Radio Havana Cuba-6 June 2000 23:30 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 6 June 2000 23:30 *THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES FOR ELIAN'S RETURN TO CUBA *DELEGATION FROM U.S. WHEAT ASSOCIATES ARRIVES IN HAVANA *BRITISH INVESTORS HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE CUBAN MARKET *TURKEY-CUBA JOINT COMMISSION BEGINS MEETING IN HAVANA *DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD ORGANIZATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VISITS CUBA *12th INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF TECHNOLOGY AND TOURISM PRODUCTS BEGINS IN HAVANA *CUBA PARTICIPATES IN UNITED NATIONS MEETING ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS *GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS VISITS CUBA *Viewpoint: U.S. MEDIA LOSING PATIENCE WITH KIDNAPPERS IN MIAMI *THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES FOR ELIAN'S RETURN TO CUBA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- A roundtable discussion was broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Tuesday evening, with the latest information on the case of Elian Gonzalez. Journalists and experts in international law analyzed the current status of the case, with special attention on repercussions in the U.S. media. One of the issues discussed this evening included reports in the U.S. press that Elian's kidnappers in Miami have requested a meeting with Juan Miguel Gonzalez. It was pointed out that the six-year-old's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez -- who defiantly refused to turn Elian over to his father -- is the same person who now says he wants a "family reunion." Among those interviewed by phone were the Reverend Joan Brown Campbell, the former secretary general of the National Council of Churches. Rev. Campbell has been a key figure in working for Elian's return home to Cuba. She stated that both Elian and his father are doing well and are being accompanied by family and friends in Washington, DC. During another telephone interview, the head of the Cuban Interests Section in the U.S. capital, Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, stated that a recent opinion poll shows that more than 85 percent of the U.S. public agrees that Elian and his father should be allowed to return home as soon as possible. The roundtable discussion was aired on Cuban television, the national radio network and the international shortwave frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. *DELEGATION FROM U.S. WHEAT ASSOCIATES ARRIVES IN HAVANA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- Forming part of a steady flow of U.S. legislative and business delegations visiting Cuba, a group from the U.S. Wheat Associates has arrived on the island. Representatives from the organization began a series of meetings on Monday with officials from Cuban ministries linked to trade and food production. The organization's vice president of operations, Paul Dickerson, told reporters that Cuba could reduce its transportation costs by half if it could import wheat from the United States through the Gulf of Mexico, instead of from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. Dickerson said that while Cuba has to pay such a high price for many products, American business groups are denied access to the Cuban market due to Washington's blockade of the island. A Washington, DC-based organization, the U.S. Wheat Associates, Inc. is an export/market development organization representing U.S. wheat producers. The delegation -- the organization's fifth to visit Cuba during the last two years -- will visit port facilities, processing mills and present a marketing seminar. This new visit -- following those of legislators and rice growers from Arkansas and members of the Congressional Black Caucus -- comes as other American firms gear up to participate in the 4th U.S.-Cuba Business Summit to begin Wednesday in Cancun, Mexico. Representatives from some 65 U.S. firms are expected to participate, including Pepsi Cola, United Airlines and Caterpillar. They will gather with Cuban officials and business representatives in Cancun on Wednesday and Thursday, and then travel to Havana for further meetings on Friday and Saturday. Previous events were organized by the American firm Alamar Associates, until the 3rd Summit was blocked by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1999. As a result, the Italian firm Cristobal has taken charge of organizing the Summits, while the expenditures of the American business representatives will be covered by the joint Italian-Cuban firm Desoft -- in that way overstepping Washington's restrictions. *BRITISH INVESTORS HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE CUBAN MARKET Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- The director of the Caribbean Trade Advisory Group, Trevor Johns, said on Tuesday in Havana that his institution has expressed an interest in permanently establishing itself on the island rather than working under short-term contracts. He said that decision is a good example of the Group's confidence in Cuba's market, economic development and current commercial and investment policies. The British business executive added that he has seen a rapid rate of integration in the Caribbean and that Cuba is taking a leading role in this effort. The British group announced that it will soon wind up negotiations on opening new lines of credit for exports to the island. The news was characterized by the first secretary of the British embassy in Havana, Nick Suteliffe, as a sign of confidence in the future of relations between the two countries and of London's support for business representatives currently operating in Cuba. Executives from 17 British companies make up a trade delegation to the island organized by the Cuba Initiative of the Caribbean Trade Advisory Group. The Cuba Initiative of the Caribbean Trade Advisory Group was created five years ago to expand commercial relations and investment between Cuba and Great Britain. *TURKEY-CUBA JOINT COMMISSION BEGINS MEETING IN HAVANA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- The 3rd Turkey-Cuba Joint Commission began sessions Tuesday in Havana to explore ways to expand and strengthen bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two countries. Turkey's trade delegation is presided over by Turkish State Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen, who arrived in Havana on June 3rd leading an official delegation made up of members of his country's government and parliament. In his welcoming