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Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 05:16:43 -0500 (EST)
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Subject: [CubaNews] Radio Havana Cuba-27 December 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 27 December 2001
.
*FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CUBA CONTINUES TO GROW, DESPITE GLOBAL ECONOMIC
CRISIS
*CUBA MEETS CIGAR PRODUCTION GOALS SET FOR 2001
*HAVANA AND ALGIERS SIGN BILATERAL ACCORDS
*CUBAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PLANS GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN FEBRUARY
*MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED; TRIBAL LEADERS DEMAND IMMEDIATE HALT TO
BOMBING
*COLOMBIA: RIGHT-WING PARAMILITARIES A BYPRODUCT OF US POLICY - WASH.POST
*BEGINS TO HEED OF INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST DEFORESTATION OF AMAZON
*INDIA, PAKISTAN TRADE MORE SANCTIONS AS WAR PREPARATIONS CONTINUE
*FORMER ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER APOLOGIZES TO FOR CAUSING EXTREME ANGUISH
*MOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO BRING CHARGES AGAINST FORMER OFFICIALS
*Viewpoint: KARZAI - A GOVERNMENT OF CHAOS
.
*FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN CUBA CONTINUES TO GROW, DESPITE GLOBAL ECONOMIC
CRISIS
Havana, December 27 (RHC)-- Cuba's investment program continues to
develop, despite the global economic recession and its impact on the
international business community.
Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister Marta
Lomas told reporters that the world economic situation is not likely
to affect the island's opening to foreign investment. She said that
despite the fact that the number of foreign investors interested in
working in Cuba has slightly decreased, this does not imply a free
fall, since there are nearly 400 joint ventures in full operation.
Marta Lomas said she hopes an improvement of the international
economic situation next year will bring more investments to the
island. Cuba's foreign investment minister said that she is
optimistic, hoping to see a general economic recovery, especially in
tourism, by the middle of next year.
Havana signed nearly 20 joint venture agreements during the year
2001, particularly in tourism, biotechnology and construction. The
number of joint ventures operating on the island now stands at 397.
Marta Lomas also reported that Cuba has signed 198 cooperation
agreements and 17 administrative accords in an attempt to diversify
investment.
The Cuban government official explained the island's investment
selection policy. She said that authorities first identify what
foreign investment the island wants and then who will be the investor
-- noting that Cuba looks at foreign investment as a complement to
national economic efforts.
The current world economic recession, which brought about a free-fall
in the international tourist sector and a decrease in the prices of
basic products, like nickel and sugar, have had a negative impact on
the Cuban economy. She added that Hurricane Michelle, which hit Cuba
on November 4th and affected half of the island, also had a
devastating effect on the economy.
Marta Lomas announced that the island's Gross Domestic Product will
grow three percent this year. She said the world economic recession
has not forced any foreign investor to close operations in Cuba, nor
has it provoked the freezing of any projects or massive lay-offs. On
the other hand, she emphasized, the global economic situation has
forced mixed enterprises to reduce costs and, in some cases, postpone
some modernization operations for the next six months.
*CUBA MEETS CIGAR PRODUCTION GOALS SET FOR 2001
Havana, December 27 (RHC)-- The Cuban cigar industry met its
production goals set for the year 2001 with more than 300 million
hand-rolled Habano cigars.
The president of Cuba's Union of Tobacco Workers, Lazaro Aguira, told
journalists in Havana that the recent tobacco harvest was considered
one of the best of the past 10 years.
The 2nd National Conference of the Cuban Union of Tobacco Workers,
held in eastern Santiago de Cuba, recently recognized the high
quality work of the sector and the need to continue to increase
economic quality controls and the steady supply of raw material to
the industry.
*HAVANA AND ALGIERS SIGN BILATERAL ACCORDS
Havana, December 27 (RHC)-- Cuba and Algeria have signed four
agreements on the sale to Cuba of Algerian oil and Cuban medicine to
the north African nation.
