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 Thursday October 8, 1998. Today's stories: 1. TRIBUTE PAID TO ARGENTINEAN-CUBAN GUERRILLA FIGHTER ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA ON THE 31ST ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH IN COMBAT 2. PRESIDENT OF HAVANA'S PARLIAMENT BLASTS NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION 3. CARIBBEAN HEART SPECIALISTS BOOST MULTILATERAL COOPERATION AGAINST HEART DISEASES IN CHILDREN. 4. MERCEDES BENZ TO TRAIN CUBAN STUDENTS 5. AT UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, CUBA PRESENTS 7TH CONSECUTIVE RESOLUTION AGAINST WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE 6. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CATEGORICALLY DENIES US PRESS REPORTS ACCUSING HAVANA OF INTERFERING IN VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 7. IN HAVANA, VISITING DELEGATION LED BY BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY SYMONS DE VERNHAM-DEAN SIGNS ACCORD ON REGULAR FLIGHTS BETWEEN LONDON AND THE CUBAN CAPITAL AT UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, CUBA PRESENTS 7TH CONSECUTIVE RESOLUTION AGAINST WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE Havana, October 8, RHC -- A draft resolution rejecting Washington's blockade against Cuban began to officially circulate Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly. The document, entitled "The need to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba", will be presented by the Cuban delegation and debated on October 14th. It will be the 7th consecutive time that the UN General Assembly deals with the issue. Over the past 6 years, the UN body has voted against Washington's almost 40 year anti-Cuba policy, each year with a greater amount of votes than the previous year. During the first vote in the 1992 resolution, 59 nations voted in favor. Last year, it was supported by 143 countries, with the sole opposition of the United States, Israel and Uzbekistan. The Cuban resolution calls on countries implementing laws and measures against Cuba to take the necessary steps to annul them as soon as possible. The resolution asks the UN Secretary General to prepare a report on compliance with the resolution and present the document to the 54th session of the UN General Assembly next year. It also calls for the inclusion of the issue in next year's UN agenda, and expresses concern over the continued enactment and application of extraterritorial laws by UN member nations. CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY CATEGORICALLY DENIES US PRESS REPORTS ACCUSING HAVANA OF INTERFERING IN VENEZUELA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Havana, October 8, RHC -- Cuba's Foreign Ministry has categorically denied US press reports accusing Havana of interfering in Venezuela's presidential elections. Last Monday, The Miami Herald claimed that leftist Venezuelan presidential candidate Hugo Chavez -- who is leading in the voter preference polls -- has a secret militia trained by marxist guerrillas in Colombia, and receives clandestine support from Lybia and Cuba. A Cuban Foreign Ministry note published in today's edition of the official news daily Granma termed as suspicious the appearance of these allegations at a time when the Venezuelan candidate seems destined to win the presidency, which, added the note, deeply disturbs the most reactionary sectors in Venezuela and around the world. The Cuban Foreign Ministry stated that Cuba is observing with great interest Venezuela's electoral process, but does not have the least interest in interfering with that process. Cuba's Foreign Ministry insisted that much less would Cuba interfere when the most corrupt and backwards sectors both in Venezuela and the United States are attempting to favor other candidates with a myriad of lies and slander. Cuba reiterated its strict respect for the sovereignty of all nations, non-interference in their internal affairs and the traditional ties of friendship that unite the peoples of Venezuela and Cuba. Inside Venezuela, the demonizing campaign against Hugo Chavez has sharply stepped up just two months before presidential elections. The country's discredited, traditional political parties are running TV adds calling Chavez an avenging devil who is seeking to install a communist dictatorship. Media outlets are repeatedly airing the video of Chavez's visit to Cuba in 1994, during which he stated that he was proud that the United States refuses to grant him an entry visa. At the same time, media outlets are spreading the rumor of a possible military coup in Venezuela to prevent a Chavez victory, asserting that high-ranking officers are afraid that Chavez will reinstate the top brass that supported his attempted coup in 1992 against then-President Carlos Andres Perez. Chavez has called the media campaign a subliminal message to justify his assassination. IN HAVANA, VISITING DELEGATION LED BY BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY SYMONS DE VERNHAM-DEAN SIGNS ACCORD ON REGULAR FLIGHTS BETWEEN LONDON AND THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, October 8, RHC -- In Havana, the visiting delegation led by British Deputy Foreign Secretary Symons De Vernham-Dean today penned an accord with Cuba that will allow for regular British Airways flights between London and the Cuban capital, with stop-overs in the Caiman Islands. The flights will begun in the Summer of 