CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA October 2 , 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Thursday, October 2, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- WASHINGTON EXTRADITES TWO CUBAN HIJACKERS; U.S. CITIZEN ACCUSED OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES GOES ON TRIAL 2.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA CARRIES OUT A FULL AGENDA OF ACTIVITIES AT UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK 3.- HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA REACH BEYOND LATIN AMERICA 4.- CUBAN SCIENTISTS MAKE NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE 5.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO CONGRATULATES UNIVERSITY OF ORIENTE ON ITS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 6.- CUBA AND GHANA WILL WORK TO EXPAND BILATERAL RELATIONS 7.- BRAZILIAN SOLIDARITY CONVENTION COMES OUT STRONG AGAINST WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA 8.- AND IN SPORTS... SWIMMER BREAKS A NATIONAL RECORD FOR LONG DISTANCE, DATING BACK TO 1949 WASHINGTON EXTRADITES TWO CUBAN HIJACKERS; U.S. CITIZEN ACCUSED OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES GOES ON TRIAL Havana, October 2(RHC)-- U.S. authorities have extradited two Cubans who last week hijacked a Cuban coast guard vessel, taking four hostages. According to Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Gonzalez, this marks the first time that the U.S. government has returned hijackers to Cuba, in what he said was "in total compliance with the Havana-Washington migratory accords signed in September 1994 and May 1995." Last Thursday -- September 25th -- at the Varadero beach resort, Ridel Ruiz Cabrera and Rafael Jorrin seized a coast guard vessel and AK-47 assault rifles aboard the ship, taking four hostages in their effort to reach U.S. territory. They reportedly opened fire on another coast guard vessel that followed in pursuit, wounding one of its occupants. Neither the hijackers nor the hostages were injured. The hijackers were picked up by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel and taken to the Guantanamo Naval Base in eastern Cuba. The four hostages were offered asylum hearings but refused, saying they wanted to return to Cuba. U.S. authorities returned them on Monday. The two hijackers were returned yesterday. The Cuban foreign ministry spokesman recalled that Cuban authorities are still waiting for the extradition of Cuban skyjacker Jose Fernandez Pupo, who took over a civilian airliner at gunpoint in July 1996 and forced it to land at the Guantanamo Naval Base. Last May, a U.S. court ruled that Fernandez Pupo was innocent and was "politically persecuted." But Washington has been reluctant to grant him political asylum. His petition is still pending. During another part of his news conference, Gonzalez confirmed that the trial against U.S. citizen Walter Van Der Veer will begin tomorrow in Havana. The foreign ministry spokesman said that Van Der Veer -- accused of promoting terrorist actions against the island -- could receive the death penalty and that the trial will be closed to the press -- although officials from the U.S. Interests Section will have access. He said U.S. authorities have been in close and constant contact with the accused through the Interests Section. Gonzalez also said that Van Der Veer has been appointed a Cuban public defender since neither he nor his family nor the U.S. government have requested another type of legal representation for the accused. Van Der Veer has admitted to having ties with Cuban-American terrorist groups in Miami, like the so-called "Commandos L" and the "Cuban Liberation Front." The only U.S. citizen placed before a firing squad in Cuba was William Morgan, executed in 1961 for his participation in the counterrevolutionary guerrilla forces operating in Cuba's Escambray Mountains. Morgan was also accused of being a CIA agent. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA CARRIES OUT A FULL AGENDA OF ACTIVITIES AT UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK New York, October 2(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina hosted a reception today in New York for the foreign ministers of the Caribbean Community -- CARICOM. During activities for the 52nd United Nations General Assembly, the Cuban foreign minister also continued his tight agenda of bilateral contacts, meeting with his counterparts from the Dominican Republic, Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Iraq, Slovakia and Singapore. Robaina has been informing numerous diplomats of the effects of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and new measures on the floor of the U.S. Congress, aimed at further strangling the Cuban economy. Following his speech yesterday before the General Assembly, Robaina was received by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and also met with General Assembly President Guenadi Udovenko, Ukrainian foreign minister. Today in New York, Robaina signed a bilateral cooperation accord with the Palestinian National Authority. HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA REACH BEYOND LATIN AMERICA Havana, October 2(RHC)-- Rebellious and hopeful: two of the most prominent characteristics of guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara. This defiance to the established capitalist order -- now called neoliberalism -- and the undying hope of creating a new man and woman, are the common elements of international homages on the 30th anniversary of his death in combat. In the Cuban capital, foreign and local scholars are discussing Che Guevara's concepts on the new human being and society, sponsored by the Che Guevara Department of the University of Havana. Representatives from eight Latin American and European nations as well as the United States are studying Che's economic theories, his contributions to science, technology and society. Participants are also discussing the way in which young people are confronting his legacy on the eve of the year 2000. In his inaugural speech at the International Colloquium on Che Guevara, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon highlighted Che's unquestionable contributions to revolutionary theory, to the solution of problems in building socialism