The agreements, signed recently in Havana, stipulate details of the
exchange -- regulating the importation by Algeria of medical
equipment, medicine and vaccines, as well as sugar, while Cuba will
import crude oil and its derivatives from Algeria.
*CUBAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PLANS GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN FEBRUARY
Havana, December 27 (RHC)-- In commemoration of its 40th
anniversary, Cuba's Chamber of Commerce will hold its General
Assembly beginning February 1st at Havana's International Convention
Center.
During a recent news conference in Havana, the Director of Office of
Associate Members of the Chamber of Commerce, Jose Padilla Capetillo,
explained that the upcoming general assembly has been preceded by
local meetings of the Chamber's five area branches. Its associate
members have also held meetings in different economic sectors such as
transportation, communications, biotechnology, construction and
agriculture.
According to the official, this is the third consecutive year in
which an assembly has been held with the participation of the
Chamber's 750 associate companies.
Jose Padilla said that the general assembly's main objective will be
to evaluate what has been done and what associate enterprises need to
guarantee their best performance.
The Chamber of Commerce executive reiterated that his institution
currently offers some 60 different services, both to national and
foreign companies. Some of these services, he said, are provided free
of charge, while others are offered at a discount to associate
members.
*MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED; TRIBAL LEADERS DEMAND IMMEDIATE HALT TO
BOMBING
Kabul, December 27 (RHC) -- Afghan tribal leaders have appealed for
an immediate end to US air strikes on their territory amid reports of
another 40 civilians killed by US bombs in the eastern Paktia
province. Eyewitnesses told western media outlets that numerous homes
were destroyed as their occupants were sleeping, with 60 people
wounded.
Residents of the area reportedly don't understand why they were
targeted since they say there are no Taliban or Al Qaida fighters in
the area. The tribal leaders said they also made the demand in a
meeting Wednesday with interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, who
promised to press the United States to stop the bombing in that
province.
A week ago, US bombs hit a convoy in the mountains of Paktia. The
Pentagon insists that it received intelligence that the convoy was
carrying Al Qaida members who fired at high-altitude bombers, but
Paktia tribal leaders said the US mistakenly hit a convoy heading to
Kabul to congratulate Afghanistan's new interim administration, and
that there were no Al Qaida members among them. As many as 65 people
were killed, according to tribal leaders - 15 men in the convoy and
the rest in nearby mountain villages.
In related news, a U.S.-based humanitarian aid organization working
in Afghanistan says that if people were provided with the truth about
the extent of civilian casualties, they would not be so enthusiastic
about Washington's war. Upon his return from a recent trip to
Afghanistan, the president of Conscience International, Jim Jennings,
told reporters that he witnessed "collateral damage" in the form of
children with legs blown off, eyes blinded and internal organs
damaged.
Jennings said that the children were reportedly playing with a
U.S.-dropped cluster bomb when it exploded. One boy, about 10 years
old, lost his left foot. He said they drove the young victims over
bombed-out roads for two and a half hours to the only pediatric
hospital in the country.
The head of the Washington-based humanitarian organization said he
also saw a number of babies suffering from acute malnutrition and
starvation in the hospital and more starving children on the streets
of Kabul. While it was hard to estimate the numbers, Jennings said
that United Nations agencies estimate that malnutrition for the
population generally is 70 percent.
*COLOMBIA: RIGHT-WING PARAMILITARIES A BYPRODUCT OF US POLICY - WASH.POST
Paraiso, Colombia, December 27 (RHC) -- The growing strength of
right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia is a byproduct of US aid to the
Colombian army, affirmed the Thursday edition of the "Washington
Post." Post foreign correspondent Scott Wilson reported that the
Colombian army was sent into Paraiso, in Bolivar Department, to clear
out the paramilitaries to pave the way for peace talks with the
country's National Liberation Army, but instead cleared out leftist
guerrillas and collaborated with the paramilitary's destruction of
Paraiso on three occasions.
