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 Wednesday, September 30, 1998. Today's stories: 1. IN ITALY, VISITING CUBAN VICEPRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE MEETS WITH ITALIAN PRESIDENT OSCAR LUIGI SCALFARO 2. WASHINGTON ATTEMPTS TO CLEAN UP ITS IMAGE WITH RESPECT TO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES AGAINST CUBA 3. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS, PRESIDENT OF GHANA, WRAPS UP OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA 4. THE PRESIDENT OF THE CUBAN PARLIAMENT SAYS WASHINGTON HAS DONE NOTHING MODIFY THE EXTRATERRITORIAL NATURE OF THE HELMS- BURTON LAW 5. CUBAN AND CANADIAN NGOs ARE MEETING IN HAVANA 6. THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION OF CUBAN WOMEN ADDRESSES THE FIRST LADIES AND GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES CONFERENCE IN CHILE ON CUBA'S VACCINATION CAMPAIGN. 7. GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONS CONTINUE TO TOUR AREAS IN EASTERN CUBA MOST AFFECTED BY HURRICANE GEORGES. 8. CUBAN BIORAT PRODUCT SUCCESSFULLY USED IN THE BOLIVIAN CAPITAL 9. CHILE AND CUBA PREPARING FOR JOINT INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH IN ITALY, VISITING CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE MEETS WITH VISITING ITALIAN PRESIDENT OSCAR LUIGI SCALFARO Havana, September 30, RHC -- In Italy, visiting Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage met today with Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. During the 5th day of his official visit to Italy, Lage also held another important gathering with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, for the signing of an important accord on the reestablishment of a line of export credit to Cuba. The accord is seen as a further boost to bilateral trade between the two countries, which will be reinforced with the visit to Cuba next November of Italian Foreign Trade Minister Augusto Fantozzi. The Cuban Vice President wraps up his visit to the European nation on Thursday. Yesterday, he participated in a gathering with Italian Cuban solidarity activists, who praised Cuba's capacity to resist during the past years in the face of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the tightening of Washington's blockade. WASHINGTON ATTEMPTS TO CLEANUP ITS IMAGE WITH RESPECT TO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES AGAINST CUBA Havana, September 30 (RHC) -- Washington, in an apparent effort to enhance its image with respect to terrorist activities against Cuba, has called on Central American nations to pursue suspected terrorists of Cuban origin, according to today's edition of The Miami Herald. Citing anonymous US government sources, the news daily has asserted that in mid-August Washington sent messages to the US embassies of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, calling on authorities in those countries to investigate and, if possible, arrest any Cuban exiles involved in terrorist acts against Cuba. The Miami Herald reported that the message specifies the name of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, though emphatically denies that Carriles -- who worked for the CIA in the 1960s -- is under the protection of the US government. In 1976, Posada Carriles was arrested and convicted in Venezuela for the terrorist bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner in Barbados that claimed the lives of all 73 passengers aboard. He later escaped from prison -- by literally walking out the front gate -- and has been openly living in Central America for the past 13 years. Despite being an international fugitive, Posada Carriles has been a security advisor for presidents in Guatemala and El Salvador. Between 1986 and 1988 he worked as a CIA contact at El Salvador's Ilopango military airport, from where supplies were shipped to the anti-Sandinista contras. He has also been implicated in drug trafficking to finance the contras. The Miami Herald pointed out today that Washington is apparently attempting to distance itself from Posada Carriles following interviews in several major US news dailies in which the terrorist brags of his close ties with the US intelligence community and implicates the Miami-based, ultra right wing Cuban-American National Foundation in his terrorist activities. He also stated that the Salvadoran mercenary Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon -- arrested last year in Havana in connection with a rash of terrorist bombings of Cuban tourist installations -- was acting under his direct orders. The Miami Herald also took note of the date in which the messages were sent to Central America -- just two days before 7 Cuban exiles were arraigned in a US federal court in Puerto Rico on charges of attempting to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro. One of the accused is a member of the executive board of the Cuban-American National Foundation -- an organization with a strong presence in the wings and corredors of the US Congress and White House. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS, PRESIDENT OF GHANA, WRAPS UP OFFICIAL VISIT TO CUBA Havana, September 30 (RHC) -- The President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, today wrapped up an official visit to Cuba, and was seen off by Cuban President Fidel Castro at Havana's International Jose Marti Airport. The high-point of President Rawling's third visit to Cuba came Tuesday evening when he awarded President Castro with the Order of the Star of Ghana, Honorary Class -- the African nation's highest distinction. The Ghanian leader said the award was granted in the name of his people, calling Fidel Castro one of the most legendary personalities of our times. President Rawlings said that as the leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro has been an inspiration for the peoples of developing countries due to his relentless defense of the poor, of the right of peoples to determine their own destinies, and his tireless support of the need for a more just economic world order. Upon accepting the award, President Castro said that he was extremely honored to receive a distinction that has also been given to an international figure of the stature of Nelson Mandela. The Cuban leader also thanked Ghana for its repeated condemnations of Washington's blockade against Cuba, the last of which came last week during the 53rd United Nations General Assembly. Since his arrival last monday, the Ghanian President met with numerous high-ranking Cuban government officials, gathered with African ambassadors accredited in Havana and visited diverse economic and scientific institutions in the Cuban capital. THE PRESIDENT OF THE CUBAN PARLIAMENT SAYS WASHINGTON HAS DONE NOTHING TO MODIFY THE EXTRATERRITORIAL NATURE OF THE HELMS BURTON