From: NY Transfer News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 07:36:08 -0500 (EST) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (CubaNews List) Subject: [CubaNews] Radio Havana Cuba-20 December 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 20 December 2001 . *FURTHER FOOD PURCHASES DEPEND ENTIRELY ON WASHINGTON'S ATTITUDE: FIDEL *CUBAN PRESIDENT EVALUATES RECOVERY EFFORTS FOLLOWING HURRICANE MICHELLE *FEDERATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS CELEBRATES ITS 79th BIRTHDAY *CUBAN PARLIAMENT OPENS EIGHTH ORDINARY PERIOD OF SESSIONS *18 KILLED IN SOCIAL UPRISING IN ARGENTINA AMID STATE OF SIEGE DECREE *AMNESTY INT'L: OVERTURNING MUMIA'S DEATH SENTENCE FALLS SHORT OF JUSTICE *WORLD OPINION LEADERS SAY US POLICIES MAJOR REASON FOR 9-11 ATTACKS *Viewpont: THE US WAR GIVEN NEW NAMES . *FURTHER FOOD PURCHASES DEPEND ENTIRELY ON WASHINGTON'S ATTITUDE: FIDEL Havana, December 20 (RHC) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro has asserted that any future food purchases from the United States depends entirely on Washington's attitude. In a live appearance Wednesday evening on national TV, the Cuban leader spoke extensively about the food the island recently purchased from US firms with Washington's authorization. Noting that the little more than 35 million dollar purchase represents only 4 percent of the foodstuffs Cuba acquires abroad, President Castro said the shipment certainly doesn't resolve a problem for Cuba. He said neither was it a political move on Cuba's part, but rather, a polite response to a friendly offer of aid on the part of the US government in the wake of Hurricane Michelle. He denied press versions asserting that Cuba made the purchase to support the growing lobbying in the US Congress against Washington's blockade. Leaving the door open to similar transactions in the future, President Castro said Cuba will always politely respond to a friendly gesture, and will not respond crassly to a gross gesture. The Cuban leader added, however, that neither has the purchase generated illusions in Cuba regarding the US blockade, which, he added, is still fully in place and continues to constitute an act of genocide - even in war, according to international treaties. *CUBAN PRESIDENT EVALUATES RECOVERY EFFORTS FOLLOWING HURRICANE MICHELLE Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- During his special appearance on Wednesday evening's roundtable discussion, Cuban President Fidel Castro evaluated recovery efforts undertaken on the island following Hurricane Michelle. He noted that the damage caused by last month's devastating storm set the country back economically -- but emphasized that Cuba was well on its way to full recovery. The leader of the Cuban Revolution said that more than 166,000 houses were damaged by the hurricane and that nearly 12,600 were totally destroyed. He said that in Matanzas alone -- one of the provinces hardest-hit -- 7456 houses were destroyed. Fidel Castro reported that the total cost of rebuilding the damaged and destroyed housing comes to 785 million pesos. According to the Cuban president, electrical power was the service most seriously affected by Hurricane Michelle -- but workcrews managed to reestablish electricity in the affected areas in record time. He noted that the national power system was down for 19 days following the storm, which slammed into the island on November 4th. Fidel Castro listed the crops affected by last month's devastating hurricane: sugar, coffee, bananas and citrus fruits. He pointed to 420,000 tons of citrus crops damaged by the storm, of which 22,000 tons could be recuperated. As a result, he said, Cuba's citrus exports have been reduced by 27 million dollars and domestic consumption has been unavoidably cut back. However, Fidel stressed that monthly rations available to the Cuban people will not be affected and, in many cases, have actually been increased. He specifically mentioned the yogurt ration for children under the age of 15, which will soon be increased to three liters per month. Referring to the heavy damage caused by Hurricane Michelle, the Cuban leader said that losses in agricultural production have been calculated at 260 million pesos. And he revealed that the total cost of getting the agricultural sector back on its feet comes to 317 million pesos. Finally, Cuban President Fidel Castro enumerated the resources that have been earmarked for recovery efforts -- including cement, roofing supplies, galvanized steel and other construction materials. He reiterated that Cuba's goal is to refurbish and/or rebuild all areas damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Michelle within one year. *FEDERATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS CELEBRATES ITS 79th BIRTHDAY Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- Today, December 20th, marks the 79th anniversary of the Federation of University Students. To commemorate the occasion, Havana threw a huge fiesta on the Malecon Wednesday night, lasting into the early morning hours on Thursday. Last night's big birthday party took place at the Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Tribunal -- located directly in front of the building that houses the offices of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. Nearly 400 musicians and artists performed for the crowd, estimated at more than 20,000. Young people danced in the streets, turning the Malecon -- Havana's seaside drive -- into a huge dance floor. Among the groups performing last night: los Van Van, Moneda Dura, Carlos Manuel y su Clan and the popular rap trio Doble Filo. Cuban President Fidel Castro stopped