Radio Havana Cuba-30 July 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 30 July 2001 . *PEREZ ROQUE RETURNS FROM TOLDEO'S INAUGURATION IN PERU *CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSIONS HOLD PREPARATORY SESSIONS THIS WEEK *SECOND US-CUBA STUDENT MEETING CONCLUDES IN HAVANA *INTERNATIONAL DAY TO COMMEMORATE SLAVE TRADE ABOLITION *CUBAN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD IN HAVANA CEMETERY *ITALY'S INVESTIGATION IN GENOA REVEALS GROSS POLICE BRUTALITY *UN COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WARNS CONFERENCE ON RACISM IN JEOPARDY *VIEQUES: AN OVERWHELMING VOTE TO KICK THE NAVY OUT Viewpoint: *GUATEMALANS STUDYING MEDICINE IN CUBA TO HELP CUBAN DOCTORS IN GUATEMALA . *PEREZ ROQUE RETURNS FROM TOLDEO'S INAUGURATION IN PERU Havana, July 30 (RHC)--Upon returning home after attending the inauguration of Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that both Havana and Lima have expressed a desire to continue strengthening bilateral relations. Perez Roque also took the opporunity to thank Peruvian Foreign Minister Diego Garcia for not joining the anti-Cuba campaign at the United Nations Human Rights Commission last April. Regional media coverage has highlighted the speech delivered by the first member of a Latin American indigenous group to assume a presidency. Toledo called for an immediate freeze on the purchase of weapons on the continent and challenged the region's leaders to instead invest those funds in education and the war against poverty. News dailies in Peru and abroad also took note of Peru's critical socio-economic situation, comparing the country to Argentina. *CUBAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMISSIONS HOLD PREPARATORY SESSIONS THIS WEEK Havana, July 30 (RHC)--The Cuban National Assembly commission began preparatory meetings today, prior to the summer general session which opens on August 3. The first commissions to meet will be those overseeing Constitutional and Judicial matters, as well as Public Utilities. The country's legal system will be reviewed today with a focus on courtroom procedures and the state prosecution office. The new Social Workers School will also be examined along with university law courses. Tomorrow, commissions will be studying the quality of the nation's transportation and communications systems. Commissions dedicated to issues associated with Education, Culture, Science and Technology will review ideological matters, the development of cultural programs in Cuba and the level of education provided to the most vulnerable sectors of the population. The commissions on Economics, Health, Sports, and the Environment will analyze the nation's health programs and issues surrounding AIDS, including Cuba's proposal to the United Nations to assist Africa in its fight against the virus, national sports strategies for the 2004 Athens Olympics and the implementation of the State Budget voted earlier this year. Other commissions meetings this week are those dealing with International Relations, National Defense, Local Organizations, Agricultural Production, Youth and Children, and Women's Rights. All commissions will report their findings to the full session of the National Assembly when it meets at the end of the week. *SECOND US-CUBA STUDENT MEETING CONCLUDES IN HAVANA Havana, July 30 (RHC)--Representatives from more than 20 U.S. universities are in Havana for the second meeting between students from Cuba and the US. Their conference will concludes today. The 180 US students were addressed by the First Secretary of Cuba's Young Communist League, Otto Rivera Torres, who expressed his thanks for the presence of many of the students at the July 26th march past the US Interests Section in Havana demanding the return of five Cuban political prisoners jailed in Florida. Rivera spoke of the advances made in education in Cuba, mentioning the recent network of solar-powered schoolrooms provided with TVs and videos, the nationally televised University for All syllabus, and the computer youth clubs set up across the island to ensure a computer-literate youth. Earlier, Hassan Pérez, the president of the Cuban Federation of University Students, declared that in spite of technological advances, humankind had been unable to come up with parallel advances in social justice. He stressed Cuba's continued desire to improve the human condition by sending out more and more doctors to the remotest and poorest areas of the world to provide care and attention to the most disadvantaged on the planet. Members of the US student delegation have stated that Cuba represents hope for humanity and an improved lot for all. Michael Martinez, who comes from Miami, said that he had learned much during his one-week stay, and pledged to work hard with fellow students in the US to end Washington's economic blockade of the island and to gain the release of the imprisoned Cubans. *INTERNATIONAL DAY TO COMMEMORATE SLAVE TRADE ABOLITION Havana, July 30 (RHC)--In a commemoration named the International Day in Memory of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, scheduled for August 23, Cuba will honor its important African roots and the multiracial nature of its culture. The date was chosen two years ago by UNESCO to give permament recognition to a period in history that had such huge repercussions across the globe. Ceremonies marking four centuries of slavery, the tremendous effect slavery had on the African continent and its racial and social consequences in today's Cuba, will take place in Havana and other parts of the island; studies of the human cost of slavery and the religious history of the island will also be presented. The day will also be used to focus on the cultural benefits attached to today's connection with Africa and steps needed to eradicate racial prejudice. The Cuban Fernando Ortiz Foundation will present a program entitled The Slave Route, which will explore every aspect of the slave trade from Africa to the Americas. The program is sponsored by UNESCO. Another focus will be on Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, who freed the slaves on his plantation on October 10, 1868. The date is considered to be the start of Cuba's first War of Independence and Céspedes is today referred to as the Father of the Nation for his act. *CUBAN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD IN HAVANA CEMETERY Camaguey, July 30 (RHC)--In what is probably the first time a high school graduation ceremony has taken place in a cemetery, at least in Cuba, the city of Camaguey's Luis Casas Romero Vocational Art School, named after the famous Cuban independence fighter and composer, honored its namesake by traveling to Havana to carry out the ceremony at his grave. The 47 graduates of the class of 2000-2001 gathered around the tomb of Casas in the capital's main cemetery, the