Radio Havana Cuba-30 June 2000 23:30 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 30 June 2000 23:30 *WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA IS DISINTEGRATING *CANF LOST POLITICAL GROUND AS A RESULT OF ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE *INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE OF THE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ CONTINUES *RACISM AND INJUSTICE TOWARDS LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES *MEXICO'S NEW AMBASSADOR SEES INCREASED CUBA-MEXICO RELATIONS *CUBA'S NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY PERFORMS IN VENEZUELA *IBERO-AMERICAN MEETING ON FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES WINDS UP *BOLIVIAN REVOLUTIONARY AND FORMER RHC WORKER DIES AT THE AGE OF 68 *Viewpoint: ELIAN IS FINALLY BACK HOME... BUT THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES! *WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE OF CUBA IS DISINTEGRATING Washington, June 30 (RHC)-- In an interview published Friday by The Washington Post, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon asserted that the U.S. blockade of Cuba is in a process of disintegration. While criticizing the recent congressional resolution on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba -- due to restrictions that were maintained in the text of the agreement -- Alarcon nevertheless insisted that it reflects how the idea of the necessity for a change in Washington's Cuba policy is gaining ground on Capitol Hill. The president of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power stated that the Elian Gonzalez case has given rise to fundamental changes in American society's point of view regarding Cuba. He told The Washington Post that millions of Americans discovered exactly what Cuba means when it uses the term "mafia" to describe the ultra-right wing Cuban-American community in Florida. Alarcon said U.S. society witnessed how this mafia chose the wrong side and then handled the matter in "a stupid way." The Cuban Parliament president emphasized that the persistence of Elian's father, Juan Miguel, in expressing his desire to return to Cuba with his son did away with the myth that everyone in Cuba wants to flee the country. *CANF LOST POLITICAL GROUND AS A RESULT OF ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE New York, June 30 (RHC)-- The New York Times has asserted that after dominating the United States policy debate over Cuba for nearly two decades, Cuban-American advocates of a hard-line stance toward Havana find themselves on the defensive and increasingly estranged from other Americans due to its handling of the Elian Gonzalez case. New York Times staff writer Christopher Marquis wrote that the ultra-right wing Cuban-American National Foundation is launching a campaign to enhance its declining image, which includes singling out the districts of congressional adversaries for television advertisements and pledging to spend whatever it takes to protect the unyielding American policy it helped to create. The article quoted congressional Representative Jim McDermott, a Democrat from the State of Washington, who said the Cuban-American National Foundation showed what they were really all about when they were ready to sacrifice one of their own children, demonstrating that they really didn't care about separating Elian from his father. The New York Times article also quoted Max Castro, a sociologist at the University of Miami's North-South Center, who said that during the seven-month-long struggle over Elian, people who had paid little attention to Washington's policy toward Cuba began to ask questions about the hard-line approach. He said people in the United States have basically said it's a policy that hasn't worked and is inconsistent with the rest of U.S. foreign policy. *INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE OF THE RETURN OF ELIAN GONZALEZ CONTINUES Havana, June 30 (RHC)-- International coverage of Elian's return home continues. Major news dailies throughout the world focussed on Wednesday's return to the island of the six-year-old Cuban boy, following seven months of captivity in the United States. In Beijing, the Chinese press published detailed stories on Friday, looking at the political repercussions of the event. A photograph of Elian embracing his grandmother as he got off the plane in Havana appears on the front-page of China's major daily newspaper. In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed its satisfaction with the return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba. The influential Russian dailies Komersant and Izvestia gave the story special treatment, characterizing Elian's homecoming as a victory for the Cuban people. And in Luanda, Angolan doctors who graduated from medical schools in Cuba said that they were extremely pleased that the six-year-old boy was finally back home, calling Elian's return an act of justice. *RACISM AND INJUSTICE TOWARDS LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES Havana, June 30 (RHC)-- A special international roundtable discussion was broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Friday evening. The panel, composed of Chicano professors from various states in the U.S., explored themes of racism and injustice towards Latinos in the United States. The panel began by painting a picture of an ethnic hierarchy of political power in the U.S., in which an over-representation of whites occupy national and state legislatures, while the only over-representation of minorities -- in any U.S. institutional framework -- is seen in the prison system and on death row. Panelists stated that in order to win an election, a politician must attain financing from supporters beginning with at least 10,000 dollars at a local level, to over 500,000 dollars on a national level. One professor from California State University pointed out that both the Hispanic and Black communities have very few resources with which to compete in an election at any level. Another guest panelist noted that the few who have been able to secure political seats have been bought by big capital and have done so at the expense of their own people's interests. The panel emphasized that even during the 1960's and 70's, when Chicano leaders like Cesar Chavez and Corky Gonzalez organized on behalf of popular interests, state repression had successfully destabilized both the leadership and its political base. The second theme touched upon during Friday's roundtable was undocumented immigration along the U.S.