by to greet the university students and wish their Federation a happy birthday. In brief comments from the stage, the Cuban leader congratulated the students for all their hard work and said they truly deserved to have a party in their honor. Before leaving, Fidel Castro helped leaders of the Federation of University Students cut a huge birthday cake. *CUBAN PARLIAMENT OPENS EIGHTH ORDINARY PERIOD OF SESSIONS Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- The Cuban Parliament -- also known as the National Assembly of People's Power -- opened its 8th Ordinary Period of Sessions of its Fifth Legislature on Thursday. Top on the agenda of the parliamentary session was the discussion and approval of the Law Against Terrorist Actions -- designed to punish those who commit terrorist acts against Cuba, as well as those who try to use the island to carry out terrorist activities against any other country. During the discussion of the bill, Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon explained that the Law Against Terrorist Actions would respect and maintain the constitutional guarantees and rights of the accused. Alarcon added that the legislation underscored the ethical and political convictions of the Cuban people, who have the moral authority to condemn terrorism -- since Cuba has been the victim of terrorist actions for decades. The current session of the National Assembly of People's Power is also discussing approval of the draft bill of the State budget and guidelines of the social and economic plan for the year 2002. The Cuban Parliament is made up of some 600 lawmakers and holds two ordinary sessions a year. The Parliament can meet extraordinarily as many times as requested by its president or by the Cuban Council of State. In October, following the tragic events of September 11th in the United States, the Cuban Parliament met in an extraordinary session to approve the signing of 12 international conventions against terrorism, adopted by the United Nations. *18 KILLED IN SOCIAL UPRISING IN ARGENTINA AMID STATE OF SIEGE DECREE Buenos Aires, December 20 (RHC) -- At least 16 people were killed in Argentina when tens of thousands took to the streets to defy a state of siege decreed amid widespread food riots and anti-government protests. Late Wednesday and early Thursday morning Argentina plunged into a social explosion that brought about the resignation of controversial Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo. Local media outlets are calling the spontaneous disturbances the worst crisis ever for Argentinean democracy, asserting that the country is on the brink of economic collapse following 4 years of recession and International Monetary Fund recipes that have only exacerbated the situation. The message from people in the streets interviewed by news correspondents is that Argentineans are fed up with the corruption, hunger and poverty they're living in. More than 200 were wounded by police gunfire and close to 2,000 were arrested as thousands looted stores and supermarkets across the country. Wednesday's state of siege decree marked the first time in 11 years that an Argentinean president has seized special powers that effectively grant security forces greater leeway in making arrests and banning public gatherings. Protesters expressed delight over the resignation of the economy minister, who until Tuesday was working on yet another punishing austerity plan, but they're also demanding that President Fernando de la Rua step down. De la Rua has tried to fix the economy with nine different economic plans and has faced eight general strikes in two years. The leader of Argentina's largest labor confederation, Rodolfo Daer, asserted that Cavallo's resignation is not enough - that de la Rua is totally out of touch with the country's social and economic reality and has no solutions for Argentina's acute problems. For the past several months, numerous observers and analysts have been predicting a social explosion in Argentina following 11 years of neoliberal economic reforms that have brought the country to its knees. Meanwhile, despite intense repression Argentineans Thursday continued defying the state of siege. Police charging on horseback and firing rubber bullets and tear gas repeatedly dispersed protesters in Mayo Square, in front of presidential headquarters, but they kept coming back banging empty pots and shouting "out with de la Rua." Thousands more continued concentrating in front of congressional headquarters. On the Panamerican Highway some 80 kilometers outside Buenos Aires protesters were stopping food transportation trucks and looting them. Supermarkets remained closed and guarded Thursday amid a crisis considered worse than the 1989 disturbances that forced then-President Raul Alfonsin to resign 6 months before his mandate was to expire. *AMNESTY INT'L: OVERTURNING MUMIA'S DEATH SENTENCE FALLS SHORT OF JUSTICE London, December 20 (RHC) -- Amnesty International has asserted that overturning the death sentence against African-American political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal falls short of full justice, leaving unanswered all the questions about the fairness of his original trial. The London-based organization affirmed that the original court proceedings against Abu-Jamal did not comply with international justice standards. In a press release dated December 19, Amnesty said Abu Jamal's right to a fair trial was violated in 1982, but that District Judge William Yohn's Tuesday ruling overturning the death penalty and ordering state courts to hold another sentence hearing clearly failed to address this. The press release also affirmed