1999. The first representative of Great Britains's Labor government and the highest-ranking official of the British Foreign Secretariat to visit Cuba is here to further boost trade and bilateral relations between the two countries. On October 18th, Cuba will receive another visit from Baroness Janet Mary Young, a member of the British Parliament and leader of the group called Cuba Initiative. And in November, British Trade and Industry Secretary Brian Wilson will be at the head of a delegation of British business executives who will participate in Havana's annual international trade fair. Cuba and Great Britain have already signed a bilateral accord on the promotion and protection of investments. Deputy Foreign Secretary Symons De Vernham-Dean wraps up her official visit on Friday. TRIBUTE PAID TO ARGENTINEAN-CUBAN GUERRILLA FIGHTER ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA ON THE 31ST ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH IN COMBAT Havana (RHC)-- Thousands of first graders across Cuba received their blue bandannas today identifying them as new members of the Jose Marti Cuban pioneers' Children's Organization. The pioneers' initiation ceremony is part of the commemorations of the 31st anniversary of the death in combat of Cuban-Argentinean guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara, in Bolivia, October 8, 1967. In the main ceremony at Havana's Revolution Plaza, over two thousand 6 year olds received their blue bandannas from their parents and pledged to be like Che. Present at the main activity were, Aleida Guevara March, daughter of the legendary heroe, Political Bureau member Jose Ramon Balaguer, the general secretary of the city of Havana, Esteban Lazo as well as other government and grass roots organization representatives. Meanwhile, a memorial to "che" built in the central city of Santa Clara containing the remains of Ernesto Che Guevara and some of his companions was reopened to the public on Thursday as part of commemorations for the date. The Cuban press, radio and television reported on Thursday on various aspects of the life of the Cuban-Argentinean guerrilla fighter and his companions. On the same topic, Uruguayan workers and students also paid tribute to Che Guevara as a bust of the revolutionary guerrilla fighter was unveiled on Wednesday in the capital, Montevideo. The Uruguayan organization in Support of the Cuban Revolution also held a national activity paying homage to Che Guevara, which was attended by personalities from the world of politics and society in general. And in Bolivia, groups of students gathered Thursday in the community of La Higuera in Valle Grande to pay their annual tribute to Che Guevara and his guerrilla companions. PRESIDENT OF HAVANA'S PARLIAMENT BLASTS NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION Havana (RHC)-- The President of Havana's People's Power Provincial Assembly, Conrado Martinez Corona, criticized neoliberal globalization of the world economy at the Socialist International's Second World Conference of Mayors, held in Fez, Morrocco. In his address to the 225 delegates from 29 African, European and Latin American nations, the Cuban government official denounced neoliberalism as a policy increasing poverty by stressing differences among human beings. Martinez Corona also detailed the impact of Washington's economic blockade of the island, which has not been able to prevent Cuba from occupying a leading position in fields like public health and education. CARIBBEAN HEART SPECIALISTS BOOST MULTILATERAL COOPERATION AGAINST HEART DISEASES IN CHILDREN. Havana (RHC)-- Caribbean specialists gathered in Havana this week to address the current situation of heart diseases in children. The meeting, organized by The Caribbean Medical Association, is aimed at strengthening multilateral cooperation in this field of medicine and improving specialized care for children suffering from heart diseases. The gathering, which was held at Havana's Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital Wednesday and Thursday was attended by experts from Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Curazao, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Mexico, Paraguay and Cuba. Multilateral cooperation in that field is crucial to help ease expenses in terms of heart treatment, since a heart operation costs from 5 thousand to 6 thousand dollars. MERCEDES BENZ TO TRAIN CUBAN STUDENTS Havana (RHC)-- The Mercedes Benz company will train Cuban automobile mechanic students under a bilateral cooperation agreement signed in Havana on Wednesday. Mercedes Benz General Manager in Havana, Konrad Heiber, said the agreement is aimed at training skillful workers and automotive technicians. Gilda Navarro, director of Havana's Jose Ramon Rodriguez Politechnic School,where the agreement is to be implemented, said she is satisfied with the agreement as the first the school has reached with a foreign firm. Navarro added that by learning new technologies used by the Mercedes Benz Company, Cuban students and teachers will significantly increase their knowledge and improve the level of teaching at the center. Shortly after signing the accord on Wednesday, Mercedes Benz executives donated an M-355 engine, a microfilm reader and technical literature for use at the Jose Ramon Rodriguez Polytechnic School. [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. 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