From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 20:43:46 -0400 (EDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [CubaNews] RHC Weekend-5/6 May 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - Weekend News Update - 5-6 May 2001
.
*FIDEL CASTRO TO ALGERIA ON FIRST STOP OF ASIAN TOUR
*CUBA SAYS ARGENTINA'S WITHDRAWAL OF AMBASSADOR IS "SIMPLE-MINDED"
*FORMER US AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SPEAKS AGAINST ISOLATING CUBA
*DOCTORS, SPORTS TRAINERS HEAD FOR VENEZUELA NEXT MONTH
*CUBAN BUSINESSPEOPLE PLAN WORKING VISIT TO MEXICO
*BRAZIL WON'T BUDGE ON PROVIDING AFFORDABLE AIDS MEDICATION
*WORLDWIDE REACTIONS TO WASHINGTON'S OUSTER FROM HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
*A GIRON IN GENEVA, SAYS GRANMA
*VENEZUELAN GOVERNOR: TO SPEAK WITH FIDEL IS LIKE TALKING TO THE WORLD
.
*FIDEL CASTRO TO ALGERIA ON FIRST STOP OF ASIAN TOUR
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro this morning headed to
Algeria for an official visit as part of a tour also to include Iran and
Malaysia. This will be President Castro's seventh visit since 1972. It
comes a little over a year after Algerian President Abdelaziz Butefilka
first visited Cuba to attend the Group of 77 Summit in Havana.
Cuba and Algeria established diplomatic relations on October 17th, 1962,
right after Algeria obtained its independence from French colonial rule, and
relations between the two nations have been historically close. On the
occasion of this visit, Cuban media outlets have noted that since the
massive and violent protests in Algeria in 1988 -- amid a sharp decline in
the price of oil, which constituted 90 percent of the country's exports --
the Algerian political scene has been characterized by periods of terror
from extremist Islamic groups that have led to instability and uncertainty
in the country.
As a consequence primarily of its colonial legacy, Algeria currently suffers
a 30 percent unemployment rate, an infant mortality rate of 36 per one
thousand live births, and an adult illiteracy rate of 36 percent.
*CUBA SAYS ARGENTINA'S WITHDRAWAL OF AMBASSADOR IS "SIMPLE-MINDED"
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--Cuba has characterized Argentina's decision to
permanently withdraw its ambassador from Havana as "simple-minded and
ridiculous."
The Cuban Foreign Ministry stated Saturday that Argentine Foreign Minister
Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini attempted to justify the decision with
"familiar and addle-brained arguments supplied to Argentina by Washington."
Giavarini claimed that the Republic of Argentina is internationally
recognized as one of the "vanguard nations in the defense of human rights"
and that its anti-Cuba vote at the UN Human Rights Commission was "a totally
independent decision."
The Cuban Foreign Ministry challenged Argentina to submit what it called
"this titanic lie" to Argentine public opinion, asking whether Giavarini is
still not aware of the fact of that the United States has been excluded from
the UN Human Rights Commission.
It's too bad, said the Cuban Foreign Ministry, that instead of withdrawing
Argentina's ambassador in Havana, Buenos Aires doesn't just fire Giavarini,
who has played such a ridiculous role.
*FORMER US AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SPEAKS AGAINST ISOLATING CUBA
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--A former US cabinet member has criticized efforts aimed
at isolating Cuba commercially. On a visit to Havana, Mischael Espy,
Agriculture Secretary during U.S. President Bill Clinton's first term in
office, told the press that trying to isolate Cuba and keep it from
participating in international trade agreements is neither acceptable nor
practical.
Espy headed a delegation from the U.S. Federation of Southern Cooperatives
on a visit of the island. He said that Washington's trade ban against Cuba
has affected U.S. farmers, for whom Cuba is a market of excellence.
The former U.S. Agriculture Secretary deplored what he described as the use
of food and medicines for political purposes, calling such a practice a
violation of the elementary principles that should guide not only
international trade but also relations among people.
Mike Espy said he had visited Cuba for the first time in 1974, and that when
in the early 1990's he joined the Clinton administration, his attitude
toward Cuba were looked at with disdain.
*DOCTORS, SPORTS TRAINERS HEAD FOR VENEZUELA NEXT MONTH
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--Nearly 200 Cuban doctors and sports trainers will soon
be leaving for Venezuela -- part of a cooperation accord between the two
countries.
According to Prensa Latina News Agency, cooperation agreements between
Havana and Caracas include technical assistance in housing construction and
an 80-kilometer highway linking Puerto Ordaz and Cuidad Bolivar in the
Venezuelan State of Bolivar.
The doctors and sports trainers are slated to leave for Venezuela next
month.
*CUBAN BUSINESSPEOPLE PLAN WORKING VISIT TO MEXICO
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--More than 60 Cuban businesspeople will travel to Mexico
next week. They plan to look into investment possibilities and promote Cuban
products.
The Cuban business delegation will take part in "Expo Cuba in Mexico" -- a
trade fair that will serve to showcase many different products from the
island.
"Expo Cuba in Mexico" runs from May 7th through the 11th, with exhibits on
Cuban agriculture and representatives from the food industry, as well as the
pharmaceutical, construction and basic service industries.
