Radio Havana Cuba-18 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 18 May 2000 -FIDEL CASTRO SAYS KIDNAPPERS HAVE LOST THE BATTLE, LEGALLY AND MORALLY -US FARMERS ATTEND 9th CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS -PANAMA'S TOURISM MINISTER ON A WORKING VISIT TO CUBA -CUBA AND THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS -BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES FROM CUBA AND VALENCIA CONCLUDE MEETING IN HAVANA -NEW PROJECT BETWEEN CUBA AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO PROTECT THE OZONE -MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY AVAILABLE IN ALL 14 PROVINCES OF THE ISLAND -Viewpoint: ON YOUR MARK... GET SET... GO! THE ARMS RACE IS ON!! FIDEL CASTRO SAYS KIDNAPPERS HAVE LOST THE BATTLE, LEGALLY AND MORALLY Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro insists that the kidnappers of Elian Gonzalez "have lost the battle, legally and morally." The Cuban leader spoke at the closing ceremony of the 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers, ANAP, which wrapped up here in Havana on Wednesday. Fidel Castro stated that, in his opinion, there is no way the six-year-old boy can be taken away from his father again -- and that it won't even be possible to extend the delay of the child's family in the United States much longer, in spite of all the legal maneuvers designed to prevent their return to the island. The Cuban leader said some believe that Cuba has worn itself down with all the daily meetings, marches and televised roundtable discussions on the plight of Elian. But the Cuban leader stated that the people are capable of waging a struggle twice as powerful and efficient as that begun late last year, demanding the child's return to Cuba. After Elian's return, he said, the struggle will continue -- this time against Washington's Cuban Adjustment Act, granting special treatment to Cubans who illegally arrive in the United States. Fidel said that Cuba is able to continue this struggle because "here, there is a dictatorship of ideas, a dictatorship of ethical and moral values, of principles and justice -- and not a dictatorship of the rich, of torturers and of death squads". The final session of the 9th Congress of ANAP was turned into an Open Tribune to demand the immediate return of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. More than 800 delegates to the three-day Congress met at Havana's International Convention Center for the closing ceremony -- which was celebrated with speeches and songs to observe the Day of the Campesino. On this date in 1959, 41 years ago, the first Agrarian Reform Law was signed by Fidel Castro-- implementing the most radical land reform program in the history of Latin America. Delegates to the 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers approved a Declaration of Principles, in which they vowed to produce more efficiently and work for lower food prices. During his speech Wednesday evening, Fidel Castro reviewed the history of the struggle for independence and sovereignty in Cuba, which was always closely linked with the question of land. Noting that campesinos have been a strong ally of the struggle, both yesterday and today, Fidel promised that the Cuban Revolution would never abandon them. The Cuban president pledged to maintain the course of socialism -- an economic system that truly benefits all the people. And he defended Cuba's democratic system -- where more than 90 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots in elections in which the Communist Party does not field candidates and those running for office are chosen by secret ballot. And he challenged the internal enemies of the Cuban Revolution -- the so-called dissidents -- to present their candidacies for a popular, elected office. In contrast, said the Cuban leader, the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States have the same programs and the same interests -- calling that system a truly one-party state in which fewer and fewer voters participate. U.S. FARMERS ATTEND 9th CONGRESS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SMALL FARMERS Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Dozens of foreign guests were observers at the 9th Congress of the National Association of Small Farmers, which concluded here in Havana last night. Among them was a representative of the Association of Black Farmers of Atlanta in the United States, Lee Dobbins, who said that farmers in his country will continue to fight for their rights. Dobbins pointed out that several generations of farmers have been discriminated against because of the color of their skin. They don't receive loans and are not allowed to benefit from social security. He also criticized Washington's policy against Cuba and affirmed that they will continue to fight for an end to the economic blockade imposed on the island by the U.S. over the past four decades. PANAMA'S TOURISM MINISTER ON A WORKING VISIT TO CUBA Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Panamanian Tourism Minister Liriola Pitti de Cordova, who is currently in Havana for a three-day working visit, told reporters that her country is very interested in sharing Cuba's experience in the tourism industry. The Panamanian tourism minister said that the main purpose of her visit is to see the island's development in the tourism sector first-hand. She added that both countries are currently working on several bilateral cooperation agreements. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Panama's Ambassador to Cuba, Mario Alarcon, delivered the closing speech of a seminar entitled "How to Do Business with Cuba" -- which took place this week in the Cuban capital. During the meeting, representatives from Cuba and Panama debated several topics of interest, such as increasing bilateral cooperation. CUBA AND THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS New York, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuba and the Republic of Macedonia have established diplomatic relations. The protocol was signed by representatives of both countries to the United Nations. According to a joint statement, this decision ratifies the willingness of the peoples and governments of Cuba and Macedonia to continue strengthening and widening their bilateral relations. Cuba now has diplomatic relations with 171 countries. BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES FROM CUBA AND VALENCIA CONCLUDE MEETING IN HAVANA Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- A meeting of business representatives from Cuba and the Spanish region of Valencia wrapped up today in Havana after four days of debates and analysis on the possibilities of strengthening bilateral economic relations. Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Ricardo Cabrisas told reporters that in 1999 and for the third consecutive year, Spain was the island's main trading partner, particularly in the tourist sector. He added that bilateral trade between Cuba and Spain increased to 700 million dollars last year -- with 60 million in trade with Valencia. NEW PROJECT BETWEEN CUBA AND THE UNITED NATIONS TO PROTECT THE OZONE Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Cuba and the United Nations have a new project to protect the ozone. The agreement was signed on Wednesday by the island's Deputy Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Raul Taladrid, and by Luis Gomez Echeverri, the representative of the United Nations Development Program in Cuba. The project includes the production of 30,000 highly- efficient and ozone-friendly refrigerators every year. Gomez Echeverri said that this project is part of a series of initiatives by the United Nations to support Cuba, adding that it introduces new technology on the island. Raul Taladrid, for his part, said that this agreement will have a positive impact, not only on production but also on the environment. MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY AVAILABLE IN ALL 14 PROVINCES OF THE ISLAND Havana, May 18 (RHC)-- Some 33,000 Cuban patients underwent operations with minimum-access surgery techniques during the 1990's. According to the coordinator of the National Commission of Minimum-Access Surgery, Julian Ruiz Torres, 38 percent of those operations took place last year alone, when this service was extended to the entire island. Among many other applications, these surgical techniques are used to remove gallbladder stones and in performing operations on hernias, ulcers, lung and kidney cysts as well as intestinal surgery. Viewpoint: ON YOUR MARK... GET SET... GO! THE ARMS RACE IS ON!! New York City is currently hosting a conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, in which delegations from 187 countries are participating. Many experts agree that the outcome of this meeting depends, in large part, on the U.S. position on the issue. Washington's announced plan to set up an anti-missile defense system has been widely criticized since the conference's opening day, on April 24th. The concept of "Star Wars" has now gone beyond Hollywood's fictional world into reality, with U.S. congressional approval of the controversial defense system, which would virtually allow Pentagon generals to proclaim the invulnerability of the United States. The U.S. anti-missile defense system plan is a re-worked version of one proposed to Congress in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan. The supposed "space shield" could spark an arms race even more dangerous than that of the Cold War. We should ask ourselves what are Washington's intentions in activating such a plan, ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall? The United States is obviously securing its position as the most powerful nation in the world, giving it license to act as policeman of the global village. With its nuclear "umbrella," Washington is reminding the rest of the world that it is untouchable. The cost of the so-called anti-missile defense system is obviously in the billions of dollars and will once again get the weapons factories of the U.S. military industrial complex operating at full capacity. It is only natural that if the United States undertakes such a anti-missile system, the other nuclear powers will also feel obliged to respond with their own defense projects. As a result, the money spent on the arms race will skyrocket far beyond the current staggering figure of more than eight hundred billion dollars a year. There already enough nuclear weapons stockpiled today to blow up the entire world in a matter of seconds. Humanity does not need a philosophy of death and apocalypse. What is needed is the definitive triumph of life and human solidarity. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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