Radio Havana Cuba-26 October 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 26 October 2001 . *CUBA SAYS MOSCOW'S DECISION TO CLOSE LOURDES ELECTRONIC RADAR STATION LEAVES RUSSIA EXPOSED AND OFF GUARD *FIDEL CASTRO HOLDS TALKS WITH VISITING GUYANESE PRESIDENT *MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS WRAPS UP IN HAVANA *CUBA AND INDIA EXPRESS INTEREST IN MEDICAL COOPERATION *TRADE UNIONS FOR CUBA CONFERENCE GEARS UP IN LONDON *FOR THE SECOND TIME, US JETS BOMBARD RED CROSS COMPOUND IN KABUL *HOSPITAL PERSONNEL IN PAKISTAN SAY WOUNDED AFGHAN REFUGEES POURING IN *PENTAGON ISSUES CONFUSING STATEMENTS AND RETRACTIONS *WHITE HOUSE SIGNS INTO LAW CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-TERRORISM BILL *ZAPATISTA REBEL LEADER BREAKS MONTHS-LONG SILENCE AFTER ASSASSINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY Viewpoint: *GRANMA EDITORIAL ON RUSSIAN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOURDES RADAR STATION *ANTHRAX, AIDS AND PATENTS . *CUBA SAYS MOSCOW'S DECISION TO CLOSE LOURDES ELECTRONIC RADAR STATION LEAVES RUSSIA EXPOSED AND OFF GUARD Havana, October 26 (RHC) -- Cuba has warned that Moscow's decision to close its Lourdes Electronic Radar station on the island will leave Russia exposed and off guard. An extensive front-page editorial in the official "Granma" news daily today asserted that the Russian military base received 75 percent of the strategic information necessary to prevent an aggression, and was the principle instrument for controlling compliance with disarmament accords reached with the United States. The editorial affirmed that Russia will now be without vital defense information, terming as laughable that Russia now asks Washington to dismantle its similar electronic radar station in Norway - just 40 kilometers from Russian borders. The "Granma" editorial also refuted Russia's economic arguments for closing the base, referring to affirmations that Moscow could, among other projects, launch 20 reconnaissance satellites with the 200 million dollars in savings. The editorial cited Russian Aeronautics Agency director Yuri Koptiev, who affirmed that to build and place in orbit one spy satellite costs approximately 130 million dollars. *FIDEL CASTRO HOLDS TALKS WITH VISITING GUYANESE PRESIDENT Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- The President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, met Friday in Havana with his Cuban counterpart, President Fidel Castro. The two leaders headed their country's respective delegations at bilateral talks, held at the Palace of the Revolution in the Cuban capital. The visiting Guyanese president arrived yesterday in Havana, accompanied by a high-ranking delegation that includes several cabinet members and business representatives. Speaking with reporters shortly after his arrival, the Guyanese president said that he hopes his visit to Cuba will help to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in the area of human resources. Cooperation between Cuba and Guyana has long centered on the areas of health and education. A Cuban medical brigade -- made up of 20 doctors and medical personnel -- has been working in Guyana for many years and Guyanese students are studying a number of professions on the island, including medicine and engineering. Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo referred to the current international situation, recalling that the present economic crisis was actually affecting countries of the Third World long before the tragic events of September 11th. While noting that many economies in the Caribbean are suffering losses in tourism, he said that his country largely depends on exports. The Guyanese president stressed that the price of basic raw materials has dropped greatly on the world market and that he believed such a situation would not be short-term. And he agreed with economic experts who say that the only way out is through regional integration. Diplomatic relations between Havana and Georgetown were established in December 1972. The visit of the Guyanese president represents a new step in reaffirming the historic and traditional ties of friendship and cooperation between Cuba and Guyana. *MEETING OF IBERO-AMERICAN HEALTH MINISTERS WRAPS UP IN HAVANA Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- The Third Meeting of Ibero-American Health Ministers wrapped up two days of sessions in the Cuban capital on Friday. The ministerial gathering was one of many preparatory meetings to prepare for the upcoming Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for next month in Lima, Peru. According to participants at the meeting, equal access to universal health care was one of the main topics of discussion both Thursday and Friday. The regional health ministers also reviewed possible areas of joint cooperation. Cuba delivered a special presentation regarding the importance of governments assuming responsibility for developing health care systems. Cuba strongly believes that the State should assume this responsibility, despite neo-liberal economic models that are privatizing many areas throughout the region. Among those who attended the ministerial meeting in Havana were the health ministers or representatives of Peru, Chile, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Ecuador, Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala and Honduras. On Friday, participants approved a Final Declaration and later toured Havana's Latin American School of Medicine, located on the outskirts of the Cuban capital. *CUBA AND INDIA EXPRESS INTEREST IN MEDICAL COOPERATION Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- Health experts from Cuba and India are meeting in Havana to find ways to cooperate in the medical field.According to Prensa