Radio Havana Cuba-Morning Edition-06 July 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update Morning Edition - 06 July 2001 . *LUCIUS WALKER'S PASTORS FOR PEACE DELEGATION ARRIVES IN HAVANA *US REP.JOSE SERRANO SAYS HELMS-BURTON POSES DILEMMA FOR BUSH *DEPUTY VICE-PRIME MINISTER OF BELIZE MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES *CARICOM SUMMIT CALLS FOR COMMON CARIBBEAN MARKET *CUBAN-SPANISH MANAGEMENT COOPERATION COMMITTEE MEETS IN HAVANA *2nd INTERNATIONAL FAIR ON FASHION, FURNITURE AND STYLE OPENS IN HAVANA *EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CRITICIZES HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD OF E.U. . *LUCIUS WALKER'S PASTORS FOR PEACE DELEGATION ARRIVES IN HAVANA Havana, July 5 (RHC)--At a press conference in Havana, the Reverend Lucius Walker spoke of the upcoming campaigns of the U.S. solidarity organization Pastors for Peace. The nearly 90 members of the 12th Friendshipment Caravan arrived late Wednesday in Havana from Tampico, Mexico after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border between San Antonio and Reynosa with tons of humanitarian aid for Cuba. U.S. Treasury Department officials, however, confiscated $250,000 worth of life-saving medical equipment from the second branch of the Pastors for Peace caravan, as it tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border in the state of Maine. "We are very pleased to be in Cuba and we are very pleased that our strength and resolve have broken through the blockade again. But we are saddened by the events that occurred in Maine where US authorities seized humanitarian aid which was being carried across the Canadian border by the Let Cuba Live Coalition of Maine," Walker said. "That group, in cooperation with the Quebec-Cuba Friendship Association and of course the Pastors for Peace, mounted a crossing of humanitarian aid at the same time that we were crossing in Reynosa. In Reynosa, authorities were told not to molest us, but in Maine the aid was confiscated and now we must mount a campaign to achieve the release of the aid for Cuba that was being carried through Maine to Canada." "Perhaps the events in Maine suggest the direction to be taken by the Bush administration," Walker continued, "namely that they will seek wherever they can find a smaller group or a weakness in the solidarity ranks to attack them. We can be very appreciative that with the support that we have received from the United States and the world, that our strength is such that the US Treasury Department is afraid to attack us anymore." *US REP.JOSE SERRANO SAYS HELMS-BURTON POSES DILEMMA FOR BUSH Washington, July 5 (RHC)--U.S. Congressman Jose Serrano believes that President George Bush is facing a serious dilemma regarding the anti-Cuba Helms-Burton Law. Bush will have to decide, probably next week, whether he will continue waiving Title III of the Helms-Burton Law granting U.S. citizens whose property was nationalized by the Cuban Revolution the right to file court claims against the Cuban government. Former President Bill Clinton waived Title III every six months after the Helms-Burton Law was passed in 1996. But according to Serrano, Clinton -- unlike Bush -- was never in such a difficult position when the moment came to decide. Analysts have pointed to Bush's debt to the Cuban-Americans in Florida, the only Hispanic group that supported his presidential campaign, and the re-election aspirations of the president's brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush. While supporting the application of the full weight of the Helms-Burton Law, even right-wing Cuban-American Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart has admitted that it's a difficult decision, recalling that during his tour of Europe Bush was warned by European leaders that Clinton's waiver of Title III allowed them to withdraw a challenge against the measure in the World Trade Organization. Diaz-Balart said that if the European Union again takes the case to the WTO and wins, there will be even greater international pressure against Washington's blockade of Cuba. And, he added, Washington does not want a trade war with Europe. Besides angering allies, many critics have insisted that Title III would totally congest the U.S. judicial system in endless lawsuits seeking compensation impossible to collect. This chapter of the Helms-Burton Law even allows lawsuits to be filed by Cuban-Americans who were Cuban citizens at the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and who did not acquire their American citizenship until years later. *DEPUTY VICE-PRIME MINISTER OF BELIZE MEETS WITH CUBAN AUTHORITIES Havana, July 5 (RHC)--The Deputy Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceno, met with the Executive Secretary of the Cuban Council of Ministers Vice President Carlos Lage today in Havana. Deputy Prime Minister Briceno arrived in Havana on Wednesday for his first