From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 21:19:05 -0500 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: Radio Havana Cuba-20 November 2001 Radio Havana Cuba-20 November 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 20 November 2001 . *PERUVIAN ORGANIZATIONS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA *CUBAN AUTHORITIES TAKE MEASURES TO SAVE ENERGY *NEW STUDY RELEASED ON ROLE OF CUBA'S LABOR UNIONS *SECOND IBERO-AMERICAN CONGRESS ON PARKS AND GARDENS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA *WHITE HOUSE CONCENTRATING IMMENSE EXECUTIVE POWER WAKE OF SEPTEMBER 11 *BERLIN CONFERENCE ON AFGHAN FUTURE 'MERELY SYMBOLIC,' SAYS RABBANI *NEW ANTI-TALIBAN AFGHAN GOVERNOR SAYS US KILLING TOO MANY CIVILIANS *DESPITE POWELL'S SPEECH, MIDEAST PEACE AS UNCERTAIN AS EVER *DRUG WAR SHOULD FOCUS ON HIGH-LEVEL TRAFFICKING, MONEY LAUNDERING: EXPERT *Viewpoint: ARGENTINA IS STILL THE WAYWARD CHILD OF THE IMF . *PERUVIAN ORGANIZATIONS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA Lima, November 20 (RHC)-- More than 40 Peruvian political organizations -- including trade unions, student and community groups -- have joined together to express their solidarity with Cuba. In a special declaration, issued just days before the 11th Ibero-American Summit gets underway in Lima, the organizations also condemned Washington's economic blockade of the island. Speaking at a news conference in the Peruvian capital on Monday, representatives of the broad coalition also announced that a number of activities to welcome the Cuban delegation would be held during the upcoming Summit. The solidarity statement -- signed by 40 Peruvian organizations -- expresses admiration for the Cuban Revolution. The text notes that for nearly 43 years, the Revolution has worked to defend its sovereignty, self-determination and independence -- with remarkable achievements in health, education and scientific development. The 11th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government is slated to be held this Friday and Saturday, the 23rd and 24th. *CUBAN AUTHORITIES TAKE MEASURES TO SAVE ENERGY Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- In the wake of Hurricane Michelle and despite the fact that electrical power has been almost completely re-established in the Cuban capital, authorities are taking measures aimed at reducing the consumption of electricity. Beginning immediately, businesses and industrial plants that operate around-the-clock are being asked to shut down during peak hours -- from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Refrigeration plants and cold-storage rooms are also being cut off during that time period in order to allow more generating capacity for hospitals and schools. Authorities noted that Hurricane Michelle, which hit the island on November 4th, caused serious damage to electrical transmission and distribution installations. The hurricane's powerful winds toppled dozens of 220 and 110-kilovolt pylons and hundreds of poles and distribution cables were downed. Radio and television announcements are also urging residents to take special measures to save energy, water and other resources. These measures are contributing to the recovery process and to normalizing services in areas recently affected by the devastating storm. *NEW STUDY RELEASED ON ROLE OF CUBA'S LABOR UNIONS Detroit, November 20 (RHC)-- A comprehensive study on the role of Cuba's labor unions has been released in the United States. A project of the National Lawyer's Guild's Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center, the report is entitled: "Workers in Cuba, Unions and Labor Relations." Based on a broad survey of Cuban law and literature, the study examines labor policy and workers' rights and participation within the framework of the Cuban socialist system. The report also includes first-hand observations of the labor-relations process on the shop floor and at workers' meetings during a 12-month period ending in May 2001. Released in Detroit by the NLG/Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, the study is said to be a thorough account of labor law and labor relations in Cuba. The study covers key topics concerning labor rights and union relations in Cuba today, including: trade unions in Cuba, employment and hiring policies, salaries and other remuneration, collective bargaining, grievance procedures, social security, employment benefits and foreign investment on the island. "Workers in Cuba, Unions and Labor Relations" is a 92-page spiral-bound report plus bibliography. For further information, write to Debra Evenson via e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] The report can be ordered via e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], or see the website: http://www.sugarlaw.org *SECOND IBERO-AMERICAN CONGRESS ON PARKS AND GARDENS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, November 20 (RHC)-- The Second Ibero-American Congress on Parks and Gardens is underway at the Hotel Nacional in Havana. Delegates from 15 countries -- including Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina -- are attending the gathering. During the two-day meeting, workshops will be held on the environmental benefits of green areas in the cities, as well as beautification projects for urban parks and gardens. Following the congress, delegates will visit areas of interest in and around Havana, including Lenin Park and the capital's Botanical Gardens. *WHITE HOUSE CONCENTRATING IMMENSE EXECUTIVE POWER WAKE OF SEPTEMBER 11 Washington, November 20 (RHC)-- The September 11th terrorist attacks have dramatically accelerated the Bush administration's almost unprecedented efforts to strengthen presidential power, according to "The Washington Post." The front-page lead article of its Tuesday edition, entitled "In War, It's Power to the President," affirmed that the White House is acquiring a dominance over the American government exceeding that