Wilson asserted that the rising power of paramilitary forces in
Colombia is a development that is altering the strategic balance in
the country after four decades of civil war, noting that the forces
were once a collection of armed groups sponsored by wealthy
landowners, but have now become a national movement.
The article asserted that diplomats said they petitioned US officials
in Bogot� to threaten to withhold US aid from the Colombian armed
forces unless they followed President Andres Pastrana's order to
clear out the paramilitaries from southern Bolivar, but that the
message was clouded over by differences of opinion in the US Congress
and the George W. Bush administration over the value of creating a
safe haven for leftist guerrillas.
United Nations special envoy for peace in Colombia, Jan Egeland,
recently stated that more moral and material pressure should be
applied to curb paramilitary violence, which he called the most
rapidly growing cause of civilian suffering. He said that what
happened in Bolivar shows that the killers can go on killing innocent
civilians and not face any consequences.
*BEGINS TO HEED OF INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST DEFORESTATION OF AMAZON
Brasilia, December 27 (RHC) -- Amid an international campaign
against deforestation, the government of Brazil has decided to crack
down on the illegal felling of trees in the Amazon. Brazilian
authorities have also placed a ban on the sale of mahogany, one of
the Amazon's most sought-after riches - particularly in western
nations.
Environmental activists have long been accusing industrialized
countries like Spain, Great Britain and the United States of
promoting the illegal trafficking of precious woods by not pursuing
those who buy the products in their countries. The 34 dollars paid
for an illegally felled mahogany tree becomes 3,478 dollars when
processed and sold abroad.
Brazil came under greater pressure earlier this month when Greenpeace
revealed filmed images of the destruction in the Amazon caused by the
illegal timber business. The footage also demonstrated that much of
the destruction has occurred in indigenous reserves.
Greenpeace and local environmental groups will reportedly cooperate
with the Brazilian environment ministry's efforts to prevent the
felling of trees outside the zone of 12 concessions legally granted
for that purpose. Authorities recognize, however, that greater
vigilance alone will not solve the problem, which has led to the
establishment of a certification system within the entire timber
industry.
*INDIA, PAKISTAN TRADE MORE SANCTIONS AS WAR PREPARATIONS CONTINUE
New Delhi, Islamabad, December 27 (RHC) -- India has slapped further
sanctions against Pakistan, asserting that there was no need to worry
about war between the nuclear rivals, but continuing the deployment
of troops on the Pakistan border. New Delhi's foreign ministry
announced that it had decided to halve India's diplomatic mission in
Pakistan and Islamabad's mission in New Delhi, restrict the movement
of Pakistani diplomats and halt Pakistan International Airlines'
right to fly over Indian airspace.
Pakistan answered with similar measures. Meanwhile, India's defense
ministry Thursday announced that Indian troops will be fully deployed
on the Pakistan border by this weekend and will be ready for any
eventuality. According to Pakistani Brigadier Commander Muhammed
Yakub Khan, with troops sitting eyeball to eyeball and so much hatred
for each other, there will be no such thing as limited war - though
there is no indication that either side has deployed nuclear weapons.
Tension between the neighbors has risen since a suicide attack on
India's Parliament on 13 December, which Delhi says was carried out
by two Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups with the support of
Pakistan's intelligence agency.
*FORMER ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER APOLOGIZES TO FOR CAUSING EXTREME ANGUISH
Buenos Aires, December 27 (RHC) -- Former Argentine Economy
Minister Domingo Cavallo, ousted last week in massive protests
against his hated policies, Thursday apologized to the nation for
failing to end nearly four years of bitter recession and plunging
Argentines into what he called "extreme anguish."
In statements to local media outlets, he acknowledged that his
failure had plunged Argentines into desperation, but said the
street protests had not been directed only against him or
then-President Fernando de la Rua, but rather, against all
Argentine leaders.
Cavallo slashed workers' salaries and pensions in an effort to
continue paying off Argentina's staggering foreign debt, but the
shock measures failed to prevent the economy from falling deeper into
a slump. His last measure, limiting cash withdrawals from banks, was
the final straw that snapped Argentines' patience, leading tens of
thousands into the streets to protest and loot supermarkets.
