Radio Havana Cuba-5 July 2000 22:00 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 5 July 2000 22:00 *NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL DEMANDS END TO WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA *ELIAN GONZALEZ MAKES SWIFT TRIP TO CARDENAS *BOOKLET ON THE ELIAN CASE AVAILABLE AT EWSSTANDS THROUGHOUT CUBA *HONDURAN MEDICAL STUDENTS SEND A THANK YOU NOTE TO CUBAN PRESIDENT CASTRO *IBERO-AMERICAN MAYORS MEET IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA *2ND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE SEA FAIR UNDERWAY IN CIENFUEGOS *Viewpoint: CUBA-USA MIGRATORY AGREEMENTS *NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL DEMANDS END TO WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE AGAINST CUBA New York, July 5(RHC)-- The New York Times has once again called for the lifting of the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba, placing the blame for what it calls an antiquated policy squarely on the shoulders of the right wing Cuban-American community in southern Florida. An editorial in Wednesday's edition of the influential news daily notes that the blockade [which is called an "embargo" in the U.S.] is part of a failed strategy to overthrow Cuban President Fidel Castro. Written by Richard Goodwin -- the former White House advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during the 1960's -- the Times editorial states that U.S. policy has included assassination attempts against leaders of the Cuban Revolution, economic sabotage and the infiltration of armed groups on the island. Goodwin adds that these actions have constituted "a type of State terrorism" -- conducted by Washington against Havana. In the New York Times editorial, Richard Goodwin -- who observers note was one of the chief architects of U.S. policy toward Cuba in the early 60's -- admits that the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 not only represented a military defeat for the attackers, but helped to unite the Cuban people around their revolutionary process. *ELIAN GONZALEZ MAKES SWIFT TRIP TO CARDENAS Cardenas, July 5(RHC)-- Six year old Cuban Elian Gonzalez made a swift trip to his home city of Cardenas Tuesday, according to a communique released at this tuesday's TV roundtable. The communique informed that Elian visited the homes of his grandparents, his school and his father s work center at the Varadero beach resort. The communique indicated that the trip was organized because the six year old boy felt disoriented in Havana, due to his limited travel experiences within Cuba, which indicated the need to go back home to Cardenas. The document adds that everything was obviously done spontaneously to respect the child's privacy. It highlighted that the result was magnificent since residents in Cardenas, who had been asked to cooperate with the child's reinssertion into Cuban society. Ordinary citizens were pleased to cooperate and added that Elian felt extraordinally happy, that his health was excellent, and that he is learning at the speed of light. Elian Gonzalez is currently finishing his school year in a house in Havana, with the help of some of his classmates, and will later enjoy a one week vacation with his father, stepmother, and brother, close to his hometown. *BOOKLET ON THE ELIAN CASE AVAILABLE AT EWSSTANDS THROUGHOUT CUBA Havana, July 5(RHC)-- A 32-page special news supplement on the Elian case is now available, beginning Wednesday, at every newspaper stand throughout Cuba. Under the tittle "Elian is back in his homeland," the special eddition summarizes the most signifficant events over the seven months of Elian's kidnapping in the United States. It narrates the 207-day struggle waged by Elian's father, his immediate family and, in deed, the entire Cuban people, to let justice prevail. The document also includes commentaries on the sheer determination shown by the boy's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, who has proven an excellent father - a man of honor and strong principles -a true representative of the new generation of Cubans. The news supplement concludes with a message by Cuban President Fidel Castro, read during a patriotic demonstration last Saturday in the eastern city of Manzanillo. In his message, the Cuban leader calls on the entire Cuban people to enter a new phase of the struggle against all U.S. anti-Cuba laws, including the so-called Cuban Adjustment Act, the Helms-Burton and Torricelli Laws, and Washington's nearly 40-year-old blockade agaisnt the island. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, in granting Cubans who migrate illegally to the U.S. rights and privaleges that no other nationality is entitled in the context of a legal migration, such as immediate residency, housing, stipends, etc., is just another in a long list of machinations by Washington to try to destabilize the Cuban nation. The law has caused scores of deaths and human tragedies such as the one suffered by Elian Gonzalez. *HONDURAN MEDICAL STUDENTS SEND A THANK YOU NOTE TO CUBAN PRESIDENT CASTRO Santiago de Cuba, July 5(RHC)--Young Hondurans, from 48 indigenous communities on the Atlantic coast, have sent a message to Cuban President Fidel Castro, thanking him for the opportunity to study medicine in Cuba. The thank you note was read during the 20th Caribbean Festival -also known as the Festival of Fire- that is currently underway in the eastern Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba. In their message, future Honduran doctors promise that once they graduate from the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine, they will return to their country to offer their services in their respective communities. *IBERO-AMERICAN MAYORS MEET IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA Santiago de Cuba, July 5(RHC)-- Mayors from some dozen Ibero-American nations are meeting in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, beginning Wednesday, to analyze issues such as heritage restauration and the potential for exchanges in areas like tourism and trade. The encounter is part of the festivities surrounding the 485th anniversary of Santiago de Cuba, founded by Spanish colonialists in 1515. The visiting Ibero-American mayors will tour centers of cultural and historical interest, including the San Pedro del Morro Fortress, declared a World Heritage site by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization -UNESCO. *2ND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS OF THE SEA FAIR UNDERWAY IN CIENFUEGOS Cienfuegos, July 5(RHC)-- The 2nd International Friends of the Sea Fair -FIMAR'2000- has entered its sencond day of sessions in the south central Cuban city of Cienfuegos with the participation of 26 firms. Sponsored by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, the event offers new posibilities for business executives and firms to explore investment opportunities on the island in the areas of fishing, navigation and water sports. FIMAR'2000 includes exhibitions, the presentation of new products, and the already traditional Gran Prix speedboat competition on July 8th and 9th. *Viewpoint: CUBA-USA MIGRATORY AGREEMENTS Cuba and the United States have essentially accomplished the migratory agreements, which they both subscribed to in 1994. However, the Cuban Adjustment Act, which was proclaimed by the United States before the migratory agreements were discussed, constitutes a stimulus for illegal immigration from Cuba to the United States. The Cuban Adjustment Act grants privileges to Cubans that manage to step on U.S. soil after risking their lives in the attempt to cross the Florida Straits in fragile, improvised vessels that often sink with the consequent loss of life. Cuban child Elian Gonzalez experienced a similar situation. The child managed to survive, but his mother, Elizabeth Brotons, died together with ten others. Thousands of undocumented immigrants from Latin America are constantly reaching U.S. shores by different means and ways. Most of them are captured and immediately deported back to their countries. The majority of the undocumented immigration comes from Mexico, Central America and some of the Caribbean countries. For them, the U.S. authorities have no special treatment. These immigrants are hunted like animals. They are abused and confined. However, for those immigrants arriving from Cuba, the procedure is different, above all, if they say that the Cuban authorities are oppressing them or that they do not agree with Cuba's political system. They are warmly welcomed and are provided with all kinds of aid to live and work in the United States. This constitutes a stimulus to spread subversion in Cuba and provide a means to allege popular dissatisfaction, as well as a way of justifying the aggression that Cuba has withstood for forty years. The economic and genocidal blockade that the United States has maintained against Cuba is the best example of an aggression that has never been applied for so long a period of time against any other country in the world. The Cuban Adjustment Act was approved in the 1960's with openly subversive purposes. However, the United States has not even mentioned it when negotiating with Cuba on the migratory agreements. Elian's case took place thirty years after the Cuban Adjustment Act was first approved and six years after the signing of the migratory accords. Although Elian is -after months of struggling- finally back in Cuba with his father, similar situations could repeat, and the lives of other Cubans could be at risk. The Cuban people have just given the world a unique example of national unity and massive mobilization in demanding Elian's return to Cuba. For this struggle, the Cuban people had the unconditional support of the U.S. people. Elian is finally in Cuba, but the struggle is not finished. The Cuban people will continue to fight until the Cuban Adjustment Act is withdrawn and the United States stops its attacks against the island. Cuba has every intention of maintaining its national independence and sovereignty. (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-10750 2000-Jul-05 23:12:32