CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA June 5, 1997 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Thursday, June 5th, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINSTER ROBERTO ROBAINA SAYS THE REVOLUTION WILL SURVIVE DESPITE WASHINGTON'S ANTI-CUBA PHOBIA 2.- CHINA CONDEMNS NEW U.S. LEGISLATIVE PRESSURES AGAINST CUBA 3.- CUBA EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE FOR WIDESPREAD REJECTION OF U.S. ECONOMIC BLOCKADE AT ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES MEETING 4.- RUSSIA SET TO RENEW CONSTRUCTION OF CUBA'S JURAGUA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT NEXT YEAR 5.- HUNGARY EXPRESSES REJECTION OF WASHINGTON'S HELMS-BURTON LAW 6.- CUBA EXPECTS TO MEET WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION'S BLOOD DONATION GOAL FOR THIS YEAR 7.- MORE THAN 300 COMPANIES FROM 15 COUNTRIES CONFIRM PARTICIPATION IN HAVANA'S EXPOCARIBE TRADE FAIR 8.- THE 6th CONGRESS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMISTS FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN WILL SESSION IN HAVANA NEXT WEEK 9.- TOP CUBAN SINGER AND SONGWRITER PABLO MILANES TOURS SPAIN CUBAN FOREIGN MINSTER ROBERTO ROBAINA SAYS THE REVOLUTION WILL SURVIVE DESPITE WASHINGTON'S ANTI-CUBA PHOBIA Havana, June 5(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina stated that the latest U.S. congressional measures will never accomplish what they are designed to do -- to frighten the Cuban people and eventually destroy the island's revolutionary process. Robaina condemned recent legislative moves in Washington, devised to tighten the anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Law. The Cuban foreign minister told Prensa Latina News Agency that the legislation recently approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress is yet another example of Washington's arrogance. He added that those who dreamed up such legislation must be suffering from "serious psychological problems" if they really think their strategies will strike fear in the Cuban people -- who are determined to continue on the path of socialism. The top Cuban diplomat compared the authors of the anti-Cuba measures to those with "an obsessive paranoia" to destroy the Cuban Revolution. According to the Cuban foreign minister, the right-wing members of Congress who proposed the latest legislation "not only threaten the credibility of the U.S. administration, but also threaten a group of nations like the European Union" -- referring to the U.S. promise to consider changes in the extraterritorial character of Helms-Burton, in exchange for the EU dropping its challenge of the law before the World Trade Organization. Accusing Washington of "a very sophisticated form of political and state terrorism," the Cuban foreign minister said that U.S. legislative measures against the island will never have its desired affect -- the destruction of the Cuban Revolution. CHINA CONDEMNS NEW U.S. LEGISLATIVE PRESSURES AGAINST CUBA Beijing, June 5(RHC)-- China has added its voice to the condemnation of a series of anti-Cuba measures working their way through the U.S. Congress, calling them "contrary to the principles of mutual respect and sovereignty." According to Prensa Latina News Agency, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement in Beijing, the capital, denouncing the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba -- saying that the latest legislative measures being considered by Washington are in violation of international law. The statement added that the Chinese government will "continue to support the just struggle of the Cuban people in defense of their independence and their resistance to foreign intervention." CUBA EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE FOR WIDESPREAD REJECTION OF U.S. ECONOMIC BLOCKADE AT ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES MEETING Havana, June 5(RHC)-- Cuba has expressed its gratitude for the position taken by numerous countries during the recent meeting of the Organization of American States -- calling for an end to the U.S. blockade against the island and for Cuba's reincorporation into the regional body. According to Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesperson Miguel Alfonso, the widespread rejection of Washington's Helms-Burton Law during the OAS meeting in Lima was indicative of international condemnation of the anti-Cuba legislative measures in the U.S. Congress. Alfonso told journalists in Havana on Thursday that Cuba was the victim of an illegal maneuver in 1962, when the Caribbean island was excluded from the regional organization, with Washington paying-off many Latin American countries for their vote against Cuba. The foreign ministry spokesperson said that Cuba does not consider its reincorporation into the Organization of American States a priority at this time, given the struggle for its survival against ever greater U.S. pressures. The Cuban spokesperson also took the opportunity to announce that a new round of migratory talks between Havana and Washington will soon begin in the United States. The last round was held in the Cuban capital last December. RUSSIA SET TO RENEW CONSTRUCTION OF CUBA'S JURAGUA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT NEXT YEAR Moscow, June 5(RHC)-- Russia plans to renew construction of Cuba's Juragua nuclear power plant in 1998. According to the Russian Vice