Radio Havana Cuba, November 30, 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, November 30, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT ATTEND WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MINISTERIAL MEETING IN SEATTLE 2.- U.S. AUTHORITIES SAY FIVE-YEAR-OLD CUBAN BOY WILL NOT BE REPATRIATED 3.- NEW CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADE ARRIVES IN HONDURAS 4.- VATICAN SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS VISITS CUBA 5.- DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN HAVANA AND NEW YORK CITY BEGIN FRIDAY 6.- PEACE BOAT WILL SOON DOCK IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 7.- BIOTECHNOLOGY '99 UNDERWAY IN HAVANA CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT ATTEND WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MINISTERIAL MEETING IN SEATTLE Havana, November 30(RHC)-- In a letter addressed to Congressman Jim McDermott from the U.S. State of Washington, Cuban President Fidel Castro has announced that he will not attend the World Trade Organization's ministerial meeting, scheduled to take place in Seattle. The Cuban leader had planned to go to Seattle at the invitation of McDermott and others. In his letter, Fidel states that he had been preparing for the meeting since the end of the 9th Ibero-American Summit, held recently in Havana. Unfortunately, Washington had said the visit of the Cuban leader would be "inappropriate" and this, coupled with threats from right-wing Cuban-American groups, led him to cancel the trip to avoid a confrontation. "Leaving aside the hysteria and threats from the Miami terrorist mafia who want to provoke a bloody, armed conflict between Cuba and the United States," states the letter, "what is important is the position of the United States with respect to my right to participate in an international meeting of the World Trade Organization, of which Cuba has been a member since its foundation." Fidel Castro writes that the U.S. State Department had voiced its opposition to his trip from the outset and that, consequently, he was sure he would not be granted a visa. He adds that, as a result, he did not even apply for a visa. Threats to arrest the Cuban president "a la Pinochet" on fabricated charges plus the possibility of an assassination attempt would clearly lead to major international repercussions. In his letter, the leader of the Cuban Revolution states he personally regrets missing the opportunity to debate with participants at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, but that the head of the Cuban delegation -- Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque -- will carry Havana's position to the meeting. U.S. AUTHORITIES SAY FIVE-YEAR-OLD CUBAN BOY WILL NOT BE REPATRIATED Washington, November 30(RHC)-- A five-ear-old Cuban boy who was taken by his mother and step-father on a raft bound for Florida without the knowledge or permission of his father, will not be repatriated. According to U.S. authorities, the family of his mother has been allowed to legally request the boy's residency. According to a statement by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, 14 Cuban citizens set out for the U.S. last week from the coasts of Matanzas Province in central Cuba. Patrol boats spotted the craft just before it left Cuban territorial waters and tried to persuade them to return to the island, signaling those on board and informing them of bad weather. But the small craft continued on its northward course. Cuban authorities sent an urgent message to the U.S. Coast Guard to be on the lookout for the craft. The Cuban Foreign Ministry note stated that several days later, on Thursday, November 25th, the capsized craft was found with only three survivors. Apparently, eleven people had drowned. Among the three survivors was a five-year-old boy -- Elian Gonzalez -- who was spotted clinging to an inner-tube off the coasts of Florida. The father of the boy, Juan Miguel Gonzalez Quintana, contacted authorities and asked that his son be returned to Cuba. The young boy was put on the raft by his mother and step-father, who were among those drowned, without his father's permission. The Cuban Foreign Ministry note states that the U.S. Interests Section in Havana had been contacted to begin proceedings for the return of the five-year-old boy. The official note blames the U.S. government for these new and painful deaths of Cuban citizens, who are victims of non-stop radio broadcasts encouraging them to immigrate illegally -- even to the point of being awarded residency and work permits if they touch the U.S. mainland. Speaking with reporters upon his arrival in Seattle Monday evening, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque stated that the full responsibility for this new crime against the Cuban people falls squarely on the shoulders of Washington. He further accused the U.S. of aiding in the trafficking of human beings, stating that the refusal to return the young boy to his father in Cuba was "morally, legally and ethically reprehensible." NEW CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADE ARRIVES IN HONDURAS Tegucigalpa, November 