*MOTHERS OF THE PLAZA DE MAYO BRING CHARGES AGAINST FORMER OFFICIALS
Buenos Aires, December 27 (RHC) -- The Argentine human rights
organization Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have filed charges against
former President Fernando de la Rua, accusing him of responsibility
in the police brutality during last week's social explosion. Charges
were also filed against former Interior Minister Ramon Mestre, former
Security Secretary Enrique Mathov, and former federal police chief
Ruben Santos.
TV footage clearly showed mounted police charging into women who were
peacefully protesting in front of the presidential palace, beating
them with short whips. Some of the women were sitting, while other
women passersby were also targeted. Mothers of Mayo Square leader
Hebe De Bonafini stated that not even the former dictatorship
unleashed such brutal repression against her organization. Among
those wounded, one woman had a toe severed by a horse's hoof.
Judicial authorities are currently determining responsibilities in
the repression that left 30 people killed and some 2,000 wounded. A
prominent Argentine news daily reported Wednesday that judicial
authorities are coming to the conclusion that the repression
premeditated and ordered from above.
*Viewpoint: KARZAI - A GOVERNMENT OF CHAOS
The post-Taliban government installed by the United States has
begun to shape the destiny of a destroyed nation without doing away
with ethnic rivalry. Representatives of the different Afghan groups
signed in December in Bonn, Germany, an agreement on the formation of
the future government and the election of a prime minister. As an
epilogue to the conference, a new administration headed by Hamid
Karzai was constituted which began functioning on December 22.
The new government's stated goal was ending two decades of civil war
and establishing a central authority acceptable to the entire
country. But four years earlier, that objective proved to be
unattainable for the Northern Alliance, because at that time, after a
prolonged fight, they were deposed from power by the Talibans who are
ethnic Pashtuns. As the year 2001 comes to a close, the situation
isn't any more optimistic since the Talibans abandoned Kabul on
December 13. Afghanistan is now actually under the control of nearly
twenty different groups.
Warlords and Taliban chieftains make use of their respective feuds in
accordance with their rules and traditions. En Mazar-i-Sharif, for
example, the infamous Uzbek general Dostum, rules the fates of all
the northern provinces bordering the former Soviet republic of
Uzbekistan. Other cities and towns in central Afghanistan are under
the control of a local chieftain who deserted from the ranks of the
Talibans shortly before or after it succumbed to the mullah Mohamed
Omar regime.
In the eastern provinces, especially in the most volatile of
Nangarhar, the new governor Adbul Kahadir, who participated in the
Bonn Conference, is trying to establish a regional power-sharing
accord among the various groups, all armed, which control different
districts. It is unlikely that the new provisional Afghan government,
headed by Karzai, possesses enough talent to assemble a credible
mosaic of tribal groups within the administration, since the new
leader is a Pashtun close to former monarch, Sahid Shah, who is not
accepted by all the Afghan factions.
In addition to attempting to dilute the existing differences with the
other factions, Karzai has a colossal task in front of him: creating
the conditions to allow for the return of thousands of Afghans who
are anxious to go back to their country after more than twenty years
of war. The new government leader faces other complex tasks as well,
like the convocation of a "Loya Jirga" or an emergency assembly of
respected Afghan figures.
The assembly's role will be to design a transition government for 18
months charged with drafting a new Constitution and convening new
elections. Practically nothing is said about trying to overcome the
ancestral poverty of 26 million Afghans; a problem that no one wishes
to take on, though the United States and its allies have agreed to
increase shipments of humanitarian aid.
It is to be expected that that the United States will throw out a
life line to its man in Kabul, Hamid Karzai, to make it appear that
everything is going according to plan in Afghanistan after the defeat
of the Taliban. The world should be prepared to begin seeing the
image of a head of the Afghan government constantly calling his
superiors in Washington on his cell phone.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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