Radio Havana Cuba-16 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 16 May 2000 -CUBA ACCUSES POLISH REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND -BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM VALENCIA MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES -MEETING OF THE AMERICAS ON HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY SLATED FOR HAVANA -CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA -SPANISH-CUBAN PROJECT TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO -INTERNATIONAL ENCOUNTER ON ART CRITICISM AND ARCHITECTURE TO BE HELD IN HAVANA -HEAD OF UNESCO'S HAVANA REGIONAL OFFICE WINS CUBAN NATIONAL CULTURE AWARD -Viewpoint: WASHINGTON'S FAILED POLICY IS UNDER REVIEW ON CAPITOL HILL CUBA ACCUSES POLISH REPRESENTATIVES OF ENGAGING IN COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES ON THE ISLAND Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- Cuba has accused representatives of the Polish government of engaging in counterrevolutionary activities on the island. An extensive article in the Cuban newspaper Granma refers specifically to recent activities by Polish Senator Zbigniew Romaszewski, president of that legislative body's human rights commission. Recalling that Poland was one of two co-sponsors of Washington's anti-Cuba resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the article states that Romaszewski and another Polish citizen arrived in Havana on May 2nd -- ostensibly to promote a scientific cooperation accord between the two countries. His wife and a translator had arrived several days before on tourist visas. During his stay, however, the Polish senator attended what was dubbed an economic conference on globalization in Pinar del Rio, in which he spoke of the methods employed to destroy socialism in Poland -- including underground tactics. Counterrevolutionaries, including known agents of Miami's Cuban-American National Foundation, and members of Pinar Del Rio's Catholic Church hierarchy were present at the conference. In another gathering with those who systematically slander the Cuban Revolution, at a residence of the Polish Embassy in Havana, Romaszewski told his audience to prepare themselves to govern the island, since Cuba's socio-political system would "only survive another five years at most." He asserted that Cuba is undergoing the process that occurred in the former eastern European socialist camp. Noting that the Polish senator gave an undetermined amount of foreign currency to the so-called dissidents, the Granma newspaper termed any comparison between Cuba and Poland as "absurd" -- stating that it would be like comparing "truth and parody, the heroic and the ridiculous." The article asserted that everything imperialism was capable of mobilizing against the once powerful socialism in Europe could do nothing against a small island only 90 miles from its shore. Granma newspaper said that Cuba will "continue monitoring the activities of those who are nothing more than mercenaries of the U.S. State Department or the CIA -- whose histories of errors and horrors are overwhelming."br> BUSINESS DELEGATION FROM VALENCIA MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- A visiting business delegation from the Spanish Community of Valencia -- headed by the Vice President of the Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of that Spanish region, Salvador Marti -- met on Monday with Cuban authorities. The meeting was presided over by Cuba's Minister of Foreign Trade, Ricardo Cabrisas, and the Head of Valencia's Chamber of Commerce, Hector Manuel Perez. The Spanish delegation is made up of some 40 business executives from small and medium-sized companies representing several economic sectors, including construction, shoe manufacturing and the textile and food industries. Their visit is aimed at exploring the Cuban market and making arrangements to sell products from Valencia in Cuba. MEETING OF THE AMERICAS ON HEALTH AND AIR QUALITY SLATED FOR HAVANA Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The Cuban capital will be the venue of the upcoming Meeting of the Americas on Health and Air Quality, scheduled to take place from May 23rd through the 27th. Reinaldo Diaz Velez, head of the organizing committee of the event, told reporters that participants -- doctors, environmental specialists, biologists and meteorologists -- will try to work up a plan for the region, aimed at improving air quality. Topics such as the impact of pollution on the climate, the environment and health will also be debated during the event, which will be held at Havana's Central Park Hotel's Conventions Center. CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers -- ANAP -- is in full swing at Havana's International Convention Center with the presence of 800 Cuban delegates and invited guests from 15 countries. According to ANAP President Orlando Lugo Fonte, there are some 70 foreign participants representing campesino organizations from Nicaragua, Honduras, the United States, Brazil, Mexico and other countries. He stated that one representative from each delegation will present a resolution in support of the Cuban Revolution and condemning Washington's economic blockade against the Cuban people. He added that foreign delegations will also denounce the Cuban Adjustment Act, which encourages illegal immigration from the island to the United States. The Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers will end tomorrow, Wednesday, which marks the 39th