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Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 23:52:04 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] RHC Weekend-28 April 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - Weekend News Update - 28 April 2001
.
*CUBAN PRESIDENT OPENS 102 RENOVATED SCHOOLS, SPEAKS ABOUT EDUCATION
*FIDEL RESPONDS TO THREATS OF SPANISH JUDGE WHO HAD PINOCHET ARRESTED
*CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO HAVANA SUPPORTS CUBA'S POSITION IN GENEVA
*18th CONGRESS OF CUBAN WORKERS CONFEDERATION BEGINS
*WASHINGTON ACCUSED OF BACKING ISRAEL's MASSACRES OF PALESTINIANS
*ISRAEL ALLOWS PALESTINIAN POLICE TO OPERATE IN GAZA
*NEW YORK TIMES OPPOSES RESUMPTION OF WAR GAMES IN VIEQUES
*RICARDO ALARCON CONGRATULATES RHC ON ITS 40th ANNIVERSARY
Viewpoint:
*WORKERS CONFEDERATION FOCUSES ON HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE REVOLUTION
.
*CUBAN PRESIDENT OPENS 102 RENOVATED SCHOOLS, SPEAKS ABOUT EDUCATION
Havana, 28th April (RHC)--In a speech yesterday at the opening of 102
refurbished schools in the capital, President Fidel Castro praised Cubans
for their increased humanity and solidarity.
Commenting on the fact that classrooms had too many students in them, he
said that the renovated schools would relieve the strain on teachers who, he
added, were decreasing in number. The Cuban leader said that ways had to be
found to increase the number of trainees for teaching posts at the primary
school level. There were only 40 primary school teachers graduating last
year in Havana -- not enough, he said, to fill the spaces left by those who
retire or leave for other reasons.
However, the President guaranteed that in 17 months no classroom in Havana
would hold more than 20 pupils. There was also good news in other areas of
education in Cuba, he said, with the opening of 300 computer youth clubs
across the nation and the graduation of the first batch of 513 social
workers earlier in the year. Their primary work at first will be with youth
in their early teens but later they will work later with senior citizens as
their numbers increase. Fidel Castro said that their work was important to
revitalize the social concepts that Cuba stands by and to avoid the tragedy
of humiliation suffered by the disenfranchised of the industrialized world.
Cuba's socialism has provided its children with a level of education that
far exceeds that of many other nations in the hemisphere, where students
leave their classrooms incapable of reading or writing, many unable to
continue in beyond the age of 11 or the 6th grade. Capitalism alone hasn't
the remotest chance of resolving the increasing problems of society, said
the Cuban president. Cuba's best chance for the future is in its children.
*FIDEL RESPONDS TO THREATS OF SPANISH JUDGE WHO HAD PINOCHET ARRESTED
Havana, 28th April (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro last night responded
to comments by the Spanish judge who issued an extradition order for Augusto
Pinochet and had him arrested and detained in England for one year.
Judge Baltazar Garzon has said that given the chance, he would file charges
against the Cuban leader and issue an extradition order against him for
violation of human rights. He said that, however, he could not file charges
against an active head of government according to international norms.
Reminding the judge that, in Cuba's wars of liberation against the Spanish
Crown, Cuban patriots confronted and defeated forces that were far greater
than their own, Fidel Castro said that he would never accede to such charges
and would fight them relentlessly. He added that he has always lived and
will continue to live in tranquility knowing that he had defended with
dignity and honor the rights of the world's poor and weak.
Fidel Castro ended by saying that any extraterritorial activity aimed at
arresting him would be resisted with force but that he had always believed
in one aspect of extraterritorial action -- that of the dignity of
humankind.
*CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO HAVANA SUPPORTS CUBA'S POSITION IN GENEVA
Havana, April 28 (RHC)--Chinese ambassador to Havana, Wang Chengjia, said
yesterday that his country and Cuba were in the same trench and the same
battlefield facing the United States and the Western world which seek to
impose their own concepts of human rights.
The diplomat stressed that at the Geneva United Nations Human Rights
Commission, Cuba not only attained a moral victory, but also the success of
a small nation facing a powerful country that uses pressure, blackmail, and
promises of credits and money, thereby losing its moral authority.
