>Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 23:45:04 -0500 >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Radio Havana Cuba-20 November 2000 > >Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit > >Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 20 November 2000 > > . > >*CUBA REQUESTS EXTRADITION OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES > >*PARAGUAYAN FOREIGN MINISTER CONDEMNS PLOT AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO > >*PARAGUAYAN FIRST LADY BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT > >*FAO DEMANDS IMMEDIATE END TO WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA > >*PARTICIPANTS IN CONGRESS ON ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE TAKE COURSES IN HAVANA > >*VENEZUELAN CULTURE MINISTER BEGINS WORKING VISIT TO CUBA > >*CUBAN MUSICIAN COMPAY SEGUNDO TURNS 93 > >*OCEAN PRESS LAUNCHES NEW TITLES IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH > >*Viewpoint: CUBA'S POSITION ON TERRORISM IS NOT NEGOTIABLE > > . > >*CUBA REQUESTS EXTRADITION OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- In the wake of his arrest in Panama during the >recent Ibero-American Summit, Cuba has requested the extradition of Luis >Posada Carriles, the man Havana holds responsible for the bombing of a >Cubana airliner in 1976 as well as masterminding numerous other terrorist >attacks against the island, including the bombing of Havana hotels in 1997. > >Posada Carriles was arrested along with four others by Panamanian >authorities following a news conference given by President Fidel Castro upon >his arrival to attend the Summit in which the Cuban leader exposed yet >another attempt on his life. Posada Carriles was traveling under a >Salvadorian passport and is known to receive protection from San Salvador. > >The affair led to a sharp exchange of words between Fidel Castro and >Salvadoran President Francisco Flores during a debate on a resolution >condemning terrorism. Flores accused Cuba of sponsoring terrorism in El >Salvador during a civil war in which the rest of the world -- including the >U.S. government -- now recognizes that Salvadoran government soldiers were >the principal violators of human rights. > >In El Salvador today, the opposition party FMLN announced it would carry out >its own investigation into the case of Posada Carriles and why he was >traveling with a Salvadoran passport. It appears that Posada Carriles has >used the passport under an assumed name 59 times in trips to and from the >United States from El Salvador, which gave weight to Cuba's accusation that >the Miami-based Cuban-American National Foundation was funding his >activities. > >Although Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso was upset for not being >informed of the Posada Carriles plot by Cuban authorities prior to the news >conference, observers defended Havana, saying that the information may have >leaked. Panamanian authorities were forced to immediately arrest the >terrorist team once it had been exposed. > >The Ibero-American debate on terrorism also found Cuba debating why Basque >separatist attacks within Spain were the subject of a specific mention and >condemnation in a draft document on terrorism when outside attacks against >Cuba were not mentioned at all. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque >called the resolution "selective" and said it should condemn all forms of >terrorism across the board, without specifically focusing on any one nation. > > >*PARAGUAYAN FOREIGN MINISTER CONDEMNS PLOT AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- Visiting Paraguayan Foreign Minister Juan >Esteban Aguirre condemned a terrorist plot to kill Cuban President Fidel >Castro during the recently concluded 10th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of >State and Government in Panama. > >Aguirre arrived in Havana on Sunday evening for an official visit at the >invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque. > >The top Paraguayan diplomat thanked the Cuban people and government for the >solidarity work being carried out by teams of Cuban health specialists in >his country. > >The Paraguayan foreign minister is scheduled to sign four cooperation >agreements with Cuba, including one promoting greater exchange between both >nations' foreign ministries. During his stay, which runs through Wednesday, >the Paraguayan official will meet with his Cuban counterpart and will also >tour places of social and economic interest. > > >*PARAGUAYAN FIRST LADY BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- Paraguay's First Lady, Susana Galli, began a >four-day visit to Cuba. Galli will seek broader cooperation between her >country and Cuba in areas such as health, education and attention to the >disabled. > >Upon her arrival in Havana, the wife of Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez >Maqui stated that there are thousands of young Paraguayans who are looking >forward to studying medicine here in Cuba. She added that the aim of her >visit is to review with Cuban authorities the possibility for increasing the >number of Paraguayan students at the Havana-based Latin American School of >Medicine, now approaching 100. > >Cuba and Paraguay reestablished consular relations in August of 1996 and >full diplomatic relations in November of last year after a nearly 40-year >break. > > >*FAO DEMANDS IMMEDIATE END TO WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA > >Rome, November 20 (RHC)-- The United Nations Food and Agriculture >Organization (FAO) has once again demanded the lifting of Washington's >40-year blockade against Cuba. > >For the ninth consecutive year, the FAO Council has passed a resolution >condemning U.S. policy towards Cuba and calling on Washington to end its >punitive, genocidal policy. > >Cuba's Ambassador to that UN body, Juan Niury, noted similarities between >the resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly and this one >adopted by the FAO. Both reaffirm the countries' respect for national >sovereignty and the non-interference in the internal affairs of nations, as >well as their support for principles such as freedom of trade and >international navigation. > >These are also included in the Final Declaration and the Plan of Action of >the World Food Summit, approved by 185 heads of state and government in >November of 1996. > >The FAO Council met Monday in Rome with the participation of some 50-member >nations and an equal number of observers. The meetings' agenda includes the >world agricultural sector, its prospects and food shortages. The FAO report >notes that world agricultural production increased by 1.6 percent in 1999, >while Africa continues to have the greatest food shortages on Earth. > > >*PARTICIPANTS IN CONGRESS ON ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE TAKE COURSES IN HAVANA > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- Pre-congress courses for participants in the >First Congress on Alternative Medicine and Bioenergetics began on Monday at >Havana's