May 1st, 1997 CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Thursday, May 1st, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY CELEBRATED IN CUBA 2.- JAMAICA RETURNS ILLEGAL CUBAN IMMIGRANT 3.- CUBA RATIFIES CONVENTION PROHIBITING CHEMICAL WEAPONS PRODUCTION 4.- FIRST DUTY FREE ZONE WILL OPEN SOON IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 5.- HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CUBAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WILL HAVE COMPLETED POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BY THE YEAR 2000 INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY CELEBRATED IN CUBA Havana, May 1(RHC)-- Hundreds of thousands -- according to some estimates, as many as 1 million 300,000 -- marched to celebrate International Workers Day here in Havana. The traditional march past the statue of Jose Marti in the Plaza de la Revolucion was presided over by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Just before this morning's march stepped-off, the General Secretary of Cuba's Workers Confederation, Pedro Ross, delivered a short speech in which he announced that, so far, more than eight million Cubans have signed a declaration rejecting U.S. plans for a transition from socialism to capitalism. The trade union leader presented Fidel with volumes of signatures to the Declaration of the Twentieth Century Mambises. Ross emphasized that the names of workers, campesinos, students and Cubans from all walks of life prove that the people are determined to defend the achievements of their Socialist Revolution. In his speech commemorating International Workers Day, the general secretary of Cuba's Workers Confederation also mentioned the growing support Cuba receives from around the world -- pointing to the presence of more than 600 trade union representatives from 40 countries at today's activities in the Cuban capital. Workers around the world, he said, understand the importance of Cuba's struggle and resistance against U.S. aggressions. While the main celebration was held here in Havana, similar marches and demonstrations in support of the Cuban Revolution were held across the island. In Santiago de Cuba, more than 100 thousand marched in the May 1st celebration, presided over by Cuba's Defense Minister and Second Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, Raul Castro. In every city and town, celebrations of International Workers Day were dedicated to Ernesto Che Guevara -- the Heroic Guerrilla -- marking the 30th anniversary of his death in combat this year. JAMAICA RETURNS ILLEGAL CUBAN IMMIGRANT Havana, May 1(RHC)-- Under current agreements between Cuba and Jamaica, Jamacian authorities returned an illegal Cuban immigrant to Havana. According to Prensa Latina News Agency in the Cuban capital, Juan Guerrero, a resident of the western province of Granma, arrived on the shores of Jamaica in a small boat several months ago. He had been held by Jamaican authorities until his return to Havana on Wednesday. Last year, 23 people were returned to Cuba from Jamaica under immigration treaties between the two countries. Cuba also signed a similar agreement with the Bahamas last year -- during which more than 300 immigrants were returned to Havana. CUBA RATIFIES CONVENTION PROHIBITING CHEMICAL WEAPONS PRODUCTION Havana, May 1(RHC)-- Cuba has ratified the international treaty prohibiting the use and production of chemical weapons. In a statement distributed by the Cuban Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Cuba recalls that it has supported the agreement from the beginning and is now making its endorsement official. Cuba hopes that the signing of the convention prohibiting chemical weapons production will lead to the eventual erradication of such types of weapons worldwide... and pointed out that the United States is the world's top chemical weapons producer. The statement emphasizes that Cuba cannot be held responsible for any chemical weapons that might be stored at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, illegally occupied by Washington. It adds that given the legal instrument of the prohibition, specifically Article 11 of the convention, the U.S. economic and commercial blockade of the island is incompatible with the objectives of the agreement. FIRST DUTY FREE ZONE WILL OPEN SOON IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, May 1(RHC)-- The Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Ibrahim Ferradaz has announced that the first Duty Free Zone on the island will open by May 7th in Havana. The Duty Free Zone will be operated by the Havana in Bond, S.A., a subsidiary of the Cimex Corporation. According to Ferradaz, besides this first Duty Free Zone located east of Havana, three similar areas will be opened in the near future. They will be located in Wajay, also in Havana; at the port of Mariel, west of Havana and at Cienfuegos Bay, located in central Cuba. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CUBAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WILL HAVE COMPLETED POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BY THE YEAR 2000 Havana, May 1(RHC)-- Half of the nearly 700,000 university graduates in Cuba by the turn of the century will have completed post-graduate courses. The announcement was made by Higher Education Minister Fernando Vecino Alegret, who pointed out that there are currently 135,000 young people enrolled in university studies across the island. Alegret stated that, to date, there are 580,000 university graduates -- a respective figure for a small country with only 11 million inhabitants. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. 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