>Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 24 June 2000 04:00 > > >*ATLANTA APPEALS COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW CASE OF ELIAN GONZALEZ >*TEXAS: THE EXECUTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHAKA SANKOFA >*COLOMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES VISIT EXPOCARIBE >*2ND WORLD MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA PLANNED >*ITALY AND CUBA SIGN AGREEMENT TO CLEAN UP LUYANO RIVER AND HAVANA BAY. >Viewpoint: 10 YEARS LATER...SOCIALISM AND THE SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN CUBA > > >*ATLANTA APPEALS COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW CASE OF ELIAN GONZALEZ > >Atlanta, June 23 (RHC)-- The full panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals >in Atlanta has refused to hear the case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. > >In a five page decision, handed down Friday afternoon, all 12 judges of the >full panel ruled that they would not examine the case, essentially upholding >the decision of 3 judges from that same court several weeks ago. The appeal, >which was submitted by attorneys for the young boy's kidnappers in Miami, is >to determine whether or not to allow an asylum hearing for the six-year-old. >In the earlier decision, three judges ruled unanimously that Elian does not >have the right to a hearing. Cuba has always said that the appeal to the >full panel was nothing more than a delaying tactic to keep Elian Gonzalez in >the United States. > >Friday's decision also ruled that Elian can return to Cuba by next >Wednesday, June 28th, at 4 p.m. -- IF the U.S. Supreme Court does not extend >a restraining order prohibiting him from leaving the United States. Lawyers >for the Miami kidnappers are expected to now appeal to the highest court of >the land for their ruling. > > >*TEXAS: THE EXECUTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHAKA SANKOFA > >Havana, June 23, (RHC) -- Cuba's televised round table Friday evening >focused on the execution in the U.S. state of Texas of African- American >Shaka Sankofa. Convicted 19 years ago of murder, at the age of 17, Cuban >journalists and legal experts first looked at Sankofa's last hours, during >which he put up resistance to his executors, and -- while not shedding a >tear -- called his execution a lynching, another act of the on-going >genocide against blacks in the United States. > >Broadcast live on Cuban TV, panelists participating in the round table >pointed to the inhumane practice of deciding the life and death of a human >being by fax -- in reference to the customary practice of the Texas Paroles >and Pardon Commission when deciding on whether or not a death-row inmate >merits clemency. But in terms of the growing controversy surrounding the >Sankofa case and the death penalty in general, the Cuban TV program pointed >out that even the U.S.'s highly conservative Supreme Court had a close 5 to >4 vote in a last minute ruling on whether or not to place a stay on the >execution. > >The panel of Cuban journalists brought up the American judicial premise that >an person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that even the >slightest doubt concerning a person's guilt merits, at the very least, an >appeal. The Sankofa case was riddled with doubts, inconsistencies and >discrepancies, including 6 witnesses at the scene of the crime who stated >that Sankofa was not responsible. Other contradictions, stated the >panelists, included that facts that there was no material evidence presented >against him, an incompetent state appointed lawyer, and only one eye witness >whose description of Sankofa was inconsistent with his physical appearance >due to her distance from the murder scene. In a clip of an interview with >Jesse Jackson aired during the televised round table, the Black activist >commented that 3 jurors who had concurred with the guilty sentence said that >if they knew then what they know now, they would not have convicted Sankofa. >In light of these facts, and the disproportionate number of minorities in >U.S. prisons and on death row, the panel concluded that it is clearly a >crime to be Black and poor in the United States. > >In a clip of the press conference outside of the Huntsville maximum security >prison, Sankofa's attorney and the President of the Texas State Legislature >made a plea for a national moratorium on the death penalty, stating that the >race factor is to big a flaw in the U.S. legal system to ignore. They >emotionally reiterated statements by Sankofa, moments prior to his >execution, in which he said that "you can kill the revolutionary, but you >can't kill the revolution; this is a holocaust against Blacks in America; >they know I'm innocent but they don't want to acknowledge it-tonight they're >going to kill me," demonstrating defiance before his execution at 8:45PM >Friday evening. > > >*COLOMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES VISIT EXPOCARIBE > >Havana, June 23 (RHC)-Colombian Vice President Gustavo Bell, who is on an >official five-day visit to Cuba, on Thursday toured the Santiago de Cuba >International Trade Fair, EXPOCARIBE 2000. > >Accompanied by representatives from 11 Colombian companies, the government >official visited places of historic interest in the eastern province of >Santiago de Cuba. > >During the EXPOCARIBE 2000 International Trade Fair, the Colombian Vice >President will give a conference on business possibilities and will unveil a >special plan for the Caribbean. > >Upon his arrival in Santiago de Cuba, Vice President Bell expressed an >interest in biotechnology, cooperation among universities , the exploration >of productive sectors and Cuba's most important services. > >The Colombian delegation, will present a wide range of products that are >produced on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in order to facilitate trade and >to encourage joint projects between nations. > > >*2ND WORLD MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA PLANNED > >Sancti Spiritus, June 23 (RHC)-The 2nd World Meeting of Friendship and >Solidarity with Cuba will be held in Havana from November 10th to the 14th >with the participation of some five thousand delegates from over 100 >countries. > >The announcement was made by the Vice President of Cuba's Institute of >Friendship With the People's, ICAP, Ricardo Rodriguez during an activity >commemorating the 40th anniversary of the non-governmental organization in >Sancti Spiritus province. > >The ICAP official reiterated that one of his institution's objectives is to >counter anti-Cuba campaigns and the manipulation of the truth about Cuba in >other countries in the world. > > >*ITALY AND CUBA SIGN AGREEMENT TO CLEAN UP LUYANO RIVER AND HAVANA BAY > >Havana, June 23 (RHC)-The governments of Italy and Cuba signed an agreement >on Tuesday aimed at cleaning up pollution in the Luyano River and Havana Bay >by financing a project valued at 1.5 million dollars. > >The agreement was signed in Havana by the General Director of the >Development Cooperation Office of Italy's Foreign Ministry, Vicente Petrone >and Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister, Marta >Lomas. > >The Italian government is currently implementing cooperation projects on the >island valued at 10 million dollars. This year the cooperation will be >dedicated to the social health sector. > >The Italian official is also scheduled to meet with the President of Cuba's >Central Bank, Francisco Soberon. > > >Viewpoint: 10 YEARS LATER...SOCIALISM AND THE SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN CUBA > >Talk has spread rapidly throughout the world about what is known as "The >Cuban miracle" to describe the social and political achievements carried out >by the Cuban government and people since the triumph of the Revolution in >1959. Cuban President Fidel Castro recently interviewed UNESCO's former >general director, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, an international distinguished >personality of world culture. In the interview, the Cuban leader concisely >stated the facts that constitute what could be described as one of the >biggest political struggles in world history. > >In the middle of the 20th century, Cuba was a neocolonial republic of the >United States. Consequently, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, corruption >and crime permeated the country. These social conflicts are currently >hitting most of the Third-World nations. However, the island has managed to >survive and has carried out social achievements, which constitutes a radical >change of the situation. Cuba consolidated its independence and national >sovereignty, unleashing a dynamic that would leave the US and Cuba enemies >indefinitely. The world's biggest economic, political and military power has >made use of its influence to bring the Cuban people to their knees by means >of a ruthless economic war, which has endured for nearly 40 years. However, >the Cuban people have managed to resist, defend, and maintain their social >achievements. During the hardest years of the early 1990's, neither a school >nor a hospital was closed, and every other public service was kept open even >at the expense of running out of supplies. Cuba deserves to be a free >nation, because Cubans have fought hard for their independence, national >sovereignty, and socialist model. > >Not even the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Camp, with which >Cuba maintained fair exchange relations for three decades, could bring down >the Cuban Revolution. Besides, Cuba has managed to contribute to world >solidarity with aid missions to many Third-World countries throughout Africa >and Latin America. The country possesses a high level of cultural and >education, which has provided human resources that few countries in the >world have. > >It is important to note that Cuba exists and resists, with all of its >strength, U.S. imperialism. The country is moving forward socially and >economically, and thus far, has been an example for the poor and >underdeveloped nations of the world in the struggle for a better life. These >gains are products of the work of the Cuban revolution, with the support and >struggle of the Cuban people. > > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. > >================================================================= > NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems > Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us > 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 > http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >================================================================= > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Law.com is the preeminent online destination for legal professionals. >Visit Law.com for exclusive content from American Lawyer Media, online >CLE Seminars, Practice Centers and Career Listings. >http://click.egroups.com/1/5803/0/_/30563/_/961838557/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Cuba SI - Imperialism NO! >Information and discussion about Cuba. >Socialism or death! Patria o muerte! 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