Radio Havana Cuba-26 September 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 26 September 2001 . *FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA *CUBAN TRADE DELEGATION IN PARAGUAY *INTERNATIONAL GATHERING ON CANCER SLATED FOR NEXT MONTH IN HAVANA *CHINA AND CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS *TURKEY AND CUBA SET UP JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE MINI-CIGARS *LA TIMES QUESTIONS MASSIVE ARRESTS AND RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN US *SOME US WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND NEONAZIS APPLAUD TERRORIST ATTACKS *REGIONAL UN AGENCY AT A LOSS OVER GROWING POVERTY IN LATIN AMERICA *KABUL: TENS OF THOUSANDS TORCH FORMER US EMBASSY IN HUGE PROTEST *LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS SUPPORT US CRUSADE; PEOPLE LESS ENTHUSIASTIC *TERRORISM WAS GLOBALIZED BY AUGUSTO PINOCHET - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST Viewpoint: *"INFINITE JUSTICE" OR "ENDURING FREEDOM," US STUMBLES BLINDLY INTO WAR . *FIDEL CASTRO MEETS WITH GOVERNOR GENERAL OF JAMAICA Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro met Tuesday evening with the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Howard Cooke, and his accompanying delegation. In comments to reporters following the meeting, the distinguished visitor said he was extremely pleased with his talks with the Cuban leader. Speaking with journalists earlier in the day, Sir Howard Cooke praised Fidel Castro and other leaders of the Cuban government -- expressing his appreciation for Cuba's assistance to the Third World, especially the underdeveloped nations of the African continent. Political observers say that the four-day official visit of the Jamaican governor general -- which ends tomorrow, Thursday -- has greatly contributed to the ties of friendship between the two island nations. *CUBAN TRADE DELEGATION IN PARAGUAY Asuncion, September 26 (RHC)--Trade and commercial relations between Cuba and Paraguay could get a boost following the visit to Asuncion of a high-level Cuban delegation. Led by Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Orlando Hernandez, members of the delegation met with Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez Maqui. According to Hernandez, the objective of the meeting was to strengthen and increase trade relations between the two nations. The Cuban trade delegation has also met with leaders of Paraguayan agricultural associations and trade union organizations. *INTERNATIONAL GATHERING ON CANCER SLATED FOR NEXT MONTH IN HAVANA Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Experts from more than 30 countries will meet in the Cuban capital next month to discuss cancer and its prevention. At least 150 doctors and medical specialists have confirmed their attendance at the gathering, where they will exchange information and evaluate methods of diagnosis and control of the deadly disease. According to recently released statistics, there will be more than 20 million new cases of cancer throughout the world next year -- 14 million of which will develop in the Third World. *CHINA AND CUBA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS Havana, September 26 (RHC)--Bilateral relations between Cuba and China continue to develop on the basis of mutual benefit and equality, according to Wang Zhiquan, Beijing's ambassador in Havana. In statements to reporters in the Cuban capital, Wang Zhiquan stressed that his government and the Chinese business community give special attention to the development of relations with the island, which have notably increased over the last decade. The Chinese diplomat pointed out that Beijing sees Cuba as an important market for Chinese investment, with a highly qualified labor force and very efficient and disciplined workers. Zhiquan said there are currently a number of cooperation projects between both nations in place. He pointed to Chinese economic assistance in Cuban sugar mills, bicycle factories and in the fishing industry, among other areas. China's ambassador to Havana recalled that during the recent visit to Cuba by Chinese President Jiang Zemin, several accords were signed in the area of telecommunications, the production of TV sets on the island and the construction of a hotel in Havana. He also noted that other projects are being studied in the agricultural and livestock sectors. China's ambassador to Havana announced that next November, Beijing will host the 14th session of the Cuba-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission, which will discuss other cooperation projects as well. In related news, a rice farm in the western province of Pinar del Rio has reported a record production in the recently concluded harvest. The Montoto rice farm, a Cuban-Chinese joint venture, has implemented new machinery and transportation equipment, which is reported to have been crucial in obtaining the outstanding results, particularly in the activities of land preparation and harvesting. Officials said that the determination and hard work by local rice producers has been crucial, transforming large swampy areas into excellent rice-producing areas. *TURKEY AND CUBA SET UP JOINT VENTURE TO PRODUCE MINI-CIGARS Istanbul, September 26 (RHC)--Turkey and Cuba have set up their first joint venture in Istanbul. The firm plans to produce ten million mini-cigars annually. At a construction cost of three million dollars, the factory will produce the Cuban brand known as Fonseca. During the inauguration of the enterprise Tuesday, Turkey's State Minister Yilmaz Karakoyunlu said this new joint investment is the first step toward even larger projects. The