Radio Havana Cuba-24 April 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 24 April 2001 . *SUGAR HARVEST AT FEVER PITCH IN ADVANCE OF COMING RAINS *CUBAN DOCTORS HAVE DRAMATIC EFFECT ON HEALTH OF NATIONS THEY SERVE *CUBAN MEDICAL ADVANCES PRAISED BY PAN-AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION *BE MACHO AND DIE, YOUNG SAYS CUBAN PSYCHOLOGIST *VENEZUELA TO JOIN FREE TRADE OF AMERICAS ONLY IF IT BENEFITS ITS PEOPLE *BOLIVIAN COCA FARMERS, CAMPESINOS BRUTALLY REPRESSED BY POLICE *UN SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS SANCTIONS AGAINST UNITA IN ANGOLA *GUATEMALANS EXPRESS THEIR CONCERN FOR LACK OF JUSTICE *Viewpoint: WASHINGTON STILL COVETS THE PANAMA CANAL . *SUGAR HARVEST AT FEVER PITCH IN ADVANCE OF COMING RAINS Havana, 24th April (RHC)--Cuban Sugar Ministry officials are moving fast to bring in the remains of the island's sugar crop before the rainy season makes harvesting difficult. With production levels of the island's principal export earner already down from last year due to unseasonable rains, cane cutting and milling are expected to continue well into May. Harvesting has usually come to an end by the end of April. In the province of Las Tunas the situation is especially urgent, with plenty of cane still waiting to be cut. Harvesting machines from all over the country are converging on the area to make up a 90,000 ton deficit in expected production. The 14 mills operating in Las Tunas are not working to their full capacity, in spite of the fact that cane yields are at their highest with the weather now perfect for cutting. With international sugar prices almost double last year's level, the Sugar Ministry has decided it is economically viable to put the extra effort and expense into extending the harvest period. Once the rains start, however, it will be impossible to continue cutting and the island's current production shortfall may not be made up. *CUBAN DOCTORS HAVE DRAMATIC EFFECT ON HEALTH OF NATIONS THEY SERVE Havana, 24 April (RHC)--According to statistics published in Guatemala, the intervention of Cuban doctors in that country has resulted in significant decreases in infant mortality. The Guatemalan Ambassador to Cuba, Hugo Guzman, told IPS News that with some 500 Cuban doctors working in his country, there have been gigantic steps in developing the nation's health system. At the time of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, when the first doctors were sent by Havana to help the nations of Central America recover, the Guatemalan infant mortality rate was 40 per 1000 live births. It now stands at 18.6 -- a figure directly attributable to the work of the Cubans. Similar successes have been logged in Honduras, as well as in areas of Africa. Having recognized the need to do something on a more long-term basis, Havana decided to offer young people from the poorest regions of Latin America and Africa the chance to become doctors. The unwritten commitment of each and every student is to return to their countries and practice their skills for a period of ten years in the poorest and most needy of their communities, thereby replacing the Cuban doctors. Thus, young people from 24 different nations and 67 different ethnic and cultural groups are now studying medicine in Cuba at the Latin American School of Medicine. Most of the students would have found it impossible to study medicine at home without the financial grant they have obtained from Cuba to do so here in Havana. The six-year course provides everything: lodging, clothing, food, books and a small amount of spending money. Located on the edge of Havana, the school is rapidly bringing itself up to its capacity of training 5,011 students to become doctors. Recently, 12 students from low-income communities in the United States joined the school. The Vice-Rector of the school, Luis Angel Selva, reports that the success rate after the first course was 79.8% which, he said, was very high. Each and every student who graduates from the school, he added, would be able to take any exam given to them on like subjects both at home or abroad. *CUBAN MEDICAL ADVANCES PRAISED BY PAN-AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION Havana, 24th April (RHC)--The director of the Pan-American Health Organization, George Alleyne, arrived in Havana Monday to participate in the Fifth Regional Congress on Health Sciences. He was met at the airport by Cuba's Minister of Public Health, Carlos Dotres. During a press conference given with Prensa Latina news agency, Alleyne -- who is Jamaican -- praised the development achieved by Cuba in the field of medicine and the island's support of his organization as well as the World Health Organization. He said that Cuba is a beacon of experience for the underdeveloped nations of the Third World. Alleyne added that in conjunction with Cuba, the Pan-American Health Organization was strongly backing the development of virtual health libraries available to anyone with Internet access, as well as via networks established by health authorities. Havana has been a leader in this field and the delegates to the congress are expected to be given the chance to experience the island's