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Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:04:08 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News Update-22 August 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 22 August 2001
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*BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN CUBA AS AN EMISSARY FOR EU
*IN CHILE, HUGO CHAVEZ STAUNCHLY DEFENSE CUBAN REVOLUTION
*CUBAN WOMEN MARK ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR ORGANIZATION
*SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN PANAMA DEMAND RELEASE OF MIAMI FIVE
*INDIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA
*COFFEE ROUTE PROJECT TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN CUBA
*WASHINGTON SETS DATE TO WITHDRAW FROM ABM TREATY
*DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL US GOVERNMENT'S KNOWLEDGE OF RUANDA GENOCIDE
*ALLEGED FSLN "SECRET GRAVE" IS REALLY ANCIENT INDIGENOUS BURIAL SITE
*US OWES $2.3 BILLION TO UNITED NATIONS
.
*BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN CUBA AS AN EMISSARY FOR EU
Havana, August 22 (RHC)--Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel has arrived
in Cuba for an official 3-day visit. Michel is in Cuba following a recent
visit to Brussels by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
Also currently occupying the presidency of the European Union's Council of
Ministers, Michel is accompanied by a delegation of EU officials. One of the
issues discussed during Perez Roque's recent visit to Belgium was Cuba's
participation in the accord between the EU and 70 African, Caribbean and
Pacific nations, the ACP.
Despite ACP support, Cuba last year withdrew its candidacy to participate in
the accord - which allows for low-tariff entry into the EU of ACP products.
Havana denounced the selective and discriminatory treatment received by some
EU member nations that question Cuba's political system.
While in Brussels, the Cuban Foreign Minister stated that one day Cuba hoped
to cease being the only Latin American nation that does not have a
cooperation accord with the European Union - but not at the cost of Cuba's
sovereignty and independence.
Perez Roque also noted that despite criticisms of its political system by
some EU members, almost 40 percent of Cuba's foreign trade is carried out
with EU nations, while more than half of the joint ventures that operate in
Cuba do so with EU capital.
*IN CHILE, HUGO CHAVEZ STAUNCHLY DEFENSE CUBAN REVOLUTION
Santiago de Chile, August 22 (RHC)--Wrapping up an official visit to Chile,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has again come out in defense of Cuba and
its system of government. During a press conference late Tuesday in Santiago
de Chile, Chavez said that any observer of the past half century of Cuban
history can find evidence of the Cuban peoples' support of their system and
their leader Fidel Castro.
He said it would be hard to believe that after so many battles for Cuba's
independence and dignity the Cuban people have become robots or a herd of
sheep. Answering a question concerning Cuba's exclusion from some regional
forums due to the alleged lack of democracy on the island, the Venezuelan
President called on Latin American leaders to take into consideration the
flaws of the so-called democratic systems in the region.
He said Cuba's exclusion from the Summit of the Americas wasn't democratic,
that he wasn't consulted. Chavez reiterated his call to hold a continental,
democratic referendum on Cuba's exclusion from some regional forums,
insisting that Latin American citizens should be able to freely decide.
Condemning Washington's blockade of Cuba, the Venezuelan President said the
United States - along with circles of power in Latin America - have done a
great deal of damage to the continent. He mentioned the tyrants that have
emerged in the region's history, pointing northwards to where they were
formed and trained at the US's School of the Americas.
Chavez also took another opportunity to criticize what he called the savage
and irrational free market globalization, calling it the road to hell that
destroys and excludes millions. The Venezuelan President noted that no one
has consulted Latin America's peoples concerning a Free Trade Agreement of
the Americas. He said that a survey in his country indicated that less than
5 percent of the population even knows what the FTAA is. That, he said,
isn't democracy.
*CUBAN WOMEN MARK ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR ORGANIZATION
Havana, August 22 (RHC)--Cuban women are marking the 41st anniversary of
their organization, the Federation of Cuban Women -the FMC- this Thursday
with a wide program of activities island wide.
