Radio Havana Cuba, Wednesday, June 2, 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, June 2, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- HAVANA DENIES RUMORS THAT CUBAN AUTHORITIES WILL ALLOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES 2.- U.S. RETURNS 79 CUBANS WHILE BILATERAL TALKS ON MIGRATION ACCORDS GET UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK CITY 3.- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ONCOLOGY RE-OPENS PEDIATRIC UNIT 4.- CUBAN FILM RETROSPECTIVE OPENS IN HAVANA 5.- HAVANA AQUARIUM CELEBRATES WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 6.- CUBAN HISTORIANS VOTE TO JOIN LAWSUIT AGAINST THE U.S. HAVANA DENIES RUMORS THAT CUBAN AUTHORITIES WILL ALLOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES Havana, June 2(RHC)-- Cuba has denied rumors that government authorities are preparing to facilitate an avalanche of illegal immigrants to the United States. Cuba's Interior Ministry, in a note published in today's edition of the Granma news daily, stated that among the media outlets spreading this rumor is the ill-named Radio Marti. The Interior Ministry said that the unfounded propaganda is "aimed at stimulating illegal immigration and creating social and political difficulties, at a moment when Cuba is gradually winning the battle against the economic crisis -- despite Washington's blockade of the island." Since the May 1995 Cuba-U.S. migration accords, the Interior Ministry insisted that Cuba has consistently maintained that immigration to the United States must take place in a legal, safe and orderly fashion. Since that Joint Declaration, U.S. authorities have returned 1436 illegal Cuban immigrants attempting to reach the shores of Florida and another 390 attempting to reach the Guantanamo Naval Base. Cuba, stated the Interior Ministry, has also systematically expressed its concern over and condemnation of the trafficking of illegal immigrants in vessels leaving ports in Florida. U.S. RETURNS 79 CUBANS WHILE BILATERAL TALKS ON MIGRATION ACCORDS GET UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK CITY Havana, June 2(RHC)-- The United States has returned 79 Cubans who had attempted to enter the U.S. illegally but were taken into custody on the high seas. This was the largest number of immigrants returned at one time since migration accords were agreed to between both nations in September 1994 and May 1995. The 69 men, six women and four children were handed over to Cuban authorities at the port of Orozco, where they were given health check-ups and then sent home. Meanwhile, representatives from Cuba and the United States held a new round of talks in New York City on Wednesday, reviewing the state of bilateral immigration accords. The talks, which occur every six months, were presided over by the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, and John Hamilton, Under Secretary of the U.S. State Department. The two countries agreed to continue to allow no fewer than 20,000 Cubans to legally immigrate each year to the U.S. and to adopt measures to halt the encouragement by Washington of illegal immigration from Cuba by allowing those who reach U.S. shores to apply for political asylum. For its part, Cuba promised to continue to discourage its citizens from embarking on the often fatal voyage across the Straits of Florida and to maintain its program of fully reintegrating those returned by the U.S. into Cuban society. According to Ricardo Alarcon, the mere fact that the two nations are able to sit down and agree on migration policy is a positive step toward the normalization of relations after almost 40 years of Washington's economic blockade of its island neighbor. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ONCOLOGY RE-OPENS PEDIATRIC UNIT Havana, June 2(RHC)-- The Pediatric Unit of the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology re-opened its doors Tuesday, June 1st, to coincide with International Children's Day. The unit had been undergoing extensive renovation under the auspices of the Swiss-Cuba Friendship Association. The restoration work had taken three months, said Mario Ramseier, President of the Association, and was part of the work being carried out in Cuba by those in the international community opposed to Washington's economic blockade of the island. CUBAN FILM RETROSPECTIVE OPENS IN HAVANA Havana, June 2(RHC)-- A retrospective of Cuban cinema began Wednesday at the Charlie Chaplin Theater in Havana. It will cover the most important aspects of Cuban film-making since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959. The first film to be screened will be the full-length feature "A Day in November" by Humberto Solas. The film was made in 1972. The retrospective will end on June 20th with "April in the Year of the Cat" -- a documentary on the Vietnam War by Santiago Alvarez. HAVANA AQUARIUM CELEBRATES WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Havana, June 2(RHC)-- The Cuban National Aquarium will celebrate World Environment Day -- June 5th -- with a special program for senior citizens and their families. The event will get underway Saturday morning, when children from a program entitled "Getting to Know the Sea" will interact with senior citizens from local Senior Centers. The focus will be on marine environmental consciousness. The remainder of the day will incorporate all ages into interactive sessions that will not only speak to the protection of marine life but also to the necessity of maintaining the environment in general. CUBAN HISTORIANS VOTE TO JOIN LAWSUIT AGAINST THE U.S. Sancti Spiritus, June 2(RHC)-- The National Union of Historians (UNHIC), meeting for their Fourth National Congress in Sancti Spiritus, has voted to join the eight Cuban grassroots organizations that filed suit against the government of the United States on Tuesday for the deaths and disabilities of Cuban citizens since 1959. In a speech given by Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal, he noted that the gathering was not made up of intellectuals isolated from society but of people committed to their profession by the time they spend promoting it. It is important, he noted, to continue to delve into Cuban history, improve museums and initiate creative and fertile discussions on local levels. Delegates will be presenting more than 100 papers during the 15th National History Conference, while at the same time celebrating the 485th anniversary of the city of Sancti Spiritus. 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