advances first-hand. The Fifth Regional Congress on Health Sciences will continue through Friday of this week at the capital's Convention Center. *BE MACHO AND DIE, YOUNG SAYS CUBAN PSYCHOLOGIST Havana, 24th April (RHC)--To be a man in today's macho society is not easy, reports a Cuban psychologist, who says that men's health can be severely affected by the expectations of the society in which they live. Patricia Ares Muzio, who is coordinating a group of family studies for the Faculty of Psychology in Havana, reports that even those men who don't seek to maintain a macho image are prevented from changing by their peers. This leads to situations in which not only do women lose on a social level but men's health also suffers -- both mental and physical. A large number of young men lose their lives performing acts of machismo involving alcohol, sex, driving and dares, added Ares. Such men also live on average 7 years less than women and are more prone to suicide, she stated. They lose the opportunity to express their feelings, enjoy open communication with others, enjoy home life to its fullest and be totally involved in the raising of their children. Today's women are seeking a different type of man, says Ares Muzio. They don't want the machismo of the past. They want men who are more in touch with their own feelings, as well as those of their partners. Women in Cuba have full equality under the law and many want their partners to share equally in home-making tasks; they want somebody to talk to and they want fathers truly to raise their children and not just be there when they are conceived. *VENEZUELA TO JOIN FREE TRADE OF AMERICAS ONLY IF IT BENEFITS ITS PEOPLE Caracas, April 24 (RHC)--Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has emphasized that his country will only sign on to the Free Trade Associaton of the Americas if it is beneficial for the people. In statements to reporters upon his return to Caracas from the Summit of the Americas in Quebec, the Venezuelan leader said that the so-called regional free trade area does not yet exist and that its creation is not written in stone. Hugo Chavez affirmed that before it is adopted by Venezuela, it would be taken to a popular plebiscite -- noting that true participatory democracy is practiced in his country. The Venezuelan president said that he plans to hold debates on the concept of a regional free trade zone -- with the participation of workers, students and experts in economic affairs. He expressed his doubts that an agreement among all 34 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can be worked out by December 2005, noting that he reluctantly signed the document this weekend in Quebec "with reserve." Chavez stated that there are a number of problems with the Free Trade Area of the Americas as it is currently conceived. Among those problems are trade barriers and protectionist measures set up by the United States. *BOLIVIAN COCA FARMERS, CAMPESINOS BRUTALLY REPRESSED BY POLICE La Paz, April 24 (RHC)--Bolivian campesinos and coca farmers -- protesting the government's eradication policies -- were brutally repressed by police and security forces on Monday after they arrived in La Paz, the capital. Following a two-week, 400-kilometer march from Cochabamba, the campesinos entered a militarily occupied city, according to several eye-witnesses. One human rights activist and a leader in the Bolivian parliament, Sacha Llorenti, said that the repression was -- in his words -- "savage and indiscriminate." He stated that security forces attacked the farmers -- numbering nearly 1,000 -- as they were entering La Paz, on the final stretch of their march. Police were also reportedly waiting for the marchers when they arrived in the Bolivian capital, and met them with tear-gas and rubber bullets. One downtown park -- the San Francisco Plaza -- was occupied by police, who prevented the campesinos from holding a rally they planned. A leader of the Bolivian coca farmers, Evo Morales, told reporters that the campesinos would give the government another 24 hours -- until tomorrow, Wednesday -- to meet their demands or they would begin blocking roads in the central region of El Chapare. In related news, police and security forces forcibly broke up a roadblock set up by campesinos on the main highway linking Bolivia andArgentina. Police used tear-gas to disperse the protesters who had been holding the road since last week. *UN SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS SANCTIONS AGAINST UNITA IN ANGOLA Luanda, April 24 (RHC)--The decision to extend sanctions against UNITA forces for another seven months has been well received in Angola. Monday's edition of the daily "Jornal de Angola" headlined the United Nations Security Council decision, which was adopted unanimously. International sanctions against the terrorist group will be extended until October, when they will once again come up for consideration. According to the Luanda newspaper, UNITA continues its paramilitary attacks against civilians -- which have been carried out for more than 25 years. "Jornal de Angola" reports that Jonas Savimbi and his terrorist band have recently begun to steal