CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Tuesday, February 24, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON RE-ELECTED DURING OPENING SESSION OF CUBA'S 5th LEGISLATURE 2.- WASHINGTON THREATENS TWO BRITISH AND ONE CANADIAN OIL FIRMS FOR INVESTING IN CUBA 3.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA WRAPS UP VISIT TO GUATEMALA 4.- CUBA AND HONDURAS RENEW DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN RESPECTIVE CAPITALS 5.- PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT WINDS UP PRIVATE VISIT TO CUBA 6.- MONUMENTS TO VICTIMS OF 19th CENTURY RECONCENTRATION AND MAMBI LIBERATION AND REBEL ARMIES SCHEDULED TO BE BUILT 7.- SPAIN'S POPULAR PARTY DELEGATION REJECTS HELMS-BURTON 8.- EUROPEAN HUMANITARIAN SHIPMENT ARRIVES IN CUBA CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON RE-ELECTED DURING OPENING SESSION OF CUBA'S 5th LEGISLATURE Havana, February 24(RHC)-- By secret and direct vote, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon was re-elected as the head of Cuba's National Assembly of Popular Power during the opening session of Cuba's 5th legislature. Alarcon received 591 votes of the 601 members of the Cuban Parliament. House Deputies also ratified Jaime Crombet as Vice President of the Parliament and Ernesto Suarez as Secretary. Also through direct and secret vote, Cuba's National Assembly of Peoples Power will today designate for another five year term the President of Cuba's Council of State -- the island's executive body -- along with the first vice president, five other vice presidents and the remaining 24 members of the executive. The opening session of Cuba's 5th legislature comes on the 103rd anniversary of the beginning of Cuba's second war of independence, and 22 years after the proclamation of Cuba's socialist constitution. Today's legislative session culminates a three-stage electoral process that began with elections in October, followed by further elections in January to renovate the municipal, provincial and national governments. Cuba's weekly Trabajadores newspaper reported on Monday that this parliamentary session is a manifestation of the Cuban peoples' unity and unquestionable acceptance of the model of democracy created here on the island. Trabajadores also reiterated that the entire electoral process has been one of the most significant victories of the Cuban Revolution, and that world public opinion has not been able to ignore this process. WASHINGTON THREATENS TWO BRITISH AND ONE CANADIAN OIL FIRMS FOR INVESTING IN CUBA Havana, February 24(RHC)-- According to anonymous sources quoted by the Associated Press news agency, Washington has threatened three foreign oil firms for investing in Cuba. The British companies Premier Oil and British Borneo, and the Canadian firm Gen Oil have been notified that they may be subject to penalties for doing business on properties the Cuban Revolution confiscated from Americans, according to an AP source speaking on the condition anonymity. The source stressed that no decision has been made concerning any of the companies. Under the Helms-Burton Law of 1996, top executives and major shareholders of foreign firms found to have invested in Cuban properties confiscated from Americans may lose their U.S. visas. Since the law was enacted, the United States has revoked the visas of executives affiliated with Canada's Sherritt International Corporation and Israel's BM Group. Sherritt is engaged in mining and other activities in Cuba, while BM is involved in Cuba's citrus production. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ROBERTO ROBAINA WRAPS UP VISIT TO GUATEMALA Guatemala City, February 24(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina, wrapping up a two-day visit to Guatemala, stated that Washington is becoming more and more isolated in its policy toward the island. The top Cuban diplomat pointed to the fact that Havana currently has relations with 163 countries -- proof that the U.S. has failed in its efforts to isolate Cuba. Robaina told reporters in Guatemala City that Cuba plans to strengthen areas of cooperation with the Central American nation, after having re-established diplomatic relations with Guatemala last month. Following his meeting with Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu and Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein, the Cuban foreign minister stated that he extended an official invitation to his Guatemalan counterpart to visit the island along with a delegation of business representatives from the Central American nation. During his two-day visit, Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina took part in the establishment