>Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 21 June 2000 01:00 > > >*ROSENBERG SONS DEMAND IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ TO CUBA > >*CUBAN ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSES CASE OF SHAKA SANKOFA 48 HRS PRIOR TO HIS > SCHEDULED EXECUTION IN THE U.S. > >*BUSINESS DELEGATION FORM BRAZIL CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA > >*PARAGUAYAN MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE ON A VISIT TO CUBA > >*9TH EXPOCARIBE INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR UNDERWAY IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA > >*Viewpoint: ONLY THE KOREAN PEOPLE CAN DETERMINE THEIR OWN DESTINY > > >*ROSENBERG SONS DEMAND IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ TO CUBA > >Havana, June 20 (RHC)-- Michael and Robert Meeropol, the sons of Julius and >Ethel Rosenberg, have demanded the return of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez to >Cuba. The child is still being retained illegally in the United States >against his father's wishes. > >In a message sent to the Cuban people, the Meeropols expressed their support >for local efforts here on the island to bring Elian back home, where he >belongs with his father and immediate family. > >In their letter, read during an activity here in Havana, to commemorate the >47th anniversary of the execution of the Rosenbergs --victims of >anti-Semitic and political repression-- the Rosenbergs' sons pointed out >that they were just kids at the time of their parent's execution, like >Elian. The same power structures that murdered the Rosenbergs are the same >political forces responsible for the Cuban Adjustment Act, which keeps Elian >in the U.S. against his father's wishes. > >Michael and Robert Meeropol compared their parents' courage with that of the >Cuban people. In that sense, they recall that for 40 years the Cuban people >have stood firm in the defense of their sovereignty without yielding to >pressures by Washington. Similarly, their parents chose death instead of >betraying their principles and ideals. The ceremony culminated in the >affirmation that it's not time to cry for the death of the Rosenbergs, but >rather to celebrate their resistance and bravery. > > >*CUBAN ROUND TABLE DISCUSSES CASE OF SHAKA SANKOFA 48 HRS PRIOR TO > HIS SCHEDULED EXECUTION IN THE U.S. > >Tuesday night's round table on Cuban TV focused on the case of Shaka Sankofa >who is scheduled to be executed by the US state of Texas on Thursday for a >crime for which he was convicted 19 years ago at the age of 17. His trial >was considered to be a sham and many in the US are demanding a retrial. > >The panel of Cuban journalists that specialize in matters relating to the >United States discussed the theme of racism that pervades the US judicial >system and its application of the death penalty. They reiterated figures >proving this: 2 million incarcerated of which 1 million are black when they >represent only 12% of the population. > >Arlene Rodriguez of Tricontinental Magazine said that the struggle for >justice that Cuba wages every day is one not only for the island but also >for the rest of the world. She said that prisons in Cuba are a far cry from >those in the USA where rehabilitation programs have been abandoned or >underfunded in favor of keeping inmates locked up for as long as possible. >Grave errors by US defense attorneys as well as abuse by police and >prosecutors abounds, the panelists heard, but few care to investigate as the >accused are assumed to be guilty because they are black. > >A University of Havana professor of communications termed the record of >Texas Governor George Bush for signing death warrants a hobby. He has signed >more execution orders than any other serving governor. > >The roundtable panel was reminded in a call from former political prisoner >Claude Mark that there are hundreds of political prisoners in US jails from >African Americans to Native Americans, to Puerto Rican independence >activists. Most were given trials in what amounted to kangaroo courts during >the period of repression in the 70s and 80s under the FBI's counter >intelligence program or COINTELPRO, the round table heard. > >The round table, which began airing regularly to bring Cubans up to date >with the latest developments relating to Elian Gonzalez, more recently has >begun to explore the accusations of racist-based injustice made against the >US legal system. > > >*BUSINESS DELEGATION FORM BRAZIL CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, June 20 (RHC)-- A large Brazilian delegation headed by the Chairman >of the country's Association of Investment Analysts, Eron Mattos, wound up a >four-day visit to Cuba Tuesday after visiting several places of economic >interest shared by both countries. > >The Brazilian delegation responded to an invitation of the executive board >of the Brazil-Cuba cigarette joint venture Brascuba. They also visited the >Brazilian-Cuban oil enterprise Petrobras, which carries out oil drillings on >the northern Cuban coast. > >During a meeting Tuesday evening with the Cuban Minister of Foreign >Investment and Economic cooperation, Martha Lomas, the Brazilian delegation >was briefed on investment