official visit to Cuba, aimed at strengthening cooperation ties between the two nations. The visit runs through Friday July 6th. While on the island, Briceno and his delegation will have a packed agenda that includes meetings with other high-ranking Cuban officials and visits to places of interest, among them Cuba's Company of Information Technology and Advanced Telematic Services (CITMATEL). On Thursday, the visitors met with officials from Cuba's Foreign Relations Ministry, placed a floral wreath at the Jose Marti monument in Havana's Revolution Square and later toured a biosphere reserve area in the western province of Pinar del Rio. The group's agenda also includes the opening of a painting exhibition by Belizean artists at the Casa de las Americas cultural center. *CARICOM SUMMIT CALLS FOR COMMON CARIBBEAN MARKET Nassau, July 5 (RHC)--Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of State or Government are highly optimistic regarding the creation of a common Caribbean market. The 22nd CARICOM Summit is currently underway in Nassau, Bahamas. Cuba, which holds observer status in CARICOM, is represented at the summit by a delegation headed by Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. The Prime Ministers of Bahamas and Barbados, Hubert Ingraham and Owen Arthur, respectively, agreed that regional states should work together toward developing a common position to confront today's globalization. Participants in the summit are also examining the creation of a Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the London-based Privy Council to deal with criminal and civil cases in the area. Other issues under discussion include the development of a strategy to confront the expansion of AIDS in the Caribbean, as well as a regional organization to fight drug trafficking. *CUBAN-SPANISH MANAGEMENT COOPERATION COMMITTEE MEETS IN HAVANA Havana, July 5 (RHC)--The 11th session of the Cuban-Spanish Management Cooperation Committee opened today in the Cuban capital. Aimed at expanding and strengthening bilateral commercial and business ties between Spain and Cuba, the meeting includes a series of conferences on the development of Cuban industry and a forum on investment and cooperation in the field of transportation. Jose Ramon Fernandez, deputy president of the Cuban Council of Ministers, is heading the island's delegation to the two-day meeting, while the Spanish delegation is led by the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce Council, Jose Fernandez Norniella. *2nd INTERNATIONAL FAIR ON FASHION, FURNITURE AND STYLE OPENS IN HAVANA Havana, July 5 (RHC)--The Second International Fair on Fashion, Furniture, Interior Decoration and Style (FIMAE 2001) opened on Thursday at Havana's Pabexpo exhibition hall with the participation of a hundred firms from ten countries. During the opening ceremony, Jesus Perez Othon, Minister of the Cuban Light Industry, highlighted the importance of this type of event and pointed to the need to improve design in order to increase the quality of Cuban products and consequently, their competitive edge. Among the countries represented at the fair are Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Ecuador, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Syria and Cuba. This year's fair comprises another three events that were formerly held separately: the International Furniture Hall, Havana Fashion and the International Convention on the Shoe Industry. FIMAE 2001 also includes traditional fashion shows and conferences by international experts. *EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CRITICIZES HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD OF E.U. Brussels, July 5 (RHC)--For the first time ever, the human rights record of the European Union has come under fire from the region's own legislature. A European Parliament report on human rights abuse in the EU names and denounces most of its member nations for police abuse, abuse in prisons and discrimination based on race, age and gender. Approved by 246 parliamentarians, with 141 votes against and 50 abstentions, the report blasts EU countries for failure to comply with their commitments concerning the most fundamental human rights. While noting that most police brutality is at the expense of foreigners and immigrants, the document includes cases of brutality against European minors and women. The European Parliament also reported an excessive number of cases of physical and sexual abuse against prison inmates. The report includes more than 30 recommendations, calling on EU member-nations like Ireland to sign or ratify international human rights accords. Ireland hasn't ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The report also calls on member-nations to name a new European commissioner charged with supervising respect for human rights on the continent. (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-14040 2001-Jul-06 13:29:49