Radio Havana Cuba-22 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 22 May 2000 -US CITIZENS VISIT TO ESTABLISH US-CUBA SISTER CITY PROJECTS -US STATE DEPARTMENT CHARGED WITH POLITICAL COWARDICE -CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS UN DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL -GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTER MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES -CUBA AND AUSTRIA SIGN NEW COOPERATION AGREEMENT -CUBAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER ARRIVES IN IRAN -INFORMATICA 2000 CONVENTION OPENS IN HAVANA -INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL CUBADISCO '2000 TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY -RENOVATED JEWISH TEMPLE REOPENS IN HAVANA U.S. CITIZENS VISIT TO ESTABLISH ANOTHER U.S.-CUBA SISTER CITY PROJECTS Havana, May 21(RHC)-- More than a hundred Americans interested in establishing sister city relations with Cuban cities are holding a two-day meeting in Havana. The opening remarks were made on Monday by the president of the island's Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, who stressed the importance of people to people contacts in the face of Washington's more than 40 years of hostility toward the island. The US delegates were briefed on the history of Cuba-US relations by First Deputy Foreign Minister, Jorge Bolaņos, who noted that throughout history nations pursue the foreign policy that advances their interests, except in the case of the U.S's Cuba policy, since 40 years of hostility is not in the interest of Washington nor of the American people. Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Orlando Hernandez gave an outline of Cuba's economic situation. On Tuesday the conference will hear from the US-Cuba Sister City Association on how to establish a Sister City project with Cuba. So far there are sister city program with Mobile, Alabama and Havana and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Matanzas. Also in the works is a relationship between St. Augustine, Florida and the eastern Cuban city of Baracoa. U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CHARGED WITH POLITICAL COWARDICE Havana, May 22 (RHC)-- An editorial in Monday's edition of the Cuban newspaper Trabajadores takes aim at the U.S. State Department, calling the department's recent actions in the case of Elian Gonzalez "cowardly." Written by Lazaro Barredo Medina, the editorial asks where the State Department was hiding during the past six months, when they failed to criticize Elian's kidnappers for using him as a poster child for the right wing Cuban-American community. According to Monday's editorial in Trabajadores, no one in the State Department uttered a word when the six-year-old was literally wrapped in the U.S. flag, dressed up as Batman, the subject of sensationalist news reports and hounded by hundreds of photographers and camera crews as he was paraded through the streets of Miami. The editorial notes that all it took was one photo of Elian wearing a scarf and uniform -- similar to those worn by all Cuban students -- to make the State Department come out of hiding. While pointing out that the U.S. State Department has actually been working behind the scenes to make their stay more difficult, the editorial published in the Cuban newspaper states that Elian and his family have been deprived of much needed support. The refusal to grant entry visas to many of his classmates and a team of Cuban doctors and psychiatrists was arrogantly directed by diplomats from the State Department. And, as Trabajadores notes, the current delay in granting visas to Elian's grandparents and great-grandmother is yet another travesty -- further evidence that the State Department is purposefully putting obstacles in the way of resolving the case of Elian Gonzalez. CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS UN DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL Havana, May 22 (RHC)-- United Nations Deputy Secretary General Maurice Strong wrapped up a working visit to Cuba over the weekend. Shortly before departing from Havana, Strong met with Cuba's President Fidel Castro. Both dignitaries discussed several issues related to the international situation and the upcoming Millennium Summit. The visit was aimed at strengthening relations with the island and identifying new ways for further UN development assistance to Cuba. During his stay in Cuba, Strong met with several Cuban ministers, among them Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Marta Lomas, of Higher Education Fernando Vecino Alegret, for Science, Technology and the Environment Rosa Elena Simeon and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. The high-ranking UN official also held contacts with authorities from the Cuban Ministry of Planning and the Economy. In his meeting with the Cuban higher education minister, the UN deputy secretary general reviewed possibilities of establishing bilateral cooperation ties between Cuban universities and the UN University of Peace. GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTER MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES Havana, May 22 (RHC)-- The visiting German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek Zeul, met on Monday with Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and the Minister for Science, Technology and the Environment Rosa Elena Simeon. The visit is aimed at reviewing the current state of bilateral relations between Germany and Cuba. The high-ranking German official highlighted her government's willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Cuba, particularly the support for the island's National Desertification Program, as well as European assistance to alleviate the draught affecting regions in Eastern Cuba. The visiting delegation met Sunday with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, with whom they debated on development programs and bilateral cooperation between Germany and Cuba and with the European Union. The German federal minister, and the delegation accompanying her, arrived in Havana on Friday to begin an official visit at the invitation of Cuba's Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas. On Monday, the German delegation also visited the Havana-based Latin American School of Medicine, other educational institutions and Old Havana's historical center. CUBA AND AUSTRIA SIGN NEW COOPERATION AGREEMENT Havana, May 22 (RHC)-- Cuba and Austria have signed an agreement to mutually promote and protect both nations' investments. The agreement was in the framework of the 7th Meeting of the Cuba-Austria Mixed Economic Commission for bilateral Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which wound up on Friday in the Cuban capital. Austrian Deputy Minister for Labor and the Economy, Joseph Mayer, pointed out that this new agreement will further strengthen bilateral relations with the Caribbean island. He stated that among issues discussed by the mixed commission were investment, promotion, and tourism. Bilateral negotiations are currently underway to set up a mixed Austrian-Cuban company for the production of industrial equipment, as well as allowing for the transfer of technology. The European nation already cooperates with Cuba in the production of sacks for the island's sugar industry. CUBAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER ARRIVES IN IRAN Teheran, May 22 (RHC)- Cuban Agriculture Minister Alfredo Jordan has arrived in the Islamic Republic of Iran, heading the island's delegation to the 7th Meeting of the Iran-Cuba Mixed Intergovernmental Commission. The Iranian delegation to the meeting is headed by the country's Agriculture Minister Issa Kalantari. Both delegations will analyze the current state of bilateral economic and trade relations, as well as cooperation in areas such as health, agriculture, fishing and sports. "INFORMATICA 2000" CONVENTION OPENS IN HAVANA Havana, Mayu 22 (RHC) -- Specialists from 40 countries are attending the seventh Informatics Convention, which opened today Havana. "Informatica 2000" will offer an opportunity to exchange knowlege, technology and products and scientific sessions on the digital information industry at the beginning of the new millenium. Participants also promote and learn about new products and information technology services, including hardware, software, local and wide-area networks as well as developments on the Internet. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL CUBADISCO '2000 TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY Havana, May 22 (RHC)-The Cuban capital will be the venue, beginning Wednesday, of the 4th International Disco Festival Cubadisco '2000. The international event will gather several musical groups and soloists, as well as record promoters and labels. The festival's agenda, which this time will be dedicated to the Dominican Republic, includes --among other activities-- the presentation of a dictionary of Spanish and Hispanic-American music and a seminar on the Rumba, as well as a roundtable on rumberos and a rock concert. RENOVATED JEWISH TEMPLE REOPENS IN HAVANA Havana May 22(RHC)-- The Cuban Jewish community held a ceremony this weekend to celebrate the inauguration of the newly renovated temple, Bet Shalom, in Havana. Attending the opening were Jewish delegations from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, among others. Funding for the reconstruction of the synagogue came from various American-based Jewish organizations such as the Joint Distribution Fund, the Weinberg Foundation, and the American Jewish Federation. According to community members, the inauguration marks a cultural revival for the Cuban Jewish community, numbering approximately 1500 members. On hand at the ceremony was Caridad Diego, Chief of Religous Affairs Department of the Cuban Communist Party. Diego told RHC that relations between the Cuban Jewish community and the Cuban government have consistently been very positive, and recalled Cuban president Fidel Castro's participation in the Jewish holiday, Chanukah, at temple in 1998. (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-21563 2000-May-23 03:12:16