From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [CubaNews] NY Transfer's RHC News-3 October 2001
Via NY Transfer News * www.blythe.org * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 03 October 2001
.
*CUBA TO SIGN ALL UN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AGAINST TERRORISM
*FIDEL PARTICIPATES IN FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF "UNIVERSITY FOR ALL"
*PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ PRAISES CUBAN ECONOMIC MODEL
*CUBA'S PEACE MOVEMENT CALLS MEETING AGAINST TERRORISM AND WAR
*CARLOS LAGE OFFICIALLY INAUGURATES NEW HOTEL IN SANCTI SPIRITUS
*US MEDIA WATCHDOG FAIR DEPLORES "NEW YORK TIMES" SLANTED COVERAGE
*COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT PASTRANA UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE TO SUSPEND PEACE
PROCESS
*US CIVIL LIBERTIES ACTIVISTS ALARMED BY CONGRESSIONAL ANTI-TERRORISM
MEASURES
*VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT FACES OFF WITH LARGE LANDOWNERS OVER AGRARIAN REFORM
*GUATEMALAN ACTIVIST HELEN MACK BLASTS DELAYS IN MURDER TRIAL
*PUERTO RICAN GOVERNOR INSISTS THAT US NAVY MUST LEAVE VIEQUES
Viewpoint:
*AS VIOLENCE RAGES AROUND THE WORLD, CUBA WAGES A BATTLE FOR CULTURE
.
*CUBA TO SIGN ALL UN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AGAINST TERRORISM
Havana, October 3 (RHC)--Cuba has announced its decision to sign all
12 international conventions against terrorism that exist within the
framework of the United Nations, noting that Havana has already
ratified three of those conventions. In a message Wednesday to UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, Cuban President Fidel Castro said that
as requested of the international community by Annan, Cuba will
ratify the remaining nine during the Cuban Parliament's extraordinary
session Thursday to pay homage to the victims of a 1976 terrorist
attack against a Cuban civilian airliner.
Fidel Castro said Cuba will also continue efforts in favor of
concluding a general and comprehensive convention that truly defines
this repugnant practice. He said that such a convention would allow
the international community to fight terrorism in an efficient,
enduring and urgent manner, with full support from world public
opinion and without the unnecessary, useless and dangerous wars that
only propagate violence and hatred among peoples.
The Cuban leader expressed support of Annan's recent statements in
defense of the principles of international law and the role that
should correspond to the world body amid our planet's critical
situation. He said that Cuba is, and will always be, against
terrorism and against war.
*FIDEL PARTICIPATES IN FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF "UNIVERSITY FOR ALL"
Havana, October 3 (RHC)--"This is only the beginning," said Cuban
President Fidel Castro during an activity held Tuesday evening here
in Havana to mark the first anniversary of Cuba's televised
educational program called "University for All."
Initiated on October 2nd 2000 as part of a broadened national program
to upgrade the educational level of the entire people, University for
All includes daily TV broadcasts of courses and seminars on the most
diverse subjects. The aim is to teach the Cuban people, regardless of
their age, skills and knowledge necessary throughout their lives.
Participating in the activity, held at Havana's Convention Center,
were professors, students and representatives of other Cuban
institutions involved in this important educational task. Fidel
Castro thanked all of them in the name of those who benefit from this
program: the millions of Cubans throughout the island who turn on
their TV sets three times a day to gain access to important
knowledge.
The Cuban president took the opportunity to announce two new courses,
biotechnology and the Italian language, as well as the inauguration
of a third TV channel that would be dedicated entirely to daily
broadcasts of educational programs.
Since it began one year ago, the University for All program has been
presenting courses and seminars on subjects which include writing
techniques, geography, history, literature, arts, as well as foreign
languages. University for All is broadcast every day on Cuban
television at three different times -- morning, afternoon and evening
-- so that everyone has the chance to see it.
*PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ PRAISES CUBAN ECONOMIC MODEL
Caracas, October 3 (RHC)--Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez today
applauded the Cuban economic model during the opening of the third
exhibition of "EXPOCUBA" in Caracas. Chavez said that the genuine
characteristics and effective power of Cuba's economic model have
allowed the island to successfully move away from its internal
problems and external limitations that it has faced during the last
decade.
