Radio Havana Cuba-24 May 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 24 May 2000 -GRANMA REVEALS NEW COVERT ACTIONS BY USA AND POLAND -INFORMATICS 2000 UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL -BUSINESS MISSION FROM FRANCE ON A VISIT TO CUBA -DELEGATION FROM LIBERIA ARRIVES IN CUBA -CUBAN BUSINESS GROUP LABIOFAM WINS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION -9th CARIBBEAN TRADE FAIR SET FOR SANTIAGO DE CUBA -REPORT FROM CUBADISCO 2000, 4th INTERNATIONAL RECORD FAIR -Viewpoint: HAVANA AND WASHINGTON ON THE ROAD TO RAPPROCHMENT? GRANMA REVEALS NEW COVERT ACTIONS BY USA AND POLAND Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- Wednesday's edition of the Cuban news daily Granma reveals new counterrevolutionary activities carried out by the U.S. Interests Section and officials from the Polish Embassy in Havana. The events took place last week in the western province of Pinar del Rio, when Political Counselor from the Polish Embassy -- Krzysztof Jacek Hinz -- together with Dagoberto Valdes, a Cuban layworker who heads the so-called Center for Civic and Religious Training in Pinar del Rio, inaugurated an exhibition of anti-socialist and pro-capitalist art. In its front page article on Wednesday, the Cuban daily explains that the Polish government used its diplomatic pouch to smuggle the artwork and other counterrevolutionary materials into the country. The exhibit, which was first shown in a Havana church, was then transferred to a Daughters of Charity facility in Pinar del Rio. The subversive exhibit, points out Granma, was displayed without the knowledge of Cuban authorities. Granma recalled how after its May 16 editorial on a Polish counterrevolutionary delegation, priests of the Pinar del Rio dioceses made a careful and respectful statement. However, they erroneously described Dagoberto Valdes, as "a person of proven integrity, committed to his homeland." In this regard, adds the Granma article, the priests ignore the background of Dagoberto Valdes, who is "a vulgar provocateur at the service of Cuba's enemies." On April 26th, Valdes met at a restaurant in Pinar del Rio with two officials from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. James P. Doran, the First Secretary and Consul of the Interests Section and an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Lawrence N. Corwin, the First Secretary of Culture and the Press at the U.S. diplomatic office in the Cuban capital, traveled to Pinar del Rio and met for several hours with Valdes. The Cuban daily reports that during the meeting with the two U.S. officials, Valdes urged them to continue working with intellectuals and described his own work as "open warfare against the Cuban government." Valdes also took the opportunity to slander Cardinal Jaime Ortega during the meeting. Dagoberto Valdes has connections with counterrevolutionaries both in Cuba and those in southern Florida. Granma notes that Valdes is a contributing writer to the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald, "the mouthpiece of the Cuban-American mafia" -- a privilege only accorded to well-known, so-called "dissidents." According to the Cuban newspaper, the opinions of Valdes as the director of the Center for Civic and Religious Training in Pinar del Rio are not shared by the vast majority of the Catholic dioceses in this western province. The article points out that Cardinal Jaime Ortega has expressed opposition to provocations by those who have tried to use the Catholic Church as an instrument against the Cuban Revolution. At the same time, the Granma article clearly states that Havana has good relations with the Church in Cuba and with Vatican authorities, who have also said they are opposed to the use of the Catholic Church by counterrevolutionaries. The article in Wednesday's edition of Granma explains that the Polish Ambassador to the island was not part of the clandestine organization of the exhibit and that he quickly shut it down once he heard about it. With the closing of the exhibit, concludes Granma, the Polish adventure in Pinar del Rio came to an end, to be continued by the usual adventures of U.S. diplomats on the island. INFORMATICS 2000 UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- The role of informatics in the fields of education and culture, among other issues, was brought to the attention of participants in the Informatics '2000 Convention on Tuesday. Informatics '2000, or the 7th International Convention and Fair on Informatics, is into its third day of sessions here in Havana. On Wednesday the 3rd International Congress on Medical Informatics - one of the fourteen events included in the convention - opened its doors at Havana's Convention Center with a lecture entitled 'Informatics and Cuba's Health Care System' by Cuban Deputy Health Minister Yamila de Armas. During her conference, Dr. De Armas offered an overview of the island's efforts to develop the use of informatics in health care and measures taken to achieve this goal. The Cuban official focused on the training of personnel in this field with the support of other institutions such as the Ministry of Education and referred to the already implemented university and virtual library programs. Another master conference on Wednesday morning was that of World Health Organization Representative in Cuba Dr. Sala Mandill, who focused on virtual inter-hospital communication, or what is called tele-medicine and its role in access to equal quality health care. When asked about the Cuban development of tele-medicine, Dr. Mandill responded: 'In Cuba, I think that you have already an excellent start with tele-medicine, linking approximately fifteen hospitals, for example the set up in the Isle of Youth is a very good example to examine and to follow. I'm sure that the authorities really evaluated and followed that example in other places. The same objectives are also here in Cuba. Medical experts who appear on a list are shared by a number of general hospitals. I think that the future of