Ortop. Convention Center. > >Two days of pre-congress courses have been scheduled for participants at the >Congress, which will run from November 22nd through the 24th. Over 360 >delegates from 10 nations are expected to participate in the event. Monday's >pre-congress courses dealt with issues such as chiropractic, with >presentations by specialists from various U.S. universities and >institutions. > >Other pre-congress courses involved debates on acupuncture, micro-systems, >primary health care, cranial-sacral respiration, traditional medicine and >the treatment of pain. > > > >*VENEZUELAN CULTURE MINISTER BEGINS WORKING VISIT TO CUBA > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- Venezuelan Culture Minister Manuel Espinosa has >begun a four-day working visit to Cuba. Espinosa arrived in Havana on Sunday >at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Abel Prieto. > >During his visit, the Venezuelan culture minister will discuss with his >Cuban counterpart a project for the exchange of expertise, as well as to >promote direct cooperation between the two ministries. > >On Monday, the Venezuelan official inaugurated an exhibition by Venezuelan >painter Maria Elena Alvarez at Casa de las Americas - a Havana-based >institution for the promotion of Latin American culture. > >The distinguished visitor's agenda in Cuba also includes meetings with other >Cuban government officials and visits to centers of social and cultural >interest. > > >*CUBAN MUSICIAN COMPAY SEGUNDO TURNS 93 > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- Renowned Cuban musician Francisco Repilado, >better known as Compay Segundo, turned 93 this past Saturday, November 18th. > >To celebrate the occasion, a huge party was organized in his honor on Sunday >at the Havana Hotel Nacional. Family members and friends of Compay Segundo >-- one of the leading figures of the Buena Vista Social Club project -- >participated in the event. > >Author of memorable musical pieces such as Sarandonga, La Calabaza and Chan >Chan, Compay Segundo is the oldest musician still performing in the world. >He won a diamond record recently for sales of his latest album, Las Flores >de la Vida in Spain and performed at the Vatican at the request of Pope John >Paul II. > > >*OCEAN PRESS LAUNCHES NEW TITLES IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH > >Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- The Australian Publishing House Ocean Press has >launched eight new Cuba-related titles. The new books, edited in Spanish and >English, include titles such as "Capitalism in Crisis," a compilation of >speeches by Cuban President Fidel Castro on globalization and world >politics. "The Bay of Pigs," examining the U.S.-orchestrated mercenary >invasion of Cuba in 1961 and "Che in Africa," by Cuban Brigadier General >William Galvez. > >Ocean Press President David Deutchmann stated that the publishing house is >an independent Australian company. He said that for the past twelve years, >Ocean Press has dedicated itself to publishing books about Cuban reality in >English, but also some titles in Spanish. > >Deutchmann said it is very important to be able to present Cuban reality >outside of Cuba to an audience that normally does not have access to books >on Cuba, to the ideas and experiences of Cuba and of the Cuban Revolution. >Ocean Press has published more than 50 titles on Cuba and is now the main >publisher in English of books on Cuba. Ocean Press books are distributed in >the United States, England, Canada, South Africa, the Philippines, India, >Australia and also here in Cuba. The company has also published several >books by and about Che Guevara. Over the next 12 months, Ocean Press will >publish new titles in English on Cuba. > >The president of Ocean Press stated that his company's books have received a >lot of support. In the United States, for example, lots of books are >published about Cuba, but most of them with distortions of Cuban reality. >Ocean Press publishes books that present a different version of Cuba and of >the Cuban Revolution. David Deutchmann said that Ocean Press finds a very >large audience for their books in the universities, in bookstores, among the >general public and of course, among solidarity activists and progressive >sectors in the United States and other countries. > > >Viewpoint: > >*CUBA'S POSITION ON TERRORISM IS NOT NEGOTIABLE > >The immediate arrest by Panamanian authorities of a group of terrorists, who >planned to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro during the 10th >Ibero-American Summit, added to an intense debate about terrorism during the >forum. > >The leader of the Cuban Revolution publicly denounced the presence of a >group of killers in the pay of the Cuban-American National Foundation in >Miami who planned an attempt on his life. > >The debate revolved around Cuba's decision not to support the text of a >resolution to the Final Declaration of the Summit, condemning the terrorist >violence of the separatist Basque organization ETA, which has committed >innumerable acts of violence in Spanish territory. > >The Cuban delegation recognized the problems that Spain has with terrorism >and reiterated that terrorist violence has never had the support of Cuba. >Cuba then proposed a text that condemns all terrorism against any >Ibero-American country, including Cuba -- the country in the region most >affected by external, political aggression. > >There was a heated debate with interventions from Spain, El Salvador and >Cuba. Finally, Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso put an end to the debate >with a proposal to discuss it on another occasion. > >Cuba has every reason to adopt this position in the face of all the >terrorist acts that have been perpetrated against it. It is also an >Ibero-American country and has been the victim of state terrorism, >innumerable acts of aggression and other crimes which have left thousands of >Cubans dead and injured over forty years -- a period in which the majority >of countries present at the Summit had governments which were unconditional >allies of the United States. Washington has been the principal promoter and >executor of aggressive and subversive politics against Cuba. President Fidel >Castro reaffirmed, with total conviction and firmness, Cuba's commitment to >integrate with Latin America and to work with other regional countries for >the common good, but he was very clear about Cuba's right to defend its work >and policies whatever the circumstances. Cuba has always espoused peace and >never acted as the aggressor. It has philanthropically defended other >nation's struggles for national liberation and sovereignty in the face of >right-wing exterior forces, sending medical personnel to Third World nations >around the world. > >(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] >================================================================= > >nytcari-11.20.00-23:44:41-27238 > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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