Radio Havana Cuba-11 April 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 11 April 2002 . *CUBA REJECTS US PLOY OF "HUMAN RIGHTS RAPPORTEUR" ON THE ISLAND *JIMMY CARTER'S UPCOMING VISIT IS VERY IMPORTANT - PEREZ ROQUE *CUBAN, SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET IN HAVANA *THOUSANDS OF CHILEANS MARCH IN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA *PRESIDENT OF THE AUTONOMOUS BASQUE REGION CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA *ARGENTINA'S LOWER HOUSE CALLS FOR ABSTENTION IN HRC ANTI-CUBA VOTE *ISRAEL DEFIES THE WORLD, INVADES MORE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY *POLICE ARRESTS MADE IN MEXICAN PRESIDENT'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST CORRUPTION *RUSSIA NAMES TWO US DIPLOMATS ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE *INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT BECOMES A REALITY *ZIMBABWE OPPOSITION TO FILE APPEAL AGAINST ELECTION RESULTS *CHINA REPORTS 850,000 MAY BE INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS *Viewpoint: EDUCATION IS A PRIORITY IN CUBA . *CUBA REJECTS US PLOY OF "HUMAN RIGHTS RAPPORTEUR" ON THE ISLAND Geneva, April 11 (RHC)-- The Cuban government rejected Thursday the presentation at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva of a resolution that questions the respect of human rights on the island. Reacting to the document's introduction, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque called it a new US maneuver to try to justify Washington's hostile policy towards Cuba. Perez Roque charged that the resolution, which was formally presented by Uruguay, carried a text written by Washington and imposed after brutal pressures on Latin America. He criticized Uruguay for having lent itself to the US scheme against Cuba despite widespread public opposition to it. The document seeks to impose a special rapporteur to oversee the situation of human rights in Cuba, something that the Foreign Minister Perez Roque discarded as the reviving of an old and discredited practice. He stressed that Cuba rejected the idea of a special rapporteur, and that Havana would not cooperate with such a mechanism. He recalled that in 1998 the UN Human Rights Commission had had a rapporteur imposed by the United States and Cuba had not allowed him to visit the island. A vote on the anti-Cuba resolution in Geneva is scheduled for the 16th of this month. *JIMMY CARTER'S UPCOMING VISIT IS VERY IMPORTANT - PEREZ ROQUE Havana, April 11 (RHC)-- Cuba's foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, today termed as "very important" and "positive" the upcoming visit to Cuba of former US president, Jimmy Carter. "We are happy that Carter has accepted Fidel Castro's invitation," Perez Roque told the press in Havana. He added that the visit is a testimony of new times and of a growing feeling in US society in favor of normalizing relations with Cuba. He said that most Cubans who live in the United States would like to see normal relations between Washington and Havana, and that most Americans would like to be able to visit Cuba. He acknowledged however, that there is a small, but powerful minority that disagrees and is maintaining a policy of aggression against the island. The Cuban foreign minister stressed that Cuba considers Carter to be an honorable and serious person - an example of the best in the American people. He said the former president is respected in Cuba and that the Cuban people do not hold him responsible for the blockade or other US aggressions against the island. Felipe Perez Roque commented that his country will do whatever is necessary to insure that the visit is successful so that president Carter will take back the memory of the hospitality and warmth of the Cuban people as well as their feelings of independence and dignity. During the Carter administration in the late 1970'a, the two countries set up Interests Sections in their respective capitals and Carter lifted the travel ban, allowing Americans to freely visit Cuba. When Ronald Reagan took over the White House in l981, he reinstated the ban. *CUBAN, SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET IN HAVANA Havana, April 11 (RHC)-- Cuban Defense Minister, Raul Castro met in Havana this week with his South African counterpart, Siphiwe Nyanda. An article in Tuesday's Granma newspaper says that Nyanda brought greetings to the Cuban general from the historic leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela. In the first visit to Cuba by a high-ranking military delegation, Nayanga and his companions, who arrived on Tuesday, toured the Latin American Medical School, where more than five thousand young people from Latin American, Africa, Asia and the United States are studying free-of-charge. The military delegation also visited the Máximo Gómez Military Academy, the colonial section of the city, and Varadero beach resort 140 kilometers east of Havana. The South African military officers return home on Friday. *THOUSANDS OF CHILEANS MARCH IN SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA Santiago, April 11 (RHC)-- More than five thousand Chileans marched last night in downtown Santiago, to express their solidarity with Cuba and to reject US manoeuvres to pressure a vote condemning Cuba in the UN Human Rights Commission. The demonstrators, mostly from progressive political parties and youth and humanitarian organizations, gathered in the capital's Plaza Italia after the march. Political and labor leaders participated in the rally which included a group of parents of young Chileans who are studying free-of-charge in Cuba's Latin American Medical School. A declaration read to the press calls on the Chilean government to define its policy toward Cuba based on respect for self-determination. The president of Chile's Communist Party, Gladys Marin, stated that Chileans don't want President Ricardo Lagos to give in to US dictates pressuring Latin American governments to condemn Cuba in the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Meanwhile, the Chilean House of Deputies passed a resolution calling on President Lagos to avoid voting against Cuba in the UN Human Rights