cattle and commit other crimes, in addition to armed attacks on civilians. It was noted that direct attacks by UNITA against government military positions have greatly decreased -- given that unarmed civilians are much easier targets to kill. *GUATEMALANS EXPRESS THEIR CONCERN FOR LACK OF JUSTICE Guatemala City, April 24 (RHC)--Dozens of humanitarian and religious organizations in Guatemala have expressed their grave concern about what they describe as the lack of justice in that Central American country. A statement issued by the Monsignor Gerardi Movement calls on the Guatemalan government to stop the violations of human rights and begin to respect the government-rebel peace accords signed in December 1996. Made up of 29 organizations and more than 20 Catholic congregations, the Monsignor Gerardi Movement takes its name from Bishop Juan Gerardi, who was brutally murdered in Guatemala City in April 1998. Speaking on behalf of the Movement, Bishop Mario Rios Montt, who succeeded Monsignor Juan Gerardi, had stern words for the Guatemalan government. Bishop Rios Montt said the Gerardi murder trial currently underway is getting nowhere, and is facing further obstacles to find justice. Observers note that one month after the trial finally began -- following death threats against judicial authorities -- little or no concrete progress has been made. Religious and human rights activists plan to commemorate the third anniversary of the assassination of Bishop Juan Gerardi who was killed three years ago on April 26th. Among the activities planned over the next several days will be peaceful demonstrations, candlelight vigils and a special Memorial Mass. *Viewpoint: WASHINGTON STILL COVETS THE PANAMA CANAL Washington has not abandoned its intentions to return to the Panama Canal since the last US soldier left the former U.S. military enclave on December 31, 1999. The U.S.'s obsession to repossess the canal zone has led it to exert a variety of pressures on Panama, including blackmail, insults and arrogance. The Panamanian government recently admitted that the White House pressured it into an agreement that would allow what they call, "visiting US forces" to enter Panama under special status in return for advances on other bilateral issues. Panama's Foreign Minister, Jose Miguel Aleman, asserted that a recent proposal by Canal administrators to negotiate the participation of US federal agencies in the Canal zone was conditioned by the US embassy in Panama on the establishment of the so-called "visiting forces" agreement. The Mireya Moscoso administration has considered the agreement inappropriate, noting that it is an unacceptable concession of the country's sovereignty, particularly for Panama -- a nation that had a large part of its territory occupied by the US military for nearly a century. However, the Panamanian government is willing to receive US cooperation, particularly to help clean up the contaminated target range used by the U.S. military since the 1920s. Before leaving Panama, Washington unsuccessfully tried to establish a so-called multi-national anti-drug center in the canal zone. The facility was designed as a cover for an extended presence of US military there after the year 2000. During the process of returning the canal to Panamanian authorities, as stipulated by the Torrijos-Carter accords, U.S. lawmakers made absurd claims that China might gain control of the canal. Their concern arose over the presence in the area of Hutchinson Whampoa, a Chinese transportation company that had signed a contract to operate in the Canal. The absurd hypothesis was later laid to rest by the U.S. State Department itself. Washington's intentions become even more obvious when we examine the Pentagon's conceptions of the Panama Canal. It is not by mere chance, say experts, that the more than 3000 hectares that made up the Canal's shooting range are impossible to decontaminate. However, according to the Torrijos-Carter accords, Washington was expected to return the area free of any life-threatening materials. But the Pentagon claims that it lacks the necessary technology to clean the area without damaging the local ecology. What we are seeing is an old trick: creating obstacles aimed at discrediting Panama's ability to manage the Canal, a waterway used by some 14,000 vessels annually, endowing it with strategic value for international trade as well as for U.S. geopolitical goals. The Canal has continued to function properly under Panamanian management; all of Washington's insinuations and speculations have collapsed in the face of the capabilities of Panamanian Canal authorities. We must not forget that the Panama Canal was a strategic center in U.S. military doctrine. Some 40,000 Latin American troops were trained at the notorious School of the Americas, which for many years was based in the Canal zone. Many of those trained at the so-call "School of Assassins" were among the region's best-known killers. Panama and the region must remain vigilant to insure that the Canal remains under the control of those who truly own it. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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