From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 21:20:39 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News Update-30 July 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 30 July 2001
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*PEREZ ROQUE RETURNS FROM TOLDEO'S INAUGURATION IN PERU
*CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSIONS HOLD PREPARATORY SESSIONS THIS WEEK
*SECOND US-CUBA STUDENT MEETING CONCLUDES IN HAVANA
*INTERNATIONAL DAY TO COMMEMORATE SLAVE TRADE ABOLITION
*CUBAN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD IN HAVANA CEMETERY
*ITALY'S INVESTIGATION IN GENOA REVEALS GROSS POLICE BRUTALITY
*UN COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WARNS CONFERENCE ON RACISM IN JEOPARDY
*VIEQUES: AN OVERWHELMING VOTE TO KICK THE NAVY OUT
Viewpoint:
*GUATEMALANS STUDYING MEDICINE IN CUBA TO HELP CUBAN DOCTORS IN GUATEMALA
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*PEREZ ROQUE RETURNS FROM TOLDEO'S INAUGURATION IN PERU
Havana, July 30 (RHC)--Upon returning home after attending the inauguration
of Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez
Roque said that both Havana and Lima have expressed a desire to continue
strengthening bilateral relations. Perez Roque also took the opporunity to
thank Peruvian Foreign Minister Diego Garcia for not joining the anti-Cuba
campaign at the United Nations Human Rights Commission last April.
Regional media coverage has highlighted the speech delivered by the first
member of a Latin American indigenous group to assume a presidency. Toledo
called for an immediate freeze on the purchase of weapons on the continent
and challenged the region's leaders to instead invest those funds in
education and the war against poverty. News dailies in Peru and abroad also
took note of Peru's critical socio-economic situation, comparing the country
to Argentina.
*CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSIONS HOLD PREPARATORY SESSIONS THIS WEEK
Havana, July 30 (RHC)--The Cuban National Assembly commission began
preparatory meetings today, prior to the summer general session which opens
on August 3. The first commissions to meet will be those overseeing
Constitutional and Judicial matters, as well as Public Utilities.
The country's legal system will be reviewed today with a focus on courtroom
procedures and the state prosecution office. The new Social Workers School
will also be examined along with university law courses.
Tomorrow, commissions will be studying the quality of the nation's
transportation and communications systems. Commissions dedicated to issues
associated with Education, Culture, Science and Technology will review
ideological matters, the development of cultural programs in Cuba and the
level of education provided to the most vulnerable sectors of the
population.
The commissions on Economics, Health, Sports, and the Environment will
analyze the nation's health programs and issues surrounding AIDS, including
Cuba's proposal to the United Nations to assist Africa in its fight against
the virus, national sports strategies for the 2004 Athens Olympics and the
implementation of the State Budget voted earlier this year.
Other commissions meetings this week are those dealing with International
Relations, National Defense, Local Organizations, Agricultural Production,
Youth and Children, and Women's Rights. All commissions will report their
findings to the full session of the National Assembly when it meets at the
end of the week.
*SECOND US-CUBA STUDENT MEETING CONCLUDES IN HAVANA
Havana, July 30 (RHC)--Representatives from more than 20 U.S. universities
are in Havana for the second meeting between students from Cuba and the US.
Their conference will concludes today.
The 180 US students were addressed by the First Secretary of Cuba's Young
Communist League, Otto Rivera Torres, who expressed his thanks for the
presence of many of the students at the July 26th march past the US
Interests Section in Havana demanding the return of five Cuban political
prisoners jailed in Florida.
Rivera spoke of the advances made in education in Cuba, mentioning the
recent network of solar-powered schoolrooms provided with TVs and videos,
the nationally televised University for All syllabus, and the computer youth
clubs set up across the island to ensure a computer-literate youth.