Turkish government official announced that the factory will use a mixture of Cuban and Turkish tobacco as its raw material for production, 70 percent of which will be exported. Meanwhile, Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister, Marta Lomas -- who is in Istanbul for the opening of the joint venture -- stressed that the joint venture between Cuba and Turkey represents a very important step in bilateral relations. *LA TIMES QUESTIONS MASSIVE ARRESTS AND RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN US Los Angeles, September 26 (RHC)--The "Los Angeles Times" has reported concerns about massive detentions in the United States following the release of a Saudi national who had been in federal custody since the day after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The prominent US news daily reported Wednesday that the release of a doctor who federal authorities suspected of being a key player in the attacks constitutes the first sign of a problem with the hundreds of people rounded up in the investigation. Doctor Al-Badr Al-Hazmi, a 34-year old Saudi national studying radiology in San Antonio, Texas, arrived home Tuesday, appealing for tolerance in what he called the insane terrorist crimes. Mistaken arrests, however, are not the only concern expressed by the "Los Angeles Times," which in another article entitled "Rights Caught in Dragnet" asserted that hundreds of detainees since September 11th have not received the usual legal protections. The news daily wrote that officials defend the practice, but some worry that innocent people will be hurt in the rush to justice - citing another possibly dubious case among the some 350 people arrested thus far in connection with the attacks. In the case of Doctor Al-Badr Al Hazmi, federal officials reportedly denied his requests to speak to a lawyer during the first 6 days of his detention. San Antonio defense attorney Cynthia Orr said the nine-page federal affidavit used to hold her client was, in her words, "very thin" in trying to link the Saudi to the conspiracy. *SOME US WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND NEONAZIS APPLAUD TERRORIST ATTACKS San Diego, September 26 (RHC)--White supremacists and neonazis in the United States are reportedly applauding the September 11th terrorist attacks in their respective web sites. A NOTIMEX news cable datelined San Diego, September 26, reported that the Arian Nations Coalition in Minnesota has come out in favor of hundreds of more hijackings and destruction. Coalition leader Paul Mullet is reported to have said that the time has come for a revolution. The Nazi Party, led by Rocky Suhayda, and the Seventh Missour Militia, led by Martin Linstedt, also applauded the attacks and reportedly suggested using low-cost biological weapons. They called for the hijacking of jumbo jets to crash them into the Supreme Court, congressional headquarters and FBI offices in all the country's 50 states. Billy Roper, of Virginia's Neonazi National Alliance, said on this occasion his organization would be willing to form alliances with terrorists from the Middle East, saying that for now at least, the enemies of their enemies are their friends. NOTIMEX reported that thus far only a few of the more than 900 white supremacist, neonzai and militia groups in the United States have publicly expressed these ideas. Mark Potok, an expert on these movements who works with the Southern Poverty Law Center, told NOTIMEX that federal authorities shouldn't ignore these groups in their investigations into the terrorist attacks. *REGIONAL UN AGENCY AT A LOSS OVER GROWING POVERTY IN LATIN AMERICA Santiago de Chile, September 26 (RHC)--There is practically no solution to widespread and growing poverty in Latin America, according to the United Nations' regional economic commission. The UN's Economic Commission for Latin America, known by its Spanish acronym CEPAL, reported Tuesday that between 1990 and 1999 another 11 million people joined the ranks of the poor in the region, translating into more than 211 million, or 44 percent of the population, living below the poverty line. Taking note of the region's highly unequal distribution of wealth and massive unemployment, CEPAL questioned the goal announced by last year's Millennium Summit to reduce poverty by 50 percent over the next 15 years. The CEPAL study found that the income of the richest 10 percent of Latin America's population is in many of the region's countries more than 20 times that of the poorest 40 percent, with Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua - in that order - laying claim to the worst inequity in the distribution of wealth. Unemployment, according to the report, now affects more than 18 million Latin Americans and Caribbeans, up from 7.6 million in 1990. *KABUL: TENS OF THOUSANDS TORCH FORMER US EMBASSY IN HUGE PROTEST Kabul, September 26 (RHC)--Tens of thousands of Afghans demonstrated Wednesday in the streets of the capital, Kabul, in what is being called an unprecedented anti-American protest. Demonstrators set fire to the former US embassy in Kabul, abandoned when the Taliban took power in 1996, also setting fire to a US flag and to an effigy of George W. Bush. The protest came just hours after Bush called on the Afghan people to rise up against the Taliban regime. In recent times the Taliban have daily organized demonstrations of support for their regime in the capital, but only several hundred would show up in transportation provided by authorities. While wishing death to the United States, the protesters wished long life for Osama Bin Laden - Washington's principle suspect in the terrorist