Sources from the FMC said the organization has some 3 million 600 thousand
members, which represents 82 percent of all Cuban women over 14 years of
age. They noted that since its creation, on August 23rd 1961, the FMC has
contributed to the full incorporation of Cuban women into society. To
achieve this goal, the organization has implemented numerous programs to
train women, primarily housewives, in skills necessary either in their
future job or at home. Among the programs are the Orientation Centers for
Women and the Family, which offer a wide variety of courses, from teaching
women how to cook or sew to other specialized courses such as computers,
arts, literature and also sexual education.
The main rally to mark the FMC anniversary will be held in the central
province of Sancti Spiritus, which stands out for the good results.
According to the FMC other territories with outstanding results in terms of
the role that women play into society are the central province of Villa
Clara, where women represent 45 percent of the labor force, particularly
with their mass incorporation to agricultural work, and the eastern province
of Las Tunas where more than 65 000 women have joined the labor movement, a
record figure in the history of that area.
*SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN PANAMA DEMAND RELEASE OF MIAMI FIVE
Havana, August 22 (RHC)--Participants in the 2nd National Meeting of
Solidarity with Cuba in Panama demanded the immediate release and return to
Cuba of five nationals from the island unjustly charged and convicted in
Miami on false charges of supposedly threatening U.S. national security.
Sergio Corrieri, President of Cuba's Institute of Friendship with the
Peoples ICAP participated in the activity as a special guest.
The meeting's final declaration highlights the fact that the five Cubans
were not spying on U.S. military bases as previously charged, but rather had
infiltrated counter-revolutionary Cuban American groups in Miami to expose
the groups' terrorist plans against Cuba, which are launched with regularity
from U.S. soil with the tolerance and even the complicity of Washington.
The 2nd national solidarity with Cuba meeting, held on Tuesday in Panama
City, the Panamanian capital, was attended by workers, farmers, students,
indigenous leaders and family members of Panamanian youths who are currently
studying here in Cuba on scholarships granted by the island's authorities.
*INDIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA
Havana, August 22 (RHC)--The Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Ranyit Singh
Kalkha concluded a four-day official to Cuba on Wednesday with his
commitment to continue to work towards further strengthened bilateral
relations between our two nations.
On Monday, the distinguished visitor inaugurated an exhibition by Indian
artists at Cuba's Asia Center, marking the 54th anniversary of the
independence of the sister Asian nation. The exhibition includes 40 pieces
of the highest quality made out of wood and bronze as well as work on
canvas, representing India's ancient culture.
During his stay in Cuba, the Indian deputy foreign minister met with various
Cuban ministers and toured sites of economic, historical and social interest
in the provinces of Matanzas and Havana.
*COFFEE ROUTE PROJECT TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN CUBA
Santiago de Cuba, August 22 (RHC)--The ruins of more than 180
French-Haitian coffee processing plants, located in the Sierra Maestra
mountain range in eastern Cuba, will become a tourist site with the
implementation there of a project called the Coffee Route under the auspices
of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization -UNESCO.
Omar Lopez, an expert with the City Historian's Office in the eastern city
of Santiago de Cuba recalled similar projects implemented by UNESCO in other
countries with significant cultural and economic benefits for their people.
*WASHINGTON SETS DATE TO WITHDRAW FROM ABM TREATY
New York, August 22 (RHC)--The United States government has established
next November as a deadline for its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972
Antiballistic Missiles Treaty, according to today's edition of "The New York
Times." The news daily has quoted John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for
Weapons Control and International Security, currently holding talks with
Russian authorities in Moscow.
Bolton stated that Washington will renounce the ABM Treaty before Russian
President Vladimir Putin's visit to the United States this Fall. This is the
first time that the US government establishes a specific deadline for its
withdrawal from the treaty in order to pave the way for deployment of a
space-based anti-missile system.
