>Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 13 July 2000 > > >*CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 5TH LEGISLATURE SESSION REPORT >*CUBA COMMENTS ON UN SUPPORT FOR PUERTO RICAN DECOLONIZATION >*ROUNDTABLE: EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAUSED BY US US BLOCKADE >*REPORT: ARMANDO HART RETURNS FROM NEW YORK VISIT >*VENCEREMOS BRIGADE VISITS TOURIST INDUSTRY FACILITIES >*ELIAN GONZALEZ ENJOYING END-OF-SCHOOL-YEAR ACTIVITIES >*CUBAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETS SATURDAY >*CAMAGUEY: INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENS >*GERARDO ALFONSO TO PERFORM IN HAVANA AFTER CHILE TOUR >*Viewpoint: MESSAGE FROM THE RICH TO THE POOR > > >*CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 5TH LEGISLATURE SESSION REPORT > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-The Ordinary Session of the Cuban National Assembly's >5th Legislature wound up Thursday at Havana's Convention Center. > >During the two day Ordinary Session, Cuban deputes discussed and approved >the proclamation of the National Assembly on the Cuban Adjustment Act, which >condemns the U.S. legislation promoting illegal migration to U.S. territory. >A second proclamation was also approved on the almost 40 year U.S. blockade >of Cuba which reiterates the determination of the Cuban people to maintain >their ideological struggle, demanding the lifting of Washington's unilateral >financial and economic measures against the Cuban people. > >Another prioritized topic on the agenda was the approval by the Assembly of >a draft bill on the performance of community governing bodies known as >People's Councils. Deputes were also able to address the production results >of the island's light industry and fishing sectors. Ministers of both >sectors submitted their presentations to the Assembly for discussion and >approval. During debates Thursday, deputes stressed the need to increase >food supply - and improve its quality - to the Cuban population. They also >welcomed the trend of economic recovery experienced by these important >sectors over the past 5 years, since they have a direct impact on the >people's standard of living. > >The Ordinary Session of the Cuban National Assembly's 5th Legislature >concluded with words of congratulation by Cuban President Fidel Castro for >the fishing industry's achievements over the past 5 years. > >The President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, extended the >National Assembly's greetings to the peoples of the western provinces of >Pinar del Rio and Havana, and the central province of Santa Clara, for >having won the venues of national celebration for the coming 26th of July >celebration of the attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba during >the Batista regime - seen as the start of the Cuban Revolution. > > >*CUBA COMMENTS ON UN SUPPORT FOR PUERTO RICAN DECOLONIZATION > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-The Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque today >commented on the United Nations Decolonization Committee's resolution >effectively supporting Puerto Rican self-determination. > >The resolution is based on the 1960 UN resolution 1514 on the granting of >independence of all colonial territories, also stresses that the United >States pave the way for the implementation of that resolution in the case of >Puerto Rico and for the release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners. >The approved document also urges Washington to put an end to all military >exercises on the Puerto Rican island municipality of Vieques. > >Felipe Perez Roque said that although the United Nation's ad hoc >Decolonization Committee has approved other similar Cuban resolutions in the >past, this is the first time in 28 years that such an important UN body >approved an initiative without submitting it to a vote. That means, said >the Cuban diplomat, that none of its member states are against the >resolution. Cuba's Foreign Ministry considers that the approval of the >Cuban resolution on Puerto Rico stands for an increasing awareness by the >international community over the long time struggle waged by the Puerto >Rican people, and another step towards the independence of Puerto Rico and >full participation in the Latin American context of which Puerto Rico is an >inseparable element. The United Nation's Decolonization Committee last year >approved a similar Cuban-sponsored resolution with 12 votes in favor, none >against, and 5 abstentions. Seven countries belonging to the Committee did >not attend that vote. > > >*ROUNDTABLE: EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAUSED BY US US BLOCKADE > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-Thursday's Cuban TV round table detailed some of the >economic consequences of the US blockade against the