Radio Havana Cuba, August 19, 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 were taken from the English language service of Radio Havana Cuba for August 19th August, 1999. Today's stories. 1. CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO DELIVERS CLOSING SPEECH AT HAVANA'S YOUTH AND STUDENTS SEMINAR ON NEOLIBERALISM 2.HAVANA AND WASHINGTON ARE NEGOTIATING ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION, SAYS US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL THOMAS PICKERING 3.GUATEMALAN FOREIGN MINISTER EDUARDO STEIN BARILLAS ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT 4. CUBA ATTENDS FORUM OF CENTRAL AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES 5. CUBAN DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION MEETS MEXICAN FOREIGN MINISTER 6. MORE THAN 420 000 PEOPLE VISITED CHE GUEVARA MEMORIAL IN VILLA CLARA 7. HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN PROFESSIONAL DANCERS TAKE SUMMER BALLET COURSES IN CUBA CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO DELIVERS CLOSING SPEECH AT HAVANA'S YOUTH AND STUDENTS SEMINAR ON NEOLIBERALISM Havana, August 19(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro, in Wednesday evening's closing speech at Havana's Youth and Students Seminar on Neoliberalism, said free market capitalism is unsustainable and is bound to come crashing down sooner or later. The Cuban leader told more than 500 young people from close to 65 countries that only a strong ideological armor and ammunition can emerge victorious in the battle against neoliberal globalization. As an example he pointed to the Cuba of the past 10 years. President Castro said Cuba's ideological strength has been amply demonstrated during this special period of economic difficulties following the collapse of the eastern European socialist camp and the intensification of Washington's blockade against the island. He said no other government in the world could have withstood that test. Upon reiterating a central theme in his political thought during recent years -- that free market capitalism is a system that is destroying our planet and therefor doomed to failure -- Fidel Castro told the youths and students that it is their responsibility to contribute to the birth of a better world. He said that world -- where there will not be so many millions of hungry and illiterate people -- will have to be reinterpreted by the younger generations. President Castro urged the participants to use the best ideas of human though -- including the bourgeois revolution and the Christian teachings of 2 thousand years ago. He said the only alternative for human survival is to replace neoliberal globalization with a globalization of solidarity and justice. Participants in the gathering agreed to organize next April in Havana the 12th Latin American and Caribbean Students Congress, in which some 5 thousand youths are expected to attend. HAVANA AND WASHINGTON ARE NEGOTIATING ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION, SAYS US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL THOMAS PICKERING Havana, August 19(RHC)-- Havana and Washington are negotiating anti- drug cooperation, announced Wednesday evening US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Thomas Pickering. At a press conference in Washington, Pickering said the talks are being held in the US Interests Section in Havana. The 3rd highest-ranking official in the US State Department said Washington is interested in defining an anti-drug cooperation strategy with Cuba because it would benefit the United States. He said his government welcomes any initiative or action of any country aimed at putting a stop to a scourge that unfortunately does not pardon any nation. Pickering stated that the recent confiscation of 7 tons of cocaine in Colombia's Cartagena Port -- based on a tip from Cuba -- illustrated the possibility of cooperating with Havana. The influential US news daily The Washington Post, recently editorialized on the need for Washington to cooperate with Havana in the war on drugs, despite the protests of the Cuban-American community in Florida. During Cuba's National Day of Rebellion holiday, last July 26th, Cuban President Fidel Castro referred to all of Havana's efforts to establish an anti-drug trafficking accord with Washington, as well as the efforts and campaigns by the anti-Cuba Mafia in Miami to prevent cooperation in this field. GUATEMALAN FOREIGN MINISTER EDUARDO STEIN BARILLAS ARRIVES IN CUBA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT Havana, August 19(RHC)-- Guatemalan Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein Barillas arrived Thursday in Havana for an official visit. Received at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport by his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque, the Guatemalan Foreign Minister is here to inaugurate the first binational gathering to be held by the two countries. The gathering will begin Friday morning, following the Guatemalan official's placing of a floral wreath before the monument to Cuba's national hero Jose Marti. Stein Barillas is expected to hold a press conference late Friday, and return to his country mid-day Saturday. Guatemala and Cuba resumed diplomatic relations last year following the visit to Havana by Pope John Paul II, who called on the world to open up to Cuba, and Cuba to the world. That same year