Radio Havana Cuba-22 September 2000 23:45 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 22 September 2000 23:45 . *MASS PROTESTS AT US INTERESTS SECTION AGAINST US POSITION ON AIR PIRACY *JAMAICA'S TOURISM AND SPORTS MINISTER VISITS CUBA *COSATU, SOUTH AFRICAN LABOR CONFEDERATION, CONDEMNS WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE *CONGRESS ON RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION WINDS UP ON FRIDAY IN HAVANA *LATIN AMERICANS, CARIBBEANS TO ATTEND WORLD SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA MEETING *"DESIGN, CULTURE AND THE CITY" MEETING PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER IN HAVANA *CUBA'S FIRST STUDENT SOCIAL WORK BRIGADE FORMED IN HAVANA . *MASS PROTESTS AT US INTERESTS SECTION AGAINST US POSITION ON AIR PIRACY Havana, September 22 (RHC) -- In the face of what Cuba is calling the shameless position adopted by Washington following this week's act of air piracy in Cuba, Cuban mass organizations have convened a protest next Monday in front of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. The call was issued Thursday evening at the conclusion of a televised round table discussion analyzing the events surrounding the theft of a Cuban crop duster in Pinar del Rio Province and the U.S. government's granting of assylum to those involved. Noting that one Cuban citizen died in the tragic episode, another was critically wounded and the lives of women and children were placed in danger, the Young Communist League and other mass organizations accused Washington of cynically promoting and encouraging not only illegal departures from Cuba, but also providing impunity for those involved in criminal actions. Alson noting that Washington does little to stop the growing contraband of illegal Cuban immigrants in speedboats leaving Florida, organizers of the protest pointed to the total absence of results at Thursday's U.S.-Cuba bilateral migratory talks in New York. As a result, says the statement issued by the Cuban mass organizations, the only alternative is to step up the struggle against what is being called Washington's murderous Cuban Adjustment Act -- which grants special and exclusive priviliges to undocumented Cubans. Participants at the round table discussion deplored Washington's insistence on converting air pirates who place lives in danger into innocent victims, as well as the U.S. government's refusal to provide Cuban authorities with information concerning episodes of this nature. *JAMAICA'S TOURISM AND SPORTS MINISTER VISITS CUBA Havana, September 22 (RHC)-Jamaica's Tourism and Sports Minister, Portia Simpson Mailler, has expressed interest in expanding bilateral ties with Cuba. The Jamaican official made the announcement on Thursday in Havana. Portia Simpson Mailler is heading a delegation, which intends to upgrade bilateral agreements and strengthen cooperation between the two Caribbean nations. The Jamaican Tourism and Sports Minister said that the tourism industry must develop new publicity projects aimed at the international market in order to increase the sector's earnings. The Jamaican government delegation also expressed an interest in receiving Cuban support in various sports disciplines. *COSATU, SOUTH AFRICAN LABOR CONFEDERATION, CONDEMNS WASHINGTON'S BLOCKADE Johannesburg, September 22 (RHC)-The 7th Congress of South Africa's Labor Confederation, COSATU, has unanimously approved a Resolution condemning Washington's blockade against Cuba. Union leaders said on Thursday in Johannesburg that the over one thousand 500 delegates attending the Congress ratified their solidarity with the Cuban people and their struggle to defend the island's independence and national sovereignty. General Secretary of the South African Labor Confederation, Zwelinzima Vavi, praised the historical relations between South Africa's largest labor union and Cuba's Workers Confederation, noting that both labor organizations will be strengthened during their upcoming bilateral meeting. The two labor confederations are scheduled to meet in November in Havana and participate in the World Solidarity With Cuba meeting, which will be November 10-14 in the Cuban capital. During the South African Labor Confederation Congress, Cuban Workers Confederation member, Ramon Cardona, thanked the South African people for their support of the Cuban Revolution. He stressed the importance of the Congress and reiterated the traditional fraternal ties of friendship that unite Cuban and South African workers. *CONGRESS ON RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION WINDS UP ON FRIDAY IN HAVANA Havana, September 22 (RHC)-- The future of railroads and possibilities for adapting this important means of transportation to current economic