Radio Havana Cuba-17 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 17 May 2000 -ELIAN GONZALEZ' PEDIATRICIAN IS BACK IN HAVANA, BUT MAY SOON RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES -U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILES BRIEF AFFIRMING THAT FATHER OF ELIAN GONZALEZ IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SPEAK FOR THE SIX-YEAR-OLD -9th CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS WRAPS UP IN HAVANA -FIRST IBERO-AMERICAN MEETING ON REGIONAL HISTORY STUDIES UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL -ACTIVITIES UNDERWAY TO COMMEMORATE 105th ANNIVERSARY OF JOSE MARTI'S DEATH IN COMBAT -10th INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL CONTINUES IN HAVANA -Viewpoint: THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR CONTINUES TO WIDEN IN LATIN AMERICA ELIAN GONZALEZ' PEDIATRICIAN IS BACK IN HAVANA, BUT MAY SOON RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES Havana, May 17 (RHC)-- During a roundtable discussion broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Tuesday evening, it announced that Doctor Caridad Ponce de Leon -- Elian's pediatrician -- is back in Havana, but may return to the United States to be with the six-year-old boy and his family. According to the official report, the Cuban doctor left the U.S. on Monday when her visa expired. During a stop-over in Houston, Texas, on her way back to Havana, Doctor Ponce de Leon was informed by U.S. authorities that her visa had been extended for another two weeks. However, due to the fact that the pediatrician's family was waiting for her in the Cuban capital and the importance of returning to Havana to personally report on Elian's situation, it was decided that she would continue on to Cuba and apply for another entry visa to return within a few days. Early Tuesday morning, a new visa was requested from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and she will apparently be able to return to the United States within 48 hours. Upon her arrival in Havana Monday night, Doctor Caridad Ponce de Leon issued a detailed report on the situation at Wye Plantation, where Elian and his immediate family are awaiting a decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The report included a breakdown of the medicines confiscated when she entered the U.S. several weeks ago, as well as documentation of the childhood sicknesses and allergies that such medicine can treat. It was pointed out that the medicines are very important for Elian and several of his classmates, who are visiting their six-year-old friend in the United States. In related news, it was announced that there is still no word on visa requests for Elian's grandparents and great-grandmother, who are waiting for a response from the U.S. State Department. The roundtable discussion was aired live on Cuban television, the national radio network and the international shortwave frequencies of Radio Havana Cuba. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILES BRIEF AFFIRMING THAT FATHER OF ELIAN GONZALEZ IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SPEAK FOR THE SIX-YEAR-OLD Atlanta, May 17 (RHC)-- The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a brief before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, affirming that the father of Elian Gonzalez, Juan Miguel, is the only adult who can speak for the six-year-old child. The 25-page legal opinion supports an earlier motion that Juan Miguel replace the young boy's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, as sole legal representative. According to Carole Florman, spokesperson for the Justice Department, it is now up to the Atlanta court to rule on whether or not the father of Elian Gonzalez has exclusive custody of his son -- confirming the decision by Miami Judge K. Michael Moore, handed down in March. Florman told reporters in Washington that such a ruling from Atlanta could come separately, either before or at the same time as a decision on whether or not the boy has a right to a hearing for political asylum. The court ruling is expected sometime toward the end of this month. 9th CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS WRAPS UP IN HAVANA Havana, May 17 (RHC)-- The 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers -- ANAP -- came to a close Wednesday at Havana's International Convention Center. The three-day national meeting focused on crucial aspects for the development of the 260,000 member-strong campesino organization -- including economic efficiency, production and sale of agricultural products, as well as the need to improve organizational infrastructure of the group. During Wednesday morning's session, presided over by Raul Castro Ruz, Second Secretary of Cuba's Communist Party and Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Cuban farmer's congress continued to address several issues relevant to working and living conditions in rural areas, which directly influence the work of cooperatives and independent farmers. The plenary session also unanimously approved the proposal drawn up and presented by three working commissions. The proposal dealt with the overall performance of cooperatives and independent farmers, particularly focussing on the need for sustained and increased production of agricultural produce and sales. The 9th Congress of ANAP provided the setting for Cuban farmers to draw up a strategy for the successful performance of the important economic sector of agriculture. The event was attended by 800 delegates and 200 invited guests from 15 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Francis Goodman, a U.S. farmer from Wisconsin who attended the 9th Congress, spoke with Radio Havana Cuba about his impressions of the event. "I'm really impressed by the fact that ordinary Cuban farmers like myself -- people who get out there and work their own land -- can stand up and tell the highest officials of the country what their problems are and get help with the things that they need. That's really impressive. "In the United States, we can't just go in and talk to the secretary of agriculture and tell him what we need. On those occasions that farmers have been allowed to do that, it pretty much falls on deaf ears. If they do listen to us, we never get any answers back". The 