From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 05 April 2001
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*CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS US ECONOMIC BLOCKADE OF CUBA
*FIDEL CASTRO INAUGURATES YOUTH COMPUTER CLUB
*CUBA'S LITERACY CAMPAIGN: AN INSPIRATION TO THE WORLD
*BELIEVERS FREELY PRACTICE THEIR RELIGIONS IN CUBA
*OCLAE CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO STAND WITH CUBA IN GENEVA
*BOOK ON TERRORIST ATTACK VICTIM PUBLISHED IN ROME
*HEAVY SECURITY FOR TRADE MINISTERS MEETING IN BUENOS AIRES
*ACTIVISTS CALL FOR MORATORIUM ON USE OF FRAGMENTATION BOMBS
*WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR ELIMINATION OF POLIO BY 2005
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*CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS WASHINGTON'S ECONOMIC BLOCKADE OF CUBA
Havana, April 5 (RHC)--PARLACEN, the Central American Parliament, has issued
a strong condemnation of Washington's blockade of Cuba. In Havana to attend
the 105th Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, representatives of PARLACEN
also praised the work of Cuban doctors and medical personnel in the region.
Speaking on behalf of the lawmakers from Central America, gathered at
Havana's International Convention Center, Sigfrido Reyes noted that the
Cuban doctors arrived in the region following Hurricane Mitch -- a
devastating storm that hit a number of countries in November 1998.
Adding his voice to the condemnation of the U.S. blockade of Cuba wasJose
Merino, a legislative representative from Costa Rica. Merino said that it
was past time for the economic blockade to end, adding that he and others
from his delegation would push to have Cuba completely integrated into the
region.
The annual gathering of the Inter-Parliamentary Union runs through this
Saturday, April 7th.
*FIDEL CASTRO INAUGURATES YOUTH COMPUTER CLUB
Havana, April 5 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro inaugurated one of the
more than 100 computer youth clubs that opened their doors on Wednesday
nationwide.
The inauguration was part of activities marking the 40th anniversary of the
Jose Marti Pioneers Children's Organization and the 39th of the Young
Communist League, both commemorated on April 4th.
"This is a gift that the Revolution is giving its children", said Fidel, in
reference to a now fulfilled promise to open 300 such installations
throughout Cuba by this April 4th.
The Cuban president affirmed that at a the time when in the capitalist world
there is over 1000 hours of televised violence a week, and war toys are a
powerful incitement for children to commit violent acts, in Cuba the
Revolution offers children wholesome entertainment, such as computer skills
to expand their minds and knowledge about sciences.
The Cuban president said that there are currently 3,141 Pentium
microcomputers distributed among 300 computer centers, 2,941 of them from
the latest generation. The rest, he added, are only two years old.
The computer youth clubs form part of a national program to promote computer
knowledge in the younger generations of Cubans in a rational, efficient way.
*CUBA'S LITERACY CAMPAIGN: AN INSPIRATION TO THE WORLD
Havana, April 5 (RHC)--Cuba's literacy campaign was an inspiration to the
rest of the world. The statement was made in Havana by Sharon
Capeling-Alakija, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers
(UNV).
Capeling-Alakija said that the literacy campaign, one of the very first
tasks undertaken by the Cuban Revolution, involved over 200,000 volunteer
teachers --mostly teenaged students -- who traveled island wide, including
to the most remote, inaccessible areas, to teach Cubans of all ages how to
read and write.
The UN official recalled that thanks to that initiative and the outstanding
work of the volunteer teachers, Cuba was declared free of illiteracy in
1961, just two years after the triumph of the Revolution.
As part of Cuba's contribution to the United Nations Volunteers, some 151
Cuban professionals have offered their services in 17 nations in Asia,
Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cuba's contribution to the UNV is equally reflected in the thousands of
Cuban experts who are currently offering their services free-of-charge in
other Third World nations. Young people from those countries are also
studying here in Cuba on scholarships granted by the island's authorities to
give them professional training in the most diverse disciplines.
*BELIEVERS FREELY PRACTICE THEIR RELIGIONS IN CUBA
Havana, April 5 (RHC)--More than 40 religious leaders from 18 nations
affirmed in Havana that they are convinced that people with religious
beliefs experience no discrimination or persecution in Cuba.
The religious leaders are in Cuba participating in activities to mark the
40th anniversary of the Mission Without Frontiers, a religious organization
based in Geneva, Switzerland.
A member of the Commission on Foreign Relations and Human Rights in the
World Council of Churches, Pakistani Clemente John, said that his
organization disregards Washington's annual reports on religious freedom.
Instead, he continued, they listen to what the Church in each nation has to
say.
*OCLAE CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO STAND WITH CUBA IN GENEVA
Havana, April 5 (RHC)--The Latin American and Caribbean Students
Organization (OCLAE) has called on the international community to stand with
Cuba at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
OCLAE issued a communiqué in the Cuban capital saying that to stand with
Cuba in Geneva is to support the extraordinary achievements of the Cuban
people in terms of civil liberties over the past four decades of Revolution.
