From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News Update-26 Sept 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 26 September 2001
.
*FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA
*CUBAN TRADE DELEGATION IN PARAGUAY
*INTERNATIONAL GATHERING ON CANCER SLATED FOR NEXT MONTH IN HAVANA
*CHINA AND CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS
*TURKEY AND CUBA SET UP JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE MINI-CIGARS
*LA TIMES QUESTIONS MASSIVE ARRESTS AND RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN US
*SOME US WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND NEONAZIS APPLAUD TERRORIST ATTACKS
*REGIONAL UN AGENCY AT A LOSS OVER GROWING POVERTY IN LATIN AMERICA
*KABUL: TENS OF THOUSANDS TORCH FORMER US EMBASSY IN HUGE PROTEST
*LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS SUPPORT US CRUSADE; PEOPLE LESS ENTHUSIASTIC
*TERRORISM WAS GLOBALIZED BY AUGUSTO PINOCHET - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Viewpoint:
*"INFINITE JUSTICE" OR "ENDURING FREEDOM," US STUMBLES BLINDLY INTO WAR
.
*FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA
Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro met Tuesday
evening with the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Howard Cooke, and
his accompanying delegation.
In comments to reporters following the meeting, the distinguished
visitor said he was extremely pleased with his talks with the Cuban
leader. Speaking with journalists earlier in the day, Sir Howard
Cooke praised Fidel Castro and other leaders of the Cuban government
-- expressing his appreciation for Cuba's assistance to the Third
World, especially the underdeveloped nations of the African
continent.
Political observers say that the four-day official visit of the
Jamaican governor general -- which ends tomorrow, Thursday -- has
greatly contributed to the ties of friendship between the two island
nations.
*CUBAN TRADE DELEGATION IN PARAGUAY
Asuncion, September 26 (RHC)--Trade and commercial relations between
Cuba and Paraguay could get a boost following the visit to Asuncion
of a high-level Cuban delegation.
Led by Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Orlando Hernandez,
members of the delegation met with Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez
Maqui. According to Hernandez, the objective of the meeting was to
strengthen and increase trade relations between the two nations.
The Cuban trade delegation has also met with leaders of Paraguayan
agricultural associations and trade union organizations.
*INTERNATIONAL GATHERING ON CANCER SLATED FOR NEXT MONTH IN HAVANA
Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Experts from more than 30 countries will
meet in the Cuban capital next month to discuss cancer and its
prevention. At least 150 doctors and medical specialists have
confirmed their attendance at the gathering, where they will exchange
information and evaluate methods of diagnosis and control of the
deadly disease.
According to recently released statistics, there will be more than 20
million new cases of cancer throughout the world next year -- 14
million of which will develop in the Third World.
*CHINA AND CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Bilateral relations between Cuba and
China continue to develop on the basis of mutual benefit and
equality, according to Wang Zhiquan, Beijing's ambassador in Havana.
In statements to reporters in the Cuban capital, Wang Zhiquan
stressed that his government and the Chinese business community give
special attention to the development of relations with the island,
which have notably increased over the last decade.
The Chinese diplomat pointed out that Beijing sees Cuba as an
important market for Chinese investment, with a highly qualified
labor force and very efficient and disciplined workers.
Zhiquan said there are currently a number of cooperation projects
between both nations in place. He pointed to Chinese economic
assistance in Cuban sugar mills, bicycle factories and in the fishing
industry, among other areas.
China's ambassador to Havana recalled that during the recent visit to
Cuba by Chinese President Jiang Zemin, several accords were signed in
the area of telecommunications, the production of TV sets on the
island and the construction of a hotel in Havana.
He also noted that other projects are being studied in the
agricultural and livestock sectors. China's ambassador to Havana
announced that next November, Beijing will host the 14th session of
the Cuba-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission, which will
discuss other cooperation projects as well.
In related news, a rice farm in the western province of Pinar del Rio
has reported a record production in the recently concluded harvest.
The Montoto rice farm, a Cuban-Chinese joint venture, has implemented
new machinery and transportation equipment, which is reported to have
been crucial in obtaining the outstanding results, particularly in
the activities of land preparation and harvesting.
Officials said that the determination and hard work by local rice
producers has been crucial, transforming large swampy areas into
excellent rice-producing areas.
*TURKEY AND CUBA SET UP JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE MINI-CIGARS
Istanbul, September 26 (RHC)--Turkey and Cuba have set up their
first joint venture in Istanbul. The firm plans to produce ten
million mini-cigars annually. At a construction cost of three million
dollars, the factory will produce the Cuban brand known as Fonseca.
During the inauguration of the enterprise Tuesday, Turkey's State
Minister Yilmaz Karakoyunlu said this new joint investment is the
first step toward even larger projects. The Turkish government
official announced that the factory will use a mixture of Cuban and
Turkish tobacco as its raw material for production, 70 percent of
which will be exported.
