Radio Havana Cuba, Wed Apr 21, 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit 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, April 21, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DEFENDS BOGOTA'S SOVEREIGNTY 2.- CUBAN SINGER-SONGWRITER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ CONDEMNS U.S.-LED NATO ATTACKS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA 3.- INTERNATIONAL FAIR "HEALTH FOR ALL" UNDERWAY 4.- HONDURANS EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR CUBAN MEDICAL SERVICE 5.- THE GOLDEN TULIP PARQUE CENTRAL HOTEL OPENS MAY 4th 6.- SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA ENCOUNTER BEGINS IN FINLAND ON FRIDAY COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DEFENDS BOGOTA'S SOVEREIGNTY Bogota, April 21(RHC)-- Colombian Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez de Soto has strongly rejected statements by a U.S. congressional representative, criticizing meetings between President Andres Pastrana and Cuban President Fidel Castro. Speaking with reporters in Bogota, Fernandez de Soto referred to questions raised by U.S. Representative Ileana Ross- Lehtinen to Colombia's ambassador in Washington, Luis Alberto Moreno. The Cuban-born congressional representative asked Moreno to explain meetings between Pastrana and Fidel Castro - - following their informal meeting this weekend in Santo Domingo at the Summit of the Association of Caribbean States. The Colombian foreign minister stated that as a sovereign country, Colombia does not have to provide an explanation of its international policies to anyone -- and, furthermore, has the right to meet with any world leader, anywhere and anytime. Colombia's ambassador to the United States had arranged to meet on Tuesday with Ross-Lehtinen -- well-known for her anti-Cuba diatribes -- but the Colombian Foreign Ministry in Bogota ordered its ambassador to cancel the meeting. CUBAN SINGER-SONGWRITER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ CONDEMNS U.S.-LED NATO ATTACKS AGAINST YUGOSLAVIA Havana, April 21(RHC)-- Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez has strongly condemned the U.S.-led NATO attacks against Yugoslavia. The internationally-recognized musician spoke with reporters during a news conference in Havana on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the cultural institution Casa de las Americas. He emphasized that what angers him most is that those who ordered the bombings comfortably sit back and enjoy life while cities and towns are being destroyed in Kosovo. Silvio Rodriguez announced that a huge open-air concert will take place on Saturday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Casa de las Americas. Among those performing: Spanish singer Joaquin Sabina, Uruguay's Daniel Viglieti, Chileans Isabel and Angel Parra as well as singers and composers from the Cuban New Song Movement, including Carlos Varela and Vicente Feliu. INTERNATIONAL FAIR "HEALTH FOR ALL" UNDERWAY Havana, April 21(RHC)-- The Ninth International Fair "Health for All" is in full-swing at Havana's Pabexpo Exhibition Hall. The event, which will run through Friday, is designed to promote new, state-of-the-art medical equipment and encourage business and investment among Cuban and foreign companies. More than 470 companies from 36 countries are participating in this year's event. Medical specialists and technicians are also on hand to learn about advanced technologies for the future of science and the development of the medical-pharmaceutical industry. The International Fair "Health for All" is considered the most important event of its type in Latin America. HONDURANS EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR CUBAN MEDICAL SERVICE Tegucigalpa, April 21(RHC)-- The head of the Cuban medical brigade in Honduras, Dr. Alberto Gonzalez Polanco, said that during six months in that Central American country, Cuban doctors and nurses have offered medical attention to 250,000 patients and have performed nearly 4000 operations. Gonzalez pointed out that the Honduran people have expressed their appreciation and are extremely satisfied with the services of the Cuban medical brigade, which has visited over 600 villages and communities in the most remote areas of Honduras. The Cuban doctors and medical personnel arrived in Honduras to offer their services to the victims of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated that Central American nation last October. THE GOLDEN TULIP PARQUE CENTRAL HOTEL OPENS MAY 4th Havana, April 21(RHC)-- The President of Cuba's Cubanacan Corporation, Juan Jose Vega, has announced that the Golden Tulip Parque Central Hotel will be officially inaugurated on May 4th. The five-star hotel is located just across the street from Havana's Central Park and its style is eclectic. With 278 rooms, this luxury facility has been designed to meet the demands of business executives, incentive groups and conference participants in Havana's old section. At a cost of 30 million dollars, the new hotel is the first endeavor of the Amanecer Holding Company -- a joint venture between Cubanacan and its foreign partner Vitol, S.A. According to Cubanacan's president, the joint venture's second and third projects will soon begin with the construction in Varadero of a five-star facility at the beach resort at a cost of 40 million dollars and an apart-hotel linked to the Golden Tulip Parque Central. Vega explained that the Amanecer Holding Company will also work on two other projects: a beach hotel on Cayo Coco off the northern coast of Ciego de Avila province and a city hotel in downtown Havana. SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA ENCOUNTER BEGINS IN FINLAND ON FRIDAY Havana, April 21(RHC)-- The 6th Solidarity with Cuba Encounter of the Nordic countries is scheduled to take place this coming weekend in Helsinki, Finland. One of the main objectives of the solidarity conference will be to examine ways to increase Nordic support of the island. Activists taking part in the event will center their attention on the fight against Washington's blockade against Cuba, which has caused loses of over 60 billion dollars over the past 40 years. Delegations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland will also debate issues related to material and humanitarian aid for Cuba, as well as work projects on the island. [c] 1999, 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 rhc-eng-2066 1999-Apr-21 21:06:10