> >Radio Havana Cuba-07 September 2000 22:00 > >Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 07 September 2000 22:00 > > . > >*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH WORLD LEADERS AT UN > >*U.S. RELIGIOUS LEADERS DEMAND END OF WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA > >*CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY DELEGATION VISITS THE ISLAND > >*CUBA AND GUINEA SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL > >*CUBAN MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY ARRIVES IN PANAMA > >*DELEGATION FROM NIGERIA VISITS CUBA > >*CUBANS TO ENJOY AMPLE TV COVERAGE OF SYDNEY OLYMPICS > >*LESS THAN HALF OF CUBAN SPORTS DELEGATION TO MAKE OLYMPIC DEBUT > >*ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO TO THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT > >*Viewpoint: FIDEL CASTRO AT THE MILLENIUM SUMMIT--DIRECT AND TO THE POINT > > . > >*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH WORLD LEADERS AT UN > >New York, September 7 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has met with >numerous world leaders at the United Nations, attending the Millennium >Summit in New York City. > >Following Fidel Castro's speech at the UN-sponsored summit Wednesday >evening, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited with his Cuban counterpart >at the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations. Accompanying Hugo >Chavez was his wife, Marisabel de Chavez, and their daughter. Venezuelan >Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel and other members of the Venezuelan >delegation also attended the dinner/meeting. > >On Thursday, the leader of the Cuban Revolution met with the presidents of >Vietnam and Senegal at the United Nations Headquarters. > > From there, Fidel attended a reception offered by Japanese Prime Minister > Yoshiro Mori at the UN Plaza Hotel in downtown Manhattan. > >In related news, international media are still commenting on Fidel Castro's >hard-hitting speech, delivered at the Millenium Summit. Calling the speech >unprecedented, many news agencies around the world are praising the Cuban >leader's words -- in defense of the Third World and calling for radical >reforms in the United Nations itself. > > . > >*U.S. RELIGIOUS LEADERS DEMAND END OF WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- A visiting delegation from the U.S. National >Council of Churches has called on U.S. President Bill Clinton to end >Washington's blockade against Cuba. > >The General Secretary of the U.S. religious organization, Reverend Robert >Edgar, stressed that nothing can justify the imposition and maintenance of >an economic blockade and urged the U.S. president not to leave the decision >to any future administrations. > >The U.S. religious leaders arrived in Havana last Saturday, invited by the >Cuban Council of Churches. > >The National Council of Churches groups some 50 million members. During the >seven-month long kidnapping of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez in Miami, the >U.S. religious institution gave the boy's father -- Juan Miguel Gonzalez -- >moral as well as financial support in the struggle to bring his son back to >Cuba. > >During their stay on the island, which wrapped up on Thursday, the U.S. >religious leaders met with high-ranking Cuban government officials, as well >as authorities of the Cuban Catholic Church. They also visited Elian >Gonzalez and his family in the central province of Matanzas. The secretary >general of the U.S. National Council of Churches affirmed that the boy is >happy with his father and grandparents in Cuba and stated that his >delegation is returning to the United States with the conviction that >people-to-people contact between the two nations should be further >strengthened. > > . > >*CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY DELEGATION VISITS THE ISLAND > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- A large delegation from the Chinese Communist >Party, headed by Political Bureau member Li Tieying, has arrived in Cuba for >an official visit at the invitation of the Cuban Communist Party. > >Upon arriving at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport, Li Tieying >stated that the aim of the visit is to consolidate friendship and strengthen >bilateral cooperation with the Cuban Communist Party. > >While on the island, the visitors will meet with their Cuban counterparts. >The Cuban delegation to the bilateral talks is headed by Political Bureau >member Jose Ramon Balaguer. > >The agenda of the Chinese delegation in Cuba also includes a visit to the >Cuban Parliament, as well as a tour of the Havana-based Latin American >School of Medicine. > > . > >*CUBA AND GUINEA SIGN COOPERATION PROTOCOL > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- The 12th Meeting of the Cuban-Guinean Mixed >Commission for Economic and Scientific Cooperation concluded in Havana on >Thursday with the signing of the cooperation protocol and trade agreement . > >On Thursday, the African visitors and their Cuban colleagues were received >by Cuban Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez and Deputy Foreign Relations >Minister, Jose A. Guerra Menchero. > >During their stay in Cuba, the African business mission visited LABIOFAM -- >Havana's Biological and Pharmaceutical Laboratories -- as well as Cuba's >Institute of Biotechnology and Generic Engineering and the Latin American >School of Medicine. > > . > >*CUBAN MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY ARRIVES IN PANAMA > >Panama City, September 7 (RHC)-- Visiting Cuban Minister of the Economy, >Jose Luis Rodriguez Garcia, met on Thursday with authorities in Panama's >Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture. The aim of the visit is to >strengthen bilateral relations. > >The president of the Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, Manuel Jose Paredes, >expressed his satisfaction with the meeting and highlighted Cuba's presence >since 1996 in the Expocomer Trade Fair, an event held every year in Panama >under the auspices of the country's Chamber of Commerce. > >The Cuban Minister of the Economy took the opportunity to thank his >Panamanian counterparts for the invitation. > >The high-ranking Cuban official described as very positive the current state >of economic relations between the two countries and pointed to a growing >bilateral commercial exchange with Latin American nations over the last >years. > >Thirty-five percent of Cuba's commercial exchange is with Latin America, >compared to only six percent a decade ago. > > . > >*DELEGATION FROM NIGERIA VISITS CUBA > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- A delegation from the Nigerian Institute of >Higher Strategic Studies is currently on a visit to Cuba. > >On Thursday, the Nigerian delegation visited Cuba's National Defense Center. >A Cuban expert at the Center for National Defense, Colonel Angel Dominguez, >offered the Nigerian guests a presentation on defense policies. > >Since their arrival in the Cuban capital last Sunday, the visitors have met >with Cuban authorities in the Foreign Relations Institute and the Ministry >of Science, Technology and the Environment. > > . > >*CUBANS TO ENJOY AMPLE TV COVERAGE OF SYDNEY OLYMPICS > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- Cuban TV viewers and sports fans will be focused >on every detail of the Sydney Olympic Games says Vice President of the Cuban >Radio and Television Institute (ICRT) Ovidio Cabrera. Cabrera described the >broadcast of the games as the biggest challenge, but stressed the institute >is well prepared to offer coverage too enable people to enjoy the >performance of Cuban athletes despite the 15 hour time difference. > >Cabrera pointed out that Cuban Television will be broadcasting in the >morning, in the afternoon and at night mainly through Tele Rebelde channel >and that whenever necessary, Cubavision channel will also be broadcasting >the games. National, provincial and local radio stations will also be >covering the Games. The Cuban Radio and TV Institute Vice President >explained that so as to make the broadcasts possible Cuba has to convert the >digital signal picked up in Sydney since developed countries are using far >more sophisticated technology than that used on the island. > >The institute has sent a crew to the Australian city, added Cabrera, and >there is a specialized team operating at the Institute's headquarters to >make the transmissions possible. Cuban sports fans will be watching >pre-recorded and live competitions. > >During the games, set to begin September 15th, Cuban athletes will be >competing in 21 of the 28 sports programmed. The best medal chances for the >island are expected in track and field, baseball, boxing, volleyball, judo, >weightlifting and wrestling. Cuba hopes to remain among the top ten >countries in the general medal standings. Four years ago, Cuba landed in >8th place with 9-8-8. > > . > >*LESS THAN HALF OF CUBAN SPORTS DELEGATION TO MAKE OLYMPIC DEBUT > >Havana, September 7 (RHC)-- Less than half of the Cuban delegation to Sydney >will be making its Olympic debut. However, this should not be a hindrance >in the achievement of the island's Olympic goals. 92 athletes have taken >part in at least one meeting of the Games and are divided into 54 men and 38 >women. > >It is also reported that 148 athletes are newcomers,49 of them women. Track >and field is the sport with the largest number of Cuban athletes who have >Olympic experience with 20, followed by women's volleyball with 11 and >women's basketball with 10. > >Some 97% of the athletes come from the national school competitions and >their average age is 27 years. The Sydney Games mark the 100th anniversary >of women's participation in the games and women comprise nearly half of the >Cuban delegation. From Paris 1900 to Atlanta 1996, Cuba has accumulated 46 >gold medals plus 36 silver and 34 bronze. > > . > >FULL TEXT, ADDRESS BY DR.FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, >TO THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT OF THE UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 6, 2000 > >Excellencies: > >There is chaos in our world, both within the countries' borders and beyond. >Blind laws are offered like divine norms that would bring peace, order, well >being and the security our planet so badly needs. That is what they would >have us believe. > >Three dozen developed and wealthy nations that monopolize the economic, >political and technological power have joined us in this gathering to offer >more of the same recipes that have only served to make us poorer, more >exploited and more dependent. > >There is not even discussion about a radical reform of this old institution >--born over a half century ago when there were few independent nations-- to >turn it into a true representative body of the interests of all the peoples >on Earth; an institution