Radio Havana Cuba-17 September 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 17 September 2001 . *PRIME MINISTER OF ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES IN CUBA *RICRADO MAS CANOSA, CUBAN-AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE, ARRESTED IN NICARAGUA *CUBA EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH PUERTO RICO *CUBAN MUSICIANS RETURN FROM LOS ANGELES *BLACK RADICAL CONGRESS DEPLORES ATTACKS, CONDEMNS IMPERIALISM *REP BARBARA LEE: A LONE VOICE CALLING FOR US RESTRAINT *IN PAKISTAN, CALLS FOR NO MILITARY COOPERATION WITH US *PAKISTAN TRIES TO PERSUADE KABUL TO TURN OVER OSAMA BIN LADEN *TALIBAN TROOPS ON PAKISTANI BORDER; AFGHANS FLEE TOWARD IRAN *A CHILD'S RIGHT TO A LIFE OF QUALITY, NOT COMMODITY . *PRIME MINISTER OF ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES IN CUBA Havana, September 17 (RHC)--The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, arrived in Havana on Sunday to begin an official four-day visit to the island. Gonsalves was welcomed at Jose Marti International Airport by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has visited Cuba on a number of occasions in the past, but this is his first official visit since taking office in March this year. Speaking with reporters upon his arrival yesterday, the Caribbean leader said he hopes his visit will advance bilateral relations between Havana and Kingston. He noted that relations with Cuba have political dimensions, with collaboration in several areas including trade and investments, health, education, sports, agriculture and industry. The prime minister told reporters that he is interested in having 20 nurses work in the hospitals of his country and also needs five civil engineers from Cuba to help build highways. On Monday, Cuban President Fidel Castro officially welcomed Prime Minister Gonsalves at the Palace of the Revolution. Following the formal ceremony, the two Caribbean heads of state held official talks and examined regional and international issues. *RICRADO MAS CANOSA, CUBAN-AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE, ARRESTED IN NICARAGUA Managua, September 17 (RHC)--Cuban-American millionaire Ricardo Mas Canosa has been arrested in Nicaragua after publicly accusing Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman of corruption. The brother of the late leader of Miami's ultra-rightwing Cuban-American National Foundation, Jorge Mas Canosa, was arrested on Aleman's orders as he was about to board an airplane to Honduras. Publicly calling Aleman a thief, Mas Canosa accused the Nicaraguan President of embezzling two and a half million dollars that Mas Canosa had donated to his 1996 election campaign. He had presented to Nicaraguan courts documents from the Panamanian firm Robles & Associates, Management Investigative Services Corporation, numerous bank accounts and the names of persons used by Aleman to deposit the money in his name. According to Mas Canosa, the money was contributed in exchange for an unkept promise to favor his family in the privatization of Nicaragua's state telecommunications firm. The Mas Canosa family, which built a legally questionable empire after arriving penniless in Miami following the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, had maintained close ties with the Nicaraguan President until now. Cuban authorities have linked Ricardo Mas Canosa to the 1976 terrorist bomb in a Cuban civilian airliner that killed all 73 passengers aboard after taking off from Barbados. *CUBA EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH PUERTO RICO Havana, September 17 (RHC)-- A series of events in solidarity with Puerto Rico, held annually here in the Cuban capital, is currently underway. Organized by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), events kicked off over the weekend with tours by Puerto Rican visitors of various places of social and historic interest. A seminar on Puerto Rican history was held Monday morning at the offices of the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples. Heading the Puerto Rican delegation is Hector Nazario, Executive Member of Puerto Rico's New Independence Movement. During a news conference to open the seminar, Nazario explained the position of the New Independence Movement regarding the recent tragic events in New York and Washington. "We condemn the attacks of last Tuesday. We condemn all terrorist actions, in which most victims are civilians. I think that this was a barbaric action where many victims were Puerto Ricans and other Latinos." Nazario warned, however, that "this can bring about serious consequences for the world, since the reaction already announced by the government of the United States entails the use of violence". Nazario said that following last Tuesday's terrorist acts, political and military circles in the United States have begun to argue that the use of Vieques is absolutely crucial for U.S. security. The leader of Puerto Rico's New Independence Movement noted that the U.S. Navy has announced maneuvers for Vieques for next Sunday, September 23 -- during which protesters will suspend civil disobedience actions because, he said, organizers fear a direct, violent action against protesters in light of recent events. But Nazario stressed that civil disobedience protests will continue in the future, until all U.S. military forces withdraw from Vieques. *CUBAN MUSICIANS RETURN FROM LOS ANGELES Havana, September 17 (RHC)--Cuban musicians and recording