and commercial opportunities, on the island, and >the legal procedures to carry out such processes. > >The Chairman of the Brazilian Association of Investment Analysts told Radio >Havana Cuba that he was very satisfied with the information offered by Cuban >officials. He added that the success of the two Brazilian companies, >operating in Cuba, opens the way for the expansion of commercial relations >with the island. > >He said that many Brazilian business people in his country are eager to know >more about the Cuban market, and that two commercial delegations are >presently ready to visit the island in order to explore investment and >business opportunities. > > >*PARAGUAYAN MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE ON A VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, June 20 (RHC)-- Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Trade, Euclides >Acevedo, highlighted the ties of friendship that unite the peoples of Cuba >and Paraguay in the political, economic, cultural and diplomatic arenas. > >Acevedo, who began an official visit to Cuba on Sunday, is scheduled to sign >an agreement with Cuban authorities to strengthen cultural channels between >the two nations. > >The agenda includes meetings with high-ranking government officials, >including Foreign Trade Minister Felipe Perez Roque, the Ministers of the >Steel Industry and Foreign Trade, as well as a tour of the Havana-based >Latin America School of Medicine. > > > >*9TH EXPOCARIBE INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR UNDERWAY IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA > >Santiago de Cuba, June 20 (RHC)-- The 9th edition of the Expocaribe >International Trade Fair is currently underway, in the eastern city of >Santiago de Cuba, with the participation of over 900 firms from America, >Asia, and Europe. > >This year's event coincides with celebrations on the 485th anniversary of >the founding of the famous Cuban city. > >Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez affirmed that, despite >Washington's 40-year old blockade, the island experienced a 4 percent >economic growth rate last year and added that the Cuban people are working >hard to achieve similar results for the year 2000. > >The Expocaribe International Trade Fair is aimed at boosting trade and >cooperation between the Cuban eastern provinces and Caribbean countries >among others. > >This year's event takes place within the framework of economic negotiations, >underway since last year, to establish a free trade agreement in the >Caribbean by the year 2002. > > >*Viewpoint: ONLY THE KOREAN PEOPLE CAN DETERMINE THEIR OWN DESTINY > >Slicing the Korean peninsula in half was perhaps one of the most shameful >events of this century. Fifty-five years ago, the Southeast Asian country >was split into two as a result of imperialist policies, aggravated following >the end of the Second World War. The design: to militarily-occupy strategic >positions in Asia and the Pacific. > >An attempt was made to create a buffer zone around the powerful Soviet Union >and Asian socialist countries. This was done, according to Western rhetoric, >to contain the fear of "Communist expansion." The result was the >establishment of military bases throughout Southeast Asia, allowing the >United States to take its war machine to the brink of dangerous >confrontations. The Korean peninsula was the first victim of this >imperialist game, to be followed later by the rest of Indochina. > >U.S. military intervention in 1950, using the cover of the United Nations -- >which was just beginning to come under Washington's political control -- >unleashed a devastating armed conflict. In just three years, more than 30 >million were killed or wounded, including over 300,000 U.S. troops. > >The Korean people -- on both sides of the artificially-drawn border -- >suffered greatly. The U.S. invasion troops were unable to occupy all of the >peninsula due to the heroic resistance of Socialist Korea, supported by the >People's Republic of China. However, the country remained divided and the >border area has been a hotbed of instability ever since. > >The case of the forced division of Korea has been an issue of great concern >for humanity. An ethnically homogeneous nation from north to south was split >into two distinct images as a result of foreign intervention. A socialist >country was formed in the north and a capitalist nation in the south, the >latter protected by the big Western empire with economic and military >interests. This empire has been, and continues to be, the main obstacle for >Korea's reunification. > >Efforts carried out by the Korean people to put an end to this separation >have failed many times. The recent visit of South Korean President Kim Dae >Jung to Pyongyang and cordial talks held with North Korea's head of state, >Kim Yong Il, have renewed hopes that reconciliation and eventual >reunification can indeed be achieved. However, it is absolutely necessary >that the Korean people are allowed to go forward without new foreign >interventions and U.S. pressures. Only the people can determine their own >destiny. > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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