Radio Havana Cuba-04 March 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 04 March 2002 . *CUBA POSES NO MILITARY, DRUG OR TERRORIST THREAT TO US: McCAFFREY *CUBA ACCUSES WASHINGTON OF PRESSURING EU IN ORDER TO REGAIN UN RIGHTS SEAT *42nd ANNIVERSARY OF TERRORIST BOMBING IN HAVANA BAY *PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS ON CHILD PSYCHIATRY UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL *CUBA BUILDS ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL IN YEMEN *4th INTERNATIONAL CULINARY FESTIVAL SLATED FOR MAY *ISRAELI MILITARY PRESSURE RELENTLESS AFTER BLOODIEST WEEKEND YET *BUSH FACES FIRST CONGRESSIONAL CONCERN AND DOUBT OVER WAR ON TERRORISM *COLOMBIA SLIDES DEEPER INTO TURMOIL AS LEFTIST GUERRILLAS LAY SIEGE *US VIETNAM VETS SAY VIETNAM DUE COMPENSATION FOR AGENT ORANGE *IN MIDST OF ALL-OUT WAR, COLOMBIA TO HOLD LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS ON SUNDAY . *CUBA POSES NO MILITARY, DRUG OR TERRORIST THREAT TO US: McCAFFREY Havana, March 4 (RHC) - A retired US Army general has affirmed in Havana that Cuba represents a zero military threat to the United States. General Barry McCaffrey, the US's former drug czar and now a university professor visiting the island with the independent Washington-based Center for Defense Information, also told a news conference in the Cuban capital that he sees no evidence at all that the Cubans are in any way facilitating drug trafficking. Following a 12-hour gathering with Cuban President Fidel Castro, McCaffrey said Sunday that, indeed, he sees good evidence of the opposite, expressing "strong belief" that Cuba is an island of resistance to drug trafficking and supporting increased cooperation between Cuba and the US in the areas of drug interdiction and fighting terrorism. He stated that he did not believe Cuba was a terrorism threat to the United States or that the island is harboring terrorist organizations, adding that the US should care more about Latin America in general and Cuba in particular instead of allowing the Cuban-American community to control the political debate over the Caribbean island. McCaffrey said the issue of political prisoners arose in his discussion with Fidel Castro, but did not say what the Cuban leader's response was, except that he received "an attentive and respectful hearing." *CUBA ACCUSES WASHINGTON OF PRESSURING EU IN ORDER TO REGAIN UN RIGHTS SEAT Havana, March 4 (RHC) - Cuba has accused Washington of pressuring the European Union in order to regain its lost seat at the United Nations Human Rights Commission. A press release by Cuba's permanent UN mission, published in the Monday edition of the official "Granma" newspaper, affirmed that at a gathering with Latin American ambassadors last February 15, the US ambassador pathetically said that his job depends on getting that seat back. The US ambassador called on Latin America to pressure the European Union to withdraw its two candidates to pave the way for Washington's candidate, according to Cuba's permanent UN mission, afterwards calling on the region's diplomats to vote against Cuba at the commission's upcoming session. He reportedly read a State Department document secretly circulating in Latin American capitals affirming that the Czech Republic has again agreed to sponsor the anti-Cuba resolution, but only if it's certain that the document has the necessary votes for approval. Cuba's permanent UN mission said that, oddly, the US ambassador didn't insist on a Latin American co-sponsorship of the anti-Cuba resolution and didn't mention previous intense efforts to achieve this objective. In what Cuba's diplomats called a veiled threat, the US ambassador said that President George W. Bush would personally take up the matter at the Central American and Andean Summits this month. Cuba's permanent UN mission said that the State Department's Cuba desk official, James Carragher, and the chief of the US Interests Section in Havana, Vicki Huddleston, traveled together last February 20 and 21 to Miami to discuss the issue with the discredited Cuban-American National Foundation. Cuba's UN diplomats said it's time to inform the world body's member nations about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering going on, and that other similar episodes will be made public. *42nd ANNIVERSARY OF TERRORIST BOMBING IN HAVANA BAY Havana, March 4 (RHC)-- Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the terrorist sabotage bombing of a French freighter in Havana Bay. On March 4, 1960, the "Le Coubre" -- loaded with weapons and ammunition that Cuba had purchased from Belgium -- exploded, killing more than 100 dockworkers and soldiers. Belgium had ignored a U.S. request to refuse to sell arms to Cuba. As the freighter was being unloaded, an explosion rocked the ship; a second, more powerful blast killed many rescue workers who were responding to the cries for assistance. Cuban media highlighted the anniversary, pointing out that the island has been a victim of terrorist attacks for more than four decades. *PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS ON CHILD PSYCHIATRY UNDERWAY IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, March 4 (RHC)-- The Pan-American Congress on Child Psychiatry got underway in the Cuban capital on Monday, with the participation of more than 500 specialists from some 20 countries. The meeting is taking place at Havana's International Convention Center and runs through Friday, the 8th. Among the goals: establishing multilateral cooperation in areas dealing with children and adolescents. According to organizers of the regional congress, experts in the field of child psychiatry will meet all this week to exchange information on childhood problems, with a particular emphasis on the negative influence of violence in culture and the media. Other issues will be discussed, including the growing dangers of child abuse, anti-social and criminal behavior among young people and the urgent need to promote sound mental health. *CUBA BUILDS ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL IN YEMEN Havana, March 4 (RHC)-- A new orthopedic hospital with 150 beds, similar to the Frank País Hospital in the Cuban capital, will be built by the Ministry of Construction (MICONS) in the Yemenite city of Sanaa. The hospital is part of a cooperation agreement signed by Professor Rodrigo Alvarez Cambras, director of the Frank País Scientific Complex in Havana and president of the Cuban-Arab Friendship Association. Under the terms of the joint administration accord signed by the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), the new installation will have medical personnel, technicians and nurses from Frank País Hospital. Dr. Alvarez Cambras recently traveled to Yemen, leading a delegation of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, MINSAP and MICONS. The group was received by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and met with Yemen's health minister, Dr. Abdul Nacer Munibari; the Parliament's vice president, Al-Raee; and the head of Yemen's Army Medical Services, Hashim Ahmed Abdullah. During the visit, in which the ties of friendship and collaboration between the two countries were highlighted, Yemenite authorities also requested Cuban medical personnel for several hospitals in Aden, Thais, Lage and other cities. *4th INTERNATIONAL CULINARY FESTIVAL SLATED FOR MAY Havana, March 4 (RHC)-- Chefs and other cooking professionals from around the world, along with doctors and dieticians, will attend the 4th International Culinary Festival, slated for May in the Cuban capital. Delegations from 15 countries have already confirmed their participation at the event, which will be held at Havana's Hotel Nacional. Representatives from the World and Pan American Health Organizations, the World Chefs' Association and the Caribbean Medical Association will also be in attendance. The 4th International Culinary Festival will be held under the slogan: "Cooking: a source of health, culture and pleasure." Companies supplying food products, state-of-the-art equipment, wine, beer, mineral water and soft drinks will display their wares; also included are lectures, workshops, future plans and visits. According to organizers of the festival, more than 400 participants, including journalists and photographers from specialized publications, will cover the event. The final program will take place in Lenin Park, with a musical show and Cuban cuisine. Cuban food enjoyed by visitors accounts for around 30 percent of the tourism sector's income. *ISRAELI MILITARY PRESSURE RELENTLESS AFTER BLOODIEST WEEKEND YET Ramallah, Tel Aviv, March 4 (RHC) -- Israeli occupation troops Monday continued intensifying their assault on Palestinians, killing 18 - including 5 children - following the death over the weekend of 22 Israelis at the hands of Palestinian militants. This weekend is being called the deadliest since the beginning of the Intifada. Israeli tanks opened fire Monday on a pickup truck and another vehicle belonging to a suspected Palestinian militant, killing 6, including a woman, an eight-year-old and a four-year-old. The suspected militant was not in the vehicle at the time. Israeli tanks also again entered the Jenin refugee camp as Palestinians opened fire and set off explosives. Similar exchanges of gunfire occurred in the Gaza Strip at the Rafah refugee camp on the Egyptian border, where Israeli troops demolished three buildings, killed two armed Palestinians and one civilian and wounded 7 people. On Saturday evening a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of women and children in an ultra-orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood, killing 9 people. Four of the dead were members of the same family, one of the remaining five an eight-month-old boy and another an 18-month-old girl. In the early hours of Sunday a lone Palestinian using a vintage World War II rifle shot dead 7 Israeli soldiers and three settlers in the West Bank. An Israeli policeman was also shot on Saturday night as he rode a motorcycle through a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to apply constant military pressure on the Palestinian National Authority, as members of his government are admitting that no one in Sharon's coalition has a solution to the conflict. *BUSH FACES FIRST CONGRESSIONAL CONCERN AND DOUBT OVER WAR ON TERRORISM Washington, March 4 (RHC) -- US President George W. Bush is coming up against the first expressions of concern and doubt in Congress regarding his so-called war on terrorism. With Republicans accusing him of being unpatriotic Senate majority leader Tom Daschle Sunday renewed his questions about the Bush administration's expansion of the war and called on the president to keep Congress better informed. In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Daschle said he thought it was time to be asking a lot more questions and that Congress should not rubber stamp any president. With Bush already planning other phases of the war on terrorism, the Senate leader said the first phase wasn't complete - pointing out that Osama bin Laden is still alive and the back of the Al Qaida terrorist network hasn't been broken. Last week, Daschle and fellow Democrat, Senator Robert Byrd - chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee - warned Defense Department officials not to expect additional money for the war without a clear explanation of the administration's goals. Daschle also said that Congress has not been properly informed of the Bush administration's decision to dispatch dozens of career government employees to bunkers outside Washington to operate what has been called a "shadow government" that would run the country in case of a catastrophic attack on Washington. *COLOMBIA SLIDES DEEPER INTO TURMOIL AS LEFTIST GUERRILLAS LAY SIEGE Bogotá, March 4 (RHC) -- Colombia slid deeper into turmoil over the weekend with the assassination of a senator, attributed by authorities to leftist guerrillas, and the rebels isolating and blacking out vast tracts of the country. The entire city of Florencia, capital of the southern province