could be removed if the United States restores ties with Cuba. Meanwhile, Suarez has to report to the INS once a month. In the Tampa office of his attorney, Ralph Fernandez, Suarez said he is sorry ``especially for this girl.'' He was referring to Ronni Moffitt, the 25-year-old American who was also killed in a car bombing. One of his attorneys, Dario Diaz, interrupted to say Suarez admits no guilt for the crime: ``He's sorry in a humanitarian way - the same way we're sorry for Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi.'' Nodding, Suarez said, ``I never killed nobody.'' However, the Cuban exile pleaded guilty to charges of killing a foreign official and struck a deal with a federal prosecutor resulting in a 12-year sentence. With prison incentives for good behavior, he served seven years. Suarez said he pleaded guilty to prevent his wife from being arrested. He said his English was not good enough to express how he feels about being free but has always felt calm and peaceful. He said he wants to meet Letelier's son to explain the truth about the ``labyrinth that goes back to 1976.'' Sam Bussoni, a Washington attorney for the victims' families, said Suarez should explain it all to a grand jury under oath. Suarez said he was not going to ``look for a job in a factory at this age'' but will ``wait for the offers his friends will come up with.'' A lieutenant in Fidel Castro's army, Suarez defected to the United States a year after the 1959 revolution and took part in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He is considered a material witness against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, but he said he would never testify against Pinochet. He offered to do so against Castro. ``Pinochet saved Chile from terrible communism,'' he said. ``I have absolutely nothing to say about Mr. Pinochet.'' ``It's lamentable that he'd withhold the information,'' said Stacie Jonas, the director of the Pinochet Project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, where Letelier and Moffitt once worked. She said the institute hopes Pinochet will be held accountable for ordering the crime. The victims' families said they were dismayed by the release of Paz Romero and Suarez. ``It appears that the price of life is very cheap,'' said Murray Karpen, Moffitt's father. ``People like Suarez were released from jail after having committed premeditated murder.'' He said he and his wife are not over the murder of their daughter. ``Somewhere along the line you've got to keep this alive,'' Karpen said. ``You have to stop dictators from committing murders.'' ``My husband was killed in a cold-blooded assassination, and people who did it are free,'' Isabel Letelier said in a telephone interview from Santiago, Chile. ``These people are very dangerous,'' she said, ``and I don't know if being in jail has made them better.'' Reporter Birusk Tugan can be reached at (813) 259-7920. ====================================== *** For Immediate Release *** 8/13/2001 The Return to Coburn Gore / Update A Let Cuba Live Medical Aid Shipment to Cuba A project of Let Cuba Live, Pastors for Peace , Caravane d'Amitie Quebec - Cuba and The Association quebecoise des amis de Cuba. On Friday, August 10 attorneys for Let Cuba Live, Philip Worden from Northeast Harbor and Nancy Chang with the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a 53 page petition with U.S. Customs. The petition is filed on behalf of thirteen members of Let Cuba Live, a Maine based Cuba solidarity organization who, on July 2, attempted to carry humanitarian aid from the US to Canada for trans shipment to Cuba from the Port of Montreal. During an hours-long struggle with U.S. Customs and Immigration officials at the Coburn Gore checkpoint on the Maine/ Canada border, activists managed to walk about 1/3 of their shipment across the border and place it in the care of their Canadian friends. U.S. Customs seized the balance of the shipment which included hospital bed sheets, blankets, adult diapers and patient gowns, as well as a newborn warming and monitoring station and two anesthesia machines, each one capable of fulfilling the anesthesia needs of a small hospital. The petition seeks the release of these medical supplies for delivery to Cuba, and states: "the commissioner should return the seized goods because the U.S. embargo against Cuba violates both the U.S. constitution and international law." The petition also includes an exhibit of statements expressing religious, political, moral, and humanitarian positions held by the members of Let Cuba Live. Let Cuba Live and their supporters will take another aid shipment to the border on Saturday, August18 and remain resolute in their determination to deliver humanitarian aid to CUBA without applying for a license. "We won't apply for a license and we would in fact refuse to accept one if it were offered," said Judy Robbins a member of the group from Sedgwick, "we do not want to be complicit with a law that seeks to withhold food and medicine from our neighbors." On Saturday August 18 at 12 noon, Let Cuba Live along with U.S. and Canadian supporters will once again attempt to cross the US / Canada border at Coburn Gore with a shipment of humanitarian aid that will be bound for Cuba via the Port of Montreal. The caravan of aid-bearing trucks and cars carrying supporters from New York and the New England states will assemble at a hospitality house in the Farmington area on Saturday morning for the drive to the border. For additional information please call these Maine numbers area code (207) Midcoast - Steve Burke --------------------------- 273-3247 Down East - Judy Robbins ------------------------ 326-4405 Lewiston / Auburn - Renee Cote ---------------- 786-4325 Bath / Brunswick - Barbara West ---------------- 443-2899 South Paris - Tom Whitney ----------------------- 743-2183 Portland - Todd Ricker ----------------------------- 874-1987 Old Orchard Beach - Jessica Zambrano ------ 934-5941 In N.Y. call IFCO/Pastors for Peace----------- --212-926-5757 [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW.LETCUBALIVE.ORG ============================================ U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange P.O. Box 39188 Redford, MI 48239 Phone/Fax: (313) 561 8330 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit our website at: http://www.geocities.com/us-Cuba-labor/ Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange Cuba Labor Seminar in Havana, Cuba Join the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange to participate in the 10th Anniversary of the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange.We will also participate in the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF WORKERS CONFRONTING NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION. 10 Day Cuba Labor Seminar Friday November 9 to Sunday November 18, 2001 $850 processing fee. This includes round trip from Cancun, Mexico to Havana, Cuba, Cuban visa, board at the Hotel of the CTC (in downtown Havana), breakfast and dinner, cultural evening (Noche Cubana), visit to Varadero beach, transportation, translation and the program. We will depart from Cancun, Mexico November 9 at 10:00 A.M. and return to Cancun on Sunday November 18 at 2 P.M. We would like to invite you to attend a very important labor seminar which will be held in Havana, Cuba. The seminar will be hosted by the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) and will stay at the Hotel of the CTC. As part of the labor seminar, you will participate in the International Conference of Workers Confronting Neoliberal Globalization. The delegation will also visit hospitals, schools, child care centers, factories and the family doctor program, where you will see how Cubans receive health care. You will learn about Cuba�(tm)s development of health care products for the world market despite the intense U.S. blockade. You will meet with representatives of different workers unions. As a guest of the CTC you will learn about the role labor plays in Cuban life as well as the new challenges workers face as joint ventures appear in Cuba and the negative effects of the passage of the Helms-Burton Bill by the U.S. government. Some free time will be available. To request an application or if you need more information please contact us at the above address or phone number. _____________________________________________________ _________________ Application Cuba Labor Seminar in Havana, Cuba International Conference of Workers Confronting Neoliberal Globalization 10 Day Cuba Labor seminar Friday November 9 to Sunday November 18, 2001 $850 processing fee We would like to invite you to attend a very important labor seminar which will be held in Havana, Cuba. The seminar will be hosted by the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC) and will stay at the hotel of the CTC. This includes round trip from Cancun, Mexico to Havana, Cuba, Cuban visa, board at the hotel of the CTC (in downtown Havana), breakfast and dinner, cultural evening (Noche Cubana), visit to Varadero beach, transportation, translation and the program. All questions MUST be completed.. PLEASE PRINT neatly and/or type. The original application must be submitted, with a copy of your passport attached and $150 deposit made payable to the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange ***All information will be kept confidential Legal Name (as it appears on passport):________________________________________ Address:________________________City___________State____Zip Code___________ Phone/Fax _____________________________e-mail: ____________________________ Union/Organization_______________________ How/from whom did you learn about the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange_________________ Passport#_________________________________ Expiration Date_________________ Date of birth__________________________ Place of birth ________________________ Contact in case of emergency _____________________ Phone _____________________ Relation: ____________________________ ===================================== *LATIN AMERICA MUST INTEGRATE, OR IT WILL BE DISINTEGRATED - FIDEL Caracas, August 14 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro asserted in Venezuela on Monday that Latin America must integrate, or it will be disintegrated. Fidel was speaking at the inauguration of a joint Venezuela-Brazil electricity project, the Cuban leader's last activity before wrapping up his 3-day visit. Expressing admiration for the joint project in the presence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President Castro suggested that these two Latin American giants could also join forces in the production of soya to provide milk for those who don't have it. He said the region has lost two centuries and does not have another minute to lose. Chavez and Cardoso issued a joint statement, reiterating their commitment to contribute to the consolidation of a harmonious and equitable regional integration process in South America. Brazil, with a serious energy crisis, will now be supplied with Venezuelan electricity in the north of the country as part of a 1997 agreement. Chavez admitted to the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome to complete the project 2 years late, including the opposition of indigenous groups. The Venezuelan leader said he had to personally speak with indigenous leaders, agreeing to an additional $100 million investment to minimize the electricity project's environmental impact. Cuban President Fidel Castro said his visit to the land of 19th century Latin American independence leader Simon Bolivar was like being reborn. He returned home late Monday evening. *GOVERNMENT AIMS TO HELP CUBANS IMPROVE THEIR DIETS Havana, August 