Radio Havana Cuba-11 December 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 11 December 2000 . *CUBA AND U.S. HOLD ANOTHER ROUND OF MIGRATORY TALKS *RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS RELATIONS WITH CUBA ARE EXCELLENT *PANAMA RECEIVES BOMB THREATS REGARDING POSADA CARRILES *SEARCHING FOR CHE'S MISSING COMRADES IN BOLIVIA *CHAVEZ SPEAKS BY PHONE WITH VENEZUELAN PATIENTS IN CUBA *VENEZUELAN SPORTS INSTITUTE PRESIDENT IN HAVANA. *CUBA AND CHINA JOIN IN 13th ECONOMIC & SCIENTIFIC COMMISION *CUBA RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM C.E.C.L.A.T.E. *JAZZ PLAZA IN HAVANA *HALF OF LATIN AMERICA'S CHILDREN SUFFER POVERTY, VIOLENCE, ILLITERACY . *CUBA AND U.S. HOLD ANOTHER ROUND OF MIGRATORY TALKS Havana, December 11 (RHC)-- Representatives of Cuba and the United States began meeting this morning in the Cuban capital to review bilateral migratory agreements. The review normally takes place every six months and rotates between Havana and New York. Monday morning in Havana, Ricardo Alarcon -- President of the Cuban Parliament and head of the island's delegation to the talks -- arrived at the International Convention Center at 10 a.m. The U.S. delegation is headed by William Brownfield, Under Secretary of State for Hemispheric Affairs. Brownfield had these comments to make: "From our perspective, these talks -- which we hold two times a year, off and on since 1994 -- have on the table any issue relating to migration. We [the United States] have a number of issues which we wish to raise with them [Cuba] and we have no doubt that they have some issues that they want to raise with us. And we are unable to give you a sense of what is discussed until the conclusion of today's talks." This is the 12th round of talks to examine the August 1994 and May 1995 accords signed between the two countries. In previous meetings, Cuba has raised the issue of the Cuban Adjustment Act -- legislation that has been on the books since 1966 and serves to encourage illegal immigration from Cuba to the United States. The legislation offers special treatment to Cuban immigrants by granting residency and work permits to those who touch U.S. soil. Undocumented immigrants captured on the open sea by U.S. Coast Guard authorities are supposed to be repatriated back to Cuba. The current round of talks comes just days after Havana announced that direct telephone communication between the island and the United States will be cut this coming Friday, the 15th for non-payment of a tax levied to recoup Cuban telephone company money frozen by the US government. U.S. phone companies have claimed that they are unable to pay Cuba due to Washington's policy toward the island -- and Havana states that if back bills are not paid, service will be terminated. *RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SAYS RELATIONS WITH CUBA ARE EXCELLENT Moscow, December 11 (RHC)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow's relations with Havana are excellent and will be even better with his upcoming visit to the island this week. Speaking with reporters in the Russian capital, President Putin said that he always thought the deterioration of relations some ten years ago between Russia and Cuba was a mistake and called for a renewal of those traditional relations. The Russian leader also called for an immediate end to the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba. Putin stated that Washington's blockade cannot be rationalized from any point of view -- emphasizing that U.S. sanctions are illegal according to international law. The Russian president is slated to begin an official visit to Havana on Wednesday, the 13th. He told reporters that Cuba is Moscow's principle trading partner in Latin America and that he has intentions of re-enforcing those ties during his upcoming visit to Havana. Vladimir Putin said that while a number of economic areas were replaced by other countries over the past several years, he is confident that those areas will be strengthened during his stay this week. *PANAMA RECEIVES BOMB THREATS REGARDING POSADA CARRILES Panama City, December 11 (RHC)-- Panamanian authorities have received bomb threats -- warning that if international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices are not released from jail, a number of public buildings will be blown up. The head of Panamanian intelligence, Pablo Quintero Luna, told reporters on Monday that police received several anonymous phone calls over the past several days, threatening to blow up government offices if the four terrorists are not immediately released. Authorities said the bomb threats were apparently made from a cellular phone and could not be traced. The intelligence official told reporters that police are taking the phone calls seriously, but since they could not be traced, there wasn't much else that could be done at this time. Quintero Luna said that Posada Carriles and his accomplices are still being held in jail on charges of plotting the assassination of Cuban President Fidel Castro last month during the 10th Ibero-American Summit. *SEARCHING FOR CHE'S MISSING COMRADES IN BOLIVIA Havana, December 11(RHC)-- The search to find the remains of five of Ernesto "Che" Guevara's comrades in arms in Bolivia, is moving forward despite the complexities of the work. The multidisciplinary team is led by Doctor Jorge Gonzalez, who is the director of Cuba's Coroner's Office. The team of experts has already found and identified 31 of Che's comrades who died with him in Bolivia. Among the missing five is Cuban Jesus Suarez Gayol, who died on April 10th, 1967 in Nancahuazu, where he is thought to be buried according to Che's diary, as well as other members of the group. The other six still missing were all from Bolivia. The location of their remains is still unknown making recovery extremely difficult since three were not even buried. Lorgio Vaca Marchetti (Carlos) was swept away in the stong currents of the Nancahuazu River and drowned before entering into combat as did Benjamin Coronado Cordovawho who drowned in Bolivia's Rio Grande. Jorge Vazquez Viana was murdered by the Army and his body was thrown into the jungle from a helicopter. The only thing that experts know about Raul Quispaya Choque, is that he died