Radio Havana Cuba-10 April 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 10 April 2002 . *PRESSURE MOUNTS ON LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS NOT TO CONDEMN CUBA IN GENEVA *CUBA CHARGES US EXERTS ECONOMIC PRESSURE AGAINST SMALL, UNDEVELOPED NATIONS *CUBA-ZAMBIA JOINT COMMISSION MEETS IN HAVANA *SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE CHIEF VISITS CUBA *MORE THAN 154,000 CUBAN CHILDREN ATTEND DAY CARE CENTERS *MORE MID-EAST CIVILIAN DEATHS ON BOTH SIDES, AS WORLD CONDEMNS SHARON *MEXICAN PRESIDENT DENIED PERMISSION TO VISIT US BY HIS OWN SENATE *RUSSIA POINTS THE FINGER AT US SPIES *UNICEF REPORTS 10.4 MILLION CHILDREN ORPHANED BY AIDS IN 2001 *Viewpoint: ISRAEL COMMEMORATES ITS HOLOCAUST WITH ANOTHER . *PRESSURE MOUNTS ON LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS NOT TO CONDEMN CUBA IN GENEVA Geneva, April 10(RHC)-- As Uruguay presented a United States condemnation of Cuba at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, pressure mounted today on Latin American governments to vote in favor of Havana or abstain altogether from the process. A group of Mexican intellectuals have joined the many members of the Mexican congress to insist that President Vicente Fox opposes the condemnation of Cuba and not allow himself to be dragged into intervention of internal Cuban issues by Washington. Last week Fox declared that he would not present any resolution against Cuba but left open which way he would vote on the 16th April when this year's resolution comes to the Commission. In the last two votes, Mexico has abstained from the voting. In Peru, the nation's congress has exhorted the government of Alejandro Toledo to abstain from any participation in the resolution. In a motion approved today, the Peruvian legislators voted 67 to 2 against any condemnation of Cuba. And in Montevideo two important officials in the Uruguayan Foreign ministry were removed from their posts today for leaking information on an internal document that opposed the proposed sponsoring of a resolution against Cuba in Geneva. The director of Political Affairs and the head of the Human Rights Department were removed and the Uruguayan government went ahead with sponsoring Washington's resolution which recognizes Havana's social advances but calls upon Cuba to improve its civil and political human rights. *CUBA CHARGES US EXERTS ECONOMIC PRESSURE AGAINST SMALL, UNDEVELOPED NATIONS Geneva, April 10(RHC)-- Cuba has denounced persistent application by the United States of coercive unilateral economic measures against small and underdeveloped nations. In a debate that began today during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Cuban delegate, Jorge Ferrer, said that the worst of these measures is the blockade against the island. He recalled that the 1993 World Human Rights Conference in Vienna, urged countries to refrain from adopting unilateral measures that go against International Law and the UN Charter. The Cuban diplomat also noted that food must not be used as an instrument of political pressure. He pointed to US laws that attempt to internationalize the blockade by extraterritorial means prohibiting third countries from doing business with Cuba by sanctioning people and companies from those countries. At the same time, Ferrer noted that for ten consecutive years, the UN General Assembly has adopted resolutions that call for an end to such policies. He cited a study made by the US organization, the American Association for World Health, which shows that the blockade "has directly damaged the health and nutrition of a great number of Cuban citizens", and has caused suffering and even deaths. The Cuban diplomat told the UN Human Rights Commission about the obstacles placed by Washington in the way of Cuban attempts to buy foods and medicines in the United States needed in the wake of Hurricane Michelle's sweep across the island last November. Cuba hopes, he said, that justice is done and that it ends impunity in the face of violations of the human rights of the Cuban people that the US government commits with its blockade. *CUBA-ZAMBIA JOINT COMMISSION MEETS IN HAVANA Havana, April 10(RHC)-- The VIII Session of the Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation between Cuba and Zambia began Monday in Havana. Deputy Minister of Finances and National Planning, Patrick Kalasa headed Zambia's delegation and Foreign Investment Minister, Marta Lomas, represented Cuba. Marta Lomas briefed the Commission on Cuba's economic and commercial development over the last years and referred to the close ties existing between the two countries since the inception of the joint commissions. In turn, the Zambian minister stressed the importance his government gives to the island's social and economic development and highlighted the quality of Cuban educational and medical assistance in his country. In addition, he expressed his country's interest in increasing cooperation in areas such as agriculture, tourism, commerce, sports, and in exploring possibilities in other areas. According to the Cuban Foreign Investment Ministry, as of the year 2001, a total 1411 Cuban experts, 409 from the health sector, had worked in