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Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2002 00:31:03 -0500
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Subject: Radio Havana Cuba-11 January 2002
Radio Havana Cuba-11 January 2002
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 11 January 2002
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*VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ PRAISES CUBA'S COURAGE AND DIGNITY
*DOMINICAN REPUBLIC THANKS CUBA FOR ASSISTANCE
*SOCIAL ORGANIZATION IN BOLIVIA DEMANDS RELEASE OF U.S.-HELD CUBAN PRISONERS
*COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO LEFTIST REBELS
*MAINSTREAM US MEDIA CAN'T IGNORE BUSH ADMINISTRATION TIES TO ENRON SCANDAL
*NEW ARGENTINE PRESIDENT FACES FIRST MASSIVE PROTEST OVER CURRENCY DECREE
*ISRAEL: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SCATHING ON ARMY IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
*Viewpoint: COUP D' ETAT IN MANAGUA
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*VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ PRAISES CUBA'S COURAGE AND DIGNITY
Caracas, January 11 (RHC)-- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has
praised Cuba's example of courage and dignity in the face of
increasing international economic and social pressures.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the country's new minister
of education, the Venezuelan leader expressed his solidarity with the
region and noted that poverty is one of the main causes of recent
social explosions in Argentina and other Latin American countries.
Hugo Chavez told more than 3000 persons gathered at the Teresa
Carreno Theater in Caracas that he admired Cuba's attempts to
establish an alternative economic model to free market neo-liberalism
-- adding that Venezuela is also working to establish such a model.
Chavez asked the audience: "What good is the economy if people are
not taken into account?"
The Venezuelan president said that after the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the Eastern European socialist camp, the media launched a
vicious campaign to try to convince people that there were no
alternatives to capitalism. He emphasized that Cuba has proven them
wrong and that Venezuela is following close behind.
During his speech at the inauguration of the new cabinet minister,
Hugo Chavez noted that upon coming into office, his administration
found that only 2.8 percent of the country's budget was earmarked for
education. Now, Venezuela dedicates nearly seven percent to
education, with plans to raise the figure even more.
*DOMINICAN REPUBLIC THANKS CUBA FOR ASSISTANCE
Santo Domingo, January 11 (RHC)-- The President of the Dominican
Republic, Hip�lito Mej�a, has praised Cuba's professional assistance
to his country in various areas, among them health and sports.
During a working breakfast at the residence of Cuba's ambassador to
the sister Caribbean island, Miguel P�rez, the Dominican president
asked the Cuban diplomat to convey a message to his Cuban
counterpart, President Fidel Castro. He thanked the Cuban leader, as
well as Foreign Minister Felipe P�rez Roque, for the 50 scholarships
for young Dominicans to study at Havana's Latin American School of
Medical Sciences.
In welcoming the Dominican president, the Cuban ambassador said the
visit is further evidence of the friendship and solidarity between
the two governments and peoples.
*SOCIAL ORGANIZATION IN BOLIVIA DEMANDS RELEASE OF U.S.-HELD CUBAN PRISONERS
La Paz, January 11 (RHC)-- Bolivia's Assembly for the Sovereignty of
the Peoples -- known by its Spanish acronym ASP -- has demanded the
immediate release of five Cuban citizens being held in U.S. federal
jail for fighting terrorism.
The Bolivian social organization also condemned "the corrupt,
cynical, inhumane attitude of the U.S. judicial apparatus which,
under the control of Miami's right-wing Cuban-American community,
orchestrated a political farce against Gerardo Hern�ndez, Ram�n
Laba�ino, Ren� Gonz�lez and Antonio Guerrero." The ASP said the Miami
court "purposefully and wrongly convicted them for crimes they did
not commit."
The statement underscores that the five Cuban patriots were in Miami
to monitor the activities of the so-called Cuban-American National
Foundation and other anti-Cuba groups in an attempt to prevent
terrorist acts carried out by these groups.
In its statement, the Bolivian social organization strongly rejects
the false allegations that the five Cubans endangered U.S. national
security -- noting that the real threat is posed by confessed
terrorists who freely act with the tolerance and even complicity of
U.S. authorities.
Finally, the Bolivian Association for the Sovereignty of the Peoples
calls on activists to close ranks and demand freedom for the five
U.S.-held political prisoners.
*COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO LEFTIST REBELS
San Vicente del Caguan, January 11 (RHC)-- Colombian President
Andres Pastrana has extended his deadline for resuming peace
negotiations as government troops step up activity around the vast
demilitarized zone.
As an earlier 48-hour deadline neared for the rebels to leave the
zone, Pastrana said the United Nations special envoy for Colombia,
James LeMoyne, had asked for another chance to meet guerrilla
leaders.
Pastrana said LeMoyne now had until Saturday evening to persuade the
Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces to return to peace talks.
