RHC Weekend-02/03 March 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - Weekend News Update - 02/03 March 2002 . *INTERNATIONAL PRESS HIGHLIGHTS PEACEFUL EVICTION OF EMBASSY CRASHERS *OVER 20,000 GRADUATES FROM TECHNICAL INSTITUTES IN CUBA THIS YEAR *OPEN TRIBUNE HELD IN THE HAVANA MUNICIPALITY OF JARUCO *LAOTIAN LEADERS WELCOME GENERAL SECRETARY OF OSPAAAL *PERUVIANS INVESTIGATE USE OF SECRET OVENS TO INCINERATE REMAINS OF VICTIMS *WASHINGTON TO SEND TROOPS TO YEMEN AND GEORGIA IN TERRORISM WAR *MUSLIM-HINDU VIOLENCE IN INDIA WORST IN TEN YEARS *ANGOLAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE TO END 27 YEARS OF CIVIL WAR *UN SEEKS ACTION AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN IN REFUGEE CAMPS *ARGENTINE PRESIDENT RAISES HIS OWN SALARY BUT UNABLE TO PAY EMPLOYEES *SWISS TO VOTE ON UNITED NATIONS MEMBERSHIP ON SUNDAY *MORE PALESTINIANS DIE IN ISRAELI RAIDS ON REFUGEE CAMPS . *INTERNATIONAL PRESS HIGHLIGHTS PEACEFUL EVICTION OF EMBASSY CRASHERS Havana, March 2 (RHC)--Various international news media have highlighted the proper, legal and transparent way in which the Cuban government removed 21 individuals who forcibly entered the Mexican Embassy late Wednesday night and were subsequently evicted at Mexico's request, on Friday morning. Numerous media outlets highlighted the official Mexican acknowledgement of the peaceful manner in which the eviction was carried out. The BBC's correspondent in Mexico, Elva Narcia, stressed that according to the Mexican Foreign Ministry, none of the individuals who were supposedly seeking political asylum were in fact motivated by ideas or objectives of a political character. The London journalist said that the diplomatic authorities in line with established procedures, requested that the young men leave embassy grounds voluntarily but they refused to do so. Later, upon the request of Mexico, Cuban authorities removed the individuals without physical damage or incident. Various news agencies from Colombia, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Spain reported that the peaceful solution to the Mexican Embassy incident was a disappointment to Miami's right wing Cuban-American community. *OVER 20,000 GRADUATES FROM TECHNICAL INSTITUTES IN CUBA THIS YEAR Havana, March 2 (RHC)--More than 20,000 young people graduated in Cuba this year from technical institutes island-wide. Nearly 7,000 graduates from the capital and Havana Province received their diplomas Friday, in the fields of accounting, transportation, agriculture, and health care. The trainees dedicated their graduation ceremony to the 40th anniversary of Cuba's Young Communist Organization and to the centennial of the birth of the island's Cuba's National Poet, Nicolás Guillén. The graduation ceremony was attended by variousl high-ranking Cuban government officials, among them Transportation Minister Alvaro Pérez Morales, whose organization will be employing a large number of the new graduates. *OPEN TRIBUNE HELD IN THE HAVANA MUNICIPALITY OF JARUCO Havana, March 2 (RHC)--Some 10,000 Cubans from the Havana Municipality of Jaruco gathered on Saturday morning to ratify their commitment to the Cuban Revolution. During the rally, participants called for the release of the five Cuban patriots unjustly convicted and held in the United States for allegedly endangering U.S. National Security. In addition, the Jaruco residents denounced what they described as the "genocidal" Cuban Adjustment Act. That U.S. law gives Cubans, and only Cubans, the right to residency in the United States if they so much as touch U.S. territory. Cuba argues that the law encourages dangerous, illegal exits from the island. Saturday's gathering also condemned Washington's more than four-decade economic blockade against Cuba. Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro was present along with various other high-ranking leaders. *LAOTIAN LEADERS WELCOME GENERAL SECRETARY OF OSPAAAL Vientiane, March 2 (RHC)--The strong links of friendship between Laos and Cuba were stressed Saturday during a meeting in the Laotian capital between the Cuban General Secretary of the Organization of Solidarity with the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America, OSPAAAL, Juan Carretero, and his Laotian hosts. The Cuban official was welcomed by the president of the Laotian National Reunification Front, Sisavat Keobounphanh. Carretero also met with the head of the nation's Foreign Affairs Commission, Khampheng Phengmuang. Carretero held meetings with the vice president of the National Assembly and the head of the Laos-Cuba Friendship Association, Khambou Sounixay. The OSPAAAL official also participated in a reception given by the president of the Lao Committee for peace and friendship, Siho Bannavong, and visited a museum dedicated to the country's National Hero, Kaysone Phomvihane. *PERUVIANS INVESTIGATE USE OF SECRET OVENS TO INCINERATE REMAINS OF VICTIMS Lima, March 2 (RHC)--Peruvian officials are investigating charges that ovens hidden in the basement of the Army Intelligence Headquarters were used to incinerate the bodies of political opponents. The country's Attorney General's office will mount an investigation of claims made by a congressional commission that two ovens found last month in the basement of the country's Army Intelligence headquarters were used to get rid of human remains during the regime of deposed president, Alberto Fujimori. The commission based its report on eyewitnesses who testified that the "Colina" paramilitary group used the ovens to dispose of the remains of people who were murdered during the Fujimori regime. The group is accused of killing 15 people in a poor Lima neighborhood in l992 and murdering a former army intelligence agent in l997. It is also accused of many acts of torture. The report reveals that