circumstances faced by nations in various regions of the world was among the issues examined during the 20th Pan American Congress on Railway Transportation, that wound up Friday at Havana's Convention Center. Cuban expert, Manuel Alepiz, head of the National Transportation Research Institute, told Radio Havana Cuba that the situation facing European railroads is very different from that of developing nations. However, noted Alepiz, the future of railroads worldwide is promising, depending on the specific situation of each country. The Cuban expert warned that privatization is not the universal formula to solve problems, and he mentioned Argentina as an example of negative results of privatization in the sector. Delegates participating in the event -some 300 from 14 nations- agreed that railroads will enter the new millenium with great perspectives, due to their energy saving potential and minimal damage to the environment. Though the 20th Pan American Congress wound up on Friday, many delegates are staying to participate in the 4th edition of the International Transportation Fair, inaugurated on Wednesday in the Cuban capital's Pabexpo Pavilion. On Saturday there will be an exhibition of antique steam locomotives. *LATIN AMERICANS, CARIBBEANS TO ATTEND WORLD SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA MEETING Havana, September 22 (RHC)-Some fifteen hundred Latin American and Caribbean delegates will participate in the Second World Solidarity with Cuba Meeting, November 10th to the 14th. The announcement was made by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, ICAP. Director of ICAP's Latin America and Caribbean Department, Marta Lidia Rodriguez, told Prensa Latina news agency on Friday that there are currently 465 Cuba Friendship Associations in 36 countries, evidence of the growing international support for the island. The Mexican delegation will be the largest with 300 participants, followed by Brazil, Argentina and Chile, while the Caribbean is expected to send some 200 delegates. Support gatherings are being held in some ten Latin American countries. *"DESIGN, CULTURE AND THE CITY" MEETING PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER IN HAVANA Havana, September 22 (RHC)-An international Meeting entitled "Design, Culture and the City", will be held in Havana November 15th through the 17th. The aim of the event is to examine solutions for the conservation and development of the Cuban capital's integral environment. Organizers told the press in Havana, that participants would discuss architecture and the environment, noting that one cannot speak of the dissemination of culture, without including the environment and population. *CUBA'S FIRST STUDENT SOCIAL WORK BRIGADE FORMED IN HAVANA The prolonged economic war against Cuba unleashed by the United States, and the collapse ten years ago of Socialism in Europe, has led to some negative social consequences on the island, especially in the capital. It has resurrected various criminal activities that had been practically eradicated, like prostitution, which had not appeared since the triumph of the Revolution in l959. A "get tough on crime" campaign, including longer sentences, has helped to reduce robbery, administrative corruption, and other crimes that emerge in difficult economic times. These relative new criminal activities occur mostly in Havana, the country's most densely populated center, which has led the government to implement a social work project in each of the capital's communities. Several days ago, Cuban President, Fidel Castro, launched a plan to place university students in the vanguard of a movement to help prevent social ills before they begin, by forming brigades which will function in all the city's neighborhoods. This week, the first Student Social Work Brigade was constituted in the Cuban capital. Brigade participants will dedicate their free time, mostly on Saturdays, to polling residents on community problems and their causes in order to effectively work with young people and children between 1 and 15 years of age. Speaking during the Brigade's inauguration ceremony, President Castro told the students, that though the task requires great sacrifice, it will bring them great satisfaction and will be a useful experience. Other Student Social Work Brigades will be formed in Havana, of which more than half the members will be the young women university students who have volunteered to participate in the innovative new movement. With these new student brigades, it has become clear that once again, it is the younger generations who are the greatest hope for a future of true liberty, social justice and progress. (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-4536 2000-Sep-23 01:32:51