From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 05:28:50 -0400
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Radio Havana Cuba-25 October 2001
Radio Havana Cuba-25 October 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 25 October 2001
.
*FIDEL CASTRO INAUGURATES ANOTHER TRAINING SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
*PRESIDENT OF THE COOPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA ARRIVES IN HAVANA
*MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS UNDERWAY
*CUBA RECALLS 18th ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF GRENADA
*UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SAYS US AND BRITISH LEADERS
WILL ONE DAY FACE JUDGMENT CONCERNING EVENTS IN AFGHANISTAN
*PENTAGON NOW SAYS CAPTURE OR ELIMINATION OF OSAMA BIN LADEN UNLIKELY
*TOP US MILITARY BRASS SURPRISED BY TENACITY OF TALIBAN COMBATANTS
*FRANCE ISSUES STINGING INDICTMENT OF ISRAEL'S VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL
HUMANITARIAN LAW IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
*EXPERTS SAY ANTHRAX ATTACKS COULD BE THE WORK OF AMERICAN TERRORISTS
*Viewpoint: WHILE PALESTINIAN BLOOD IS SPILLED DAILY,
ISRAELI TERRORISM CONTINUES WITH IMPUNITY
.
*FIDEL CASTRO INAUGURATES ANOTHER TRAINING SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
Santiago de Cuba, October 25 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro
inaugurated another training school for social workers Wednesday
evening, this time in Santiago de Cuba. The school -- which takes the
name of revolutionary leader Frank Pais -- is the fourth such school
to open in the country. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony last
night, the Cuban leader praised the construction workers who built
the facility in record time: less than six months. He noted that just
before his speech, he toured the campus -- which consists of 16
buildings with classrooms, two dormitories, a kitchen and dining
area, computer labs and other educational facilities.
The leader of the Cuban Revolution also had words of praise for the
nearly 2000 students who will study at the training school -- calling
them "soldiers of the new army we are creating." He said that one of
the most humane and fulfilling careers for young people is to help
others. And he highlighted the important tasks that social workers
have in today's world, emphasizing that Cuba is working to create a
society that is 100 percent equitable -- beginning with equal
opportunities for all children.
Fidel Castro affirmed that the island would go forward with its
socialist program, despite the serious international situation. He
said that Cuba is perhaps the country best prepared to face the
present difficulties, because of the island's experience and
resistance for more than 40 years. The Cuban president stated that
while progress could be slowed by the events that are affecting the
entire world, "it will not stop us for even one second." Fidel Castro
emphasized that, in fact, Cuba will respond to new international
challenges by multiplying its efforts to build a just society.
*PRESIDENT OF THE COOPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA ARRIVES IN HAVANA
Havana, October 25 (RHC)-- The President of the Cooperative Republic
of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, arrived in Havana Thursday afternoon to
begin an official visit to Cuba. Accompanying the Guyanese president
is an important delegation of government leaders. This is the
Guyanese president's first official visit to the island, during which
he will meet with his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro, and other
high-ranking leaders.
Diplomatic relations between Havana and Georgetown were established
in December 1972. Bilateral cooperation between the two countries has
long centered on the areas of health and education. A Cuban medical
brigade has worked in Guyana for more than 20 years and more than 240
Guyanese students have studied on the island. According to Prensa
Latina News Agency, this visit represents a new step in strengthening
the historic and traditional ties of friendship and cooperation
between Guyana and Cuba.
*MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS UNDERWAY
Havana, October 25 (RHC)-- Equal access to health care for all is
one of the topics of discussion during a meeting of Ibero-American
Health Ministers that got underway in Havana on Thursday. The two-day
ministerial meeting is part of activities to prepare for the upcoming
Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, slated for
next month in Lima.
According to Antonio Gonzalez, Director of International Relations of
the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, participants at the ministerial
meeting will discuss universal health care coverage and evaluate the
impact of regional health care programs. Gonzalez stated that Cuba
will make a special presentation regarding the importance of
governments assuming responsibility for developing health care
systems. He said that Cuba strongly believes that the State should
assume this responsibility to its people, despite neo-liberal
economic models that are privatizing many areas throughout the
region.
Among those attending the ministerial meeting in Havana are the
health ministers of Peru, Chile, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic,
Panama, Ecuador, Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala and
Honduras. The Haitian minister of health is also attending the
meeting as a special invited guest.
*CUBA RECALLS 18th ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF GRENADA
Havana, October 25 (RHC)-- Today marks the 18th anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Grenada. On October 25, 1983, U.S. forces attacked
the small Caribbean island and overthrew the New Jewel Movement. One
week earlier, on October 19th, Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice
Bishop and several of his ministers were killed during an internal
dispute within the governing Party.