Zambia. Last year, 120 Zambians graduated from Cuban schools, 113 at the university level and the rest from technical schools. Thirteen others received agricultural training courses. At this moment, there are 25 young Zambians studying in the humanities, ten in medical science, one nursing student, and two are enrolled in the island's International School of Physical Education and Sports. During his visit, Kalifungwa will meet with Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas, and other officials. *SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE CHIEF VISITS CUBA Havana, April 10(RHC)-- South African Defense chief, General Siphiwe Nyanda is in Cuba on an official three-day visit. According to Granma newspaper, Cuban Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, General Alvaro Lopez Miera, received Nayandra, who arrived in Havana on Tuesday night. Cuban officials announced that the South African visitor and his delegation will visit military installations and sites of historic, economic and cultural interest during their stay. Cuba and South Africa established diplomatic relations May 11, l994, after the first multiracial government took power in that country. In the 70's and 80's, when South Africa was under control of the racist apartheid regime, Cuban and South African troops clashed in Angola after South Africa invaded its neighbor. Experts note that when Cuban and Angolan troops defeated the South African invaders in 1988 in Cuito Cuanavale in Angola, the way was opened for political change in South Africa and of the independence of Namibia. *MORE THAN 154,000 CUBAN CHILDREN ATTEND DAY CARE CENTERS Havana, April 10(RHC)-- More than 154,000 Cuban children, 18% of the population below the age of six, attend day care centers. Today the island's day care system celebrates its 41st anniversary. Cuba's childcare centers are distinguished by comprehensive attention, including naptime, meals and an educational program, according to Education Ministry specialist, Irene Rivera. The head of the Ministry's preschool education program told Granma and Juventud Rebelde newspapers that despite limited space in the island's daycare centers, Cuban women continue making a significant contribution to the island's work force and to society in general. She explained that the island's day care centers represent the beginning of a preschool education and allows children up to six years of age to get an early start. More than 622 thousand children under six years of age, who are not attending child care centers, participate in the "Educate your Child" program, which includes the participation of the entire family. *MORE MID-EAST CIVILIAN DEATHS ON BOTH SIDES, AS WORLD CONDEMNS SHARON New York, April 10(RHC)-- A suicide bomber struck Israel again today causing the deaths of eight civilians as the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, defying the rest of the world, pressed forward with his attack on Palestinian territories. The United Nations Security Council is currently reviewing a proposed condemnation of Israel for its failure to implement UN resolutions on the illegal attack and occupation of Palestinian territory, while the German government announced it had suspended all arms sales to Tel Aviv and had drafted a European Union peace proposal in which it calls for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, a declaration of a Palestinian state, and an end to Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas. Many UN members once more called the credibility of the Security Council into question as it appeared unable to control the actions of Sharon. The United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations as a body issued a joint statement Wednesday calling for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territory. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, after meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Madrid, announced that Israel should pull out from all Palestinian cities it invaded over the past two weeks and release President Yasser Arafat from his blockaded headquarters in Ramallah. Powell offered US observers to monitor any peace agreement that he will try to hammer out with Sharon and Arafat this week. The US is under heavy international criticism for leaving things to decay as much as they have and giving Sharon free rein to invade and destroy large areas of the Palestine National Authority. The Israeli Prime Minister has refused to meet with European Union representatives or allow them to meet with besieged Yasser Arafat. Doctors, non-government organizations and human rights observers working in the Jenin refugee camp have strongly condemned the Israeli attack on the camp in which an estimated 150 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting. *MEXICAN PRESIDENT DENIED PERMISSION TO VISIT US BY HIS OWN SENATE Mexico City, April 10(RHC)-- For the first time in its history, the Mexican Senate Wednesday refused to authorize travel plans by its head of state in a landmark decision replete with political overtones. President Vicente Fox, who's government is being criticized for sacrificing excellent relations with countries like Cuba in an