Radio Havana Cuba-09 August 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 09 August 2001 . *MIAMI HERALD COVERS CANF'S TIES TO TERRORISTS *PANAMANIAN ORGANIZATIONS BRING CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST POSADA CARRILES *CHE'S DAUGHTER SEEKS MEMORIES OF HER FATHER IN ALGERIA *CUBA SIGNS NEW CUSTOMS ACCORD WITH SPAIN *WELSH EDUCATION MINISTER, ON HOLIDAY IN CUBA, MEETS WITH OFFICIALS *ARGENTINA'S JUDGES ARE NOW AFTER KISSINGER *US NAVY ABRUPTLY ENDS VIEQUES EXERCISE AFTER 68 ARRESTS, 2 INJURIES *PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES CLAIM 3 BOMBS AGAINST BANAMEX BANK *US ENVIRONMENTALISTS OPEN NEW FRONT AGAINST BUSH ADMINISTRATION *ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ANTI-TERRORISM POLICE INVESTIGATED FOR G8 SUMMIT BRUTALITY *Viewpoint: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? . *MIAMI HERALD COVERS CANF'S TIES TO TERRORISTS Miami, August 9 (RHC)--A column in the Thursday edition of the "Miami Herald" has highlighted the Cuban-American National Foundation's on-going ties with terrorists. In reference to the major split in the ultra-rightwing organization, Miami Herald staff writer Liz Balmaseda wrote that she isn't so sure the "new and improved" Foundation is entirely new or improved. In "Cuban Foundation Needs Bold Stand," Balmaseda reviewed the case of convicted terrorist Virgilio Paz Romero, released two weeks ago from immigration detention thanks to the efforts of CANF lawyers. Paz Romero was convicted in 1991 for his part in the 1976 car-bomb murder in Washington DC of exiled Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and his associate Ronnie Moffit. The Miami Herald columnist pointed out that Paz Romero only served half of his 12-year sentence before being paroled in 1998. At that time, the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, enforcing 2-year-old laws against immigrant felons, took him into custody and put him on deportation hold. Balmaseda noted that Paz Romero's crime ranks among the most notorious acts of terrorism during the 1970s, but lawyers for the Cuban-American National Foundation diligently fought for his release. She writes that it certainly appears like just another incident of terrorist-coddling by the foundation, and that it is no secret that foundation veterans enjoy alliances with some of the exile community's most infamous terrorists. Balmaseda said that just as the foundation used the Paz Romero case to make a statement about wrongly detained immigrants, it should seize the moment and make a more politically risky statement, one against the often-hailed terrorists of Miami's violent past. *PANAMANIAN ORGANIZATIONS BRING CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST POSADA CARRILES Panama City, August 9 (RHC)--Three labor and student organizations in Panama have brought criminal charges against terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, arrested in connection with an assassination plot against Cuban President Fidel Castro. Attorneys for the three organizations announced that under Panamanian law, their clients have the right to file charges as possible victims of a plan to blow up a hall in the University of Panama, where President Castro was to deliver a speech. They said the 40 kilograms of C-4 explosive to be used by Posada Carriles and his three Cuban-American accomplices would have killed some 2,000 people in the hall, where members of all three organizations were present. Last month, in an extensive letter to the "Miami Herald" newspaper, Posada Carriles denied planning to assassinate the Cuban leader, and denied blowing up a Cuban civilian airliner in 1976, for which he was convicted in Venezuela. In a July, 1998 interview with "The New York Times," Posada Carriles admitted to blowing up the airplane and receiving financial assistance from the Cuban-American National Foundation. He also publicly admitted to the series of bomb explosions several years ago in Cuban tourism installations. He now says these were false statements, prompted by "threats" from the paper's journalists who interviewed him. An Italian tourist was killed in those terrorist attacks. In reference to the victim, Posada Carriles is quoted as having said: "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time." *CHE'S DAUGHTER SEEKS MEMORIES OF HER FATHER IN ALGERIA Algiers, August 9 (RHC)--The daughter of Ernesto Che Guevara, Aleida Guevara March, who is the guest of honor of the Cuban delegation to the XV World Youth and Students Festival in Algeria, said that she hopes to find memories of her father during her trip. Che Guevara traveled to Algeria a total of four times while he was an official of the Cuban government. His daughter recalled that in 1965 her father wrote about the struggle for freedom the Algerian people were waging against French colonialism. She said that the selection of an African country for the Festival was very important, since it is the continent that is the most economically disadvantaged on the planet and that it was so badly pillaged, exploited and discriminated against for so many centuries. Aleida Guevara added that many got rich off the back of Africa but that she has profited from its cultural heritage, which has been assimilated in many nations, such as Cuba. Accompanied by 750 young delegates from 57 different countries in the cuban delegation, Che's daughter went on to say that she had attended the 1978 Festival in Havana while she was still a schoolgirl. She also went to the last Festival, in Havana in 1997. Aleida was received with warmth in Algiers where some of the delegations displayed images of her father at the opening session. Che gave his last public speech in Algeria in 1965 at the Economic Seminar of Afro-Asian Solidarity. She said that although she is her father's daughter, she is also a daughter of the Cuban people, into whose hands Che Guevara had