Radio Havana Cuba-24 July 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 24 July 2001 . *MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE EXPECTED TO MARK CUBA'S ANNIVERSARY *ANC'S GENERAL SECRETARY TOURS SANTIAGO DE CUBA *ITALIAN CRUISE COMPANY TO BRING TOURISTS TO CUBA *EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY BRIGADE VISITS CENTRAL PROVINCES *INDONESIA: NEW PRESIDENT HAS HER WORK CUT OUT FOR HER *PALESTINIANS' INCOMES CUT IN HALF SINCE NEW INTIFADA BEGAN *SYRIA DOES NOT RULE OUT WAR IN RESPONSE TO ISRAELI AGGRESSION *ECUADOREAN INDIGENOUS WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS AGAIN . *MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE EXPECTED TO MARK CUBA'S ANNIVERSARY Havana, July 24 (RHC)--In Havana, more than a million people are expected to march before the US Interests Section this Thursday to protest an intensification of Washington's hostility toward Cuba. An editorial in Cuba's official Granma news daily today asserted that the protest will gather more than one million residents of both Havana City and the surrounding Havana province. The march will mark the 48th anniversary of the July 26th, 1953 attack on the military barracks of Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in eastern Cuba, an action that signaled the beginning of the island's final struggle for independence. On July 26th, 1953, Fidel Castro and a group of young followers stormed the Moncada barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, in an effort to unleash a nation-wide struggle that would bring self-determination to island. Though failing in its objective of occupying the military fortress, the action proved effective in stirring a national pro-independence sentiment. The march and protest to mark the revolutionary anniversary will also demand the release of the five Cuban nationals presently incarcerated in the US falsely accused of spying. Cuba has asserted that the five are Cuban patriots who were working to prevent terrorist actions against Cube by groups in South Florida. *ANC'S GENERAL SECRETARY TOURS SANTIAGO DE CUBA Havana, July 24 (RHC)--The visiting General Secretary of South Africa's African National Congress, Kgalema Montlane, laid a floral wreath Tuesday in Santiago de Cuba in honor of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti. Montlane was accompanied by the First Secretary of the Communist Party in the province, Juan Carlos Robinson. With a membership of over 10 million, the African National Congress is at the center of political and social transformations taking place in South Africa, particularly in the areas of education, health care and justice. The South African leader visited factories and other economic centers in Santiago de Cuba where he was briefed on efforts to increase economic efficiency and production. In statements to reporters, Montlane said he was pleased to be in Santiago and in touch with the history of that heroic city. He thanked the Cuban government for having contributed to the training of thousands of African youths in Cuban universities, calling these educational institutions "ambassadors of solidarity" between the island and Africa. Montlane described relations between the African National Congress and Cuba as solid and strengthening day by day. On Tuesday, the ANC leader toured a soya processing plant, a center for medical biophysics and other research facilities, and met with students from Haiti and Mali who take courses at the Caribbean Medical Faculty in Santiago de Cuba. Before returning home on Wednesday, Kgalema Montlane will take part in official activities marking the 48th anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks. *ITALIAN CRUISE COMPANY TO BRING TOURISTS TO CUBA Havana, July 24 (RHC)--Two ships from the Italian Cruise Company FESTIVAL, which operates in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean Sea, and northern Europe will be making five stops a week in Cuban ports during the next winter tourist season. The arrangement is the result of a cooperation protocol signed between the Cuban Transportation Ministry and the Italian cruise line. The cruise ships Mistral and Bolero will dock at Havana, Punta Frances and Cienfuegos ports, from where tourists will return home by plane. The itinerary of the cruise ships offers tourists a unique opportunity of visiting the Cuban capital, the exclusive beaches at the Isle of Youth, Grand Cayman and the Maya ruins in Mexico. The agreement also provides for professional training of Cuban personnel on board, the use of local shipyards to fix Festival cruise ships, and supporting local tourist resorts with cruise-related activities. The president of the Italian Company, Umberto Ferraro, said that Festival hopes to add a third ship for the 2002-2003 season. The Italian executive said he enjoyed working with Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean which, he said, offers the European tourist a quality option. Some 185,000 tourists have come to Cuba on board 20 cruise ships over the past two years. *EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY BRIGADE VISITS CENTRAL PROVINCES Santa Clara, July 24 (RHC)--The European brigade in solidarity with Cuba that arrived in Havana three weeks ago is currently on a tour of the island's central provinces. The group, made up of 480 people from nine countries, visited the Ernesto Che Guevara Memorial in Santa Clara on Monday, where they paid tribute to the legendary guerrilla hero. Speaking to reporters, several members of the brigade spoke warmly of the Cuban peoples' hospitality, as well as the island's education and