in an ambush near the Moroco river and that his enemies buried him somewhere in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. *CHAVEZ SPEAKS BY PHONE WITH VENEZUELAN PATIENTS IN CUBA Havana, December 11(RHC)-- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, thanked Cuban medical personel on Sunday for the medical care they are giving to the first group of patients from Venezuela to be treated in Cuba under a new accord between both nations. Chavez had received a call from the island from patient Carolina Carballo, during his weekly "Alo, Presidente" radio program, during which the Venezuelan leader converses with the people of Venezuela. Carballo, the mother of twin girls, highlighted the good care that her daughters and other patients are receiving at "La Pradera" International Health Care Center in Havana. She said that some of the patients had already been operated on, others are already in rehabilitation and some have even finished their treatment. President Chavez sent his regards to President Fidel Castro as well as to the health center director Pedro Francisco Llerena and to all the workers. *VENEZUELAN SPORTS INSTITUTE PRESIDENT IN HAVANA. Havana, December 11 (RHC)-- Professor Francis Teran, president of Venezuela's National Sports Institute, arrived Sunday in the Cuban capital. Upon her arrival she explained that her visit is aimed at strenghtening bilateral relations between the two nations in the area of sports. The signing of an agreement between the Cuban and Venezuelan Sports Institutes will allow Venezuelans to study physical education in Cuba. During her stay, the Venezuelan Sports president will meet with the president of Cuba's Sport Institute, Humberto Rodriguez and will visit sports institutions in Havana and Pinar del Rio. *CUBA AND CHINA JOIN IN 13th ECONOMIC & SCIENTIFIC COMMISION Havana, December 11 (RHC)--The 13th Joint Commission for economic, scientific and technical cooperation between Cuba and China will be held in Havana on December 12th and 13th. The Chinese minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Shi Guangsheng, arrived in the Cuban capital on Monday, his country's delegation to the meeting. The Cuban delegation is headed by Minister without Portfolio, Ricardo Cabrisas. The representatives of both countries will analyse perspectives for mutual trade, joint investments and economic cooperation in the sugar industry, tourism and education. *CUBA RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM C.E.C.L.A.T.E. Havana, December 11(RHC)-- The Executive Committee of the Latin American Confederation of State Workers, has reaffirmed its solidarity with Cuban workers and people. During a meeting held in Havana, some 24 representatives of eleven trade union organizations called on other nations from the region to withdraw support for the so-called "Plan Colombia," which they said would support an intervention by the United States in the internal affairs of another nation. The General Secretary of the Cuban Union of Public Administrators, Diana Garcia, declared that one of the most important achievements of the Latin American Trade Union meeting is that participating counties could confirm that the neoliberal economic model is affecting the entire region, so unity is of the utmost importance. Participants also had the opportunity to corroborate that Cuba offers a viable alternative to fight neoliberalism. Other issues discussed during the meeting were union freedoms in the region, the firing of workers in the Dominican Republic and opposition to the U.S. military occupation of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. *JAZZ PLAZA IN HAVANA Havana, December 11(RHC)-- The 19th International Jazz Festival, "Jazz Plaza 2000" begins in Havana on December 13th. The Cuban capital will host concerts, jams and photo and painting exhibitions for five exciting days. Participants will be musicians, experts and jazz lovers from around the world. The places sending the most musicians are the United States, Spain, Latin America and Cuba. The event is sponsored by Cuba's Music Institute. Opening night takes place at the Amadeo Roldan Theatre in Havana with a concert of Cuban Chucho Valdes and Spanish Chano Dominguez, both renowned jazz pianists. Viewpoint: *HALF OF LATIN AMERICA'S CHILDREN SUFFER POVERTY, VIOLENCE, ILLITERACY More than half of the children of Latin America suffer from poverty, violence, malnutrition and illiteracy. This cruel reality is affecting the very people that represent the future of the region. Twenty two percent of the population of Latin America - representing some 100 million people - are children involved in murder, robbery, war, prostitution and drug-trafficking. Millions of children pass every day of their lives abused at home, sexually exploited, taken advantage of in the work place, forgoing their education and discriminated against by reason of their age, race, color, sex, ethnic group, religion or culture. The director of the United Nations Children's Fund or UNICEF, Carol Belamy, has stated that such treatment of the region's children leads to low self-esteem, a profound deterioration of their personalities ending in widespread drug addiction, sexual promiscuity, abortion and suicide. In Honduras alone, says UNICEF, 120,000 minors are required to work full time to help support the miserable income of their families. Sometimes a child as young as 10 is the only source of income for an entire family. Some 70% of the population of Honduras live in poverty in desperate conditions exacerbated by the tragedy of Hurricane Mitch and a government that espouses neoliberal free market policies. Every day 1,200 children under 5 years of age die of preventable diseases in Latin America. Diseases that are relatively cheap to prevent and treat and which in most cases result from the dreadful environment in which these children live. With the notable exception of Cuba, education for all in Latin America continues to be seen as an unattainable utopia. Access to the classroom is effectively forbidden to those millions of children that must seek survival on the streets or perish. What possible hope can there be for their generation? (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= rhc-eng-23262 2000-Dec-12 05:16:04