entrusted her welfare when he left for his last campaign in Bolivia in 1965. *CUBA SIGNS NEW CUSTOMS ACCORD WITH SPAIN Havana, August 9 (RHC)--Cuba and Spain have signed a customs accord in an effort by both nations to work together against drug trafficking and art smuggling. The document was signed by the head of the Cuban customs service, Pedro Pupo Pérez, and the Spanish Ambassador to Havana, Jesús Gracia Aldez. Cuba has similar agreements with the governments of Great Britain and France and is negotiating others with customs authorities in Italy, China, Russia and Iran. Security at Cuban airports has been beefed up recently in an effort to prevent the flight of the island's cultural heritage as more people seek to smuggle out artifacts for sale at considerable profit abroad. The island is also a signatory to multilateral accords settled in Mexico that regulate customs cooperation between Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Havana has similar agreements with other Caribbean nations. *WELSH EDUCATION MINISTER, ON HOLIDAY IN CUBA, MEETS WITH OFFICIALS Havana, August 9 (RHC)--On Wednesday, the new British Ambassador to Havana, Paul Hare, received Jane Davidson, the Welsh Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, who is on a personal holiday to Cuba. Davidson, commenting on her visit, said that "Because I have always been impressed with the Cuban education system, I couldn't come on holiday and not find an opportunity to speak with members of the Cuban government and National Assembly about education here. "I have had a very interesting two days... I spent one of them in Holguín with the provincial director of education and colleagues from the university and medical school there. I have just spent a wonderful morning in Havana discussing links with Wales with the two ministers responsible for education and higher education in schools here. I am confident that as a result of my visit we will develop links with Wales. "I will be returning home and promoting the visit of a delegation from Cuba's higher education ministry, which I will be very pleased to host. There are lots of areas of common interest between Cuba and Wales, particularly in the literacy program and the work we are doing to promote a pre-school program, which is very advanced in Cuba. We are committed to education as a way out of poverty for our people and developing our economy most effectively. I had an absolutely wonderful visit and I very much look forward to the next time I come to Cuba." *ARGENTINA'S JUDGES ARE NOW AFTER KISSINGER Buenos Aires, August 9 (RHC)--Judicial authorities in Argentina want to question former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concerning human rights abuses during the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and '80s. The Argentine governmental news agency TELAM reported today that federal Judge Rodolfo Canicoba is planning to ask the US judiciary for permission to question Kissinger concerning his knowledge of "Operation Condor," the regional coordination between military regimes to exterminate all opposition. In the case opened by Judge Canicoba, former Argentine dictator Jorge Videla is currently under house arrest, while the court has requested the extradition of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, former Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner -- in exile in Brazil -- and former Uruguayan army chief Julio Vadora, among other military officers in those countries. Argentina has now become the third country to request information from Kissinger, following France and Chile. A court in France attempted to question the former Secretary of State concerning the forced disappearances in Chile of five French citizens, while Chile wants to question him concerning the summary execution of American journalist Charles Horman during the Pinochet coup. *US NAVY ABRUPTLY ENDS VIEQUES EXERCISE AFTER 68 ARRESTS, 2 INJURIES San Juan, August 9 (RHC)--On Wednesday evening, the US Navy abruptly concluded Wednesday evening its military exercises on Vieques, during which 68 civil disobedience protesters were arrested and at least two injured. US military police reportedly used tear gas, pepper gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators, although the incidents were barely reported by the international media. The military target practice, which were to last 10 days but concluded after only a week, were the most intense in at least the last several years. Tremors from the intense bombardments reportedly damaged some homes and frightened children, while the cannon fire was heard on nearby Culebra Island. Civil disobedience protesters forced the US Navy to suspend the target practice on several occasions, with different groups penetrating the 22-kilometer-long fence separating the military and civilian areas. *PEOPLE'S REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES CLAIM 3 BOMBS AGAINST BANAMEX BANK Mexico City, August 9 (RHC)--In Mexico, the People's Revolutionary Armed Forces have taken responsibility for three bomb explosions Wednesday evening at the offices of the Banamex Bank in Mexico City. The explosions occurred within a period of ten minutes, sparking panic in the capital. Despite being one of the most dangerous capitals in the world, Mexico City residents are not accustomed to bomb attacks. The explosions at the country's most important financial institution caused little damage; one person was slightly wounded by flying glass. Local media are attributing the attack to last week's fusion of Banamex with the US giant Citigroup, which sparked widespread discontent. The People's Revolutionary Armed Forces, known by its acronym FARP, appeared in Mexico's Federal District for the first time in April of last year after allegedly splitting from the Popular Revolutionary Army, the EPR, based in the southern state of Guerrero. The EPR came