Radio Havana Cuba-06 February 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 06 Febuary 2002 . *WORLD SOCIAL FORUM CONDEMNS U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA *CUBAN CONFERENCE GOAL: REGIONAL NETWORK OF ADVANCED MEDICAL EDUCATION *7th INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL OPENS IN HAVANA *US CONGRESS SUBPOENAS LABOR SECRETARY AFTER TESTIMONY FROM ENRON WORKER *ISRAEL HAS DEMOLISHED 600 HOMES IN GAZA STRIP, LEAVING 5,000 PALESTINIANS HOMELESS: REPORT *VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER REBUFFS CRITICISMS BY COLIN POWELL *EUROPEAN LEADERS BLAST WASHINGTON'S UNILATERAL POLICIES *BRITISH P.M. SAYS WEST HAS OBLIGATION TO TACKLE AFRICA'S POVERTY Viewpoint: *PRESSURED BY US HAWKS, COLLIN POWELL LASHES OUT AT VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT *MEXICO AND CUBA: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLIDARITY *COSTA RICA FORCED INTO SECOND ROUND OF VOTING TO ELECT A PRESIDENT . *WORLD SOCIAL FORUM CONDEMNS U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA Porto Alegre, February 6 (RHC)-- Delegates to the Second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre voiced their strong condemnation of Washington's economic blockade of Cuba. In statements to the media on Tuesday at the conclusion of the five-day meeting in Brazil, delegates said the 40-year-old blockade of the island was illegal and immoral. The Second World Social Forum brought together more than 60,000 participants from 123 countries -- including environmentalists, political and social activists and leaders from some 5000 organizations. According to Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prizewinner and one of the delegates to the Forum in Brazil, the annual meeting is now being seen as an important instrument in the struggle against neo-liberal economic theories. The Argentinean political activist noted that last year, at the first World Social Forum, the meeting did not get the recognition it is receiving today. During the discussions in Porto Alegre, participants strongly criticized the United States for its war of aggression against Afghanistan, which Washington likes to call its "war on terrorism." Debates also centered on the U.S. plan known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas -- which delegates condemned as a scheme to economically annex the region. Delegates also accused the International Monetary Fund of pressuring poor countries to adopt economic programs that only worsen social inequalities and aggravate poverty. And they agreed to coordinate protests against the economic policies of international lending agencies -- with demonstrations planned throughout Europe and the United States. Participants at the Second World Social Forum not only condemned the U.S. blockade against Cuba and expressed their solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, but also spoke out on behalf of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination -- condemning the repressive measures being carried out by Israel *CUBAN CONFERENCE GOAL: REGIONAL NETWORK OF ADVANCED MEDICAL EDUCATION Havana, February 6 (RHC)-- The Secretary General of the Union of Latin American Universities, Juan José Sánchez Sosa, is in Havana to attend a conference to explore the possibility of putting together a regional network of advanced medical teaching. Radio Havana Cuba spoke to him during a break in the conference, which is taking place at Cuba's principal School of Medicine, Victoria de Girón. "The idea consists of using the resources of the universities of the Union of Latin American Universities which number 158 in 20 countries. Most of these universities have schools of medicine, schools of nursing, schools of psychology etc. We often forget there are very high quality resources in neighboring countries and we often don't even know what each other are doing in terms of advances in research, new innovative programs in the teaching and training of advanced professionals. So our host, the Cuban Victoria de Girón School of Medicine, made a proposal to organize -- through the Union and the Pan-American Health Organization -- a network that would offer updates and continuing education courses that any of the 158 institutions could plug into. A good portion of the program will be virtual. Many universities already have update programs for health professionals with connections to Spanish institutes. Some programs, however, that originate in non-Spanish speaking countries and have been translated into Spanish, tend to be distant from our regional needs. So the idea is to tailor such research and teaching technologies to the specific needs of Latin America and then seek out the resources to offer them." *7th INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL OPENS IN HAVANA Havana, February 6 (RHC)-- The 7th International Poetry Festival, organized by the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC), got underway Tuesday in Havana. The president of the Writers Section of UNEAC, Francisco Lopez Sacha opened the festival, followed by the inauguration of a painting exhibition by an Argentinean artist and resident in Cuba, Ana Erra. The official inauguration of the Festival took place last night at the Lesser Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Old Havana. The Festival includes workshops, lectures and poetry readings given by renowned poets from Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and other Latin American countries. The participants also include poets from European countries including Greece, Germany, Austria and Spain. The 7th International Poetry Festival will run parallel to the 11th Havana International Book Fair, which starts tomorrow, Thursday, at the San Carlos de la Cabana Fortress. The Book Fair will include the launching of poetry books written by participants of