14 (RHC)--Health authorities here are aiming to improve the nation's diet in a five-year program. In an ongoing effort to improve the health of the population as a whole, the Cuban authorities have decided that as of September, the monthly subsidized food quota provided to every citizen will substitute a quarter-liter of cooking oil for one pound of the sugar allowance. The news is likely to be welcomed by Cubans, who often complain that their monthly allowance of oil is not sufficient for their needs, whereas everyone on the island has ample amounts of sugar, which as the second largest source of income for the country, is plentiful. Recent studies have reported an increase in the number of Cubans suffering from diabetes as a result of their high sugar intake; the incidence of diabetes on the island is now 19 cases per 1,000 people. Jorge Blanco from the Institution on Nutrition, Hygiene and Food, says that the traditional Cuban diet is rich in sugar and fat, which contributes to diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and obesity. In related news, Cuba's daily Granma reports a 14% increase in the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables in the markets of Havana, an indication that Cuban's are beginning to follow healthier diets. Quoting Jos� Manuel Mart�nez, national director of the Cuban Union of Storage Enterprises, Granma reports that there are 124 fresh produce outlets within Havana city limits which have government price controls to keep food affordable for the population and to serve as a competitive arm with which to keep prices reasonable at the private farmer's markets. In fact, said Mart�nez, prices have actually fallen over the same period last year. Mangos, for instance, are 60% cheaper in the state markets than in the farmer's markets. However, quality is an issue, as Ministry of Agriculture farms lack the resources to get the food out to market in a timely manner. One of the highest-priced farmer's markets in Havana is at the intersection of 42nd and 19th Streets. Just five blocks away is a much cheaper state maket. However, the quality of the farmer's market vegetable produce is far superior to that available at the price-controlled state market. Fruit in farmer's markets is 30-40% more costly and there is not so much difference in quality, say shoppers. The increase in fresh food consumption is in response to government efforts to improve the diets of Cubans who live on a more-or-less "meat and potatoes" diet. Breaking this tradition has taken time, but Cubans are increasingly more willing to consume more fruits and vegetables, and less meat. *GERMAN FESTIVAL SEEN AS VERY IMPORTANT FOR CUBAN MUSIC INDUSTRY Havana, August 14 (RHC)--The international "PopKomm" festival, which begins tomorrow in Cologne, Germany, will include an important Cuban element, Granma reports, adding that the festival is a vital forum for Cuba's music industry. In an article publlished on Tuesday, Granma's music critic Pedro de la Hoz said that "PopKomm" is the most important music and entertainment industry festival in the world. The festival's president, Ulli Grossmass, said that when it comes to music, no one can ignore Cuba and the high professionalism of its musicians, one of whom, Issac Delgado, will be promoting his new disk, "Malec�n." This is the second time that Cuba has participated in the festival. *UN COMMITTEE ON DISCRIMINATION REPORT HIGHLY CRITICAL OF USA Geneva, August 14 (RHC)--A United Nations agency in Geneva has expressed deep concern over the United States' record of racial discrimination. In a 3- page preliminary conclusion published Tuesday by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 18 independent experts termed as disturbing the relationship between race and the application of the death penalty -- particularly in the US states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The preliminary conclusions come two weeks after Washington presented to the UN agency its first report on efforts to fight racial discrimination, a report severely questioned by committee members and strongly criticized by human rights and justice organizations such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Urban Justice Center. The UN committee placed on record its concern over the highly disproportionate percentage of ethnic minorities on death row, the disadvantaged position of ethnic minorities in education, housing, jobs and access to private and public health, as well as police brutality. It was not until 1994 that the United States, one of several countries under the scrutiny of the UN agency, signed the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The UN committee's final report will be issued next weekend. *ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE EFFORTS TO SILENCE THEM Washington, August 14 (RHC)--Anti-globalization activists in the United States have denounced the restrictions imposed on freedom of expression during the upcoming annual gathering of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. At a press conference Monday in the US capital, the organizations Partnership for Civil Justice and International Action Center announced that they will take their case to federal court. Brian Becker from the International Action Center said the protests planned for September 29 and 30 in Washington DC will be a public battle for freedom of expression, insisting that the police have no right to convert the center of the US capital into the private property of international financial institutions. With some 50,000 activists expected to converge on the US capital, Washington DC police are planning to seal off immense sections of the city. Matt Smucker, of the group Mobilization for Global Justice, recalled that during the IMF/WB gathering in April of last year, judicial authorities were unable to bring charges against the hundreds of activists