Radio Havana Cuba-25 February 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 25 Febuary 2002 . *CAMPAIGN AGAINST AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO ENTERS INTO FOURTH PHASE *11th INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR TRAVELS TO CENTRAL PROVINCES *HAVANA'S INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION FAIR COMING UP *ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT WANTS TO NEGOTIATE QUICK CEASEFIRE WITH UNITA *VENEZUELA: CHAVEZ CALLS ON SUPPORTERS TO TAKE TO THE STREETS *DOZENS OF CORPORATIONS MAY FOLLOW ENRON, SAYS US LAWMAKER *FURIOUS AT PRESS LEAKS, BUSH MAY SCRAP DISINFORMATION PROJECT *COLOMBIA: US SOLDIERS IN COMBAT ZONE PROVOKE CONTROVERSY *ISRAELI SOLDIERS SHOOT TWO PREGNANT PALESTINIAN WOMEN *ARGENTINEAN PRESIDENT EDUARDO DUHALDE REJECTS CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION Viewpoint: *ARGENTINA - THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF FREE MARKET NEOLIBERALISM . *CAMPAIGN AGAINST AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO ENTERS INTO FOURTH PHASE Havana, February 25 (RHC)--The massive campaign against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito continues in the Cuban capital and the Province of Havana with the same conviction and determination as the first day. According to reports from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, the battle to eliminate the carrier of dengue is proceeding well. Organizers of the operation affirm that while 99 percent of area homes and businesses have been sprayed with the insecticide treatment, special teams return every seven days to apply more insecticide and check on the progress of the campaign. Thousands of volunteers have been mobilized to carry out this intensive campaign -- now well into its second month. Area residents, young people and students -- as well as family doctors, nurses and medical personnel in each community -- are working full-time to eliminate the dengue carrier. During a meeting over the weekend with local authorities in the capital, Esteban Lazo, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party in Havana, stated that as long as there is even one breeding place for mosquitoes, the campaign against the Aedes Aegypti will continue. Health officials reported on Monday that real progress is being made. Of the more than 2000 workplaces visited by special brigades in recent days, only 23 still had areas where mosquitoes could be found. The teams stressed that workers and residents have a special responsibility to eliminate the dengue carrier and make sure the mosquito never returns. Radio and television announcements continue to be aired, urging people to take measures that would eradicate mosquito breeding grounds. The Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) and other community groups organize regular clean-up campaigns in neighborhoods throughout Havana and the rest of the province. *11th INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR TRAVELS TO CENTRAL PROVINCES Santa Clara, February 25 (RHC)--The 11th International Book Fair is traveling to the central provinces of the island. Following a successful week-long run in Pinar del Rio, Matanzas and the Isle of Youth, the popular Book Fair has now spread to six more cities: Santa Clara, Sagua la Grande, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Avila, Morón and Camagüey. This year, the giant fiesta of books will visit a total of 18 cities before it ends next month in Santiago de Cuba. By the end of the Fair, an estimated three million books will have been purchased by Cuban readers. In Havana, during the first ten-days of the Book Fair, more than 230,000 people attended the annual event at the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress. During the Book Fair in Pinar del Rio and Matanzas last week, thousands of people crowded the stands to purchase the latest publications. Children, most of them accompanied by their parents, enjoyed cultural presentations by actors dressed up as clowns -- with the aim of promoting the importance of reading. The little ones could be seen scurrying from one booth to another, with children's books tucked under their arms. According to organizers of the Book Fair, following last year's successful event, people across the island requested that their cities and towns be included. The Cuban Book Institute and the Ministry of Culture decided to take the Fair on the road for the first time in its eleven-year history. Visitors to the Fair said that many of the books are being offered in national currency at very inexpensive prices. Some books that would easily sell for 15 or 20 dollars in any other country of the world can be purchased for as little as 50 cents or one dollar in Cuba. *HAVANA'S INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION FAIR COMING UP Havana, February 25 (RHC)--The 5th International Construction