the Poetry Festival. *US CONGRESS SUBPOENAS LABOR SECRETARY AFTER TESTIMONY FROM ENRON WORKER Washington, February 6 (RHC)-- The U.S. Congress has subpoenaed Labor Secretary Elaine Chao in the Enron finance scandal after hearing testimony from a former worker of the firm who lost tens of thousands of dollars in retirement funds. On Tuesday, before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Deborah G. Perrota, an administrative assistant, broke down in tears as she described loosing her job, 40,000 dollars in retirement savings and all but a fraction of her severance pay. Her testimony contrasted with that of Cindy Olso, executive vice president of Enron's human resources department, who matter-of-factly described how a year ago, when Enron stock was near its peak, she cashed in options on 83,000 shares, netting about 3 million dollars - something lower-level workers were forbidden to do. Following the testimony, Senator Joseph Lieberman said the thought of employees sustaining huge losses while executives were able to sell stock for millions is infuriating. Lieberman announced that he was going to issue further subpoenas to investigate the multi-million dollar bonuses paid to Enron executives just days before the firm declared bankruptcy. Joseph Berardino, chairman of Enron's Arthur Andersen accounting firm, was also angrily grilled by lawmakers following recent revelations that he shredded thousands of documents concerning Enron's financial activities. A dozen committees are investigating Enron, along with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as politicians in both parties who received significant campaign contributions from the firm scramble to distance themselves from the scandal. *ISRAEL HAS DEMOLISHED 600 HOMES IN GAZA STRIP, LEAVING 5,000 PALESTINIANS HOMELESS: REPORT Tel Aviv, February 6 (RHC)-- Israel has demolished more than 600 homes in the Gaza Strip since the Intifada began 18 months ago, leaving 5,000 residents homeless, according to the Israeli pacifist organization B'Tselem. In a new, 40-page report, the group affirmed that the vast majority of these demolitions took place at night without any warning to residents, some of whom were forced to flee their homes when bulldozers were already at their doorstep. B'Tselem charged that the policy behind the operations amounted to "collective punishment" forbidden under international law as stipulated in the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. The report found that the houses demolished and the orchards destroyed by Israeli soldiers belonged to Palestinians whom even Israel does not contend were involved in any way in attacks on Israeli civilians or security forces. Moreover, it continued, Israel's insistence that the demolitions are justified by a "pressing military necessity" so urgent that time cannot be given to warn residents to remove their property, or give them a chance to appeal before an official body, is contradicted by the fact that they are planned weeks in advance but then delayed until a suitable moment. Noting that Israel also routinely refuses to compensate Palestinians for their losses, B'Tselem also denounced Israeli gunfire at homes in the middle of the night in which civilians, including small children are living. The report did not include demolitions that have occurred in the West Bank, or in East Jerusalem - where between Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning 5 Palestinian homes were flattened by bulldozers protected by Israeli soldiers and army tanks. *VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER REBUFFS CRITICISMS BY COLIN POWELL Caracas, February 6 (RHC)-- Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila has asserted that his country does not request from another government authorization or permission in the design of its foreign and domestic policies. The statement was in response to testimony Tuesday before the US Congress from Secretary of State Colin Powell, who harshly criticized the Venezuelan government. Powell told U.S. lawmakers that the White House has on several occasions expressed to Venezuelan authorities its displeasure with that country's policies and its discrepancy with Venezuela's concept of democracy. The Secretary of State also said that Washington is disgusted with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's visits to what he called "despotic states," as well as what he called Venezuela's lack of full cooperation in the so-called war on terrorism and some of the Venezuelan President's criticism of the war in Afghanistan. Last October, Chavez showed on television the image of an Afghan child killed by US bombs, insisting that terror cannot be fought with more terror - sparking a diplomatic spat between the two countries. The Venezuelan Foreign Minister said his government is supremely proud of its sovereign and independent foreign policy. In reference to Powell's doubts about the nature of Venezuela's democracy, Davila reiterated his administration's defense of participatory democracy, insisting that representative democracy is not sufficient to solve his country's acute social problems. He added that Venezuela's democratic system is validated by a new constitution recently approved by the Venezuelan people. *EUROPEAN LEADERS BLAST WASHINGTON'S UNILATERAL POLICIES Paris, February 6 (RHC)-- European leaders have continued blasting Washington's unilateral policies and its concept of the so-called war on terrorism. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine Wednesday stated that the U.S. government's unilateralism is a threat to the world, that Washington has a tendency to deal with international issues without consulting anyone and based on its own interpretation of its own interests, and that U.S. authorities refuse to commit themselves to any multilateral accord or negotiation that could interfere with its unilateral decisions and freedom of action. He also criticized the US government's tendency to reduce all international problems to the struggle against terrorism, calling this attitude simplistic and insisting that it's necessary to attack the roots of problems - which, he stated, are poverty and injustice. The French Foreign Minister pointed to the conflict in the Middle East, noting that for Europe, Washington's support of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's policy of pure repression is an error. Vedrine's statements come on the heels of widespread European criticism of President George W. Bush's recent definition of Iraq, Iran and Korea as an "axis of evil." *BRITISH P.M. SAYS WEST HAS OBLIGATION TO TACKLE AFRICA'S POVERTY London, February 6 (RHC)-- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned western nations to tackle poverty in Africa or risk renewed terrorism at home. As Blair headed Wednesday for a tour of Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Senegal, he stated that the West has a vested interest in helping the poor, that rich nations could not afford to let Africa spiral deeper into poverty. He said mutual interest and self-interest increasingly walk hand in hand, insisting that industrialized nations have a duty to act. Comparing Africa with Afghanistan 10 years ago, the British Prime Minister noted that Afghanistan was allowed to deteriorate into a failed state living on drugs and terrorism, and that in the end the impact was felt on the streets of America. Blair's spokesman, however, was reportedly at pains to play down what might be achieved during the visit, saying that no one is pretending to solve the problems of Africa in four days -- the length of the Prime Minister's visit. Last year, Blair told his Labor Party's annual conference that Africa's poverty is a scar on the conscience of the world and could be healed -- but since then London has done little of substance towards this effort. The British prime minister said he hoped his Africa mission would pave the way for agreement from the world's richest countries, the Group of Eight, at June's G8 summit in Canada on the implementation of a New Partnership for Africa Development program. Viewpoint: *PRESSURED BY US HAWKS, COLLIN POWELL LASHES OUT AT VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT Perhaps to keep from falling completely out of the nest of hawks controlled by Vice President Richard Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell has lashed out at the Venezuelan government, in a cr.ude act of intervention in the internal affairs of another nation. Washington's top diplomatic said that his country is concerned over President Hugo Chavez' trips to "strange" countries. Apparently he was referring to the Venezuelan leader's visit to Iraq. Powell also accused President Chavez of not sufficiently supporting the anti-terrorist crusade that Washington is heading, because Chavez had dared to criticize the killing of innocent civilians in the indiscriminate bombings against Afghanistan. In sum, Mr. Powell declared that Washington was irritated by the behavior of the democratically elected leader of Venezuela. But there is much to make one think that the statements are really intended to place the secretary state in good standing with those who may feel that he has not proved himself sufficiently hawkish. When Colin Powell was designated secretary of state, most interpreted it as a message of unity after the questionable presidential "elections" in which George W. Bush was effectively appointed president by the Supreme Court. Powell, born and raised in a tough neighborhood in Bronx, New York, a descendent of Jamaican immigrants, rose in U.S. society to the status of national hero and has come to be considered internationally as a prudent person. Three times however, his boss, President Bush, has publicly disagreed with his policy statements. Last year, the State Department announced that Washington would maintain its policy of reconciliation on the Korea Peninsula, but in March the White House launched a disrespectful attack against North Korean president, Kim Jong II, which nearly stymied the delicate peace process. Colin Powell also pushed for normalizing relations with Tehran and even praised Iran's role in Washington's anti-terrorism campaign. However in his State of the Union address to Congress, George Bush felt obligated to thwart any such initiative by proclaiming the existence of an "evil axis" which included Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Some days later, Powell's spokesman, Richard Boucher, attempted to repair the damage with an announcement that Washington was willing to continue the dialogue with Pyongyang. But once again, Bush interfered, this time saying that the United States would only talk if all the troops stationed on the border with South Korea were pulled out and if the exportation of arms to other countries were ended; both impractical demands. Finding himself in that situation its reasonable to assume that Powell is trying to regain lost credibility with his attack against Venezuela, because it would be foolhardy to believe for a minute that despite his moderate image we are in the presence of a dove of peace. Powell resume tells a different story: it includes two terms of duty in the war in Vietnam, where he earned his first two promotions. He was also involved in the invasion of Grenada, the bombing of Libya, the bloody operation against Panama and the Gulf War. With that history, and under serious pressure from his bosses, we will have to wait and see how Colin Powell behaves in his upcoming visit to Colombia, with a possible stop over in Nicaragua. There is every indication that he will attempt at any cost, to keep himself cozy in Washington's nest of hawks. *MEXICO AND