arrested. During the press conference, the activists termed the decision of the two institutions to reduce their gathering from 5 to 2 days and to hold it in their respective headquarters instead of in a centric hotel as a victory for their movement. Chuck Kaufman, of the Latin American Solidarity Conference, said the move is a clear indication of the growing strength of the worldwide movement against capitalist globalization. Cherrene Hozaruk, of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, stated that the representatives of international banks and corporations, among them US President George Bush, can only hold their gatherings in excluded fortresses aimed at silencing the voices of those demanding justice. *ARGENTINA: THIRD WAVE OF ECONOMIC PROTEST BEGINS Buenos Aires, August 14 (RHC)--The protest movement in Argentina has begun its third nationwide mobilization in three weeks, amid the country's desperate efforts to obtain more money from the International Monetary Fund. Following a 24-hour mobilization two weeks ago and 48-hour protest last week, organizations of Argentina's unemployed, pensioners, students, teachers and numerous other sectors began road blockages, work stoppages and protest marches throughout the country. This protest is slated to last 76 hours. The new mobilization comes as some observers are casting doubt on the international community's willingness to again bail Argentina out following statements Monday by US President George Bush. At his Texas ranch, where he's on vacation, Bush did not respond to a clear and concise question concerning his support for additional loans for Argentina. Instead, he urged Argentina to implement the draconian economic shock program that has led to the past three weeks of protests. In what some analysts called a washing of the White House's hands in the matter, Bush added that Spain has more at stake than even the United States in Argentina's financial crisis. Argentinean financial markets reacted negatively today. *ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER ACCUSED OF MONEY-LAUNDERING AND TREASON Buenos Aires, August 14 (RHC)--A journalist and attorney in Argentina has filed criminal charges against Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, accusing him of money-laundering and treason in connection with his offshore bank account in the Bahamas. Revelations of the $700,000 bank account came last Friday in the parliamentary commission report on government corruption. The report has been called a bombshell for Argentina's ruling circles. Cavallo has admitted to existence of the bank account. He claims it was opened because he feared judicial persecution when he was economy minister for the former Carlos Menem administration between 1991 and 1996. Argentine journalist and attorney Hector Yemmi has also called on a federal court to investigate whether or not Cavallo benefited from a foreign debt exchange operation, in which the government had to pay $155 million in commissions to the banks involved. The complaint was filed in the federal court presided over by Judge Jorge Urso, who is investigating former President Carlos Menem, who is currently under house arrest, for illegal weapons sales to Croatia and Ecuador. Cavallo's name is often mentioned in the weapons-trafficking scandal, though he has yet to be questioned. *Viewpoint: ALEMAN AND FLORES - TWO MASTERS OF DENIAL Closely following statements by Nicaragua's president, Arnoldo Alem�n, that hunger didn't exist in his nation and that it was all a Sandinista plot anyway, is the equally remarkable reaction to his country's crisis by the president of El Salvador, Francisco Flores. In a similar denial mode, Flores has decided to call a mild alert to confront El Salvador's current predicament in which more than 100,000 people face starvation after a dry season that has destroyed crops in 65 municipalities in the eastern part of the nation. Although the rains have finally begun to fall, their arrival is too late for many and a low-key alert plays down the disaster happening outside the cities. By not declaring a national emergency, Flores is negating the possibility of requesting international aid and assistance. Even politicians allied with the government have criticized this decision, which will further victimize those who have suffered so much already. As with Alem�n, Flores is concerned about his international image. Admitting that there is mass hunger on their watche is simply not acceptable for either of them. In Flores' opinion, El Salvador's economy is rolling along very nicely, in spite of some devastating earthquakes earlier this year and that annoying drought. Although he is predicting a 3% increase in GDP this year, experts all agree it will be lower than 2%. Parliament member Roberto Lorenzana goes so far as to say that Flores seems to have completely lost it. The economist Francisco Lazo has warned that the earthquakes, the drought and the dollarization of the nation's currency have drastically affected economic growth in El Savador. According to the United Nations, fully 50% of the country's 6.3 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. As Nero fiddled while Rome burned, so Arnoldo Alem�n went Christmas shopping in the department stores of Miami while his people retrieved their dead in the wake of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Francisco Flores' inability to see beyond his own image and show real concern for the predicament of his people seems to point to a desire to join his colleague in self-congratulatory song to drown out all those thousands pretending to be hungry. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. ===================================== ***Cuba Information Access *** The current events in La Republica de Cuba... Where else are you going to get it ? [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