30(RHC)-- Another Cuban medical brigade arrived in Honduras on Monday as part of a health cooperation program offered by Cuba to that Central American nation. The new medical team, made up of 39 doctors, nurses and other health specialists, will offer their services free-of-charge in remote areas of Honduras. On September 30th, a Cuban medical team made up of 107 health specialists returned to Havana from Honduras, after working in Honduras for 11 months. During that period, the Cuban doctors treated 800,000 people, performed 9000 surgical operations and helped deliver 577 babies in remote, mountainous areas of the country. VATICAN SECRETARY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS VISITS CUBA Havana, November 30(RHC)-- Monsignor Jean Louis Tauran, Vatican Secretary for Foreign Affairs, is in Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban Catholic Bishop's Conference and the island's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Tuesday, Monsignor Tauran inaugurated an ecclesiastic symposium called "The Latin American Church: Anthropological, Economic and Social Implications for Cuba." The event, which runs through Friday in the Cuban capital, is being attended by some 150 bishops and other church officials as well as high-ranking Cuban government officials and guests from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Panama. DIRECT FLIGHTS BETWEEN HAVANA AND NEW YORK CITY BEGIN FRIDAY Havana, November 30(RHC)-- Direct, weekly flights between New York City and the Cuban capital are to begin this Friday, December 3rd. According to official sources from the Cuban Ministry of Tourism, the U.S. tourism company Marazul will book the charter flights, renting planes belonging to U.S. companies. PEACE BOAT WILL SOON DOCK IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, November 30(RHC)-- In coordination with the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the Cuban tour operator Amistur S.A., the Peace Boat, with more than 350 young people, will dock in Havana next Sunday, December 5th. Once on the Caribbean island, the boat's passengers -- made up of primarily Japanese youth -- will follow an intense program of activities, including visits to places of tourist, economic and social interest in the Cuban capital. In direct contact with Cubans, their history and current struggle, the visitors will be able to establish new links with the people and strengthen already-existing friendly relations between Japan and Cuba. BIOTECHNOLOGY '99 UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, November 30(RHC)-- Biotechnology '99 is underway at Havana's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Over 1100 delegates, representing 41 countries and international institutions, are participating in Biotechnology '99 -- an annual scientific event that focuses this year on the medical applications of biotechnology. Through master conferences, plenary sessions, symposiums and workshops, participants will deal with issues such as vaccines, new immunization strategies, dengue and AIDS, new diagnostic technologies, the development of new drugs, recombinant antibiotics and therapies for cancer and self-immuned diseases through antibiotics. A commercial exhibition has also been scheduled as part of Biotechnology '99, in which over 30 companies are representing nations such as Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Cuba, among others. Biotechnology '99 winds up on Friday, December 3rd -- Day of Latin American Medicine. ---------------------------- RADIO HAVANA CUBA'S HEADLINERS Tuesday, 30 November 1999 On Monday evening, Cuban television released a letter written by President Fidel Castro to U.S. representative from the State of Washington, Jim McDermott -- explaining that the Cuban leader would not be attending the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization which got underway on Tuesday in Seattle. Fidel Castro's letter, which was printed in full in Tuesday's edition of Granma newspaper, begins by explaining that after the 9th Ibero-American Summit which was held in Havana in mid-November, the Cuban leader began studying the documents for the World Trade Organization meeting to be held in Seattle, Washington. He also prepared for the talks, meetings and press conferences he would be giving during his stay in Seattle. He told Representative McDermott that although his schedule was extremely full, he wished to make the visit to Seattle, as he had promised the U.S. lawmaker he would make every effort to do so. Fidel said that he had practically decided to make the trip. In his letter to Washington state representative McDermott, Fidel Castro said that for reasons of security, he did not announce his decision to go to Seattle, waiting until the last minute to do so. For the same reasons he said, he delayed applying for a visa, knowing full well that within an hour after contacting the U.S. State Department with his request, the information would be leaked and right-wing organizations like the Cuban-American National Foundation, would immediately know the details of his travel plans. On November 19, said President Fidel