The Chinese ambassador said that the United States considers itself as a
human rights advocate, whereas in reality it violates human rights,
something the whole world knows. He added that in Cuba, thanks to socialism,
people have the guarantee of free health care and education and that the
Cuban government does everything that is necessary to respect and fight in
defense of human rights.
*18th CONGRESS OF CUBAN WORKERS CONFEDERATION BEGINS
Havana, April 28 (RHC)--Several outstanding workplaces and institutions in
the Cuban capital are serving as debate sites for the 18th Cuban Workers
Confederation Congress, running until Monday.
Nearly 700 delegates and 300 national guests are analyzing topics such as
the role of the working class in today's world and efforts to spread culture
among all sectors of society. Cuban workers are also discussing economic
efficiency, the work of trade unions, ways to stimulate production and the
work of agricultural cooperatives.
Some 400 foreign guests from nearly 150 trade unions in 60 countries and the
World Trade Union Federation are on hand along with regional unions from
Central America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. Also present for
the 18th Cuban Workers' Congress were representatives from the German IG
Metal and Verdi Trade Unions, the largest in the world, as well as a large
delegation from the United States.
*WASHINGTON ACCUSED OF BACKING ISRAEL's MASSACRES OF PALESTINIANS
Havana, April 28 (RHC)--Mohamed al-Saleh, member of the National Palestinian
Authority, says Washington backs Israel's massacre against Palestinians,
mainly children. al-Saleh, currently visiting Cuba, said yesterday that the
majority of the 400 Palestinians killed recently were children. The
Palestinian official added that in most cases the children were returning
from schools or on their balconies at home, or even in a parent's arms,
since some of the victims were newborns.
Mohamed al-Saleh, who attended celebrations for the 22nd anniversary of
Cuba's Arab Union, charges that Israel has been using so-called black gas,
which poduces severe chest and abdominal pain, and many serious disorders.
Israel denies the use of this gas, said the Palestinian official, even
though traces of the gas have been found in victims' blood. He added that
the United States supports Israel because Washington is not interested so
much in regional peace as it is in Arab oil.
In relation to the Arab countries' favorable vote on Cuba at the UN Human
Rights Commission, al-Saleh said that, despite Washington's arrogance, it
cannot buy or deceive everybody. Arab people know what Cuba is and are
familiar with its social achievements and are thankful for the island's
solidarity. He added they will never give up fighting for their rights
despite the superiority of the US.
*ISRAEL ALLOWS PALESTINIAN POLICE TO OPERATE IN GAZA
Gaza, April 28 (RHC)--Israel has authorized armed Palestinian police and
security forces to freely operate in the Gaza strip. A Palestinian public
safety spokesperson, General Abdel Razeq Al Mayaida, said in Gaza today that
the Palestinians are also authorized to enter police stations and
headquarters from which they had been excluded since the beginning of the
Intifada in September of last year.
The measure, which affects all Palestinian police and security forces, is
the result of the latest meetings between security chiefs of Israel and the
Palestine National Authority. Palestinians have argued that free movement
will allow them to do their jobs, to attempt to control demonstrations by
young rock-throwing Palestinians and to calm the situation in general. Until
today's authorization, Palestinian police forces were banned from operating
between north and south in the tiny Gaza Strip which is controlled by the
Israeli Army.
Expected to go into effect on Sunday is a decision announced by Israeli
Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben Eliezer, to gradually authorize the entrance
into Israel of 11,000 Palestinian workers.
The Palestine National Authority has called for the total lifting of all
restrictions on the freedom of movement of Palestinians, and the complete
withdrawal of Israeli troops and tanks from positions they occupied before
the eruption of the last Intifada seven months ago.
In related news, the French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, has criticized
the policy of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. On Saturday
the French official, after a meeting in Syria with President Bachar
Al-Assad, called on all sides not to compromise the process. At a time when
the situation is worrying, he said, we cannot support the policy of the
Israeli government in the occupied territories. Later Vedrine called on all
the governments and political forces involved to exhibit responsibility and
do nothing that would compromise the search for a political solution.
*NEW YORK TIMES OPPOSES RESUMPTION OF WAR GAMES IN VIEQUES
Washington, April 28 (RHC)--The New York Times has criticized the U.S.