Earlier, Hassan P�rez, the president of the Cuban Federation of University
Students, declared that in spite of technological advances, humankind had
been unable to come up with parallel advances in social justice. He stressed
Cuba's continued desire to improve the human condition by sending out more
and more doctors to the remotest and poorest areas of the world to provide
care and attention to the most disadvantaged on the planet.
Members of the US student delegation have stated that Cuba represents hope
for humanity and an improved lot for all. Michael Martinez, who comes from
Miami, said that he had learned much during his one-week stay, and pledged
to work hard with fellow students in the US to end Washington's economic
blockade of the island and to gain the release of the imprisoned Cubans.
*INTERNATIONAL DAY TO COMMEMORATE SLAVE TRADE ABOLITION
Havana, July 30 (RHC)--In a commemoration named the International Day in
Memory of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, scheduled for August 23, Cuba
will honor its important African roots and the multiracial nature of its
culture. The date was chosen two years ago by UNESCO to give permament
recognition to a period in history that had such huge repercussions across
the globe.
Ceremonies marking four centuries of slavery, the tremendous effect slavery
had on the African continent and its racial and social consequences in
today's Cuba, will take place in Havana and other parts of the island;
studies of the human cost of slavery and the religious history of the island
will also be presented.
The day will also be used to focus on the cultural benefits attached to
today's connection with Africa and steps needed to eradicate racial
prejudice.
The Cuban Fernando Ortiz Foundation will present a program entitled The
Slave Route, which will explore every aspect of the slave trade from Africa
to the Americas. The program is sponsored by UNESCO.
Another focus will be on Carlos Manuel de C�spedes, who freed the slaves on
his plantation on October 10, 1868. The date is considered to be the start
of Cuba's first War of Independence and C�spedes is today referred to as the
Father of the Nation for his act.
*CUBAN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD IN HAVANA CEMETERY
Camaguey, July 30 (RHC)--In what is probably the first time a high school
graduation ceremony has taken place in a cemetery, at least in Cuba, the
city of Camaguey's Luis Casas Romero Vocational Art School, named after the
famous Cuban independence fighter and composer, honored its namesake by
traveling to Havana to carry out the ceremony at his grave.
The 47 graduates of the class of 2000-2001 gathered around the tomb of Casas
in the capital's main cemetery, the second largest in the Americas, to
receive their diplomas and to listen to the choir of the Cuban Institute of
Radio and Television sing one of Casas' boleros, "Si Llego a Besarte" ("If I
Come to Kiss You.") Casas founded the very first Cuban radio station in
1922.
One of the maestro's daughters, Mar�a Luisa, was on hand to present the
diplomas. She reminded those present of her father's words: "Life will not
be productive or meaningful without taking into account the responsibilities
one's own existence imposes." Some of the students provided their own
entertainment by interpreting Luis Casas Romero's works. Abel Rodr�guez
Garc�a played "El Mamb�" on the violin, and students Lourdes River�n and
Lourdes Hern�ndez played Casas' "Magic Flute."
The school's choir then sang their own hymn in a moving closure to what all
present reported to be a remarkable graduation ceremony.
*ITALY'S INVESTIGATION IN GENOA REVEALS GROSS POLICE BRUTALITY
Rome, July 30 (RHC)--Judicial authorities in Italy have decided to bring
charges against an undetermined number of police officers as their
investigations confirm excessive brutality against anti-globalization
protesters during the G-8 Summit in Genoa.
Local have revealed some conclusions of a judicial investigation into the
police raid of a school that was headquarters for representatives of some
800 anti-globalization groups, during which police beat demonstrators who
offered no resistance and destroyed computers and furniture.
According to the investigators, more than ten officers had to be removed
from the operation by their superiors due to their violent behavior. The
investigation revealed that almost all the 243 young protesters who were
arrested and later interrogated by judges had bruises, stitches, casts on
legs and arms and other injuries.
Besides the police raid, authorities are also investigating denunciations of
torture in one of the police stations where protesters were held. Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that any wrong-doing will be punished,
while reiterating his support of the police action during the summit.
