Radio Havana Cuba-24 June 2000 04:00 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 24 June 2000 04:00 *ATLANTA APPEALS COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW CASE OF ELIAN GONZALEZ *TEXAS: THE EXECUTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHAKA SANKOFA *COLOMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES VISIT EXPOCARIBE *2ND WORLD MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA PLANNED *ITALY AND CUBA SIGN AGREEMENT TO CLEAN UP LUYANO RIVER AND HAVANA BAY. Viewpoint: 10 YEARS LATER...SOCIALISM AND THE SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN CUBA *ATLANTA APPEALS COURT REFUSES TO REVIEW CASE OF ELIAN GONZALEZ Atlanta, June 23 (RHC)-- The full panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has refused to hear the case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. In a five page decision, handed down Friday afternoon, all 12 judges of the full panel ruled that they would not examine the case, essentially upholding the decision of 3 judges from that same court several weeks ago. The appeal, which was submitted by attorneys for the young boy's kidnappers in Miami, is to determine whether or not to allow an asylum hearing for the six-year-old. In the earlier decision, three judges ruled unanimously that Elian does not have the right to a hearing. Cuba has always said that the appeal to the full panel was nothing more than a delaying tactic to keep Elian Gonzalez in the United States. Friday's decision also ruled that Elian can return to Cuba by next Wednesday, June 28th, at 4 p.m. -- IF the U.S. Supreme Court does not extend a restraining order prohibiting him from leaving the United States. Lawyers for the Miami kidnappers are expected to now appeal to the highest court of the land for their ruling. *TEXAS: THE EXECUTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHAKA SANKOFA Havana, June 23, (RHC) -- Cuba's televised round table Friday evening focused on the execution in the U.S. state of Texas of African- American Shaka Sankofa. Convicted 19 years ago of murder, at the age of 17, Cuban journalists and legal experts first looked at Sankofa's last hours, during which he put up resistance to his executors, and -- while not shedding a tear -- called his execution a lynching, another act of the on-going genocide against blacks in the United States. Broadcast live on Cuban TV, panelists participating in the round table pointed to the inhumane practice of deciding the life and death of a human being by fax -- in reference to the customary practice of the Texas Paroles and Pardon Commission when deciding on whether or not a death-row inmate merits clemency. But in terms of the growing controversy surrounding the Sankofa case and the death penalty in general, the Cuban TV program pointed out that even the U.S.'s highly conservative Supreme Court had a close 5 to 4 vote in a last minute ruling on whether or not to place a stay on the execution. The panel of Cuban journalists brought up the American judicial premise that an person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that even the slightest doubt concerning a person's guilt merits, at the very least, an appeal. The Sankofa case was riddled with doubts, inconsistencies and discrepancies, including 6 witnesses at the scene of the crime who stated that Sankofa was not responsible. Other contradictions, stated the panelists, included that facts that there was no material evidence presented against him, an incompetent state appointed lawyer, and only one eye witness whose description of Sankofa was inconsistent with his physical appearance due to her distance from the murder scene. In a clip of an interview with Jesse Jackson aired during the televised round table, the Black activist commented that 3 jurors who had concurred with the guilty sentence said that if they knew then what they know now, they would not have convicted Sankofa. In light of these facts, and the disproportionate number of minorities in U.S. prisons and on death row, the panel concluded that it is clearly a crime to be Black and poor in the United States. In a clip of the press conference outside of the Huntsville maximum security prison, Sankofa's attorney and the President of the Texas State Legislature made a plea for a national moratorium on the death penalty, stating that the race factor is to big a flaw in the U.S. legal system to ignore. They emotionally reiterated statements by Sankofa, moments prior to his execution, in which he said that "you can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution; this is a holocaust against Blacks in America; they know I'm innocent but they don't want to acknowledge it-tonight they're going to kill me," demonstrating defiance before his execution at 8:45PM Friday evening. *COLOMBIAN VICE PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES VISIT EXPOCARIBE Havana, June 23 (RHC)-Colombian Vice President Gustavo Bell, who is on an official five-day visit to Cuba, on Thursday toured the Santiago de Cuba International Trade Fair, EXPOCARIBE 2000. Accompanied by representatives