Radio Havana Cuba-10 August 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 10 August 2001 . *CUBAN-AMERICAN JOURNALIST SAYS CANF SPLIT A "FEUD AMONG MAFIA LEADERS" *VENEZUELA THROWS A PARTY FOR FIDEL *CUBAN CULTURAL WEEK ATTRACTS THOUSANDS IN BOLIVAR CITY *CUBA, HONDURAS SIGN TRADE AGREEMENT *CUBAN HEALTH MINISTRY ISSUES NUTRITION GUIDES *NICARAGUA: SANDINISTAS ACCUSE RIGHT WING OF DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN *UNDER PRESSURE, KISSINGER AGREES TO TURN OVER PHONE TRANSCRIPTS *GUATEMALA: CASE OF BISHOP GERARDI LEADS TO MORE DEATH THREATS, FORCED EXILE *OSPAAAL ON U.S. PRESENCE ON VIEQUES *CUBAN SINGER ATTENDS "POPKOMM 2001" FAIR IN GERMANY *Viewpoint: PRESS LARGELY IGNORES 15th WORLD FESTIVAL OF YOUTH . *CUBAN-AMERICAN JOURNALIST SAYS CANF SPLIT A "FEUD AMONG MAFIA LEADERS" Havana, August 10 (RHC)--The Miami-based Cuban-American National Foundation's feud is an internal struggle among mafia leaders, according to Cuban-American journalist in Miami, Max Lesnik. Today's edition of the official Cuban news daily "Granma" published an article by Lesnik entitled "The Godfather's Inheritance," which noted that divisions within the CANF are centered around control of the significant sum of money left by the organization's late leader Jorge Mas Canosa. The Cuban-American journalist asserted that Mas Canosa's old buddies wanted to control the millions of dollars left by the late leader through the control of his son Jorge Mas Santos. But Mas Santos, writes Lesnik, had other ideas. According to Lesnik, in his will Mas Canosa left the Foundation 200,000 shares of his controversial and now scandal-ridden firm Mastec, which at the time were worth $5 million, but by the late 1990s their value had risen to to $9 million. Due to the Mastec financial scandal in Miami and Madrid, the value of those shares has plummeted by $2.5 million. Several weeks ago, Lesnik writes, in order to assure his control of the funds, Mas Santos removed three old-guard members of the Foundation's board of executives who controlled the organization's finances. Those three executives are now CANF "dissidents." The Miami-based journalist said the fight within the Foundation is not about Cuba nor the Cuban people, nor about ideals or principles. He said it's mafia in-fighting, a dirty war over a perverse inheritance. *VENEZUELA THROWS A PARTY FOR FIDEL Caracas, Havana, August 10 (RHC)--Venezuela is gearing up to offer Cuban President Fidel Castro a red carpet welcome on Saturday. The Cuban leader has accepted an invitation to participate in commemorations of the establishment in 1819 of the Angostura Constituent Assembly by Latin American independence leader Simon Bolivar. The commemorations will take place in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar, where President Castro will receive one of the country's highest distinctions, the Angostura Order. Bolivar Governor Antonio Rojas said his state will not only award Fidel Castro, but that the distinction is also for Cuba, its revolution, its achievements and the dignity of the Cuban people who, he added, have been capable of moving forward despite difficulties. Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Arevalo Mendez said the Cuban leader's visit is long overdue, that Venezuela owes the Caribbean island recognition for its contribution to his country's health and sports development. Earlier this week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated that his country will receive a revolutionary, a Latin American leader, an example of dignity for our generations. This will be President Castro's second visit to Venezuela in less than a year following last year's signing of an extensive bilateral cooperation agreement. As part of the agreement, Cuba's public health care system has provided free treatment to close to 800 low-income Venezuelans, while Venezuela is providing Cuba with 53,000 barrels of oil daily. *CUBAN CULTURAL WEEK ATTRACTS THOUSANDS IN BOLIVAR CITY Havana, August 10 (RHC)--The Cuban Cultural week continues today in Bolivar city, Venezuela. The event opened on August 9th and will continue through to the 12th. The Cuban delegation includes 100 artists and intellectuals. Cuban President Fidel Castro is planning to visit Bolivar city before the end of Cuban Cultural week. Last night Cuban orator Carlos Ruiz de la Tejera and world famous Cuban singer Sara Gonzalez performed at an open air concert in the city's Bolivar Square. Havana's city historian, Eusebio Leal, led a conference during which he gave details of the restoration work in Old Havana. Today the events include film screenings, a concert by pianist and composer Frank Fernandez, workshops and conferences on various cultural and artistic themes. At an activity organized by state governor Antonia Rojas, Venezuelan author Roger Ricardo Luis presented Cuban Ambassador German Sanchez with a copy of his book "Venezuela after the Flood," in which he recalled the immediate response of the Cuban government after the natural disaster in December 1999. Within 24 hours, Cuba sent 454 doctors and other medical personnel to give immediate medical aid to the flood victims. *CUBA, HONDURAS SIGN TRADE AGREEMENT