Radio Havana Cuba-18 April 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 18 April 2000 -MORE THAN 200,000 MARCH ON HAVANA'S EMBASSY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC -PEDIATRICIAN SAYS ELIAN GONZALEZ IS BEING PSYCHOLOGICALLY ABUSED IN MIAMI -CUBA DENOUNCES NEW MANIPULATIONS IN THE CASE OF ELIAN -5th CONGRESS OF CARIBBEAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION UNDERWAY IN HAVANA -BOTSWANAN HEALTH MINISTER PRAISES CUBA'S ACHIEVEMENTS -4th IBERO-AMERICAN ENCOUNTER ON WOMEN AND COMMUNICATIONS TO BE HELD IN CUBA -Viewpoint: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MANIPULATES WORLD ECONOMY MORE THAN 200,000 MARCH ON HAVANA'S EMBASSY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- Some 200,000 Cubans marched today in front of the embassy of the Czech Republic in Havana to protest that country's co-sponsoring of Washington's anti-Cuba initiative in the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Cuba called the Czech government puppets and charged the UN agency with corruption, noting that selective and politicized maneuvers such as the anti-Cuba resolution create an atmosphere that leads to situations like that of the kidnapping of a Cuban child in Miami. In Geneva, Cuba's ambassador before the UN Human Rights Commission, Carlos Amat, charged that the United States government is the only violator of the Cuban peoples' human rights with its economic blockade and terrorist aggressions against the island. Following another condemnation of Cuba with 21 votes in favor and 18 against, Amat said the UN Human Rights Commission has again allowed itself to be manipulated. The Cuban ambassador said Washington can't forgive Cuba for having its own voice, and raising that voice in defense of social justice. PEDIATRICIAN SAYS ELIAN GONZALEZ IS BEING PSYCHOLOGICALLY ABUSED IN MIAMI Washington, April 18 (RHC)-- A pediatrician who has been advising U.S. officials concerning the Elian Gonzalez case has warned that the child is in "a state of imminent danger to his physical and emotional well-being," in a home he considers to be psychologically abusive. In a letter made public by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Dr. Irwin Redlener urged authorities to remove the child from the home in Miami where he is being tremendously exploited. At the invitation of INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, Redlener helped pick the team of mental health experts who met last week with Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez. The prominent New York pediatrician took particular issue with the home video that Elian's kidnappers released to the media. He stated that there is no justification whatsoever to wait any longer in carrying out the actions that he believes are legally appropriate and, more important, clearly in the best interests of a child who continues to be horrendously exploited in what he called "this bizarre and destructive atmosphere." Dr. Redlener said it has gone on "far too long". Meanwhile, INS spokesperson Maria Cardona has again asserted that her agency is ready to act on a federal court order to Lazaro Gonzalez to surrender the child to his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, expected to come at any moment. CUBA DENOUNCES NEW MANIPULATIONS IN THE CASE OF ELIAN Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- A roundtable discussion was broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Monday evening, with the participation of journalists and experts in international law. Panelists analyzed the situation of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, still illegally being held in Miami. During the roundtable, journalists unmasked the most recent manipulations by those who are trying to obstruct Elian's return to Cuba, including blatant lies about Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez -- falsely accusing him of having beaten his former wife and son. The panelists denounced the serious psychological damage that threatens the six-year-old boy after nearly five months away from home. They pointed out that most legal experts believe that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta will support the boy's reunion with his father. The roundtable discussion was broadcast live on Cuban television, the national radio network and the international frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. 5th CONGRESS OF CARIBBEAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- The 5th Congress of the Caribbean Medical Association is underway here in the Cuban capital with the participation of delegates from 20 nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe. The encounter is dedicated to worker's health. Among those taking the floor during Monday's inaugural session was Cuba's Minister of Labor and Social Security, Alfredo Morales Cartaya. He emphasized that in addition to providing workers with health care, they should also be guaranteed a job. In that regard, the Cuban labor minister denounced the situation in Latin America, where unemployment affects millions of people. He also condemned the exploitation of children, recalling that 250 million children in the Third World are subjected to forced labor. The high-ranking Cuban official compared the situation with that of children on the island -- where a job, free health care, education and social security are among the human rights guaranteed by the Cuban Revolution. BOTSWANAN HEALTH MINISTER PRAISES CUBA'S ACHIEVEMENTS Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- Botswana's Health Minister Yoi Phumaphi has praised Cuba's achievements in health care, as well as the ability of the Cuban people to manage their own resources and resist Washington's nearly 40 year blockade against the island. During his visit to the Cuban capital, the top Botswanan health official met with his Cuban counterpart, Dr. Carlos Dotres. Both officials reviewed the possibility of sending teams of Cuban health professionals to assist a population of some one million 500,000 inhabitants -- 19 percent of whom are suffering with the HIV virus. 4th IBERO-AMERICAN ENCOUNTER ON WOMEN AND COMMUNICATIONS TO BE HELD IN CUBA Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- Havana will be the site of the 4th Ibero-American Encounter on Women and Communications, slated to get underway next Monday, April 24th. On hand for the meeting will be delegates from ten Ibero-American nations, including Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina. During the encounter -- which includes roundtables, workshops and lectures -- participants will debate issues such as communications strategies and violence against women. Viewpoint: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MANIPULATES WORLD ECONOMY Cuban President Fidel Castro, addressing the Group of 77 South Summit last week in the Cuban capital, stated that it is time for the people of the Third World to energetically demand the elimination of the International Monetary Fund -- pointing out that the IMF does not offer stability to the world's economy. According to the Cuban president, the IMF does not work in delivering preventive funds to debtors and avoiding a crisis, but rather to protect the creditor's interests. Reality has shown that an institution that plays a ruling and controlling role in the world's economy has been the main cause of the current stock market insecurity -- posing a general crisis for underdeveloped nations. The policy of economic globalization, which removes the State as the guiding force behind the destiny of each nation, will ultimately remove the sovereignty of peoples, submitting them to the instability of markets, which is now in the hands of big financial corporations. The International Monetary Fund has done nothing to reverse this unequal exchange, whose main consequence has been the shameful indebtedness of the Third World to a totally inadmissible level. In 1985, Cuban President Fidel Castro affirmed that the foreign debt of the Third World was not only unpayable but also uncollectable. At that time, the foreign debt was over 400 billion dollars... today, it surpasses 2.5 trillion dollars. Today, the foreign debt of the Third World is even more unpayable and uncollectable, since it can easily change hands in secondary markets and it is also more difficult to renegotiate. The manipulators of the world economy have done nothing without taking their cue from Washington. And the money that debtor nations pay out never reduces their principal, but is only payment on their huge interest. The situation was clearly exposed by delegations of the three continents during the Group of 77 South Summit. The conclusion reached was the clear necessity of bringing together their forces in order to coordinate their policies and impose respect on the big powers of the world economy. The nations of the Third World cannot continue dealing with the huge problems of underdevelopment in a random manner -- the lack of unity will only benefit the rich exploiters. (c) 2000 Radio Havana Cuba. 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