Fair, FECONS 2002, is scheduled to open in Havana on April 2nd and run through the 6th. According to experts from the construction sector, FECONS will be an excellent opportunity for businesspeople to develop multilateral contacts. The Construction Fair will also provide an exhibition site to showcase new products and services, demonstrate modern technology as well as promote commercial opportunities in the Cuban market. *ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT WANTS TO NEGOTIATE QUICK CEASEFIRE WITH UNITA Lisbon, Nairobi, February 25 (RHC)--Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has affirmed that he wants to negotiate a quick ceasefire with UNITA rebels, in his first public comments since the death of its leader Jonas Savimbi. Speaking to reporters in Lisbon as he prepared for a visit to the United States, Dos Santos said progress towards elections depended on achieving a ceasefire and demilitarizing UNITA this year. UNITA leaders have also begun speaking about peace moves. The organization's spokesman in Lisbon, Joffre Justinho, told the BBC that they were willing to participate in peace talks, but could not do so until the safety of UNITA leaders was guaranteed - saying that all its leaders in Angola were hiding in the bush. His views were reportedly echoed by the deputy speaker of Angola's Parliament, Jaka Jamba - one of a small group of UNITA legislators in Luanda. Many observers, including the BBC's Angola affairs analyst Anna Richardson, believe that Savimbi's death makes real peace a possibility for the first time in four decades. Arguing that in the early days Savimbi had a genuine cause, Richardson has asserted that many UNITA rebels no longer know what they are fighting for, that it became ever harder for Savimbi to justify his continued fight on ideological grounds. She said it became evident that it had turned into a fight for personal power, driven by one man's dangerously powerful ego. News agencies, meanwhile, are noting that in Africa, few are mourning Savimbi's death, with many calling him a terrorist and pointing to his ties with apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. Government and military officials in Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and other nations in the region have stated that Savimbi was a traitor whose ignominious place in history has already been written. *VENEZUELA: CHAVEZ CALLS ON SUPPORTERS TO TAKE TO THE STREETS Caracas, February 25 (RHC)--Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called his supporters into the streets on the occasion Wednesday of the 13th anniversary of the popular uprising known as the "Caracazo." On February 27th, 1989, tens of thousands rose up against the neoliberal free market policies of then-President Carlos Andres Perez. Hundreds were killed, while Perez was to eventually go to prison convicted of corruption. Chavez called on his followers to gather east of the capital, Caracas, and march to presidential headquarters. The march is expected to pass through the middle and upper class neighborhoods that have been the scenes of anti-Chavez demonstrations. The Venezuelan president recalled the words of the country's Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar, who said cursed be the soldier who fires on his people. The opposition, comprised of a middle class constituting some 17 percent of the population, has also announced another anti-Chavez protest that day. In related news, Chavez has ordered the arrest of a military officer who publicly called for his resignation. The high command of the country's National Guard has affirmed that Captain Pedro Flores' conduct was inappropriate given his position as an active officer, and that he would be detained for 15 days. Earlier this month, Captain Flores joined air force Colonel Pedro Soto in calling for the president to step down and for a civilian junta to govern Venezuela until elections. Colonel Soto was discharged from the armed forces on Thursday. Military authorities are now considering whether to punish navy Vice-Admiral Carlos Molina for speaking out in support of the two officers. Over the weekend, in a public display Venezuela's top military brass voiced their support for Chavez, rejecting claims of discontent among their ranks. *DOZENS OF CORPORATIONS MAY FOLLOW ENRON, SAYS US LAWMAKER Washington, February 25 (RHC)--Dozens of US companies may be using the same controversial, perhaps illegal, accounting practices that led to the Enron scandal, according to a US lawmaker who chairs one of the committees looking into the demise of the energy company. The British news daily "The Guardian" reported Monday that legislator James Greenwood made the statement to the BBC as Capitol Hill braces itself this week for three separate hearings into the cause of the collapse. Greenwood said he subscribed to the cockroach theory: if you see one scuttling across the floor, there are