LAW Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- According to a top Cuban official the US administration has done nothing to fulfill its agreement with the European Union to eliminate the extraterritorial provisions of the anti- Cuba Helms- Burton law. The statement was made in Havana by the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, during an International meeting on European Studies. He was addressing 150 participants from 18 nations and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Havana. Alarcon pointed out that not only has Washington failed to come up with a proposal on how to fulfill the agreement with the European Union, but it is attempting to find ways to re- enforce the controversial anti- Cuba law, which not only tightens Washington's blockade against the island, but punishes third nations doing business with the Caribbean country. The President of Cuba's National Assembly said that the mood in the US Congress at this time is not one to modify the extraterritorial nature of the Helms Burton law. . Ricardo Alarcon stated that although there has been talk of of a relaxation of the US's aggressive policy toward Cuba, Washington's refusal to allow US business executives to travel to Havana for a conference, its restrictions on family remittances to the island, and its refusal to authorize the sale of medicines to Cuba, tell another story. But despite Washington's continued anti- Cuba policy, said the President of the Cuban Parliament, more and more foreign investors are visiting Cuba to explore business opportunities on the island . Ricardo Alarcon concluded his master conference by declaring that all anti- Cuba laws and regulations tied to Washington's blockade, as well as any policy that attempts to determine the future of Cuba's social system or the lives of its people, will always be unacceptable. CUBAN AND CANADIAN NGOs ARE MEETING IN HAVANA Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- Non- governmental organizations from Cuba and Canada began a meeting Tuesday in Havana aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. The meeting, which is taking place at the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, is being attended by twelve Canadian and 20 Cuban NGO's . Participants are exchanging experiences and looking for ways to increase cooperation and future work in Cuba. The meeting is a response to a joint cooperation declaration signed by the two nations in 1997. THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION OF CUBAN WOMEN ADDRESSES THE FIRST LADIES AND GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES CONFERENCE IN CHILE ON CUBA'S VACCINATION CAMPAIGN. Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- Cuba's ability to produce vaccines against childhood diseases was a topic discussed during the 8th Conference of First Ladies and Government Representatives of the Americas currently taking place in Santiago, Chile. Speaking in Tuesday's session, the President of the Federation of Cuban Women, Vilma Espin, explained that due to high level of scientific development the island's health and science sectors have attained in recent years, Cuba is able to produce large amounts of vaccines and offer them to the region. Espin pointed out that Cuba produces two highly effective vaccines: one against hepatitis type B and the other a anti meningitis type B and C vaccine. The Cuban representative added that pharmaceutical transnational have done everything to keep neighboring nations from purchasing Cuban vaccines. She explained that Cuba its vaccines at lower prices than the transnational, which they don't like. The meningitis type B and C and hepatitis type B vaccines should be applied in the first years of a child's life. GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONS CONTINUE TO TOUR AREAS IN EASTERN CUBA MOST AFFECTED BY HURRICANE GEORGES. Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- Cuban Government Commissions continue touring the island's eastern provinces which were seriously affected by Hurricane Georges. In eastern Santiago de Cuba province, an evaluating committee headed by the vice-president of the Council of State, Pedro Miret, visited areas most affected by the storm and praised the support extended by the Cuban people in the recovery process. The governmental commission also inspected areas in the central province of Villa Clara and analyzed effects on the region's agriculture, especially in sugar cane plantations. Cuba's Construction Minister, announced that Hurricane Georges severely damaged housing and roads and he stressed that extraordinary efforts must be made to resolve problems in the seriously affected areas. People in the hardest hit regions have already begun to receive assistance from the Cuban government in the form of food supplies and construction materials to be used mostly in the reconstruction of health centers which were heavily damaged by the hurricane. CUBAN BIORAT PRODUCT SUCCESSFULLY USED IN THE BOLIVIAN CAPITAL Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- Cuban experts have exterminated some six million rats and mice, 70 per cent of the number estimated to be in La Paz, Bolivia, using a biological poison. The excellent results have reportedly surprised municipal authorities. Statistics show that in La Paz, which has a population of a million , there were 10 to 12 rats per person. According to Bolivian health official, Nicanor Joy, there are an some 2 to 3 weeks left in the city's anti- rat campaign . Cuba's "Biorat", is deadly for rats but not dangerous for humans. Biorat is made of rice husks and with a strong cheese smell added to attract rodents. It is effective year- round and maintains its deadly properties while frozen in storage for up to a year . According Bolivian authorities, the anti- rat campaign has been so successful that they will continue using the Cuban product twice a year nationwide. CHILE AND CUBA PREPARING FOR JOINT INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH Havana, September 30 (RHC)-- Cuban and Chilean authorities are examining the possibilities of strengthening commercial ties in the two countries economic sectors. The meeting is preliminary to the second Joint Intergovernmental Commission that will take place October 1st and 2nd in the Cuban capital. Chilean Foreign Ministry undersecretary, Christian Barros, will head a delegation of representatives of 13 exporting companies. Heading the Cuban delegation is Marta Lomas, first deputy Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation. Cuba and Chile are expected to sign agreements in construction, and Basic Industry as well as to strengthen bilateral relations in education, culture, the in the industries of sugar, fishing and maritime transportation. [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