Radio Havana Cuba-12 July 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 12 July 2001 . *PEREZ-ROQUE CONFIDENT ABOUT CUBAN-EU RELATIONS *FIRST JAPANESE-AMERICAN DELEGATION TO VISIT CUBA *ALARCON CALLS FOR FURTHER LATIN AMERICAN UNITY *CUBA SENDS MORE DOCTORS AND SPORTS TRAINERS TO VENEZUELA *CUBAN TOUR COMPANIES DONATE 51 BUSES TO CUBA'S TRANSPORT SYSTEM *UNCERTAINTY, ANGUISH IN ARGENTINA AMID DEEPENING RECESSION *US ANTI-DRUG MONEY BUYS CORRUPTION, RIGHTS ABUSES IN LATIN AMERICA *GERMANY ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR FORMER ARGENTINE DICTATOR *Viewpoint: THE GAP THAT KILLS . *PEREZ-ROQUE CONFIDENT ABOUT CUBAN-EU RELATIONS Brussels, July 12 (RHC)--Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque has wrapped up an official visit to Belgium, expressing confidence in that nation's willingness to boost relations between Havana and the European Union. Perez Roque said Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel told him that Brussels hopes to play a positive role in countermanding the current political stagnation characterizing Cuba-EU relations. The Cuban foreign minister affirmed that the European Union's announced "common position" of promoting a so-called peaceful transition in Cuba towards what it calls a multi-party democracy is unacceptable, interventionist and constitutes an imposition of conditions. He said not only Belgium, currently occupying the EU presidency until the end of this year, but also France, Portugal, Austria, Greece and Italy are in favor of revising that common position. Perez Roque thanked the leaders of the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific nations who during his visit to Belgium called on the EU to reconsider its posture. Cuba and Belgium have agreed to develop a triangular medical cooperation project with the African nations Mali and Burkina Faso, in which Brussels would provide the medicines and medical supplies to the Cuban health specialists working in those countries. Cuba has similar cooperation with Japan and other European nations that benefit Haiti, Honduras and Niger. The Cuban foreign minister said his talks with numerous Belgian government officials were cordial and frank, and that he received many expressions of condemnation of Washington's economic blockade of the island. *FIRST JAPANESE-AMERICAN DELEGATION TO VISIT CUBA Havana, July 12 (RHC)--The first Japanese American delegation ever to go to Cuba will be traveling to Havana on August 4th where it will be hosted by the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples. The 18 member group will remain on the island for 10 days and will participate in the traditional Japanese "obon" festival, which recalls the lives of family and friends who have died. The celebration of their loved ones involves song, dance and traditional food. The trip evolved from a visit to the United States last year by Francisco Miyasaka, a Cuban whose parents were Japanese immigrants. Miyasaka served in Cuba's militia after the triumph of the Revolution in 1959 and helped staff the new government's first embassy in Tokyo. He is currently the president of the Japanese Cuban Society. He spoke of his father's experiences during the Second World War when he was interned in a Cuban camp similar to the camps that held Japanese Americans in the US. Cuba was a close ally of Washington in those days and the former dictator Fulgencio Batista ordered the incarceration of the entire population of Cubans of Japanese descent. Miyasaka's speaking tour attracted a number of Japanese Americans who decided to celebrate this year's obon festival on Cuba's Island of Youth where the internment camp was located. Some 300 Japanese Cubans are expected to attend. The US participants range in age from 17 to 73 and will be performing traditional Japanese dances forgotten by the Cuban community. There are some 1,500 Cubans of Japanese origin in Cuba, and the Japanese Cuban Society seeks to preserve the history of the original Japanese immigration, along with the experiences of the community and its cultural legacy. See the complete article by Jon Hillson about this unique, first-ever delegation on the website of NY Transfer News, in the Caribbean and Asia newsfeeds. *ALARCON CALLS FOR FURTHER LATIN AMERICAN UNITY Caracas, July 12 (RHC)--The president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón, who is in Venezuela to attend a Conference on Social Debt and Latin American Integration, said yesterday that international capitalism is responsible for Latin America's enormous social debt ranging from lack of education to the destruction of the environment. Alarcón added that all of Latin America suffers from the inequities of an international system that benefits a few rich nations to the detriment of the remaining majority. He called for unity and solidarity among nations of the region, saying that Cuba had proven its commitment to integration by providing