CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA October 21 , 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Tuesday, October 21, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- MASSIVE VOTER TURN-OUT ON SUNDAY: A PATRIOTIC RESPONSE AND ENDORSEMENT OF SOCIALISM 2.- VATICAN REPRESENTATIVES ARRIVE IN HAVANA TO PREPARE FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II's VISIT IN JANUARY 3.- PRESIDENT OF BOTSWANA WRAPS UP FOUR-DAY VISIT TO CUBA 4.- CUBA DENOUNCES SUPPOSED MEMOIRS OF PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO 5.- HOMAGES TO CHE GUEVARA STILL ECHO AROUND THE WORLD 6.- FOREIGN SOCIALIST THEORETICIANS MEET IN HAVANA 7.- CANADIAN DIVER SEARCHES FOR SUNKEN SPANISH TREASURES OFF THE COAST OF CUBA 8.- CHILEAN SOCIALIST PARTY MEMBERS DEDICATE SQUARE NAMED AFTER ASSASSINATED CHILEAN PRESIDENT SALVADOR ALLENDE 9.- CUBAN AND PANAMANIAN LEGISLATORS CONCLUDE MEETING MASSIVE VOTER TURN-OUT ON SUNDAY: A PATRIOTIC RESPONSE AND ENDORSEMENT OF SOCIALISM Havana, October 21(RHC)-- This morning's edition of Granma newspaper highlighted the massive voter turn-out in Sunday's municipal elections, calling it "a patriotic response and an endorsement of the island's socialist system." A total of 97.59 percent of the electorate cast their ballots on Sunday to elect delegates to 169 municipal assemblies -- "a process that was carried out in an orderly and disciplined manner without any negative incidents." 49.5 percent of the more than 13,000 candidates were re-elected, which the Granma says is "a demonstration of the recognition of and confidence in their work." A little more than 17 percent of those elected were women, while 12 and a half percent were young people. The total of blank ballots was 3.23 percent, while mutilated ballots numbered 3.98 percent -- representing a total of 7.21 percent of the votes cast. That's down from 11.2 percent of blank or mutilated ballots during municipal elections two years ago. The Cuban daily also gave ample coverage to the words of Cuban President Fidel Castro, interviewed by local journalists when he finished casting his vote. The Cuban leader said that Cuba has much to teach, but that the outside world is totally ignorant of the island's electoral process and system. "That's why," he added, "that those who venture to come to Cuba to see this reality first-hand invariably express surprise and admiration." Next Sunday, the 26th, there will be a second round of elections in 1098 electoral districts where no candidate received at least 50 percent of the votes. VATICAN REPRESENTATIVES ARRIVE IN HAVANA TO PREPARE FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II's VISIT IN JANUARY Havana, October 21(RHC)-- Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Vals and Pope John Paul II's special representative, Monseigneur Piero Marini arrived in Havana on Monday to further iron-out details for the Pope's visit to Cuba next January. In statements late Monday at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport, both Vatican officials expressed satisfaction with preparations thus far. Before ending their six-day visit, Marini and the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, will preside over an open-air mass on Sunday in San Antonio de los Banos, on the outskirts of the capital. Havana's Archbishop recently began celebrating open-air masses in a number of public places in preparation for the Pope's visit. PRESIDENT OF BOTSWANA WRAPS UP FOUR-DAY VISIT TO CUBA Havana, October 21(RHC)-- The President of Botswana Quett Katumile Masire had words of praise for Cuba's achievements in the fields of health care, pharmaceutical research and cattle genetics. Shortly before wrapping up his four-day official visit to the island, the president of Botswana spoke with journalists at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. Over the weekend, Cuban President Fidel Castro awarded the Botswanan dignitary with the Jose Marti Order -- Cuba's highest civilian distinction. Upon accepting the award, President Masire gave ample recognition to Cuba's rule in liberating southern Africa from apartheid and also expressed his deep appreciation for Cuba's on-going solidarity with the African continent. CUBA DENOUNCES SUPPOSED MEMOIRS OF PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO Havana, October 21(RHC)-- Cuba has denounced as a fabrication the supposed memoirs of President Fidel Castro, written by Cuban-Mexican author Louis Nevaer. Havana's International Press Center released a statement on Tuesday, saying that Nevaer is disseminating false information about the book, which was recently presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Press versions from the German city of Frankfurt have quoted the author as saying