Radio Havana Cuba-01 September 2000 23:45 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 01 September 2000 23:45 *FIDEL CASTRO WILL HEAD CUBAA'S DELEGATION TO THE UN MILLENMIUM SUMMIT *ALARCON'S SPEECH TO THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION DELIVERED IN HIS ABSENCE *CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ON FIRST DAY OF CLASSES *RUSSIA DENOUNCES WASHINGTON'S REFUSAL OF VISAS TO CUBAN, YUGOSLAVIAN DELEGATIONS *MOTHER OF TANIA THE GUERRILLA VISITS DAUGHTER'S TOMB IN THE CHE GUEVARA MEMORIAL *VIETNAMESE AMBASSADOR THANKS CUBA FOR SOLIDARITY *UN AGENCY GIVES CUBA HIGH MARKS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION *OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CONFIRMS MORE THAN 80 NEW CHANGES OF NATIONALITY FOR THE SYDNEY GAMES *CUBAN TRAINERS ARE IN SYDNEY WITH FOREIGN TEAMS *CUBA SENDS MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO CONTAIN OUTBREAK OF DENGUE IN EL SALVADOR *FIDEL CASTRO WILL HEAD CUBAA'S DELEGATION TO THE UN MILLENNIUM SUMMIT Havana, September 1 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro will head the island's delegation to the United Nations Summit of the Millennium, slated to take place next week in New York. According to a statement released by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, entry visas to attend the UN event were requested Friday morning in Havana for the leader of the Cuban Revolution, as well as Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other members of the delegation. At the same time, it was announced that the Cuban government has requested authorization to fly over and into U.S. territorial airspace, clearance at the international airport and permission for two Cubana airliners to land in New York City *ALARCON'S SPEECH TO THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION DELIVERED IN HIS ABSENCE Havana, September 1 (RHC)-- Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon would have delivered his speech to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in New York City on Friday -- but U.S. officials earlier this week denied granting him a visa. This morning at the United Nations, the text of the speech was delivered to all of the delegations present at the meeting. The speech by the president of Cuba's parliament addressed the issues of world poverty and a continued arms race, despite the so-called end of the Cold War. Alarcon asked what the future will bring for the billions of people who are poor and hungry, lacking education and health care. Cuba's representative to the Inter-Parliamentary Union questioned why military interventions and attacks against sovereign nations continue to take place in today's world -- calling for an end to the plunder of underdeveloped nations by the one superpower that thinks it owns the planet. The speech that would have been delivered today by Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon ends by issuing a call for all parlimentarians to work for a world where liberty, justice and democracy are not just empty words -- concluding that working for a better world is their duty before the people they represent. *CUBAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ON FIRST DAY OF CLASSES Havana, September 1 (RHC)-Cuban President Fidel Castro met on Friday morning in Havana with primary and secondary school principals, representatives from provincial universities as well as with students and officials from the Ministry of Education. The meeting, which was held in the capital's International Convention Center, was to analyze the upcoming school year. Meanwhile, two million 400 thousand students started their 2000-2001 school year with 47 new text books and a reduction in the number of students per classroom with the incorporation of new teachers this year. The number of polytechnic institutes specialized in computer sciences was increased from 8 to 14; nearly all of the island's 12 thousand 446 schools were refurbished and a series of new subjects were introduced into the curriculum. *RUSSIA DENOUNCES WASHINGTON'S REFUSAL OF VISAS TO CUBAN, YUGOSLAVIAN DELEGATIONS Moscow, September 1 (RHC)-Russia has denounced Washington's refusal to issue visas to the Cuban and Yugoslavian delegations that were to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting at UN headquarters in New York. According to a Russian Foreign Ministry note, the world's legislative leaders passed a joint declaration condemning Washington's decision. The Russian Foreign Ministry document charges that Washington failed to comply with a UN accord signed in June of 1947, which states that the US government promises to issue visas to foreign government officials regardless of the state of Washington's relations with the country. The president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, was to have participated in the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting, which began on Wednesday in New York. However, Washington refused to issue him a visa claiming that the meeting was unrelated to the United Nations. Cuba denounced the move as US arrogance, calling it another of Washington's aggressions against the island. *MOTHER OF TAMARA BUNKE VISITS DAUGHTER'S TOMB IN CHE GUEVARA MEMORIAL Santa Clara, September 1 (RHC)-Residents of the central city of Santa Clara on Thursday welcomed Nadia Bunke, the mother of Tamara Bunke known as "Tania the Guerrilla", who fought with Che Guevara's internationalist guerrillas in Bolivia. The 88 year-old Bunke visited the memorial where the remains of her daughter are laid to rest. German Nadia Bunke, told the press that she is grateful to Cuban President Fidel Castro for his support in transferring her daughter's remains from Bolivia to Cuba. The remains of Tania, Ernesto "Che" Guevara and other guerrilla fighters were discovered over the last two years in Bolivia where they had fallen in battle more than 30 years ago. After laying a floral wreath at the tomb of her daughter, Nadia Bunke toured historical sites in the province and was presented with portraits of her daughter made by a young Cuban artist. Tamara Bunke or Tania the Guerrilla was the only women combatant in the rebel group in Bolivia led by legendary guerrilla fighter, Ernesto Che Guevara. Tania was killed in combat on August 31st, 1967 in Bolivia. *VIETNAMESE AMBASSADOR THANKS CUBA FOR SOLIDARITY Havana, September 2 (RHC)-The Vietnamese ambassador in Havana, Thai Van Lun and the Vice President of the Cuban Parliament, Jaime Crombet have underscored the heroism of the Vietnamese people on the 55th