of the Executive Board of the Association of Caribbean States. CUBA AND HONDURAS RENEW DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN RESPECTIVE CAPITALS Havana, February 24(RHC)-- Cuba and Honduras have agreed to renew direct flights between their respective capitals, despite the lack of full diplomatic relations between the two countries. The government of Honduras authorized its Islenas Airlines to renew the flights beginning in March. The inaugural flight will see the arrival in Havana of three Honduran Congressional members: Lila Ucis and Valentin Suarez, of the ruling Liberal Party and social democrat Ulban Valladares of the Innovation Party. In the past, Hondurans wanting to travel to Havana had to go first to Costa Rica or Mexico. Despite the lack of full diplomatic relations, Cuba opened an interests section in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa in December. Although Honduran authorities have asserted that for the moment they don't expect to make a similar move, relations between the two countries have gradually improved in recent years. PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT WINDS UP PRIVATE VISIT TO CUBA Havana, February 24(RHC)-- The President of Panama, Ernesto Perez Balladares, wound up a four-day visit to Cuba Tuesday during which he toured sites of historic, architectural, cultural and tourist interest. Accompanied by family members, Balladares visited the cities of Havana, Camaguey and Varadero beach resort. In Varadero, the Panamanian President said the beauty of the resort surpassed all his expectations. At the beach resort, Balladares took a look at Varadero's infrastructure and praised the island's efforts to preserve the environment at the famous tour site. MONUMENTS TO VICTIMS OF 19th CENTURY RECONCENTRATION AND MAMBI LIBERATION AND REBEL ARMIES SCHEDULED TO BE BUILT Havana, February 24(RHC)-- Cuban authorities have announced campaigns to build two separate monuments to Spanish colonialism's reconcentration victims and to the Mambi and Rebel armies. The call was published by the Cuban daily Granma and signed by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban Central Workers Confederation and the Ministry of Culture. The four institutions call on Cubans to make voluntary contributions to build the monuments. Authorities urge Cubans to preserve their history and rich spiritual heritage, as well as the continuity of their struggles for independence. The Memorial to the more than 300,000 victims of the reconcentration ordered by Spanish Captain General Valeriano Weyler in the late 19th century will be built in Havana. The monument dedicated to the 19th century Mambi Liberation Army and the Rebel Army which directed the revolutionary struggle will be built in eastern Santiago de Cuba. SPAIN'S POPULAR PARTY DELEGATION REJECTS HELMS-BURTON Havana, February 24(RHC)-- Spanish Popular Party deputy Gerardo Galeote said that both the European Parliament and Spanish government reject Washington's Helms-Burton Law. Speaking at a news conference in Havana, Galeote is also a member of the Executive Board of Spain's ruling party. He led a delegation of his political organization who visited Cuba this week. The delegation was invited by the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee. Galeote stressed that if the U.S. legislation is not modified through negotiations with the United States, the European Union will challenge it before the World Trade Organization. Concerning his meetings with Cuban authorities, the Spanish Popular Party deputy said that talks were extraordinarily honest, open and constructive. EUROPEAN HUMANITARIAN SHIPMENT ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, February 24(RHC)-- A new shipment of humanitarian aid from the European Union arrived in Cuba over the weekend for distribution in Cuban hospitals and social centers. The shipment consists of more than nine million dollars worth of soy bean oil. The shipment is part of a humanitarian aid package approved by the European Commission in November and designed to help maintain the capacity of the Cuban health care system. Cuba's infant and mother mortality rates are comparable with those of industrialized countries. Some 318 tons of canned meat, 40 thousand tons of textiles and 240 tons of powdered milk arrived in the Cuban capital during the past month. The European Union also sent an air shipment of raw materials to manufacture medicine in February. The plan also includes shipments of medicine, detergent, towels, surgical and clinical material and textiles scheduled to cross the Atlantic in coming weeks. [c] 1998, 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