health care free of charge to many countries in Latin America. He added that Havana supports Venezuela's independence and sovereignty and stands behind Caracas as it faces attacks from abroad. When questioned on the health of President Fidel Castro and what might happen if the Cuban leader died, the President of Cuba's parliament said that institutional mechanisms existed in his country and that Cuba is governed by a Council of Ministers or Cabinet, and a National Assembly or Parliament. *CUBA SENDS MORE DOCTORS AND SPORTS TRAINERS TO VENEZUELA Caracas, July 12 (RHC)--Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez yesterday welcomed 270 Cuban sports experts and another 30 Cuban doctors who arrived in Caracas as part of the agreement signed by both nations last year. The new arrivals, who included Alberto Juantorena, the Olympic gold medallist and vice president of the Cuban Sports Institute, bring Cuba's complement of doctors, sports psychologists, physical therapists, trainers and medical technicians up to some 600 personnel across the South American country. In return, Cuba receives Venezuelan oil at a preferential price. The Cuban ambassador to Caracas, German Sanchez Otero, was on hand to greet the arrivals. He explained that the doctors will be going out into remote areas of the country to serve communities that have little or no access to doctors, while the sports trainers - who are sought worldwide for their abilities - will work at schools and with Venezuelan athletes in 20 of the nation's 24 states. *CUBAN TOUR COMPANIES DONATE 51 BUSES TO CUBA'S TRANSPORT SYSTEM Havana, July 12 (RHC)--In what is good news for those who daily brave the Cuban public transportation system which suffers from tremendous delays due to aging busses, the island's tourism sector has donated 51 coaches for use by the public. More modern and comfortable models to serve the increasing number of tourists visiting Cuba are replacing the busses. The tourism company Transtur handed over 40 coaches, Havanatur 9 and Veracuba 2. They will be put to use immediately in a country where public transportation is one of the chief complaints of the population. Economic constraints have resulted in transportation cut-backs over the years, and as the country's busses get older they break down more frequently. The donated coaches will be primarily used on intercity routes where the comfort they offer will be most appreciated. Most Cubans traveling across the island prefer to do so by coach as the trains are often badly delayed and very uncomfortable for their own reasons associated with the nation's economic crisis. Cuban vice president Carlos Lage attended the ceremony accompanying the transfer of the coaches to the public transportation sector. *UNCERTAINTY, ANGUISH IN ARGENTINA AMID DEEPENING RECESSION Buenos Aires, July 12 (RHC)--Argentina awoke today amid uncertainty and anguish following Wednesday evening's announcement of the 7th economic shock program in the 19 months since President Fernando de la Rua assumed office. TheArgentinean president announced zero public spending and an across-the-board reduction in the salaries of public employees, pensioners and retired workers. Applauded by industrial and banking sectors, the announcement sparked heated criticism from both pro-government and independent labor unions -- calling the measures totally unacceptable. Authorities have deployed hundreds of police officers near the most important highways and bridges surrounding Buenos Aires to prevent the now traditional road blockages staged by unemployed Argentineans. Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo stated Wednesday that Argentina's debt-ridden economy no longer has any credit, while President de la Rua regretted that the country no longer has anything to sale following the 10-year privatization spreeof the former Carlos Menem administration. Interest rates on Argentina's foreign debt payments have skyrocketed, while the so-called "risk-country index" has reached a record high. The index, established by the U.S.'s J.P. Morgan Bank, is the principleindicator of the lack of confidence in a country's capacity to receive credits and investment. And despite the economic shock package, the Argentinean stock exchange Thursday continued its nose dive, affecting financial operations in Latin America and around the world. *US ANTI-DRUG MONEY BUYS CORRUPTION, RIGHTS ABUSES IN LATIN AMERICA Washington, July 12 (RHC)--United States anti-drug aid to Latin America has been channeled through corrupt members of the military, right-wing paramilitary organizations and intelligence agencies that use the funds to violate basic human rights, according to the independent organization Center for Public Integrity. A one-year study the organization presented today of Colombia, Mexico and Peru -- with the backing of the Ford Foundation -- narrates a series of abuses committed against the civilian population, acts