Radio Havana Cuba, January 5, 2000 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 Wednesday, January 5, 2000. Today's stories: 1.- CUBA SAYS PROTESTS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE ANNOUNCEMENT BY U.S. AUTHORITIES THAT ELIAN GONZALEZ WILL APPARENTLY BE RETURNED HOME 2.- ARTISTS AND WRITERS GATHER IN HAVANA -- DEMANDING THE IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN 3.- CUBAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHES EXTENSIVE DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING LEGAL BASIS OF MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT AGAINST U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR ECONOMIC DAMAGES AGAINST THE ISLAND 4.- GUATEMALAN MEDICAL STUDENTS RETURN FROM VACATION 5.- ATLANTA NETWORK ON CUBA WILL SEND FACT-FINDING TRIP TO CUBA 6.- UNESCO DECLARES TWO NEW BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN CUBA CUBA SAYS PROTESTS WILL CONTINUE DESPITE ANNOUNCEMENT BY U.S. AUTHORITIES THAT ELIAN GONZALEZ WILL APPARENTLY BE RETURNED HOME Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Cuba has announced that protest demonstrations will continue despite today's announcement by U.S. authorities that Elian Gonzalez will apparently be returned to his family in Cuba. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the INS, ruled earlier today that Elian's father has full rights over his son. The head of the INS, Doris Meissner, made the announcement this afternoon at a news conference in the U.S. capital following a gathering with Elian's distant relatives who -- with the support of the ultra-right wing in Florida and on Capital Hill -- have been holding the child against the wishes of his father. While stating that the decision was difficult, Meissner admitted that Elian's father in Cuba clearly has full paternity rights over his son. She said that the father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, presented abundant documents to U.S. immigration officials, proving that he has maintained an intimate and continuous relationship with his son. Meissner said that the INS had no doubt whatsoever of the father's true desire to see his son returned home. The INS chief added that a six-year-old child is too young to decide his or her own future. Meissner announced that measures will be taken to see that Elian is returned to his family in Cuba by January 14th at the latest. She said there were three possibilities: his father could come and pick him up, his distant relatives in Miami can take him back to Cuba, or a third party could take the child back home to his father. The head of the INS said U.S. immigration officials will not directly intervene. In reference to a question from journalists concerning legal maneuvers in Miami to prevent Elian's return, Meissner insisted that only the child's father can determine his future -- indicating that no court action will be valid. Meanwhile, in Havana, radio and television stations announced that speculation and even official statements by U.S. government officials should not lead to an overly-optimistic reaction by the Cuban people. A statement released Wednesday afternoon emphasized that declarations by Washington officials will not affect the struggle to return the young boy to his father in Cuba, warning that the Cuban-American mafia in Miami and ultra-right wing forces in the U.S. Congress will surely try to prevent Elian's return to his rightful home. ARTISTS AND WRITERS GATHER IN HAVANA -- DEMANDING THE IMMEDIATE RETURN OF ELIAN Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Artists and writers gathered at Havana's International Convention Center Tuesday evening for another in a series of open tribunals -- demanding the immediate return of Elian Gonzalez. The six-year-old boy is still being held in Miami by distant relatives and the ultra right-wing, against the wishes of his father and grandparents in Cuba. During the activity, which was attended by Cuban President Fidel Castro, members of the Cuban Union of Artists and Writers spoke out in favor of the young boy's return to the island. Among the messages of support for the return of Elian Gonzalez was a note from Cuba's prima ballerina, Alicia Alonzo. During the poetry and musical performances of Cuban artists Tuesday evening, one point was repeatedly made clear: the importance of saving Elian Gonzalez from those forces who want to strip the young boy of his nationality and culture. CUBAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHES EXTENSIVE DOCUMENT ESTABLISHING LEGAL BASIS OF MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT AGAINST U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR ECONOMIC DAMAGES AGAINST THE ISLAND Havana, January 5(RHC)-- This morning's edition of the Cuban daily Granma published an extensive document establishing the legal basis of a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the United States government for economic damages against the island. In a 12-page insert, the legal representatives of eight Cuban labor, student and grassroots organizations stated that Washington's 40-year dirty war against Cuba has been documented with irrefutable evidence gathered by Cuban authorities during the course of those four decades. That economic war against the island has been explicitly confirmed by hundreds of secret CIA and U.S. State Department documents declassified and made public in the United States -- some of which will be presented during court proceedings in Havana. The legal argument asserts that this economic war -- waged by the U.S. government in times of peace -- has, since its beginning, violated international law. During the past decade, states the document, this aggression has stepped up -- to the extreme of conferring to this warfare an extraterritorial character, harming the legitimate interests of third countries, ignoring domestic legislation of other countries and sparking increasing repudiation from the international community. The Cuban mass organizations -- representing the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people -- stated that never in the history of the United States has Washington elaborated such an