CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA October 6 , 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Monday, October 6, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PREPARES TO VOTE ON SIXTH CUBAN-SPONSORED ANTI-BLOCKADE RESOLUTION 2.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA MEETS WITH SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN NEW YORK 3.- HONDURAN AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE TERRORIST CAMPAIGNS CARRIED OUT BY ARMED FORCES AND RIGHT-WING CUBAN-AMERICANS 4.- WASHINGTON BACKS DOWN ON `PUNISHING' FRANCE FOR INVESTMENT IN IRAN 5.- HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA GROW IN NUMBER AND STRENGTH TWO DAYS BEFORE THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH 6.- FIFTH CONGRESS OF CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY BEGINS WEDNESDAY 7.- CUBA SEEKS FOREIGN FINANCING TO CURB DETERIORATION OF ITS HEALTH SYSTEM 8.- WWW.CUBAWEB.CU -- ONE OF INTERNET'S MOST POPULAR SITES! INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PREPARES TO VOTE ON SIXTH CUBAN-SPONSORED ANTI-BLOCKADE RESOLUTION New York, October 6(RHC)-- A document condemning Washington's blockade of Cuba has begun circulating at the United Nations General Assembly. The 36-page document responds to Cuba's anti-blockade resolution 51/17, approved last year with 137 votes in favor, 25 abstentions and three against -- the United States, Israel and Uzbekistan. The resolution calls on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to request from all UN member nations and UN agencies a report on their compliance with the measure. Those reports are embodied in the document currently circulating. 45 nations have responded, as well as several UN agencies. At the very least, some of the nations responded by pointing out that their respective governments have done nothing that runs contrary, but many countries have been more explicit. Brazil condemned discriminatory trade practices and the extraterritorial application of internal laws. Countries like Colombia, Holland -- representing of the European Union -- Peru, Mexico and Malaysia, among others, also specifically condemned the U.S. blockade and unilateral, extraterritorial measures. As a UN observer, the Vatican has also condemned the blockade. Detailed information on the effects that the blockade has had on the Cuban people was provided by the Havana office of the Resident-Coordinator of the UN's System of Development Activities and Operations. Other agencies such as UNICEF and UNESCO have also described the effects of the blockade on the Cuban economy and Cuba's efforts overcome those consequences. Cuba's sixth consecutive anti-blockade resolution to be presented this year, is expected to garner another record number of favorable votes. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA MEETS WITH SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN NEW YORK New York, October 6(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina attended a meeting last Friday night with representatives of organizations making up the National Network on Cuba. The meeting took place at Casa de las Americas in downtown Manhattan and was attended by representatives of the more than 80 organizations making up the U.S. solidarity network. The Cuban foreign minister told participants that their work in support of the Cuban Revolution in recent years has been extremely valuable. Robaina took special note of the material aid sent to the island through solidarity groups which, he said, has been much more than mere material support. He told the activists at last night's meeting that their work has, in his words, "given a burst of energy to the Cuban people and helped us to continue the struggle" in the face of many obstacles. In that same way -- the Cuban foreign minister added -- the resistance of 11 million Cubans to U.S. pressures is not only carried out for the benefit of the Cuban people, but is also for many millions more around the world who have not lost faith in our common cause. Referring to the situation on the island, Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina assured the leaders of U.S. solidarity organizations that the economy is continuing to improve, pointing out that the island recently achieved the lowest infant mortality rate in its history. And he took aim at Washington's legislation to tighten the economic blockade against Cuba, emphasizing U.S. demands that the island change its social and political character. The Cuban foreign minister said that those who insist the island must change to satisfy their own designs will have to wait a long time. The Cuban people, in his words, "will make the changes that they see are necessary, and no others." And Roberto Robaina recalled that for many years now -- since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European socialist countries -- the enemies of Cuba have predicted the same fate for the island... but have had to constantly revise their predictions. Finally, the Cuban foreign minister said that in the United States -- just as there are those who hate the Revolution and what it