Radio Havana Cuba, July 9, 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 Friday, July 9, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- ABUNDANT AND IRREFUTABLE PROOF OF WASHINGTON'S SUPPORT OF TERRORISM AGAINST CUBAN CIVILIANS 2.- GENERAL SECRETARY OF VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST PARTY HONORED IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 3.- SECOND MEETING OF IBEROAMERICAN COORDINATORS WINDS UP IN HAVANA 4.- PRESIDENT OF CUBAN PARLIAMENT ATTENDS THIRD SESSION OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF YOUNG COMMUNISTS 5.- CUBAN SINGER-SONGWRITER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ READY FOR WORLD TOUR ABUNDANT AND IRREFUTABLE PROOF OF WASHINGTON'S SUPPORT OF TERRORISM AGAINST CUBAN CIVILIANS Havana, July 9(RHC)-- Five days of court proceedings against the United States government -- for 40 years of aggression against Cuba -- have gathered abundant and irrefutable proof of Washington's support of terrorism against the Cuban people. Nearly 100 witnesses have provided testimony concerning the savage brutality of the U.S.-supported counterrevolutionary bandits in the Escambray Mountains between 1960 and 1965. Havana judicial authorities have heard numerous eyewitness accounts of the summary executions of Cuban civilians by some 300 bandit groups that operated in the region, as well as horrendous crimes like hangings with barbed wire and castrations. Many of the witnesses were either disabled as a result of the terrorist actions or had lost one or more family members. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have also continued to present declassified CIA documents as evidence. One of them is an October 1961 report by then-CIA Inspector General Lyman Kirkpatrick, admitting to the U.S. government's logistical support of the bandits. Many members of the revolutionary militia and armed forces who fought the bandits testified to having personally seen air drops of food and war materiel from U.S. aircraft -- "Made in the USA." The CIA's Operation Silence included the air drops of 11 shipments between September 1960 and March 1961 -- containing 151,000 pounds of weapons, ammunition and equipment. Retired Cuban Brigadier General Velaz Gonzalez provided testimony concerning a complex military intelligence operation that became further proof of Washington's involvement. In what was dubbed Operation Trasbordo, Cuban security was able to penetrate some of the bandit groups and convince them that U.S. Coast Guard vessels were going to take them out of Cuba so that they could reorganize. The vessels, however, were actually decoys with Cuban security agents dressed in U.S. Coast Guard uniforms and speaking English. The operation allowed for the capture, without firing a shot, of a significant number of bandits and their leaders. One of the renowned leaders in the anti-bandit struggle, retired Division General Raul Menendez Tomasevich, stated that Washington never expected such a high level of unity among the Cuban people and armed forces. He said the Escambray clean up, calling it the largest operation in Cuban history, mobilized 70,000 workers and campesinos and led to the capture of nearly 1000 counterrevolutionaries. In coming days, the Havana court will hear testimony and receive evidence concerning the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs invasion, assassination plots against Cuban President Fidel Castro and biological aggression against Cuba that resulted in damage to people, crops and livestock. GENERAL SECRETARY OF VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST PARTY HONORED IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, July 9(RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro presented the General Secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party Le Kha Phieu with the Jose Marti Order in recognition for his personal merits and for his solidarity and friendship with Cuba. During a solemn ceremony at Havana's Palace of the Revolution, the Cuban leader placed the island's highest distinction on Le Khan Phieu, given by the Council of State to renowned foreign and national personalities. Speaking at the ceremony, a member the Cuban Communist Party's Political Bureau, Jose Ramon Balaguer, said that for nearly 40 years, both nations have built friendship ties and internationalist solidarity. Balaguer added that what unites Cuba and Vietnam are the common cause of their liberation struggles and the aspirations of turning the just ideals of socialism into reality. The General Secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party Le Kha Phieu thanked the Cuban Communist Party, the State and the Cuban people -- and especially Fidel -- for the warmth shown towards Vietnam's Communist Party, the Vietnamese people and the memory of Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese leader arrived in Havana on Wednesday, to begin his first official visit to Cuba. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese press highlighted the visit of the General Secretary of that Asian nation's Communist Party and the welcoming ceremony with Cuban President Fidel Castro. The dailies also reported on the Vietnamese leader's meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. Le Kha Phieu symbolically donated 3000 tons of rice to the Cuban people, already on its way to the island. SECOND MEETING OF IBEROAMERICAN COORDINATORS WINDS UP IN HAVANA Havana, July 9(RHC)-- The Second Meeting of Iberoamerican Coordinators has wound up after intense work at Havana's International Convention Center. Aspects related to the Declaration of Havana -- signed last week by the region's education ministers -- were discussed by the 20 representatives that participated at the event. The coordinators discussed the political document and the ideas and special issues of interest for each country in preparation for the 9th Iberoamerican Summit to be held on November 15th and 16th in the Cuban capital. The group discussed a number of special projects -- especially the Iberoamerican Fund in support for the reconstruction of Central America and the Dominican Republic, severely damaged by Hurricanes Georges and Mitch last year. Other issues that were discussed by the region's representatives were diplomacy, children and education. The Iberoamerican coordinators will meet once again on November 13th and 14th in the Cuban capital, to iron out last minute issues prior to the Summit. PRESIDENT OF CUBAN PARLIAMENT ATTENDS THIRD SESSION OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF YOUNG COMMUNISTS Havana, July 9(RHC)-- The President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcon, who participated on Thursday in the third session of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists (UJC), stated that the current judicial proceedings against the U.S. government for aggressions over the past 40 years will serve to further unite the Cuban people. Alarcon added that Cuba's claim of over 181 billion dollars in damages is not just past history, but belongs to new and future generations. During this week's sessions of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists, it was agreed that the organization will undertake concrete actions to reaffirm the anti-imperialist character of the new generations. CUBAN SINGER-SONGWRITER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ READY FOR WORLD TOUR Havana, July 9(RHC)-- Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez and Spanish singer Luis Eduardo Aute will perform on July 30th and 31st at Havana's Karl Marx Theater. The Cuban singer announced that after the concert, the two stars will then leave on a tour to other countries -- slated to conclude in the year 2000. [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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