CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA October 1, 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Wednesday, October 1, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA ADDRESSES 52nd UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION 2.- U.S. ANNOUNCES RETURN OF TWO CUBAN HIJACKERS 3.- CUBA REITERATES ITS DETERMINATION TO COMPLETE JURAGUA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 4.- HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA CONTINUE AROUND THE WORLD 5.- U.S. COMPANY STEALS FAMOUS CUBAN CIGAR TRADEMARK 6.- LATIN AMERICAN CHURCHES FIGHT U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA 7.- CUBA AND ITALY SET UP NEW JOINT VENTURE 8.- AND FROM THE SPORTS DESK... CUBA'S BOXING TEAM PLANS TO HOLD ONTO ITS SUPREMACY AT THE WORLD TOURNAMENT CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA ADDRESSES 52nd UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION New York, October 1(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina opened his address to the 52nd United Nations General Assembly by recalling that when Ernesto Che Guevara spoke before the 19th UN session in 1964, the planet was home to 700 million illiterates, 200 million jobless and approximately one billion people living in extreme poverty. "Today," said the Cuban foreign minister, "there are one billion illiterates, one billion people without work and more than two billion living in sub-human conditions." Robaina said "this reality contradicts the UN principle which states that human beings -- the source of development, as well as its agent and beneficiary -- should be considered, above all, development's justification and end." The Cuban foreign minister pointed to the 425,000 children who have died from curable diseases since the UN General Assembly session opened on September 16th. He said those children "were sacrificed in the name of efficiency, quality and consumption -- demanded by irrational and unsustainable development." Robaina said the UN's promise to unite against war and in favor of peace has never borne fruit and that the victims of violence and armed conflicts, just since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, are comparable to the number of people killed during 15 years of war against Vietnam. Among numerous other denunciations, the Cuban foreign minister asked member nations how long they will sit idly by and allow the U.S. blockade of Cuba to continue -- a blockade which has cost the island immeasurable human damage -- physically and psychologically. Robaina stated that the U.S. policy has created a distorted economy on the island and that the blockade has caused 60 billion dollars in losses to the country. Robaina questioned the passivity of the international community in the face of the growing influence of the U.S. government and its acts of blackmail as contained in the Helms-Burton and D'Amato Laws. Cuba is gearing up to present its sixth consecutive anti-blockade resolution, which last year garnered the support of 137 nations, compared to 117 in 1995, 101 in 1994, 88 in 1993 and 59 in 1992. Abstentions have also been increasingly less -- from 71 in 1992, down to 57, 48, 38 and 25 over the past four years. U.S. ANNOUNCES RETURN OF TWO CUBAN HIJACKERS Washington, October 1(RHC)-- In an unprecedented move, the U.S. State Department has announced that two Cuban hijackers will be extradited back to Cuba. Last week at Cuba's Varadero beach resort, two individuals armed with assault rifles hijacked a Cuban coast guard vessel and took four persons hostage. Other coast guard vessels went in pursuit, during which there was an exchange of fire, resulting in one Cuban official wounded. The hijacked vessel was able to escape into international waters. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the six people aboard the vessel as it was sinking off the coasts of Florida and took them to the Guantanamo Naval Base in eastern Cuba. U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin later admitted that the two individuals who had hijacked the vessel were "merely pirates" and would be extradited back to Cuba. U.S. authorities offered the four hostages asylum hearings, but they refused, asking to be sent back to Cuba. The four have already arrived home. On numerous occasions, Cuba has denounced the granting of asylum in the United States to Cubans who have hijacked boats and airplanes and, in some cases, taken hostages. This is the first time that U.S. authorities have decided to comply with Havana-Washington immigration accords concerning this type of criminal activity. CUBA REITERATES ITS DETERMINATION TO COMPLETE JURAGUA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Havana, October 1(RHC)-- Cuba has reiterated its determination to complete the construction of the island's Juragua nuclear power plant, despite strong opposition from Washington. Cuban Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Daniel Codorniu, defied Washington's warning at the current 21st General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, underway in Vienna until October 3rd. Just last June, the U.S. government reiterated its opposition to the project and advised other countries to "think twice" about participating in a consortium led by Russia to finance the conclusion of the project. But Russia's Nuclear Energy Minister, Yevgueni Reshetnilov, reiterated that Germany, Great Britain and Brazil are planning to join Russia in financing Juragua's construction beginning next year. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also given its seal of approval to the project, and has stated on several occasions that the nuclear power plant is in accord with IAEA safety measures. Construction of the nuclear power plant began in 1980, but was paralyzed in 1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is estimated that some one billion dollars have already been spent on the project and another 750 million will be needed for its conclusion -- but that the investment can be recuperated in a period of just eight years. Cuba has insisted that the nuclear power plant is vital for the island's economy, since Cuba lacks large quantities of oil, coal or powerful rivers that would allow for hydroelectric projects. The IAEA gathering in Vienna is examining measures that will reinforce international nuclear cooperation, security and the safe transportation of radioactive residue. HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA CONTINUE AROUND THE WORLD Berlin, October 1(RHC)-- Tributes to Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara continue reverberating around the world. More than 1000 people, most of them young, attended an international meeting on the Heroic Guerrilla at the University of Humboldt in Berlin. The German solidarity group "Cuba Si" sponsored the event, which highlighted the legacy of the Argentinean-born Cuban internationalist fighter. Participants also came up with a final declaration against Washington's Helms-Burton Law, punishing nations doing business with the island. In Uruguay, news agencies are reporting on a huge rally in tribute to Che Guevara in Montevideo, the capital. Reports say downtown streets were covered with posters and paintings of the Heroic Guerrilla. In Argentina, left and progressive parties have described President Menem's decision to issue a stamp with the image of Che as hypocritical. Authentic Socialist Party leader Mario Mazzitelli told the Argentinean daily "Pagina 12" that the idea is misleading on Menem's part -- given that the administration's policy is so closely tied to Washington. Other Argentinean leftists criticize Menem and say he is only trying to win points for upcoming national elections scheduled for October 26th. Genuine homages to Che Guevara in his homeland include an international seminar beginning Thursday in Rosario, where Ernesto Che Guevara was born sixty nine years ago. Organizers of a concert in Buenos Aires say Cuban singer and composer Silvio Rodriguez, Spanish singer Luis Eduardo Aute, Brazilian Chico Buarque, Uruguayan Daniel Viglietti and Argentinean Victor Heredia will perform in the Argentinean capital. And in Cuba, remodelling works at the Ernesto Che Guevara Plaza de la Revolucion in central Santa Clara -- where the remains of the Heroic Guerrilla and three of his Cuban comrades will rest -- are entering the final stage. The Cuban government has announced that the remains of the internationalist fighters will lie in state following the Fifth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, which concludes on October 10th. The remains will lie in state at Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion from October 11th through the 13th and then be taken to Santa Clara -- the city that Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara freed in 1958 in one of most important battles of the revolutionary war against Batista. U.S. COMPANY STEALS FAMOUS CUBAN CIGAR TRADEMARK Havana, October 1(RHC)-- Cuba's Habanos S.A. cigar company has denounced attempts by U.S. General Cigars to commercialize a trademark called "Cohiba" -- taking advantage of the more than 30-year international prestige of the Cuban cigar. Habanos S.A. Marketing Manager Ana Lopez told reporters in Havana that the U.S. cigar company is opportunistically taking advantage of the ban on Cuban products in the U.S. due to Washington's economic blockade against the island. She added that the company is introducing a namesake trademark "of questionable quality." Lopez said the action by the U.S company will not damage the international prestige of the Cuban-made Cohiba cigar, "because it's registered all over the world." Cuba produces nearly three and a half million Cohiba cigars in eleven different lines -- all of which are at the top of the list of the world's best cigars. LATIN AMERICAN CHURCHES FIGHT U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA Rio de Janeiro, October 1(RHC)-- The Latin American Episcopal Council -- CELAM -- is teaming up with those fighting Washington's blockade against Cuba. The General Secretary of CELAM's 25th Assembly, Colombian Bishop Jorge Jimenez, has urged the Catholic Church to strongly oppose the U.S. blockade of Cuba. Bishop Jimenez told journalists that Washington's blockade "has taken its toll on the Cuban people and the Catholic Church must remember its option for the dispossessed." The Episcopal Council began debating economic globalization and neoliberal economic projects earlier this week in Rio de Janeiro. The CELAM Assembly ends on Friday, the 3rd. Religious leaders are expected to sign a document entitled "Message to the People of Latin America." CUBA AND ITALY SET UP NEW JOINT VENTURE Havana, October 1(RHC)-- Cuba and Italy have set up a new joint venture. The enterprise will soon begin producing toilet tissue and disposable diapers in order to cut down on imports to the island. Under the agreement signed in Havana, Italy's Moroni Company will contribute the know-how while Cuba's Mathisa Company will provide the labor. A representative of the Moroni Company, Roberto Pizzatti, said production could begin later this year, after Cuban workers are trained in the use of new technology. AND FROM THE SPORTS DESK... CUBA'S BOXING TEAM PLANS TO HOLD ONTO ITS SUPREMACY AT THE WORLD TOURNAMENT Havana, October 1(RHC)-- The Cuban boxing team that will represent the island at the world championship left for Spain today for a training period of 15 days prior to the Budapest World Bout. The team -- with an average age of 23, but with five boxers holding world titles -- wants to consolidate its world supremacy achieved during the 1995 competitions. At that time, Cuba won four gold medals, along with two silver and three bronze. The Cuban boxers will be travelling from Madrid to Budapest just 24 hours before the beginning of the tournament. [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. 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