second largest in the Americas, to receive their diplomas and to listen to the choir of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television sing one of Casas' boleros, "Si Llego a Besarte" ("If I Come to Kiss You.") Casas founded the very first Cuban radio station in 1922. One of the maestro's daughters, María Luisa, was on hand to present the diplomas. She reminded those present of her father's words: "Life will not be productive or meaningful without taking into account the responsibilities one's own existence imposes." Some of the students provided their own entertainment by interpreting Luis Casas Romero's works. Abel Rodríguez García played "El Mambí" on the violin, and students Lourdes Riverón and Lourdes Hernández played Casas' "Magic Flute." The school's choir then sang their own hymn in a moving closure to what all present reported to be a remarkable graduation ceremony. *ITALY'S INVESTIGATION IN GENOA REVEALS GROSS POLICE BRUTALITY Rome, July 30 (RHC)--Judicial authorities in Italy have decided to bring charges against an undetermined number of police officers as their investigations confirm excessive brutality against anti-globalization protesters during the G-8 Summit in Genoa. Local have revealed some conclusions of a judicial investigation into the police raid of a school that was headquarters for representatives of some 800 anti-globalization groups, during which police beat demonstrators who offered no resistance and destroyed computers and furniture. According to the investigators, more than ten officers had to be removed from the operation by their superiors due to their violent behavior. The investigation revealed that almost all the 243 young protesters who were arrested and later interrogated by judges had bruises, stitches, casts on legs and arms and other injuries. Besides the police raid, authorities are also investigating denunciations of torture in one of the police stations where protesters were held. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that any wrong-doing will be punished, while reiterating his support of the police action during the summit. *UN COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WARNS CONFERENCE ON RACISM IN JEOPARDY Geneva, July 30 (RHC)--United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, warned today that the upcoming UN Conference on Racism is on the brink of failure. Opening a gathering in Geneva to consider the final declaration and program of action to be adopted at the conference, Robinson called on participating delegations to be realistic. The conference is slated to begin on August 31 in Durban, South Africa. Robinson repated her view that the effort of Arab nations to equate Zionism with racism will abort the conference. The UN official was more comprehensive, however, concerning the issue of reparations for those African countries and peoples who were victims of the slave trade for 300 years. She characterized the need to debate this issue and to admit to the errors of the past as "crucial." Last Friday, the US government reiterated its intention to boycott the Durban conference if reparations and Zionism are included in the agenda. *VIEQUES: AN OVERWHELMING VOTE TO KICK THE NAVY OUT San Juan, July 30 (RHC)--Residents of the Puerto Rican island municipality of Vieques have overwhelmingly voted in favor of an immediate halt to US military exercises on the island. Sixty-eight percent of the population called for the US Navy's immediate withdrawal and decontamination of the target practice range used for the last 60 years. Though the referendum is not legally binding on Washington, Puerto Rican Governor Sila Maria Calderon declared that the voice of Vieques must be heard, and announced that a media campaign on the vote was a distinct possibility. New York Congressional Representative Jose Serrano also urged the George Bush administration to take heed of the referendum. More than 80% of Vieques residents participated in the plebiscite, which is considered a high turn-out. Despite the vote, the US Navy has declared its intention to continue the bombing. . Viewpoint: *GUATEMALANS STUDYING MEDICINE IN CUBA TO HELP CUBAN DOCTORS IN GUATEMALA After nearly a year studying medicine in Havana, Guatemalan scholarship students have headed home for a hard-earned vacation. But these students in Havana's Latin American Medical School will do much more than simply enjoy being home with their families and loved ones; they will participate in an exciting project starting today, July 30. For two weeks these young Guatemalans will visit medical posts in the country's most remote areas which are staffed by Cuban medical personnel, and will work as their assistants. They will also use some precious time in their homeland to work in communities where Cubans are volunteering. There, the Guatemalan medical students will make a general diagnosis of the local population's state of health, their labor and other problems; in short, everything necessary to give a clear picture of how Guatemalans live in those communities. The aim of the program is to pay back Cuba's generosity with a humanitarian act directed at Guatemala's disenfranchised. It is also a clear signal that these idealistic young people will make good on their pledge that upon graduation from medical school in Cuba, they use their newly gained knowledge in their communities where they will take the places of Cuban doctors, nurses and technicians who are currently volunteering, helping to transform the communities in which they work. We say "transforming communities" because, thanks to Cuban internationalists there are thousands of Guatemalans, just as there are other Central Americans, Haitians and Africans, who for the first time are receiving medical attention, hygiene, vaccines and affection, which has made a qualitative change in their lives. Just four years from now, there will be young Guatemalan doctors, trained in Cuba, taking charge of this task in their country. The most wonderful part of this summer project is that it is an initiative that arose from the students themselves, supported by both Cuban and Guatemalan health institutions. The project would have been implemented 18 months ago, but a tragic plane crash in December, 1999 forced the postponement of the plan. Some 300 young women and men will return to Cuba at the end of August to continue their studies, fortified and more convinced than ever of the just cause they are working for. They will also bring with them the invaluable experience gained from volunteering their services to those most in need. Others will follow in their footsteps, and others in theirs. These young medical students are sowing a garden of love and solidarity that has taken root; with care and affection, it will continue to grow. (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-32050 2001-Jul-30 21:20:04