On Tuesday, "The Washington Times" reported that the Pentagon has officially
decided to begin construction of a Star Wars test site in Alaska. Russia has
reportedly reacted with caution and a certain amount of resignation. Former
Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergueyev, currently acting as advisor to
President Vladimir Putin, recently admitted that the ABM Treaty contains
stipulations allowing either side to withdraw from the accord.
Russia and other nations, however, have warned that scrapping the treaty
will lead to another arms race and a proliferation of missile technology.
*DECLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS REVEAL US GOVERNMENT'S KNOWLEDGE OF RUANDA GENOCIDE
Washington, August 22 (RHC)--Documents declassified in Washington have
revealed that the US government knew of the pending, 1994 genocide in Ruanda
but nevertheless pushed for the withdrawal of United Nations peace-keeping
troops from the African country.
According to documents made public by the non-governmental organization
National Security Archives, then-Assistant Secretary of State for African
Affairs, Prudence Bushnell, called Secretary of State Warren Christopher
warning him that the Ruandan army wanted to take power and that there could
be violence.
Days later, when the genocide had begun, Bushnell called Ruandan army
Colonel Theoneste Bagosora to tell him that Washington was aware of the
army's role in the massacre of members of the Tutsi ethnic group. Bagosora
is currently awaiting trial by a United Nations court judging those charged
with crimes in Ruanda, while Bushnell is currently the US ambassador in
Guatemala.
The documents reportedly demonstrate that Washington tried to avoid
involvement in Ruanda following the death of US soldiers in Somalia. The US
State Department, according to the documents, engaged in debates on how to
avoid including the word genocide in the UN resolution on Ruanda.
In 1999, five years after the massacre of close to one million people,
former President Bill Clinton admitted that Washington did not immediately
recognize the crimes for their real name: genocide. Reacting to the
revelations, Ruanda's Foreign Ministry today stated that they are not new,
that other countries -- like France and Belgium -- also new of the pending
genocide.
*ALLEGED FSLN "SECRET GRAVE" IS REALLY ANCIENT INDIGENOUS BURIAL SITE
Managua, August 22 (RHC)--In Nicaragua, an alleged "secret grave"
containing the remains of victims of the Sandinista government has been
identified as an ancient indigenous burial site. Following the discovery of
a skeleton near a prison that operated during the first years following the
Sandinista triumph, Reinaldo Aguado claimed that while working as a guard in
the prison he witnessed the summary execution of political opponents.
Aguado, who has served jail sentences on a number of occasions for petty
crimes, is the director of the organization International Human Rights
Society -- which has persistently denounced alleged crimes committed by the
Sandinistas. The Sandinistas recently charged that the denunciation is part
of a slander campaign with political motivations leading up to next
November's elections.
Nicaraguan police closed the case, while forensic experts have turned over
the remains to the country's Institute of Culture. The remains are
considered an archeological patrimony since they are believed to date back
hundreds of years ago.
*US OWES $2.3 BILLION TO UNITED NATIONS
Washington's debt to the United Nations has surpassed 2 billion dollars,
according to a UN report released Tuesday evening. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard
asserted that of the US's $2.330 billion debt, $1.8 billion correspond to
peace-keeping operations around the world.
Even the payment of $582 million that the US Congress agreed to pay the
world body during the Bill Clinton administration has been blocked by the
House of Representatives. Conservative members of Congress are attempting to
blackmail the United Nations regarding the establishment of an International
Criminal Court, demanding that any and all US citizens be immune from
prosecution by the court.
Monday's edition of "The Washington Post" asserted that Washington wants to
govern the United Nations while rejecting compliance with its most
elementary obligations to the world body. The news daily noted that the US
government has used the UN Security Council in its policies against Iraq,
and has used UN humanitarian agencies to offer assistance in areas where
Washington has strategic interests.
According to "The Washington Post," the US government's repeated refusal to
meet its obligations with the world body is eroding the United States'
international credibility.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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