- Mexico border. Panelists highlighted the fact that undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans have filled a menial work vacuum in the United States that neither whites nor other minorities have occupied since the early 1980's. It was noted that not only have these undocumented workers filled a void in the American economy, but that they are underpaid and receive no employment benefits. Panelists stated that while the economy supposedly improves -- at the expense of exploited Latinos in the U.S. -- the government uses them as a constant scapegoat for its anti-immigrant laws, allegedly directed at controlling the ever-skyrocketing crime rate. The panel contended that human rights abuses on the part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, including constant arbitrary shakedowns of Hispanic communities and extreme violence on the part of border patrol agents, comprise another dimension of the repressive state apparatus. The panel concluded that state repression on both the political and migratory fronts has served to disenfranchise Latinos from any sense of meaningful political participation and economic integration in American society. One professor wrapped up by saying that the Latino population -- with the sole exception of the extreme right wing in Miami -- maintains strong, historical ties to Cuba and has much to learn from the Cuban Revolution. The roundtable discussion was aired live on Cuban television and the national radio network, as well as the international shortwave frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. *MEXICO'S NEW AMBASSADOR SEES INCREASED CUBA-MEXICO RELATIONS Havana, June 30 (RHC)-- Mexico's newly-appointed ambassador to Cuba, Heriberto Galindo, has affirmed that both countries will work to further strengthen friendly and cooperative ties. During a ceremony in the Cuban capital to welcome the new ambassador, Galindo announced that he had brought personal greetings to Cuban President Fidel Castro from Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and Foreign Minister Rosario Green. After presenting his credentials as Mexico's new representative in Havana, Heriberto Galindo stated that he hoped to expand bilateral relations between the island and Mexico in the educational, cultural and tourism sectors. *CUBA'S NATIONAL BALLET COMPANY PERFORMS IN VENEZUELA Caracas, June 30 (RHC)-- Cuba's National Ballet Company will perform "Giselle" on Friday night in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. According to local news sources, Cuba's National Ballet Company first performed in Venezuela in 1948. In an interview with the ballet company's artistic director, Josefina Mendez, it was pointed out that the historical continuity of the version of "Giselle," directed by Alicia Alonso, has remained intact for the past 60 years. Very few revisions of the work have been made over the decades and always with the approval of Alicia Alonso. *IBERO-AMERICAN MEETING ON FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES WINDS UP Havana, June 30 (RHC)-- The Ibero-American Summit on Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences wound up on Friday in Havana. Representatives of educational institutions throughout the region took part in four days of sessions at the International Convention Center. The primary focus of discussion at the Summit was aimed at the role of pharmaceutical professionals and food sciences on the threshold of the new millenium. The event was sponsored by the University of Havana, the Carlos J. Finlay Institute, the Central University of Venezuela, and the Atlantic and Los Andes Universities, both in Colombia. Results of the debates, articles, research and exchanges will soon be published in Cuban pharmaceutical journals. *BOLIVIAN REVOLUTIONARY AND FORMER RHC WORKER DIES AT THE AGE OF 68 Havana, June 30 (RHC)-- Bolivian revolutionary and former worker at Radio Havana Cuba, Rodolfo Saldana, died in Havana Thursday morning. A sociology graduate, Rodolfo Saldana was a long-time friend of the Cuban Revolution. He participated in an urban network that supported the guerrilla group headed by Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia during the late 1960's. Saldana lived in Cuba during the early 70's and worked in the Guarani and Quechua Language Departments at Radio Havana Cuba. In 1983, Rodolfo returned to Bolivia where he was a professor at San Andres University in Political Science and Law. He later returned to Cuba in 1991. The remains of Rodolfo Saldana will be repatriated to Bolivia, in compliance with his last wishes. *Viewpoint: ELIAN IS FINALLY BACK HOME... BUT THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES! For the past forty years, nine consecutive U.S. administrations have carried out a multifaceted anti-Cuba policy involving a brutal economic blockade, subversion and attempts to isolate the island internationally. However, on the threshold of the 21st century, the Cuban Revolution is stronger than ever and remains a guiding light for the rest of the world -- in which two-thirds of the human race live in abject poverty. The historic and recently-concluded case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez has brought to light the best values of the American people and has at least opened a door to the improvement of U.S. international prestige. Thus far, almost all U.S. administrations have allied themselves with the most reactionary forces of the international community. They have also helped to create and support the most oppressive military regimes in Latin America and other continents. The United States has never been in the business of allowing progressive governments to flourish in the Western hemisphere, imposing its imperialist domination in its "own backyard." This hegemonic position has resulted in the rise of socio-economic structures across the region, responsible for systems based on inequality and repression that can only lead to inevitable rebellions and even popular revolutions. U.S. anti-Cuba policy over the last four decades is symptomatic of this position. Instead of trying to understand the Cuban revolutionary process, Washington has conducted a hostile campaign of anti-Cuba propaganda and ruthless attacks over the past 40 years -- including a criminal economic and financial blockade. One 'brilliant' idea was to encourage illegal migration from the island to the United States -- portraying Cuba as a "veritable hell" from which people 'escape,' looking for "freedom and economic prosperity." Thus, the U.S. Congress passed the so-called Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966 -- a law that grants special treatment to Cuban immigrants, including the right to receive automatic permanent residence to those who touch U.S. soil by illegal means. This law -- which is still in effect despite the U.S.-Cuba migratory accords, signed between Havana and Washington in 1994 and 1995 -- has been the cause of many tragedies, including the one of Elian Gonzalez. The young boy survived a shipwreck in the Florida Straits last November, in which his mother and nine other people drowned while attempting to reach the United States. Now that Elian is finally back home, the Cuban people are prepared to continue the battle against Washington's genocidal economic blockade and the criminal Cuban Adjustment Act -- which have drastically affected and, in far too many cases, actually taken the lives of thousands of people. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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