Latina News Agency, representatives from New Delhi and Havana are meeting in the Cuban capital over the weekend to discuss health exchanges as well as the purchase of medical instruments and equipment. A session is scheduled tomorrow, Saturday, to examine the potential of India's investments in Cuba, as well as research exchanges in health care technology and sophisticated, state-of-the-art medical equipment. *TRADE UNIONS FOR CUBA CONFERENCE GEARS UP IN LONDON London, October 26 (RHC)-- British and Cuban trade unionists gathered together in London on Friday in preparation for a Trade Unions for Cuba Conference hosted by British unions. Cuban food, light industry, telecommunications, health and electricity sector representatives, headed by Deputy Secretary General of the Confederation of Cuban Workers Francisco Duran Harvey, were welcomed by the Deputy General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber. In welcoming the 17-member Cuban delegation, which includes Radio Havana Cuba's Simon Wollers, Barber said that the conference was an excellent opportunity for workers from both countries to get to know each other better and to form bonds for the future. He reiterated his organization's call for an end to the U.S. blockade of Cuba and assured the Cuban workers of the solidarity of British workers. Francisco Duran responded by saying that the conference was the culmination of years of preparation and that highly beneficial results were expected. Some 300 delegates are expected to attend the labor solidarity conference in London. He added that the delegation expressed their deepest gratitude for the work of British unions to welcome the Cuban delegation. And he told the British labor representatives present that Cuba will never betray international workers in the effort to improve conditions for all workers throughout the world. Duran, who has devoted his life to labor issues, is heading the second largest union delegation to tour since the Revolution in 1959. The conference is sponsored by the British Cuba Solidarity Campaign. *FOR THE SECOND TIME, US JETS BOMBARD RED CROSS COMPOUND IN KABUL Kabul, Geneva, October 26 (RHC) -- US jets have again bombarded a Red Cross compound in an airstrike against the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sabbath Friday. According to the Afghan staff at the compound, warehouses used to store humanitarian supplies were damaged and stocks of rice, beans, blankets and oil were on fire. The same compound was targeted by US warplanes last October 16. In Geneva, International Red Cross Committee spokesman Kim Gordan Bates said the organization does not believe that the attack was the result of an error. Bates said that with this new attack the entire installation is in ruins and all Red Cross operations in the Afghan capital are now over. He said just last Tuesday the humanitarian organization had begun an aid program for 55,000 physically impaired residents of Kabul. The Associated Press news agency in Kabul, quoting officials at the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, said late night bombing Thursday killed 3 children. *HOSPITAL PERSONNEL IN PAKISTAN SAY WOUNDED AFGHAN REFUGEES POURING IN Quetta, Pakistan, October 26 (RHC) -- In yet another indication of the large number of civilian victims in the bombardment of Afghanistan, Pakistani hospitals near the Afghan border are reporting a constant arrival of wounded refugees. In Pakistan's western city Quetta, health professionals told the AFP news agency that the number of mostly women and children needing attention for arms and legs crushed in the cave in of buildings, or suffering shrapnel wounds, amputated limbs and head wounds is threatening to spark a crisis in the city's hospitals. Doctor Shahzad Jan, of Quetta's Sandeman Hospital, said his health center alone is daily receiving between 60 and 70 wounded Afghan refugees, adding that many of the cities hospitals are in the same situation. Patients arriving from Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold, say the city is empty and has been reduced to rubble. Doctor Saleh Tareen said the situation in the region would be worse if Pakistani authorities were to open the Chaman border crossing where thousands of Afghans are camped in precarious conditions. *PENTAGON ISSUES CONFUSING STATEMENTS AND RETRACTIONS Washigton, October 26 (RHC_ -- In what appears to be a damage control scramble, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has backtracked on his affirmation that Osama Bin Laden's capture or elimination is unlikely. At a Pentagon press conference, Rumsfeld claimed that the influential news daily "USA Today" misinterpreted his reported statement that Bin Laden's capture or elimination would be very difficult because he has the support of a lot of money and a lot of people in a world in which there are many countries where he could seek refuge. The defense secretary told "USA Today" that looking for Bin Laden and his Al Qaida terrorist network was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Rumsfeld also said at Friday's Pentagon press conference that US airstrikes in Afghanistan have significantly reduced the Taliban's ability to defend itself against Afghan opposition forces - an affirmation that the "Los Angeles Times" Friday called a relatively upbeat assessment that appeared to contrast with the Pentagon's appraisal the day before. On Thursday, Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem, a senior official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US faces a tough struggle against the surprisingly resilient Taliban. *WHITE HOUSE SIGNS INTO LAW CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-TERRORISM BILL Washington, October 26 (RHC) -- The US Senate has approved a controversial anti-terrorism bill signed today by President George Bush that gives police wide-ranging powers to search people's homes and business records secretly and eavesdrop on telephone and computer conversations. Lawmakers worried about possible abuse of the new wiretapping and surveillance powers decided to place a four-year cap on that part of the legislation. But critics, like the liberal People For The American Way insisted that it is still dangerous legislation with too many weaknesses that could end up curbing and infringing fundamental civil rights and liberties. Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, who issued the sole vote against the package, said the bill does not strike the right balance between empowering law enforcement and protecting civil liberties. The measure also allows for the detention of foreigners suspected of engaging in terrorist activities for a period of 6 months - though some news reports say indefinitely and others say 6 days - without bringing charges and without judicial review. Laura Murphy, Washington director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill goes beyond what's necessary to fight terrorism, including clauses that allow for the mistreatment of immigrants, the suppression of dissident voices and the investigation and surveillance of completely innocent persons. Nancy Chang, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the legislation discourages demonstrations and protest activities and minimizes the already reduced expectations for privacy granted by the constitution. *ZAPATISTA REBEL LEADER BREAKS MONTHS-LONG SILENCE AFTER ASSASSINATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY Mexico City, October 26 (RHC) -- The assassination in Mexico of a prominent attorney and human rights activist has broken the months-long silence of Zapatista rebel leader Marcos. In a letter to the family members of Digna Ochoa published Friday in the local news daily "La Jornada", Marcos said the assassination is a long-ago-announced and irresponsibly ignored crime - in reference to the 5 years of threats and intimidation suffered by the victim. The rebel leader said the only changes that have occurred in the structures of power in Mexico have been those dictated by the latest fashion, while for the overwhelming majority poverty and injustice continue rearing their faces. Following a wave of national and international condemnation of Ochoa's murder, Mexican President Vicente Fox Thursday agreed to establish a mechanism for permanent dialogue with the country's human rights organizations. Edgar Cortez, of the Miguel Agustin Human Rights Center, warned Fox that of 150 denunciations of aggressions against human rights activists, 8 of them have occurred during the current administration that assumed office last December. Activists gathering with the Mexican president asked how it was possible that Digna Ochoa was shot to death in her office in the center of Mexico City when she had been receiving death threats for more than 5 years and when 2 years ago the Interamerican Human Rights Court ordered the Mexican government to provide her with special protection. Viewpoint: *GRANMA EDITORIAL ON RUSSIAN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOURDES RADAR STATION A front-page editorial in Friday's edition of the Cuban newspaper Granma responds to statements by high-ranking Russian officials regarding Moscow's unilateral decision to dismantle the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station in Cuba. The editorial points to the Russian attempt to justify the move, using false arguments such as the station's obsolete equipment, the high cost of operations and lease payments, or the possibility of carrying out the task by other means, with highly sophisticated satellites and radar. The editorial begins by saying that on Tuesday, October 23rd, the Russian government revealed the alleged motives behind President Vladimir Putin's decision to close the Russian electronic radar station in Cuba. Russia's national television network reported that on Tuesday, the 23rd, President Putin met for four hours with the leaders of all parliamentary groups represented in the Duma -- the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament -- to discuss the closure of bases in Vietnam and Cuba. Russian parliamentary leader Viacheslav Volodin said that the closure of the electronic radar station in Cuba is far more than a mere economic decision, but has a strategic nature under the present circumstances. The television network then broadcast a report by a Russian journalist, who seemed very well informed about his government's decision to close the bases in Vietnam and Cuba. In his report, the journalist said that the equipment was totally obsolete and that the money used to pay the lease and maintenance of the station could be better used to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, which would do the job that the electronic radar station in Cuba has done over the years. According to the news report, Cuba itself would one day demand the closure of the radar station, because in terms of economic exchange, the island had already turned down some Russian proposals in order to accept larger business offers from Western nations. He also mentioned that Havana has not even solved the problem of its debt with Moscow. This interpretation of the current differences between the governments of Cuba and Russia, said the Cuban editorial, is full of ill-intended omissions, arbitrary judgements and false arguments. Cuba has no other choice but to respond with the truth to this attempt to confuse Russian and international public opinion. The Granma editorial then points to statements on the issue by other Russian personalities, among them Vladimir