Radio Havana Cuba-26 March 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 26 March 2002 . *CUBA SAYS CASTANEDA BEHIND FIDEL'S EXCLUSION FROM CONFERENCE *"US TRYING TO IMPOSE WORLDWIDE DICTATORSHIP FOR ITS TRANSNATIONALS" *BOTSWANA PRESIDENT PAYS TRIBUTE IN HAVANA TO JOSE MARTI *HAVANA HOSTS INTER-AMERICAN MEETING ON LABOR RIGHTS *INTERNATIONAL THEATER DAY IN REMOTE SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAIN RANGE *FIRST ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL OPENS IN HAVANA *FIFTH NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL BEGINS IN HAVANA *US ENERGY DEPARTMENT FORCED TO RELEASE DOCUMENTS ON ENERGY PLAN *ANOTHER RECORD PLUNGE FOR THE ARGENTINE PESO *Viewpoint: BUSH VISIT LONG ON PROMISES, SHORT ON ACTION . *CUBA SAYS CASTANEDA BEHIND FIDEL'S EXCLUSION FROM CONFERENCE Havana, March 26(RHC)-- Cuba has placed full responsibility on Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda for President Fidel Castro's recent exclusion from the United Nations-sponsored International Conference on Funding for Development. An extensive, front-page editorial in Cuba's official Granma newspaper called Castaneda the "cynical architect" of President Castro's abrupt departure from the event held in Monterrey, Mexico, due to pressures from officials in Washington who told Mexican authorities that President George W. Bush would not participate in an event in which the Cuban leader was present. The editorial also accused the Mexican foreign minister of attempting to devise a plan, under Washington's auspices, to sponsor - along with Argentina and another Latin American nation - a condemnation of Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. In reference to Castaneda's public denial of having requested President Castro's absence or quick departure from the Monterrey gathering, the editorial called that affirmation a "shameless lie." Havana demanded a halt to Castaneda's provocations, insults, lies and insidious plans, warning that otherwise the Cuban government will have no alternative but to present the irrefutable evidence backing its accusations - which hasn't been done thus far in an effort to refrain from damaging Mexico's prestige or giving rise to political turmoil in that nation. The editorial recalled Castaneda's unusual statements in Miami, while addressing terrorists and mercenaries, that led to Havana's Mexican embassy crisis, as well as his key role in organizing in the Cuban capital an encounter between so-called dissidents and visiting Mexican President Vicente Fox. In related news, Mexico's angry House of Deputies has decided to call Castaneda to the floor of Congress to explain the diplomatic quarrel with Cuba. As legislator Enrique Herrera said with irony that the House of Deputies will call for the presence of journalist, writer, foreign secretary and future presidential candidate Jorge Castaneda to appear on the floor, local news dailies reported that others shouted that he should be fired and undergo a political trial in Congress for his servile and kowtowing attitude. *"US TRYING TO IMPOSE WORLDWIDE DICTATORSHIP FOR ITS TRANSNATIONALS" Geneva, March 26(RHC)-- At the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque Tuesday accused Washington of trying to impose a worldwide dictatorship at the service of US transnationals. Perez Roque asked why the international community doesn't urge the US government to renounce unleashing wars that instead of resolving conflicts only creates new and more dangerous situations, to renounce the use of nuclear weapons, to refrain from withdrawing from the Antiballistic Missiles Treaty, to adhere to the numerous agreements on weapons control, the environment, and others, and to end its unilateral protectionist measures while calling itself the champion of free trade. The Cuban foreign minister denounced the Human Rights Commission's politicized nature and increasing lack of credibility - an agency, he said, that instead should be at the service of the interests of all and not hostage to the impositions of a minority or the whims of the powerful. He pointed to its selective, unequal, arbitrary and anti-democratic nature, as well as its tendency to ignore defending the basic human rights of the planet's poor peoples. The Cuban foreign minister compared the unanimous criticism in the West of elections in Zimbabwe to the silence when the world had to wait almost a month to discover which US president was to be selected. In comparison to the 18 Third World countries against which the Human Rights Commission adopted critical resolutions last year, Perez Roque noted that not one similar decision was adopted against a rich nation. He said the West mobilizes all its enormous resources to bring large delegations, present the majority of draft resolutions and occupy the most important posts, while the underdeveloped South - three-quarters of the world's population - makes sacrifices in the use of its meager means in a mere effort to be heard. The Cuban foreign minister termed as shameful and anti-democratic Washington's pressures to regain its lost seat at the commission without having to submit to a vote - in reference to Italy and Spain's decision to withdraw their candidates so that there will only be 4 aspirants for four vacant seats. He said that despite the ideological and political differences of commission members, there is a common danger - calling that common danger a transnational superpower that tells the world you are either with it or against it. *BOTSWANA PRESIDENT PAYS TRIBUTE IN HAVANA TO JOSE MARTI Havana, March 26(RHC)-- The president of Botswana, Festus G. Mogae, paid tribute today in Havana to Cuba's National Hero, writer, statesman and independence fighter, José Marti. Mogae placed a wreath at the moment dedicated to Marti in Havana's giant Revolution Square. The African leader was also to visit the museum at the base of the huge monument which displays objects belonging to and documents written by Marti and gives an explanation of a the revered Latin American's life and work. President's Mogae's day also included a visit to the International Physical Education and Sports School located in the Havana municipality of San José de Las Lajas, where three young Botswanas are preparing as future trainers in their country, thanks to bilateral collaboration between Cuba and Botswana. The Botswana president and his delegation also toured Havana's colonial section, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The African delegation is scheduled to meet with the press and will later attend an official reception. On Monday, the African statesman held official conversations with Cuban president, Fidel Castro, in the Palace of the Revolution, during