attacks. *LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS SUPPORT US CRUSADE; PEOPLE LESS ENTHUSIASTIC Washington, September 26 (RHC)--Latin American governments have given Washington resounding support in its war against terrorism, but regional opinion polls show that the sentiment on the streets of Latin America is far less enthusiastic - even gloomy. An article in the Wednesday edition of "The Miami Herald" reported that though the 34 member nations of the Organization of American States have even invoked the Rio Treaty - a mutual military assistance pact - in nations like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, recent opinion polls underscore broad opposition to taking sides in the conflict. Eight out of 10 Brazilians oppose a US military attack against Afghanistan, according to a poll published last weekend in the "Folha de Sao Paulo" news daily. Six out of 10 Argentineans say their country should remain neutral in the conflict, according to a Gallup International poll, which also found that only 8 percent of Argentineans support a US military strike. "The Miami Herald" quoted Peter Hakim, president of the Washington-based policy think tank Inter-American Dialogue, who spoke of Latin American leaders being "out of sync" with voters. The Miami news daily wrote that "in some corners of Latin America, where terrorism is a familiar malignancy, the gnawing sense of insecurity now reigning in the United States is an all-too-familiar sensation. *TERRORISM WAS GLOBALIZED BY AUGUSTO PINOCHET - HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST Santiago de Chile, September 26 (RHC)--A prominent Latin American human rights activist has asserted that terrorism was globalized by former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. In Santiago de Chile, Paraguayan Martin Almada - who discovered in his country documents belonging to the repressive network of South American dictatorships in the 1970s and 80s, known as Operation Condor - said Pinochet and his secret police chief, Manuel Contreras, launched a holy war against all opposition to the region's military regimes. He said the tentacles of that war reached as far as Rome and Washington D.C. - in reference to the car bomb assassinations of exiled Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and exiled Christian Democratic leader Bernardo Leighton. Three weeks ago the Chilean Supreme Court rejected a petition by Argentinean judicial authorities to arrest Pinochet and hold him for possible extradition to Argentina in a recently opened investigation of Operation Condor. Argentinean Judge Rodolfo Canicoba has also expressed interest in questioning former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger concerning the regional repressive network. The Operation Condor documents discovered by Almada are known as the "Terror Archives." Viewpoint: *"INFINITE JUSTICE" OR "ENDURING FREEDOM," US STUMBLES BLINDLY INTO WAR After an embarrassing propaganda blunder, and despite having declared that "God is not neutral" in this conflict, the US government was forced to change the insulting name of its new war campaign from "Infinite Justice" to the more soothing title of "Enduring Freedom." Infinite justice is an Islamic premise which only Allah is expected to deliver. Its use in the context of Washington's menacing response to the events of two weeks ago could only be construed as blasphemy. As always, Washington stumbles blindly on, insisting on fighting hatred with hatred, trying to put out flames with fire, even though it risks igniting the entire planet. Those in power are obsessed with serving up a guilty party to the world for exemplary punishment rather than attempting to find out why the United States has become a terrorist target. Perhaps their resistance to address the "why" is because analyzing the reasons behind the terrorist acts of September 11th, would make certain particulars emerge that could prove uncomfortable for those now threatening half the world with divine wrath. The fact is that hatred against an unjust system has been accumulating over decades, until it finally exploded into the tragedy that will now remain with us all for the rest of our lives. Washington seeks to ignore, for example, that on that same Tuesday, September 11th, more than 35,000 children in the Third World died of starvation, malnutrition or from easily preventable diseases, according to World Food Programme statistics. There wasn't a minute of silence for them, governments did not speak out about them nor demanded justice for their tragic deaths. These children were also innocent victims, who died due to the unjust economic, political and social order, a kind of terrorism that is committed every minute of every day in full view of indifferent giant media chains, the same that are today calling for the heads of those responsible for the New York and Washington DC killings. To these deaths we must add those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, North Korea, Vietnam, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Panama, not to mention those in Cuba. This summary of relatively recent US attacks perhaps provides hints about what was behind the attacks on New York and Washington DC. The demons that the United States has been spawning for decades cannot be exorcized with projectiles, or prolonged wars or by guerrilla tactics. Fear is not overcome with fear -- a lesson that the world's most powerful nation refuses to learn. And now it has found the perfect excuse to try to impose its dictates on the world; to do by force what it could never achieve by example. (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-21738 2001-Sep-27 15:47:07