From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 23:23:14 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News Update-14 August 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 14 August 2001
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*LATIN AMERICA MUST INTEGRATE, OR IT WILL BE DISINTEGRATED - FIDEL
*GOVERNMENT AIMS TO HELP CUBANS IMPROVE THEIR DIETS
*GERMAN FESTIVAL SEEN AS VERY IMPORTANT FOR CUBAN MUSIC INDUSTRY
*UN COMMITTEE ON DISCRIMINATION REPORT HIGHLY CRITICAL OF USA
*ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE EFFORTS TO SILENCE THEM
*ARGENTINA: THIRD WAVE OF ECONOMIC PROTEST BEGINS
*ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER ACCUSED OF MONEY-LAUNDERING AND TREASON
*Viewpoint: ALEMAN AND FLORES - TWO MASTERS OF DENIAL
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*LATIN AMERICA MUST INTEGRATE, OR IT WILL BE DISINTEGRATED - FIDEL
Caracas, August 14 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro asserted in Venezuela
on Monday that Latin America must integrate, or it will be disintegrated.
Fidel was speaking at the inauguration of a joint Venezuela-Brazil
electricity project, the Cuban leader's last activity before wrapping up his
3-day visit.
Expressing admiration for the joint project in the presence of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso,
President Castro suggested that these two Latin American giants could also
join forces in the production of soya to provide milk for those who don't
have it. He said the region has lost two centuries and does not have another
minute to lose.
Chavez and Cardoso issued a joint statement, reiterating their commitment to
contribute to the consolidation of a harmonious and equitable regional
integration process in South America. Brazil, with a serious energy crisis,
will now be supplied with Venezuelan electricity in the north of the country
as part of a 1997 agreement.
Chavez admitted to the numerous obstacles that had to be overcome to
complete the project 2 years late, including the opposition of indigenous
groups. The Venezuelan leader said he had to personally speak with
indigenous leaders, agreeing to an additional $100 million investment to
minimize the electricity project's environmental impact.
Cuban President Fidel Castro said his visit to the land of 19th century
Latin American independence leader Simon Bolivar was like being reborn. He
returned home late Monday evening.
*GOVERNMENT AIMS TO HELP CUBANS IMPROVE THEIR DIETS
Havana, August 14 (RHC)--Health authorities here are aiming to improve the
nation's diet in a five-year program. In an ongoing effort to improve the
health of the population as a whole, the Cuban authorities have decided that
as of September, the monthly subsidized food quota provided to every citizen
will substitute a quarter-liter of cooking oil for one pound of the sugar
allowance.
The news is likely to be welcomed by Cubans, who often complain that their
monthly allowance of oil is not sufficient for their needs, whereas everyone
on the island has ample amounts of sugar, which as the second largest source
of income for the country, is plentiful.
Recent studies have reported an increase in the number of Cubans suffering
from diabetes as a result of their high sugar intake; the incidence of
diabetes on the island is now 19 cases per 1,000 people.
Jorge Blanco from the Institution on Nutrition, Hygiene and Food, says that
the traditional Cuban diet is rich in sugar and fat, which contributes to
diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and obesity.
In related news, Cuba's daily Granma reports a 14% increase in the sale of
fresh fruit and vegetables in the markets of Havana, an indication that
Cuban's are beginning to follow healthier diets.
Quoting Jos� Manuel Mart�nez, national director of the Cuban Union of
Storage Enterprises, Granma reports that there are 124 fresh produce outlets
within Havana city limits which have government price controls to keep food
affordable for the population and to serve as a competitive arm with which
to keep prices reasonable at the private farmer's markets.
In fact, said Mart�nez, prices have actually fallen over the same period
last year. Mangos, for instance, are 60% cheaper in the state markets than
in the farmer's markets. However, quality is an issue, as Ministry of
Agriculture farms lack the resources to get the food out to market in a
timely manner.