Radio and television commentators today recalled the invasion, in
which 37 Cuban internationalists were killed. At the time of the U.S.
invasion, Cuban construction workers were helping to build an
international airport on the outskirts of the Grenadian capital of
Saint Georges.
Commentators pointed out that Washington took advantage of the
internal problems in Grenada to sweep away the example of the
island's revolutionary process. From the victory of the Grenadian
people in March 1979 until Washington's invasion, the New Jewel
Movement had achieved notable progress in the areas of health and
education.
*UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SAYS US AND BRITISH LEADERS
WILL ONE DAY FACE JUDGMENT CONCERNING EVENTS IN AFGHANISTAN
Buenos Aires, October 25 (RHC) -- United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights Mary Robinson has affirmed that when the bombing is
over in Afghanistan, US President George Bush and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair will face judgment. Currently visiting in
Argentina, Robinson granted an interview to the local news daily "La
Nacion", during which she insisted that targeting civilians is
unacceptable.
She said the manner in which military objectives are attacked should
not imply such a high risk for such a large number of civilians. The
UN official refused to directly respond to a question concerning the
possibility of bringing criminal charges against Bush and Blair for
the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan, preferring instead in
insisting that pressure should be brought to bear against the two
leaders so that they taken into consideration humanitarian law and
human rights in this type of situation.
Robinson said it's important to remind the United States and its
western allies that the terrible and unjustifiable terrorist attacks
of 11 September were - in her words - attacks against democracy and
human rights, but that to respond with the same is to give victory to
the terrorists. The High Commissioner for Human Rights said winter is
coming in Afghanistan while the civilian population is hungry and
without shelter.
*PENTAGON NOW SAYS CAPTURE OR ELIMINATION OF OSAMA BIN LADEN UNLIKELY
Washington, London, October 25 (RHC) -- US Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld now says that it will be very difficult to capture Osama Bin
Laden. Though the capture or physical elimination of Bin Laden was
presented as the principle objective of US military strikes against
Afghanistan, in an interview published Thursday in the news daily
"USA Today" Rumseld said the world is large and the Saudi
multi-millionaire is supported by a lot of money and a lot of people.
He also said that neutralizing Bin Laden's Al Qaida terrorist network
will also be difficult and will not occur soon - that it's like
looking for a needle in a haystack. While admitting that Taliban
militia combatants are tough, calling them enemies of stature, the
defense secretary also accused them of simulating the TV images of
towns and buildings destroyed by US bombs that have traveled around
the world.
The publication of Rumsfelds' interview coincided with statements
from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who also said it's going to
be very difficult to capture Bin Laden. And, while facing off with
members of his own Labor Party who today formed a group in opposition
to the bombardment of Afghanistan - asserting that the military
strikes are not going to end international terrorism - Blair said no
civilian targets have been attacked.
*TOP US MILITARY BRASS SURPRISED BY TENACITY OF TALIBAN COMBATANTS
Washington, Dushanbe,October 25 (RHC) -- At the same time, the
Pentagon is surprised by the tenacity of Taliban fighters, according
to Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem. A weeks ago the US's top military
brass predicted that US air strikes would paralyze the Taliban, but
Stufflebeem made reference to intelligence reports asserting that the
Islamic fundamentalists can still rearm their troops and deploy their
tanks throughout the country.
The Pentagon spokesman said the operation in Afghanistan encountered
more resistance than expected, asserting that the Taliban are tough
experts in fighting in an extremely hostile environment. And in turn
the Rear Admiral's words coincided with concerns expressed by the
armed anti-Taliban opposition, the Northern Alliance, which Thursday
affirmed that US bombing runs are not producing the expected results.
Northern Alliance diplomatic representatives in Tajikistan said the
air attacks against Taliban positions are insufficient to destroy
their military capacity or demoralize them. According to these
sources, the bombardment of cities like Herat, Kandahar,
Mazar-I-Sharif and Bagram seem more like psychological warfare.
*FRANCE ISSUES STINGING INDICTMENT OF ISRAEL'S VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL
HUMANITARIAN LAW IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Paris, El Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Lebanon, October 25 (RHC) -- In
what is perhaps the harshest ever western criticism of Israel, France
has accused Tel Aviv of violating international humanitarian law with
its intolerable siege against autonomous Palestinian zones. The
French government also officially protested the cannon fire on
several occasions against Bethlehem's Sacred Family Hospital, which
is under French protection and contains a maternity and orphans
wards.
The protest coincides with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's call on
Israel to - in his words - stop the massacre immediately. In an
interview with the local weekly "Al-Ahram", Mubarak warned that
Washington will fail in its objectives in Afghanistan if the US
government doesn't demonstrate a commitment to equality and justice
for the Palestinians. Many Arab media outlets, however, are writing
that while Washington is doing too little for a just peace in the
Middle East, so too are Arab governments demonstrating an incapacity
to bring to bear pressure.