he wrote the book after a number of work sessions with the Cuban leader. In its communique, the International Press Center stated that Nevaer never met with Fidel nor with any aides of the Cuban president. The statement rejects the dishonest use of the country and its leader for obviously profitable motives. HOMAGES TO CHE GUEVARA STILL ECHO AROUND THE WORLD Havana, October 21(RHC)-- Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara is still receiving tributes from around the world. In Lebanon, reporters crowded into Beirut's airport to welcome Che's son, Ernesto Guevara March. The son of the internationalist guerrilla fighter has responded to an invitation of the Committee in Support of Lebanese Prisoners, held in Israeli jails. Upon his arrival in Beirut, the youngest son of Che Guevara said he travelled to Lebanon "to show solidarity with those who are struggling against Israeli occupation." At a news conference in Beirut, participants observed a minute of silence on the 30th anniversary of Che Guevara's death in combat. In Amsterdam, the Cuban Embassy organized tributes to Che Guevara and his comrades-in-arms, killed in Bolivia in 1967. In China, the University of Shanghai has launched the book "Che: Legendary Guerrilla Fighter," by professors Chen Xin and Lin Weng. The book not only includes the most relevant moments of the Argentinean-born, Cuban revolutionary, but also highlights his contacts with the People's Democratic Republic of China. FOREIGN SOCIALIST THEORETICIANS MEET IN HAVANA Havana, October 21(RHC)-- Socialism as an alternative to neoliberal models is the focus of debates by theoreticians gathered at Havana's Convention Center. Representatives of more than one hundred communist-oriented parties from four continents are attending the International Symposium "Socialism Towards the Year 2000," underway in the Cuban capital. Sponsored by Cuba's Communist Party, the event will delve into the thinking of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Among outstanding participants is Kuame Ture, General Secretary of African Peoples Revolutionary Party, based in Guinea. Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, is one of the founders of the Black Power Movement in the U.S. and a former leading member of the Black Panther Party. CANADIAN DIVER SEARCHES FOR SUNKEN SPANISH TREASURES OFF THE COAST OF CUBA Havana, October 21(RHC)-- Cuba's jurisdictional waters will soon lose their traditional tranquility when Cuban and Canadian archaeologists and divers begin searching for sunken Spanish galleons. Leading the team is Canadian Glenn Costello, who has experience in rescuing sunken treasures. In 1995, when Costello and Cuban authorities created partnership links, the Canadian expert's most important find was the "Las Mercedes" Galleon, which sank in 1696 off the coast of Havana. Costello's team brought up hundreds of silver and gold coins, silver bars, precious stones and an extremely valuable sword. Costello, who refuses to be called a treasure-hunter, worked for three decades as a diver and now owns "Canpac Divers" -- a large, commercial underwater company. According to his estimates, there are four or five Spanish Galleons sunken off the coast of the island with a net value of one billion dollars. CHILEAN SOCIALIST PARTY MEMBERS DEDICATE SQUARE NAMED AFTER ASSASSINATED CHILEAN PRESIDENT SALVADOR ALLENDE Ciego de Avila, October 21(RHC)-- Chilean Socialist Party members were the first to walk through the Salvador Allende Square in the central city of Ciego de Avila. The Chilean socialist delegation -- made up of legislators, union leaders, workers and professionals -- flew directly from Santiago de Chile to Ciego de Avila for the inauguration ceremony -- dedicating the square to Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in a bloody military coup in 1973. The Chilean delegation also presented the Cuban Children's Pioneers Organizations with school supplies and medical donations collected by Chile's Children Solidarity with Cuba Committee. CUBAN AND PANAMANIAN LEGISLATORS CONCLUDE MEETING Havana, October 21(RHC)-- After two days of bilateral talks, Cuban and Panamanian legislators have produced an investment promotion and protection agreement. The second such meeting between Cuba and Panama's National Assemblies also strongly condemned the anti-Cuba U.S. Helms-Burton legislation. The President of the Panamanian Friendship with Cuba Parliamentary Commission, Enrique Riley, told journalists that the encounter will strengthen links between the two nations. Riley also talked about local preparations to regain sovereignty over the Panama Canal in the year 2000. =1A [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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