stands for -- there are many who love Cuba because of what it represents: dignity, independence and self- determination. The Cuban foreign minister was in New York for the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. He addressed the UN Assembly this last week, on Wednesday, and returned to Havana over the weekend. HONDURAN AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE TERRORIST CAMPAIGNS CARRIED OUT BY ARMED FORCES AND RIGHT-WING CUBAN-AMERICANS Tegucigalpa, October 6(RHC)-- Honduran Attorney General Edmundo Orellana stated over the weekend that judicial authorities will investigate charges of a terrorist campaign against President Carlos Reina carried out by members of the Honduran military and Cuban-Americans in Miami. Last week, the Miami news daily "El Nuevo Herald" reported that the campaign was planned by Honduran Colonel Guillermo Pinel and Cuban-American Mario Delamico -- a known weapons trafficker. Between 1995 and 1996, there were some 25 bomb attacks against public and private institutions in Honduras -- including two against President Reina, some of which the so-called Central American Solidarity Movement claimed responsibility. According to "El Nuevo Herald," Mario Delamico is known to have sought contributions in Miami to set up this organization. Members of the Honduran armed forces participated due to the institution's disgust with Reina's military reforms, including the abolition of the draft, the elimination of armed forces control over several state institutions that generated considerable income, and the transfer of the police force from military to civilian control. The right-wing Cuban-Americans targeted Reina because they believed he was pro-Cuba and about to establish diplomatic relations with Havana. Attorney General Orellana said today that since the article was published "there are fewer loose ends in the case." Press versions out of Honduras this past week asserted that the plot against Reina was discovered in the investigations underway concerning a series of terrorist bombs that recently went off in tourism installations in Havana. It is speculated that Cuban-American weapons trafficker Mario Delamico had ties with a Salvadoran mercenary -- Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon -- arrested in Havana in connection with the terrorist bombs WASHINGTON BACKS DOWN ON `PUNISHING' FRANCE FOR INVESTMENT IN IRAN Luxembourg, October 6(RHC)-- The foreign ministers of the European Union expressed their satisfaction today for what they called Washington's prudence in not adopting sanctions against the French oil firm Total for its investment in Iran. "This demonstration of prudence," said the EU foreign ministers meeting today in Luxembourg, "will allow for a continuation of negotiations with Washington" concerning the Kennedy-D'Amato Law -- sanctioning foreign firms investing in Iran and Libya -- and the Helms-Burton Law -- sanctioning foreign firms investing in Cuba. According to Spain's Foreign Minister Abel Matutes, the disagreement between U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Congress has prevented Washington from drawing up a formal commitment that would exclude European firms from sanctions regarding these two extraterritorial laws. The AFP News Agency quoted one European diplomat to the effect that the real deadline on negotiations with Washington "is not October 15th, but rather next April." It was last April that the EU and Washington arrived at an agreement by which the Europeans would withdraw their challenge against Helms-Burton in the World Trade Organization if Washington eliminated some of the legislation's most ominous clauses. The European Parliament, however, last month called on the European Commission to reintroduce the challenge if Washington didn't keep its commitment by October 15th. Observers note that Washington's backing down on sanctions against the Total oil company demonstrates that the U.S. government is reluctant to initiate a trade war against its European partners. HOMAGES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA GROW IN NUMBER AND STRENGTH TWO DAYS BEFORE THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH Havana, October 6(RHC)-- Thirty years after Bolivian soldiers took the life of Comandate Ernesto Che Guevara, progressive and revolutionary forces around the world are keeping his legacy alive. In Rosario, Argentina -- Che's birthplace -- participants of the International Seminar "Che Guevara: 30 Years" unanimously agreed that the best tribute to the Heroic Guerrilla would be to put his theory into practice. Nearly 2000 people attending the event's final session on Monday approved a declaration, including a salute to the Cuban Communist Party which will hold its Fifth Party Congress later this week. Meanwhile, Argentinean politicians and journalists intensified their protests against a government initiative to issue a stamp in honor of Che Guevara. According to U.S. sociologist James Petras, homages to Comandante Che Guevara should be of a "more profound nature, with real content on his thinking and ethics." Petras said the government-sponsored initiative