Platonov, President of the Duma, who stated that the dismantling of the radar station is a tragedy. Former Russian Defense Minister Igor Rodionov affirmed that the withdrawal from the Lourdes Electronic Radar station is the continuation of a series of concessions Russia is granting to the United States. Rodionov recalled that the base in Cuba controls the entire Western Hemisphere and is an essential element to contain an eventual U.S. aggression. Former President Boris Yeltsin also warned that the decision to close military bases outside the country is not clear and that the issue demanded a thorough analysis. The Granma editorial recalled that during his visit to Cuba just ten months ago, President Putin visited the station and never said a word about Russia preparing to dismantle it. Moreover, says the editorial, Putin even put it in writing, expressing his intention to further develop the station, to improve it in the interest of both nations. On that occasion, President Putin, referring to the Lourdes electronic radar station, said in a press conference that the station was functioning under the international laws and regulations and that Cuba and Russia were both very interested in further developing the station. The Cuban editorial states that neither in his visit to the station nor during his entire stay in Cuba, did President Putin or any of the high-ranking Russian military officials that accompanied him say a word about closing the base. On the contrary, over the past ten years, Russia had been devoted to improving the station. It should also be noted, according to the editorial, that Russia was always requesting further extensions of the lease period -- longer than the five-year period agreed to by both nations. It was only after the visit of President Putin in December 2000 that Cuba agreed to extend the period to ten years. The editorial in Friday morning's edition of Granma asks how it is possible that the announcement to close the Electronic Radar Station can be made only a few months after the Russian president's visit to the island and in the middle of an international crisis that constitutes a grave risk for world peace and especially for Cuba. The editorial notes that Cuba has been subjected to more than 40 years of an economic blockade, aggressions and terrorist attacks and that Cuban authorities have argued that this particular moment is perhaps the most inopportune and dangerous for such an announcement to be made. Friday's editorial in Granma reveals that the Lourdes Electronic Radar Station provides Russia with 75 percent of the strategic information Moscow needs to prevent an attack, while serving as the principle instrument to monitor U.S. compliance with disarmament treaties. Without the Lourdes station, points out the editorial, Moscow will be left without essential information for its defense. The editorial concludes by saying that further details and arguments concerning Cuba's position on the recent announcement to close the Lourdes station will be revealed in the future. *ANTHRAX, AIDS AND PATENTS Since its mysterious appearance two decades ago, AIDS has killed more than 22 million people. At this moment,37 million human beings are condemned to death by the so far incurable virus. Most of the victims and the next victims, live in the Third World and the anti-AIDS cocktails which are prolonging the lives of AIDS suffers, are too expensive for the poor. The developing nations are now waging an ethical and legal battle to be able to buy or produce generic medicines at lower prices than those of the big pharmaceutical transnationals, owners of the patents. This polemic took on global proportions when the South African government announced that it would not remain passive in the face of the suffering of the country's more than four million HIV positive citizens. Brazil adopted a similar position in order to be able to continue its program of providing AIDS medicines free-or-charge to victims of the disease. But a World Trade Organization agreement prohibits buying generic medicines. The United States, Canada and Europe have defended that accord. Paradoxically, faced with the panic sparked by Anthrax, on Tuesday the US government threatened that it would stop buying the antibiotic known as "Cipro" if the German company Bayer didn't lower the price. "The price is the problem, not the offer. We are not going to pay the price that they are asking", warned US Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson, who declared that the White House was willing to seek authorization from the Congress to disregard the Cipro patent and find a generic substitute, even though this would certainly mean a lawsuit against the United States. Under heavy US pressure, Bayer dropped the price of Cipro from $1.77 to 95 cents; a significant reduction, which nevertheless, is still much higher than the generic version sold in India for three cents. Many analysts believe that the United States came to this agreement with Bayer to maintain its position on the laws of intellectual property, which will be one of the most important topics on the agenda of the WTO meeting set for November 9 - 13 in Qatar. Health activists charge that the United States-Bayer agreement is simply a maneuver to avoid setting a precedent which could used against the Bush Administration in the upcoming World Trade Organization meeting where the topic of economically accessible anti-AIDS drugs is sure to spark heated debate. Thousands are dying everyday around the world for lack of the medicines to treat AIDS. In order to halt this unspeakable tragedy, the poor nations must work together to forge a strategy promoting urgent access to affordable generic drugs. (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-21048 2001-Oct-27 07:12:20