Radio Havana Cuba, October 25, 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, October 25, 1999. Today's stories: 1.- CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE REITERATES CUBA'S CONVICTION THAT UPCOMING IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN HAVANA WILL BE A SUCCESS 2.- GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN OF ILLINOIS TOURS THE CUBAN CAPITAL 3.- CUBAN FOREIGN TRADE MINISTER VISITS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 4.- 7th IBERO-AMERICAN CULTURE FESTIVAL INAUGURATED IN HOLGUIN 5.- CUBA'S CONSTRUCTION MINISTRY WILL BUILD MORE THAN 10,000 HOTEL ROOMS BEFORE THE YEAR 2001 6.- CUBAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS VIETNAM 7.- CUBA REMEMBERS ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF GRENADA CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE REITERATES CUBA'S CONVICTION THAT UPCOMING IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT IN HAVANA WILL BE A SUCCESS Lisbon, October 25(RHC)-- Visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque has reiterated Cuba's conviction that Havana's upcoming Ibero-American Summit will be a success, despite some absences. Perez Roque said the 21 Ibero-American countries will be represented, 16 by their respective heads of state and government. Chile will send its foreign minister, despite Chilean President Eduardo Frei's absence due to his country's dispute with Spain concerning the extradition from London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Argentina will also send a high-level representation, despite Argentinean President Carlos Menem's announced absence due to his government's solidarity with Chile. The Cuban foreign minister told reporters in Lisbon that Salvadoran President Francisco Flores' absence is due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Havana and San Salvador, but that this Central American nation will also send a special representative. With respect to Costa Rica, whose President Miguel Angel Rodriguez declined to participate due to an unanswered personal letter to Cuban President Fidel Castro concerning his request to meet with so-called "dissidents," Perez Roque said the Cuban leader never answers letters previously revealed and published by international media outlets. The Cuban foreign minister said that Cuba does not regret the absence of Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman. He said that Aleman, as is well-known, has close ties to the ultra-right wing Cuban-American community in Miami and also supports Washington's blockade of Cuba. Perez Roque gathered Monday with his Portuguese counterpart Jaime Gama. He was also received by Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio and Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, to whom he personally gave invitations from President Fidel Castro to attend the Ibero-American gathering. On Sunday, following his arrival in Lisbon, Cuban Foreign Minister Perez Roque gathered with members of the Portugal-Cuba Friendship Association. He told the solidarity activists that Washington's blockade of Cuba is fully intact, despite propaganda to the contrary and that even European firms are now threatened with Helms-Burton sanctions. Despite this situation, stated the Cuban foreign minister, opposition against the blockade continues on the rise -- even inside the United States itself. GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN OF ILLINOIS TOURS THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, October 25(RHC)-- The Governor of the U.S. State of Illinois is in the Cuban capital, leading a 47-member delegation on a humanitarian visit. Governor George Ryan is accompanied by other state officials, as well as the directors of Illinois State agencies for Commerce, Agriculture and Public Health. Other delegation members include university officials, physicians, musicians, business executives and the Archbishop of Chicago, who celebrated a Mass yesterday at the city's cathedral. The delegation has toured the Latin American School of Medicine and Old Havana, as well as the William Soler Children's Hospital. This is the first visit by a U.S. governor to Cuba since the triumph of the revolution in 1959. Governor Ryan, a Republican, has come out strongly against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, which he says is counter-productive and affects possible agricultural and pharmaceutical trade between the island and the state of Illinois. Illinois was the first U.S. state to pass legislation calling for an end to Washington's blockade on food and medicine. On its humanitarian visit, the delegation brought nearly one million dollars worth of school supplies, medicine and toys. CUBAN FOREIGN TRADE MINISTER VISITS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Port-of-Spain, October 25(RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas is in Trinidad and Tobago participating in the Summit of the Caribbean Community. In statements to journalists in Port-of-Spain, the Cuban official pointed out that the meeting is very important for the region as an economic and commercial project. Cuba's foreign trade minister added that it will be a good opportunity for the area's economy and trade ministers to exchange views and continue consolidating commercial exchanges. Although Cuba is not a member of CARICOM, it maintains close relations with its member-nations through a bilateral cooperation commission. 7th IBERO-AMERICAN CULTURE FESTIVAL INAUGURATED IN HOLGUIN Holguin, October 25(RHC)-- The 7th Ibero-American Culture Festival was inaugurated on Sunday in the eastern province of Holguin. This year's festival is dedicated to the Dominican Republic and the Spanish region of Asturias. The Dominican ambassador in Havana, Daniel Rodriguez, thanked the organizers of the event, pointing to his country's historical and cultural ties with Cuba. Meanwhile, the Asturian representative, Laura Gonzalez, praised the festival and stated that this is an example of Cuba's efforts in preserving and enriching its culture as well as its achievements in health and education. The 7th Ibero-American Culture Festival also has the participation of delegates from Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Britain and Canada. The festival includes workshops, book fairs, an exhibition of paintings and dance, theater and music. CUBA'S CONSTRUCTION MINISTRY WILL BUILD MORE THAN 10,000 HOTEL ROOMS BEFORE THE YEAR 2001 Sancti Spiritus, October 25(RHC)-- Cuba's Construction Ministry will build more than 10,000 hotel rooms before the year 2001, according to Construction Minister Juan Mario Junco del Pino. Following a visit to tourist installations in central Sancti Spiritus province, the Cuban official told Prensa Latina News Agency that the construction project responds to Cuba's plan to welcome some two million vacationers in the year 2000. CUBAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS VIETNAM Hanoi, October 25(RHC)-- The Vice President of the Cuban Parliament Jaime Crombet is currently on an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his counterpart, Mai Tuc Lan. Upon his arrival, the Cuban parliamentarian was welcomed by the President of the Foreign Relations Committee of Vietnam's Parliament and the Cuban ambassador in that Asian nation. Jaime Crombet and his accompanying delegation will meet with Vietnamese government officials and visit production centers and places of historic interest. Vietnam is the Cuban parliamentary delegation's first stop of an Asian tour that will also take them to Laos and China. CUBA REMEMBERS ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF GRENADA Havana, October 25(RHC)-- Today, October 25th, marks the 16th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Grenada. On this date in 1983, Washington sent ground and airborne troops to invade one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean -- made up of only 110,000 people -- ending a social experiment that was the hope of the region's poor and working class. The Grenadian people, led by one of its most outstanding sons -- Maurice Bishop -- opened doors which had been tightly closed by Washington and its ally, the dictatorship of Eric Gairy. With the triumph of the Grenadian Revolution in March 1979, the New Jewel Movement wrote new pages in the history of the Caribbean region -- offering health care and educational opportunities to many for the first time. Despite internal conflicts within the New Jewel Movement and the passage of time -- now 16 years since the brutal U.S. invasion -- the people of the world still recall the wonderful example that was the Grenadian Revolution. The Cuban people will never forget October 25, 1983 -- a day when the United States, once again, demonstrated its hegemonic designs on the Caribbean, Latin America and, indeed, the world. [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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