CUBA: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLIDARITY Cuba bid farewell to the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, on Monday after a short visit by the head of a nation that has maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba for 100 years - longer than any other country in the hemisphere. Mexico, a nation that lost half of its territory to the expansionism of the United States, has always been sympathetic to Cuba and it's struggle for independence and sovereignty. Mexican president, Porfidio Díaz, received Cuban independence fighter José Martí in 1894, even personally granting him funds to pursue his battle against Spanish domination. In 1955, Mexico offered shelter to the recently released Fidel Castro and his companions who had spent two years in prison for the attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba. And it was from Tuxpán, Mexico that the Granma left bringing about the liberation of Cuba in 1959. >From the outset of the Cuban Revolution, Mexico City was supportive of Havana, maintaining relations in spite of phenomenal pressure from Washington. In the face of US support of counter-revolutionary forces in Cuba, Mexico introduced a resolution in the United Nations in 1961 appealing to all countries to "ensure that their territories and resources are not used to promote a civil war in Cuba." The following year Mexico was one of only six nations not to vote Cuba out of the Organization of American states, and in 1963 one of only five nations not to vote for a travel ban to the island. By the time Washington had finished pressuring the others, Mexico was the only nation in the 21-member organization that consistently maintained diplomatic relations with Havana. As early as 1974, then-Mexican President Luis Echeverría condemned the US blockade of Cuba, demanding its end. As a result dozens of bombs were exploded across Mexico by right-wing Cuban-American organizations, killing five Mexicans. And it was due to intensive lobbying by Mexico City that in 1975 the OAS voted to end collective sanctions against those nations maintaining diplomatic relations with Cuba. Echeverría visited Havana on a state visit in August of the same year, praising Cubans for their resistance to the blockade. Future visits to Mexico and Cuba by Fidel Castro and other Mexican leaders maintained the warm and commercially important relationship between both nations. That relationship has lasted to the present day in spite of some frosty periods due, in most part, to US coercion of previous Mexican administrations. The visit by President Vicente Fox at the personal invitation of President Fidel Castro, is another sign that Mexico and Cuba are firm in their desire to maintain this very special relationship between two very revolutionary peoples after one hundred years of solidarity. *COSTA RICA FORCED INTO SECOND ROUND OF VOTING TO ELECT A PRESIDENT Because a full third of Costa Rican voters didn't bother to go to the polls in Sunday's presidential elections, for the first time in history another round will be necessary to elect a president in an end to the bipartisanism that has characterized the nation for more than 50 years. With the participation of an unprecedented 13 candidates for president, just a bit more than a million three hundred thousand Costa Ricans cast their ballots. Already by nightfall, it had become clear that another round of voting would be necessary on April 7, since none of the candidates had managed to rally the 40% required to be declared the winner. At any rate, it is Costa Rica's two traditional parties, the Liberal and the Christian Social, that will face off in the decisive round. But no matter who wins, one thing is already clear: they will not enjoy a majority in parliament which will force the new president to make strategic alliances in order to govern the country. Often referred to as "the Switzerland of Central America," Costa Rica has not managed to escape the problems that have gripped the region, among them administrative corruption, which political analysts name as among the principal causes of the 30 per cent absenteeism. And though crime and violence rates are far below those of their neighbors, the truth is that Costa Ricans no longer enjoy the tranquility and security that distinguished their country just a short time ago. Poverty is also on the rise. Already 20 per cent of Costa Ricans officially live below the poverty line according to government figures, though many non-governmental organizations say that the number is more like 38 per cent, because the economy is too weak to create the new jobs that are necessary each year. Nor is it possible to ignore the fact that drug trafficking rings have appeared in Costa Rica. In just a few years the country has become one of the principal drop off points for illegal drugs which are being sent to the U.S. market, bringing with them all the social evils associated with the drug trade. And so, the two candidates that will participate in the second round of voting in April, Abel Pacheco , of the conservative Christian Social Party which is currently in power, and liberal Rolando Araya, will be facing tremendous challenges if they are to maintain stability and re -start the flagging economy. The price of ignoring the well being of the population, or of failing to make it a priority or of only being concerned about a small group of economically powerful people, has been painfully illustrated in at least three Central American countries. Those nations were embroiled in decades-long armed conflicts and have not yet been able to achieve enough peace and stability to begin true economic and social development and they continue being considered as the continent's most violence torn nations, something no one would wish on Costa Rica. (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-16343 2002-Feb-07 05:03:00