From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 23:57:53 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC Weekend-26 May 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 26 May 2001
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*FIDEL CASTRO LEADS RALLY IN SOLIDARITY WITH PUERTO RICO
*ALBERTO KORDA, CELEBRATED CUBAN PHOTOGRAPHER, DIES IN PARIS
*CUBA IS COMMITTED TO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING
*NEW SOAP AND GLYCERINE FACTORY AN IMPORTANT BOOST TO ECONOMY
*TENSIONS RISE IN BOLIVIA AS WORKERS THREATEN INDUSTRIAL ACTION
*HUGO CHAVEZ WARNS OF THE DANGERS OF GLOBALIZATION
*CEMETERIES FULL AS SOUTH AFRICAN AIDS CRISIS DEEPENS
*FMLN REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE TAIWANESE LEADER AS CHINESE HEAD OF STATE
*MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT RETAKES NORTHERN REGION FROM ALBANIAN REBELS
.
*FIDEL CASTRO LEADS RALLY IN SOLIDARITY WITH PUERTO RICO
Havana, May 26 (RHC)--Cuban president Fidel Castro headed a rally held on
Saturday at Havana's Jose Marti anti-imperialist tribune, protesting the US
military wargames that continue to take place on the Puerto Rican island of
Vieques.
Hundreds of thousands Cubans gathered very early in the morning in the area
surrounding the plaza facing the US Interests Section in the Cuban capital.
Several speakers demanded the end of military operations in Vieques and the
liberation of Ruben Berrios, leader of the Puerto Rican Independence Party,
who was arrested in Vieques for leading a protest against the US Navy.
Other Cuban leaders present at the rally were vice-presidents Carlos Lage
and Jose Ramon Fernandez, Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto, and Cuban
Parliament president Ricardo Alarcon.
*ALBERTO KORDA, CELEBRATED CUBAN PHOTOGRAPHER, DIES IN PARIS
Havana, May 26 (RHC)--Cubans across the island are today mourning the loss
of Cuban photographer Alberto Diaz Gutierrez, popularly known as "Korda,"
who died in Paris on Friday at the age of 72. Korda, who was visiting France
for the opening of an exhibition of his work, and to attend the Cannes Film
Festival, lived and worked in Havana. Korda's 1960 photograph of Che Guevara
became a symbol of the Cuban Revolution.
Born December 14, 1928 in Havana, Korda showed an early passion for
photography, focusing especially on the flora and fauna of the island. In
1959, with the triumph of the Revolution, he opened a small photography
studio and, seeking to name it something other than Diaz, a name he said
grew like grass in Cuba, or Gutierrez, which he thought sounded too
anti-business, he came up with "Korda," after two Hungarian brothers he
knew.
Alberto Korda is best known for his famous photograph of Ernesto Che
Guevara, called "The Heroic Guerilla," was taken on March 5, 1960 during a
memorial for those killed in the sabotage of the ship "La Coubre" in
Havana's harbor. He always said that he had taken the shot by pure chance at
a moment when Che seemed pensive looking off into the far distance. After
the death of Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967, the photograph became a symbol
of Che and his work, and one of the most recognized images in the world.
Other famous photographs by the deceased artist are "The Girl with the
Wooden Doll," "The Entrance of Camilo Cienfuegos and Fidel Castro into
Havana," and "The Farola Quixote."
Korda never profited materially from his famous photograph and later fought
and won battles in other countries to prevent it from being used for
advertising that he considered offensive to Che's image.
Korda's body will be broght home to Cuba on Monday.
*CUBA IS COMMITTED TO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING
Havana, May 26, (RHC)--Cuba will continue its international cooperation in
the struggle against drug trafficking, including with the United States. The
director of the island's National Drug Commission, Jorge Reyes Vega,
explained that, despite the fact that Washington has maintained an economic
blockade against the island for more than 40 years, Cuba has a policy of
international cooperation which it intends to maintain and expand. An
example, he said, is that thus far Cuba has signed bilateral cooperation
agreements with 29 countries and has relations with anti-drug services in 12
countries where no such agreements exist.
In statements published in Saturday's Granma newspaper, Reyes Vega pointed
out that Cuba has been an active participant in international meetings where
-- despite its limited resources -- the island's efforts and results in
fighting drug trafficking are well known. Among those recognizing Cuba's
efforts are the executive director of the United Nations Anti Drug Program,
Pino Ariachhi, who visited the island last year to sign an agreement to
provide more than $1 million in training and technical equipment.
The head of Cuba's National Drug Commission noted that this type of
cooperation is possible because of the seriousness with which the island's
anti-drug policy is implemented.
*NEW SOAP AND GLYCERINE FACTORY AN IMPORTANT BOOST TO ECONOMY
Havana, May 26 (RHC)--Cuba has opened an important factory that will produce
the raw materials to make soap and glycerine on the island. The factory will
allow the island to avoid more imports of raw materials for the soap-making
industry, and will also allow Cuba to export products that fetch a high
price on the international market.
Local production will represent a significant financial saving, since the
island will no longer have to import the raw materials or bear the expense
of container handling. There will also be greater efficiency in terms of
energy use, providing a projected savings of $278,300 per year in fuel oil
costs alone.
*TENSIONS RISE IN BOLIVIA AS WORKERS THREATEN INDUSTRIAL ACTION
La Paz, May 26 (RHC)--After a period of relative calm, labor leaders in
Bolivia have announced new protests. A fragile agreement reached earlier
this month between the government and labor and peasant organizations
appears to be about to break down with a major protest scheduled for Tuesday
in Cochabamba.