Havana, August 10 (RHC)--Honduran Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez and Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque signed an agreement yesterday for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between the two countries. This is the 56th such agreement Cuba has negotiated with other countries. The Honduran minister remarked that, at present, trade between Honduras and Cuba is only $6 million annually with the commercial balance in favor of Cuba. Honduras imports industrial metal derivatives and sugar from Cuba and their exports are linked to the wood industry. Asked about possible reprisals from the USA on the signing of this document, Minister Bermudez stated that Honduras is not an isolated case as more than 50 other countries have signed similar agreements with Cuba. *CUBAN HEALTH MINISTRY ISSUES NUTRITION GUIDES Havana, August 10 (RHC)--Nutrition experts in Cuba are looking for ways to improve the diet of the Cuban people. A series of nutritional guides will be published to advise Cubans how to ensure that they eat a well-balanced diet. In an article written in the weekly "Orbe," Jorge Blanco, from the Cuban organization of Food Nutrition and Hygiene, said that these food guides will be an invaluable tool for doctors and hospitals and all those working in the public health sector. The traditional Cuban diet is rich in fats and sugar. Blanco said there is sufficient scientific data to link this to chronic diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Diabetes, a chronic hereditary disorder of the body's ability to metabolize sugar, is one of the ten primary causes of death in Cuba, where there are more than diagnosed 200,000 cases. Among apparent causes are sedentary lifestyle, obesity an inadequate diet, and some genetic factors. *NICARAGUA: SANDINISTAS ACCUSE RIGHT WING OF DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN Managua, August 10 (RHC)--Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front has accused the country's right wing of mounting a slander campaign against the organization in an effort to reverse its lead among voters in next November's elections. On the basis of an alleged eye-witness report, an anti-Sandinista organization called the "International Human Rights Society," claims it is trying to find the bodies of 37 political prisoners who were supposedly executed by the Sandinistas in 1981. The leader of the International Human Rights Society, Reynaldo Aguado, is a former Sandinista who in the 1980s was accused of being a CIA agent. His organization has accused Sandinista leaders of diverse crimes. The alleged witness, 36-year old Silvio Guillou, says he was a prison guard at the detention center where the executions took place. Guillou, who would have been 16 years old at the time, served six prison sentences for common crimes between 1981 and 1997. He now claims that the executions were ordered by founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front and former Interior Minister Tomas Borge, who is a candidate for House Deputy in this year's elections. The Sandinistas have charged that right wing President Arnoldo Aleman and the presidential candidate of his Liberal Constitutionalist Party, Enrique Bolanos, are desperate in the face of repeated survey results predicting a Sandinista victory in the November election. *UNDER PRESSURE, KISSINGER AGREES TO TURN OVER PHONE TRANSCRIPTS Washington, August 10 (RHC)--Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has agreed to turn over to the State Department transcripts of his telephone conversations when he occupied his government post between 1973 and 1976. The announcement came late Thursday from State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. The transcripts constitute more than 10,000 pages, and according to Boucher, will be made public some time in the future under the Freedom of Information Act. According to observers, the documents could contain telephone conversations with former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The State Department has reportedly attempted to recover the documents for some time now, arguing that they are government property. But Boucher refused to answer questions from journalists concerning why Kissinger has suddenly decided to surrender them. In recent weeks judicial authorities in France, Chile and Argentina have expressed interest in questioning the former Secretary of State concerning his knowledge of human rights abuses during the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and '80s. A French judge has attempted to question him about the forced disappearances of five French citizens in Pinochet's Chile. A judge in Chile wants to find out what Kissinger knows about the former Chilean dictatorship's summary execution of American journalist Charles Horman, while Argentine judicial authorities believe Kissinger has valuable information on "Operation Condor," the coordinated efforts of South America's military regimes to exterminate all opposition. *GUATEMALA: CASE OF BISHOP GERARDI LEADS TO MORE DEATH THREATS, FORCED EXILE Guatemala City, August 10, (RHC)--The trial and conviction of three military officers in Guatemala for