tele-medicine in Cuba is quite excellent and I'm very pleased that the health authorities are awake to this possibility and are already involved in proper planning for it'. On Thursday, the more than 1300 delegates from 40 nations at the event will be dealing with issues such as the impact of the Internet in developing nations. BUSINESS MISSION FROM FRANCE ON A VISIT TO CUBA Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- A visiting business delegation from the French company, MEDEF, visited tobacco plantations and factories in the western province of Pinar del Rio. Headed by the President of the France-Cuba Committee of MEDEF, Jean Dominique Ciomolli, the French delegation began bilateral contacts on Wednesday with Cuban authorities, including the President of Cuba's Chamber of Commerce, Hector Perez Paez, and the island's Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas. The French delegation's agenda also includes meetings with the president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. This involves their participation in the inauguration of repair work on the Havana tunnel, to be carried out with French cooperation. DELEGATION FROM LIBERIA ARRIVES IN CUBA Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- A Liberian delegation, headed by the General Secretary of the country's National Patriotic Party, John Whitfield, has arrived in Cuba for an official visit aimed at reviewing the current state of bilateral relations. While on the island, the visitors will meet with high-ranking Cuban government officials and tour centers of historical and social interest. CUBAN BUSINESS GROUP LABIOFAM WINS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- The internationally recognized Cuban pharmaceutical group, LABIOFAM, won a world competition in Peru with a larvicide, known as GRISELESF. The high-quality biological pest-control agent is used to eliminate mosquitoes. Other major pharmaceutical firms at the competition were Germany's BAYER and U.S. ABBOT. This Havana-based firm has been successful in use of GRISELESF, in Africa and Central and South America, against the carrier of serious diseases such as malaria and dengue. LABIOFAM produces more than 90 percent of all veterinary products used in Cuba. Many of these products are also exported to other nations, including the world famous BIORAT to eliminate rats. 9th CARIBBEAN TRADE FAIR SET FOR SANTIAGO DE CUBA Santiago de Cuba, May 24 (RHC)-- Over 520 firms from some 20 nations have already confirmed their participation in the 9th edition of the Caribbean Trade Fair, ExpoCaribe '2000. The trade fair is set for June 18th through the 25th in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba. Luis Gutierrez Madrigal, from the Organizing Committee of Fairs and Exhibitions in the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, stated that 129 foreign companies will take part in this year's event, primarily from Caribbean nations. The ExpoCaribe fair, held every year since 1992, serves as a unique opportunity to promote and strengthen economic and trade relations between Caribbean countries. REPORT FROM CUBADISCO 2000, 4th INTERNATIONAL RECORD FAIR Havana, May 24 (RHC)-- The 4th International Record Fair, Cubadisco '2000, got underway on Wednesday at Havana's Pabexpo Pavilion. Sponsored by Cuba's Music Institute, in collaboration with Spain's General Association of Editors and Authors, this year's event is dedicated to the Dominican Republic. The festival, which runs through May 28th, gathers several musical groups and soloists, as well as record promoters and labels. Cubadisco '2000 includes -among other activities- the presentation of a dictionary of Spanish and Hispanic American music, as well as seminars, roundtables, and concerts by renowned Cuban and foreign artists. Viewpoint: HAVANA AND WASHINGTON ON THE ROAD TO RAPPROCHMENT? Another important political figure in the United States has expressed his disagreement with his country's policy towards Cuba and the economic blockade imposed on the island for almost four decades by nine consecutive US administrations. Minnessota's Governor, Jesse Ventura, is the second US State governor that has publicly called for an end to Washington's financial and economic blockade against the people of Cuba. The first came from Illinois Governor George Ryan, who visited Havana a few months ago and was able to see for himself the Cuban reality. Ryan said that there were other governors interested in the normalization of relations between Havana and Washington that would publicly express their positions in the future. Governor Jesse Ventura's statements serve to confirm George Ryan's announcement. Prior to Ryan's visit to Cuba, the US Chamber of Commerce had also supported the lift of economic sanctions and its President, Tom Donahue, also visited the island and ratified the organization's position. After these events, the powerful US media began, little by little, to follow more closely the issue of bilateral relations. Some important newspapers and radio and TV networks are now more frequently reflecting the current trend in favor of a radical change in the US policy towards Cuba. What is more, some changes to that policy could soon be introduced by the US Congress where legislators are considering a project that would allow sales of food and medicine to the island. Although this initiative failed in both 1998 and 1999, it has now more supporters in the US Congress. The case of the six-year-old boy Elián González, has served to bring together for the first time in a common position both Havana and Washington, supported by the majority of the American people: that the child should be with his father and his family in Cuba. In spite of many obstacles, including the acts and threats of Cuban-American ultra right-wing groups in Miami, an improvement of relations between Cuba and the United States seems to be, for the first time, on the horizon. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba. 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