CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA September 9 , 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, September 9, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF CUBA CONDEMNS RECENT TERRORIST BOMBINGS IN HAVANA 2.- VISITING UGANDAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 3.- MORE AND MORE TOURISTS FIND CUBA AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION 4.- CUBAN NEWSPAPER REVIEWS GROWTH OF NEO-FASCISM IN U.S. 5.- ISLAND SHOULD SHOW MODERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH THIS YEAR 6.- CUBA TREATS CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM HEART DISEASE 7.- UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION SPONSORS WOMEN'S CONFERENCE IN HAVANA THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF CUBA CONDEMNS RECENT TERRORIST BOMBINGS IN HAVANA Havana, September 9(RHC)-- Cuba's Catholic Church has condemned the recent terrorist bomb attacks in Havana and lamented the death of an innocent Italian youth. Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Archbishop of Havana, spoke Monday evening before 3000 church-goers, who applauded his words. The statements came on the occasion of festivities for the Virgin of Charity, Cuba's Patron Saint -- also revered by the country's Afro-Cuban religions. The Cardinal called on believers to pray that "the road of violence does not rise among us." Believers also applauded when Cardinal Ortega announced that Pope John Paul II will deliver an open-air Mass at Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion during his visit to Cuba next January 24th. VISITING UGANDAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS Havana, September 9(RHC)-- The visiting Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda Eriya Kategaya and his Cuban counterpart, Roberto Robaina, both agreed today in Havana to move towards strengthening bilateral relations. The Cuban foreign minister recalled that the ties of friendship between the two countries have already allowed Ugandan youth to study in diverse specialties in Cuba, and thanked Kategaya for his country's support of Cuba in international forums by consistently opposing the U.S. blockade of the island. The Ugandan foreign minister also met today with Cuban Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. The two spoke of the possibility of exporting pharmaceutical products and high-tech medical equipment to the African nation. Cabrisas invited Ugandan government officials and business representatives to participate in Havana's 15th International Trade Fair, slated for November. The Ugandan Foreign and Deputy Prime Minister arrived in Havana on Saturday and is expected to remain in Cuba until next Sunday, the 14th. MORE AND MORE TOURISTS FIND CUBA AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION Havana, September 9(RHC)-- The Cuban Tourism Ministry says that the number of foreign visitors who travelled to the island during the first seven months of 1997 increased by 18.1 percent. From January through July this year, 686,983 tourists were warmly welcomed in Cuba. Italy sent the most tourists, with a total of 117,274 -- accounting for a 9.2 percent increase compared to the same period of time last year; tourism from Spain increased by 4.3 percent, with 60,740 Spanish visitors. The Cuban Tourism Ministry adds that there is a favorable tendency concerning countries which are not traditional markets for Cuba, such as Belgium, which sent 80 percent more visitors that it did during the same period of time last year followed by Britain with a 70.4 percent increase, France with 62.5 and Mexico with an increase of 47.4 percent. Tourism is one of Cuba's main sources of income. In 1996, Cuban earned 1.3 billion dollars from tourism -- one-third of which was net profit. According to the Tourism Ministry, some 1.2 million foreigners will have visited the island by the end of this year, bringing in 1.75 billion dollars for the island's economy. CUBAN NEWSPAPER REVIEWS GROWTH OF NEO-FASCISM IN U.S. Havana, September 9(RHC)-- Cuba's weekly newspaper "Trabajadores" commented Monday on the rise of fascism in the United States. Columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo asserted that fascist groups have particularly multiplied since the Oklahoma terrorist bomb that killed 168 people a little more than two years ago. According to the "Trabajadores" article, on August 26th, a Virginia court issued a guilty verdict against 41-year-old James Rogers, involved in a terrorist plan to blow up an office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where 3000 people were working. Last May 19th, continues the columnist, police in Los Angeles, California arrested five members of a paramilitary cell in possession of grenade launchers, automatic assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition. According to the Anti-bomb Squad of the Los Angeles Police Department, during the year 1995, the department received 792 phone calls warning of possible terrorist actions which led to the discovery of 73 bombs -- 41 of which were detonated. In the State of Michigan, there have been reports pointing to the existence of armed militias in 73 of the State's 83 counties, grouping some 12,000 men that have a general headquarters in the small town of Harbor Springs. On August 18th and 21st, the EFE and ANSA news agencies reported that ultra-right wing Cuban-Americans in Miami continue carrying out military training every weekend in the Florida Everglades. Leon Cotayo pointed to the support garnered in 1996 by neo-fascist Pat Buchanan, who ran for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. The "Trabajadores" article asserted that what is most worrisome about this situation is the slow but sustained growth of fascist groups in the United States, at a moment when the ultra-right wing -- one of whose figureheads is Senator Jesse Helms -- is dominating the country's Congress, while a weak U.S. president is bowing to many of their demands. ISLAND SHOULD SHOW MODERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH THIS YEAR Havana, September 9(RHC)-- Despite economic setbacks -- including a lower than expected sugar harvest -- Cuban authorities predict a slight increase in the Gross National Product. Experts foresee an increase of a little more than four percent by the end of this year -- three percentage points less than in 1996, when the island reached a 7.8 percent economic growth. According to the Latin American Economic Commission -- CEPAL -- an increase in exports of services and assets, an appropriate use of infrastructure and adequate use of the labor force were some of the reasons that led to the slight economic recovery in 1996. CEPAL also noted that 1996 saw an increase in imports, responding to domestic demand. Economists say, however, that expectations for 1997 are modest. A number of negative elements are working against more promising predictions. U.S. pressures to stop the flow of foreign capital into Cuba is a major cause of the economic downturn. Experts say that the high interest rates on credit granted to the island -- particularly for the sugar industry -- is another element affecting the economy. The consequences of Hurricane Lili that devastated crops in eight provinces in October 1996, the use of biological warfare by the United States against Cuba -- damaging agricultural crops with the introduction of the Thrips Palmi insect -- and an unusually dry summer, all negatively affected the economy. CUBA TREATS CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM HEART DISEASE Havana, September 9(RHC)-- Cuba will be the home for a children's heart surgery network to treat Latin American patients. The Heart Foundation -- an international, humanitarian organization based in Rome -- chose Cuba to host the network, in recognition of the island's achievements in children's heart surgery. The scientific network will be financially supported by the Heart Foundation and the Italian-Latin American Institute. Havana's Convention Center was the site of an International Symposium of the Heart Foundation. Iberoamerican Educational Television broadcast the scientific conference live from the Cuban capital, which was defined as a milestone for the development of children's heart surgery in Latin America. An estimated four million viewers from Central and South America, Spain, Portugal and the southern region of the U.S. watched the conference, led by a pioneer of modern children's heart surgery, Guatemalan Aldo Castaneda. Delegates from 17 nations and experts from seven Latin American universities were in attendance during the two- day event here in the Cuban capital. UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION SPONSORS WOMEN'S CONFERENCE IN HAVANA Havana, September 9(RHC)-- Women living and working in the countryside are the main focus of a meeting sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0) here in Havana. The Network for the Cooperation and Support of Rural Women has gathered together government representatives from 23 Latin American nations. High on the event's agenda is a review of the work in favor of rural women over the past few years. Participants will also discuss an action program which will administer FAO activities in support of rural women in Latin America. In Cuba -- with 25,000 women members of the Small Private Farmers Association (ANAP) -- the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) coordinates the Food and Agriculture Organization plan, aimed at improving living conditions for women who cultivate the land. [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. 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