CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA July 29, 1997 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Tuesday, July 29th, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- DELEGATES TO 14th WORLD FESTIVAL OF YOUTH AND STUDENTS DISCUSS MAJOR INTERNATIONAL ISSUES 2.- THE IMAGE OF CHE: AN ARTISTIC EXHIBITION 3.- RIGOBERTA MENCHU SENDS MESSAGE TO THE WORLD YOUTH FESTIVAL 4.- SOUTH KOREAN POLICE THREATEN TO ARREST DELEGATES TO WORLD YOUTH FESTIVAL 5.- CHE'S DAUGHTER SAYS CUBAN PEOPLE DESERVE TO HONOR HER FATHER'S REMAINS 6.- FIRST SOLIDARITY MEETING TO SUPPORT CUBA IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 7.- SOLIDARITY CARGO ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL DELEGATES TO 14th WORLD FESTIVAL OF YOUTH AND STUDENTS DISCUSS MAJOR INTERNATIONAL ISSUES Havana, July 29(RHC)-- The second day of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students, underway here in the Cuban capital, was dedicated to solidarity with the countries of Asia and Oceania. Tuesday saw the opening of Discussion Centers -- where topics of international importance are being discussed by Festival delegates. Wide-ranging issues from peace to participatory democracy and the environment are being discussed by nearly 11,000 young people from 117 countries. Other issues for discussion will be disarmament, employment, education, international cooperation and children's rights. Debates are taking place at Havana's Convention Center, the Genetics Engineering Center and the University of Havana. After the debates, delegates continue informal discussions at the various Club Houses established for each continent. Cuban President Fidel Castro described yesterday's inaugural ceremony of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students as "a marvelous, cultural spectacle." Speaking with reporters from the Cuban newspaper "Juventud Rebelde," the Cuban president congratulated the choreographers and artists who took part in the ceremony, which took place on the steps of the University of Havana last night. Hundreds of Cuban young people participated in the gala event, which was attended by more than 10,000 delegates and guests to the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students. THE IMAGE OF CHE: AN ARTISTIC EXHIBITION Havana, July 29(RHC)-- A review of artistic representations of the image of legendary guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara is the purpose of an exhibit inaugurated today at Havana's Pabellon Cuba, as part of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students. Over 300 pieces from more than 30 countries bring the image of Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara from different perspectives and cultures. The Havana-based Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) and the Tricontinental Publishing House, internationally recognized for their promotion of posters with the image of Che, are sponsoring the exhibit. In opening the exhibit, Cuban Minister of Culture Abel Prieto pointed out that despite relentless efforts to destroy Che's image, or to turn it into a banal and inoffensive vision -- 30 years after his death -- "Che's likeness continues to accompany progressive forces around the world with mysterious tenacity." The Cuban minister of culture said that his image "survives, bearing powerful ethical and revolutionary strength." Che's daughter, members of the diplomatic corps and hundreds of delegates to the Festival visited the presentation that will be on display until August the 5th. RIGOBERTA MENCHU SENDS MESSAGE TO THE WORLD YOUTH FESTIVAL Havana, July 29(RHC)-- Nobel Peace Prize laureate and indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu sent a special message to young people gathered in the Cuban capital for the World Youth Festival. Menchu was invited as a Special Guest of the Festival but was unable to attend for health reasons. In her message, the outstanding Guatemalan figure urged the new generations to "re-invent hope" adding that: "Once again, youth have the possibility to build utopia." She noted that "in Cuba, respect for the diversity of cultures and identities has been an example for the Americas and the world." Rigoberta Menchu stressed the need to fight for the right to recognize and respect cultural pluralism. She said that the denial of this recognition "has been one of the main weapons of empires to keep indigenous communities in poverty and underdevelopment." SOUTH KOREAN POLICE THREATEN TO ARREST DELEGATES TO WORLD YOUTH FESTIVAL Seoul, July 29(RHC)-- South Korean police say they will arrest young people who are attending the World Youth Festival in Havana. In a statement released in Seoul today, the National Federation of Students Council, HANCHONGRYON, reported that they had sent several representatives from that organization to the youth gathering in the Cuban capital. The group, however, did not reveal the number or names of the South Korean representatives for security reasons. Police told the daily South Korean Times that the students will be detained when they return home -- charged with violating the National Security Law. That legislation bans South Koreans from having "unauthorized contact with North Koreans" and indicates that those who do will face prison sentences. CHE'S DAUGHTER SAYS CUBAN PEOPLE DESERVE TO HONOR HER FATHER'S REMAINS Havana, July 29(RHC)-- The daughter of Heroic Guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara, Aleida Guevara, stated that the Cuban people deserve having her father's remains back on the island. The remains of Ernesto Che Guevara and several of his comrades who died in Bolivia in 1967 were recently found in a common grave in that South American country. Che's daughter said that in the beginning, she felt that her father's remains "should rest where he had fought," but quickly added that she believes that "the Cuban people deserve it more than I do." She stated that the Cuban people are a dignified people and that her father was a dignified man. Aleida Guevara spoke with reporters at the end of the inaugural ceremony of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students -- dedicated to Ernesto Che Guevara. FIRST SOLIDARITY MEETING TO SUPPORT CUBA IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE Budapest, July 29(RHC)-- The first regional meeting in support of Cuba in central and eastern Europe has issued a statement in support of Cuba's right to self-determination and firmly rejected the U.S. government's interventionist policies against the island. The encounter, held in the Hungarian capital, included representatives of organizations from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Yugoslavia. The document also expressed profound respect for internationalist guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara and his humane objectives and ideals -- and came out strongly against poverty and social oppression. SOLIDARITY CARGO ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, July 29(RHC)-- A shipment of some two tons of humanitarian aid collected by Cuban solidarity organizations in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia was handed over to Cuban authorities in Havana. The "Daiquiri" transported the shipment which includes ambulances and vans, buses, tires, school supplies, medicines and food gathered during a campaign carried out in Andalucia and Extremadura over the past six months. [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org