artists nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards have returned to Havana from Los Angeles. The group arrived in the Cuban capital early Sunday morning. The Latin Grammy Awards ceremony, originally scheduled to take place in Los Angeles last Tuesday, was indefinitely postponed following the terrorist actions in New York and Washington. Speaking with reporters gathered at Jose Marti International Airport, world-renowned salsa singer Isaac Delgado stated that the entire delegation responded to last week's tragic events in the United States in the way that Cubans have always responded: with warmth and solidarity. He said that the musicians unanimously decided to donate their blood for the victims of last Tuesday's terrorist acts in New York City and Washington, DC. Country music singer Celina Gonzalez, who is still confined to a wheelchair after suffering a heart attack last year, told reporters that the Cuban delegation was well-received during their stay in Los Angeles. She said that from the time they arrived in the United States, "the American people received us with open arms" -- yet another example of why it is necessary to draw a clear line of distinction between the people and the government of the United States. Jazz pianist Chucho Valdes, keyboard player Andres Allen and Afro-Cuban composer Lazaro Ross also returned to the island on Sunday morning's flight. Omara Portuondo, best known for her membership in the Buena Vista Social Club, went on to Tokyo and will perform a series of concerts in Japan and other Asian countries. *BLACK RADICAL CONGRESS DEPLORES ATTACKS, CONDEMNS IMPERIALISM New York, September 17 (RHC)--The US's Black Radical Congress has deplored and condemned last week's terrorist attacks, while at the same time noting Washington's disregard for the lives and property of others around the globe. It is without question, stated the organization, that US imperialism has brought genocidal levels of death and destruction to people around the world, especially non-white peoples. Mentioning the continual blockade and air bombardments of Iraq, Washington's uncritical support of Israel's oppression of the Palestinians and the blockade against Cuba, the Black Radical Congress stated, nevertheless, that even with a firm understanding of the causes of the desperation, fury, and hatred of US imperialism, turning to terrorism to fight global oppression and exploitation is not an acceptable strategy and only legitimizes heightened levels of repression against all progressive forces. The calls from those in power for war and vengeance without a precise target, said the organization, are nothing more than self-serving jingoism striking out blindly. The Black Radical Congress stated that given the US's track record, this could include indiscriminate bombings or missile attacks, such as the attack against the Sudanese pharmaceutical laboratory two years ago which was later found not to have been connected with any sort of terrorist activity. Black America must not condone or be indifferent to the horrendous loss of human life resulting from this tragedy, the group said, nor must Black America allow these horrific acts to be used as an excuse to further repress Arab-Americans, Muslims, or those perceived to be opponents of capitalist globalization. As a people who have survived 400 years of genocidal oppression in US territory, the statement went on, Black America is all too familiar with the human suffering cause by both terrorism and racial hatred -- from the amputations, beatings and rapes of chattel slavery, to the New York City Draft Riots of 1863, the post-Reconstruction terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan, the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921, the illegal government-sponsored Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) directed against the Black Movement of the 1960s, to the state-sanctioned police murder and brutality of today. African-Americans, stated the Black Radical Congress, have a lot of experience with the horrors of terrorism in the United States, as it has too frequently been directed against them. *REP BARBARA LEE: A LONE VOICE CALLING FOR US RESTRAINT Washington, September 17 (RHC)--The lone voice in the US Congress calling for restraint, Representative Barbara Lee of California has asserted that the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks must be brought to justice, but that she has yet to see any hard evidence. In statements to the press over the weekend, the committed pacifist said the day may come soon when she will support a war against the terrorist who struck New York and Washington and any nation that supported them -- but, she added, not yet. Explaining why hers was the sole vote in either the House or Senate opposing a resolution authorizing military action, Congresswoman Lee said that she agonized over the 420-to-1 vote, but that as long as evidence is not forthcoming Congress must show restraint. She said she decided only a few hours before the vote on Friday, when she attended a prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington for the victims and listened closely to one of the prayers. Lee stated that one of the clergy members said that as we act, we should not become the evil that we deplore, and at that moment she knew what she had to do. The California Democrat's commitment to non-violence has often left her a lonely voice on the House floor. In 1998, hers was one of only five votes