>Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 16 May 2000 > > > -CUBA ACCUSES POLISH REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY > ACTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND > -BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM VALENCIA MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES > -MEETING OF THE AMERICAS ON HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY SLATED FOR HAVANA > -CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA > -SPANISH-CUBAN PROJECT TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO > -INTERNATIONAL ENCOUNTER ON ART CRITICISM AND ARCHITECTURE TO BE HELD > IN HAVANA > -HEAD OF UNESCO'S HAVANA REGIONAL OFFICE WINS CUBAN NATIONAL CULTURE AWARD > -Viewpoint: WASHINGTON'S FAILED POLICY IS UNDER REVIEW ON CAPITOL HILL > > >CUBA ACCUSES POLISH REPRESENTATIVES OF >ENGAGING IN COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- Cuba has accused representatives of the Polish >government of engaging in counterrevolutionary activities on the island. An >extensive article in the Cuban newspaper Granma refers specifically to >recent activities by Polish Senator Zbigniew Romaszewski, president of that >legislative body's human rights commission. > >Recalling that Poland was one of two co-sponsors of Washington's anti-Cuba >resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the article states >that Romaszewski and another Polish citizen arrived in Havana on May 2nd -- >ostensibly to promote a scientific cooperation accord between the two >countries. His wife and a translator had arrived several days before on >tourist visas. > >During his stay, however, the Polish senator attended what was dubbed an >economic conference on globalization in Pinar del Rio, in which he spoke of >the methods employed to destroy socialism in Poland -- including underground >tactics. Counterrevolutionaries, including known agents of Miami's >Cuban-American National Foundation, and members of Pinar Del Rio's Catholic >Church hierarchy were present at the conference. > >In another gathering with those who systematically slander the Cuban >Revolution, at a residence of the Polish Embassy in Havana, Romaszewski told >his audience to prepare themselves to govern the island, since Cuba's >socio-political system would "only survive another five years at most." He >asserted that Cuba is undergoing the process that occurred in the former >eastern European socialist camp. > >Noting that the Polish senator gave an undetermined amount of foreign >currency to the so-called dissidents, the Granma newspaper termed any >comparison between Cuba and Poland as "absurd" -- stating that it would be >like comparing "truth and parody, the heroic and the ridiculous." The >article asserted that everything imperialism was capable of mobilizing >against the once powerful socialism in Europe could do nothing against a >small island only 90 miles from its shore. > >Granma newspaper said that Cuba will "continue monitoring the activities of >those who are nothing more than mercenaries of the U.S. State Department or >the CIA -- whose histories of errors and horrors are overwhelming."br> > >BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM VALENCIA MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- A visiting business delegation from the Spanish >Community of Valencia -- headed by the Vice President of the Council of >Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of that Spanish region, >Salvador Marti -- met on Monday with Cuban authorities. > >The meeting was presided over by Cuba's Minister of Foreign Trade, Ricardo >Cabrisas, and the Head of Valencia's Chamber of Commerce, Hector Manuel >Perez. > >The Spanish delegation is made up of some 40 business executives from small >and medium-sized companies representing several economic sectors, including >construction, shoe manufacturing and the textile and food industries. Their >visit is aimed at exploring the Cuban market and making arrangements to sell >products from Valencia in Cuba. > > >MEETING OF THE AMERICAS ON HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY SLATED FOR HAVANA > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The Cuban capital will be the venue of the upcoming >Meeting of the Americas on Health and Air Quality, scheduled to take place >from May 23rd through the 27th. > >Reinaldo Diaz Velez, head of the organizing committee of the event, told >reporters that participants -- doctors, environmental specialists, >biologists and meteorologists -- will try to work up a plan for the region, >aimed at improving air quality. > >Topics such as the impact of pollution on the climate, the environment and >health will also be debated during the event, which will be held at Havana's >Central Park Hotel's Conventions Center. > > >CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The 9th Congress of the National Association of Small >Farmers -- ANAP -- is in full swing at Havana's International Convention >Center with the presence of 800 Cuban delegates and invited guests from 15 >countries. > >According to ANAP President Orlando Lugo Fonte, there are some 70 foreign >participants representing campesino organizations from Nicaragua, Honduras, >the United States, Brazil, Mexico and other countries. > >He stated that one representative from each delegation will present a >resolution in support of the Cuban Revolution and condemning Washington's >economic blockade against the Cuban people. He added that foreign >delegations will also denounce the Cuban Adjustment Act, which encourages >illegal immigration from the island to the United States. > >The Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers will end tomorrow, >Wednesday, which marks the 39th anniversary of the organization as well as >the 41st anniversary of the signing of the first Agrarian Reform Law -- one >of the first measures adopted by the Cuban Revolution. > > >SPANISH-CUBAN PROJECT TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO > >Pinar del Rio, May 16 (RHC)-- A 100,000 dollar project will soon benefit >several communities in the Viqales National Park -- which is also a World >Heritage Site -- in the western province of Pinar del Rio. > >This rural development program is sponsored by the Foundation for Social >Development of the Canary Islands and Cuba's Ministry of Science, Technology >and the Environment and is designed to encourage sustainable tourism and >promote the economic potential of the region. > >The project will benefit the population in terms of transportation, housing, >sanitation and environmental education. > > >INTERNATIONAL ENCOUNTER ON ART CRITICISM AND ARCHITECTURE TO BE HELD IN HAVANA > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- Specialists from nine countries will meet in Havana >November 20th through the 24th to take part in an International Encounter on >Art Criticism and Architecture. The aim of the event is to reflect on the >impact of economic globalization on culture. > >Entitled "Closer to Each Other," the forum will take place in the framework >of Havana's 7th International Festival on Fine Arts, scheduled for November >17th with the participation of 168 artists and nine groups dealing with >artistic creativity. > > >HEAD OF UNESCO'S HAVANA REGIONAL OFFICE WINS CUBAN NATIONAL CULTURE AWARD > >Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The out-going head of UNESCO's Havana-based regional >office, Mexican Gloria Lopez Morales, has received the Cuban National >Culture Award, granted by the Cuban Culture Ministry, for her contribution >to the promotion of the arts, sciences and culture. The award was presented >by Cuba's Culture Minister Abel Prieto during a ceremony Monday evening. > >Lopez Morales served for five years as head of the UNESCO office in Havana >-- the oldest regional office set up by the United Nations agency in the >world. She told reporters that she enjoyed her stay in Cuba and praised the >island's work in the area of culture. The out-going head of UNESCO's office >in the Cuban capital said that culture is not given the same importance in >other Latin American or Caribbean countries. She added that while Cuba is >very interesting in many aspects, it's greatest quality is its cultural >expression. > > >Viewpoint: > >WASHINGTON'S FAILED POLICY IS UNDER REVIEW ON CAPITOL HILL > >The Cold War and the economic blockade against Cuba probably constitute the >biggest failures of Washington's foreign policy this century. > >Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States has >tried destroy the social project chosen by the Cuban people. The U.S. >government has long carried out all kinds of aggressions against the Cuban >Revolution -- from the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the threat of >nuclear war during the so-called Missile Crisis in October 1962, as well as >countless plots to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro and other leaders. In >addition, Cuba has been the target of sabotage actions against >socio-economic objectives and systematic disinformation campaigns, aimed at >isolating the island from the rest of the world and attempting to disrupt >daily life. > >A key aspect of Washington's genocidal policy is the economic blockade, >which has been in effect since in 1962, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy >officially declared what they like to call "the embargo." > >Over the past 41 years, this policy has not accomplished its stated purpose >-- which was to destroy the Cuban Revolution. Washington's policy has >failed due to the Cuban people's indomitable will to maintain their national >independence and sovereignty. > >Over the past few days, the U.S. blockade is once again in the news, when a >committee of the House of Representatives and a Senate commission approved a >proposal aimed at allowing the sale of food and medicines to Cuba. > >Influential newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, >as well as television networks like CNN and NBC all agree that this project >might get a green light in both houses of the Congress and could soon be >debated and taken to a vote. > >Many observers believe that this is a good time to start to correct past >mistakes, after the obvious isolation of the extremist Cuban-American >community in Miami following the kidnapping of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. > >U.S. farmers, who see Cuba as a natural market for their products, are also >putting pressure on Congress and the White House to at least partially lift >the economic blockade. So it is not accidental that the amendment has been >attached to an agricultural budget bill. > >According to Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Gonzalez, it would >not be a surprise if measure to lift the blockade on food and medicine to >the island is shot down by right wing congressional representatives on >Capitol Hill. > >Cuban authorities, however, believe that the initiative is a step in the >right direction, although they agree that these kinds of actions are not the >ultimate solution. > >It is absolutely ridiculous that U.S. lawmakers are openly discussing the >sale of food and medicine to Cuba in the Congress of a country that >considers itself the universal champion of human rights. > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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