that indications that the state of Pennsylvania will continue to seek the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal by appealing this decision to a higher court are also a cause of great concern, noting that the highly political nature of this case raises doubts as to the impartiality of the justice officials who represent the state. The humanitarian organization International Action Center called Judge Yohn's ruling a political cover-up through legal means, highlighting some of the many irregularities throughout the entire judicial process. It noted that in the 1996 post conviction relief act hearing the courts refused to accept the real testimony of three eyewitnesses who admitted to having lied under police coercion when they stated that Abu-Jamal had killed a Philadelphia police officer. The International Action Center pointed to the startling revelation made by Terri Maurer-Carter, a stenographer who overheard the Judge presiding over the trial - Albert Sabo - make a racist insult against Abu-Jamal in between legal proceedings. Numerous grassroots organizations in the US and around the world are urging social activists to continue the fight to free the African-American political prisoner, insisting that the battle is far from over. *WORLD OPINION LEADERS SAY US POLICIES MAJOR REASON FOR 9-11 ATTACKS Washington, Paris, December 20 (RHC) -- A global poll has found that large numbers of opinion leaders in two dozen nations see US policies as a major reason for the terrorist attacks of September 11. Conducted by the Pew Research Center, Princeton Survey Research Associates and the International Herald Tribune newspaper, the survey is said to suggest that much of the world views the attacks as a symptom of increasingly bitter polarization between haves and have-nots. A sampling of the political, media and business elite on five continents found that 58 percent of non-US respondents said they believed that US policies were a major cause of the terror attacks compared to just 18 percent of Americans - highlighting what observers are calling a large gap between the way Americans believe they are seen abroad and the way others say they see the United States. Large majorities said they believe the US is mostly acting unilaterally in the fight against terrorism, contrasting with the 70 percent of American opinion-makers who said the US is acting jointly with its friends and is taking into account the interests of its partners in the war on terrorism. The findings were based on 275 interviews with persons identified as influential in government, politics, culture, the media or business. Some 40 were conducted in the US, and approximately 10 each in various countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. When elites were asked why people in their country like the United States, large majorities said US scientific and technological advances were most admired. But only 32 percent of American opinion makers thought that was the reason, with 52 percent saying they thought the country was admired because it does a lot of good around the world. Majorities elsewhere said that was at best a minor reason. Not one American respondent believed the US attacks on Afghanistan would be widely considered as an overreaction, but 40 percent of non-Americans and 63 percent in Islamic countries did believe precisely that. In what has been called a particularly striking finding, two-thirds or more of respondents in every region outside the United States said it was good that Americans now know what it's like to be vulnerable. A total of 52 percent of respondents said the world's wealthiest country does far too little to help the least advantaged, citing that as a major cause for dislike of the United States. *Viewpont: THE US WAR GIVEN NEW NAMES When the hawks of war in the United States decided to launch a crusade against terrorism, the war had a name: Osama Bin Laden, the latest Satan who was quickly blamed for the September 11th tragedy. After the deluge of bombs rained down on Afghanistan supposedly aimed at capturing, dead or alive, the fundamentalist, CIA-trained Saudi Arabian, the villain's whereabouts are still unknown. But now the war has other names. "The defeat of Al Qaida is the first step of a long war. The war has begun in Afghanistan, but it won't end in Afghanistan," warned Pentagon official, Paul Wolfowitz. Head of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, said on Wednesday in Brussels that Washington does not need a green light from the United Nations to launch attacks against "terrorist" targets. At the end of the semester meeting of the NATO Council, Myers let drop that Somalia could be the next victim of what he called, "the struggle against terrorism," though he noted that the aggression may not be precisely military. "There exist other camps like politics, economics, intelligence and justice, in which a series of measures can be taken," argued Myers. He clarified that if Somalia is a potential objective, there are also other countries that the United States considers to have lent support to or hosted supposed terrorists. A few hours earlier, in the same NATO meeting, US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, referred to Yemen and Sudan as States which give refuge to members of Al Qaida, the US's enemy number one. The British newspaper, "The Independent" revealed that Washington is preparing to bomb Somalia from bases in Kenya, despite lacking "convincing proof" of the presence of members of Al Qaida. How many more innocent lives are still to be demanded by the Minotaur of vengeance? (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
