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Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 23:44:04 -0400 (EDT)
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Subject: [CubaNews] Delayed RHC News Report-25 Sept 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 25 September 2001
[report delayed by technical difficulties in Havana]
.
*CUBA TO DEVOTE $4 TO LAUNCH NEW EDUCATIONAL TV CHANNEL
*GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA CONTINUES OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA
*CUBANA AIRLINES BOMBING - 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE OBSERVED OCT 6
*INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL FEATURES NEW PLAYS, WORKSHOPS
*BUSH BACKPEDALS ON POWELL'S PROMISE TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE
*INDONESIA'S ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP WARNS US AGAINST BOMBING AFGHANISTAN
*WHAT ABOUT THE TERRORISTS HARBORED BY THE USA, ASKS SAUL LANDAU
*ATTACK ON US PROMPTS URGENT CALLS TO SOLVE ISRAELI-PALESTINE CONFLICT
*SAUDI ARABIA BREAKS RELATIONS WITH AFGHANISTAN'S TALIBAN
*US PLAN TO RESTRICT CIVIL LIBERTIES MEETS UNEXPECTED RESISTANCE
*COLOMBIA ANNOUNCES FOILED PLOT TO ASSASSINATE PASTRANA
*Viewpoint: DROWNING OUT THE WAR DRUMS WITH CALLS FOR PEACE
.
*CUBA TO DEVOTE $4 TO LAUNCH NEW EDUCATIONAL TV CHANNEL
Havana, September 25 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro has
announced major educational advances on the island, including the
news that a new television channel -- devoted exclusively to
educational programming -- will begin transmissions in the next few
weeks. The Cuban leader noted that the educational channel, including
new TV studios, cost nearly four million dollars. He said that
initial transmissions will reach viewers in Havana, the capital, as
well as residents in the surrounding Province of Havana. By January,
a similar educational/cultural TV channel will begin broadcasting in
Santiago de Cuba.
Speaking Monday evening at the inauguration of a training school for
primary school teachers in Caimito, located on the outskirts of
Havana, the leader of the Cuban Revolution pointed to the many
achievements made in the area of education over the past several
years. He said that it was truly marvellous to see all the incredible
things that the Cuban people have been able to accomplish in
educational, cultural and social programs.
Fidel Castro emphasized that the island's authorities hope to train
more teachers over the coming months in order to fill a deficit in
the Province of Havana -- with the aim of achieving the goal of
beginning the next school year with no more than 20 students per
classroom.
During the opening of the new training school in Caimito, the Cuban
leader said that in order to guarantee good quality education, it is
necessary to employ modern audio-visual techniques and programs. He
noted that 4000 students have now enrolled in the recently
inaugurated training schools for teachers. And he called on students
to be exemplary models, proud of the educational projects that are
being implemented in Cuba for the benefit of society.
*GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA CONTINUES OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA
Havana, September 25 (RHC)--The Governor General of Jamaica, Sir
Howard Cooke, arrived in Havana Monday afternoon to begin an official
three-day visit to the island. The Jamaican official was welcomed at
Jose Marti International Airport by Government Minister Ricardo
Cabrisas.
Speaking with reporters upon his arrival, Sir Howard Cooke said he
was looking forward to his visit, expressing a particular interest in
touring schools on the island. He noted that he has been extremely
impressed with the Cuban educational system. The distinguished
Jamaican visitor also praised the leaders of the Cuban Revolution --
expressing his appreciation for Cuba's assistance to the Third World,
especially the underdeveloped nations of the African continent.
For his part, Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas told
reporters that the visit of the Jamaican governor general will
greatly contribute to the ties of friendship between the two island
nations.
Shortly after his arrival in the Cuban capital, Sir Howard Cooke laid
a floral wreath at the foot of the monument to Jose Marti in Havana's
Plaza de la Revolucion.
*CUBANA AIRLINES BOMBING - 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE OBSERVED OCT 6
Panama City, September 25 (RHC)--Families of the victims of one of
the bloodiest terrorist actions against Cuba will commemorate the
25th anniversary of the event on October 6th in Panama City.
Organizers of the commemoration recalled that the mastermind of the
sabotage bombing -- Luis Posada Carriles -- is currently being held
in Panama for his role in planning the assassination of Cuban
President Fidel Castro last November. The sabotage bombing of a
Cubana airliner in flight -- killing all 73 passengers on board
-- took place on October 6, 1976.
Trade unions, student groups and Cuba solidarity organizations have
invited family members of the victims to take part in the
commemoration ceremony in Panama City.
*INTERNATIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL FEATURES NEW PLAYS, WORKSHOPS
Havana, September 25 (RHC)--Theater lovers are really enjoying
themselves these days, taking in a wide variety of presentations at
theaters throughout the Cuban capital. Havana's International Theater
Festival runs through this coming weekend.
One of the theater groups representing Cuba is "Korimacao," directed
by top Cuban actor Manuel Porto, which is presenting the play
entitled "El Vuelo del Quetzal."