statements, the Minister of Cuba's Light Industry, Jesus Perez Othon, gave the visitors a detailed explanation of the state of the Cuban economy and stressed the 47 years of diplomatic and friendly relations between Turkey and Cuba. The Cuban official expressed his confidence that this third round of talks will bring about fruitful results for both countries. The Turkish state minister said Cuba and Turkey should expand trade relations by increasing their offers of products from different economic sectors. Kazim Yucelen also said his people were grateful to Cuba for medical assistance offered after recent earthquakes struck his country. *DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD ORGANIZATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VISITS CUBA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- The director of the World Organization of Intellectual Property, Kamil Indris, has begun a three-day official visit to Cuba aimed at expanding and strengthening cooperation between his institution and Cuba. Indris is scheduled to meet with the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Rosa Elena Simeon, and Cuban Culture Minister Abel Prieto, as well as with Foreign Ministry and other government officials. The director of the World Organization of Intellectual Property said in Havana that the Cuban office of Intellectual Property is well organized and is one of the best in the world in terms of its practical programs aimed at promoting inventions, technology, information, and patents. *12th INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF TECHNOLOGY AND TOURISM PRODUCTS BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- The 12th International Meeting of Technology and Tourism Products was inaugurated in Havana with the participation of 200 companies, among them 80 foreign firms from 14 countries. During the opening session of Tecnotur 2000, Cuban representative Marta Maiz said that the purchase of domestic products by the island's tourism enterprises has increased from 18 to 54 percent over the past ten years. Maiz added that despite Washington's blockade against the island, the number of vacationers in Cuba continues to increase and there is the potential for some five to seven million tourists to visit the island by the year 2010. *CUBA PARTICIPATES IN UNITED NATIONS MEETING ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS New York, June 6 (RHC)-- Cuba presented its advances in promoting the rights of women during the second day of sessions at the United Nations. Delegates are analyzing work in favor of women over the last five years. The President of the Federation of Cuban Women, Vilma Espin, spoke during the special UN meeting on Tuesday. Cuban women make up 49.9 percent of the population, in a country in which international institutions have recognized achievements in education and health. In addition to Cuba, other women representatives scheduled to speak today on behalf of their countries were Colombia, Grenada, Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Surinam. The speeches will be debated during this year's General Assembly sessions entitled, "Women in the Year 2000: Equality, Development and Peace in the 21st Century." The UN meeting was opened on Monday by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan and the President of the General Assembly, Theo Ben Gurirab, who explained the importance of complying with the commitments made during the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference. According to UN statistics, women make up 70 percent of the world's impoverished, while of the 110 million children that do not attend school, two-thirds are girls. *GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS VISITS CUBA Havana, June 6 (RHC)-- The General Director of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Jose Bustani, is in Havana to participate in a regional workshop on the issue. Bustani was invited to the island by the Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Rosa Elena Simeon. During his visit, the general director of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is scheduled to meet with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other government officials. *Viewpoint: U.S. MEDIA LOSING PATIENCE WITH KIDNAPPERS IN MIAMI In recent days, the mainstream U.S. media has begun to show impatience toward the excessive judicial delays in the case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. The young boy is still in Washington with his father, awaiting a decision by the courts before they can go home. The case has already been examined in three different U.S. courts and the verdict has always been basically the same -- that the father has the authority to speak for his son. However, the Cuban-American right wing forces in Miami have appealed the decisions of state and federal judges, announcing that they will go all the way to the Supreme Court. Their actions are designed to delay the inevitable: the return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba. It has become completely evident that these people cannot legally succeed in their attempts to keep Elian in the United States. On Monday, several of the country's most important newspapers published editorials on this subject and agreed that the process should now come to an end with the return of Elian and his family and friends to Cuba. For several months, public opinion in the U.S. -- as well as around the world -- has strongly supported the rights of Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. The vast majority of those in the United States have opposed attempts by the kidnappers in Miami to keep him there. Meanwhile in Cuba, people continue to demand the boy's return to the island. Everyday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. roundtable discussions take place with the participation of journalists and specialists who keep the TV and radio audience up-to-date on the case. These roundtable discussions, along with open tribunes, both of which are broadcast live on radio and television, will continue to take place -- demanding not only the return of Elian but also the end of anti-Cuba laws such as the Cuban Adjustment Act, which grants Cubans who reach dry land automatic U.S. residency. This law only encourages illegal immigration to the United States and works hand-in-glove with the economic blockade imposed on the island nearly 40 years ago. The struggle will not stop until Washington ends its hostile policies toward Cuba. (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-5001 2000-Jun-07 13:08:05