CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA September 4, 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, September 4, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE IN CHILE, PRIOR TO IBEROAMERICAN LEGISLATIVE MEETING 2.- ANGOLAN FOREIGN MINISTER VENANCIO DA SILVA MOURA ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 3.- CUBAN MINISTER OF ARMED FORCES RAUL CASTRO CHOSEN AS DELEGATE TO THE ISLAND'S UPCOMING COMMUNIST PARTY CONGRESS 4.- U.S. REPATRIATES ANOTHER GROUP OF ILLEGAL CUBAN EMIGRANTS 5.- TWO CUBAN SCIENTISTS TRAVEL TO COSTA RICA TO HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DENGUE CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE IN CHILE, PRIOR TO IBEROAMERICAN LEGISLATIVE MEETING Santiago de Chile, September 4(RHC)-- Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon held a news conference this afternoon, insisting that despite the tightening of Washington's blockade, "Cuba is successfully restructuring its economy." In Chile for the Iberoamerican Parliamentary Seminar, which begins tomorrow in the port city of Valparaiso, Alarcon took the opportunity to thank Latin America and Canada for joining their voices to the international condemnation of Washington's hostility against Cuba. In reference to Cuba's upcoming municipal elections, the head of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power placed special emphasis on the overwhelming participation of Cuban citizens in the electoral process. He compared that massive, democratic participation to high voter abstentionism in countries like the United States, "which is fond of calling itself the leader of the so-called democratic world, but where the citizens have little say in the decision-making process." Asked by a journalist about the upcoming visit to Cuba of Pope John Paul II, Alarcon said that despite personal, religious beliefs, the Cuban people will give the Pope a massive welcome. Pope John Paul II is scheduled to visit Cuba in January next year. Legislative leaders from Latin America, Portugal and Spain are gathering in Chile to discuss the modernization of the legislative process. ANGOLAN FOREIGN MINISTER VENANCIO DA SILVA MOURA ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, September 4(RHC)-- Angolan Foreign Minister Venancio Da Silva Moura has arrived in Havana for an official visit. Da Silva Moura was received at Jose Marti International Airport with full honors by Cuban government officials. The visit comes just days before a mixed Cuban-Angolan Intergovernmental Commission is slated to take place in the Angolan capital, Luanda. Angola's First Lady, Ana Paula Dos Santos, is also expected to visit Cuba in the coming weeks. The Angolan foreign minister arrived in Havana from an official visit to Lisbon, Portugal. On Monday, the 8th, he will continue on to Mexico. Besides the strengthening of bilateral ties, Foreign Minister Venancio da Silva Moura is expected to brief Cuban government officials concerning the Angolan peace process, which has been threatened by a continued military build-up by UNITA rebel forces loyal to Jonas Savimbi. Savimbi has fought against authorities in Luanda for more than 20 years, with the backing of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the apartheid regime of South Africa. Political observers say that after Savimbi's UNITA candidates lost in elections held after peace agreements had been signed, the rebels returned to their terrorist actions. The U.N. Security Council recently gave UNITA one month to begin compliance with the Lusaka Peace Accords. CUBAN MINISTER OF ARMED FORCES RAUL CASTRO CHOSEN AS DELEGATE TO THE ISLAND'S UPCOMING COMMUNIST PARTY CONGRESS Havana, September 4(RHC)-- Cuban Minister of the Armed Forces General Raul Castro has been chosen as a delegate to the upcoming Fifth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party. >From a group of 460 candidates, another eight officers and one civilian received this honor, in a process that also served to select 11 pre-candidates to the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party. They will go through an election process at the Party Congress, scheduled for next month here in Havana. Similar democratic procedures have also been carried out in the Cuban provinces of Holguin, Villa Clara and Cienfuegos, where teachers and sugar industry workers have been chosen as delegates to the Fifth Party Congress. U.S. REPATRIATES ANOTHER GROUP OF ILLEGAL CUBAN EMIGRANTS Havana, September 4(RHC)-- The United States has returned a new group of illegal emigrants, this time from the illegally occupied U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo, located in eastern Cuba. U.S. authorities returned a total of seven men and three children who had penetrated an area of the U.S. naval base. With this group, the total of illegal Cuban emigrants returned from the military base comes to 192, while rafters returned by the U.S. Coast Guard total 549. These repatriations are part of the migratory accords signed between Cuba and the United States in May 1995 and September 1996. TWO CUBAN SCIENTISTS TRAVEL TO COSTA RICA TO HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DENGUE San Jose, September 4(RHC)-- Two Cuban scientists from the Pedro Kouri Institute of Tropical Medicine are now in Costa Rica to confer with specialists fighting against a dengue epidemic. The arrival of the Cuban experts to Costa Rica takes place with the report that two people have died as a result of dengue over the past two weeks. More than 50 Costa Ricans have been affected by the current outbreak, especially in the provinces of Puntarenas and Alajuela. [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. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org