of other post-Watergate presidents and rivaling even Franklin D. Roosevelt's command. Noting that on a wide variety of fronts the administration has moved to seize power that it previously shared with other branches of government, Post staff writer Dana Milbank recalled that Bush announced vast cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal but resisted putting the cuts in a treaty so as to avoid a Senate ratification vote. In domestic policy, continued the article, the administration proposed reorganizing the Immigration and Naturalization Service without the congressional action lawmakers sought. And in legal policy, it went on, the White House seized the judiciary's power as Bush signed an order allowing terrorists to be tried in military tribunals. "The Washington Post" reported that that these actions come on the heels of earlier Bush efforts to augment his powers, including initiatives to limit intelligence briefings to members of Congress, take new spending authority from the legislature, and expand the executive branch's power to monitor and detain those it suspects of terrorism. The influential news daily asserted that in the views of many scholars, Bush has restored to the "Imperial Presidency" -- a term Arthur Schlesinger Jr. used to describe the Richard Nixon administration in 1973. The article quoted Tim Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the Cato Institute think-tank, who termed as breathtaking the power that Bush is wielding today. Lynch remarked that a single individual is going to decide whether the war is expanded to Iraq and a single individual is going to decide how much privacy American citizens are going to retain. "The Washington Post" also noted that the Bush administration has not provided, as required, information on how it is spending the billions of dollars Congress allocated for the so-called war on terrorism, leading some in the legislative branch to detect a philosophy in the administration that the public doesn't have a right to know. *BERLIN CONFERENCE ON AFGHAN FUTURE 'MERELY SYMBOLIC,' SAYS RABBANI Kabul, November 20 (RHC)-- Though Washington, London and the United Nations have triumphantly announced upcoming talks on Afghanistan to be held in Berlin, former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani has asserted that the encounter will be mostly symbolic. In an interview with CNN, Rabbani said the talks would only be an initial step toward building a government. But observers are warning that time is a key factor as Northern Alliance warlords increasingly consolidates their power bases and Rabbani firmly establishes himself in Kabul. The former Afghan president also said that while he accepted a first gathering in a foreign country he would insist that any crucial decision-making takes place inside Afghanistan. After a great deal of pressure from Washington, the Northern Alliance dropped a call to hold the proposed conference in Kabul, but Rabanni's comments suggested that it might resurface as an issue later. And there has been no word on the key question of who would represent the country's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns. There is widespread belief that the talks have little chance of succeeding if the Pashtuns, who account for more than half the country's population, do not take part -- but no single figure has emerged in the Pashtun community with broad acceptance as a leader. *NEW ANTI-TALIBAN AFGHAN GOVERNOR SAYS US KILLING TOO MANY CIVILIANS Kabul, November 20 (RHC)-- An anti-Taliban governor in Afghanistan has criticized the large number of civilian victims in U.S. bombing raids. Hayi Abdul Kadir, the new governor of Nangarhar province following the Taliban withdrawal last week, demanded that the U.S. and its allies limit their attacks to their enemies. He said air strikes in recent days against the Shamshad Taliban military base, some eight kilometers from Pakistan's border, had claimed nothing but civilian lives. He said 30 were killed, along with seven new members of his provincial administration. According to the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press, another five civilians were killed Tuesday in the on-going bombardment of Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold. *DESPITE POWELL'S SPEECH, MIDEAST PEACE AS UNCERTAIN AS EVER Washington, London, November 20 (RHC)-- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech on Washington's Middle East policy generated diverse opinions in Israel, with the right-wing insisting that pressure was applied against Palestinian terrorism while more moderate sectors saw Tel Aviv's occupation and military violence under fire. Palestinians welcomed the speech, but insisted that Powell's words -- condemning Israel's on-going occupation and calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the borders of 1967 -- should be backed by actions. But many observers are asserting that the U.S. Secretary of State left the scope of American ambitions in the Middle East unclear. Powell did not set a deadline for the implementation of a truce and did not clearly spell out his vision for permanent peace in the Middle East. Marwan Kanafani, spokesman for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, told media outlets that Powell said peace talks should continue, but didn't say when and how. Washington's chief diplomat said the overwhelming majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have grown up with checkpoints, raids and indignities, and have too often seen their schools shuttered and their parents humiliated. But his sympathy stopped there, stating that however legitimate their claims, the Palestinians must put a stop to the Intifada. Meanwhile, just hours after Powell delivered his speech, Israeli tanks and a bulldozer Tuesday morning entered the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza destroying homes. Israeli tanks reportedly blasted some 20 houses in the refugee camp, near the Egyptian