Minister of Energy Yevgueni Reshetnilove, an international consortium will be established early next year, in which firms from Germany, Great Britain and Brazil have taken an interest. The Russian vice minister said that during the first stage, one light-water vver-440 reactor will be installed. After an 8-year period, the nuclear plant will have paid back the international consortium and another light-water reactor will be installed in a second block, aimed at obtaining a net profit. Reshetnilov said that since construction of Cuba's Juragua plant was stopped -- with the collapse of the Soviet Union -- the installation has been maintained in good condition and is in compliance with security conditions required by the International Atomic Energy Agency. HUNGARY EXPRESSES REJECTION OF WASHINGTON'S HELMS-BURTON LAW Hungary, June 5(RHC)-- The head of a Cuban parliamentary mission now visiting Hungary, Jorge Lezcano, asserted that Hungarian authorities have expressed their rejection of Washington's Helms-Burton Law. During an interview with the Spanish news agency EFE, Lezcano also said that due to the extraterritorial character of the anti-Cuba law, many countries have rejected the U.S. legislation. The Cuban official, who is also the President of the Cuban Parliament's International Relations Commission, is currently on an official four-day visit to Hungary. CUBA EXPECTS TO MEET WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION'S BLOOD DONATION GOAL FOR THIS YEAR Havana, June 5(RHC)-- Cuba plans to collect 550,000 voluntary blood donations by September, thus fulfilling the goal of one for every 20 inhabitants as proposed by the World Health Organization. >From October 1996 to April 1997, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution -- the CDRs -- and popular vaccination campaigns had already accumulated some 337,000 donations. According to Victor Dominguez, member of the CDR's National Secretariat, this figure indicates that the goal set by the World Health Organization will be fulfilled. In an interview with Prensa Latina News Agency, the Cuban official also said that this goal was actually fulfilled some time ago, but with donations offered by relatives of patients. >From October 1995 to September 1966, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution collected more than 508,000 blood donations. MORE THAN 300 COMPANIES FROM 15 COUNTRIES CONFIRM PARTICIPATION IN HAVANA'S EXPOCARIBE TRADE FAIR Havana, June 5(RHC)-- Representatives from 15 nations and 319 companies have confirmed their participation in the 6th edition of EXPOCARIBE '97, Cuba's second trade fair.province of Santiago de Cuba. According to the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, the presence of Cuban companies will be larger -- 36 more compared to 1996. Exhibitors this time will come from Spain, China, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Holland and the European Union. EXPOCARIBE '97 -- which runs for one week -- will include conferences and visits to places of social and economic interest in Santiago de Cuba, located some 950 kilometers from Havana. The largest Cuban trade fair -- promoting commerce, investment opportunities and encouraging joint ventures -- is Havana's International Trade Fair, which is one of the most important of its kind in the region. Over 60 countries participated in the most recent edition of this fair. THE 6th CONGRESS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ECONOMISTS FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN WILL SESSION IN HAVANA NEXT WEEK Havana, June 5(RHC)-- More than 400 delegates from 13 Latin American countries will meet in Havana from June llth to the 13th to discuss the region's economic situation, as well as trade and investment opportunities. Discussions on these important issues will take place during the 6th Congress of the Association of Economists from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the 10th Congress of Professionals of Economic Sciences in Central America, which will take place simultaneously. According to the President of the Cuban National Association of Economists, Roberto Verrier, delegates will focus on international economic trends and will debate possibilities for development in the fields of trade and finances in the region. Poverty, which affects almost half of the region's more than 500 million people, will be one of the main items on the event's agenda. The Association of Economists from Latin America and the Caribbean, founded in 1980, held its previous meetings in Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador and Costa Rica. TOP CUBAN SINGER AND SONGWRITER PABLO MILANES TOURS SPAIN Madrid, June 5(RHC)-- Top Cuban singer and songwriter Pablo Milanes is back on Spanish stages following an illness, which forced him to interrupt a tour of that European country three years ago. His return to Madrid is the beginning of a tour that will be carried out in the summer, in which he'll perform songs from his new CD, "El Despertar," along with his classic and internationally known "Yolanda" and "Amo Esta Isla." His latest CD is a compilation of selections from his last two albums -- "Origenes" and "Plegaria" -- which were warmly received in Spain. Pablo had to postpone his tour of Spain due to seven operations and a hip implant -- but he has now completely recovered. [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