island through 1998. > >The blockade has directly cost Cuba some $67 billion in unnecessary >or additional costs associated with currency exchange, cost of trade >and transportation, and higher international credits. The round table >panel divulged that 63% of US companies and 58% of European companies >that has expressed an interest in doing business with Cuba were >prevented from doing so due to the Helm Burton Act and US threats and >sanctions on such business. > >Some 14% of the world's food is produced or controlled by the Unites >States. Some 50% of all pharmaceutical products and 90% of all >biotechnological products are produced or controlled by the United >States. The consequences for Cuba are clear, said the round table >participants who were mostly economists. > >An example of how US action can directly affect Cuban trade on an >international basis - hence the use of the word blockade instead of >embargo - is the action taken by Bacardi in the US. The former Cuban >company that left Cuba at the time of the Revolution and has funded >right wing attempts against the island ever since, attempted to take >over the Cuban trademark Havana Club and market their own rum as if >it came from Cuba. Havana Club and its French partner Pernod Ricard >have fought this theft of the trademark on an international scale. > >The losses to Havana Club and thus to the Cuban treasury have been >significant but the tide is turning. In an interview with Hellen Yaffe from >the British organization Rock Around the Blockade, panellists heard about a >national campaign against Bacardi in the UK has had very good results. Sales >of Bacardi rum - especially in student bars - has dropped significantly and >Havana Club marketed by Pernod Ricard has grown. The campaign entitled >"Don't drink Bacardi, it'll leave a bad taste in your mouth" involved >occupying the London office of the Bacardi corporation to draw attention to >its attempt to fool its customers and undermine the important social gains >of the Cuban Revolution. > > >*REPORT: ARMANDO HART RETURNS FROM NEW YORK VISIT > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-Member of the Central Committee of Cuba's Communist >Party, Armando Hart, wrapped up a visit in New York on Wednesday. He >attended conferences and discussed preparations for the 150 anniversary of >the birth of Cuba's National Hero, Jose Marti, to be held in New York in the >year 2003. > >Hart, who is director of the National Office of Studies on Jose Marti, told >Prensa Latina news agency, upon his arrival to Havana, that people in New >York are working to create the Jose Marti Cultural Society and that there is >special interest in the works of Cuba's most important independence leader. >According to the Cuban official, during his stay in New York, he met with a >wide range of cultural and social personalities from different ethnic and >national backgrounds. > >Armando Hart added that talks with the North American religious and academic >communities was a success, including visits to important institutions like >Saint Patrick's Cathedral and Hunter College. > > >*VENCEREMOS BRIGADE VISITS TOURIST INDUSTRY FACILITIES > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-The US solidarity organization Venceremos Brigade is >currently enjoying the natural beauties of the northern coast of central >Ciego de Avila province where the Jardines del Rey tourism facility is >located and considered the third most important tourist sites on the island. > >The brigadistas will have the opportunity to visit four and five star hotels >in the Coco and Guillermo Keys, where some two thousand 300 rooms are >available for vacationers. > >Officials from the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, ICAP, >stressed the importance for the members of the Venceremos Brigade to learn >about gains and future prospects in the Cuban tourism sector. > > >*ELIAN GONZALEZ ENJOYING END-OF-SCHOOL-YEAR ACTIVITIES > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-Cuban television on Wednesday showed recent images of >six year old Elian Gonzalez, alongside his family and closest friends, at >Havana's Pabexpo exhibition as part of the end of the school year >activities. > >The images show signs of the child's impressive recovery after he was >detained by his distant relatives, and the ultra right wing Cuban American >mafia, in Miami against his fathers will for a period of 7 months. > >According to the report, Elian's teachers and other specialists, that have >worked with the child since his return to the island with his father, said >that the six-year-old will most likely be able to successfully complete the >school year. > > >*CUBAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETS SATURDAY > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)-The third meeting of the National Committee of the >Cuban