anniversary of the Asian country's independence. The Vietnamese ambassador thanked the Cuban people for the solidarity they offered Vietnam during the 1960s and '70s. The Cuban official stressed the qualities of legendary Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh, as well as the intelligence of his people. *UN AGENCY GIVES CUBA HIGH MARKS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Havana, September 1 (RHC)--The UN'S Multilateral Fund for the Montreal Protocol on the Protection of the Ozone Layer has praised Cuba's efforts in protecting the ozone layer. The president of the Fund's executive board and secretary of India's Ministry of the Environment and Forests, Viswanath Anand, said Thursday in Havana, that the island's positive results are seen in the implementation of projects to reduce substances that destroy the ozone layer. The UN official, who is on the island with various co-workers, met with high-ranking Cuban officials and specialists, among them, the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Dr. Rosa Elena SimeonThe Cuban government is committed to eliminating all noxious gas emissions and substances damaging to the ozone layer by the year 2010. Cuba is a signatory of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol. *OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CONFIRMS MORE THAN 80 NEW CHANGES OF NATIONALITY FOR THE SYDNEY GAMES As of August 25th, a total of 81 new cases of athletes who changed their nationalities had been approved for the Olympic Games, according to a high ranking International Olympic Committee official. Cuban daily Granma journalist Miguel Hernandez contacted Pere Miro, Head of the IOC's Foreign Relations Department with National Olympic Committees. Miro told Hernandez that England is the country that has presented the largest number of changes in its delegation with 10. The US follows with 9, Azerbaidjan 7, Germany 6 and France 6. According to the IOC official, the sports reporting more nationality changes in light of the Sydney games are track and field with 17; boxing, wrestling and weight-lifting with five and canoeing, also with five. Before 1992, the IOC eligibility commission processed 47 controversial citizenships, but the tendency has been on the rise. And according to Pere Miro, monetary reasons are Number One, even over romance or other personal reasons for the change. The latest developments in which Cuba has demanded respect for the Olympic Charter regarding the drain of sports talents by rich countries has forced IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch to get involved. Samaranch has reiterated his support for Article 46, and says he will study the current situation -- urging all international federations to unify their position regarding the implementation of the Olympic Charter. At the Atlanta 1996 games, at least 90 athletes competed under a different nationality. Regarding the Olympics, the list is long, but maybe the first and most noted case was that of Bulgarian weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu, who left his country and went to Turkey in 1986. At that time, a wave of diplomatic protests followed. In the end, the Bulgarian who became Turkish had to pay one million dollars in compensation to Bulgaria. *CUBAN TRAINERS ARE IN SYDNEY WITH FOREIGN TEAMS A total of 28 Cuban trainers will be competing at the upcoming games with teams from other countries, according to the president of the Cuban Olympic Committee, Jose Ramon Fernandez. Trainers work with Dignity, said Fernandes, and their aim is to prepare their pupils to win. If they beat a Cuban athlete in any competition, added Fernandez, then we have to strive to be better. Cuba sends good trainers to other countries and their work is to prepare local athletes to take first prize. Currently, some 500 specialists offer their services in 46 countries while more than 9000 of them have rendered their services in 100 countries since 1970, when Cuba began this solidarity drive. According to statistics, Honduras will be counting on three Cuban Judo trainers while Nicaragua has two in that same discipline and one in weightlifting. Ecuador has one trainer in shooting and a therapist. El Salavador has a track and field trainer, a sports advisor and a sports psychologist. Uruguay, Ghana, Cape Verde, Iran, Thailand and India have one trainer each in different sports while others on the list are from South Africa, Italy, Colombia and Algeria. *Viewpoint: *CUBA SENDS MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO CONTAIN OUTBREAK OF DENGUE IN EL SALVADOR As usual, in the case of natural disasters or epidemics affecting Latin America, Cuba has sent medical aid to El Salvador to help contain an outbreak of dengueAlthough Salvadoran authorities have not yet officially declared a state of emergency, the number of infected persons continues to rise, exceeding bed capacities in the country's hospitals. Salvadoran health authorities have reported some 784 cases of dengue and the figure is likely to increase, given the existing breeding grounds of aedes aegyptis -- carrier of the lethal disease. Dengue has already claimed 15 lives in El Salvador, compared to 5 during a previous outbreak of the disease in 1995; reason enough to declare a state of emergency. The fragile Salvadoran economy is also suffering the impact of dengue, due to growing absenteeism in the work place. The proliferation of the disease has once again brought to the surfice the country's inadequate health system, incapable of solving the current situation. As a poor Third World nation, El Salvador lacks the infrastructure as well as the material resources to treat dengue patients--each one requiring between 300 and 700 dollars a day worth of medical treatment. In Cuba, dengue has been under control for some 18 years now after the disease claimed 158 lives back in 1981. Cuban health cooperation in El Salvador takes place amid the opposition of some ultra-right wing politicians in the Central American nation who, placing personal interests above the well-being of their constituencies, have tried hard to obstruct efforts by the mayor of San Salvador, Hector Silva, to speed up the arrival of medical teams from the Caribbean island. Despite the absence of a formal bilateral agreement, Cuba has repeatedly expressed its willingness to put the expertese of its health professionals at the service of Salvadorians or any other people in need. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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-8216 2000-Sep-02 02:11:13