The Geneva commission, in session until April 27th, will discuss a
resolution to condemn Cuba for presumed human rights violations. The
document, a U.S.-sponsored maneuver, was introduced by the Czech Republic
and Poland.
*BOOK ON TERRORIST ATTACK VICTIM PUBLISHED IN ROME
Rome, April 5 (RHC)--The book "El Muchacho del Copacabana" (The Boy at the
Copacabana) was presented in Rome, on Thursday, with a call on public
opinion to demand justice in the case of an Italian citizen killed in a
terrorist action perpetrated in the Cuban capital.
The book, by Cuban writer Acela Caner Roman, is a revealing testimony on the
facts surrounding the death of Fabio Di Celmo -- the victim of a terrorist
bomb placed in the Copacabana Hotel here in the Cuban capital in September
1997.
Guistino Di Celmo, Fabio's father, has requested that Italian authorities
include his son in the list of victims of international terrorism.
A motion has also been introduced in the Italian Parliament, asking the
government to investigate Fabio's murder and the legal proceedings that
Guistino Di Celmo and Caner Roman are currently touring Italy to present the
Italian edition of the book.
El Muchacho del Copacabana reproduces statements to The New York Times by
international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the mastermind of a series of
terrorist attacks against tourist facilities in the Cuban capital in 1997,
including the bomb that claimed the life of Fabio.
Carriles, in an interview with The New York Times cynically remarked that
the young Italian tourist died because he was in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
*HEAVY SECURITY FOR TRADE MINISTERS MEETING IN BUENOS AIRES
Buenos Aires, April 5 (RHC)--Heavy security measures are being taken in the
Argentine capital, in preparation for this weekend's meeting of foreign
trade ministers. Anti-riot police have begun to beef-up their ranks and
bring in equipment that will be used to confront demonstrators over the next
few days.
According to news reports from Buenos Aires, special security vehicles
equipped with high-powered water cannons have been seen in the area of the
Palacio San Martin -- where the representatives of 34 Latin American and
Caribbean countries will gather on Saturday.
The Sixth Regional Meeting of Foreign Trade Ministers in Argentina is a
preparatory gathering before the Third Summit of the Americas, slated to
take place in Quebec, Canada from April 20th through the 22nd.
Several demonstrations in downtown Buenos Aires are being planned for
tomorrow, Friday. Trade unionists and student groups are expected to stage
protest demonstrations against neo-liberal economic policies and the concept
of a regional Free Trade Area, which will be discussed during the meetings
in Argentina and Canada.
Those opposed to the establishment of the so-called Free Trade Area of the
Americas contend that such an agreement would bind the economies of the
hemisphere ever more tightly, with the United States as the biggest
beneficiary.
*ACTIVISTS CALL FOR MORATORIUM ON USE OF FRAGMENTATION BOMBS
Geneva, April 5 (RHC)--More than 40 non-governmental organizations from 11
countries have issued an urgent call for a moratorium on the use of
fragmentation bombs. During a meeting of the United Nations Disarmament
Conference, underway in Geneva, human rights groups made the proposal while
reviewing the 1980 International Arms Convention.
Delegates pointed out that during the 1999 U.S.-led NATO attacks against
Yugoslavia, three member nations used fragmentation bombs. The United
States, Great Britain and Holland fired more than 1800 shells loaded with
tiny fragments. According to estimates on the ground, at least one hundred
people were killed and nearly 200 wounded by fragmentation bombs.
A document presented during the debate in Geneva revealed that during the
1991 Gulf War, more than 24 million fragmentation projectiles were used
against Iraq. Representatives of organizations arguing against the use of
these weapons affirmed that they are inhumane -- killing and wounding
indiscriminately. The weapons also have a high rate of error and many times
fail to explode on impact -- creating a potential threat for children and
civilians when they explode years later.
*WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR ELIMINATION OF POLIO BY 2005
New York, April 5 (RHC)--In a deliberate move to eradicate polio from the
face of the earth in the next four years, the World Health Organization has
requested one billion dollars for the purchase of necessary vaccines.
The World Health Organization along with UNICEF -- the United Nations
Children's Fund -- have pledged to wage an unrelenting campaign against
polio. Earmarking some one billion dollars would ensure the dosage of
vaccine necessary to administer the oral drops to every child throughout the
world.
It was pointed out that recent UN statistics put the deadly virus in some 20
countries -- a huge improvement when compared with 1988, when the total was
125 countries. Polio is particularly prevalent in Southeast Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is especially common in Angola and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told reporters at United Nations
Headquarters in New York that while polio affects fewer children in the
Third World, even one case of the disease is too many. She referred to the
fact that only 3500 cases of polio were reported in the year 2000 --
compared WITH 350,000 cases reported in 1988. And the head of UNICEF
promised that her organization would do everything possible to completely
eliminate the disease.
The United Nations has targeted polio for eradication by the year 2005.
Observers pointed out that thanks to the Cuban Revolution, polio was
eradicated on the island in 1962.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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