One of the highest-priced farmer's markets in Havana is at the intersection
of 42nd and 19th Streets. Just five blocks away is a much cheaper state
maket. However, the quality of the farmer's market vegetable produce is far
superior to that available at the price-controlled state market. Fruit in
farmer's markets is 30-40% more costly and there is not so much difference
in quality, say shoppers.
The increase in fresh food consumption is in response to government efforts
to improve the diets of Cubans who live on a more-or-less "meat and
potatoes" diet. Breaking this tradition has taken time, but Cubans are
increasingly more willing to consume more fruits and vegetables, and less
meat.
*GERMAN FESTIVAL SEEN AS VERY IMPORTANT FOR CUBAN MUSIC INDUSTRY
Havana, August 14 (RHC)--The international "PopKomm" festival, which begins
tomorrow in Cologne, Germany, will include an important Cuban element,
Granma reports, adding that the festival is a vital forum for Cuba's music
industry.
In an article publlished on Tuesday, Granma's music critic Pedro de la Hoz
said that "PopKomm" is the most important music and entertainment industry
festival in the world. The festival's president, Ulli Grossmass, said that
when it comes to music, no one can ignore Cuba and the high professionalism
of its musicians, one of whom, Issac Delgado, will be promoting his new
disk, "Malec�n."
This is the second time that Cuba has participated in the festival.
*UN COMMITTEE ON DISCRIMINATION REPORT HIGHLY CRITICAL OF USA
Geneva, August 14 (RHC)--A United Nations agency in Geneva has expressed
deep concern over the United States' record of racial discrimination. In a
3-page preliminary conclusion published Tuesday by the UN Committee on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 18 independent experts
termed as disturbing the relationship between race and the application of
the death penalty -- particularly in the US states of Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The preliminary conclusions come two weeks after Washington presented to the
UN agency its first report on efforts to fight racial discrimination, a
report severely questioned by committee members and strongly criticized by
human rights and justice organizations such as the Center for Constitutional
Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Urban Justice Center.
The UN committee placed on record its concern over the highly
disproportionate percentage of ethnic minorities on death row, the
disadvantaged position of ethnic minorities in education, housing, jobs and
access to private and public health, as well as police brutality.
It was not until 1994 that the United States, one of several countries under
the scrutiny of the UN agency, signed the UN Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The UN committee's final report will
be issued next weekend.
*ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE EFFORTS TO SILENCE THEM
Washington, August 14 (RHC)--Anti-globalization activists in the United
States have denounced the restrictions imposed on freedom of expression
during the upcoming annual gathering of the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund in Washington DC. At a press conference Monday in the US
capital, the organizations Partnership for Civil Justice and International
Action Center announced that they will take their case to federal court.
Brian Becker from the International Action Center said the protests planned
for September 29 and 30 in Washington DC will be a public battle for freedom
of expression, insisting that the police have no right to convert the center
of the US capital into the private property of international financial
institutions.
With some 50,000 activists expected to converge on the US capital,
Washington DC police are planning to seal off immense sections of the city.
Matt Smucker, of the group Mobilization for Global Justice, recalled that
during the IMF/WB gathering in April of last year, judicial authorities were
unable to bring charges against the hundreds of activists arrested.
During the press conference, the activists termed the decision of the two
institutions to reduce their gathering from 5 to 2 days and to hold it in
their respective headquarters instead of in a centric hotel as a victory for
their movement. Chuck Kaufman, of the Latin American Solidarity Conference,
said the move is a clear indication of the growing strength of the worldwide
movement against capitalist globalization.
Cherrene Hozaruk, of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El
Salvador, stated that the representatives of international banks and
corporations, among them US President George Bush, can only hold their
gatherings in excluded fortresses aimed at silencing the voices of those
demanding justice.
*ARGENTINA: THIRD WAVE OF ECONOMIC PROTEST BEGINS
Buenos Aires, August 14 (RHC)--The protest movement in Argentina has begun
its third nationwide mobilization in three weeks, amid the country's
desperate efforts to obtain more money from the International Monetary Fund.