Meanwhile, Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation
Minister, Marta Lomas -- who is in Istanbul for the opening of the
joint venture -- stressed that the joint venture between Cuba and
Turkey represents a very important step in bilateral relations.
*LA TIMES QUESTIONS MASSIVE ARRESTS AND RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN US
Los Angeles, September 26 (RHC)--The "Los Angeles Times" has
reported concerns about massive detentions in the United States
following the release of a Saudi national who had been in federal
custody since the day after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The
prominent US news daily reported Wednesday that the release of a
doctor who federal authorities suspected of being a key player in the
attacks constitutes the first sign of a problem with the hundreds of
people rounded up in the investigation.
Doctor Al-Badr Al-Hazmi, a 34-year old Saudi national studying
radiology in San Antonio, Texas, arrived home Tuesday, appealing for
tolerance in what he called the insane terrorist crimes. Mistaken
arrests, however, are not the only concern expressed by the "Los
Angeles Times," which in another article entitled "Rights Caught in
Dragnet" asserted that hundreds of detainees since September 11th
have not received the usual legal protections.
The news daily wrote that officials defend the practice, but some
worry that innocent people will be hurt in the rush to justice -
citing another possibly dubious case among the some 350 people
arrested thus far in connection with the attacks. In the case of
Doctor Al-Badr Al Hazmi, federal officials reportedly denied his
requests to speak to a lawyer during the first 6 days of his
detention.
San Antonio defense attorney Cynthia Orr said the nine-page federal
affidavit used to hold her client was, in her words, "very thin" in
trying to link the Saudi to the conspiracy.
*SOME US WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND NEONAZIS APPLAUD TERRORIST ATTACKS
San Diego, September 26 (RHC)--White supremacists and neonazis in
the United States are reportedly applauding the September 11th
terrorist attacks in their respective web sites. A NOTIMEX news cable
datelined San Diego, September 26, reported that the Arian Nations
Coalition in Minnesota has come out in favor of hundreds of more
hijackings and destruction.
Coalition leader Paul Mullet is reported to have said that the time
has come for a revolution. The Nazi Party, led by Rocky Suhayda, and
the Seventh Missour Militia, led by Martin Linstedt, also applauded
the attacks and reportedly suggested using low-cost biological
weapons. They called for the hijacking of jumbo jets to crash them
into the Supreme Court, congressional headquarters and FBI offices in
all the country's 50 states.
Billy Roper, of Virginia's Neonazi National Alliance, said on this
occasion his organization would be willing to form alliances with
terrorists from the Middle East, saying that for now at least, the
enemies of their enemies are their friends. NOTIMEX reported that
thus far only a few of the more than 900 white supremacist, neonzai
and militia groups in the United States have publicly expressed these
ideas.
Mark Potok, an expert on these movements who works with the Southern
Poverty Law Center, told NOTIMEX that federal authorities shouldn't
ignore these groups in their investigations into the terrorist
attacks.
*REGIONAL UN AGENCY AT A LOSS OVER GROWING POVERTY IN LATIN AMERICA
Santiago de Chile, September 26 (RHC)--There is practically no
solution to widespread and growing poverty in Latin America,
according to the United Nations' regional economic commission. The
UN's Economic Commission for Latin America, known by its Spanish
acronym CEPAL, reported Tuesday that between 1990 and 1999 another 11
million people joined the ranks of the poor in the region,
translating into more than 211 million, or 44 percent of the
population, living below the poverty line.
Taking note of the region's highly unequal distribution of wealth and
massive unemployment, CEPAL questioned the goal announced by last
year's Millennium Summit to reduce poverty by 50 percent over the
next 15 years. The CEPAL study found that the income of the richest
10 percent of Latin America's population is in many of the region's
countries more than 20 times that of the poorest 40 percent, with
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua - in that order -
laying claim to the worst inequity in the distribution of wealth.
Unemployment, according to the report, now affects more than 18
million Latin Americans and Caribbeans, up from 7.6 million in 1990.
*KABUL: TENS OF THOUSANDS TORCH FORMER US EMBASSY IN HUGE PROTEST
Kabul, September 26 (RHC)--Tens of thousands of Afghans demonstrated
Wednesday in the streets of the capital, Kabul, in what is being
called an unprecedented anti-American protest. Demonstrators set fire
to the former US embassy in Kabul, abandoned when the Taliban took
power in 1996, also setting fire to a US flag and to an effigy of
George W. Bush.
The protest came just hours after Bush called on the Afghan people to
rise up against the Taliban regime. In recent times the Taliban have
daily organized demonstrations of support for their regime in the
capital, but only several hundred would show up in transportation
provided by authorities.