*UN COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WARNS CONFERENCE ON RACISM IN JEOPARDY
Geneva, July 30 (RHC)--United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Mary Robinson, warned today that the upcoming UN Conference on Racism is on
the brink of failure. Opening a gathering in Geneva to consider the final
declaration and program of action to be adopted at the conference, Robinson
called on participating delegations to be realistic. The conference is
slated to begin on August 31 in Durban, South Africa.
Robinson repated her view that the effort of Arab nations to equate Zionism
with racism will abort the conference.
The UN official was more comprehensive, however, concerning the issue of
reparations for those African countries and peoples who were victims of the
slave trade for 300 years. She characterized the need to debate this issue
and to admit to the errors of the past as "crucial."
Last Friday, the US government reiterated its intention to boycott the
Durban conference if reparations and Zionism are included in the agenda.
*VIEQUES: AN OVERWHELMING VOTE TO KICK THE NAVY OUT
San Juan, July 30 (RHC)--Residents of the Puerto Rican island municipality
of Vieques have overwhelmingly voted in favor of an immediate halt to US
military exercises on the island. Sixty-eight percent of the population
called for the US Navy's immediate withdrawal and decontamination of the
target practice range used for the last 60 years.
Though the referendum is not legally binding on Washington, Puerto Rican
Governor Sila Maria Calderon declared that the voice of Vieques must be
heard, and announced that a media campaign on the vote was a distinct
possibility.
New York Congressional Representative Jose Serrano also urged the George
Bush administration to take heed of the referendum,
More than 80% of Vieques residents participated in the plebiscite, which is
considered a high turn-out. Despite the vote, the US Navy has delclared its
intention to continue the bombing.
.
Viewpoint:
*GUATEMALANS STUDYING MEDICINE IN CUBA TO HELP CUBAN DOCTORS IN GUATEMALA
After nearly a year studying medicine in Havana, Guatemalan scholarship
students have headed home for a hard-earned vacation. But these students in
Havana's Latin American Medical School will do much more than simply enjoy
being home with their families and loved ones; they will participate in an
exciting project starting today, July 30.
For two weeks these young Guatemalans will visit medical posts in the
country's most remote areas which are staffed by Cuban medical personnel,
and will work as their assistants.
They will also use some precious time in their homeland to work in
communities where Cubans are volunteering. There, the Guatemalan medical
students will make a general diagnosis of the local population's state of
health, their labor and other problems; in short, everything necessary to
give a clear picture of how Guatemalans live in those communities.
The aim of the program is to pay back Cuba's generosity with a humanitarian
act directed at Guatemala's disenfranchised. It is also a clear signal that
these idealistic young people will make good on their pledge that upon
graduation from medical school in Cuba, they use their newly gained
knowledge in their communities where they will take the places of Cuban
doctors, nurses and technicians who are currently volunteering, helping to
transform the communities in which they work.
We say "transforming communities" because, thanks to Cuban internationalists
there are thousands of Guatemalans, just as there are other Central
Americans, Haitians and Africans, who for the first time are receiving
medical attention, hygiene, vaccines and affection, which has made a
qualitative change in their lives.
Just four years from now, there will be young Guatemalan doctors, trained in
Cuba, taking charge of this task in their country. The most wonderful part
of this summer project is that it is an initiative that arose from the
students themselves, supported by both Cuban and Guatemalan health
institutions. The project would have been implemented 18 months ago, but a
tragic plane crash in December, 1999 forced the postponement of the plan.
Some 300 young women and men will return to Cuba at the end of August to
continue their studies, fortified and more convinced than ever of the just
cause they are working for. They will also bring with them the invaluable
experience gained from volunteering their services to those most in need.
Others will follow in their footsteps, and others in theirs. These young
medical students are sowing a garden of love and solidarity that has taken
root; with care and affection, it will continue to grow.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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