Navy's decision to resume bombing the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. In an
editorial on Saturday, the influential U.S. newspaper said that the war
games may be legally authorized, but they are politically "insensitive". The
paper noted that a referendum is scheduled on the issue for next November.
The article states that there is strong Puerto Rican opposition to maneuvers
and that yesterday's resumption of activities was met with large protest
demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.
According to the editorial, the Navy should suspend the bombing until
receiving the results of a U.S. Health and Human Services Department study
on the effects of loud noise on heart problems experienced by local
residents. The Puerto Rican government itself had requested that the Navy
hold off, but last Thursday a federal judge rejected the petition.
A series of studies on the effects of the military activity in Vieques since
l941 indicate that residents have a 27 to 28 percent higher risk of cancer
than other Puerto Ricans. The renewed bombing is also in violation of a
recently passed anti-noise law.
*RICARDO ALARCON CONGRATULATES RHC ON ITS 40th ANNIVERSARY
Havana, April 28 (RHC)--The president of the Cuban National Assembly,
Ricardo Alarc�n, yesterday praised the work done by Radio Havana Cuba over
the past four decades. Alarc�n was speaking at an international colloquium
on the short wave radio station's 40th anniversary, held in Havana.
Alarcon said Radio Havana Cuba maintains a revolutionary desire to change
the world and serves as an instrument for those who lack the voice and means
to disseminate word of their actions. "We are living at an historic moment
in the world," he said, "in which political forces, campesinos, the trade
unions as well as academic, religious, scientific and non-governmental
forces have designated a plan of action to combat neo-liberal
globalization."
Alarc�n explained that Western media outlets are trying to distort the truth
for which these groups are fighting and cited as an example the protest
demonstrations carried out recently in Quebec, Canada, during the Summit of
the Americas. He called attention to the way in which media transnationals
manipulate the feelings and thinking of their audiences, especially through
the Internet. He contrasted this with the important role that revolutionary
radio, TV and the printed press have right now in facing Western world
disinformation campaigns.
Alarcon pointed out that even though the world has experienced important
technological development, it has only resulted in isolation and
individualistic positions, blocking the human capacity to socially organize
and take social actions. Finally, he stressed the importance of alternative
media and the strategic need to develop and strengthen communication with
each other.
*Viewpoint: WORKERS CONFEDERATION WILL FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING THE REVOLUTION
The Cuban people have affirmed many times that well conceived and properly
applied socialism has been the key to our strength and resistance over the
past 42 years. Socialism has allowed Cubans to successfully live and
struggle in the face of many difficulties as well as to construct an
innovative socio-economic project.
Cubans are aware that there still is a long road ahead and that there is
much to learn in the struggle waged against us by our powerful neighbors to
the North, who have attacked us and submitted us to an economic blockade for
more than 40 years.
The Cuban people are conscious of the revolutionary process they have been
developing, especially last year in their hard fight for the return of Elian
Gonzalez to Cuba. During this struggle, we had the support of the U.S.
people, while Washington was forced to align itself and cooperate with them
until the boy was returned to his home.
The Cuban Revolution itself is proof that the people are able and willing to
defend it. Cubans have mobilized throughout the country to demonstrate their
willingness to wage the important battle of ideas they have begun. A recent
example is the battle in the UN Geneva-based Human Rights Commission in
which the United States, despite diplomatic and economic blackmail and
arm-twisting, was only able to push through its anti-Cuba resolution by two
votes.
The 18th Congress of the Cuban Workers Confederation is more evidence of
this crucial battle of ideas. In preparation, more than 2.7 million workers
met throughout the country during the year to talk about what they thought
had been achieved since the last conference. They were asked to list the
country's principal problems and the topics that should be debated during
the 18th Congress. The workers' views were painstakingly tallied and based
on the results, it was determined the 1600 delegates to the 18th Congress
will examine the need to maintain the socialist character of the economy,
working conditions and housing, and salaries and prices, including bonuses.
Next Tuesday, International Workers' Day, the Cuban people will take to the
streets by the hundreds of thousands to demonstrate once again that this is
a revolution by the people and for the people.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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