*BRAZIL WON'T BUDGE ON PROVIDING AFFORDABLE AIDS MEDICATION
Sao Paulo, May 5 (RHC)--Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has
warned the United States that his country won't budge one inch in its
crusade to provide the country's AIDS patients with affordable medication,
despite Washington's intellectual property rights claim. This was Cardoso's
response to a report issued last Monday in the Brazilian capital by the U.S.
Trade Representative Office, accusing Brazil of using AIDS as a pretext to
justify the protectionism of its pharmaceutical industry.
The Brazilian president said his country has the right to violate the patent
laws of pharmaceutical transnationals to fight the AIDS epidemic because the
disease is a national emergency. Speaking Friday evening at the closure in
Sao Paulo of the 13th Inter-American Conference on Health and Agriculture,
Cardoso said intellectual property rights are not valid when they come up
against humanitarian considerations.
According to the Brazilian president, Brazil has saved 472 million dollars
in the generic production of drugs forming part of the anti-AIDS cocktail.
During the past three years, Brazil has managed to reduce the cost of some
of those drugs by 80 percent, while at the same time reducing the mortality
rate of HIV-infected persons by 40 percent.
Last February, the United States managed to enter a complaint against Brazil
in the World Trade Organization. But Cardoso has insisted that if necessary,
Brazil will totally ignore the patent rights of U.S. pharmaceutical
transnationals.
*WORLDWIDE REACTIONS TO WASHINGTON'S OUSTER FROM HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Geneva, May 5 (RHC)--In reaction to Washington's exclusion from the United
Nations Human Rights Commission, the World Organization Against Torture has
called the move "understandable." In statements Saturday in Geneva, World
Organization Against Torture Director General Eric Sottas pointed out that
the United States systematically abstains from ratifying international
treaties like the Convention on the Rights of Children, and refuses to
support resolutions against Israel's violation of the human rights of
Palestinians.
Sottas said that this tolerance contrasts with the U.S.'s insistence on
maintaining an economic blockade that strangles the Iraqi population. He
said that with this double standard, Washington pretends to give lessons to
the entire world, but that the US concept of human rights is widely
perceived as merely one facet of its politics of domination.
The director of the World Organization Against Torture pointed to what he
called the politicization of the UN Human Rights Commission, insisting that
diplomats are not there to issue judgments on human rights violations, but
rather to make decisions among themselves and to apply a given strategy
based on those decisions.
Joanna Weschler, of the group Human Rights Watch, has also noted that
Washington insists on systematically condemning what it perceives as human
rights violations in Cuba and China, while opposing the creation of an
International Criminal Court and coming out against the universal access to
medication for HIV-infected persons.
*A GIRON IN GENEVA, SAYS GRANMA
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--Granma says the exclusion of the United States from the
UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva is another Bay of Pigs victory. In a
front-page editorial entitled "A Giron in Geneva, " referring to Playa
Giron, also known as the Bay of Pigs, Saturday's Granma says that just as 40
years ago on the beaches of Cuba, the government of the United States has
suffered a huge moral and political defeat.
Granma states that a number of factors may have influenced the disastrous
political embarrassment suffered by Washington at the Human Rights
Commission, and notes that U.S. maneuvers designed to condemn Cuba for
alleged human rights violations in an effort to justify its policies, the UN
General Assembly votes almost unanimously every year to condemn the
genocidal U.S. blockade against the island.
But, the editorial cautions, no one should have any illusions. Despite the
setback for Washington, the United States will continue to pressure member
nations of the UN Human Rights Commission to do their dirty work for them,
and that there are still many more Girons to be fought.
*VENEZUELAN GOVERNOR: TO SPEAK WITH FIDEL IS LIKE TALKING TO THE WORLD
Havana, May 5 (RHC)--The visiting Governor of the Venezuelan State of
Bolivar, Antonio Rojas, told reporters in the Cuban capital that talking
with Fidel Castro "is like talking to the world."
Following a four-hour meeting with the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Rojas
said that he was "totally impressed with Fidel's solidarity, his knowledge
of the world and especially his vision of the future." The Venezuelan
official said that during his conversation with Fidel he felt like he was
being transported into the future. Antonio Rojas stated that the Cuban
president is "way ahead of his time" -- concerned with the international
situation and proposing ways in which Cuba can provide assistance to all
peoples throughout the world.
The governor of the State of Bolivar signed several important agreements
with Cuban authorities on Friday in the areas of tourism, health, culture,
sports and construction.
The Venezuelan official also spoke with reporters in Havana about the
proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. He warned that such an economic
alliance with the United States would be extremely dangerous for the weaker
economies of Latin America -- noting, for example, that NAFTA has had
devastating effects on Mexico.
Antonio Rojas wrapped up his four-day visit to Cuba Friday evening.
(c) 2001 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]
=================================================================
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~>
Clubmom is the first free organization dedicated to rewarding and
celebrating Moms! Join today - it's free - and get a free year-long
subscription
for Parents magazine - just for being a Mom!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/TtO.UB/YKfCAA/tvCFAA/xrOVlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
