Radio Havana Cuba-12 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 12 May 2000 -ELIAN'S GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT-GRANDMOTHER STILL WAITING FOR U.S. VISAS -COURT OF APPEALS HEARING RAISES FURTHER LEGAL CONTROVERSY -FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES IN HAVANA -GUATEMALAN PRESIDENT THANKS CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES IN HIS COUNTRY -CANARY ISLANDS PRESIDENT VISITS HAVANA -CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT UNDERSCORES THE IMPACT OF TOURISM IN CUBA -CUBAN SURGEONS TAKE PART IN AN INTERNATIONAL TELE-CONFERENCE -Viewpoint: NO JUDGES HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE A YOUNG BOY'S IDENTITY ELIAN'S GRANDPARENTS AND GREAT-GRANDMOTHER STILL WAITING FOR U.S. VISAS Havana, May 12 (RHC)-- A roundtable discussion on the case of Elian Gonzalez was broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Thursday evening, with the participation of journalists and experts in international law -- as well as Cuban President Fidel Castro. During the program, it was reported that Elian's pediatrician -- Doctor Caridad Ponce de Leon -- has been granted a 72-hour extension on her visa and will now be able to stay in the United States until next Monday, the 15th. According to reports from the U.S. capital, the State Department issued the visa extension at the request of Gregory Craig, the attorney representing Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. The boy's doctor was previously under orders to return on Thursday, when her visa expired, and was not allowed an extension. During the televised roundtable, Cuban President Fidel Castro spoke on several occasions, referring to the State Department's refusal to expedite visas for the six-year-old boy's grandparents and great-grandmother. The Cuban leader affirmed that there is no indication if or when the visas will be granted. The grandparents of Elian have requested visas to travel to the United States and be with their grandson and his father, but Washington has yet to rule on the applications. COURT OF APPEALS HEARING RAISES FURTHER LEGAL CONTROVERSY Los Angeles, May 12 (RHC)-- Thursday's hearing on the Elian Gonzalez case at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has raised further legal controversy. In an article which appeared in today's edition of The Los Angeles Times, staff writer Esther Schrader called the line of questioning by the three Atlanta judges "provocative." Schrader quotes several immigration law experts concerning suggestions that Elian's father, Juan Miguel, is not free to speak his mind and that returning to "Communist Cuba" may not be in the child's best interest. Noting that some outside experts on immigration law said discussions about Cuba being a "Communist, totalitarian state" seem absurd within the context of Thursday's hearing, Schrader quotes Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. Krikorian told The Los Angeles Times staff writer that the quality of life for Cubans may not compare with that of the United States, but that this is also true for millions of people in China. He stated that the law, however, says you must have a plausible claim for asylum, and that's simply not the case for Elian. David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor and authority on immigration said that Cuba's system of government has little or no relevance to the question before the court, which is who shall speak for Elian concerning an application for asylum. Stephen Legomsky, a professor of international law at Washington University in St. Louis, while agreeing with Cole, said the type of government from which someone is fleeing could be relevant to the merits of an asylum claim. But, he added, the issue here is whether Elian's father has the right to speak for him, noting that a six-year-old is too young to understand the situation. Regarding the suggestion of coercion, Juan Miguel's attorney, Gregory Craig, told the three Atlanta Judges that Elian's father has obviously been free to openly express his feelings and his opinions throughout the process. He said Juan Miguel has been free from any kind of manipulation from Miami or coercion from Havana -- pointing to his interviews with top U.S. government officials, including Attorney General Janet Reno, conducted out of the presence of Cuban authorities. At least one of the judges, nevertheless, also directed aggressive questioning at the Miami lawyers attempting to prevent Elian from returning, noting that the six-year-old didn't even have the ability to sign his last name on the asylum petition. Reading aloud a list of complicated questions from the asylum petition about the applicant's political beliefs, this judge asked a Miami lawyer: "Are you telling me that a six-year-old is competent to answer questions like those?" FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES IN HAVANA Havana, May 12 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, who is in Havana on a two-day official visit. This was the first visit of a UN High Commissioner for Refugees to the Caribbean island since that UN agency was created in 1951. During Thursday's meeting, the UN representative and members of her delegation spoke with the Cuban leader about the problems of refugees and other international issues. Shortly before departing from Havana on Friday afternoon, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees offered a news conference. She said that during her stay on the island, she met with high-ranking Cuban government officials, including Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Interior Minister Abelardo Colome Ibarra and Cuba's Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon. The Japanese dignitary's packed agenda also included a visit to the Latin American School of Medicine. Asked about the case of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees stated: "First of all, I think the best interests of the child, as promoted by the Convention on the Rights of Children, must be the primary consideration and I don't think politics should enter into this matter. Second, we think that parents are natural care-givers for their children and, normally, these are best interests at heart. I think that reuniting separated children with their parents and restoring family unity is very, very important. Third, I think that every effort should be made to resolve the situation that Elian is facing as quickly as possible. I think it is bad to leave children in limbo regarding their status". Regarding her meeting with the Cuban president and his offer to further cooperate with that UN agency, Sakato Ogata told reporters: "President Castro talked about