probably others, adding that even if a small fraction of the corporations in the US is guilty of these kinds of infractions, that could mean dozens of them. Meanwhile, the "Chicago Tribune" has asserted that there will be no political probe of Enron because the firm's money ran too deep and too wide in both the Republican and Democratic parties in both the Bush and Clinton administrations. William Neikirk, the Tribune's chief Washington correspondent, wrote Sunday that while there is boundless passion for investigating how the firm broke and manipulated the rules, due to bipartisan self-protection there is little or no zeal in Congress or the White House for exploring Enron's political machinations. According to Neikirk, Capitol Hill does not want to look into whether campaign contributions from Enron might have influenced a bill or a regulation or a policy. The Washington correspondent said the only annoying call to investigate how Enron might have used its political influence to get its way at the White House is coming from Representative Henry Waxman, but predicted that it isn't going to happen. He said there is no smoking gun because no one is looking for a smoking gun. *FURIOUS AT PRESS LEAKS, BUSH MAY SCRAP DISINFORMATION PROJECT Washington, February 25 (RHC)--The White House is reportedly going to drop a Pentagon disinformation project involving the feeding of false stories to foreign journalists, furious that the proposal was leaked. The Pentagon's "Office of Strategic Influence" was created in November to oversee the conveying of false military propaganda and other information in an effort to sway public opinion in favor of US policies. But according to "The Washington Post," White House aides "hit the ceiling" when the idea was reported last Tuesday in "The New York Times." The Post asserted that one senior official said that whoever leaked the story "did a tremendous disservice to the president" by raising questions about the administration's credibility when he was overseas. Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld has claimed that he never saw the project's work plan nor was he aware of the idea to insert slanted news. But according to Richard Butler, former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, it's difficult to believe that Rumsfeld was not aware of the matter, adding that otherwise one would have to ask whether the Defense Secretary is aware of what goes on in the Pentagon. Karen Hughes, President Bush's counselor who oversees all the public words of the administration, was called back from Asia last week to ensure that there will be no change in the administration's strict policy of, in her words, "providing reporters with the facts." *COLOMBIA: US SOLDIERS IN COMBAT ZONE PROVOKE CONTROVERSY Bogotá, February 25 (RHC)--Controversy has erupted in Colombia following revelations of the presence of uniformed American soldiers in the former demilitarized zone that served as site for the defunct rebel-government peace process. Local media outlets took photographs of the two soldiers as they accompanied President Andres Pastrana, who on Saturday traveled to the area to reclaim government sovereignty over the territory after having been in rebel hands for the previous 39 months. Colombian presidential candidate for the Liberal Party, Horacio Serpa, expressed his concern over the presence of US soldiers in a combat zone where, he insisted, only Colombian soldiers should be. Serpa has demanded an explanation from Interior Minister Armando Estrada, and also demanded to know if there were more American soldiers in the area. Air Force Commander, General Hector Fabio Velasco, rushed to insist that no foreign soldiers are involved in counterinsurgency operations, but Serpa demanded a more concise explanation. *ISRAELI SOLDIERS SHOOT TWO PREGNANT PALESTINIAN WOMEN Ramallah, February 25 (RHC)--Israeli troops Monday shot and wounded a pregnant Palestinian woman in labor and killed her husband as they tried to reach a hospital - one day after another pregnant woman was shot in an almost identical case at the same West Bank roadblock. Both the shootings took place at a checkpoint in the Palestinian town Nablus, where the Israeli army has taken over a number of buildings overlooking the nearby Balata refugee camp, a site of exchanges of gunfire between Israeli occupation soldiers and Palestinian militants. Israeli soldiers are reportedly even more prone to shoot first and ask questions later after six soldiers were killed last week by Palestinian militants in a roadblock attack outside the West Bank city of Ramallah. In Sunday's shooting at the Nablus roadblock, Israeli troops said they opened fire when the car failed to stop, but surviving occupants of the car said they heard no order to stop. Following Monday's shooting of another pregnant woman, Palestinians opened fire on a vehicle carrying Israelis, wounding four - two of them