Radio Havana Cuba, December 29, 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, December 29, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- ON-GOING PROTESTS DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ 2.- U.S. LAWYER AND EXPERT ON FAMILY RIGHTS SAYS ELIAN GONZALEZ MUST BE RETURNED TO HIS FATHER 3.- CUBAN NEWSPAPER PRINTS SCATHING DENUNCIATION OF ULTRA RIGHT-WING U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ILEANA ROS-LETHINEN 4.- FORMER CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER RAUL ROA GARCIA HONORED FOR HIS SERVICE 5.- ALEJO CARPENTIER NAMED WRITER OF THE CENTURY 6.- VENEZUELAN DAILY PRAISES WORK OF CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES IN THAT COUNTRY ON-GOING PROTESTS DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ Havana, December 29(RHC)-- Some 80,000 Cubans gathered today in the town of Artemisa, located about one hour west of Havana, to demand the immediate release of Elian Gonzalez. The activity was broadcast live on Cuban radio and television, as well as several international frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. Yesterday, students from the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Vocational School added their voices to the on-going protests against the kidnapping of Elian Gonzalez -- the six-year-old boy still being held in Miami against the wishes of his father and, indeed, the entire Cuban people. U.S. LAWYER AND EXPERT ON FAMILY RIGHTS SAYS SIX-YEAR-ELIAN GONZALEZ MUST BE RETURNED TO HIS FATHER Madrid, December 29(RHC)-- A U.S. attorney and expert on family rights, Jeffrey Leving, stated on Wednesday in Madrid that six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, by law, must be returned to his father on the island. In an interview published in the Spanish magazine "Cuba Economica," the U.S. lawyer added that the boy's distant relatives in Miami cannot substitute the love and affection of his father as well as his grandparents currently living in Cuba. Jeffrey Leving added that when Elian was taken to Miami, his great aunt and uncle were total strangers and he is much better off with his father. The U.S. expert on family law explained that in addition to having requested political asylum for the six-year-old in the United States, the ultra right-wing in Miami are attempting to misinform the international community, since everyone knows that there is no legal basis to keep Elian in Miami. According to the interview published in the Spanish magazine "Cuba Economica," the anti-Cuba right-wing in Miami are attempting to avoid a legal discussion on the issue because they know they cannot possibly win. Leving added that he is currently studying the case of the kidnapped young boy, as he represents the American Coalition of the Rights of Parents and Children, whose leaders have requested that he defend Elian's father before a Florida court. Asked whether he will represent Elian's father, the U.S. attorney said that he cannot comment yet, although he did not rule out the possibility of traveling to Havana to talk with the boy's father. CUBAN NEWSPAPER PRINTS SCATHING DENUNCIATION OF ULTRA RIGHT-WING U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ILEANA ROS-LETHINEN Havana, December 29(RHC)-This morning's edition of the daily Granma published a full-page expose on one of the most rabid enemies of the Cuban Revolution: U.S. congressional representative Ileana Ros-Lethinen. Entitled "The Ferocious Wolf Disguised as a Woman," columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo stated that "this raging member of the ultra right-wing has adopted the United States as her home while, at the same time, contributing substantially to damaging the image of that country." The article states that one event among many demonstrates who this Cuban-born U.S. congressional representative is -- her public and fervent defense of Cuban-American terrorist Orlando Bosch. In mid-1989, the U.S. Justice Department decided to expel Bosch from the country. Then-Assistant Attorney General Joseph Whitley stated that for more than 30 years, Bosch has demonstrated that he is determined and unwavering in his support of terrorism and, consequently, could be harmful to the public interest if the United States were to provide him safe haven. A cable from the UPI News Agency -- datelined Miami, August 4, 1989 -- asserted that the CIA gave Bosch's attorneys documents proving that Orlando Bosch had organized several armed attacks against Cuba in the 1960s -- one of which resulted in the death of a man and three Cuban children. Cuban columnist Leon Cotayo recalled that also well-known is Bosch's role in the October 1976 sabotage against a Cuban civilian airliner over Barbados, in which all 73 persons aboard were killed. Ros-Lethinen's support of Bosch reached the extreme of including his defense as part of her campaign platform in elections for the House of Representatives. The article in today's edition of the Cuban news daily points to Ros-Lethinen's demand, in August 1995, that the U.S. State Department deny a visa to Cuban President Fidel Castro to participate in ceremonies in New York to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations -- a demand rejected by the U.S. government. Columnist Nicanor Leon Cotayo mentioned the U.S. lawmaker's pressures and threats against countries like South Africa and Mexico due to their close ties to Cuba and her demand in February 1998 -- to the astonishment of news correspondents -- that Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria step down because he is not, in her opinion, strongly critical of Cuba. Cuba's Granma newspaper asserted today that Ros-Lethinen has even placed herself further to the right than U.S. Senator Jesse Helms. She angrily rejected a proposal by two of Helm's legislative aides -- present in Cuba during the visit of Pope John Paul II -- to lift restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba. The Cuban columnist also mentioned those legislators close to Ros-Lethinen -- specifically Lincoln Diaz Balart who, in a television interview in May 1995, publicly stated that he greatly admired former Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Finally, the article in today's edition of Granma pointed to U.S. press reports asserting that Ros-Lethinen, Diaz Balart and Representative Robert Menendez have all gotten rich from the juicy contributions they've received from the ultra right-wing Cuban-American National Foundation. FORMER CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER RAUL ROA GARCIA HONORED FOR HIS SERVICE Havana, December 29(RHC)-- Activities to honor one of the island's most outstanding diplomats, Raul Roa Garcia, got underway on Tuesday at the Cuban Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of that institution. The program included the inauguration of the Raul Roa Hall, where the late diplomat worked, the unveiling of a monument in honor of Raul Roa by his widow Ada Kouri and son Raul Roa Kouri, as well as a photo exhibit and the launching of a book entitled "El Canciller" or The Foreign Minister. Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon -- who was a close friend of the late foreign minister -- presented the book, written by Cuban journalist Manuel Gonzalez. ALEJO CARPENTIER NAMED WRITER OF THE CENTURY Havana, December 29(RHC)-- Alejo Carpentier has been named the Writer of the Century according to Wednesday's edition of Granma newspaper. The daily points out that Carpentier, who was the first Latin American writer awarded the Cervantes Prize, contributed to the rebirth of literature in Latin America. The recognition of Alejo Carpentier's work coincides with the 95th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of the publication of his novel "The Kingdom of This World." VENEZUELAN DAILY PRAISES WORK OF CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES IN THAT COUNTRY Caracas, December 29(RHC)-- Venezuela's daily El Nacional praised the work of Cuban medical brigades in the city of Caraballeda, as a consequence of the natural disasters that hit that country. Wednesday morning's edition of the daily pointed out that the effects of the torrential rains in the zone include a serious lack of water. Area residents found some relief with the presence of the Cuban doctors, who have been working around the clock, seven days-a-week. The Venezuelan daily quoted one Cuban doctor, who explained that the medical personnel have been in the affected areas for about two weeks now and have treated diarrhea, respiratory ailments, skin conditions and have even helped to deliver babies. [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-18089 1999-Dec-29 19:18:45