The "In Defense of Water" group, organized to stop privatization of drinking
water, announced that on Tuesday there will be a regional work and
transportation stoppage in Cochabamba with regional highways blocked. Among
the new complaints is a government plan to transfer responsibility for
health and education from the federal government to local municipalities,
which all the area's mayors are against.
Tensions have also heated up between the government in La Paz and coca
farmers in the area of Chapare, with government officials claiming that the
farmers have mounted ambushes and set off explosive devices against
government forces charged with eradicating the crops. Local peasants reject
the charges, accusing the government of failing to live up to terms of
agreements reached after weeks of negotiations. The farmers are threatening
to block the entire region with protests.
Meanwhile, the Bolivian Workers Confederation is demanding that the
government change its economic market policy, in place since l985. The
country's Catholic bishops have organized a meeting in June between the
government, political parties and social organizations to examine possible
solutions to the crisis.
To make matters worse, hoof and mouth disease has infected some 2,600 cows
in Bolivia. On Saturday army chief Juan Hurtado, announced that some five
thousand soldiers are being readied to shoot the infected animals. He added
that all military units are waiting for orders to act. Cattle associations
in Santa Cruz and Beni, the principal infected areas, have identified 34
places where hoof and mouth has been registered.
*HUGO CHAVEZ WARNS OF THE DANGERS OF GLOBALIZATION
Beijing, May 26 (RHC)--Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has warned of the
dangers of what he termed the "law of the jungle" brought about by
globalization. Chavez was speaking in Beijing where he praised leaders for
working to expand relations between his country and China.
"We cannot let others impose unreasonable decisions on us," he said in a
press conference on the third day of a five-day visit to China. The
Venezuelan leader said that the process of globalization is controlled by
the law of the jungle, or the survival of the strongest, which history has
shown depends of the sacrifice of the weakest.
Chinese president Jiang Zemin, earlier spoke of an "unjust and irrational
international economic and political order" and lamented the ever-widening
gap between the world's rich and poor. Relations between China and Venezuela
have improved notably since Hugo Chavez took office in l999 and with the
visit to Venezuela of the Chinese president last month. Both nations condemn
US interference in their regions.
*CEMETERIES FULL AS SOUTH AFRICAN AIDS CRISIS DEEPENS
Johannesburg, May 26 (RHC)--According to reports by the South African
newspaper the Saturday Star, the cemeteries of Johannesburg are filled to
capacity with those who have died from AIDS. Some cemeteries have actually
been closed as they are unable to take in any more bodies for burial, says
the Star.
The HIV/AIDS situation is so bad in South Africa that it is estimated that a
full 20% of the population is now infected by the virus. This translated
into 120,000 deaths last year -- a figure that is expected to rise to
380,000 by 2005. Some 25 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are
HIV-positive.
South Africa, Brazil and Cuba recently signed joint agreements to produce
generic versions of AIDS drugs in a desperate attempt by Johannesburg to
care for those who are infected. Brazil's program in this regard is a model
for the Third World. Almost every person requiring drug therapy in Brazil is
now being treated. The decision by South Africa and Brazil to manufacture
their own HIV/AIDS drugs brought the multi-national pharmaceutical
corporations down on the heads of the two nations. However, bad publicity
and widespread international condemnation have combined to force the
pharmaceuticals into retreat and agree to sell HIV/AIDS related drugs at
cost to Africa.
In the meantime, the government is considering taking drastic action
requiring that bodies be buried on top of each other and that tombs be
recycled every 20 years.
*FMLN REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE TAIWANESE LEADER AS CHINESE HEAD OF STATE
Havana, May 26 (RHC)--The general coordinator of the Salvadoran FMLN
opposition party, Fabio Castillo, commented yesterday that his party did not
recognize the visiting leader of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian, as the president of
China.
In statements published by La Prensa Grafica newspaper Saturday, Castillo
said that Shui-bian represented a province of China and that, should the
FMLN win the elections in 2004, it would immediately establish relations
with Beijing. He added, however, that his country would be happy to maintain
good trade relations with Taiwan.
The comments were made during a state visit of the Taiwanese leader to El
Salvador where he has met with the presidents of Central American nations
and the Dominican Republic, all of whom recognize his status as "president"
and who support Taiwan's entry into the United Nations as a full member. The
Salvadoran president, Francisco Flores, received Chen Shui-bian with all the
honors accorded to a full head of state upon his arrival last Wednesday.
Taiwan business figures maintain important business interests in El
Salvador, where they run the majority of the sweatshops located in the
nation's free trade zones. They have been harshly criticized by workers'
rights activists as abusive and exploitative.
*MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT RETAKES NORTHERN REGION FROM ALBANIAN REBELS
Skopje, May 26 (RHC)--In the ongoing fighting that has dragged Macedonia
into the seemingly endless cycle of Balkan conflicts, Albanian rebels have
lost their control of the northern part of the country.
Macedonian government troops have intensified their push against the
Albanian Liberation Army, with the Interior Minister, Ljube Boskovski,
predicting that all towns previously taken by the Albanians would be soon be
back under Skopje's control. He said that helicopters, tanks and artillery,
previously avoided to reduce the risk of civilian casualties, had been used
in the most recent offensive against Albanian positions.
The zone of conflict is along the border with Yugoslavia in the region of
Kumanova, where Albanian rebels took control of some ten towns on May third.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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