CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA October 10 , 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Friday, October 10, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY CLOSES ITS FIFTH CONGRESS WITH THE ELECTION OF A NEW CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND POLITICAL BUREAU 2.- INTERNATIONAL REACTION TO FIFTH CONGRESS OF CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY; MESSAGES OF SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY 3.- TRIBUTES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA STILL MAKING HEADLINES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD 4.- WASHINGTON TAKES FOOD OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF CUBAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND PREVENTS MEDICINES FROM REACHING THE SICK 5.- AN ANGRY U.S. SENATOR JESSE HELMS DEMANDS FULL AND IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF HELMS-BURTON LEGISLATION 6.- CUBA AND CANADA SEAL MAJOR INVESTMENT IN ENERGY PRODUCTION CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY CLOSES ITS FIFTH CONGRESS WITH THE ELECTION OF A NEW CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND POLITICAL BUREAU Havana, October 10(RHC)-- The 5th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party has elected a new Central Committee and Political Bureau. The historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, was unanimously re-elected by the 5th Party Congress as the organization's top leader. Melba Hernandez, heroine of the 1953 attack on the Moncada Garrison, led by Fidel, announced the decision on behalf of the newly-elected Central Committee. In emotional words, Hernandez spoke of the stature of the leader as "a Cuban patriot who has forged the island's unity, and who is loved and trusted by his people." Once ratified, Fidel Castro proceeded to announce that Raul Castro had been re-elected as the Party's Second Secretary and presented the other 22 members of the Political Bureau. The new body has two less members than the last Political Bureau. It replaced eight members and a group of young provincial leaders were brought to the Party's highest organ. Among them, Party leaders of the provinces of Las Tunas, Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos and Holguin -- Misael Enamorado, Juan Carlos Robinson, Pedro Saes and Jorge Luis Sierra, respectively. Two other new members to the Political Bureau are Basic Industry Minister Marcos Portal and Eastern Army Chief Ramon Espinosa. Congress delegates elected a 150-member Central Committee by secret ballot -- from a slate drawn up through an exhaustive process over several months, that involved the Party's nearly 17,000 branches. The reduction by 75 members of the number elected in the previous Congress points to the political organization's quest for a more practical and efficient structure. Twenty women make up the new Central Committee -- 13.3 percent of the membership. The average age is 47 years. After the presentation of the new leadership, Cuban leader Fidel Castro delivered the event's closing address. The 5th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party is the culmination of a process that involved more than 700,000 members of the organization islandwide. Its resolutions and guidelines will set the pace for the strategies and actions that the country will undertake in the final years of this century and into the new millennium. INTERNATIONAL REACTION TO FIFTH CONGRESS OF CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY; MESSAGES OF SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY Havana, October 10(RHC)-- Cuba's Granma newspaper has been covering international reaction to the 5th Communist Party Congress, which ended Friday in Havana. Granma reports that the Venezuelan press is giving ample coverage of the Congress and has reported on the call issued by President Fidel Castro to continue resisting Washington's blockade against Cuba. Venezuelan dailies are quoting the Cuban president as saying that this is a people's struggle for liberty and sovereignty. In related news, the Communist Parties of China and Vietnam have sent greetings to the Fifth Congress of Cuban Communists, reiterating their solidarity with the island. And the Colombian Communist Party has sent a message to Havana, saying that Cuba "continues to be the highest symbol of freedom, dignity and social justice." TRIBUTES TO ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA STILL MAKING HEADLINES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD Havana, October 10(RHC)-- The Cuban delegation's participation at the First World Meeting on Ernesto Che Guevara made itself felt during the fifth day of sessions this Friday. Lectures on the spirit of Che Guevara were delivered by renowned Cuban intellectuals Luis Suarez and Santiago Feliu. Also on the list of speakers this Friday was Daniel Mitterrand, widow of late French President Francois Mitterrand. In Bolivia, the Central Confederation of Workers has sent a statement to the local press, highlighting Comandante Che Guevara's role in fighting exploitation and injustice in Latin America. In Uruguay, the media are reporting that the former President of the Left coalition Frente Amplio, Tabare Vazquez, is heading to Cuba to attend homages to the Heroic Guerrilla. In Venezuela, homages to Che Guevara are being held in various cities and towns -- and in Colombia, today's newspapers reported on tributes to the legendary guerrilla fighter, placing particular emphasis on the ceremony held at the University of El Valle in Cali. WASHINGTON TAKES FOOD OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF CUBAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND PREVENTS MEDICINES FROM REACHING THE SICK Panama City, October 10(RHC)-- Cuba has accused the United States of purposefully preventing Cuban women and children of having access to food and medicines. At the Seventh First Ladies Conference underway in Panama City, Cuba's representative -- Sonia Beretervide -- has come out against Washington's more than 30 year economic blockade of Cuba. Beretervide told participants that the United States is trying to annihilate an entire people through hunger and disease -- in her words, "merely because the Cuban people refuse to get down on their knees and bow before the Empire." In the company of thirteen wives and/or representatives of Latin American heads of state, the Cuban representative stated that as a result of the blockade, credits for the island's economic growth have been interrupted or postponed -- depriving Cuban women and children of much-needed food and medicines. In her statement to the annual meeting of First Ladies of the Americas, the Cuban representative stressed that despite all obstacles, Cuba has already succeeded in accomplishing many of the goals set by the World Health Organization for the year 2000. AN ANGRY U.S. SENATOR JESSE HELMS DEMANDS FULL AND IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION OF HELMS-BURTON LEGISLATION Washington, October 10(RHC)-- As the United States and the European Union fail to reach an agreement on the anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Law, one of the architects of this extraterritorial legislation -- Senator Jesse Helms -- has publicly demanded the full application of the law bearing his name. In an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, released on Thursday, Helms deplored what he called "President Bill Clinton's efforts to take the teeth out of the legislation." The ultra-right senator demanded full implementation of Titles III and IV of Helms-Burton -- which would deny entry visas to the executives of foreign firms investing in Cuba as well as their family members and allowing U.S. citizens to file court claims with respect to properties nationalized by the Cuban Revolution. Neither the White House nor the State Department have commented on the open letter of Senator Jesse Helms, although the Clinton administration has admitted that it lacks legislative authorization to suspend the law's harshest aspects. In recent days, meanwhile, both European Union and World Trade Organization officials have admitted that a transatlantic agreement on the effects of Helms-Burton has not been reached -- as the deadline for such an agreement approaches. Last April, President Clinton petitioned the EU to give him until October 15th to tone down the Helms-Burton Law, but everything indicates that the deadline will come and go without any major announcement. It is not certain, however, if the European Union will again introduce its challenge to Helms-Burton in the World Trade Organization if Clinton is unable to keep his promise. CUBA AND CANADA SEAL MAJOR INVESTMENT IN ENERGY PRODUCTION Havana, October 10(RHC)-- Cuba and Canada have established the largest joint venture in the production of energy on the island. Cuba's State Electric Company and Canada's First Key Project International have agreed to a joint investment of more than 600 million dollars to remodel and enlarge a power plant in the locality of Santa Cruz del Norte, located in the province of Havana. Cuban President Fidel Castro and Vice President Carlos Lage were present at the signing ceremony. Under the investment project, three power plants with a generating capacity of one hundred megawatts will be totally remodelled. The investment will also finance the construction of a new 350-megawatt power plant. Canada is contributing 500 million dollars to the project, which will annually increase the national growth plan in the energy sector by five percent. Cuba's State Electric Company has a generating capacity of 3,382 megawatts and 75,000 kilometers of lines that serve more than 500,000 homes and more than 150,000 offices and businesses. [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. 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