border, wounding 6 people and forcing 26 families from their homes. The camp's electricity supply had been cut off. Also on Tuesday, Amnesty International again accused Israel of increasingly using torture in interrogating Palestinians, calling on the United Nations to launch an investigation. In a report to the United Nations Committee against Torture, the London-based human rights group cited "strong evidence" of illegal and painful pressure applied to Palestinian detainees. The report was issued as the UN committee, made up of 10 independent experts, began examining Israel's record at their semi-annual, two-week session underway in Geneva. In 1999, Israel's High Court of Justice banned interrogation methods constituting torture. Amnesty also urged the UN torture watchdog body to declare that the demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied territories constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment banned under the 1987 Convention against Torture. Israel is among the 126 countries that ratified the international pact. The UN special investigator on torture, Sir Nigel Rodley, recently said that Israel had denied his request last March to investigate widespread allegations of torture in occupied territories. *DRUG WAR SHOULD FOCUS ON HIGH-LEVEL TRAFFICKING, MONEY LAUNDERING: EXPERT Brussels, November 20 (RHC)-- A Colombian drug expert has asserted that the war on drugs should be centered on attacking high-level narco trafficking and money laundering, not on illicit crops. Ricardo Vargas, of the Andean Action Network's Drugs and Democracy Program, stated Tuesday in Brussels that the fumigation of illicit crops has been a failure, noting that in 1994 there 112,000 acres of such crops compared to 437,000 today. Vargas said the nature of the problem has distorted, insisting that narco trafficking doesn't depend on illicit crops, rather, illicit crops depend on the capital generated by narco-trafficking. The Colombian expert is in Brussels in an effort to convince European Union officials to adopt alternative anti-drug programs. Besides concentrating on narco-trafficking and money laundering, Vargas asserted that South American campesinos don't need development programs based on how many acres of illicit crops have been eradicated, but rather, based on the creation of conditions for the Andean region's sustainable development. Vargas' visit to Europe, along with other South American campesino representatives, coincides with Tuesday's presentation of the annual report of the European Observatory on Drugs, which reveals a significant increase in cocaine consumption on the Old Continent. *Viewpoint: ARGENTINA IS STILL THE WAYWARD CHILD OF THE IMF In every family there is a wayward child - one which stubbornly refuses to improve no matter how much they are cared for or how much they are loved and spoiled by their parents. This is the case with Argentina regarding its economy and its main supporters, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The country, despite all efforts and the millions of dollars of investments deposited into the seeming bottomless vaults of Buenos Aires, continues its downward spin. IMF recipes have proved to be useless, as have other types of financing and reductions in its foreign debt because the Argentinean economy continues demonstrating extraordinary weakness. If it weren't for the fear of revealing a bad example to the rest of the family, the country would have been abandoned long ago as hopeless. It was with profound disappointment that the Western Hemisphere director of the International Monetary Fund, Claudio Loser, complained that the organization had already extended to Argentina an immense amount of resources but the situation has not improved. Production continues to drop, unemployment keeps growing and the unemployed are ever more vocal in their demands. Yesterday disgruntled unemployed workers began blocking the nation's highways. Argentina can no longer obtain credit and investors have lost confidence, which has sparked a rise in interest rates and a sharp drop in bank accounts. Argentina's most important labor unions have announced that on Tuesday they will begin massive protests, while the population as a whole has rejected the emergency economic measures implemented by the government of Fernando de la Rua, who announced that he is willing to reduce next year's interest payments by $4 million. It is difficult to see how he will manage to do this, however, with a public debt that is spiraling out of control and payment obligations abroad having reached $132 billion - nearly half the country's domestic gross product for an entire year. To top everything, nearly 90 per cent of the debt is in dollars, the collection of which has been drastically reduced by 42 months of recession. Another indication of how the Argentine economy is behaving is the country's so-called risk factor, which yesterday exceeded 2,900 points, meaning that if the government seeks to acquire more credit, it would have to pay for the privilege with a tax almost 30 percent higher than current U.S. interest rates. As usual the poor get poorer and they bear the brunt of the situation because the policy of zero deficit - spending only what is taken in each month - has reduced social spending, cut salaries and pensions and restricted public services like health and education. In its annual meeting held over the weekend, the IMF and World Bank reprimanded Argentina's Economy Minister, Domingo Cavallo, noting that another commission would be inspecting the country's economic results for the last trimester, before deciding what to do next. De la Rua's government will clearly not be able to show any improvement in its economy, leaving Argentina to continue being the wayward child of a failed regional free market globalization drive. (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-11.20.01-21:18:58-14858 _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