his big plan to train doctors through this expanded training scheme that you have set up and explained that he is offering the services of these doctors in Latin American countries and was also ready to send them to some African countries. And, if there's a need for refugees camps or areas in which refugees are living, he asked us to examine whether there were needs that these doctors might be able to fulfill". The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees currently assists some 22 million people worldwide, including refugees who have crossed national borders and those who are within a country -- not having crossed a border, but are displaced. According to the head of the UN agency, the situation of the displaced is very similar to that of refugees who are in other countries, as well as those who are in the process of returning to their homes. For the purpose of assisting all these people, the UN agency tries to annually raise about one billion dollars. GUATEMALAN PRESIDENT THANKS CUBAN MEDICAL BRIGADES IN HIS COUNTRY Guatemala City, May 12 (RHC)-- Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has expressed his appreciation to Cuban medical brigades in his country which, to date, have provided free services to over one million six hundred thousand people in that Central American nation. During an activity at the National Cultural Palace, Portillo affirmed that the work of the Cuban doctors -- which began after Hurricane Mitch hit the country in 1998 -- has reached rural areas and contributed with a 20 percent reduction of the infant mortality rate. Under bilateral agreements signed two years ago, the Cuban government sent some five hundred health professionals to several Central American countries that were devastated by the hurricane; Guatemala among them. The Guatemalan president, who took office in January, referred to the Cuban doctors as "heroes" and said that he is looking forward to personally thank Cuban President Fidel Castro for the work of the medical brigades. CANARY ISLANDS PRESIDENT VISITS HAVANA Havana, May 12 (RHC)-- The President of the Canary Islands, Roman Rodriguez, who is currently on his third day of a visit to Cuba, expressed his support of the Cuban government, recognizing the dignity and the capacity of leaders to guide the country. Rodriguez affirmed that the authorities of the Canary Islands would promote foreign investments in Cuba, especially in the areas of tourism and industry. He also spoke in favor of ending political conditions set by the European Union, especially Spain, for future cooperation with Cuba. The President of the Spanish Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands also visited hospitals and medical centers in Havana and met with Cuban Health Minister Carlos Dotres. Rodriguez announced the construction of the Gran Bahia del Duke de Cuba Hotel, which will consolidate his country's investments in Cuba. Roman Rodriguez also inaugurated the Canary Islands Punch Tobacco Factory in Havana, which will produce some 10 million cigars in its first year. CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT UNDERSCORES THE IMPACT OF TOURISM IN CUBA Havana, May 12 (RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage has highlighted the outstanding economic, social and cultural impact of tourism in Cuba. Lage spoke during the closing event of the 21st International Tourism Convention in Havana on Friday. Some 660 representatives from 42 nations attended the five-day event. The Cuban vice president also expressed his satisfaction because foreign enterprises investing in Cuba have played "a significant role in the development of tourism on the island." He pointed to the Spanish hotel chain "Sol Melia" as an example. CUBAN SURGEONS TAKE PART IN AN INTERNATIONAL TELE-CONFERENCE Havana, May 12 (RHC)-- Cuban surgeons were seen in action on the TV screens of 16 cities around the world. One of the on-line cities was Rome, the Italian capital, where the 11th International Congress on Surgery of the Digestive System is currently underway. The Cuban specialists presented a live transmission of three successful surgical operations that were carried out in medical centers of the Cuban capital. Cuban Deputy Health Minister Baudilio Jardines assessed the tele-conference as a new advancement in the process of development and assimilation of new technologies as well as another opportunity to show the world Cuba's medical achievements. Viewpoint: NO JUDGES HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE A YOUNG BOY'S IDENTITY On Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta listened to the ridiculous request by the kidnappers of Elian Gonzalez to grant the six-year-old boy a political asylum hearing in the United States. During Thursday's court session, some of the judges in the case were heard using terminology similar to that used by Elian's kidnappers. It's interesting that members of a court in the country that portraits itself to the world as a defender of freedom of information, echoes the same old misinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the current social project in Cuba. One of the judges even claimed that the best interests of a child -- in reference to Elian -- sometimes do not coincide with those of his father, especially if they both come from "Communist and totalitarian" Cuba. Listening to such slanderous arguments, people were reminded of the announcements by old-fashioned, ultra-right wing Miami radio stations, most of then orchestrated and financed by terrorist organizations such as the so-called Cuban-American National Foundation. Insisting that a bad situation awaits Elian in Cuba is simply ignoring the fact that he was born and raised until he was five-years-old in his hometown of Cardenas in central Matanzas province. There, he had successfully developed the mental as well as physical capacities according to his age -- in a secure environment, full of love and care provided by his teachers at school and his real, loving family at home. Even U.S. experts have admitted that Elian is very astute -- a virtue which is rarely found in children raised in countries where conditions are not created for their adequate mental and physical development. Cuba's educational system has been recognized internationally for the opportunities it provides for small children and adults alike. Elian has his own family and homeland here in Cuba and no one -- not even a court of appeals judge -- can impose upon him any fabricated, new identity in the United States. No one -- not even courts -- are permitted to do that. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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-3135 2000-May-12 22:24:04