Journalists Association will be held on Saturday with the objective of >discussing the current role of the press and its relation to culture. > >Delegates and guests that participated in last year's 7th Congress of the >Journalists Association will participate in Saturday's meeting and will look >into the results of the agreements reached during last October's event. > > >*CAMAGUEY: INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENS > >Camaguey, July 13 (RHC)- The 4th International Festival of Contemporary >Music, "Camaguey 2000," kicked off on Thursday in the eastern city of >Camaguay with the participation of artists, composers and musicians from 8 >countries. > >Symphonic works and Chamber music from Cuban and foreign composers, among >them a ballet opera based on Don Quijote by Spanish author Miguel de >Cervantes, will be presented during the event. > >Cuban singer songwriter Silvio Rodriguez and composers Harold Gramatch and >Jose Loyola, together with Camaguey's ballet and symphony orchestra, as well >as theatre figures from the eastern city of Holguin, will represent Cuba. > >Other important artists participating in the contemporary music festival >come from a variety of countries including Italy, Britain, Spain, Japan, >Germany, Argentina and Denmark. > > >*GERARDO ALFONSO TO PERFORM IN HAVANA AFTER CHILE TOUR > >Havana, July 13 (RHC)--On Friday, Havana's Casa de las Americas cultural >institution will host a concert by Cuban singer and composer Gerardo >Alfonso. The event will launch his most recent CD-Recuento. > >The music of Gerardo Alfonso, who has just returned from a tour of Chile, >has been the subject of musical interpretation by many Cuban groups and >soloists. Alfonso joined the island's New Song Movement in 1980 to, in his >own words, use music as a means of self-expression. > >His song "Sabanas Blancas" -the theme of a weekly national television >program called Andar La Habana, hosted by Havana Historian Eusebio Leal- has >won him recognition in both Latin America and Europe. > >Gerardo Alfonso's CD Recuentos will be the first to be released under the >recently created Casa de Las Americas' CASA record label. > > >*Viewpoint: > >MESSAGE FROM THE RICH TO THE POOR: 'STAY HOME... AND HAVE A NICE DAY' > >The United States -- the nation of immigrants -- is quickly closing the door >to future residents. Apparently, to many in Washington, it seems that the >only way to stop the constant flow of illegal immigrants -- seeking to >improve their economic situation -- is to simply lock itself in. > >The European Union, also affected by this social phenomenon, is implementing >measures to obstruct and control the flow of illegal immigrants to European >countries from the Third World. > >Washington and Brussels have traditionally responded to this migratory >problem with repression and the immediate deportation of all illegal >immigrants, thus ignoring the real causes of the problem. In addition, the >situation appears to be worsening rather than improving. > >More than two-thirds of the world's population -- amounting to over 4.5 >billion people -- live in underdeveloped countries. If they could enjoy >acceptable conditions of employment and social services like education, >health care and access to food in their own countries, they would not need >to leave their homes and seek better opportunities in foreign lands. > >However, social justice is also missing from the so-called First World and >those who arrive in those rich nations are exposed to inhuman exploitation >and suffering. Most of them are manual workers with little education and a >low cultural level - able only to find the hardest, dirtiest and worst paid >jobs. Many of them are forced into crime in order to just survive, thus >becoming victims of the repression implemented by the wealthy. > >The United States has become the world's leader in crime. Its social >structure isolates those who don't qualify for an economy that generates >massive lay-offs and does not respond to the interests of the people. In >addition, of course, the same is true in the industrialized countries of >Europe. > >The message is clear: there just isn't enough room for everyone in that part >of the world. Moreover, it is even clearer that new economic policies must >be adopted in order to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth. >Otherwise, the devastating consequences of the current social order are, at >best, unpredictable. > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Your old buddies are not out of range anymore. Free search with >Military.com's Personnel Locator. >http://click.egroups.com/1/4158/0/_/30563/_/963587584/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Cuba SI - Imperialism NO! >Information and discussion about Cuba. >Socialism or death! Patria o muerte! 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