Radio Havana Cuba, December 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 Tuesday, December 21, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- PROTESTS RESUME IN FRONT OF U.S. INTERESTS SECTION IN HAVANA, DEMANDING RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ 2.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ELIAN 3.- FATHER OF SIX-YEAR-OLD ELIAN GONZALEZ THANKS THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE FOR THEIR SUPPORT IN EFFORTS TO GET HIS SON BACK 4.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT ENTERS SECOND DAY OF FOURTH ORDINARY SESSION 5.- TWO MORE CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES ARRIVE IN THE BOLIVARIANA REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA 6.- CONSTRUCTION WORKERS PREPARE NEW ROOMS TO WELCOME FOREIGN VISITORS 7.- CUBAN TELEVISION WILL BROADCAST OPENING OF SACRED GATE IN ST. PETER'S BASILICA PROTESTS RESUME IN FRONT OF U.S. INTERESTS SECTION IN HAVANA, DEMANDING RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ Havana, December 21(RHC)-- Thousands of Cubans gathered in front of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana on Monday -- demanding the immediate return of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. Responding to a call to renew protests in front of the building located on Havana's seaside drive -- known as the Malecon -- an estimated 20,000 people, many of them young students, raised their voices in a clear denunciation of Washington's refusal to return Elian Gonzalez to his family in Cuba. Shouting "Queremos Elian" -- "We Want Elian" -- the chants shook the six-story building which serves as the U.S. Interests Section in the Cuban capital. Nearly one month ago, on November 22nd, the young boy was placed on a boat by his mother without his father's permission. She and nine others drowned when they unsuccessfully attempted to illegally immigrate to the United States. Elian, who survived when the boat capsized off the coasts of Florida, was taken to live with distant relatives who have joined a vicious right-wing campaign to keep the boy in Miami. His father, grandparents and, indeed, the entire Cuban people are demanding that he be returned to the island. CUBAN PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ELIAN Havana, December 21(RHC)-- The Cuban Parliament has called on the United States government to immediately return Elian Gonzalez to his family in Cuba. During Monday's legislative session of the Parliament's Fourth Ordinary Session, the nearly 600 lawmakers also called on all countries of the world to support Cuba's demand. According to a resolution passed unanimously on Monday, the Cuban Parliament affirmed that the United States has "the inexcusable obligation to return this child to his home and family, from which he was illegally taken." The resolution also makes a special appeal to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; the UN General Assembly and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to demand that Washington immediately return the six-year-old, according to international law. Cuban President Fidel Castro attended Monday's session of the legislature and said that the people should be prepared for a long struggle to have the young boy returned to Cuba... a struggle that could take a month, three months, six months or even a year. And the Cuban leader said that when Elian Gonzalez is finally re-united with his father and immediate family in Cuba, mass demonstrations would be avoided in order not to place the boy in a position of further emotional stress. FATHER OF SIX-YEAR-OLD ELIAN GONZALEZ THANKS THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE FOR THEIR SUPPORT IN EFFORTS TO GET HIS SON BACK Havana, December 21(RHC)-- Juan Miguel Gonzalez, father of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, still being held in the United States, has sent a letter to Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, thanking Cuban legislators for their efforts to return his son to Cuba. In his open letter to Alarcon -- published on the front page of Tuesday morning's edition of the daily Granma -- Elian's father also thanks Cuban President Fidel Castro for the time and energy devoted to leading the Cuban people in this new battle. CUBAN PARLIAMENT ENTERS SECOND DAY OF FOURTH ORDINARY SESSION Havana, December 21(RHC)-- The Cuban Parliament's Fourth Ordinary Session of its Fifth Legislature entered its second day on Tuesday - with the approval of the National Budget Law top on the parliamentary meeting's agenda. Cuban Minister of Finance and Prices Manuel Millares submitted the draft bill for approval, which amounts to 9166 million pesos. Seventy percent of the budget is dedicated to prioritized social areas like education, public health, social security and housing projects. The Cuban minister noted that next year's budget reflects the economic impact of financial restrictions resulting from Washington's nearly 40-year blockade of Cuba. He said that the economic blockade imposed on Cuba prevents the island from getting many lines of credit. According to the Cuban minister of finance, the island's economic growth over the past few years has allowed the Gross National Product to increase by 6.2 percent in 1999. This fact will undoubtedly favor social and economic growth in the years to come. TWO MORE CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES ARRIVE IN THE BOLIVARIANA REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA Caracas, December 21(RHC)-- Two additional Cuban medical brigades have arrived in Venezuela to offer their services following the devastation brought in the wake of two weeks of intense rains. The arrival of these new teams -- made up of 75 medical personnel among doctors, nurses and other health specialists -- brings the number of Cuban health professionals currently working in the sister Latin American nation to 423. The Cuban medical teams carry with them all the necessary equipment and other resources to work in remote areas for as long as necessary. Sources from the Cuban Ministry of Health stated that another 400 Cuban health professionals are ready to leave for the Bolivariana Republic of Venezuela if needed. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS PREPARE NEW ROOMS TO WELCOME FOREIGN VISITORS Santiago de Cuba, December 21(RHC)-- The Cuban Construction Company UNECA has built 1400 new rooms so far this year in all of the principal tourism sites island-wide. This year's results are further evidence of greater productivity and better efficiency, with revenues amounting to one million dollars. UNECA has been primarily involved in Varadero -- the world famous Cuban beach resort -- where the construction company will complete two new hotels this month as well as repairs on another two. CUBAN TELEVISION WILL BROADCAST OPENING OF SACRED GATE IN ST. PETER'S BASILICA Havana, December 21(RHC)-- Responding to a request from the Episcopal Conference, Cuban television will broadcast the ceremony in which Pope John Paul II will open the Sacred Gate of the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica on December 24th. With this ceremony, the Catholic Church will commemorate the beginning of Great Jubilee, marking the arrival of the third millenium in the Christian Era. [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-625 1999-Dec-21 19:25:05