Following a 24-hour mobilization two weeks ago and 48-hour protest last
week, organizations of Argentina's unemployed, pensioners, students,
teachers and numerous other sectors began road blockages, work stoppages and
protest marches throughout the country. This protest is slated to last 76
hours.
The new mobilization comes as some observers are casting doubt on the
international community's willingness to again bail Argentina out following
statements Monday by US President George Bush. At his Texas ranch, where
he's on vacation, Bush did not respond to a clear and concise question
concerning his support for additional loans for Argentina.
Instead, he urged Argentina to implement the draconian economic shock
program that has led to the past three weeks of protests. In what some
analysts called a washing of the White House's hands in the matter, Bush
added that Spain has more at stake than even the United States in
Argentina's financial crisis. Argentinean financial markets reacted
negatively today.
*ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER ACCUSED OF MONEY-LAUNDERING AND TREASON
Buenos Aires, August 14 (RHC)--A journalist and attorney in Argentina has
filed criminal charges against Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo, accusing
him of money-laundering and treason in connection with his offshore bank
account in the Bahamas. Revelations of the $700,000 bank account came last
Friday in the parliamentary commission report on government corruption. The
report has been called a bombshell for Argentina's ruling circles.
Cavallo has admitted to existence of the bank account. He claims it was
opened because he feared judicial persecution when he was economy minister
for the former Carlos Menem administration between 1991 and 1996.
Argentine journalist and attorney Hector Yemmi has also called on a federal
court to investigate whether or not Cavallo benefited from a foreign debt
exchange operation, in which the government had to pay $155 million in
commissions to the banks involved.
The complaint was filed in the federal court presided over by Judge Jorge
Urso, who is investigating former President Carlos Menem, who is currently
under house arrest, for illegal weapons sales to Croatia and Ecuador.
Cavallo's name is often mentioned in the weapons-trafficking scandal, though
he has yet to be questioned.
*Viewpoint: ALEMAN AND FLORES - TWO MASTERS OF DENIAL
Closely following statements by Nicaragua's president, Arnoldo Alem�n, that
hunger didn't exist in his nation and that it was all a Sandinista plot
anyway, is the equally remarkable reaction to his country's crisis by the
president of El Salvador, Francisco Flores.
In a similar denial mode, Flores has decided to call a mild alert to
confront El Salvador's current predicament in which more than 100,000 people
face starvation after a dry season that has destroyed crops in 65
municipalities in the eastern part of the nation.
Although the rains have finally begun to fall, their arrival is too late for
many and a low-key alert plays down the disaster happening outside the
cities. By not declaring a national emergency, Flores is negating the
possibility of requesting international aid and assistance. Even politicians
allied with the government have criticized this decision, which will further
victimize those who have suffered so much already.
As with Alem�n, Flores is concerned about his international image. Admitting
that there is mass hunger on their watche is simply not acceptable for
either of them. In Flores' opinion, El Salvador's economy is rolling along
very nicely, in spite of some devastating earthquakes earlier this year and
that annoying drought. Although he is predicting a 3% increase in GDP this
year, experts all agree it will be lower than 2%.
Parliament member Roberto Lorenzana goes so far as to say that Flores seems
to have completely lost it. The economist Francisco Lazo has warned that the
earthquakes, the drought and the dollarization of the nation's currency have
drastically affected economic growth in El Savador. According to the United
Nations, fully 50% of the country's 6.3 million inhabitants live below the
poverty line.
As Nero fiddled while Rome burned, so Arnoldo Alem�n went Christmas shopping
in the department stores of Miami while his people retrieved their dead in
the wake of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Francisco Flores' inability to see
beyond his own image and show real concern for the predicament of his people
seems to point to a desire to join his colleague in self-congratulatory song
to drown out all those thousands pretending to be hungry.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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