The Venezuelan president called on the participants to analyse and
evaluate the example of Cuba in the economical field and said he
hopes that all Latin American countries can recover the path of
growth, not only in the economical field, but also at the level of
integral human development. During his 20-minute speech, he pointed
to the advantages of the Integral Cooperation Agreement between
Venezuela and Cuba and reiterated that Latin American integration
shouldn't be led by mere economic factors or the parameters of
"savage neo-liberalism."
The agreement by which Venezuela sells 53,000 barrels of oil daily to
Cuba, which is paid back with medical and sport services and
technical assistance, should be a model for new ways of integration.
Chavez also highlighted that this third "EXPOCUBA" has been the
biggest commercial exhibition the island has had in any other
country.
*CUBA'S PEACE MOVEMENT CALLS MEETING AGAINST TERRORISM AND WAR
Havana, October 3 (RHC)--Cuba's Peace Movement has called a meeting
of pacifists throughout Latin America to appeal to the most noble
sentiments of mankind in an attempt to avoid war.
The call was issued Tuesday evening during a musical evening held at
the Cuban Peace Movement -- Cuba's oldest NGO. Orlando Fundora,
President and Coordinator of the Regional Peace Committee, announced
that his organization will participate in a special meeting of the
World Peace Council, set for October 12th in Athens, Greece.
The event was part of the increasing world campaign against
terrorism, and the recently announced U.S.-led war against
Afghanistan, in response to the tragic events of last September 11th
in New York and Washington.
One of the founders of the Cuban Peace Movement who participated in
the Tuesday activity was Jose Ramirez, who organized the first
Campesino Congress here in Cuba.
In statements to Prensa Latina News Agency, Ramirez stressed that all
the efforts to date to preserve world peace are not enough. He also
stated that music can be a very powerful instrument to reach all
sectors of society, particularly at a time when unity among peoples
is essential to confront and overcome crises such as the one the
international community is going through right now.
Founded in 1949, the Cuban Peace Movement holds consultative status
within the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
*CARLOS LAGE OFFICIALLY INAUGURATES NEW HOTEL IN SANCTI SPIRITUS
Trinidad, October 3 (RHC)--Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage
officially inaugurated the Brisas Trinidad del Mar hotel in the
central province of Sancti Spiritus. During the ceremony, Lage said
the 241-room hotel is key to the current efforts to boost tourism
development in Cuba's central region.
Brisas Trinidad del Mar is owned and operated by Cuba's Cubanacan
Group. It is the third hotel built on the Ancon peninsula and is
noteworthy for its colonial-style architecture.
Built at a cost of over 19 million Cuban pesos, the four-star hotel
began operations last March 9th under the all-inclusive system. Since
its opening only six months ago, the Brisas Trinidad del Mar hotel
has already welcomed more than 10,000 visitors -- mainly from Canada,
France, Germany, the United States, England and Greece.
*US MEDIA WATCHDOG FAIR DEPLORES "NEW YORK TIMES" SLANTED COVERAGE
Washington, October 3 (RHC)--The U.S. media watchdog Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting has deplored the "New York Times" downplaying
and distortion of peace rallies and demonstrations against a military
response. In a Tuesday press release, the organization known by its
acronym FAIR noted that after thousands of anti-war activists
gathered in Washington D.C. on September 29, the Times responded with
a 10-sentence story under the headline "Protesters in Washington Urge
Peace with Terrorists."
FAIR asserted that given that a call for bringing terrorists to
justice through non-military means was central to the rallies, the
headline is a gross mischaracterization of the protesters' message.
The Times also misreported other basic facts, charged FAIR, like the
size of the crowd in Washington.
The news daily estimated that a "few hundred protesters" were on
hand, while the official police estimate was 7000. Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting affirmed that the rallies held in Washington
were not the first time the paper downplayed peace activism, noting
that on September 21 the Times reported on the protests held on some
150 college campuses across the country though without reflecting the
perspectives of the thousands of students who participated.
Instead, asserted FAIR, of the 11 students quoted in the article only
one voiced an anti-war opinion, while the article was dominated by
students who supported going to war or those who could not recall
seeing any anti-war sentiment on campus.
*COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT PASTRANA UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE TO SUSPEND PEACE
PROCESS
Bogota, October 3 (RHC)--Colombian President Andres Pastrana has
come under intense pressure to declare null and void the
demilitarized zone created for the country's rebel government peace
process. Following controversy over the death of an ex-government
minister kidnapped by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, the
guerrilla organization announced its refusal to accept a change of
rules guiding peace talks.
The Colombian Senate declared itself Tuesday evening in permanent
session, suspending all other legislative activities until Pastrana
decides whether or not he will extend the demilitarized zone - a
decision he'll have to adopt next Sunday at the latest. The president
of Pastrana's Liberal Party, Luis Guillermo Velez, has called on the
Senate to retract its political recognition of the guerrilla
organization.
Opposition Senator German Vargas has presented a report alleging that
132 people kidnapped by leftist rebels have been taken to the
demilitarized zone. The rebels have warned that if authorities cease
to recognize the demilitarized zone, the peace process will be over
and will probably not be reactivated for the next four years.
*US CIVIL LIBERTIES ACTIVISTS ALARMED BY CONGRESSIONAL ANTI-TERRORISM
MEASURES
Washington, October 3 (RHC)--Civil rights activists in the United
States are warning that Democrats and Republicans of the House
Judiciary Committee have agreed to "compromise" anti-terrorism
legislation containing many provisions that go far beyond the powers
necessary to fight terrorism on American soil.
While some news agencies have reported that the compromise is a
watered-down version of the original anti-terrorist measures proposed
by Attorney General John Ashcroft, the American Civil Liberties Union
has asserted that the measures still contain troubling provisions
that would permit indefinite detention of a non-citizen ordered
deported to a country that would not accept him or her, minimize
judicial supervision of electronic surveillance by law enforcement
authorities and allow intelligence agencies to spy on U.S. citizens
by providing them enhanced access to sensitive information about
them.
The ACLU issued a press release on Tuesday stating that without
limitations on the gathering of information on private citizens,
intelligence agencies like the CIA would be put back in the business
of spying on Americans as was done during the Vietnam War. The new
legislation, called the "Provide Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act," or PATRIOT, is, nevertheless,
not likely to be approved soon.
The Senate has not programmed a session to examine its version of the
proposals. The attorney general himself Tuesday lashed out at
legislators for delaying approval of PATRIOT, stating that talk will
not prevent terrorism. Numerous legislators, however, have expressed
deep concern over the unconstitutional nature of some of the
proposals.
*VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT FACES OFF WITH LARGE LANDOWNERS OVER AGRARIAN REFORM
Caracas, October 3 (RHC)--The government of Venezuela has faced off
with large land owners putting up opposition to agrarian reform
measures. Venezuela's National Cattle Ranchers Federation has taken
the government to court to prevent the distribution of 2,164 land
titles to landless campesinos in the western oil-rich state of Zulia.
Large landowners claim the land is privately owned, while the
government insists that the land belongs to the State and its
infrastructure was built with public funds.
Venezuela's National Agrarian Institute said the titles will be
turned over to landless campesinos on Friday despite the court
action. President Hugo Chavez stated Tuesday that an entire package
of agrarian reform laws are about to be approved, which will include
limits on the size of rural possessions and the concept of
expropriation based on social necessity.
*GUATEMALAN ACTIVIST HELEN MACK BLASTS DELAYS IN MURDER TRIAL
Guatemala City, October 3 (RHC)--Delays in the murder trial of
Guatemalan human rights activist Myrna Mack constitute a conspiracy
in favor of impunity. According to Helen Mack, sister of the
anthropologist and human rights activist assassinated in 1990,
Guatemalan courts are purposefully delaying the trial of three
military generals accused of ordering the crime.
Speaking with journalists in Guatemala City, Helen Mack stated that
opening arguments in proceedings against Generals Juan Valencia
Osorio, Juan Guillermo Oliva Carrera and Edgar Augusto Godoy Gaitan
were scheduled to begin on October 10th. Mack said that due to legal
maneuvers by the defense, the Court of Appeals has agreed to postpone
the trial -- which, she affirmed, would only lead to their impunity.
She announced that this new delaying tactic would be denounced before
the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, based in San Jose, Costa
Rica, which has been following the case.
