Radio Havana Cuba-04 September 2000 23:45 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 04 September 2000 23:45 *VISITING PRESIDENT OF BELARUS AWARDED JOSE MARTI ORDER *DELEGATION FROM THE U.S. COUNCIL OF CHURCHES VISITS CUBA *HAVANA SELECTED TO HOST NEXT YEAR'S WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY *KUWAITI LEGISLATORS HOPE TO IMPROVE BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH CUBA *MOTHER OF TAMARA BUNKE CONTINUES HER VISIT TO CUBA *CUBA-GUINEA JOINT COOPERATION COMMISSION MEETS IN HAVANA THIS WEEK *CUBA EXPRESSES SATISFACTION WITH CONDITIONS FOR ATHLETES IN SYDNEY *U.S. CUBA POLICY IS DRIVEN FROM MIAMI, NOT WASHINGTON *VISITING PRESIDENT OF BELARUS AWARDED JOSE MARTI ORDER Havana, September 4 (RHC)-- Cuban President Fidel Castro awarded the visiting President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, with the Jose Marti Order -- Cuba's highest distinction. The Cuban government stated that the award was in recognition of Lukashenko's political leadership, which has been characterized by his firm positions and steadfast principles in the defense of his people and in his constant efforts to integrate and unite the former Soviet republics. In statements to the press following the awards ceremony, President Fidel Castro said Belarus is the former Soviet republic that has expressed the greatest concern in maintaining friendly relations with socialist Cuba following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Previously, the two leaders had signed a series of cooperation accords in virtually all fields, committing themselves to qualitatively elevating ties between the two countries and developing an equitable and mutually beneficial relation. Both leaders plan to attend this week's United Nations-sponsored Millenium Summit. Referring to the event, Cuban President Fidel Castro called it "the summit to save the millenium." *DELEGATION FROM THE U.S. COUNCIL OF CHURCHES VISITS CUBA Havana, September 4 (RHC)-- A U.S. religious delegation from the National Council of Churches of Christ is on a six-day working visit to Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban Council of Churches. The religious mission, which arrived on Saturday in Havana, is headed by the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, Reverend Bob Edgar. A number of pastors from different Protestant denominations also make up the delegation. The visitors have a tight schedule, meeting with Cuban church leaders over the weekend. Sunday morning, the group visited several churches where pastors delivered sermons. Later in the afternoon, the delegation toured Old Havana and met with historian Eusebio Leal, who gave them a detailed explanation of the World Heritage Site. Monday morning, the U.S. religious delegation visited a health care center in the Cuban capital, a special education school for mentally retarded and physically disabled children as well as Havana's Latin American School of Medicine. On Tuesday, Reverend Bob Edgar and his delegation are scheduled to visit Elian Gonzalez's elementary school in Cardenas, where they will give a donation of school supplies to the children of that Cuban. *HAVANA SELECTED TO HOST NEXT YEAR'S WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Havana, September 4 (RHC)-- The United Nations has selected Havana to host next year's World Environment Day, thanks to the island's internationally recognized achievements in the protection of the environment. The announcement was made on Monday by Cuba's Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Rosa Elena Simeon, who said that the Cuban people are aware of their environmental responsibilities at a grassroots level, which has contributed to the overall improvement of the island's environment. The Cuban official told reporters that a number of activities will be held leading to World Environment Day -- among them: contests, community projects and school activities. The main activity will be held in Havana in June 2001. *KUWAITI LEGISLATORS HOPE TO IMPROVE BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH CUBA Havana, September 4 (RHC)-- Kuwaiti legislators visiting Cuba expressed their desire to develop ties between both country's Parliaments, as well as in the economic and commercial field. During a meeting in Havana with Cuban parliamentarians, the Kuwaiti delegation condemned Washington's blockade against the island and reaffirmed Arab support for Cuba. The delegation -- from the parliament's Kuwait-Cuba Friendship Solidarity Group -- told reporters that due to Washington's anti-Cuba policy, there is a need to strengthen friendship ties with the island. *MOTHER OF TAMARA BUNKE CONTINUES HER VISIT TO CUBA Santa Clara, September 4 (RHC)-- Nadia Bunke, mother of Tamara Bunke -- known as "Tania la