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Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 00:26:32 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News Update-17 May 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 17 May 2001
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*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WRAPS UP OFFICIAL VISIT TO LIBYA
*NEW US PROPOSAL TO FUNNEL $100 MILLION TO CUBAN "DISSIDENTS"
*ALARCON CALLS FOR STRONGER JUDICIAL SYSTEM AGAINST CORRUPTION
*CUBA GEARS UP FOR THE 2001 CENSUS
*ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY
*PUERTO RICAN GOVERNMENT DISMAYED BY INDEPENDENTISTA'S PRISON SENTENCE
*GUATEMALAN MILITARY SPIED ON ASSASSINATED BISHOP FOR YEARS
*Viewpoint: NEW ANTI-CUBA LEGISLATION PROPOSED IN US CONGRESS
.
*CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO WRAPS UP OFFICIAL VISIT TO LIBYA
Tripoli, May 17 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro has ended his official
visit to Libya -- wrapping up the sixth leg of a tour of Africa, Asia and
the Middle East. Over the past 10 days, the leader of the Cuban Revolution
has also visited Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar and Syria.
Shortly before departing from Tripoli, Fidel Castro told reporters that one
must be optimistic about the future, despite the many adverse circumstances
that face the world, particularly the countries of Africa.
The Cuban president stressed the importance of working for peace and
development. He said that he was confident that, in Africa, there is a
strong movement in favor of peace and unity.
During his two-day visit to Libya, Fidel Castro held official talks with
Libyan leader Muhamar el Kadhafi.
*NEW US PROPOSAL TO FUNNEL $100 MILLION TO CUBAN "DISSIDENTS"
Washington, May 17 (RHC)--New legislation has been introduced in the U.S.
Congress to openly finance so-called "dissident groups" in Cuba -- with a
proposed budget of $100 million.
According to reports from Capitol Hill, the proposed bill has the support of
at least 11 Senators and 95 members of the House of Representatives. Among
the co-signers of the legislation are ultra right-wing Republican senators
Jesse Helms and Bob Smith, as well as Democrats Robert Torricelli and Joseph
Lieberman.
Speaking with reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Lieberman -- who was Al
Gore's running-mate in the 2000 presidential elections -- said that the
proposed legislation would "give financial support to the valiant soldiers
of Cuba who are fighting against a totalitarian regime." He added that the
plan to funnel $100 million to so-called dissidents is "a clear
demonstration of the democratic principles of the United States."
The House and Senate proposal also calls on the U.S. Department of Justice
to explore legal means of prosecuting Cuban government officials for the
downing of two planes in February 1996. The planes, belonging to the
terrorist group Brothers to the Rescue, were shot down after violating Cuban
airspace. Havana had repeatedly warned the U.S. government of the illegal
flights, but Washington did nothing to stop them.
According to news agencies in the U.S. capital, the proposed bill would
authorize the U.S. president to disburse the money at his own discretion to
the so-called "internal opposition" in Cuba. Under the legislation -- which
is slated to come up soon for floor debate in the House and Senate -- $100
million would be spread out over the next four years. The financial aid
would purportedly be used to provide computers, cellular telephones, fax
machines and other assistance to those opposed to the Cuban Revolution.
Observers noted, however, that it remains to be seen exactly how the U.S.
government proposes to get the money to the "dissidents" and whether the
Cuban government will allow such financial transactions.
*ALARCON CALLS FOR STRONGER JUDICIAL SYSTEM AGAINST CORRUPTION
Havana, May 17 (RHC)--The president of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo
Alarcon, today called for strengthening the Cuban judiciary in the face of
the fight against corruption.
Alarcon said that corruption is a phenomenon that is a consequence of
capitalism -- it is not an inherent part of socialism and needs to be
quickly dealt with. He said that corruption is a poison that undermines all
the work that built and continues to build socialism in Cuba.
The parliamentary leader was speaking during an accounting required of the
island's Supreme Court and the Attorney General's office before the National
Assembly. Ruben Remigio, the president of the Supreme Court, said that the
very fact that his office was being called to account for its actions was
proof of the impartial justice system of Cuba.
Cuban courts are composed of panels of three to five professional justices
and representatives of the nation's grassroots organizations, such as the
Cuban Federation of Women and the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution. Legal authorities explain that the mix ensures the courts remain
fair and unbiased and do not lose sight of the goals of a socialist society
by becoming too professional and thus disconnected from the people.
Remigio said there was a need to speed up the judicial process and to
provide more training for court personnel due to the changes that have
occurred in the nation's penal code. Also of concern, said the Supreme Court
justice, was the issue of corruption in the legal system that, while very
rare, had been found to exist. Those caught accepting bribes are rigorously
prosecuted by the authorities.
For his part, Carlos Concepcion, the island's Deputy Attorney General, said
that a special focus was required on the need to combat violent crime and
housing fraud, and to address more effectively citizens' complaints about
the application of Cuban law.
*CUBA GEARS UP FOR THE 2001 CENSUS
Havana, May 17 (RHC)--The National Census Board, under the direction of Juan
Carlos Alfonso, has an intense period of work ahead to prepare for next
year's census of the population of Cuba, said Neima Chavez, vice-president
of the Board's coordinating commission for the province of Matanzas.
Nearly 102,000 people will be employed to carry out the census, 60,000 of
whom will be university students, she said. It is vital for the government
to determine the size of the population as well as its ethnic and gender
mix, she added.