anniversary of the organization as well as the 41st anniversary of the signing of the first Agrarian Reform Law -- one of the first measures adopted by the Cuban Revolution. SPANISH-CUBAN PROJECT TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN PINAR DEL RIO Pinar del Rio, May 16 (RHC)-- A 100,000 dollar project will soon benefit several communities in the Viņales National Park -- which is also a World Heritage Site -- in the western province of Pinar del Rio. This rural development program is sponsored by the Foundation for Social Development of the Canary Islands and Cuba's Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment and is designed to encourage sustainable tourism and promote the economic potential of the region. The project will benefit the population in terms of transportation, housing, sanitation and environmental education. INTERNATIONAL ENCOUNTER ON ART CRITICISM AND ARCHITECTURE TO BE HELD IN HAVANA Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- Specialists from nine countries will meet in Havana November 20th through the 24th to take part in an International Encounter on Art Criticism and Architecture. The aim of the event is to reflect on the impact of economic globalization on culture. Entitled "Closer to Each Other," the forum will take place in the framework of Havana's 7th International Festival on Fine Arts, scheduled for November 17th with the participation of 168 artists and nine groups dealing with artistic creativity. HEAD OF UNESCO'S HAVANA REGIONAL OFFICE WINS CUBAN NATIONAL CULTURE AWARD Havana, May 16 (RHC)-- The out-going head of UNESCO's Havana-based regional office, Mexican Gloria Lopez Morales, has received the Cuban National Culture Award, granted by the Cuban Culture Ministry, for her contribution to the promotion of the arts, sciences and culture. The award was presented by Cuba's Culture Minister Abel Prieto during a ceremony Monday evening. Lopez Morales served for five years as head of the UNESCO office in Havana -- the oldest regional office set up by the United Nations agency in the world. She told reporters that she enjoyed her stay in Cuba and praised the island's work in the area of culture. The out-going head of UNESCO's office in the Cuban capital said that culture is not given the same importance in other Latin American or Caribbean countries. She added that while Cuba is very interesting in many aspects, it's greatest quality is its cultural expression. Viewpoint: WASHINGTON'S FAILED POLICY IS UNDER REVIEW ON CAPITOL HILL The Cold War and the economic blockade against Cuba probably constitute the biggest failures of Washington's foreign policy this century. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States has tried destroy the social project chosen by the Cuban people. The U.S. government has long carried out all kinds of aggressions against the Cuban Revolution -- from the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the threat of nuclear war during the so-called Missile Crisis in October 1962, as well as countless plots to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro and other leaders. In addition, Cuba has been the target of sabotage actions against socio-economic objectives and systematic disinformation campaigns, aimed at isolating the island from the rest of the world and attempting to disrupt daily life. A key aspect of Washington's genocidal policy is the economic blockade, which has been in effect since in 1962, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy officially declared what they like to call "the embargo." Over the past 41 years, this policy has not accomplished its stated purpose -- which was to destroy the Cuban Revolution. Washington's policy has failed due to the Cuban people's indomitable will to maintain their national independence and sovereignty. Over the past few days, the U.S. blockade is once again in the news, when a committee of the House of Representatives and a Senate commission approved a proposal aimed at allowing the sale of food and medicines to Cuba. Influential newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as television networks like CNN and NBC all agree that this project might get a green light in both houses of the Congress and could soon be debated and taken to a vote. Many observers believe that this is a good time to start to correct past mistakes, after the obvious isolation of the extremist Cuban-American community in Miami following the kidnapping of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. U.S. farmers, who see Cuba as a natural market for their products, are also putting pressure on Congress and the White House to at least partially lift the economic blockade. So it is not accidental that the amendment has been attached to an agricultural budget bill. According to Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Gonzalez, it would not be a surprise if measure to lift the blockade on food and medicine to the island is shot down by right wing congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. Cuban authorities, however, believe that the initiative is a step in the right direction, although they agree that these kinds of actions are not the ultimate solution. It is absolutely ridiculous that U.S. lawmakers are openly discussing the sale of food and medicine to Cuba in the Congress of a country that considers itself the universal champion of human rights. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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