seriously. *ARGENTINEAN PRESIDENT EDUARDO DUHALDE REJECTS CALLS FOR HIS RESIGNATION Buenos Aires, February 25 (RHC)--Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde stated Sunday that he has no intentions to resign despite calls from even within his own party. At least two provincial governors from his Justicialista Party - Jose Manuel de la Sota, from Cordoba Province, and Norberto Kirchner, from Santa Cruz - have called on the president to move up elections. Meanwhile, in an effort to calm anger within the labor movement amid the country's worst socio-economic crisis ever, Duhalde has insisted that the salaries of public employees will be paid, after having said they couldn't be paid due to the country's empty coffers. With labor activists threatening to take to the streets in even greater force, Treasury Secretary Oscar Lamberto affirmed over the weekend that Duhalde's words had been misinterpreted - that he only meant it would be difficult to pay the salaries, but that they will be paid. At the same time, the Argentine government announced that it is considering a petition by the country's Catholic Church, which called on authorities to create a special tax on big business and earmark the funds for social programs, insisting that those with more should contribute more to Argentina's recuperation. Juan Palbo Cafiero, Duhalde's assistant cabinet chief, estimated that as much as 930 million dollars could be collected from large firms that have made the most money recently and whose future profit perspectives are good. It would be a on-time-only tax, according to the local news daily "Clarin." Viewpoint: *ARGENTINA - THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF FREE MARKET NEOLIBERALISM The production of poverty seems to be the only thing that Argentina is able to do efficiently these days. Since October, 1.4 million people have joined the ranks of the poor in a country that shows no signs of recovery. All the indicators show that on the contrary, the living standards of Argentines are rapidly deteriorating as misery and discontent spiral out of control, threatening to explode into something far more dangerous than the protest demonstrations that have erupted across the nation. To add insult to injury, last week president Eduardo Duhalde had the gall to raise his own salary 16 per cent even as unemployment shot up by five per cent and half of Argentines are now officially living below the poverty line. His statements that he would donate his salary to the most needy meant little because just days later he is claiming that there is no money to pay the salaries of public service workers. The president was forced to quickly backtrack on Saturday as he tried to assure the people that it wasn't that the government would not pay their wages, it was that they would be paid bit by bit as long as public funds held out, which in turn, infuriated labor unions. And speaking of funds, this week the government will attempt to comply with two International Monetary Fund dictates in order to negotiate the turnover of fresh money to the struggling Argentine government. The first is a meeting set for Monday, during which the national government will try to convince provincial governors to accept a budget redistribution plan cutting their funds. The other is a session of the National Congress set to begin on Tuesday to attempt to once and for all, discuss and pass the country's new budget, which contains severe adjustment measures in compliance with Washington's demands. We mentioned that all this is in order to receive fresh IMF money, but in fact, that is just an illusion, because in case they decide to grant credits to the bankrupt Argentine government, it would be just enough to pay back the Monetary Fund. There would be nothing to cover the growing flight of capital, or to revive dwindling monetary reserves or to reactivate the country's destroyed economy. If the anxiously awaited money does actually arrive, it will barely cover overdue obligations to international creditors and all that will be seen will be receipts and pats on the shoulder for being good clients and paying pending debts. How will Argentine officials explain this to the people, who know or care little about neoliberal monetary policy, or First World globalization and relations between Buenos Aries and Washington? What they do understand is how the prices of the basic breadbasket have doubled, how this month's inflation is seven per cent and how each day there is less work and fewer opportunities. You'd have to be a magician to avoid another social explosion. But perhaps it makes more sense to wise up and govern in a different way: to drop neoliberal free market prescriptions that threaten to kill the patient and to examine other options to pull the sinking nation out of its economic, social and political crisis. (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-25739 2002-Feb-26 01:26:55