Guatemalan Vice President Luis Flores visited Havana and met with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Last January, Cuba and Guatemala signed a trade agreement granting preferential tariffs for some 600 products. And in June of this year, Cubana airliners began regular flights between the two countries 3 times a week to promote multidestination tourism for those attracted by Cuba's beaches, and by Guatemala's ancestral Mayan culture. CUBA ATTENDS FORUM OF CENTRAL AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES Santo Domingo, August 19(RHC)-- Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon is heading the island's delegation to the 8th Conference of Central American Political Parties that began Thursday in the Dominican Republic. Under the theme "Unity and Democracy in Central America", the encounter was inaugurated with statements by Dominican President Leonel Fernandez and the President of the Central American Parliament Carlos Roberto Reina. The event, slated to run through Sunday at the Dominican Central Bank Auditorium, is being attended by 200 delegates from 85 nations and 130 lawmakers representing the region's parliaments. Shortly before leaving Havana, Alarcon, who is also a member of the Cuban Communist Party's Political Bureau, told Prensa Latina news agency that the Cuban delegation will participate actively in discussions on issues of common interest. Conference coordinator, Guatemalan legislator Adolfo Dougherty pointed out that this is the first time the Central American Parliament meets outside the region and in the Dominican Republic, whose congress enjoys a permanent observer status. The Central American Parliament is based in Guatemala and has branch offices in each member nation. CUBAN DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION MEETS MEXICAN FOREIGN MINISTER Mexico City, August 19(RHC)-- Mexico's Foreign Minister Rosario Green met Wednesday with Cuban deputy Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Raul Taladrid. Taladrid headed the island's delegation to the meeting of the First Cuba-Mexico Joint Cooperation Commission for Development that wrapped up Tuesday in the Mexican capital. Reportedly, in their talks, the officials discussed several issues related to bilateral relations, as well as perspectives for both countries to develop joint cooperation actions with third nations from Central America and the Caribbean. Cooperation within the framework of the Iberoamerican Summits, was also part of the agenda. Green and Taladrid particularly focussed on the launching of the new Iberoamerican Cooperation Secretariat, to be agreed on during the upcoming Iberoamerican Summit in Havana next November. At the end of the encounter, Mexican Foreign Minister Rosario Green praised the results of the recently concluded First Cuba-Mexico Joint Cooperation Commission and reiterated her country's commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation with Cuba. MORE THAN 420 000 PEOPLE VISITED CHE GUEVARA MEMORIAL IN VILLA CLARA Santa Clara, August 19(RHC)-- More than 420 000 people have visited the Che Guevara Memorial in central Villa Clara province since its opening to the public in October of 1997. The memorial was built to keep the mortal remains of internationalist guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara and members of his guerrilla movement in Bolivia. Teresa Garcia, director of the memorial complex that also includes the Ernesto Che Guevara Square and a museum with an exhibit on the lives of Che and his comrades-in-arms, told the AIN news agency that some 120 000 foreign visitors from some 70 nations have visited the mausoleum. Cubans have also come from all over the island to visit the Memorial. It's is estimated that to date over 300 000 Cuban visitors have come to central Santa Clara city to pay their tribute to the internationalist heroes. The memorial and the museum receive visitors Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 09:00 p.m. and on Sundays until 06:00 p.m. HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN PROFESSIONAL DANCERS TAKE SUMMER BALLET COURSES IN CUBA Havana, August 19(RHC)-- International interest in learning techniques of the Cuban Ballet School is booming. Irrefutable evidence to this is the fact that over 300 foreign professional dancers are taking a summer course called Cuballet'99. The course is being taught at the island's Prodanza Center, an institution for the promotion of classical dance. Hector Figueredo, deputy director of the dance institution told the press in Havana that participating dancers come from prestigious companies in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and Switzerland. Figueredo pointed out that the aim of the course, which runs until late this month, is to promote the characteristics, style and teaching techniques of classical dance taught in Cuban dance institutions, considered among the best six such schools around the world. During the summer courses, he added, the foreign visitors also have the opportunity to learn about the massive participation of the Cuban people in classical dance practices, which in developed countries is only a privilege for wealthy sectors. Cuballet'99 concludes on August 27th with a presentation of Don Quixote at the Havana Great Theatre. [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. 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