>Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 18 May 2000 > > > -FIDEL CASTRO SAYS KIDNAPPERS HAVE LOST THE BATTLE, LEGALLY AND MORALLY > -US FARMERS ATTEND 9th CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS > -PANAMA'S TOURISM MINISTER ON A WORKING VISIT TO CUBA > -CUBA AND THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS > -BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES FROM CUBA AND VALENCIA CONCLUDE MEETING IN HAVANA > -NEW PROJECT BETWEEN CUBA AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO PROTECT THE OZONE > -MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY AVAILABLE IN ALL 14 PROVINCES OF THE ISLAND > -Viewpoint: ON YOUR MARK... GET SET... GO! THE ARMS RACE IS ON!! > > >FIDEL CASTRO SAYS KIDNAPPERS HAVE LOST THE BATTLE, LEGALLY AND MORALLY > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro insists that the >kidnappers of Elian Gonzalez "have lost the battle, legally and morally." >The Cuban leader spoke at the closing ceremony of the 9th Congress of the >National Association of Small Farmers, ANAP, which wrapped up here in Havana >on Wednesday. > >Fidel Castro stated that, in his opinion, there is no way the six-year-old >boy can be taken away from his father again -- and that it won't even be >possible to extend the delay of the child's family in the United States much >longer, in spite of all the legal maneuvers designed to prevent their return >to the island. > >The Cuban leader said some believe that Cuba has worn itself down with all >the daily meetings, marches and televised roundtable discussions on the >plight of Elian. But the Cuban leader stated that the people are capable of >waging a struggle twice as powerful and efficient as that begun late last >year, demanding the child's return to Cuba. > >After Elian's return, he said, the struggle will continue -- this time >against Washington's Cuban Adjustment Act, granting special treatment to >Cubans who illegally arrive in the United States. Fidel said that Cuba is >able to continue this struggle because "here, there is a dictatorship of >ideas, a dictatorship of ethical and moral values, of principles and justice >-- and not a dictatorship of the rich, of torturers and of death squads". > >The final session of the 9th Congress of ANAP was turned into an Open >Tribune to demand the immediate return of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. More >than 800 delegates to the three-day Congress met at Havana's International >Convention Center for the closing ceremony -- which was celebrated with >speeches and songs to observe the Day of the Campesino. On this date in >1959, 41 years ago, the first Agrarian Reform Law was signed by Fidel Castro-- >implementing the most radical land reform program in the history of Latin >America. > >Delegates to the 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers >approved a Declaration of Principles, in which they vowed to produce more >efficiently and work for lower food prices. > >During his speech Wednesday evening, Fidel Castro reviewed the history of >the struggle for independence and sovereignty in Cuba, which was always >closely linked with the question of land. Noting that campesinos have been >a strong ally of the struggle, both yesterday and today, Fidel promised that >the Cuban Revolution would never abandon them. > >The Cuban president pledged to maintain the course of socialism -- an >economic system that truly benefits all the people. And he defended Cuba's >democratic system -- where more than 90 percent of the registered voters >cast their ballots in elections in which the Communist Party does not field >candidates and those running for office are chosen by secret ballot. And he >challenged the internal enemies of the Cuban Revolution -- the so-called >dissidents -- to present their candidacies for a popular, elected office. > >In contrast, said the Cuban leader, the Democratic and Republican parties in >the United States have the same programs and the same interests -- calling >that system a truly one-party state in which fewer and fewer voters >participate. > > >U.S. FARMERS ATTEND 9th CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Dozens of foreign guests were observers at the 9th >Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers, which concluded here >in Havana last night. Among them was a representative of the Association of >Black Farmers of Atlanta in the United States, Lee Dobbins, who said that >farmers in his country will continue to fight for their rights. > >Dobbins pointed out that several generations of farmers have been >discriminated against because of the color of their skin. They don't receive >loans and are not allowed to benefit from social security. He also >criticized Washington's policy against Cuba and affirmed that they will >continue to fight for an end to the economic blockade imposed on the island >by the U.S. over the past four decades. > > >PANAMA'S TOURISM MINISTER ON A WORKING VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Panamanian Tourism Minister Liriola Pitti de Cordova, >who is currently in Havana for a three-day working visit, told reporters >that her country is very interested in sharing Cuba's experience in the >tourism industry. > >The Panamanian tourism minister said that the main purpose of her visit is >to see the island's development in the tourism sector first-hand. She added >that both countries are currently working on several bilateral cooperation >agreements. > >Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Panama's Ambassador to Cuba, Mario Alarcon, >delivered the closing speech of a seminar entitled "How to Do Business with >Cuba" -- which took place this week in the Cuban capital. During the >meeting, representatives from Cuba and Panama debated several topics of >interest, such as increasing bilateral cooperation. > > >CUBA AND THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS > >New York, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuba and the Republic of Macedonia have established >diplomatic relations. The protocol was signed by representatives of both >countries to the United Nations. > >According to a joint statement, this decision ratifies the willingness of >the peoples and governments of Cuba and Macedonia to continue strengthening >and widening their bilateral relations. > >Cuba now has diplomatic relations with 171 countries. > > >BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES FROM CUBA AND VALENCIA CONCLUDE MEETING IN HAVANA > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- A meeting of business representatives from Cuba and >the Spanish region of Valencia wrapped up today in Havana after four days of >debates and analysis on the possibilities of strengthening bilateral >economic relations. > >Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas told reporters that in 1999 >and for the third consecutive year, Spain was the island's main trading >partner, particularly in the tourist sector. > >He added that bilateral trade between Cuba and Spain increased to 700 >million dollars last year -- with 60 million in trade with Valencia. > > >NEW PROJECT BETWEEN CUBA AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO PROTECT THE OZONE > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuba and the United Nations have a new project to >protect the ozone. > >The agreement was signed on Wednesday by the island's Deputy Minister for >Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Raul Taladrid, and by Luis >Gomez Echeverri, the representative of the United Nations Development >Program in Cuba. > >The project includes the production of 30,000 highly- efficient and >ozone-friendly refrigerators every year. > >Gomez Echeverri said that this project is part of a series of initiatives by >the United Nations to support Cuba, adding that it introduces new technology >on the island. > >Raul Taladrid, for his part, said that this agreement will have a positive >impact, not only on production but also on the environment. > > >MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY AVAILABLE IN ALL 14 PROVINCES OF THE ISLAND > >Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Some 33,000 Cuban patients underwent operations with >minimum-access surgery techniques during the 1990's. > >According to the coordinator of the National Commission of Minimum-Access >Surgery, Julian Ruiz Torres, 38 percent of those operations took place last >year alone, when this service was extended to the entire island. > >Among many other applications, these surgical techniques are used to remove >gallbladder stones and in performing operations on hernias, ulcers, lung and >kidney cysts as well as intestinal surgery. > > >Viewpoint: ON YOUR MARK... GET SET... GO! THE ARMS RACE IS ON!! > >New York City is currently hosting a conference on the Nuclear >Non-Proliferation Treaty, in which delegations from 187 countries are >participating. Many experts agree that the outcome of this meeting depends, >in large part, on the U.S. position on the issue. Washington's announced >plan to set up an anti-missile defense system has been widely criticized >since the conference's opening day, on April 24th. > >The concept of "Star Wars" has now gone beyond Hollywood's fictional world >into reality, with U.S. congressional approval of the controversial defense >system, which would virtually allow Pentagon generals to proclaim the >invulnerability of the United States. > >The U.S. anti-missile defense system plan is a re-worked version of one >proposed to Congress in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan. The supposed >"space shield" could spark an arms race even more dangerous than that of the >Cold War. > >We should ask ourselves what are Washington's intentions in activating such >a plan, ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the >Berlin Wall? > >The United States is obviously securing its position as the most powerful >nation in the world, giving it license to act as policeman of the global >village. With its nuclear "umbrella," Washington is reminding the rest of >the world that it is untouchable. > >The cost of the so-called anti-missile defense system is obviously in the >billions of dollars and will once again get the weapons factories of the >U.S. military industrial complex operating at full capacity. It is only >natural that if the United States undertakes such a anti-missile system, the >other nuclear powers will also feel obliged to respond with their own >defense projects. As a result, the money spent on the arms race will >skyrocket far beyond the current staggering figure of more than eight >hundred billion dollars a year. > >There already enough nuclear weapons stockpiled today to blow up the entire >world in a matter of seconds. Humanity does not need a philosophy of death >and apocalypse. What is needed is the definitive triumph of life and human >solidarity. > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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