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 Monday, June 1, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REITERATES THERE IS NO AGREEMENT WITH NICARAGUA CONCERNING ILLEGAL CUBAN RAFTERS DEPORTED FROM BAHAMAS 2.- CUBAN CHILDREN CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S DAY 3.- CUBA'S TRABAJADORES WEEKLY URGES EVERYONE TO CONTRIBUTE FOR A BETTER 1998-99 SUGAR HARVEST 4.- DELEGATION OF BRITAIN'S NATIONAL TEACHERS FEDERATION VISITS THE ISLAND 5.- RENOWNED CUBAN MUSICIAN CHUCHO VALDES HEADS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ISLAND TO JAZZ FESTIVALS IN NEW YORK CITY 6.- INTERNATIONAL CHINESE FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 7.- REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE JAPANESE SANYO COMPANY END VISIT TO CUBA CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY REITERATES THERE IS NO AGREEMENT WITH NICARAGUA CONCERNING ILLEGAL CUBAN RAFTERS DEPORTED FROM BAHAMAS Havana, June 1(RHC)-- Cuba's Foreign Ministry reiterated over the weekend that Havana has no agreement with Nicaragua concerning the illegal Cuban rafters recently deported back home from the Bahamas. On the front page of the Sunday edition of Cuba's weekly newspaper Juventud Rebelde, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said that "if Mr. Aleman, the President of Nicaragua, is so generous, then Cuba would be willing to give travel authorization to any Cuban wishing to live in Nicaragua -- but in a legal, secure and orderly fashion." The Cuban Foreign Ministry also announced that local authorities will not allow any disturbances at Nicaragua's embassy in Havana. The official note winds up by saying that "none of the Cuban citizens who, in violation of bilateral immigration accords signed with diverse countries in the region, illegally immigrated to the Bahamas and were deported back to Cuba, will receive authorization to leave the island." The Cuban Foreign Ministry's statement generated widespread reaction Sunday in Nicaraguan media outlets. The news daily El Nuevo Diario headlined the story with the title "Nicaraguan Government Makes Fool of Itself," gathering statements from Managua residents expressing their opposition to any eventual Cuban immigration. Many of those interviewed said the poverty and unemployment in Nicaragua do not allow this country the luxury of accepting new residents. Others interviewed by El Nuevo Diario pointed out that President Aleman's decision is his payback to the right-wing in Miami -- which helped finance his presidential campaign. Still others said the Nicaraguan president wanted to do something for his international image following the narcojet scandal, in which a Lear jet stolen from Miami was alternately used as the presidential airplane and in drug trafficking operations. One person told the local daily that Aleman wanted people to forget about the corruption in the upper echelons of government. The Nicaraguan news daily La Tribuna front-paged the story with the headline "Cuba Challenges Aleman." Nicaragua's television and radio news broadcasts on Sunday also dedicated time to the issue. CUBAN CHILDREN CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S DAY Havana, June 1(RHC)-- Cuban children are commemorating International Children's Day in their schools with music, dances and games. June 1st was selected as International Children's Day and is celebrated around the world, although Cuban children celebrate free health care, education, access to culture and sports everyday. While it is true that during the island's economic crisis, Cubans have been forced to tighten their belts and find it difficult to escape from shortages of food and clothing -- not one school has closed its doors. The Cuban government has prioritized distribution of the few resources available, in addition to guaranteeing adequate health care attention and education to all children on the island. Despite the effects of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and the disappearance of the former Soviet Union and other socialist countries in eastern Europe, Cuba has been able to reduce its infant mortality rate to 7.2 per one thousand live births, making it the lowest in history and first among third world nations. The situation of Cuban children is completely different compared to other children in underdeveloped countries, where over the last 50 years more than 600 million have died due to the lack of medical attention. These and other alarming statistics were noted by Cuban President Fidel Castro during his recent speech before the World Health Organization in Geneva -- forcing one to reflect on a day like today, when many nations are commemorating International Children's Day. CUBA'S TRABAJADORES WEEKLY URGES EVERYONE TO CONTRIBUTE FOR A BETTER 1998-99 SUGAR HARVEST Havana, June 1(RHC)-- An editorial published in Monday's edition of the weekly Trabajadores stresses that everyone involved in the island's sugar harvest must help in the recovery of this important industry, guaranteeing next year's sugar harvest. The editorial points out that adverse weather conditions and other objective and subjective factors were the main problems during the current sugar harvest, which has been unable to surpass last year's production levels. Trabajadores emphasizes that Cuba is determined to recover the sugar industry's role as one of the country's main income earners. The newspaper editorial calls on all of the island's workers to contribute in the mobilizations to begin a good sugar harvest and vowed to guarantee good quality as an important step in recovering one of the island's most important sources of income for the country. DELEGATION OF BRITAIN'S NATIONAL TEACHERS FEDERATION VISITS THE ISLAND Camaguey, June 1(RHC)-- The leader of Britain's National Teachers Federation, Bill Grinchilds -- who is currently visiting central Camaguey province -- recognized the importance of Cuban labor union's concern for its workers. Grinchilds, who is heading a group of British union activists, arrived on the island a week ago and traveled to the city of Camaguey to strengthen cooperation between that city and the British region of Dervys. The British union leader has participated in discussions with his Cuban counterparts and said he has been stimulated by his visit to the island. RENOWNED CUBAN MUSICIAN CHUCHO VALDES HEADS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ISLAND TO JAZZ FESTIVALS IN NEW YORK CITY New York, June 1(RHC)-- Renowned Cuban musician Chucho Valdes will head representatives of the island to important jazz festivals beginning Monday in New York City. Characterized by the U.S. media as "the greatest piano virtuoso in the world," Chucho Valdez will perform for two straight weeks at the Village Vanguard in New York City, where he will be joined by prestigious international musicians. INTERNATIONAL CHINESE FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, June 1(RHC)-- An International Chinese Festival got underway Monday in Havana with the participation of representatives of Chinese communities from the United States, Canada, France and Britain. Five commercial companies confirmed their presence at the festival where Chinese electrical equipment, shoes, food, textiles and decorations will be sold. The festival will include traditional Asian games and martial arts demonstrations among others. An encounter between Chinese and Cuban business representatives is also expected. REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE JAPANESE SANYO COMPANY END VISIT TO CUBA Havana, June 1(RHC)-- A group of high-ranking business representatives from the Japanese firm Sanyo have concluded a visit to Havana. The Sanyo representatives celebrated the long presence of their company in the Cuban market and also toured other economic institutions on the island. During their stay in Cuba, the Japanese officials met with Cuban financial authorities and stressed their commitment to continue strengthening economic ties with the Caribbean island. [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba Todos los derechos reservados No puede ser reproducido, reimpreso o publicado sin previo acuerdo con RHC. Esta limitacion incluye la redistribucion via Usenet News, sistemas de "bulletin board", listas de correo electronico, medios impresos, radio y television. 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