The national census will begin at midnight on September 6 next year and last
through midnight of September 16. It will cost some $8.5 million. The last
census was carried out in 1981.
*ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY
Havana, May 17 (RHC)--On the site of the creation of the National
Association of Small Farmers exactly 40 years ago today, Cuban farmers
gathered to ratify their support of the Revolution.
May 17, 1961 was chosen as the founding date of the Association because it
was the second anniversary of the First Agrarian Reform Act -- one of the
most important dates in Cuban history. The Act completely changed the lot of
Cuba's impoverished campesinos, granting them allotments of land in
legislation that the United States government strongly opposed.
The ceremony in 1961 took place in the Rancho Boyeros Livestock and
Agricultural Fair and was attended by some 12,000 campesinos headed by Pepe
Ramirez, the famous farmers' leader and shared by then-Prime Minister Fidel
Castro who handed out the land titles.
The president of the Association, Orlando Lugo, and Pepe Ramirez himself
attended today's commemoration. They both laid a memorial plaque in honor of
the 40th anniversary.
*PUERTO RICAN GOVERNMENT DISMAYED BY INDEPENDENTISTA'S PRISON SENTENCE
San Juan, May 17 (RHC)--The Puerto Rican government has expressed its dismay
at the four-month prison sentence handed out to Ruben Berrios, leader of the
Puerto Rican Independence Party. Berrios was arrested on April 30th, charged
with entering a U.S. military target range on the island of Vieques. On
Wednesday, a U.S. federal court handed down the sentence. sending Berrios
and another activist to prison for four months. Four other members of the
Puerto Rican Independence Party received two-month prison sentences.
Puerto Rican governor Sila Calderon -- who has expressed her opposition to
the continued use of Vieques by the U.S. Navy -- stated that she was upset
by the court's decision to jail the long-time activist.
Ruben Berrios has carried out a number of civil disobedience actions to
protest U.S. military exercises on the Puerto Rican island municipality of
Vieques. Last year, the independence leader spent nearly 12 months camped on
the target range of the island -- part of a mass movement to end
Washington's military use of the island.
In statements to reporters in San Juan, the attorney for Berrios and the
other activists -- Manuel Rodriquez, the attorney for Berrios and the other
activists, told reports that the court decision to imprison his clients was
"a political sentence and not a juridical decision."
In related news, 26 protestors arrested in New York on Tuesday for blocking
the entrance to United Nations in a Vieques action were released after
spending the night in jail. The demonstrators were charged with disorderly
conduct and illegal trespassing. Released on bail, they will appear before
another judge late next month; they also face fines and possible jail
sentences.
*GUATEMALAN MILITARY SPIED ON ASSASSINATED BISHOP FOR YEARS
Guatemala City, May 17 (RHC)--The Guatemalan military was monitoring the
activities of Bishop Juan Gerardi for more than six years before he was
brutally assassinated. According to records made available during an
on-going trial in Guatemala City, the military spied on the bishop from 1992
until he was killed in April 1998.
The documents reveal that Guatemalan military intelligence tapped the
telephone of Bishop Juan Gerardi for several years and followed his
movements.
The popular Catholic Church leader in Guatemala was murdered shortly after
he published a scathing denunciation of the military's role during the
country's civil war. The report, entitled "Guatemala: Never Again," blamed
more than 80 percent of the human rights violations on the army and
right-wing paramilitary groups.
*Viewpoint: NEW ANTI-CUBA LEGISLATION PROPOSED IN US CONGRESS
President Fidel Castro's tour of African, Asian and Middle Eastern nations
has been marked by warm receptions on the part of the people and governments
and numerous agreements designed to strengthen Cuba's international ties.
These expanding relations between Cuba and the rest of the world are
especially important at a time when ultra-rightwing North Americans are once
again pushing the U.S. Congress to pass new anti-Cuba laws.
It seems that extreme rightwing forces based in Miami are looking for a
payback for their help in placing George W. Bush in the White House under
the most dubious circumstances.
And so, even as the Cuban president is consolidating friendship and
cooperation with nations of the Middle East, Asia and Africa, forces within
the United States are busy at work preparing new aggressions against the
island.
The latest legislative attacks on Cuba are aimed at increasing or
legitimizing, funds to be spent in Cuba to make changes the United States
deems favorable. But the real reason is to have an official multi-million
dollar fund that can be easily accessed for several years at a time.
Most people realize that the money, which has been contributed by U.S.
taxpayers, will end up in the pockets of the so-called anti-Cuba "mafia" in
Miami.
The new legislation proposes that more money be dedicated to anti-Cuba radio
broadcasts from the United States and an anti-Cuba television station, which
is never seen in Cuba. The money would also be used to increase the number
of Cubans who are taking orders from the US Interests Section in Cuba. It is
the declared purpose of the US government to increase anti-Cuba propaganda
inside the country, giving voice to tiny anti-government groups who are
organized and financed by Washington.
This is just one more way of thanking the Florida-based extreme rightwing
for favors rendered. It is characteristic of Washington to buy what it
wants, since it is often impossible for the U.S. to convince others to
participate in their anti-Cuba campaigns.
That has become clear in the annual United Nations' General Assembly votes
condemning the US blockade against Cuba, in which Washington is left
standing completely alone.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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