But the guerrilla organization continues insisting that it never left
the negotiation table, that it was government negotiators who
abandoned talks while accusing the rebels of not being serious about
negotiations.
Observers are noting that LeMoyne's task is to persuade the rebels to
give up on their demand that the Colombian military cease its
stepped-up patrols around and overflights above the demilitarized
zone.
Meanwhile, the 50,000 Colombians who live in the demilitarized zone
are reported frightened since civilians are frequently targeted by
the army and right-wing paramilitaries for aid they are perceived to
have given to leftist guerrillas.
For months, the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
have been poised outside the zone waiting for an opportunity to
enter. Many worry that the Colombian army could escort paramilitary
forces, whose ranks include many former soldiers, into the area
despite government assurances concerning the safety of the civilian
population.
*MAINSTREAM US MEDIA CAN'T IGNORE BUSH ADMINISTRATION TIES TO ENRON SCANDAL
Washington, January 11 (RHC)-- Influential mainstream media in the
United States are no longer able to ignore the George W. Bush
administration's ties to the Enron finance scandal -- though some are
still trying to save Bush himself.
A front-page article in Friday's New York Times, entitled "A Familiar
Capital Script," affirmed that the rapidly exploding Enron inquiry
presents elements reminiscent of earlier Washington scandals,
including carefully phrased denials, noting that in a mater of hours,
it sent the White House into a full-scale effort to contain the
potential damage to President Bush. But the article went on to
erroneously assert that no one has suggested that Bush has done
anything wrong, even though the connections between his presidency
and Enron are "uncomfortably close."
Numerous alternative media and even mainstream press like The Los
Angeles Times have long suggested that Bush did, in fact, do
something wrong -- though neither the Times nor The Washington Post
delved into the story.
But today, The Washington Post took a look into the campaign
contributions from Enron executives to Attorney General John
Ashcroft's campaign -- noting that Ashcroft on Thursday rushed to
distance himself from his own Justice Department's recently announced
criminal investigation into Enron's collapse.
The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile -- in a Thursday article entitled
"Compassionately Conserving Enron" -- affirmed that now we know why
the White House has spent the better part of a year fending off
congressional efforts to find out who Vice President Richard Cheney
met with for input on his energy task force.
The newspaper asserted that during his run for the White House, Bush
tried to convince the public that he was a compassionate
conservative, though recent events make it clear that he is actually
"the standard-bearer of a far more coldhearted breed: the Enron
conservatives, people who use political money and connections as
levers to free themselves of all accountability to laws, regulations
and responsibility, even to their own employees."
The Los Angeles Times' staff writer Arianna Huffington wrote "to put
it simply, they are people who consistently, shamelessly and
aggressively put their self-interest above the public interest,
destroying lives in the process."
The House Government Reform Committee's highly critical statements of
White House contacts with Enron, and the subsequent Justice
Department announcement of a criminal investigation, are flooding the
U.S. media some three months after the giant energy firm stole the
life savings of its employees while providing multimillion-dollar
bonuses to its executives as the company came crashing down.
Meanwhile, a Justice Department audit has thus far determined that
Enron destroyed thousands of documents late last year and that its
executives discussed the firm's bankruptcy with Treasury Secretary
Paul O'Neill and Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
Investigators now reportedly say they don't have evidence to prove
that Enron abided by the law upon declaring bankruptcy and firing
some 4000 employees who lost their life savings. The firm that most
benefited from the energy crisis in California and other Western
states in the U.S. was found to have destroyed all documents
pertaining to the retirement savings of fired employees and severance
pay for those workers.
*NEW ARGENTINE PRESIDENT FACES FIRST MASSIVE PROTEST OVER CURRENCY DECREE
Buenos Aires, January 11 (RHC)-- Following Argentina's long night of
massive pot-banging protests and some violent street protests, Friday
the government finally allowed the value of the peso to float -- in
what is being called the baptism of fire of the country's currency
devaluation. Argentineans angry over the government's decision to
further freeze savings accounts triggered the first major street
protest since Eduardo Duhalde since he took office on January 2nd as
the country's fifth president in less than a month.
And at least the initial operations in currency exchange houses did
not bring good news. Minutes after trading began at 13 hundred hours
GMT, it took 1.80 pesos to buy one U.S. dollar after authorities had
placed the dollar at 1.40 pesos. Some finance experts are warning
that the currency's value may plummet quickly, and could depreciate
to 2.70 pesos to the dollar by year's end.
That would have devastating consequences for ordinary Argentineans,
increasing inflation and bringing on drastic price hikes. Prices on
imported goods like computers and camera film have shot up around 40
percent, while even local raw produce such as wheat, bananas and beef
have increased by as much as 40 percent as producers prefer to hold
on to stock rather than sell in today's uncertain times.
