Radio Havana Cuba-10 October 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 10 October 2001 . *PEACE ACTIVISTS TIE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM TO STRUGGLE TO FREE MIAMI 5 *CONGRESS OF LATIN AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN JOURNALISTS CONTINUES IN HAVANA *CUBANS MARK THE 133rd ANNIVERSARY OF CUBA'S INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE *CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES BRAZILIAN PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARY *BOLIVIANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA'S DEATH *CUBAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER BEGINS VISIT TO CHINA *WASHINGTON THREATENS BAGHDAD DURING MEETING BETWEEN US, IRAQI DIPLOMATS *DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS SAYS US ATTACKS PUT AID WORKERS AT RISK *INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS CONTINUE AGAINST US ATTACKS ON AFGHANISTAN *US MAY BE RUNNING OUT OF TARGETS IN AFGHANISTAN *Viewpoint: BOMBS AND FOOD PARCELS REIGN . *PEACE ACTIVISTS TIE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM TO STRUGGLE TO FREE MIAMI 5 Havana, October 10 (RHC)-- Anti-war activists in the United States are making links to the fight against terrorism -- tying it with the struggle to free five U.S.-held Cuban political prisoners. The five Cubans are being held in a Miami prison, awaiting sentences on their unjust convictions of allegedly endangering U.S. national security. A leading organizer of the campaign to Free the Five in the United States, Gloria la Riva, told Radio Havana Cuba that activists are trying to educate the U.S. public about terrorism, pointing out that Cuba has been a victim of terrorist attacks for more than 40 years. Gloria la Riva said there is ample, documented proof that terrorist actions against the island have been planned and carried out from U.S. soil -- emphasizing that the five who are now in prison were simply trying to prevent terrorist attacks from being carried out against their people. *CONGRESS OF LATIN AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN JOURNALISTS CONTINUES IN HAVANA Havana, October 10 (RHC)- The Congress of Latin American and Caribbean journalists entered its third day of sessions at Havana's International Convention Center with the participation of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The event is being attended by 280 journalists from some 30 regional nations. Delegates are debating issues related to the professional training of journalists, the need to further develop the use of alternative means of communications and the current state of the so-called labor market in the field. A great deal of the debate has been dedicated to the current international crisis, following the tragic events in the United States in early September, as well as the role played by the mainstream media, particularly in the U.S., in backing Washington's war in the Middle East in retaliation for the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. On Wednesday, the delegates to the Congress of Latin American and Caribbean Journalists toured places of interest here in Havana, among them the Latin American School of Medicine. *CUBANS MARK THE 133rd ANNIVERSARY OF CUBA'S INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE Havana, October 10 (RHC)- Thousands of Cubans participated on Wednesday in an activity to mark the 133rd anniversary of the start of Cuba's struggle for independence against Spanish colonial rule. The activity was held at the Demajagua Farm, located in the eastern city of Manzanillo, the same place where on October 10th 1868, the father of the Cuban homeland, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes freed his slaves, urging them to join the independence movement against the Spanish colonizers. The activity also served to reaffirm the support of the Cuban people for their Revolution and leaders, as well as to condemn all forms of terrorism and demand an end to the U.S. attack against Afghanistan. *CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES BRAZILIAN PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARY Havana, October 10 (RHC)- Brazil's Presidential Secretary Aloysio Núñez was officially received by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Wednesday, as part of a program of meetings with high-ranking Cuban officials. On Tuesday, the Brazilian Presidential secretary met with Cuban Minister Ricardo Cabrisas, with whom he discussed the current state of cooperation and prospects for strengthening bilateral ties. The Cuban official pointed to sugar sales and the production of cane derivatives as potential areas for increased cooperation between the two nations. *BOLIVIANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA'S DEATH Havana, October 10 (RHC)- Activities in Bolivia to mark the 34th anniversary of Ernesto Che Guevara's death concluded on Wednesday with a pilgrimage in the municipality of La Higuera, where Che was murdered on October 8th, 1976 and a conference at the San Andres University. On hand were relatives and friends of Bolivian guerrillas, who fought and died alongside the legendary guerrilla leader. Antonio Peredo, leader of the Che Guevara Foundation, referred to activities in homage to Ernesto Che Guevara in other Bolivian cities, including Sucre, La Paz and Santa Cruz. *CUBAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER BEGINS VISIT TO CHINA Havana, October 10 (RHC)- Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister José Guerra Menchero, began an official visit to the People's Republic of China, the second leg of a tour of Asian nations that has already taken him to Mongolia. While in China, the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister will have a packed agenda of meetings with government officials. The Cuban diplomat's Asian tour also includes North Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Oman and Bahrein. *WASHINGTON THREATENS BAGHDAD DURING MEETING BETWEEN US, IRAQI DIPLOMATS New York, October 10 (RHC)-- In what is being described by news media outlets as an unusual encounter between U.S. and Iraqi diplomats at the United Nations, Washington has warned Baghdad to refrain from any military operations during the U.S. war against Afghanistan. According to Washington's UN Ambassador, John Negroponte, if Iraq steps out of line, they will "pay a very high price." Reports began to come in on Wednesday about the unusual diplomatic exchange, which actually took place Sunday night and Monday morning. According to Iraq's representatives at the United Nations, Negroponte arrived at Baghdad's UN Mission unannounced and knocked on the front door. He was received by