from 11 Colombian companies, the government official visited places of historic interest in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba. During the EXPOCARIBE 2000 International Trade Fair, the Colombian Vice President will give a conference on business possibilities and will unveil a special plan for the Caribbean. Upon his arrival in Santiago de Cuba, Vice President Bell expressed an interest in biotechnology, cooperation among universities , the exploration of productive sectors and Cuba's most important services. The Colombian delegation, will present a wide range of products that are produced on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in order to facilitate trade and to encourage joint projects between nations. *2ND WORLD MEETING OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA PLANNED Sancti Spiritus, June 23 (RHC)-The 2nd World Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba will be held in Havana from November 10th to the 14th with the participation of some five thousand delegates from over 100 countries. The announcement was made by the Vice President of Cuba's Institute of Friendship With the People's, ICAP, Ricardo Rodriguez during an activity commemorating the 40th anniversary of the non-governmental organization in Sancti Spiritus province. The ICAP official reiterated that one of his institution's objectives is to counter anti-Cuba campaigns and the manipulation of the truth about Cuba in other countries in the world. *ITALY AND CUBA SIGN AGREEMENT TO CLEAN UP LUYANO RIVER AND HAVANA BAY Havana, June 23 (RHC)-The governments of Italy and Cuba signed an agreement on Tuesday aimed at cleaning up pollution in the Luyano River and Havana Bay by financing a project valued at 1.5 million dollars. The agreement was signed in Havana by the General Director of the Development Cooperation Office of Italy's Foreign Ministry, Vicente Petrone and Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister, Marta Lomas. The Italian government is currently implementing cooperation projects on the island valued at 10 million dollars. This year the cooperation will be dedicated to the social health sector. The Italian official is also scheduled to meet with the President of Cuba's Central Bank, Francisco Soberon. Viewpoint: 10 YEARS LATER...SOCIALISM AND THE SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN CUBA Talk has spread rapidly throughout the world about what is known as "The Cuban miracle" to describe the social and political achievements carried out by the Cuban government and people since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959. Cuban President Fidel Castro recently interviewed UNESCO's former general director, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, an international distinguished personality of world culture. In the interview, the Cuban leader concisely stated the facts that constitute what could be described as one of the biggest political struggles in world history. In the middle of the 20th century, Cuba was a neocolonial republic of the United States. Consequently, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, corruption and crime permeated the country. These social conflicts are currently hitting most of the Third-World nations. However, the island has managed to survive and has carried out social achievements, which constitutes a radical change of the situation. Cuba consolidated its independence and national sovereignty, unleashing a dynamic that would leave the US and Cuba enemies indefinitely. The world's biggest economic, political and military power has made use of its influence to bring the Cuban people to their knees by means of a ruthless economic war, which has endured for nearly 40 years. However, the Cuban people have managed to resist, defend, and maintain their social achievements. During the hardest years of the early 1990's, neither a school nor a hospital was closed, and every other public service was kept open even at the expense of running out of supplies. Cuba deserves to be a free nation, because Cubans have fought hard for their independence, national sovereignty, and socialist model. Not even the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Camp, with which Cuba maintained fair exchange relations for three decades, could bring down the Cuban Revolution. Besides, Cuba has managed to contribute to world solidarity with aid missions to many Third-World countries throughout Africa and Latin America. The country possesses a high level of cultural and education, which has provided human resources that few countries in the world have. It is important to note that Cuba exists and resists, with all of its strength, U.S. imperialism. The country is moving forward socially and economically, and thus far, has been an example for the poor and underdeveloped nations of the world in the struggle for a better life. These gains are products of the work of the Cuban revolution, with the support and struggle of the Cuban people. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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