Radio Havana Cuba-09 October 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 09 October 2000 . *PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES KHADDAFI HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD *HUGO CHAVEZ INVITES FIDEL CASTRO TO VENEZUELA TO SIGN OIL AGREEMENT *SOME US LEGISLATORS BLAST AGREEMENT SUPPOSEDLY EASING BLOCKADE *CUBANS MARK 33RD ANNIVERSARY OF CHE'S DEATH IN COMBAT *ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA REMEMBERED AROUND THE WORLD *CONGRESS ON CARDIAC REHAB, SECONDARY PREVENTION BEGINS ON MONDAY *FIRST SECRETARY OF CUBA'S YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE ARRIVES IN MEXICO *8th IBERO-AMERICAN CULTURE FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN HOLGUIN *FIDEL CASTRO PLANS VISIT TO VENEZUELA AS HAVANA-CARACAS TIES STRENGTHEN . *PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO RECEIVES KHADDAFI HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD Havana, October 9 (RHC) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro received the Khaddafi Human Rights Award in a ceremony held Sunday evening with the participation of Libya's permanent United Nations Ambassador, Abuzeid Omar Dorda. The Libyan diplomat said the award, which was officially granted to the Cuban leader in 1998, is "in recognition of Fidel's heroic role in the defense of the Cuban people, his resistance to imperialism during more than three decades and the Cuban leader's consolidation of the traditions of struggle in favor of truth, justice, peace and human rights." The leader of the Cuban Revolution, upon receiving the distinction, said the Cuban peoples' appreciation for this gesture should come as no surprise in light of so many demagogic accusations regarding Cuba's human rights record. He recalled that imperialism trained and sponsored the bloody dictatorships in Latin America that committed so many crimes against humanity -- complete with manuals on how to torture prisoners. Added to this, said the Cuban leader, are the indirect forms of aggression with the spreading of poverty, hunger and ignorance. Fidel Castro called Libyan leader Muammer Khaddafi "one of the great rebels of our epoch, a man with courage, a spirit of independence and honesty." *HUGO CHAVEZ INVITES FIDEL CASTRO TO VENEZUELA TO SIGN OIL AGREEMENT Caracas, October 9 (RHC)-- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has reiterated his invitation to Cuban President Fidel Castro for the signing of a bilateral oil agreement. In his weekly radio program "Alo Presidente" - "Hello President" -- Chavez also reiterated that Cuba will be able to foot part of the bill by offering medical assistance to Venezuela, insisting that the Caribbean island has achieved the greatest social advances in this region. The Venezuelan president rejected statements by the head of the Venezuelan Medical Federation, Jesus Mendez Quijada, who recently asserted that it would be illegal to bring Cuban doctors to the country. He termed as irresponsible Mendez Quijada's threat to protest the presence of Cuban health professionals in Venezuela. President Chavez said there are many communities in Venezuela that lack medical assistance because some Venezuelan doctors prefer to work for high salaries in private clinics with air-conditioning instead of travelling to the mountains on a mule. In another part of his radio program, the Venezuelan president paid homage to the memory of Che Guevara, saying that the Argentinean-Cuban revolutionary formed part of the continental army whose members died for dignity. *SOME US LEGISLATORS BLAST AGREEMENT SUPPOSEDLY EASING BLOCKADE Washington, October 9 (RHC)-- U.S. legislators supporting a change in Washington's Cuba policy have lashed out at a recent congressional agreement supposedly easing restrictions in the blockade of Cuba. According to Sunday's edition of The Washington Post, those who seemed happiest about the deal were those who had fought hardest against any easing of the embargo. Post staff writer Karen DeYoung quoted South Carolina Republican Representative Mark Sanford, who said he was dumbfounded. Connecticut Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd said the GOP leadership had acted shamefully, calling the deal "a real setback." According to The Washington Post, critics of the agreement say it's no agreement at all, but rather a heavy-handed imposition by a dictatorial GOP leadership that will not only leave sanctions largely in place, but will also tighten them in the crucial area of restricting American travel to the island. The news daily said that in declaring the deal done, critics are arguing that the Republican leadership overrode the will of both houses of Congress, expressed by a series of overwhelming anti-sanctions votes this year and last. For the second year in a row, the Senate voted last summer to end the food and medicine bans. The House, in its first-ever floor votes on the issue, voted 301 to 116 to lift the sanctions and 232 to 186 to end enforcement of restrictions on American travel to Cuba. As announced, the agreement ends all unilateral U.S. food and medicine embargoes currently in effect against Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and North Korea, but Cuba alone is prohibited from using U.S. government or commercial credits to purchase food or medicine. At the same time, the agreement also removes the president's ability to ease or tighten restrictions on American travel, freezing current bans into law despite the overwhelming House vote to do the opposite. According to Representative Sanford, the Republican Party has shamefully shown no consistency in their Cuba policy versus their China policy. The Washington Post article asserted that Senator Dodd said this is all about rhetoric and elections, that American farmers who want to do business with Cuba are in for a rude awakening, while the Cuban-American family that wants to go to Havana to see a dying father or mother will find that there are now no exceptions to trip-limiting rules. *CUBANS MARK 33RD ANNIVERSARY OF CHE'S DEATH IN COMBAT Havana, October 9 (RHC)-- Cubans remembered the 33rd anniversary of the death in combat of legendary guerrilla fighter, Ernesto Che Guevara. Thousands participated in voluntary work and other activities during which 146,000 first- graders officially became members of the