Commission. *PRESIDENT OF THE AUTONOMOUS BASQUE REGION CONCLUDES VISIT TO CUBA Havana, April 11 (RHC)-- The president of the Autonomous Basque Community, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, has concluded a weeklong visit to the island. Last night Ibarretxe met with Cuban president, Fidel Castro. Earlier in the day he attended a ceremony officially re-opening one hundred schools that had been recently renovated. On his last day in Havana, the Basque president held conversations with Foreign Investment Minister, Marta Lomas and attended the signing of an agreement establishing a Cuba-Basque Mixed Commission for economic and trade cooperation. Also during his stay, the Basque leader met with foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque and visited several Basque companies doing business in Cuba. *ARGENTINA'S LOWER HOUSE CALLS FOR ABSTENTION IN HRC ANTI-CUBA VOTE Buenos Aries, April 11 (RHC)-- Argentina's House of Deputies has passed a declaration calling on President Eduardo Duhalde to abstain from any vote against Cuba in the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Last month the Senate passed a similar resolution. However, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Argentina will support, along with six other Latin American countries, an anti-Cuba resolution presented by Uruguay. The House of Deputies' resolution was supported by nearly all sectors except the rightwing, and was presented by Deputy Jorge Obeid who criticized Washington's anti-Cuba stance. It is curious he said that they speak of human rights in Cuba and not about the thousands of deaths by bombardment in Afghanistan and the children killed by invading forces in Palestine. Deputy Edgardo Grosso of the Radical Civic Union, said Argentina's decision was related to Washington's promise to extend the Duhalde government financial assistance in exchange for a vote against Cuba. *ISRAEL DEFIES THE WORLD, INVADES MORE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY Jerusalem, April 11 (RHC)-- Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon today ignored international demands to withdraw his troops from Palestinian territories and stepped up his campaign to destroy the Palestine National Authority which he classes as a terrorist organization. Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into other areas of the West Bank against open demands to halt from the international community. Yesterday, the European Parliament urged its governments to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv, and US President George Bush has become more strident in his demands that Sharon pull back. Palestinian officials estimated the death toll since the attack began two weeks ago to be 500. At least 1,260 Palestinians and 445 Israelis have been killed since the Intifada began in September 2000. Constantly using the catch word "terrorist" in an effort to gain Washington's support, Ariel Sharon said that there were many more so-called terrorists at large that Israel needed to neutralize and that his country had the right to defend itself whatever anyone else said. French nationals caught in Ramallah have reported systematic and wanton destruction of property by Israeli soldiers, the placing of snipers on rooftops and the assassination of Palestinian militants. It appeared, they said, that the Israelis sought to terrorize the population as much as possible. US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who is today in Jordan, will be meeting Friday with besieged Palestine President Yasser Arafat. To Sharon's evident anger, Powell has acknowledged Arafat's role as his people's legitimate leader. Referring to the total blockade under which Arafat now lives, Powell said that the Bush administration would like to see the Palestinian leader gain what he termed as "more space and access." The United States has come under great criticism for its delay in sending Colin Powell, which has been interpreted as giving Sharon a free hand to his utmost before the Secretary of State arrives in Israel. In what is being feared by Israelis as the beginning of a wider conflict, the Lebanese border was once more the scene of missiles and mortars fired against Israel by Hezbollah forces. *POLICE ARRESTS MADE IN MEXICAN PRESIDENT'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST CORRUPTION Mexico City, April 11 (RHC)-- Some 120 Mexican police officers - including the chief of police of the nation's second largest city, Tijuana - have been arrested in President Vicente Fox's ongoing campaign against corruption. Many of the officers were surprised by federal police and army troops at a meeting in a police academy in Tecate. The arrests came after the United Nations had decried police corruption in Mexico. Recently important advances against the country's illicit drug trade have been made and many of the arrested police officers are charged with protecting local drug lords. In early March one of Mexico's most notorious drug operators, Benjamin Arellano Felix, was arrested. The arrests came a few days after the discovery of a tunnel under the US-Mexico border, which had been used, for smuggling large amounts of drugs and undocumented workers into the United States. *RUSSIA NAMES TWO US DIPLOMATS ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE Havana, April 11 (RHC)-- Russian security officials have given more details in their accusation against the United States of spying on their defense system. Earlier in the week Moscow said that the CIA had approached a Russian defense official attempting to glean information from him. Today, Russian Federal Security agents named the two US diplomats involved as David Robertson and Yunju Kensinger. Kensinger apparently used secret drop points and messages in invisible ink. The Russian defense worker was reportedly drugged when he went to a US embassy in a former Soviet republic to seek information about a relative who had gone missing abroad. The Associated Press reports that embassy officers allegedly slipped him drugs to get information out of him. According to AP he was found with shock and amnesia, but was later able to reconstruct the details of his