against renewed bombing against Iraq after its refusal to allow further weapons inspections by the United Nations. In 1999, she was the only person in Congress who voted against a resolution authorizing the Clinton administration's plans to bomb Yugoslavia over the conflict in Kosovo. *IN PAKISTAN, CALLS FOR NO MILITARY COOPERATION WITH US Islamabad, September 17 (RHC)--More than 40 political parties in Pakistan have urged the military government of Pervez Musharraf not to cooperate with Washington in what they called unjustified attacks against countries or individuals. A multi-party conference organized Sunday by the Jamaat-e-Islami organization passed a resolution calling on President George Bush to refrain from hastily launching such an attack without substantial evidence, stating that such a move could spark an increase in terrorism. *PAKISTAN TRIES TO PERSUADE KABUL TO TURN OVER OSAMA BIN LADEN Islamabad, September 17 (RHC)--Authorities in Pakistan Monday began talks with leaders of Afghanistan's Taliban regime in an effort to persuade Kabul to turn over Osama Bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in last week's terrorist attacks. The Pakistani delegation is headed by army General Mehmood Ahmed, the chief of the country's secret service, who reportedly helped the Taliban gain control of 90% of Afghanistan. According to the TV network CNN, Pakistan has given Afghanistan three days to turn over Bin Laden, though observers are note that it's not clear if the ultimatum had been set by Islamabad or by Washington. Pakistani news dailies Monday reported that the country's emissaries are attempting to persuade the Taliban not to risk the lives of 25 million people for that of one person. Pakistan has assured the US government that it will cooperate with all United Nations resolutions against terrorism, but has refrained from publicly granting Washington use of its land or air space in an eventual attack against Afghanistan. Thus far, the Taliban regime has been adamant in refusing to extradite Bin Laden, insisting that no evidence of his participation in the terrorist attacks has been presented. Leaders in Kabul have also called on the country to prepare for a jihad, or holy struggle, against the United States if they are attacked. *TALIBAN TROOPS ON PAKISTANI BORDER; AFGHANS FLEE TOWARD IRAN Islamabad, Kabul, Tehran, September 17 (RHC) -- Meanwhile, the Pakistani army has affirmed that the Taliban movement has deployed between 20,000 and 25,000 troops along a key sector of the 1400 kilometer-long border with Pakistan. Over the weekend, the Taliban warned that they would attack Pakistan if the country provides aid to Washington in any eventual attack against Afghanistan. Afghanistan has closed its air space to international flights. At the same time a wave of Afghans are heading toward the country's border with Iran. But Iranian authorities have announced the closing of its 900 kilometer-long border with Afghanistan. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Jarrazi has telephoned United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to coordinate measures to be adopted if the flow of Afghan refugees gets out of hand, warning that a humanitarian catastrophe could occur if Washington attacks Afghanistan. Iran has already given refuge to more than two million Afghans fleeing the Taliban regime's repression. *A CHILD'S RIGHT TO A LIFE OF QUALITY, NOT COMMODITY The United Nations has suspended a special session dedicated to childhood as a result of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Nevertheless, the UN Children's Fund UNICEF has issued a report on the state of children on our planet. The document is notable in that it describes just how precarious life is for 70% of the children of the Third World, with starvation, disease and war being the main threats to their existence. Another four million infants die unnecessarily on our planet every year. In Latin America alone, 40 children out of every 1000 do not live to the age of five. Poverty is the main culprit. Four out of every ten children in the Third World are born into extreme poverty. Those who manage to survive into adulthood are often affected by bad health for the rest of their lives, rarely living a full, productive existence. Human rights groups and children's organizations across the world frequently remind governments how important the first three years of a child's life is for healthy mental and physical development. Without doubt, United Nations sessions help -- at the very least to sensitize nations to the problem. And money that is forthcoming to fund agencies that combat the effects of poverty also helps. However, these are stop-gap measures. The real problems that cause such horrendous misery among our children are not addressed by governments: civil war, consumerism, uncontrolled globalization, racism and profiteering. None of these leave space for the human beings of the Third World to develop and prosper -- only the few of the First World who make their millions from such misery. Children are the lifeblood of our societies. They are our future. We live in a world that cares more for the building of one mansion than the construction of 1,000 homes for the poor. What future do we and our children have in a world with such twisted priorities, where the life of a child has become merely another commodity on the huge global market? (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-32423 2001-Sep-18 04:34:40