*ISRAEL: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SCATHING ON ARMY IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Tel Aviv, January 11 (RHC)-- Human rights activists in Israel have
issued the most scathing criticism ever of the Israeli army's crimes
and abuse in occupied Palestinian territories. The Israeli
Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, also
known by its Hebrew name B'Tselem, has charged that Tel Aviv's army
is behaving with "blatant disregard for the lives of Palestinian
civilians" and a "complete lack of military accountability."
The report comes amid the Israeli army's demolition of dozens of
Palestinian homes -- leaving hundreds homeless -- the destruction of
the airport in the Gaza Strip and the virtual house arrest of
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. These new actions are in reprisal
for a Palestinian attack against an Israeli military checkpoint that
left four Israeli soldiers dead and six wounded before the two
Palestinian attackers were shot and killed. The militant Hamas group
claimed responsibility.
The report covers the fatal shootings of 15 Palestinians, at least
nine of whom were unarmed, after the army's incursion into the
Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem region between last October 19 and
25. B'Tselem's investigation found that "in all the cases described
in the report, no shots were fired toward Israeli Defense Force
soldiers from the immediate vicinity of the civilians who were
killed."
The report said that these are not isolated incidents. The Israeli
military's response to B'Tselem's report was that it was unfamiliar
with most of the cases described, despite the fact that they have
been previously reported by journalists and human rights groups.
Among the cases covered are the killings of four unarmed Palestinians
in their homes in the Aida refugee camp by Israeli gunfire from the
Intercontinental Hotel.
It also cites damage inflicted by the Israeli shelling of Bethlehem's
two major hospitals, the killings of two Palestinians by
indiscriminate gunfire from Israeli armored personnel carriers as the
army entered Bethlehem, and the killing of a 16-year-old boy in the
square of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem -- far away from
the Latin Cemetery from where Palestinians were firing at Israeli
positions.
*Viewpoint: COUP D' ETAT IN MANAGUA
Businessman Enrique Bolanos has assumed the presidency in
Nicaragua, but he has been unable to rid himself of his predecessor,
the corrupt Arnoldo Aleman. Unpopular Aleman will remain on as head
of the Congress, playing a starring role in yet another episode of
his habitual party maneuvering. The newly-elected Nicaraguan
president looked on in amazement while in one of his typical tricks,
his fellow Constitutional Liberal Party member, Aleman, managed to
have himself named as the president of Parliament.
Both Bolanos and the opposition Sandinista Front had supported
liberal dissident Jaime Cuadra as their choice for the leader of the
Congress over the next five years, as a way to bridge the political
polarization engendered by the administration of outgoing head of
state, Arnoldo Aleman. But it will be Aleman, after negotiating the
resignation of former Parliament president, Oscar Moncada, who will
be telling Bolanos what he can legally do as president of the
Republic.
So Arnoldo Aleman has left the presidency of Nicaragua, only to
assume another presidency in a virtual coup d'etat. Mr. Aleman ended
his term like a good student of the International Monetary Fund, from
which he received his directions on further entrenching the
neo-liberal economy imposed in Nicaragua since the early l990's. The
results of those cruel policies? The weakest country socially in
Central America exhibits faint macroeconomic indicators, like reduced
inflation and a slight growth in the Domestic Gross Product. But it
has come at a high cost for the great majority of the people.
Extreme poverty is the norm for the country's 5.2 million
inhabitants, while a tiny minority lives in opulence. Nicaragua is
suffering under a top-heavy foreign debt of six billion, 600 million
dollars, one of the region's largest per capita. 72 per cent of
Nicaraguans are defined as living in poverty, according to official
figures, though during his government Aleman preferred to concentrate
resources in the partially destroyed capital of Managua, victim of
several devastating earthquakes. Thanks to that "concern" today, a
few high buildings are seen and some elegant shopping centers. But
Aleman "forgot" to concern himself about basic services in sprawling
Managua's many shantytowns.
Though skillful in the personal use of public funds for himself and
his friends, Aleman, did little to reduce unemployment; today
registered at 25 percent. Nor did he support agrarian policies aimed
at counteracting the effects of a regional drought and resulting
hunger. A recent world study undertaken by the U.S. magazine, Time,
placed Nicaragua 77th on a list of the 91 most corrupt countries in
the world; considered to be a grave risk for national and foreign
investments.
Nevertheless, the U.S. government was pleased with Aleman's
administration and did everything possible to keep the Sandinistas
from coming to power in last November's elections which were finally
won by the ruling party's candidate, Enrique Bolanos with whom
Washington has just offered to cooperate. Washington, more than
giving Bolanos the stamp of approval, was relived that it managed to
keep Daniel Ortega out of the presidency.
All in all, it appears doubtful that Enrique Bolanos is qualified to
take on the complex mission that faces the president of a country as
complicated and filled with political, social and economic problems
as Nicaragua.
(c) 2002 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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