Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA January 8, 1998 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Thursday, January 8, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- `ALL SYSTEMS GO' FOR SUNDAY'S LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS 2.- "EL VOTO UNIDO" IS NOT MERELY A MOTTO 3.- CUBAN PEOPLE ARE READY TO WELCOME POPE JOHN PAUL II 4.- CUBA IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD IN VACCINATIONS 5.- LEBANON SIGNS TOBACCO AGREEMENT WITH CUBA 6.- IMPORTANT TRADE FAIRS WILL SEE CUBAN PARTICIPATION IN 1998 7.- 5th SOUTH AMERICAN SOLIDARITY BRIGADE ARRIVES SOON 8.- NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY SET TO TOUR U.S. AND EUROPE `ALL SYSTEMS GO' FOR SUNDAY'S LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS Havana, January 8(RHC)-- Electoral authorities in Cuba have announced that everything is set for Sunday's legislative elections. The President of Cuba's National Electoral Commission, Jesus Pirez Perez, reported that more than seven million 898 thousand Cubans have the right to vote this weekend. The head of the island's electoral commission said more than 33,000 voting booths islandwide will open early Sunday morning, and that nearly 500,000 people will be administering the electoral process. The official said that these statistics reflect the organizational capacity of Cuba's electoral process. Pirez Perez recalled that all Cuban citizens 16 years of age and older are eligible to vote, as are members of the armed forces, and that only the mentally impaired and those serving prison sentences are not eligible. In related news, Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina said that Cuban voters freely go the polls to deposit secret and direct ballots. He said that Cuba's electoral process is characterized by the lack of political pressures, by the lack of necessity for money to finance campaigns, without the advertising and fanfare that occurs in other countries, and without the need to have armed soldiers stationed at the polls. The Cuban foreign minister said that long ago Cuba did away with the long campaigns of electoral promises, and with the even longer periods during which those promises were not kept. Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina said that in Cuba, "people do not vote for well-groomed images or empty promises, but rather, for the well-being of the country, the Revolution and socialism. "EL VOTO UNIDO" IS NOT MERELY A MOTTO Havana, January 8(RHC)-- Cuban Parliamentarian Reverend Raul Suarez said in Havana that the term "voto unido" -- currently used for the electoral process -- is "not a mere motto, but a deep conviction inherent in the island's political and social process." Suarez, who is also a Baptist minister, stated that `the united vote' and national unity "have been put into practice thanks to conditions created in the judicial and political fields," pointing to modifications to the Constitution and the agreements adopted since the 4th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party in 1991. Reverend Raul Suarez, Director of Havana's Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, said that the Cuban Revolution had redeemed the patriotic concept of a lay State, also supported by Cuba's National Hero Jose Marti, and favored a larger participation of religious believers in the island's political life. CUBAN PEOPLE ARE READY TO WELCOME POPE JOHN PAUL II Havana, January 8(RHC)-- Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal told journalists in the Cuban capital that during his upcoming visit to the island, Pope John Paul II "will see a dignified people, ready to welcome him with all the honors a personality like him deserves." Leal said that unlike other Latin American countries visited by the Pope, he will not find serious and dramatic problems such as drug addiction and poverty. During his appearance on the national television program "Agenda Abierta" this week, the official stressed that John Paul II will arrive in Cuba at a good moment, because Cubans are highly mature and firm regarding their convictions, while at the same time they have a cultured understanding of the world around them. CUBA IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD IN VACCINATIONS Havana, January 8(RHC)-- According to the World Health Organization, Cuba is the top country in the world with regard to vaccinations. In a newly released report, the international organization analyzed the health situation of 214 countries and territories in 1997. The study found that Cuba is Number One in vaccinations against polio, diphtheria, neonatal tetanus and measles -- all of them eradicated in Cuba. The World Health Organization recognized that the Cuban system also protects 99 percent of its citizens against whooping cough and tetanus in adults. A list of the top ten countries -- following Cuba -- shows, among others, Japan, Sweden, France, Germany and Ireland. Despite its superpower status, the United States came in 22nd. LEBANON SIGNS TOBACCO AGREEMENT WITH CUBA Beirut, January 8(RHC)-- Cuba and Lebanon have signed an agreement that will increase the sale of Cuban cigars to the Arab world. The accord was signed between Habanos Sociedad Anonima and Fenicia Trading Company, which will be in charge of Cuban tobacco sales in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon itself, the region's main importer. After Spain and France, Lebanon is the country with the third largest volume of Cuban tobacco imports -- approximately 5% of the Caribbean island's production. IMPORTANT TRADE FAIRS WILL SEE CUBAN PARTICIPATION IN 1998 Havana, January 8(RHC)-- The Cuban Chamber of Commerce has announced that the Caribbean island will be represented at important international trade fairs in several Latin American nations during the coming year. The information offered by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce also says that the goods and services of the island's enterprises will be exhibited in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, among other countries. 5th SOUTH AMERICAN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA BRIGADE ARRIVES SOON Havana, January 8(RHC)-- The 5th South American Solidarity with Cuba Brigade is scheduled to arrive in Havana on January 19th. According to the Cuban Friendship Institute -- ICAP -- the first group of the brigade will be made up of nearly 250 people. They will be on the island until February 1st and will work in agriculture and visit places of historic and social interest. The second group of the brigade will be composed of another 200 friends from South America, who will have a similar program in Cuba. NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY SET TO TOUR U.S. AND EUROPE Havana, January 8(RHC)-- Cuba's National Ballet Company will begin a tour of the United States and several European nations later this month. In the U.S. -- which has not welcomed the entire ballet company for almost 20 years now -- the Cuban artists will perform classics in the cities of Los Angeles and New York. The Cuban ballet will include Argentina and Colombia on its tour itinerary later this year and will also perform in Holland, Austria, Finland, Spain and France. The Cuban National Ballet Company will celebrate its 50th anniversary on October 28th this year. [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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