visit. *INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT BECOMES A REALITY The Hague, April 11 (RHC)-- The International Criminal Court has finally become a reality. Seated at The Hague in the Netherlands, its role will be principally to investigate crimes against humanity but has been a long time setting up due to opposition from Washington. Another 10 countries signed the treaty to create the court today, which brought the total number of signatories to 66. At least 60 countries needed to sign for the tribunal to come into force. The court will try cases that signatory nations have been unable or unwilling to pursue themselves. Currently, the international courts to try gross human rights abuses have only existed on a need basis. They were set up for Rwanda and Yugoslavia to prosecute crimes specifically committed in those countries during a particular time. The ICC will be a permanent and ongoing body. Although the United States signed the ICC treaty under Bill Clinton, the Bush administration is strongly against it as it fears it may be brought to trial for abuses of its own. China also opposes the court's creation. In related news, the Yugoslav parliament has approved a new law that will pave the way for suspected war criminals to be extradited to the UN tribunal in The Hague. The US had frozen aid after Yugoslav authorities failed to meet a 31 March deadline to act on extraditing war criminals. *ZIMBABWE OPPOSITION TO FILE APPEAL AGAINST ELECTION RESULTS Harare, April 11 (RHC)-- Zimbabwe's main opposition party, Movement for a Democratic Change or MDC, which lost last month's election, has announced it will file a court appeal against the victory of President Robert Mugabe. MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai told the press that his party sought to expose what he termed as "shocking electoral fraud." He is currently under arraignment for allegedly plotting to kill Mugabe. Saying that he had an overwhelmingly strong case, Tsvangirai added that he was sure that an impartial court would set Mugabe's election victory aside and call a new election. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has categorically refused to even contemplate such an occurrence in spite of international pressure. The MDC has charged that ZANU-PF tampered with voter roles in rural areas, stuffed ballot boxes, threatened violence and locked out voters in some urban areas. Last month the Commonwealth to which Zimbabwe is a member, suspended Harare for a year after its own observers had denounced the election and the violence surrounding it. *CHINA REPORTS 850,000 MAY BE INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS Beijing, April 11 (RHC)-- Public health authorities in China have reported that more than 850,000 Chinese could be infected with the HIV/AIDS virus with the number of those already dead rising to as many as 120,000. Ministry of Health spokesperson, Qi Xiaoqiu, announced today that 30,736 people had been confirmed as HIV positive last year of whom 1,594 had developed full-blown AIDS and 684 had died. These figures represent a 40% increase in estimated infection rates, said the Chinese official. With such an increase the World Health Organization estimates that China could have more than 10 million HIV positive citizens by 2010. *Viewpoint: EDUCATION IS A PRIORITY IN CUBA Cuba devotes 10 percent of its Gross Domestic Product to education. This makes it possible to carry out programs such as the remodeling of schools, the opening of new centers, and the purchasing of modern equipment, such as computers, to open more and more computer clubs where children not only play games, but accumulate the necessary skills for their future. On Wednesday, Cuban president Fidel Castro re-inaugurated some one hundred schools here in Havana, which were refurbished. These schools will benefit over 33 thousand children in primary, high school and special education centers. Earlier this year, another 200 of these schools were also re-opened, as part of a nationwide program that is aimed at improving the conditions of education facilities wherever its needed. All in all, there are 302 of these repaired schools here in the Cuban capital, a task for which some 8 million dollars were invested. Another 2000 new classrooms are now under construction, with the purpose of achieving the goal of having 20-student classrooms for the upcoming school year. Also contributing to this goal will be the reconstruction of another 400 schools, the opening of another 33 educational centers, and the formation of another 800 teachers. At the end of this program, the country would have spent some 24 million dollars. Despite difficulties imposed by Washington's blockade against Cuba, programs like this one have continued to be implemented, and education, like health care, continues to be free of charge for all. Another education program worth mentioning is the one now being carried out islandwide, which has been specially created for young people from 17 to 29 years of age. These youngsters, for one reason or another, had stopped studying for economic or perhaps personal reasons, and are now willing to continue their studies. These young men and women now have the possibility of finishing their 9th or 12th grade, and to incorporate themselves into the island's educational program leading to a university career, or to a better job. Perhaps many of our listeners don't know that there are over 400 schools for special education on the island, which receive some 55,000 minors with intellectual, physical, or development problems. And that there are over 500 teachers teaching 1,200 students in their homes - children for whom it's impossible to attend their classrooms. Altogether, there are some 15 thousand teachers devoted to this beautiful and rewarding task. Every year, 3,000 people with these problems graduate from these schools, people who re-incorporate themselves to society now with more opportunities, to work or to begin a university career. According to the UN Charter on Human Rights, every child in the world has the right to education - Cuba ensures that this right is respected. (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-21437 2002-Apr-13 17:22:50