extensive labyrinth of laws, dispositions, proclamations and regulations in an effort to economically strangle a small country that is not at war with the U.S. Calling this 40-year history "a clear example of genocide," Cuba's legal arguments recalled that Washington's blockade against the island was formally proclaimed on February 3rd, 1962 -- although pointing out that the aggressions began much earlier, practically during the first days of the Cuban revolutionary triumph. In establishing the legal basis for its multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the United States government, the Cuban people recalled that on January 11, 1959 -- just 10 days after the revolutionary triumph -- the United States government received with open arms the assassins, torturers and criminals who stole 424 million dollars from Cuba's national treasury. That money wound up in U.S. banks and not one cent was ever returned to Cuba. The lawsuit also explains in detail Washington's furious reaction to Cuba's Agrarian Reform Law in May 1959 -- considered the most radical in Latin American history. The U.S. government refused to accept the compensation offered by Cuba for the confiscation of immense tracks of idle land belonging to U.S. transnationals, and instead demanded a type of payment far beyond Cuba's financial possibilities. After recalling those transnationals' long history of exploitation of the Cuban people and of the island's natural resources, the document gives a detailed account of Washington's angry reaction to Cuba's sovereign decision and the subsequent intensification of Washington's dirty war against Cuba over the subsequent decades. Finally, the eight Cuban mass organizations filing the lawsuit against the U.S. government provided details of another intensification of that economic war following the collapse of the socialist camp and the disintegration of the Soviet Union -- which left Cuba virtually without markets and without supplies. The document details the immense damage to the Cuban economy resulting from Washington's Torricelli and Helms-Burton Laws. Radio Havana Cuba will bring you further details of Cuba's lawsuit in upcoming editions. GUATEMALAN MEDICAL STUDENTS RETURN FROM VACATION Havana, January 5(RHC)-- Two hundred and fifty Guatemalan students returned to Cuba Tuesday night following their year-end vacations. They will resume their studies at Havana's Latin American School of Medicine. The students were on-board a Cubana airliner that crashed on December 21st while attempting to land at Guatemala City's International Airport. Eighteen of the more than 300 passengers on that ill-fated flight were killed, including the Cuban pilot and flight crew. While the actual cause of the crash is still being investigated, the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer were praised for having taken steps to shut down the plane's turbines and fuel supply just seconds before the fatal crash -- thus saving hundreds of lives. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage welcomed the Guatemalan students at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport in the name of President Fidel Castro. Speaking on behalf of the medical students, a representative of the Guatemalan students, Carlos Flores, said that they are proud of Cuba's educational project -- granting them scholarships to study free-of-charge. Also present at the ceremony were Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Health Minister Carlos Dotres. The Cuban health minister praised the Guatemalan students, calling them "an inspiration for all of Latin America." ATLANTA NETWORK ON CUBA WILL SEND FACT-FINDING TRIP TO CUBA Atlanta, January 5(RHC)-- The Atlanta Network on Cuba, a coalition of activists in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, has announced a special fact-finding trip to the island in February. According to the announcement, appearing on the group's Web page of the Internet, four Georgia farmers will make up part of the delegation. The Georgia farmers were part of a recent lawsuit brought by Black farmers against the U.S. government for racial discrimination. The idea of the trip to Cuba came as a result of a U.S. tour of two youth leaders from Cuba, which the Atlanta Network on Cuba helped to organize last March. The Cuban young people met with members of the Georgia chapter of the Black Farmers and Agricultural Association and visited the South Georgia Vegetable Producers Cooperative in that state. According to the Internet report, during their tour of the U.S., the Cuban youth learned that Washington is taking away land from farmers, especially Black farmers. The Georgia farm delegation is scheduled to meet with the Association of Small Farmers of Cuba, which will host the trip. UNESCO DECLARES TWO NEW BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN CUBA Havana, January 5(RHC)-- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved two new biosphere reserves in Cuba. The President of the Cuban Biosphere Program, Maria Herrerz, said that the first area went to the Zapata Swamp, located some 200 kilometers southeast of Havana and considered to be one of the largest wetlands in Latin America and the Caribbean. This new biosphere reserve was also proclaimed as a Ramsar Site -- a category given by the UN for wetlands that are turned into a highly-protected fauna refuge. The second biosphere reserve is near Buena Vista, located in the central provinces of Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus and Ciego de Avila. The Sierra del Rosario, located in the western part of the island, was the first Natural Reserve in the country declared a biosphere reserve. Three years later, the Guanacahabibes, located in the extreme western part of the island, along with Cuchillas Toa and Baconao, located in the eastern part of the country, were named biosphere reserves. A recent study by the National Center for Protected Areas revealed the existence of 80 important ecological areas in Cuba. All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 791053 Fax: (53) (7) 795007 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org rhc-eng-28653 2000-Jan-05 19:03:51