public health systems and, particularly, the work of the thousands of Cuban health professionals who are currently saving lives in many countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. After doing voluntary agricultural work in Havana province during the first three weeks of their stay in Cuba, the group is now visiting the tourist resort of the northern coast of Villa Clara. The brigade will also visit the Escambray mountain range where they will be able to learn about the social advances in that region since the triumph of the Revolution. Finally, they will meet with students of the Manuel Ascunce School of Arts Instructors, one of the projects currently being developed to further improve the cultural knowledge of the Cuban people. *INDONESIA: NEW PRESIDENT HAS HER WORK CUT OUT FOR HER Havana, July 24 (RHC)--Indonesia's new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, today began to form a coalition government following the removal yesterday of her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid for corruption and abuse of power. Indonesian police have arrested eight high-ranking officials in what is seen as a clean-up operation of those involved in scandals that have been rocking the nation for many months. The new president has her work cut out for her, say political observers. She has to govern the fourth largest nation in the world, with 210 million people spread over an immense network of islands, and deal with the violence surrounding the separatist province of Aceh, which is undergoing a veritable war between the Indonesian army and Islamic guerrillas. She also has to revitalize a shaky economy and re-establish political stability to enable her to gain the confidence of the International Monetary Fund, upon which her nation relies to refinance its enormous debts. The nation's stock market rallied after the new president's installation, with the rupia gaining 10% against the dollar. Observers have been surprised by the lack of violence in the transfer of power. All the principal Asian nations of the region have offered their full support to Magawati Sukarnoputri and the coalition government she is currently forming. *PALESTINIANS' INCOMES CUT IN HALF SINCE NEW INTIFADA BEGAN Havana, 24 July (RHC)--The average income of Palestinian families living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has been reduced by half since the beginning of the current Intifada in September of last year, according to the Israeli news daily "Haaretz." More than two million of the three million Palestinians living in the territories -- representing 64.9% of all families -- are suffering major hardship as a result of Tel Aviv's virtual blockade of the divided Palestinian land. The average West Bank income of $750 a month has dropped to some $300; in the Gaza Strip, the pre-Intifada average of $475 in the Gaza Strip has fallen to $250. The Palestine National Authority established a 2001 poverty level of $400 a month which signifies that 56.6% of West Bank inhabitants and a full 79.9% of all Gaza Strip inhabitants are living below the poverty line, reports "Haaretz." Since the Intifada began on September 28th last year 100,000 Palestinians have been denied access to their jobs in Israel. *SYRIA DOES NOT RULE OUT WAR IN RESPONSE TO ISRAELI AGGRESSION Teheran, July 24 (RHC)--Syrian authorities have warned that they will not rule out war with Israel following recent threats by Tel Aviv directed at Damascus and Beirut. The statement was made by Syrian vice-president Abdel Halim Jadam on an official visit to Iran this week, where he is meeting with his counterpart, Hassan Habibi. The Syrian leader said that his country is ready for any eventuality and that Israel as well as Syria would pay a high price for any war between them. He added that it was easy to start wars but very hard to end them. Earlier this month Israel bombarded a Syrian military position located in Southern Lebanon. Damascus retains some 30,000 troops in Lebanon with the blessing of Beirut. They were sent into the country in 1976 to end the civil war that was raging in Lebanon at that time. Both Syria and Lebanon have received threats from Tel Aviv pertaining to their government's support of the militant Islamic movement, Hezbollah. In welcoming Jadam, the Iranian vice president said that his country joined with Syria to condemn Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine. *ECUADOREAN INDIGENOUS WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS AGAIN Quito, July 24 (RHC)--After a pause of four months, Ecuador's National Indigenous Confederation has decided to the streets again, in the face of what it says is the government's inability to keep its promises. The Confederation president, Antonio Vargas, said that his people would protest the government's privatization of the nation's electricity grid as well as demand improved salaries for the country's workers. The indigenous organization had previously opposed Quito's conversion of the nation's currency to the US dollar and brought about the downfall of the previous president, Jamil Mahuad, in January of last year. In comments to the press, Vargas said that he also opposes the participation of Ecuador in the US-sponsored "Plan Colombia," billed by Washington as an effort to combat Colombia's illicit drug industry but which is seen as a militarization of the region by critics. The government of President Gustavo Noboa also has come under fire for allowing the opening of a US base on Ecuadorean territory. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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