is an attempt to divert people's attention from the real meaning of commemorations. Argentinean sources say left and progressive political leaders and intellectuals are calling for a popular march on Wednesday, the 8th, in Buenos Aires. The Simon Bolivar Caravan touring several Latin American nations as part of homages to Che Guevara has already arrived in Bolivia. Caravanistas were welcomed at the San Andres University in La Paz, from where they will depart to the southeastern town of Valle Grande, site of a World Meeting on Che which will begin Wednesday. Danielle Mitterrand -- widow of former French President Francois Mitterrand and President of the France Liberte Foundation -- has also arrived in Bolivia to attend the main commemoration ceremonies. In Nicaragua, a popular campaign involving broad sectors has constructed a nine-meter high monument to Ernesto Che Guevara that will be officially unveiled on Thursday, the 9th. Tributes in Nicaragua also include the inauguration of an art gallery exclusively dedicated to works related to Che. In Mexico, the opposition Democratic Revolution Party -- the PRD --has joined local tributes to Che Guevara with the showing of the video "Remembering Che." The political party is also calling on all its members to turn out for the unveiling of a bronze statue of Che Guevara at the San Carlos Park, located in downtown Mexico City. In Cuba, foreign students from more than a dozen African and Latin American nations took to the fields yesterday to do voluntary work stints in homage to the Heroic Guerrilla. Che was a major promoter of voluntary work. Reports from the central city of Santa Clara say that everything is ready at the Ernesto Che Guevara Plaza de la Revolution. The remains of Che and three of his Cuban comrades -- found near the Bolivian town of Valle Grande in July -- will rest in the square following six days of official ceremonies. The nearly one week-long tribute will extend from October 11th -- immediately following the 5th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party -- until Friday, October 17th. FIFTH CONGRESS OF CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY BEGINS WEDNESDAY Havana, October 6(RHC)-- Final preparations are underway for the 5th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party. The more than one thousand provincial delegates to the most important political gathering of Cuban Communists will begin arriving in Havana on Tuesday. The three-day meeting begins on Wednesday, the 8th, and will tackle the island's economic priorities and strategy for the next five years. Also topping the agenda will be the tightening of Washington's blockade of the island with the passage of the Torricelli and Helms-Burton legislation. The 5th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party will be dedicated to the life and work of Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara on the 30th anniversary of his death in Bolivia. CUBA SEEKS FOREIGN FINANCING TO CURB DETERIORATION OF ITS HEALTH SYSTEM Havana, October 6(RHC)-- Cuba has issued a call for an international conference to take place in November -- designed to mobilize foreign financial resources for the Cuban health care system, seriously affected by Washington's blockade against the island. Cuban health ministry officials are currently touring several European nations with that aim. More than one hundred delegates from 26 countries will attend the conference, which will be sponsored by the United Nations. To date, Cuban health representatives have visited Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. Non- governmental organizations from those countries have supported the initiative, stating that they are interested in preserving Cuba's achievements in the health sector -- which has been faced with serious shortages over the past several years. WWW.CUBAWEB.CU -- ONE OF INTERNET'S MOST POPULAR SITES! Havana, October 6(RHC)-- Cuba's National News Agency -- known as AIN -- has launched a website with news about the island. This new site, accessible at www.ain.cubaweb.cu will be available at Cuba's megasite -- www.cubaweb.cu. The megasite, with more than two million hits a month, is currently one of the Internet's most frequently visited sites. With attractive, colorful and highly artistic designs, the more than twelve homepages that make up the cubaweb.cu include the island's most important periodicals and publications, a list of Cuban hotels, information on market and business opportunities in Cuba, information on museums, the domestic recording industry and much, much more! Since Cuba hooked-up to the Internet in October last year, homesites have flourished, among them that of the international news agency Prensa Latina, located at www.prensa-latina.org and our own www.radiohc.org. It has also been announced that the popular Cuban radio station -- Radio Reloj -- a 24-hour station devoted to news and the time every minute.... will soon launch its own site. Radio Reloj will also be accessible through www.cubaweb.cu. [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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