Castro's letter, the Mexican press Agency NOTIMEX reported the possible presence of the Cuban leader at the WTO meeting, slated for Seattle from November 30th to December 3rd. The simple invitation, says the letter, provoked angry reactions in the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, the press published a wide variety of opinions on the possible visit of Fidel Castro to attend the meeting. On November 22, James Rubin, U.S. State Department spokesman, told the press it was unclear what the State Department would do if it received a request from President Castro for a visa to enter the United States. Meanwhile, other news agencies quoted an official source as saying that since the meeting was on a ministerial level, Castro's presence would be "inappropriate." Twenty-four hours later, said President Fidel Castro's letter, on November 23, it was reported that Republican Representative from Florida, Lincoln Diaz Balart, had asked U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to issue an arrest warrant for the Cuban president on murder charges, if he attended the Seattle meeting. The next day, according to a NOTIMEX cable from The Washington Times -- a right-wing newspaper -- it was reported that the Cuban government should not be allowed the opportunity to gain press coverage with the Cuban president's presence at the WTO meeting, which would also be attended by U.S. President Bill Clinton. Other news agencies reported that the right-wing Brothers to the Rescue organization announced that it had requested that Florida's district attorney bring charges against "dictator" Fidel Castro for murder if he entered the United States. The Cuban-American National Foundation and various other anti-Cuba groups had joined in with the request of Congressman Lincoln Diaz Balart, to put Fidel Castro on trial for the killing of three pilots, shot down while violating Cuban territorial airspace. All those actions, said President Fidel Castro's letter to U.S. State Representative Jim McDermott, were revealed just 72 hours after the statements made by the U.S. State Department spokesman on November 22. The Cuban leader said that he ignored the hysteria and threats of the right-wing Cuban-American mafia in Miami since they always do the same whenever he travels abroad. What was important, he noted, was the position taken by the United States regarding his right to participate in an international meeting of the World Trade Organization, of which Cuba is a founding member. "It quickly became clear that Washington opposed my presence at the Seattle meeting and I was sure they would deny me the visa, so I didn't even bother to request it." On November 26, the head of the State Department's Cuba Desk and another high-ranking U.S. official, warned the head of the Cuban Foreign Ministry's North American Department, Dagoberto Rodriguez, who was on his way to Seattle, of the possible consequences of President Castro's visit, using the same arguments as the right-wing extremist Cuban-American mafia. "That only confirmed my perception of the opposition and of the political and moral fear of my participation at the WTO meeting in Seattle," wrote Fidel Castro. The Cuban leader said what had interested him most about the possible visit was not the WTO meeting itself, but the possibility of meeting with students, professionals and academics and expressing opinions, exchanging ideas and debating important questions. He said he appreciated the many invitations he had received, but that he couldn't go to the United States if official spokesmen had declared the visit "inappropriate" or worse yet, were consciously participating in a provocation in Seattle. The letter explains that Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque was assigned to head the Cuban delegation to the meeting. "We decided to send with them a large part of the security and communications specialists who accompany me on my most risky trips abroad to guarantee the safety of the Cuban delegation and to protect them against any provocations or physical aggressions of the terrorist Cuban-American mafia." The foreign minister, said Fidel Castro, has instructions to meet with the institutions and personalities that invited Fidel to meet with them. The Cuban leader said that what he had planned to say in Seattle he would say at the International Economists Meeting that will take place in Havana from January 24th through the 29th and at an important Summit of the Group of 77 plus China, which will meet in Havana April 10th through the 14th. Finally, the letter thanks representative Jim McDermott for his invitation, which he said was supported by those "who defend the sincere exchange of ideas over prejudice and dogmatism." Fidel also recalled that McDermott himself has been criticized by extreme right-wing U.S. sectors. President Fidel Castro, in his letter to Washington State Representative Jim McDermott, said that Cubans would always remember the warm invitation from the congressional representative and the city of Seattle. -30- [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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