Pioneers children's organization, and received their signature blue scarves. Cuban President Fidel Castro attended the main ceremony, which was held at Havana's Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Tribune -- located on the Malecon, facing the U.S. Interests Section. During the ceremony, 3000 first-graders became members of the Jose Marti Children's Pioneer Organization. The president of the children's organization, Marian Yanet Martin, stressed the noble ideals that Ernesto Che Guevara defended, and urged the youngsters to follow his example in defending the Cuban Revolution and socialism. Meanwhile, thousands of Havana residents paid homage to the beloved Argentine/Cuban hero by cleaning up work places, parks and neighborhoods, and collecting recyclable materials. *ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA REMEMBERED AROUND THE WORLD Havana, October 9 (RHC)-- Nicaraguans held a mass and a concert, and laid floral wreaths in public places to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the death in combat of legendary guerrilla fighter, Ernesto Che Guevara. The Merced Church located in Managua's Larreynaga neighborhood, offered a mass dedicated to the legendary guerrilla, which more than 300 people attended. In La Paz, Bolivia, cultural groups and social organizations on Sunday commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the death in combat of the Argentinean-Cuban guerrilla, Ernesto Che Guevara -- killed in Bolivia on October 8, 1967. The most significant homage was the three minutes of silence worldwide organized in Vallegrande, Bolivia, as a salute to memory of Che. Oswaldo "Chato" Peredo, doctor and former Bolivian guerrilla, who presides over the Che Foundation, told journalists that each year pilmagrages are made to Vallegrande. The town Vallegrande is near the school where Che was killed by the Bolivian army 33 years ago. The whereabouts of Che Guevaras's remains were unknown until the end of June of 1997, when, after months of searching, they were discovered in a common grave near Vallegrande. The remains were later taken to Cuba where they were buried in the Ernesto Che Guevara Memorial located in the central city of Santa Clara. And in Quito, Ecuador, solidarity with Cuba organizations remembered Ernesto Che Guevara in various activities throughout the country. Among the activities was one held at the Jose Marti Memorial in the Ecuadorian capital. *CONGRESS ON CARDIAC REHAB, SECONDARY PREVENTION BEGINS ON MONDAY Havana, October 9 (RHC)-- The First Ibero-American Congress on Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention began Monday in Havana with the participation of 800 specialists from some 20 countries. The 9th Congress of the International Association of Friends of the Heart will simultaneously take place in the Cuban capital. Both forums are promoting the prevention and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases, the first cause of death in Cuba and in the majority of developed countries. *FIRST SECRETARY OF CUBA'S YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE ARRIVES IN MEXICO Mexico City, October 9 (RHC)-- The First Secretary of Cuba's Young Communist League, Otto Rivero, is participating in a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Ibero-American Youth Organization which got underway on Monday in Mexico City. Rivero said that the event will be an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences on the needs of children and teenagers in the region. The Cuban youth leader pointed out that his participation in the event is an important opportunity to learn about the work plan of the Ibero-American Youth Organization for the next two years. After the meeting in Mexico City, the UJC Secretary will travel to Guatemala where he will meet with Cuban medical personnel who are offering their services free-of-charge in that Central American nation. *8th IBERO-AMERICAN CULTURE FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN HOLGUIN Havana, October 9 (RHC)-- The 8th Ibero-American Culture Festival will be held from October 24th to the 30th in the eastern province of Holguin. The festival is dedicated to Brazil, Portugal and Spain, especially the city of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The weeklong cultural festival will promote the life and work of renowned cultural personalities from the countries to which the festival is dedicated. Viewpoint: *FIDEL CASTRO PLANS VISIT TO VENEZUELA AS HAVANA-CARACAS TIES STRENGTHEN Since Hugo Chavez assumed the presidency of Venezuela, after being swept into office on the merits of his deeply rooted popular program and his Third World-based foreign policy, relations with Cuba have been steadily growing. Each country has its own ideology, its own aspirations and methods -- and there is no interference in each other's internal affairs. President Chavez was in Cuba recently, where he made a favorable impression with his affable manner and his disposition to cooperate on the development of the two countries. An example of that spirit of cooperation has been Venezuela's willingness to facilitate agreements with Central American and Caribbean countries, including Cuba, to supply them with oil at reasonable prices. If we considered the developing countries' soaring foreign debts, it is clear that most of the Third World is no condition to pay the high oil prices currently being charged on the world market. That is why the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are so grateful for the gesture of solidarity extended by Venezuela. Cuban President Fidel Castro has been invited to visit Venezuela later this month. The relationship between Havana and Caracas takes on even more significance since it underscores the sovereign will of the two nations to conduct their foreign relations without the interference by third countries. There are even rumors of a second, friendly baseball encounter between Cuba and Venezuela, in which the two presidents will coach their own national teams. Relations between Cuba and Venezuela are an example of how bilateral ties should be conducted between two neighboring countries. Mutual respect and friendship are possible despite differences in ideology, aspirations and methods. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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