into existence in 1996 on the first anniversary of the Aguas Blancas police massacre of campesino activists. Another guerrilla organization in Mexico, the People's Revolutionary Army Insurgency -- which appeared in 1998 -- is also believed to have arisen from the EPR. According to the Mexican news daily "La Jornada," there are more than 20 guerrilla groups in the country, though authorities only recognize three. *US ENVIRONMENTALISTS OPEN NEW FRONT AGAINST BUSH ADMINISTRATION Washington, August 9 (RHC)--Environmentalists in the United States have opened a new front of battle against the George Bush administration. following revelations of the serious contamination of the country's beaches. A study released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the NRDC, found that 11,000 coastal areas in the US are closed due to high levels of bacterial contamination. The NRDC stated that this constitutes two-fifths of all the country's beaches, and is double the number of coastal areas that were closed last year. The study reveals that most of the beaches from San Diego to Saint Croix, in the Virgin Islands, and from Jones Beach in New York to the Ernest Hemmingway Key West in Florida are little better than sewers. The Natural Resources Defense Council announced an offensive to pressure the Bush administration to put into effect coastal cleanup measures announced by former President Bill Clinton last January, shortly before leaving office. NRDC vice director Nancy Stoner charged that the Bush administration has indefinitely suspended application of those measures. The environmental organization's findings have been called dramatic: 85% percent of the 11,270 closed beaches register a concentration of bacteria far beyond federal standards. In 40% of these cases, the causes of contamination are unknown, according to the study. Only eight coastal areas, in the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, passed the test, while Louisiana and Oregon were found to have no coastal contamination controls whatsoever. *ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ANTI-TERRORISM POLICE INVESTIGATED FOR G8 SUMMIT BRUTALITY Rome, August 9 (RHC)--Judicial authorities in Genoa have confirmed an investigation is underway of the city's assistant chief of anti-terrorism police under suspicion of brutality against anti-globalization protesters during the G-8 Summit. On Thursday, Genoa district attorneys reportedly saw filmed footage of Alessandro Perugini kicking a young demonstrator who was sitting on the ground surrounded by 5 or 6 police officers carrying billy clubs. The footage -- which was posted on the Internet -- was shot by the Italian news daily "Corriere della Sera" and the country's public TV network RAI. On August 6 and 7, RAI transmitted the footage during news programs on its 3 channels. Italian confirmation of the investigation coincides with pressure on authorities from the governments of the United States and Austria. Washington has expressed concern over the arrest of a 21-year old student, Susanna Thomas, a devote Quaker and religious pacifist. Thomas was detained shortly after the G-8 Summit with some 15 members of an Austrian theatre group. Austrian President Thomas Klestil has called on Italian authorities to release the group, while the Austrian attorney representing them has charged that they were violently mistreated after their arrest. *Viewpoint: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? U.S. Navy brass never tire of proclaiming that the Puerto Rican island municipality of Vieques is the "crown jewel" of air, sea and land training in the Atlantic. They repeat this litany despite that fact that the majority of Vieques residents, and Puerto Ricans in general, strongly oppose the U.S. Navy presence since 1941 on the so-called "Isla Nena." Though president George W. Bush, under heavy public pressure, ordered the Navy to find a new shooting range and practice area for 2003, the Pentagon has not given up the idea of continuing to use Vieques for its war games and military experiments. However, the argument that Vieques is "indispensable" to Navy training contradicts a proposal by Congressional representative Adam Putnam to transfer the military exercises to Avon Park Navy Base in Florida. The Republican legislator noted that much of what is being done in Vieques could just as easily be mounted in Avon Park where it would "benefit the local community." Avon Park, on Florida's west coast, covers an area of about 260 square kilometers where Navy pilots practiced bombing raids during the Second World War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. Ground forces, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard all use the base for their training exercises. Another site that has been suggested as a substitute for Vieques is Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, near Pensacola, Florida. The only problem with these suggestions is that there is still no word on how the residents of those communities feel about being submitted to land and sea bombing raids and military experiments. The Navy claims it won't fire off live ammunition, nor will it employ weapons using depleted uranium, which have been shown to have caused cancer in residents of Vieques. An investigation by a Harvard graduate has confirmed that the U.S. Navy uses cancer-causing chemicals in its maneuvers, which are also blamed for causing anemia, skin diseases and blood pressure problems in the population. Vieques residents now have 27 times more chance of getting cancer than other Puerto Ricans. They have a 73 percent higher incidence of heart disease, 64 percent more high blood pressure, and 58 percent more diabetes. Aware of those shocking statistics, who would want the U.S. Navy to move into their neighborhood? Would you? (c) 2001 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-17893 2001-Aug-10 05:35:14