and the special responsibility of workers and youth. The Rector of the University of Havana, Juan Vela, has approved a resolution declaring Cuban President Fidel Castro, former Minister of the Interior Comandante Ramiro Valdes, former Culture Minister Armando Hart and scholar Salvador Vilaseca as honorary members of the Che Guevara Department of the University of Havana -- in recognition of their devotion to the study of Che's life and the promotion of his ideas. And Cuba's Abril Publishing House has printed 35,000 issues of a magazine for children, with anecdotes of Che Guevara when he was a child. In Venezuela, homages include a photo exhibit, the showing of documentary films, conferences and debates on the internationalist fighter. A similar program is taking place in Colombia, while in Mexico, poet Juan Gelman has launched his latest work on Ernesto Che Guevara's theories. In Great Britain, the London Gallery is preparing a photo exhibit by four Cuban photographers -- the authors of the world's best-known photos of Che Guevara, taken between 1958 and 1964. The Cuban Solidarity Campaign and the London Latin American House are organizing tributes throughout London. CUBAN SCIENTISTS MAKE NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE Havana, October 2(RHC)-- Cuban scientists are producing advanced neurosurgical equipment, qualitatively competing with those of industrialized nations. Cuba's Neurological Restoration Center -- CIREN -- and the Immunoassay Center have joined in the development and production of state-of-the-art equipment used in brain surgery. The Cuban-made equipment allowing access to inner structures of the brain -- areas that have never been reached before -- has expanded the limitations of equipment currently in use, while maintaining an attractive design, versatility and simplicity. In essence, the Cuban-developed system is a complex, mechanical and highly-precise system, consisting of a frame that can be adjusted to the patient's head and a arch that is adjusted to the frame, containing an ample and heterogenous set of needles, clamps and other surgical tools. The equipment is then connected to a final generation imagenologic system, powerful computers and software that can access deep, inner structures of the brain and therefore target the brain failure and restore it. The use of the Esterotaxic System has become common since 1947 in brain tumor surgeries, brain cysts, vascular malformations, the treatment of the Parkinson's disease, tremors caused by multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, among others. CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO CONGRATULATES UNIVERSITY OF ORIENTE ON ITS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Santiago de Cuba, October 2(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro has sent a message of congratulations to the University of Oriente on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its founding. In his message, Fidel recalled the valuable contributions by the University of Oriente to the island's educational, scientific and social development. Over the past fifty years, the University of Oriente has graduated more than 31,000 professionals. CUBA AND GHANA WILL WORK TO EXPAND BILATERAL RELATIONS Havana, October 2(RHC)-- Cuban and Ghanian authorities are planning to increase bilateral relations. Ghanian parliamentary leader Justice Daniel Annan -- on a tour of the island this week -- told journalists that Accra and Havana have maintained close bilateral relations for years. Annan is heading a high-ranking Ghanian government delegation to the island at the invitation of Cuba's National Assembly. Ghana was the site of a recent African solidarity with Cuba meeting, with the participation of representatives from almost the entire continent. The solidarity meeting served as the site from which speakers blasted Washington's blockade against Cuba and expressed total support of the Cuban Revolution. BRAZILIAN SOLIDARITY CONVENTION COMES OUT STRONG AGAINST WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA Rio de Janeiro, October 2(RHC)-- Brazilian solidarity activists will target Washington's brutal blockade against Cuba. The pledge to work against U.S. policies toward Cuba is part of the final declaration of the 5th Brazilian Solidarity with Cuba Convention that met at the University of Rio de Janeiro over the weekend. The "Rio Charter" was passed by more than 300 delegates from the 27 Brazilian states. Also discussed was the broadening of actions in support of the Cuban Revolution and the movement to weaken Washington's policy of isolation towards Cuba. AND IN SPORTS... SWIMMER BREAKS A NATIONAL RECORD FOR LONG DISTANCE, DATING BACK TO 1949 Havana, October 2(RHC)-- Cuban swimmer Jorge Morejon has broken a national record dating back to 1949. With almost 53 kilometers of uninterrupted swimming, Jorge Morejon demonstrated spectacular willpower and excellent physical preparation. The record was established at the swimming pool of Havana's Copacabana hotel. Morejon plunged into the swimming pool at 7:17 in the morning and kept almost the same speed during his quest. Gustavo Radcliff, the holder of the previous record, was present during the competition and was certain that Morejon would break his own record when there were still ten kilometers to go. Morejon reportedly began to feel some shoulder pain after swimming 30 kilometers, but did not abandon his aim. He received liquid every 20 minutes and ate very light food one an hour. The first five kilometers were covered in one hour 14 minutes and 57 seconds and he reached the mystical 40 kilometers in ten hours -- continuing to swim for his own record. Morejon set his supremacy at 52 kilometers and 829.20 meters in 13 hours, 27 minutes and 26 seconds. Morejon, maintained an average speed of 3.5 kilometers per hour. In 1949, Radcliff -- without enough technical and scientific aid and specific training -- covered 40 kilometers in 17 hours. Morejon's deed is part of his general training prior to the world championship for swimming in the open sea, set for Australia in January. Jorge Morejon, who is 31 years old, has devoted 20 years to swimming. [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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