Theater lovers are not only enjoying new plays during the festival,
but also other activities related to the world of the performing
arts. There are conferences, workshops and book launchings taking
place during this week's Theatre Festival in the Cuban capital.
*BUSH BACKPEDALS ON POWELL'S PROMISE TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE
Washington, September 25 (RHC)--US President George Bush has excluded
the possibility of making public in the short-term evidence
supposedly linking Osama Bin Laden to the September 11th terrorist
attacks. Last weekend, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the NBC
TV network that Washington would publicly present the evidence in the
near future, but Bush stated that revealing confidential information
would, in his words, make the war more difficult.
Controversy over the nature of such evidence comes amid a growing
global chorus calling for proof, as many leaders fear that
retaliation without a public show of evidence could trigger greater
Mideast violence. News correspondents in Europe and the Middle East
are reporting that even close allies like France and Germany want to
see more than circumstantial proof, according to independent defense
analyst in London Paul Beaver. The need for a thorough airing of
evidence is seen as most crucial in the Middle East, where
traditional US allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab
Emirates have called for an investigation preferably conducted under
an international umbrella - an idea the US has so far rejected.
*INDONESIA'S ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP WARNS US AGAINST BOMBING AFGHANISTAN
Jakarta, September 25 (RHC)--The highest religious authorities in
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, have called for a holy
war against the United States if Afghanistan is attacked. Jakarta's
Ulema has called the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington
D.C. "criminal" and expressed condolences to the victims, but
affirmed that an attack against Afghanistan would be a manifestation
of hostility and hate towards Islam and Muslims.
The religious leaders also condemned the wave of xenophobic attacks
against Muslims in the United States, Great Britain and Australia.
Several hundred Indonesians have reportedly signed a list of eventual
volunteers to fight alongside Taliban soldiers, distributed by
Indonesia's Islamic Youth Movement. Close to 30 thousand Indonesians
fought against the Soviet army in Afghanistan between the years 1979
and 1989. Of the country's 210 million inhabitants, almost 90 percent
practice the Muslim faith.
*WHAT ABOUT THE TERRORISTS HARBORED BY THE USA, ASKS SAUL LANDAU
September 25 (RHC)--US academic and writer Saul Landau has asked, as
US leaders warn countries that harbor terrorists, who will warn US
leaders about harbouring terrorists in the United States. In an
article posted Monday on the Internet, entitled "Harboring
Terrorists: Our Own List Is Long," Landau noted that President George
Bush's anti-Castro Cuban friends in Miami lobbied successfully to
free Cuban-American terrorists Virgilio Paz and Jose Dionisio Suarez,
convicted of the 1976 Washington D.C. car bomb assassination of
exiled Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier.
He said they began walking the streets along with Michael Townley,
the bomber in chief for Chile's dictatorship secret police, also
convicted in the crime but now enjoying US protection from
extradition for his other terrorist attacks - including the 1974 car
bomb murder in Argentina of dissident Chilean army General Carlos
Prats.
Landau wrote that Cuban-American Orlando Bosch, who boasted about his
role in bombing a Cuban commercial airliner over Barbados with 73
people on board, enjoys his Florida retirement thanks to President
Bush the first, who welcomed this terrorist into the United States
from Venezuela where he faced charges for the crime. He noted that
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North gleefully hired Luis Posada Carriles,
Bosch's cohort in the airplane bombing and subsequently the organizer
of the bombings of Cuba's tourist spots in the 1990s.
Landau said high-ranking US officials like Eliot Abrams, who holds
the Latin America portfolio at the National Security Council, had
regular and friendly dealings with people who mined Nicaragua's
harbors and plotted bombings and assassinations.
*ATTACK ON US PROMPTS URGENT CALLS TO SOLVE ISRAELI-PALESTINE CONFLICT
Berlin, Riyadh, September 25 (RHC)--The terrorist attacks against the
United States are sparking growing clamor for a solution to the
conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The issue was one of
those topping the agenda of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and
Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday during their visit to
Germany and talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Mubarak said that without a solution to the Palestinian question
there can be no world stability and no nation will be safe from
terrorism. Saudi Arabia Tuesday called on President George Bush to
change its policies in the Mideast region. Hereditary Saudi Prince
Abdul Bin Adbul Aziz said Washington should press for a total and
just peace in the region.
Statements Tuesday by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw blaming
the Israelis for the current situation in the Middle East almost
aborted his planned gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon. Straw said one of the factors behind the terrorist attacks in
New York and Washington D.C. is the anger and rage of the people of
Palestine.
*SAUDI ARABIA BREAKS RELATIONS WITH AFGHANISTAN'S TALIBAN
Riyadh, September 25 (RHC)--Saudi Arabia has broken diplomatic
relations with Afghanistan's Taliban regime, following in the
footsteps of the United Arab Emirates - two of the only three
countries that recognized authorities in Kabul. Saudi Arabia's
economic aid to the Taliban was pivotal in the establishment of their
fundamentalist regime in late 1996.