the basement was routinely used for interrogations of illegally detained persons and that physical and mental torture and disappearances occurred there. The congressional document also lists violations of human rights in which then-president Alberto Fujimori directly participated, along with the head of the Army Intelligence Service, Vladimiro Montesinos. The commission announced that it has gathered the testimonies of various torture victims. *WASHINGTON TO SEND TROOPS TO YEMEN AND GEORGIA IN TERRORISM WAR Havana, March 2 (RHC)--The U.S. Defense Department announced yesterday that the Pentagon will be sending troops to both Yemen and the former Soviet republic of Georgia to help fight against armed opposition groups that Washington says are linked to the al Qaeda network. In the Bush administration's ongoing war against terrorism, the Pentagon is sending the troops to operate in what it terms as "training exercises." It has recently done the same with the Philippines and has already provided combat helicopters to Georgia. Although the numbers of special forces troops destined for Yemen have not yet been announced, the Washington Post reports that Bush is expected to send 150 soldiers to Georgia and to increase to 660 the number of U.S. troops in the Philippines, where guerilla groups are holding two U.S. hostages. Washington now requires a governmental review of every kidnapping of a U.S. citizen abroad for possible action. Philippine commanders say that given the extent of Bush's involvement, U.S. troops are likely to be casualties in any fighting that occurs. Critics charge that Washington is deploying troops that will ultimately help to control governments and ensure favorable positions for the U.S. in international affairs at the United Nations and elsewhere. Bush is also clearly seeking the extradition of a number of al Qaeda members who are in prison in Yemen. There are also charges that the ruler of Yemen, Sheik Salih, is using the U.S. to strengthen himself against internal opposition, and that the Philippines leader and Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze are doing the same by telling Bush that they are fighting against terrorists from al Qaeda. In 2000, 19 U.S. sailors were killed in a terrorist attack against the USS Cole which was docked in the Yemeni port of Aden. Amy Hawthorne, a Yemen specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was reported by the Washington Post as saying that with the complicated nature of Yemeni politics, Washington may find itself more involved in the country's internal conflicts than it expected. *MUSLIM-HINDU VIOLENCE IN INDIA WORST IN TEN YEARS New Delhi, March 2 (RHC)--In the third day of violence between Hindus and Muslims in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the official death toll now stands at 150 in the state's main city of Ahmedabad, with more than 300 killed nationwide, although most observers believe the figure will be much higher. The killings have been brutal and have ignored age, destroying entire families for their religion, following an attack by Muslim activists on a train carrying Hindu pilgrims that left 58 dead. Hindu extremists were reportedly stopping cars to ascertain the religion of their occupants and burning alive any Muslims. Entire Muslim enclaves have been set on fire with Hindu police looking on as the trapped residents burned. The government in New Delhi has been slow to respond to the fighting, declared critics, who say that a full scale war of Muslims and Hindus may once again break out in the worst violence to hit the religiously divided country in a decade. Only 900 troops have been sent to Ahmedabad which houses a population of 5 million people, 15% of whom are Muslim. The violence is also seen as an extension of the tensions that have been rising between the Muslim state of Pakistan and the predominantly Hindu state of India in clashes that have occurred in the northern Indian state of Kashmir. *ANGOLAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE TO END 27 YEARS OF CIVIL WAR Luanda, March 2 (RHC)--In Washington on Friday, Angola's President Eduardo Dos Santos reiterated his call for a ceasefire to his country's 27-year-long civil war. The Angolan President said that what the country needs at this moment is direct contacts between the government and opposition UNITA group to return to what is outlined in the 1994 Lusaka peace accords that were intended to end Angola's civil war. Eduardo Dos Santos' visit to Washington coincided with the death last week of the leader of the opposition UNITA group, Jonas Savimbi, who was killed in an ambush. Savimbi's death is widely seen as providing the opportunity for peace since the 1994 agreement. The Angolan leader said that an agreement would never have been possible while Savimbi was alive. An estimated half-million Angolans have died in the civil war, which began after UNITA forces led by Jonas Savimbi attempted to take control of the country when Angola gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. *UN SEEKS ACTION AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN IN REFUGEE CAMPS Kigali, March 2 (RHC)--The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, has pledged disciplinary action against anyone guilty of sexually exploiting young refugees in West Africa. The UN also said that there should be a closer eye on the refugee camps to protect those who were particularly vulnerable. While speaking on Friday at the end of a seven-day trip to central Africa, Lubbers said that a refugee camp, no matter how well it is run, is no place to spend a childhood, but those children who do escape war to reach UN camps deserve at the very least a safe, decent and secure place. According to a UN report, much of the sexual violence and exploitation of children