of corruption and the trafficking of drugs and weapons amid anti-drug operations financed by Washington. While accusing successive U.S. governments of knowing about and tolerating the ties between the Colombian army and right-wing forces, the Center for Public Integrity also cited the example of the now imprisoned former Peruvian national intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who used millions of CIA dollars and sophisticated equipment to spy on political opponents and traffic in weapons. The study also mentions the abuse committed by special forces in Mexico, many of whose members are trained by the U.S. military. The Center for Public Integrity noted that large American corporations with interests in Latin America have spent close to one hundred million dollars lobbying on capital hill to influence Washington's policies in the region, but that these firms are much more interested in Latin America's economic stability and the threat of leftist insurgencies than in drug trafficking. The study was released just one day after U.S. congressional hearings on President George Bush's request for an additional 731 million dollars for Colombia's drug war. Many Senators reportedly questioned Washington's strategy, including Democrat Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy said no one questions the drug threat to health and national security in the United States, but that there is also no doubt that Washington's anti-drug program in Colombia won't reduce the flow of drugs either this year or in the future. *GERMANY ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR FORMER ARGENTINE DICTATOR Berlin, July 12 (RHC)--Judicial authorities in Nuremberg, Germany have issued an international arrest order against former Argentinean dictator CarlosGuillermo Suarez Mason for his role in the murder of a German citizen during Argentina's military regime. In the first decision of its type by Germany's judiciary, Suarez Mason is accused of ordering the 1977 kidnapping, torture and assassination of German student Elisabeth Kaesemann. According to some reports, the victim's family members recovered her body after paying a 30 thousand dollar ransom to the Argentinean military officers directly involved in the crime. The Kaeseman case is one of 10 under investigation by the Nuremberg district attorney's office, though the Germany-based Coalition Against Impunity is pushing for the opening of some 100 similar cases. Besides Suarez Mason, judicial authorities are also investigating former Argentinean dictators Rafael Videla, Leopold Galtieri and Emilio Eduardo Masera. Suarez Mason is currently under house arrest in Argentina, charged with the kidnapping and changing of identities of babies born to women in secret detention and torture centers. He is also on the list of those accused of genocide, terrorism and torture currently being investigated by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon. *Viewpoint: THE GAP THAT KILLS In many nations of Latin America, conditions of life are more or less what they were 40 years ago. The few advances reflect great inequality in the distribution of wealth. This lack of progress is dramatically illustrated in health indices, a right denied to million of Latin Americans who are now "invited" to unite with the other America. According to a study made by the Pan American Health Organization, life expectancy in Canada and the United States is on the average, ten years more than south of the Rio Grande. Illnesses spread more rapidly in Latin America. For example, cases of tuberculosis are much more common . Half a million children under five years of age die each year in Latin America and one in three die from preventable diseases. Generally the deaths are from five causes: diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition, measles and malaria, all can be avoided with proper attention or by vaccination. AIDS also continues bringing death to the region. In Central America alone some 200, 000 people are infected with HIV-AIDS and just three thousand receive medical treatment due to the high cost. It has been shown that the effects of the disease are more pronounced in groups whose access to medical services and information is restricted due to lack of funds. But the gap is not only widening between the North and the South, but also within Latin America itself. The implementation of neo-liberal free market economic policies have obliged regional governments to systematically make budget cuts in desperately needed social programs. Economic adjustment programs and fierce privatization of government enterprises have thrown millions into unemployment and poverty depriving them of the most elementary opportunities. And so, it is not by chance that inequality is the principal reason for the shocking deterioration of health indicators in Latin America. (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-27661 2001-Jul-12 22:37:09