effort to appear more mainstream for United States consumption, is also criticized for spending too much time abroad at the cost of domestic issues. The opposition PRI party says that it is increasingly skeptical about Fox's close relationship with the United States, and were especially upset at a US decision recently not to pay back wages to undocumented migrant workers in cases of labor abuse. Many Mexican legislators have accused the Fox administration of being selective in its condemnation of human rights violations - refusing to spotlight those carried out against its own people by the United States. The issue of pressuring Cuban President Fidel Castro to leave an important economic summit in Monterrey last month because US President George Bush did not want to meet him, has also left a bad taste in the mouths of many senators. The Mexican Foreign minister has made it clear that he seeks to improve relations with Washington at Havana's cost. *RUSSIA POINTS THE FINGER AT US SPIES Havana, April 10(RHC)-- Moscow has accused Washington of espionage only weeks before both nations are due to meet at summit level. A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Security Service said that the CIA has attempted to obtain details on Russia's defense links with other nations in the Federation using US agents posing as diplomats. They were reportedly discovered after approaching a Russian worker in the defense sector. The US embassy in Moscow has refused any comment on the accusations. *UNICEF REPORTS 10.4 MILLION CHILDREN ORPHANED BY AIDS IN 2001 Paris, April 10(RHC)-- The United Nations Children's Fund or UNICEF has reported that in 2001 the AIDS virus orphaned 10.4 million children and that the figure is expected to double by 2010. The majority of orphans come from sub-Saharan Africa where HIV/AIDS has taken a terrible toll and where at least half of the children are themselves expected to die of the virus in the years to come. Nigeria had the highest number of AIDS orphans with almost one million, closely followed by Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. Of the 40 million people with HIV/AIDS in the world, 2.7 million are younger than 15, according to UNICEF statistics. Young people represent more than 50% of all new infections. UNICEF acknowledged its role in attempting to educate and prevent further infection among younger people, many of whom come from communities where everyone between the age of 14 and 45 have died. *Viewpoint: ISRAEL COMMEMORATES ITS HOLOCAUST WITH ANOTHER History a not a circle, although sometimes it may give that impression. The heroic resistance of the Jewish people against the Nazi army in Warsaw during World War II is repeating itself in the autonomous Palestinian territories, only this time the role has been reversed. The victims of the past are today's killers. Zionist ideologists have launched a huge propaganda campaign in an effort to match two concepts that although separated in time for more than fifty years, are indissolubly linked under the same, simple principle: there are superior people that should remain above others using whatever methods they have to hand to maintain that supremacy. It seems now that to condemn the present Palestinian holocaust automatically means to refute the Jewish holocaust carried out more than half a century ago and run the risk of being classed an anti-Semite - a ridiculous charge given that both Palestinians and Israelis come from the same Semitic origins. It is undeniable that the Jewish people grievously suffered during the Fascist years in Europe, which were shameful years in the history of civilization. Likewise, gypsies, communists and homosexuals were persecuted, placed in concentration camps and massacred. They were treated just as badly as any other victims of Nazism. Today, it is impossible to deny the similar suffering of the Palestinian people, with their murdered children, their destroyed homes and their towns occupied by Israeli troops. Even the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Perez, recognizes that a massacre is taking place in the refugee camp of Jenin where hundreds of Palestinians have died, according to international press reports. At Tuesday's commemoration of the Jewish Holocaust, Israeli authorities led by Ariel Sharon questioned the supposed rebirth of anti-Semitism in the world. Yet the images we all see on international television in the Occupied Territories are images of one Semite race destroying another. The Israeli authorities should look at the covers of the main international newspapers and listen to the increasing worldwide protests against their policy of exterminating Palestinians, instead of listening to Washington's hypocritical recommendations. Above all, they should remember that history is not a circle that closes on itself, but rather a nonstop spiral going from generation to generation and which will not forget today's names - just as we remember those of Hitler, Mussolini or Goebbels. The shame that Israel has brought to its own people will not fade from human memory for many decades - perhaps even for centuries. (c) 2002 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-12813 2002-Apr-10 23:43:07