was allegedly perpetrated by workers locally employed by national and international NGOs as well as by UN agencies, including the UNHCR. According to the initial report, the problem was extensive and appeared to involve large numbers of children, most of them girls between the ages of 13 and 18 in refugee camps in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The report is based on testimonies, most of them from the children themselves, collected during a 40-day mission to the region late last year. *ARGENTINE PRESIDENT RAISES HIS OWN SALARY BUT UNABLE TO PAY EMPLOYEES Buenos Aires, March 2 (RHC)--The Argentine government announced this week that it cannot pay the monthly salaries of over half a million government employees. The government has blamed the worsening of its economic crisis on a 19% drop in tax receipts in January, with a further 12% decrease expected in February. During a radio program this week, President Eduardo Duhalde said that the government has no money. His announcement has infuriated government employees and civic groups that have been leading street protests. The statement came just a few days after the Argentine president raised his own salary and those of other top officials by 13%, the maximum permitted by law. According to reports, the government will confront a complicated week full of political negotiations; any economic recovery is viewed as highly unlikely in the short run. *SWISS TO VOTE ON UNITED NATIONS MEMBERSHIP ON SUNDAY Zurich, March 2 (RHC)--The Swiss will decide on Sunday whether or not their country is to join the United Nations, in a vote that may drag the landlocked country out of its historical isolation. Only Switzerland and the Vatican do not belong to the international body, and supporters of the measure say that it is time their country accepted the responsibilities of international trade and politics if it is to have any say in the world at all. Opponents seek to remain in the neutral isolation that kept Switzerland out of the Second World War while all the countries around her were involved. The country has been recently condemned once more for this neutrality, which involved turning away people escaping from the Nazis and sending thousands back to certain death. The referendum has become a major campaign that right wing sectors of Swiss society are saying puts the very independence of the nation at stake. Membership in the United Nations is sought by the government, the French-speaking population, churches and major corporations. Switzerland's mass media also supports a "yes" vote. In a previous 1986 vote, the Swiss voted three to one against joining the UN, but the Guardian reports that a full 56% are expected to vote in favor this time. *MORE PALESTINIANS DIE IN ISRAELI RAIDS ON REFUGEE CAMPS Jerusalem, March 2 (RHC)--A newborn Palestinian child and a young Palestinian man died today as a result of the continuing wave of violence unleashed by Israeli troops against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The baby died at dawn Saturday when Israeli soldiers refused to allow an ambulance carrying a Palestinian woman about to give birth to pass through a checkpoint at the entrance to Jerusalem. The woman gave birth on the spot and the infant died from lack of medical attention. In the West Bank, a young Palestinian who had been shot by Israeli solders last night died today after Israeli troops blocked the ambulance that was carrying him to the hospital. Israel's assault on Thursday and Friday on two West Bank Refugee camps -- Balata in Nablus and Jenin in the town of the same name 25 miles to the north -- killed 22 Palestinians, including two children. According to the "Washington Post," the attacks damaged dozens of houses and sowed fear among beleaguered residents of the camps. At dawn, the Israeli army withdrew from the Jenin camp, but remains in Balata. The report notes that as the soldiers, tanks and bulldozers concluded their second day of action on Friday, Israelis had captured no wanted militants and had recovered few arms. During the conflict, Israel has bombed, shelled, sniped at and ambushed Palestinian militia groups and security forces as well as civilians. It has sealed off villages, razed houses and bulldozed crops. Yet the Palestinians continue fighting and refuse to accept an Israeli proposal for peace that would leave them short of obtaining a viable state. An article in Saturday's "Washington Post" reveals that Israel has tried to discourage civilians from staying in Balata by destroying an electrical transformer, plunging the camp into darkness and bulldozing the single pipe that supplies its water. Meanwhile the head of the Palestinian Secret Services, General Amin al Hindi, said today that Israelis and Palestinians had achieved seven days of calm 48 hours before the Israeli attacks began on the West Bank camps. "Two days after a week of truce," he told the press in Gaza, "Israel launched its offensive against the Balata and Jenin refugee camps." And finally, Iraqi officials today called on Arab leaders who will attend the Arab League Summit set for Beirut on the 27 and 28 of this month to take action rather than just talk. Two official newspapers report that Iraqi leaders are urging Arabs to break away from foreign influence and to take a hard look at the peace plan to be presented at the summit by Saudi crown prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The plan calls for the withdrawal of Israel from the Arab territories occupied in l967, in return for Arab recognition of Israel. The 22 members of the Arab League will meet in Beirut to examine the Middle East crisis, marked by more than 17 months of an "Intifada," or popular uprising by the Palestinian people. (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-24675 2002-Mar-02 22:35:03