Iraqi diplomats, who listened to him as he read an official letter from the U.S. government. Sources in Washington confirm that the letter was strongly-worded and -- according to the Washington Post, quoting an unidentified U.S. official -- the warning was written "in very clear language so that they would get the message".The news daily added that Washington threatened to launch a direct attack against Baghdad if they did not comply with the warning. Negroponte reportedly told Iraqi officials that there would be a military invasion "and you will be defeated". The next day, Monday morning, Iraqi diplomats personally delivered a letter to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations -- in response to Sunday evening's threat. The letter stated that Iraq opposes the war against Afghanistan, not because it is a war being carried out by the United States, but because it is illegal and against international law. The diplomatic note from Baghdad, read in front of U.S. officials at the United Nations, pointed out that Iraqi policies are always in direct opposition to those of the United States and, therefore, a crisis is not needed to produce an excuse for anti-U.S. hostility. The statement added that Baghdad has no intention to attack its neighbors, which would only hand Washington a ready-made pretext to launch massive military assaults against Iraq. *DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS SAYS US ATTACKS PUT AID WORKERS AT RISK Paris, October 10 (RHC)-- Washington's attacks against Afghanistan will risk the lives of humanitarian aid workers, according to the president of Doctors without Borders, Jean-Herve Bradol. Speaking with reporters in Paris, the head of the humanitarian agency warned that the U.S. military attacks are making every aspect of aid to that Central Asian country extremely difficult. In response to Washington's bombing missions, which include dropping packages of food, the president of Doctors without Borders said that mixing classic military operations with philanthropical activities are nothing more than propaganda operations that only create dangerous illusions for the Afghan people. Jean-Herve Bradol said that such actions create confusion and place the lives of those who work with non-governmental organizations in danger. It was noted that four Afghan civilians, working with an NGO agency attached to the United Nations, were killed by U.S. bombs on Tuesday. Reporters stated that the building, hit by a missile, was nowhere near any military objectives. The head of the internationally-acclaimed humanitarian agency stated that throwing food and medicine out of planes in the middle of the night is designed to help public opinion and not the people of Afghanistan -- adding that no one knows who is picking up the packages and how the aid is being distributed. *INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS CONTINUE AGAINST US ATTACKS ON AFGHANISTAN Jakarta, October 10 (RHC)-- Hundreds of protesters in Jakarta and several other Indonesian cities demonstrated against U.S. military actions in Afghanistan. In the Indonesian capital, at least 300 students gathered in front of the U.S. embassy, which was protected by heavily-armed riot police. According to reports from the island of Java, more than 500 students attacked two symbols of U.S. capitalism and neo-liberal globalization -- McDonald's and Pizza Hut. Police fired tear-gas canisters into the crowd of demonstrators and used high-powered water cannons to disperse the protesters. Organizers of the protests in Jakarta warned that they would try to occupy Washington's embassy in Indonesia and attack other buildings with U.S. businesses if the Indonesian government does not break relations with the United States. *US MAY BE RUNNING OUT OF TARGETS IN AFGHANISTAN Washington, October 10 (RHC)-- U.S. officials admit that they may already be running out of targets in Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press, quoting officials on board the USS Enterprise in the Arabian Sea, after the first two days of bombings, a number of planes returned to the aircraft carrier without having fired all their missiles. Military analysts say these admissions by U.S. officials clearly demonstrate that Afghanistan is not a place with abundant military objectives. One expert commented that Afghanistan is an extremely poor country and lacks the infrastructure that Washington would normally target, as it did during the Gulf War against Iraq. *Viewpoint: BOMBS AND FOOD PARCELS REIGN Wars generate casualties, injuries, considerable material losses, chaos and paradoxes like the ones shown by the military operation that the United States initiated last Sunday in Afghanistan. During the first three days of concentrated bombings, the Pentagon and the White House ordered dozens of planes and near-by-anchored battleships to continue bombing and shooting some thirty strategic targets in Afghanistan. Ironically enough, Washington's administration has also sent planes to deliver food and medicine aid packages to civilians. A few tons of canned food, instant soup and vitamin capsules fall on to Afghan ground at the feet of shocked locals who have every reason to distrust a 'humanitarian' contribution that comes with a shower of bombs. Even before the threat of war was imminent, the Afghan population had started to migrate to neighboring Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Such migration has increased since Washington's declaration of war last Saturday. Not even U.S. food bombing managed to stop sixty percent of the inhabitants of Jalalabad and thirty percent of people from Kabul heading for the rural areas in order to escape death. 7.5 million Afghans have been victims of an endless drought for over four years, a drought that has brought starvation and diseases. The actual humanitarian aid that had so far been provided to them by the Red Cross and various other international NGOs has been interrupted since the U.S. opened fire last Sunday. Four U.N. international activists working in Afghanistan on humanitarian missions died under the rain of bombs in Kabul, not to mention another thirty civilians who have been registered as the first victims of the conflict. Bush's initiative of dropping food and medicines, and bombs at the same time over Afghanistan is certainly mocking and humiliating. While cruise and Tomahawk missiles rain down over airports, communication centers, government offices and other military targets in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandajar and other provincial capitals, the Afghan population tries to survive another day amidst the chaos. (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-29261 2001-Oct-11 04:46:23