Radio Havana Cuba, Monday, May 17, 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 Monday, May 17, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBA CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY OF AGRARIAN REFORM 2.- HAITIAN STUDENTS STUDY MEDICINE IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA 3.- FOREST FIRES CONTINUE IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO 4.- IBEROAMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES WIND UP FORUM ON THE PERSPECTIVES OF AGRICULTURE 5.- DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION ENDS VISIT TO CUBA 6.- ARGENTINEAN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA ORGANIZATIONS CONDEMN WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST THE ISLAND 7.- CUBAN SINGER/SONGWRITER PABLO MILANES PERFORMS IN EL SALVADOR CUBA CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY OF AGRARIAN REFORM Havana, May 17(RHC)-- On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Cuba's Agrarian Reform Law, the Cuban news weekly Trabajadores today recalled the injustices that existed in the island's countryside before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. An editorial in the news weekly pointed out that 13 major U.S. firms owned the large bulk of the best land in Cuba, while 40 large cattle ranchers owned 25 percent of the pasture land and three percent of property owners possessed more than half of all farm land. This situation, says the editorial pages of Trabajadores, condemned the vast majority of campesinos and farm workers to horrendous poverty with no social or economic perspectives. The Cuban news weekly recalls the abuse, evictions, unemployment, chronic malnutrition, constant humiliation and illiteracy suffered by hundreds of thousands of Cuban campesinos. With the lack of doctors or hospitals in rural zones, epidemics yearly claimed the lives of thousands of children, while the illiteracy rate reached 30 percent, the infant mortality rate surpassed 100 for every 1000 live births and only 38 percent of children in the countryside had access to education. Trabajadores wrote that Cuba's agrarian revolution still hasn't achieved the goal of creating a modern, efficient and highly-productive agriculture -- for diverse internal and external reasons -- but that it constituted a major, irreversible achievement of justice and a milestone in Cuban history. HAITIAN STUDENTS STUDY MEDICINE IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA Santiago de Cuba, May 17(RHC)-- The first group of Haitian students to study medicine on the island will soon arrive in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba. The students are taking advantage of a scholarship program offered by the Cuban government to Central American and Caribbean countries affected by Hurricanes Georges and Mitch. The 160 Haitian students will study at the Second School of Medicine in Santiago de Cuba, where they will carry out a program similar to Havana's Latin American School of Medicine. FOREST FIRES CONTINUE IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO Pinar del Rio, May 17(RHC)-- Nearly 1000 workers from different walks of life are working hard to put out a forest fire in San Juan and Martinez, located in western Pinar del Rio province. The fire, which is into its sixth day, is affecting over 3000 hectares of forest, primarily pine trees. Thus far, there have been no victims thanks to the effective organization of fire-fighting brigades and safety measures that have been adopted. Rugged terrain has made it difficult to reach some forest areas that are on fire. One such area, known as Ratones Hills, has a height of about 456 meters above sea level. The region has some 374 species of plants. Ratones Key, which is also affected by the fire, has 101 endemic species. So far this year, there have been 257 forest fires on the island, affecting 10,000 hectares. Many of these forest fires have been the result of human carelessness combined with a severe drought affecting the island. IBEROAMERICAN REPRESENTATIVES WIND UP FORUM ON THE PERSPECTIVES OF AGRICULTURE Havana, May 17(RHC)-- Iberoamerican representatives have wound up a Forum on the Perspectives of Agriculture as part of a series of meetings prior to the Iberoamerican Summit, slated to take place in November in the Cuban capital. The meeting was aimed at adopting strategies for the improvement of food production for over 500 million people, which has worsened in recent years by the international financial crisis and climatic disasters. Representatives from 19 countries, four international institutions and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are joining efforts to promote a common policy based on the cooperation of regional governments. During the meeting, Cuba offered to contribute the technical forces necessary to assist in the agricultural development of the Third World. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION ENDS VISIT TO CUBA Havana, May 17(RHC)-- The Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0), Jacques Diouf, has ended a visit to Cuba after participating in the Fourth Iberoamerican Forum on Agriculture. In statements to reporters before leaving the Cuban capital, the FAO official affirmed that the meeting was very important as a step towards the 9th Iberoamerican Summit, to be held in Havana in November. Diouf said that the exchange of ideas and the understanding achieved during the forum will contribute in a decisive way to advances in agriculture and will also contribute to the future of the region. ARGENTINEAN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA ORGANIZATIONS CONDEMN WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST THE ISLAND Buenos Aires, May 17(RHC)-- Representatives from over 30 Argentinean solidarity with Cuba organizations characterized Washington's economic blockade against the island as "inhumane and criminal." The condemnation of the U.S. blockade against Cuba came during the 5th National Encounter of Friendship Houses and other solidarity with Cuba organizations that took place at the University of Buenos Aires. Participants at the event reiterated their support of the Cuban government and people and emphasized that the accomplishments of the Revolution have been achieved thanks to socialism. CUBAN SINGER/SONGWRITER PABLO MILANES PERFORMS IN EL SALVADOR San Salvador, May 17(RHC)-- Cuban singer/songwriter Pablo Milanes performed this weekend in El Salvador as part of a Central American tour which will also take him to Guatemala. More than 5000 Salvadorans attended the concert in the capital, San Salvador. The audience, made up mostly of young people, sang along with Pablo Milanes for nearly one and a half hours. Pablo ended his concert with one of his most popular songs -- "Yolanda". 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