Caqueta - with 200,000 inhabitants - has been left without electricity or telephone service. Guerrillas have continued to step up the bombing of electrical towers, bridges and municipal waterworks while mining highways and setting up roadblocks, with observers calling their selection of targets increasingly audacious. Since the government broke off peace talks, more than 110 municipalities in 5 of the country's 32 provinces, representing 10 percent of Colombia's urban centers, have been left in total darkness or forced to ration electricity. The sabotage of transmission towers has cut phone service in 76 cities and towns across six provinces. The rebels seem particularly intent on bringing the conflict to the middle and upper classes in the cities so that - in their own words - the oligarchy feels the war. They've blown up a bridge and skirmished with troops in three communities just a one-hour drive outside the capital, Bogotá. Government troops are patrolling a damn near the capital. In some cities, the lack of road access due to rebel blockades has caused commerce to grind to a halt, with shops shuttered and food supplies dwindling. Analysts are asserting that the Colombian army is not strong or large enough to protect all crucial targets or to launch a knockout blow against the rebel organization. *US VIETNAM VETS SAY VIETNAM DUE COMPENSATION FOR AGENT ORANGE Hanoi, March 4 (RHC) -- American Vietnam War veterans have asserted that the US government and chemical firms that sold it Agent Orange have a moral duty to compensate Vietnamese who have suffered from exposure to the toxic defoliant. Members of the Vietnam Veterans of America are being called the driving force behind the first scientific conference on Agent Orange that opened in Hanoi on Sunday. The conference has brought together Vietnamese and US government scientists and dioxin experts worldwide to assess current knowledge about the effects of Agent Orange and map out future research paths. Paul Sutton, head of the VVA's Agent Orange/Dioxin committee - and whose three children were born with birth defects he believes were caused by his exposure to the toxic chemical - said the firms Dow Chemical and Monsanto shared a responsibility to compensate the victims. The conference will look at research showing that dioxin - a chemical used in Agent Orange - is continuing to contaminate people 30 years after the US stopped spraying it over forests in south and central Vietnam. The US sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange over Vietnam, but Washington is reluctant to acknowledge Vietnam's claim about a link between dioxin and more than a million people born with disabilities. The US government has argued that the scientific evidence is inconclusive, despite having halted the spraying when it was discovered that Agent Orange's highly toxic dioxin TCDD caused cancer in rats. More than 100,000 US veterans have filed claims for help with illnesses related to Agent Orange, but only 7,500 are currently receiving assistance. *IN MIDST OF ALL-OUT WAR, COLOMBIA TO HOLD LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS ON SUNDAY Colombia's president, Andres Pastrana, has opened up a Pandora's Box and thrown the nation into total war. Whether consciously or not, he has set the course for a long announced spiral of violence that has already claimed its first victims. This weekend Colombia was shaken by the assassination of Senator Martha Catalina Daniels, a controversial figure in the country's political scene. Marked next for death was city counselor Oscar Zarate Murcia in Cundinamarca . Senatorial candidate, Juan Carlos Claros, is hovering between life and death. Though the violence is affecting everyone, the obvious question is still unanswered: who benefits from the escalation of the war? At the moment, and some may consider it to be a paradox, it is the most extreme segment of society, that which is advocating a strictly military solution to the internal armed conflict, that is reaping the benefits of terror; consistently winning popularity polls each week in Colombia. There is obviously political profit to be gained from taking an authoritarian position. In the particular case of Colombia, another sector is benefiting from the heating up of the war and that is the army itself, which is finally realizing its dream of taking complete control of a good part of the country. In effect, with the creation of the so-called Military Theater of Operations, unprecedented in Colombian history, all the central, southeastern and southwestern regions are under the absolute control of the armed forces. The military now has at its disposal not only the former demilitarized zone, but also a large portion of land on which to practice its tactics. There is already talk of sophisticated methods to control the population, like a census, an inventory of possessions and products, especially food, rigorous control of people's movements as well as a State of Siege and curfews completely at the discretion of the military commands. The civil State has disappeared in much of Colombia giving way to a militarized state. And it is in this terrifying and depressing atmosphere that Colombians will cast their votes on Sunday to elect the 166 members of the House and 102 in the Senate, in an election considered to be instrumental in determining the winner in presidential elections on May 26. But no matter what happens, it is inevitable that the results will be marked by blackmail and terror and by the repression which is being exerted on Colombian civil society, which feels obligated to chose between war and authoritarianism, as if other paths for the country's future do not exist. Unfortunately, the lack of political will on the part of Colombian authorities has generated this somber panorama. We can only wait and see if in the bottom of this military Pandora's Box, a ray of hope is to be found, the only consolation in the midst of the evils unleashed on the Colombian 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-7516 2002-Mar-05 01:53:58