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers closed its sessions Wednesday evening with a tribute to the 41st anniversary of the signing of the first Agrarian Reform Law, celebrated today, May 17th -- which also marks The Day of the Campesino here in Cuba. FIRST IBERO-AMERICAN MEETING ON REGIONAL HISTORY STUDIES UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, May 17 (RHC)-- An important Ibero-American meeting is underway at Havana's Hotel Nacional. The aim of the meeting is to implement a project of the Center for Studies on Ibero-American history, allowing regional youth to have the opportunity to take a deeper look into the roots of their common history. Sponsored by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Sciences and Culture, as well as Cuba's Education Ministry, the encounter is in response to repeated requests by the Ibero-American Summits. The issue was also discussed during the 9th Ibero-American Summit, held last November here in the Cuban capital. Experts from 14 regional nations agreed on the need to improve the teaching quality of Ibero-American history in all national educational systems throughout the region. By promoting a better knowledge of the common aspects in regional history, the Havana-based Center for Studies on Ibero-American History will also contribute to a general consensus in favor of integration. The educational institution will also provide training for history professors. The first stage of the project, which runs through the year 2002, also includes the creation of a network of ministries and universities to promote deeper studies on Ibero-American history, as well as the creation of educational materials on the subject. ACTIVITIES UNDERWAY TO COMMEMORATE 105th ANNIVERSARY OF JOSE MARTI'S DEATH IN COMBAT Granma, May 17 (RHC)-- Activities are underway throughout Cuba to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the death in combat of Cuba's National Hero Jose Marti, to be observed this Friday, May 19th. A number of projects are in full swing in Dos Rios, where the Cuban independence leader lived the last days of his fruitful life. They includes the construction of new homes, schools and family doctor's offices, as well as other social works aimed at improving the living conditions of more than 3000 community residents. The Dos Rios Community is also where Jose Marti set up camp during the 1895 independence struggle against Spanish colonialism and wrote some of his vast patriotic, literary works. Inspired by Jose Marti's ideals, the area's youth are also carrying out an intense program of activities that includes seminars and conferences on Marti's life and work, as well as study visits to the place where the Cuban National Hero fell in combat. Meanwhile, a National Seminar of Studies on Jose Marti got underway Wednesday in eastern Las Tunas with the participation of young Cuban students and workers, representing all 14 Cuban provinces. The aim is to teach young people more about the life and work of Marti -- who dedicated himself to the cause of total independence, not only for Cuba but for all of Latin America. Most of Marti's literary works are dedicated to children. He once stated: "Children are the world's hope for a better future". 10th INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL CONTINUES IN HAVANA Havana, May 17 (RHC)-- The 10th International Guitar Festival is well underway in Havana, already proving to be an unforgettable event. On Wednesday evening, the Romeros family presented the guitar's true Spanish spirit at the city's National Theatre. On Friday, they will again play at the Amadeo Roldan Theatre, along with the Uruguayan duet Eduardo Fernandez and Japanese Shin Ichi Fukuda. The festival is immensely popular in Cuba and all the concerts have been sold out. The musical quality is superb and the reception given to visiting musicians has been more than enthusiastic. The festival continues through Saturday with a gala concert that evening, featuring the Cuban National Symphony and many of the guitarists that have delighted Cubans over the course of the week. Viewpoint: THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR CONTINUES TO WIDEN IN LATIN AMERICA The future is bleak for one of every three Latin Americans, suffocated by poverty. According to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean, known as CEPAL, 224 million people in the region survive on less than two dollars a day. Those figures include some 24 million human beings who were thrown into poverty in l998, principally as a result of the Asian economic crisis. The CEPAL study reminds us that political will, supported by viable economic programs, is needed to end this spiraling poverty. But, unfortunately, most Latin American leaders see neo-liberal, belt-tightening measures as the only possible cure. The so-called "successes" of free market neo-liberal policies speak for themselves: during the l990's, the average growth of the Gross Domestic Product in the region was 3.3. But if we look more closely, we find that only 20% of the people enjoyed the benefits of that growth. Because of this little "cliche" in the neo-liberal economic model, Latin America is now considered to be the area with the most unfair distribution of wealth in the world -- meaning that the gap between rich and poor is staggering. Another "deficiency" in the model imposed by the North is manifested in the dismal job situation, caused by the privatization process underway in most Latin American countries, in which nearly 20 million people are unemployed, sparking ever more crime and violence. Selling off publicly-owned enterprises and reducing the government to practically nothing more than a public relations office, also limits the implementation of social protection measures, leaving society's most vulnerable without assistance. Despite this dismaying information, the neo-liberal model continues being the only recommendation made by the world's major lending institutions -- the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. And those countries that attempt to resist such "recommendations" may well have to struggle ahead alone, without credits or assistance from the world community. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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