where no one would have the irritating and >anti-democratic right of veto and where a transparent process could be >undertaken to expand membership and representation in the Security Council, >an executive body subordinated to the General Assembly, which should be the >one making the decisions on such crucial issues as intervention and the use >of force. > >It should be clearly stated that the principle of sovereignty cannot be >sacrificed to an abusive and unfair order that a hegemonic superpower uses, >together with its own might and strength, to try to decide everything by >itself. That, Cuba will never accept. > >The poverty and underdevelopment prevailing in most nations as well as the >inequality in the distribution of wealth and knowledge in the world are >basically at the source of the present conflicts. It cannot be overlooked >that current underdevelopment and poverty have resulted from conquest, >colonization, slavery and plundering in most countries of the planet by the >colonial powers and from the emergence of imperialism and the bloody wars >motivated by new distributions of the world. Today, it is their moral >obligation to compensate our nations for the damages caused throughout >centuries. > >Humanity should be aware of what we have been so far and what we cannot >continue to be. Presently, our species has enough accumulated knowledge, >ethical values and scientific resources to move towards a new historical era >of true justice and humanism. > >There is nothing in the existing economic and political order that can serve >the interests of Humankind. Thus, it is unsustainable and it must be >changed. Suffice it to say that the world population is already 6 billion, >80% of which live in poverty. Ages-old diseases from Third World nations >such as malaria, tuberculosis and others equally lethal have not been >eradicated while new epidemics like AIDS threaten to exterminate the >population of entire nations. On the other hand, wealthy countries keep >investing enormous amounts of money in the military and in luxurious items >and a voracious plague of speculators exchange currencies, stocks and other >real or fictitious values for trillions of dollars every day. > >Nature is being devastated. The climate is changing under our own eyes and >drinking water is increasingly contaminated or scarce. The sources of man's >seafood are being depleted and crucial non-renewable resources are wasted in >luxury and triviality. > >Anyone understands that the United Nations basic role in the pressing new >century is to save the world not only from war but also from >underdevelopment, hunger, diseases, poverty and the destruction of the >natural resources indispensable to human life. And it should do so promptly >before it is too late! > >The dream of having truly fair and sensible rules to guide human destiny >seems impossible to many. However, we are convinced that the struggle for >the impossible should be the motto of this institution that brings us >together today! > >Thank you. > > . > >Viewpoint > >*FIDEL CASTRO AT THE MILLENIUM SUMMIT: DIRECT AND TO THE POINT > >The hard-hitting and to-the-point speech given by Cuban President Fidel >Castro at the Millenium Summit at the United Nations on Wednesday targeted >the main problems that seriously affect humanity... while other speeches >barely touched the main issues of today's world. > >This situation is repeated time and time again in all international forums, >with many nations avoiding discussion of the principal causes of humanity's >problems in order to avoid any friction with the powerful North. > >The Cuban leader reiterated his country's concerns over the economic and >social problems that are devastating the Third World -- clearly stating >Cuba's position that a real economic and political process must begin with >the transformation of the current world reality. > >Cuba, an underdeveloped country, has been able to resist over 40 years of >Washington's economic and political aggressions, designed to destroy the >Cuban Revolution. Cuba therefore has the moral strength to defend its cause >and that of the rest of the underdeveloped world. > >If we look at the situation from the Cuban point of view -- given what has >happened at the United Nations in the past -- one would think that >representatives of Third World nations, who are victims of centuries of >exploitation, would unanimously denounce the inequalities, beginning to >raise their voices. > >The majority of humanity will end this century buried in poverty and social >abandonment. That is why we are forced to struggle, as Fidel Castro said, >to change what must be changed. > >That is why the leader of the Cuban Revolution said, in his very sincere >way, that humanity must confront the difficulties and resist pressures in >such a way that the powerful will not be able to continue imposing their >mandates on others. > >To achieve this objective, the Cuban leader has always drawn upon the >example of the power of just ideas and the will to fight for the unity of >all those that have been victims of colonialism, slavery and imperialism. > >The majority of humanity must put an end to resignation and pull together to >fight for a better life -- a dream that is seemingly impossible for many. >But for Fidel Castro, a great fighter of the impossible, it is a Good >Fight... and well worth the effort. > >(c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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