The United Arab Emirate's English language news daily "Gulf News"
Thursday wrote that Washington is not doing a very good job in
efforts to show the Arab world that it does not support Israeli
actions, while the Kuwait English language daily "Arab Times" wrote
that the situation in occupied Palestinian territories makes it
difficult to participate in the US's war on terrorism.
But in Lebanon, Talal Salman - editor of the daily "As-Safir" -
blasted the incapacity of Arab governments to assert their role and
influence when Washington is humiliating Arab nations by treating
them as light weights and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is
killing Palestinians with US weapons.
*EXPERTS SAY ANTHRAX ATTACKS COULD BE THE WORK OF AMERICAN TERRORISTS
Washington, October 25 (RHC) -- The written notes accompanying some
of the envelopes containing anthrax could be the work of American
terrorists, according to some experts. The FBI released this week
copies of the notes sent to journalist Tom Brokaw, "The New York
Post", and Senate leader Tom Daschle. They appear to have been
written by a person or persons who are not native English speakers
and are Muslims.
But an October 25 "Washington Post" article written by staff writer
Peter Slevin suggests otherwise. According to Slevin, a private
analyst who studied the letters - retired Air Force anti-terrorism
specialist Gerald Gary Brown - doubts that the anthrax attacks are
the work of Muslims or recent arrivals to the United States.
Brown and other analysts quoted in the article said a persuasive case
could be made for the idea that the letters are artful disguises
designed by a native English-speaker who wanted to focus suspicion
elsewhere. The "Washington Post" quoted forgery expert Richard T.
Galasso, who said though the text could mean the writer is unskilled
or not very literate in writing English, it could also be slow,
deliberate writing that is disguised.
John Voll, professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University,
also said it could be a hoax, noting that the text of the messages is
what every American thinks a Muslim fanatic would write.
*Viewpoint: WHILE PALESTINIAN BLOOD IS SPILLED DAILY,
ISRAELI TERRORISM CONTINUES WITH IMPUNITY
Condemnation and initiatives come and go in the Middle East, but one
thing is sure: innocent Palestinian lives continue to be lost as a
consequence of the undeclared war the Israeli government is waging
against the population. While the United States and Great Britain
draw the spotlight with their savage bombings of the Afghan people,
every day Tel Aviv is brutally mounting a program designed to
exterminate as many Palestinians as possible in the occupied
territories.
More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in the past 13 months,
including a new- born baby who died Thursday morning simply because
Israeli soldiers at the Walaqui check-point in Bethlehem didn't feel
like allowing the mother to go to the hospital to give birth. Several
days ago, another pregnant Palestinian woman died when she wasn't
allowed to get to a hospital to obtain medical assistance. Add that
to the civilians killed by gun and rocket fire, the military
occupation of entire cities and the prohibitions on the freedom of
movement of tens of thousands of workers, some of whom have lost
months of work.
These actions bear all the marks of State terrorism. What else can it
called be when Israeli authorities openly proclaim their right to
assassinate Palestinian leaders and, when they carry out the deed, no
one raises an eyebrow. Could it be that Tel Aviv has special license
to commit terrorist acts and, therefore, the supposed "civilized"
Western world refuses to condemn them? Or could it be that the value
of a Palestinian life is less than another? That the lives of
Palestinian men and women, babies and children are less important
than others?Or could it be that there is a tacit agreement among
various countries not to permit the creation of a free and sovereign
Palestinian State by any means necessary? That is what we are
inclined to believe and we think that the ties that have historically
bound the United States and many Western European nations to Israel
will prevail over the current White House policy of trying to enlist
the Arab nations in Washington's crusade against Afghanistan.
It is these latest political needs that prompted the United States to
supposedly pressure Israel to withdraw its troops from the six
Palestinian areas that it has invaded in the last few days. The same
is true of recent U.S. statements supposedly favoring a Palestinian
State in the Mid East. We say "supposedly" because these statements
are not based on a true desire to carry them out. The truth is that
if the world really wants to begin a campaign against terrorism, it
must first condemn the countries that commit terrorism as a daily
policy. And first and foremost among them would be Israel. The
innocent lives lost in that conflict, the suffering of a people
displaced from their land and nation and the most elemental feelings
of justice and law, demand it.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012
http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
=================================================================
nytcari-10.26.01-05:28:39-3949
_________________________________________________
KOMINFORM
P.O. Box 66
00841 Helsinki
Phone +358-40-7177941
Fax +358-9-7591081
http://www.kominf.pp.fi
General class struggle news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Geopolitical news:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