Guerrillera" -- Monday visited the offices of the Havana-based Organization in Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, OSPAAAL. The 88-year-old German woman, who is currently visiting the island accompanied by her grandchildren and great grandchildren, visited the remains of her daughter at the Ernesto Che Guevara Memorial in the central city of Santa Clara. Nadia Bunke told reporters 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 Che, Tania and other guerrilla fighters were discovered over the last two years in Bolivia where they were killed more than 30 years ago. The guerrilla fighter was the only woman combatant in the rebel group in Bolivia led by legendary guerrilla leader, Ernesto Che Guevara. Tania was killed in combat on August 31, 1967 in Bolivia. *CUBA-GUINEA JOINT COOPERATION COMMISSION MEETS IN HAVANA THIS WEEK Havana, September 4 (RHC)-- The Cuba-Guinea Joint Commission for Economic and Scientific Technical Cooperation will get underway on Thursday in Havana. A two-year bilateral cooperation program is presently in the works. Cuba and Guinea will also examine cooperation in the fields of health, fishing, construction, agriculture, education and trade. A commercial agreement between both countries' radio and television industries will also be examined. *CUBA EXPRESSES SATISFACTION WITH CONDITIONS FOR ATHLETES IN SYDNEY Sydney, September 4 (RHC)-- The president of the Cuban Sports Institute, Humberto Rodriguez, had words of praise for the conditions the Cuban delegation will enjoy at the Olympic Villa before and during the games. Upon his arrival in Sydney, Rodriguez visited the areas assigned to Cuba including lodging, medical and technical facilities. Rodriguez expressed satisfaction with the conditions created to compete and added that he hopes everything announced by organizers of the games will be fulfilled. The top Cuban sports official arrived from Japan, training site for athletes of several sports including baseball, boxing and judo. While in Japan, Rodriguez met with athletes and visited their training camps. The Cuban athletes are holding preparatory sessions with their Japanese counterparts. Judo experts, for example, held a warm-up session with some 50 local experts over the weekend. Rodriguez also met with the head of the Latin America Department of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Shio Yamada, and thanked Japan for its support of the Cuban athletes' training program. Some 200 Cuban athletes are currently in Japan for training. As a result of talks with Japanese sports authorities, the president of the Cuban Martial Arts Federation, Ramiro Chirino, signed a cooperation protocol with the dean of Japan's Nihon University, Hidetoshi Tanaka, for the exchange of Cuban and Japanese sumo fighters. Three Cuban experts are currently training in that Asian nation in order to attend the World Sumo Wrestling Championship set for Sao Paulo, Brazil, December 2nd and 3rd. Viewpoint: *U.S. CUBA POLICY IS DRIVEN FROM MIAMI, NOT WASHINGTON Given that the United States is just two months away from presidential elections, the recent diplomatic friction between Washington and Havana over migration matters should be considered of little importance. Nearly everything Washington does during this period is directly related to the electoral interests of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the Republicans are attacking the Clinton administration on all fronts and this can affect any measures adopted during this crucial moment. Both parties are extremely interested in winning the elections in the state of Florida, where there is a concentration of the richest and most extreme right-wing elements of the Cuban-American community -- known for making big campaign contributions to both Republicans and Democrats. Nonetheless, this time Cuban-Americans cannot guarantee that they can will deliver the state's votes to the candidate of their choice, since the community has lost face with many Americans after the kidnapping in Miami of Elian Gonzalez. Though both U.S. political parties adopted clumsy and contradictory positions on the case, the current administration in Washington finally chose to enforce the law and bring the affair to a positive conclusion. The entire episode illustrated to Americans and to the world that the small group of extremist Cuban-Americans in Miami that has directed U.S. policy toward Cuba for the past 40 years, is nothing but a house of cards. Hopefully, the next U.S. administration, whether Democratic or Republican, will see the need to draft a new Cuba policy based on the true interests of the United States, rather than on a small group of fanatics in southern Florida. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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