While wishing death to the United States, the protesters wished long
life for Osama Bin Laden - Washington's principle suspect in the
terrorist attacks.
*LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS SUPPORT US CRUSADE; PEOPLE LESS ENTHUSIASTIC
Washington, September 26 (RHC)--Latin American governments have
given Washington resounding support in its war against terrorism, but
regional opinion polls show that the sentiment on the streets of
Latin America is far less enthusiastic - even gloomy. An article in
the Wednesday edition of "The Miami Herald" reported that though the
34 member nations of the Organization of American States have even
invoked the Rio Treaty - a mutual military assistance pact - in
nations like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, recent opinion
polls underscore broad opposition to taking sides in the conflict.
Eight out of 10 Brazilians oppose a US military attack against
Afghanistan, according to a poll published last weekend in the "Folha
de Sao Paulo" news daily. Six out of 10 Argentineans say their
country should remain neutral in the conflict, according to a Gallup
International poll, which also found that only 8 percent of
Argentineans support a US military strike.
"The Miami Herald" quoted Peter Hakim, president of the
Washington-based policy think tank Inter-American Dialogue, who spoke
of Latin American leaders being "out of sync" with voters. The Miami
news daily wrote that "in some corners of Latin America, where
terrorism is a familiar malignancy, the gnawing sense of insecurity
now reigning in the United States is an all-too-familiar sensation.
*TERRORISM WAS GLOBALIZED BY AUGUSTO PINOCHET - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Santiago de Chile, September 26 (RHC)--A prominent Latin American
human rights activist has asserted that terrorism was globalized by
former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. In Santiago de Chile,
Paraguayan Martin Almada - who discovered in his country documents
belonging to the repressive network of South American dictatorships
in the 1970s and 80s, known as Operation Condor - said Pinochet and
his secret police chief, Manuel Contreras, launched a holy war
against all opposition to the region's military regimes.
He said the tentacles of that war reached as far as Rome and
Washington D.C. - in reference to the car bomb assassinations of
exiled Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and exiled Christian
Democratic leader Bernardo Leighton. Three weeks ago the Chilean
Supreme Court rejected a petition by Argentinean judicial authorities
to arrest Pinochet and hold him for possible extradition to Argentina
in a recently opened investigation of Operation Condor.
Argentinean Judge Rodolfo Canicoba has also expressed interest in
questioning former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concerning
the regional repressive network. The Operation Condor documents
discovered by Almada are known as the "Terror Archives."
Viewpoint:
*"INFINITE JUSTICE" OR "ENDURING FREEDOM," US STUMBLES BLINDLY INTO WAR
After an embarrassing propaganda blunder, and despite having
declared that "God is not neutral" in this conflict, the US
government was forced to change the insulting name of its new war
campaign from "Infinite Justice" to the more soothing title of
"Enduring Freedom." Infinite justice is an Islamic premise which only
Allah is expected to deliver. Its use in the context of Washington's
menacing response to the events of two weeks ago could only be
construed as blasphemy.
As always, Washington stumbles blindly on, insisting on fighting
hatred with hatred, trying to put out flames with fire, even though
it risks igniting the entire planet.
Those in power are obsessed with serving up a guilty party to the
world for exemplary punishment rather than attempting to find out why
the United States has become a terrorist target.
Perhaps their resistance to address the "why" is because analyzing
the reasons behind the terrorist acts of September 11th, would make
certain particulars emerge that could prove uncomfortable for those
now threatening half the world with divine wrath. The fact is that
hatred against an unjust system has been accumulating over decades,
until it finally exploded into the tragedy that will now remain with
us all for the rest of our lives.
Washington seeks to ignore, for example, that on that same Tuesday,
September 11th, more than 35,000 children in the Third World died of
starvation, malnutrition or from easily preventable diseases,
according to World Food Programme statistics. There wasn't a minute
of silence for them, governments did not speak out about them nor
demanded justice for their tragic deaths.
These children were also innocent victims, who died due to the unjust
economic, political and social order, a kind of terrorism that is
committed every minute of every day in full view of indifferent giant
media chains, the same that are today calling for the heads of those
responsible for the New York and Washington DC killings.
To these deaths we must add those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, North
Korea, Vietnam, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican
Republic, Grenada and Panama, not to mention those in Cuba. This
summary of relatively recent US attacks perhaps provides hints about
what was behind the attacks on New York and Washington DC.
The demons that the United States has been spawning for decades
cannot be exorcized with projectiles, or prolonged wars or by
guerrilla tactics. Fear is not overcome with fear -- a lesson that
the world's most powerful nation refuses to learn. And now it has
found the perfect excuse to try to impose its dictates on the world;
to do by force what it could never achieve by example.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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