In related news, the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, together with six
other human rights organizations, condemned the delays in obtaining
justice for Myrna Mack. Claudia Samayoa, a leader of the Foundation
that takes the name of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner, stated that
the judicial system just doesn't function when members of the
military are accused of forced disappearances, summary executions and
genocide.
*PUERTO RICAN GOVERNOR INSISTS THAT US NAVY MUST LEAVE VIEQUES
Washington, October 3 (RHC)--Puerto Rican Governor Sila Calderon
insists that despite Washington's claims that Vieques is essential
for U.S. national security, the Navy must stop its bombing practices
of the island. While recognizing that the panorama of national
defense has changed since the tragic events of last September 11th,
Calderon told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that the U.S.
military cannot be allowed to use the island indefinitely.
The governor of Puerto Rico referred to newly proposed legislation
before the U.S. Congress that would eliminate a planned referendum in
November, but requires that the Navy remain in Vieques until "an
equal or better" site is found for its bombing and target practices.
Sila Calderon said that eliminating the previously proposed deadline
of May 2003 was "unacceptable."
Observers pointed out that in the coming days, Senate and House
conferees will meet with White House officials to reconcile different
provisions on Vieques in two Defense Authorization bills. The House
version allows the U.S. Navy to remain on the island indefinitely,
while the Senate version would keep the current legislation under
discussion. That provision requires a referendum in Vieques between
two choices: bombing until May 2003, when lands would be transferred
to the Interior Department with no environmental cleanup, or bombing
indefinitely with live fire.
Human rights groups opposed to the U.S. Navy's presence in Vieques
report that bombing and beach invasion practices began on September
24th and are scheduled to continue for another two weeks. They also
note that Marines patrolling the fence separating the base and
bombing range from the civilian sector have been aiming weapons at
civilians who pass by, raising fears that they may attack peaceful
protests. A general strike has been called for Thursday, October 4th,
to protest the continued bombings.
Viewpoint:
*AS VIOLENCE RAGES AROUND THE WORLD, CUBA WAGES A BATTLE FOR CULTURE
Each day war fever spreads, enthusiastically encouraged by
irresponsible media transnationals, which fail to inform the people
that the war started long before the events of September 11. What
happened on that day was that the din of battle was finally heard in
the usually peaceful streets of New York City and Washington D.C.
when thousands of innocent civilians fell victim to one of the most
horrendous crimes in modern history.
For the rest of the world war is a daily matter and there exist
generations in Latin America, the Middle East and African that have
spent their entire lives in the company of bombs and gunfire.
But in these disturbing and frightening times there are some islands,
not just geographically speaking, where peace still flourishes and
struggles to send up shoots through the concrete and smoke.
That is the case in Cuba where on Tuesday one of the most innovative
and popular education programs celebrated its first year of
existence. "University for All" takes top-quality university courses
to the entire island from the most accessible to most remote corners
of the country ,inviting all to participate.
"University for All," as part of Cuba's "Battle of Ideas," along with
the nightly "Roundtable" programs and Saturday's "Open Tribune"
rallies, has been enthusiastically greeted by Cubans not only as a
teaching aid, but as a first-rate source of knowledge.
Millions of people have followed the televised courses on Writing
Techniques, Literature, Art History, Theater, Dance, Music, Cuban
History and Geography and the French, English and Spanish languages
among other subjects. All the classes are taught by highly qualified
professors and are repeated several times to facilitate access.
In this way, Cuba manages to insure that the patrimony of humanity,
the best culture produced by human beings, becomes part of the
knowledge of the common person; so that everyone, no matter what
their profession or training, has the opportunity expand their
knowledge to new dimensions.
In compliance with a maxim stated by Cuba's National Hero, Jose
Marti, that to be cultured is the only way to be free, the Cuban
Revolution is demonstrating that while the insanity of destruction
sweeps the planet, whether through war, destruction of the
environment or cruel and unequal distribution of wealth, a temple of
knowledge and understanding is being created here.
It is an interesting lesson for those think that it is only with
weapons and violence that today's problems can be solved, without
taking into account that if other generations are to survive it is
necessary to achieve a new spiritual level. And that is something, as
Cuban President Fidel Castro said on Tuesday, that we are beginning
to do.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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