Radio Havana Cuba-20 December 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 20 December 2000 . *PANAMA WILL DECIDE ON EXTRADITION OF TERRORISTS NEXT MONTH *CUBA REMEMBERS 11th ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF PANAMA *ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION EXAMINES INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM OF IMMIGRATION *CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH U.S. PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS *EUROPEAN NORDIC BRIGADE CURRENTLY VISITING THE ISLAND *CUBA'S YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE WINDS UP THEIR NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING *PRESIDENT OF CUBA'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETS WITH THE CUBAN PARLIAMENT *Viewpoint: CUBA FINISHES THE YEAR WITH A 5% RISE IN GNP . *PANAMA WILL DECIDE ON EXTRADITION OF TERRORISTS NEXT MONTH Panama City, December 20 (RHC)-- The Panamanian government will issue a decision in January on whether or not it will extradite Luis Posada Carriles and three of his terrorist accomplices to Cuba. The four are being held in Panama on charges of plotting the assassination of Cuban President Fidel Castro during the recently held Ibero-American Summit. Panamanian Foreign Minister José Aleman told reporters on Tuesday that attorneys and government officials are studying the extradition of Posada Carriles, as well as Guillermo Novo Sampoll, Gaspar Jiménez and Pedro Crispin Ramón. He noted that another Panamanian - José Hurtado - is also being held by authorities and charged with criminal activities and illegal possession of explosives. Hurtado served as Posada Carriles' driver. The terrorists were arrested last month after the Cuban president personally denounced plans to kill him during the regional summit in Panama City. It was later discovered that the commando had smuggled C-4 explosives into the country and was preparing to blow up an auditorium on the campus of the University of Panama, where the Cuban leader was scheduled to speak. Sources point out that had the explosives been detonated as planned, hundreds of students would certainly have been killed by the blast. Cuba has formally requested the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices from Panama. Posada Carriles has a long history of terrorist activities against the Cuban Revolution - including the 1976 sabotage bombing of a Cubana passenger jet, killing all 73 people aboard. *CUBA REMEMBERS 11th ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. INVASION OF PANAMA Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- Today marks another anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Panama. It was on this date 11 years ago -- in 1989 -- that 26,000 U.S. troops brutally attacked this Central American country. The invasion of Panama took untold thousands of lives and left many more wounded and homeless. The exact number of those killed remains a mystery... official sources say hundreds were killed but eyewitnesses insist that several thousand were buried in common graves. News agencies report that demonstrators in Panama City took to the streets today to protest Washington's invasion 11 years ago -- noting that the new U.S. president-elect is the son of George Bush... the man who gave the order for the invasion in 1989. The protesters agreed that everyone hopes George W. Bush will live up to his campaign promises to be a "compassionate conservative" and not simply follow in his father's footsteps by repeating a history of interventionism. Marking yet another anniversary of the invasion, the Cuban press recalled that Havana immediately condemned Washington's invasion as a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Panama. It was pointed out that Cuba called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, although Washington adamantly disapproved taking up the issue at the United Nations. In the end, the UN Security Council voted 10 to four with one abstention to condemn U.S. force in its invasion of Panama. The United States, Britain and France used their veto power to block the resolution, while Canada also voted against the UN resolution. *ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION EXAMINES INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM OF IMMIGRATION Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- A roundtable discussion, aired live on Cuban radio and television Tuesday evening, analyzed the international problem of immigration. A panel of experts on migratory affairs and top Cuban journalists addressed the issue, noting that it is one of the most complicated problems in today's world. According to the panelists, the flow of immigrants from South to North has increased dramatically with the onset of neo-liberal globalization -- which only makes the growing gap wider between rich and poor. Eduardo Dimas, a radio and TV commentator here in Havana, stated that almost all immigration is due to economic reasons. He pointed out that immigrants travel -- legally or illegally -- from Third to First World countries. Dimas stated that African and Asian immigrants usually travel to European countries, whereas Latin American immigrants travel North -- primarily to the United States. Another panelist on Tuesday evening's roundtable, Reynaldo Taladrid -- a journalist with Cuban television -- said that trafficking in human beings is a growing industry... with profits into the billions of dollars. Taladrid told the radio and TV audience that contraband in humans has become a huge business controlled by the mafia. Video clips were broadcast as part of the program -- showing border-crossings from Mexico into the United States. It was noted that U.S. Border Patrol officers have frequently used violence against undocumented immigrants trying to reach the United States to improve their economic situation. Tuesday evening's roundtable discussion was aired live on Cuban radio and television, as well as the international shortwave frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. *CUBAN PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH U.S. PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro says that he trusts the capacity of humanity to have the energy and necessary intelligence to carry out the ideals of equality and fraternity as promoted by the French Revolution. The Cuban leader addressed a meeting of more than 700 U.S. professors and students at the University of Havana. The group arrived in the Cuban capital on Sunday on board the ship "Universe Explorer," a cruise organized by the University of Pittsburgh. The Cuban president said that more than any other young people, U.S. students need to learn most about the world because Washington's economic, technological, cultural and political power determine the destiny of the planet. *EUROPEAN NORDIC BRIGADE CURRENTLY VISITING THE ISLAND Havana, December 20 (RHC)--The European Nordic Brigade, currently visiting the island, has begun their voluntary work on the outskirts of Havana. The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) officially welcomed the nearly 150 members of the Brigade coming from eight European countries. During the welcoming ceremony, ICAP's vice president, Ricardo Rodriguez, thanked the brigadistas for their solidarity over these past 30 years. As well as voluntary work in a citrus area located in Caimito in Havana province, the members of the Nordic Brigade will meet representatives of grassroots organizations and tour places of interest in the provinces of Havana and central Villa Clara. *CUBA'S YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE WINDS UP THEIR NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETING Havana, December 20 (RHC)-The National Committee of Cuba's Young Communist League (UJC) wound up their plenary meeting on Tuesday in Havana, where they discussed the group's work over the past year. The National Committee of the UJC evaluated the organization's growth and praised the work and participation of the UJC in the televised round tables, open tribunes as well as other activities demanding an end to Washington's aggressions against the island. *PRESIDENT OF CUBA'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETS WITH THE CUBAN PARLIAMENT Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- The president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Luis Carricarte says that the institution's main objectives next year are to increase the number of exports and promote the country's products abroad. During the Second Business Forum of Cuba's Chamber of Commerce, which is currently being held at Varadero Beach Resort, Carricarte added that the organization will also improve the electronic trade and the application of bar-codes, used for international identification of its products. A short documentary about Matanzas province's export products was shown during the event, and copies were sent to Canada, the United States, Spain, Italy and several European countries. *Viewpoint: CUBA FINISHES THE YEAR WITH A 5% RISE IN GNP The Cuban economy will face some difficulties at the beginning of the year 2001, however the country's Gross Domestic Product will surpass five percent by the end of this year. During this last year, Cuba has faced serious droughts and the recent rise in oil prices, but the Cuban economy continues to grow in a modest but steady way as a result of the economic package implemented by the Cuban government over the past decade. As a result, Cuba's production is now more efficient and its industries are better organized while foreign investments in sectors like tourism continue to have a positive impact on the country's economy. Although the agricultural sector has made considerable advances, it has not yet been able to meet the major demands of the population. This has forced the island to spend funds on food imports instead of increasing investment in the development of some of the more dynamic economic sectors. Added to this panorama is the incoming ultra-right U.S. administration, which has already announced its even stiffer and more aggressive policy towards Cuba. That policy includes the adoption by the new administration of measures strengthening Washington's nearly 40-year economic and financial blockade of the island. Although the unilateral measure has considerably affected Cuba's social and economic development, it has reinforced the Cuban people's will to live under difficult conditions by developing relations with most other countries of the world. No new anti-Cuba measure taken by the incoming US administration could be worse than the ones already taken thus far by Washington, unless there are thoughts of a new military aggression. Cubans are simply dedicated to continue working the way they have done so far, by maintaining national unity and political and ideological firmness, which have allowed them to survive over the past four decades of Revolution. Cuba faces the coming year with faith and optimism, with full confidence in its moral strength and determined to share, as it has always done, all its victories and triumphs with its sister nations of the Third World. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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