the murder of Guatemalan Bishop and human rights activist Juan Gerardi continues to drive those involved in the case into exile. Another witness in the trial has now abandoned the country due to death threats. Former police officer Jose Mauricio Gonzalez identified one of the military officers at the scene of the crime. Several other witnesses have already fled the country and more are expected to follow them. Just two weeks ago another district attorney in the case announced he had received death threats and said he was taking his family out of Guatemala. At least one judge in the case has already gone into exile. There are unconfirmed reports that Judge Jazmin Barrios, who survived two assassination plots, has also packed up. Judge Jose Eduardo Cojulun, who presided over the court that issued 30 year prison sentences to the three members of the Guatemalan military, has stated that he is also receiving death threats and considering exile. *OSPAAAL ON U.S. PRESENCE ON VIEQUES Havana, August 10 (RHC)--The Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) has again called for a halt to the bombings and naval maneuvers by the U.S. on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. The Executive Secretary of the organization affirmed that once again North American imperialism has ignored the wishes of the people of Vieques, who voted in a plebiscite for the U.S. to leave the island. He went to say that that it was a matter of conscience for the people of the world to reject this aggression and injustice against the people of a nation who have the right to struggle for this part of the Americas. *CUBAN SINGER ATTENDS "POPKOMM 2001" FAIR IN GERMANY Havana, August 10 (RHC)--The Organizers of the PopKomm 2001 International Fair, to be held in the German city of Cologne from August 15th through the 18th, gave special significance to the presence of Cuban salsa singer Isaac Delgado at the festival. The event's program will include 500 shows; an attendance of two million people is expected. Delgado's presentation has been scheduled for Saturday, August 18th, at the Tanzbrunner theatre. Artists from Germany, Senegal, Cameroon and France will perform on the same night. The popular music form Hip Hop will highlight the fusion of African traditional expressions of the ethnic minorities living in Europe. PopKomm 2001 will also be used to promote the island's latest CD productions. *Viewpoint: PRESS LARGELY IGNORES 15th WORLD FESTIVAL OF YOUTH Who decides what the world should know? An important international youth event is underway in the Algerian capital but the so-called "democratic press" isn't interested. The 15th World Festival of Youth and Students is taking place in Algiers but few residents of the planet know about the huge event. One could literally spend hours surfing the Internet, making use of the most sophisticated search engines and monitoring the news from the most important television networks and never find a word about what is happening in Algiers. You would find total silence from the big digital media chains from the great majority of countries and from foreign television networks. Is this the freedom of expression so loudly proclaimed by the great democracies? Cuba has been the nation that has most reported the actions of these young people in Algiers. It is because of things like this that the Cuban people are among the most informed in the world. There are reasons why the powers-that-be don't want the world to know what is going on in Algeria. It isn't to Washington's advantage for the world to know the truth about what young people think. They would discover that today's young are interested in uniting, in globalizing solidarity, equality, opportunities and employment for all. They are interested in joining together against neoliberalism and racism. They are united in favor of the Palestinian people and against the blockade that has been imposed against Cuba for more than 40 years by the United States. But this silence on the part of the international communications monopolies, controlled by the great powers, will be broken by the 12,000 young people present in Algiers who represent most of the world's peoples and the principal youth organizations. Even though the major press organizations refuse to report what is happening in Algeria, participants will carry the message to their homes and word will spread. In fact, the majority of the youths participating in 15th World Youth and Student Festival represent the poorest nations, where the Internet and satellite and cable television are available to only a few. Wherever the people are organizing to struggle against the world's ills, no matter how much the transnationals want to deny them their voice, sooner or later, the peoples of the world will be heard. In the case of the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students, it would be foolhardy to believe that the truth will be confined to the narrow, ancient streets of the Algerian capital. In time, that message will heard around the world just as clearly as if it had been reported on the nightly news by all the major media. (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-15167 2001-Aug-11 20:50:48