Riyadh has insisted, however, that its citizens have no connection
with Saudi fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden was expelled
from Saudi Arabia in 1994 after insulting and threatening the Saudi
royal family for allowing US troops into the country. The third
country, Pakistan, has insisted that it will not break relations with
its neighbor. Islamabad also provided immense material support in the
Taliban's war against moderate Islamic forces in Afghanistan.
*US PLAN TO RESTRICT CIVIL LIBERTIES MEETS UNEXPECTED RESISTANCE
Washington, September 25 (RHC)--US Attorney General John Ashcroft is
coming up against stiff congressional opposition to his proposed
anti-terrorism measures seen by many as unconstitutional. Ashcroft
again attempted to defend the measures Monday before the House
Judiciary Committee, but both Democrats and Republicans expressed
their skepticism concerning proposals that infringe on privacy and
individual liberties.
Committee chair James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, told
Ashcroft that his initiative must not be used against the freedom of
innocent citizens. The highest ranking Democrat on the Committee,
Representative John Conyers from Georgia, said the measures contain
many clauses that seem to be unconstitutional, including the
indefinite detention of immigrants.
Conyers said there is also concern about the disposition that would
allow the Justice Department to use in federal courts telephone
conversations illegally taped in foreign countries. Civil rights
organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union have expressed
concern over the proposed right of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to deport foreigners suspected of ties with terrorism while
denying them any right to a hearing.
Controversy over the measures has delayed their approval, which the
Justice Department had reportedly hoped to obtain this past weekend.
Ashcroft was slated to appear Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
*COLOMBIA ANNOUNCES FOILED PLOT TO ASSASSINATE PASTRANA
Bogot�, September 25 (RHC)--Colombia's secret service Monday
announced that it had thwarted an assassination plot against
President Andres Pastrana involving right wing paramilitaries.
Intelligence chief Colonel German Jaramillo said the attempt to kill
Pastrana was to have taken place last August 8th in Bogot�, the
capital, or in the city of Armenia, where the Colombian President was
planning to visit in late July.
Jaramillo said revelations from an informant led to the discovery of
the residence where the plot was being organized and a subsequent
police raid on August 4th that resulted in a gun battle and
eventually led to the arrest last weekend of several important
paramilitary leaders. The revelation comes as the paramilitaries warn
Pastrana to refrain from prolonging the demilitarization of a vast
area in southern Colombia for peace talks with leftist guerrillas.
That decision will have to be made by next October 9th. Meanwhile, a
group of personalities designated by Pastrana to give support to the
rebel-government peace process has called on the government to treat
right-wing paramilitaries in the same way as drug lords from the
Medellin Cartel were treated 10 years ago.
The Committee of Personalities was set up last February during a
face-to-face gathering between Pastrana and rebel leader Manuel
Marulanda. It was asked to elaborate recommendations in the fight
against right-wing paramilitaries, an issue that has stalemated peace
talks on several occasions with leftist rebels accusing authorities
of not doing enough to pursue and bring the death squads to justice.
*Viewpoint: DROWNING OUT THE WAR DRUMS WITH CALLS FOR PEACE
As Washington intensifies its calls for revenge, peace has become a
dirty word - a dangerous concept and an insult to the traumatized
public. At least that is what some would have us believe.
Among the most recurrent sounds in the history of humanity are the
drums of war. Perhaps because we have heard the sound so often, we
are unable to perceive the full horror concealed in the beat. Or
perhaps the blaring strains of martial music drown out the cries of
the victims.
In this difficult and emotional time many media outlets, some to sell
the news and others intentionally sowing racist, hawkish ideas, are
participating in an international campaign to convince the world that
not only is war inevitable, it is just. In order to do so it is
necessary to convince people that the true root of the problem lies
in some "other" place.
As Cuba's president, Fidel Castro noted last Saturday, the basis, the
conception, the true purposes, the spirit and the conditions for a
war that could turn into an endless massacre of innocent people, have
been hastily established in the past few days.
The Cuban president warned that the most extreme ideologues and the
most belligerent hawks, who are now installed in positions of power,
have taken advantage of the shock and the sorrow felt by all the
peoples on earth to convoke a war in which the use of all types of
weapons has already been announced. And the wagers of this new war
have admitted that they themselves are ignorant of just what course
it will take.
Once again the leaders of the United States are announcing to the
world that the ends justify any means. Faced with the declaration of
war that Washington is claiming to make in the name of all humanity,
Cuba has firmly declared its position: it is against terrorism and
against war. Cuba will not allow itself to be dragged into the
conflict nor will it ever allow its territory to be used to organize
terrorist activities.
Let there be no doubt that the drums of the first imperial war of the
new millennium will not sound in Cuba and whatever the island can do
to prevent war will be done in the name of those who have already
died and of those who are sure to fall in the future.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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