Radio Havana Cuba-19 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 19 May 2000 -CUBANS COMMEMORATE 105th ANNIVERSARY OF JOSE MARTI'S DEATH IN COMBAT -CUBA WILL MAINTAIN RELATIONS WITH AFRICA-CARIBBEAN-PACIFIC GROUP -UN DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL BEGINS TALKS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES -GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTER ARRIVES IN HAVANA -NEW MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS -Viewpoint: PROTESTS AGAINST NEO-LIBERAL ECONOMIC PROGRAMS IN ARGENTINA CUBANS COMMEMORATE THE 105th ANNIVERSARY OF JOSE MARTI'S DEATH IN COMBAT Havana, May 19 (RHC)-- More than 7000 Cuban youth and students took part Friday in a patriotic activity to mark the 105th anniversary of Jose Marti's death in combat. Cuban President Fidel Castro also participated in the event. During the ceremony, held at the Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Tribune on Havana's Malecon, a bronze statue of Cuba's National Hero was unveiled. Jose Marti is holding a small child in one of his arms, while pointing an accusing finger directly at the door of the U.S. Interests Section. The statue was made by Cuban sculptor Andres Gonzalez and substitutes a similar statue in plaster, temporarily placed at the site where hundreds of thousands of Cubans have demanded the immediate return of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. Friday morning's activity in Havana also honored the 150th anniversary of Cuba's national flag. CUBA WILL MAINTAIN DIPLOMATIC AND COOPERATION RELATIONS WITH AFRICA-CARIBBEAN-PACIFIC GROUP Havana, May 19 (RHC)-- Cuban authorities have reaffirmed that they will maintain diplomatic and cooperation relations with members of the ACP Group -- the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Group -- following Havana's decision to withdraw its request for membership. During a news conference in the Cuban capital on Thursday, Alejandro Gonzalez, a spokesman for the island's Foreign Ministry, referred to messages of solidarity received from various ACP member nations -- supporting Cuba's position to firmly reject any attempt to impose conditions that violate the island's sovereignty. Gonzalez also referred to the illegal holding in the United States of Elian Gonzalez against his father's wishes. The diplomatic official stressed that this incident has served to demonstrate the absurdity of Washington's policy toward Cuba. He added that the American people have witnessed countless maneuvers by right wing Cuban-Americans in Miami, together with their allies on Capitol Hill -- who are trying to prevent the normalization of relations between Washington and Havana. Referring to an initiative in the U.S. Congress to allow the sale of food and medicine to the island, the Cuban foreign ministry spokesman said that it's a step in the right direction, expressing the sentiment of the vast majority of the American people. He added that Cuba will closely watch the course of future events, but without any false expectations. UN DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL BEGINS TALKS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES Havana, May 19 (RHC)-- United Nations Deputy Secretary General Maurice Strong began talks on Friday with Cuban authorities, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation with the island, especially in the areas of energy and the environment. The high-ranking UN official arrived in Havana on Thursday to begin an official visit at the invitation of Cuba's Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas. During his stay in Havana, which runs through tomorrow, Saturday, the UN deputy secretary general is also scheduled to meet with Cuba's Minister for Science, Technology and the Environment, Rosa Elena Simeon, as well as Cuba's Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon. The dignitary's agenda on the island also includes meetings with Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and authorities from the island's Higher Education Ministry and the National Bank. GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTER ARRIVES IN HAVANA Havana, May 19 (RHC)-- German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Heidemarie Wieczorek-zeul has arrived in Havana for an official visit at the invitation of Cuba's Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas. This visit, the first by a German federal minister to Cuba, is being carried out in the framework of Germany's development assistance to the Caribbean island. German authorities support Cuba's National Desertification Program. The European country's business community has also expressed its interest in exploring business opportunities on the island. NEW MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Havana, May 19 (RHC)-- The Cuban Council of Ministers has designated Ricardo Cabrisas as Cuba's Minister of Government for International Affairs, related primarily to trade and the economy. At the time of his designation and for many years, Ricardo Cabrisas served as the island's foreign trade minister. The Council of State has also named Raul Nuez Ramirez to substitute Cabrisas as the top Cuban foreign trade official. Viewpoint: PROTESTS AGAINST NEO-LIBERAL ECONOMIC PROGRAMS IN ARGENTINA Social unrest continues on the rise in Argentina. Earlier this week, there were at least ten people injured, a government office torched and a legislator's home sacked and destroyed in clashes between workers and police in the northeastern Chaco Province. Public employee unions are protesting the provincial legislature's approval of an economic shock program that includes reductions in social spending and salary benefits. In front of the legislature, hundreds of protesters armed with clubs and rocks faced police using tear gas, firing rubber bullets and charging into the demonstrators on horseback. This is the second protest in Chaco in less than a month. It also coincides with other demonstrations of social unrest in several Argentinean provinces. In the northwestern province of Jujuy, sugar workers on Wednesday lifted road blocks demanding subsides for the sector, while in the province of Salta, hundreds of people continued blocking roads, demanding jobs and welfare programs. On the other hand in Catamarca, construction workers are demanding a reactivation of public jobs and protesting massive layoffs in the sector. On Wednesday, Social Development Minister Graciela Fernandez Meijide stated that never before in Argentinean history has there been so much structural poverty, not even during the Great Depression of the 1930's. However, five months after the rise to power of a center-left coalition, the government has been unable to launch social reforms without first implementing a severe fiscal adjustment program that includes higher taxes, spending cutbacks and only promises for future economic growth. (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-12708 2000-May-20 17:37:17