which they reviewed mutual cooperation projects and the state of Cuba-Botswana relations. A contingent of 50 Cuban civilian internationalists are currently volunteering their services in the sub-Saharan African nation. Of that number, 46 are working in the area of health and four are sports specialists training Botswanans in boxing, volleyball and basketball. *HAVANA HOSTS INTER-AMERICAN MEETING ON LABOR RIGHTS Havana, March 26(RHC)--Lawyers and legal experts from around the world are meeting in Havana to examine rights of workers. Some 300 jurists from 20 countries began sessions today in Havana's International Convention Center in the IV Ibero-American Encounter on Labor Rights and Social Security. Spain and Argentina will be the first delegates to take the floor, though participants said that they are eager to hear from Cuba about its Work and Social Security System's success in lowering the island's unemployment rate and raising the quality of life. The conference, which winds up on Friday, will focus on topics related to the prevention of work-related accidents, fighting illegal drugs, social re-adaptation, the impact of Information technologies on employment, and others. *INTERNATIONAL THEATER DAY IN REMOTE SIERRA MAESTRA MOUNTAIN RANGE La Habanita, March 26(RHC)--Cuban theater lovers living high in the eastern Sierra Maestra Mountains are eagerly awaiting International Theater Day on Wednesday. But residents of the 900 meter-high town of La Habanita won't have to wait until tomorrow, because this evening the community theater group, Guerilla Theater will perform. Cuban actors, singers and cultural promoters are making their 11th tour through the Cuban mountains to bring plays to local residents who live far from traditional theaters. The troupe, which began its tour on February 24, has so far performed for 20,000 mountain residents. *FIRST ARCHITECTURE BIENNIAL OPENS IN HAVANA Havana, March 26(RHC)--"Like a challenge to Utopia following in the footsteps of their predecessors." That is how Havana's historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, opening the city's First Architecture Biennial, characterized the work being done to restore, preserve and continue the urban development of the capital. The event is being held throughout Havana's patios, buildings, streets and plazas taking advantage of a living environment to stimulate debate. In the first day of sessions, architects, city planners and others examined the importance of context, the invasion of post- modern kitsch and the abuse of marine environments. Many had praise for the restoration efforts undertaken by the Office of the Historian, which have been awarded international prizes including the UNESCO Cities for Peace and the Philippe Rothier Architecture award. Cuba's Culture Minister, Abel Prieto, said that the Biennial places architecture within the range of culture and re-enforces the architect's presence as an artist tied to the people through the city itself. Havana's First Architecture Biennial will include a series of 26 art exhibitions, the first of which, "The Rehabilitation of the Cerro Neighborhood: a Key to reconstructing the City," opened yesterday in the historic Alejandro de Humbolt House. On Tuesday architects will present papers and projects on the topic: The City: History, Culture and Heritage. *FIFTH NATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, March 25(RHC)-- Havana's Amadeo Roldan concert hall was the site of the inauguration on Monday of the Fifth National Chamber Music Festival. The opening piece was Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Ann: a gala of baroque vocal and instrumental arts. Mara Felicia Perez, Carmen Collado and Jose A. Mendez were the three soloist voices. The small orchestra, Havana's La Sinfonietta, is directed by Maria Elena Mendioa. The Festival, which runs through Saturday and is sponsored by the National Concert Music Center, also features a series of competitions. *US ENERGY DEPARTMENT FORCED TO RELEASE DOCUMENTS ON ENERGY PLAN Washington, March 26(RHC)-- The US Energy Department has been forced to release thousands of documents revealing the numerous contacts between President George W. Bush's energy policy architects and corporate executives and campaign contributors. The 11,000 pages of documents also reveal that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham held no meetings with conservation or consumer groups, bolstering the contention of Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups that the Bush administration relied exclusively on the advice of executives from utilities and producers of oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy in drawing up a controversial energy plan. The information was released just hours before a court-ordered deadline and after 11 months of Bush administration resistance to lawsuits by public interest groups, in what is being called part of a growing backlash against unprecedented White House secrecy. Of the corporations that met with Abraham, all but a few were large contributors of unregulated soft money to the Republican Party during the 2000 election campaign. A dozen of the companies that had meetings with the Energy Secretary contributed 1.2 million dollars to the GOP, mainly for Bush's election. Ten of the 12 gave more soft money to Republicans than Democrats. Large portions of the documents, however, had been deleted, with attachments missing and in many cases documents that only had the subject line. Thousands of others were withheld entirely. The groups that won release of the documents through lawsuits said they will return to court. According to Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Sharon Buccino - who recently called the Bush energy plan payback for corporate polluters - at least "finally there is some evidence of who was actually shaping that policy." The NRDC said it plans to challenge many of the omissions in court, as did the watchdog group Judicial Watch, whose chairman, Larry Klayman, said the White House appeared to be "playing games" with the release. Because of the deletions and omissions, there is reportedly little information about what the donors and business interests were seeking in their high-level meetings, though it's widely believed that they were seeking exactly what they got: less pollution controls and more oil and gas drilling, even in heretofore protected national parks and wildlife reserves. *ANOTHER RECORD PLUNGE FOR THE ARGENTINE PESO Buenos Aires, March 26(RHC)-- Despite emergency measures, the Argentine government has been unable to stop the peso's nosedive, igniting fears that the currency is heading into a free fall that could further destabilize the country. The currency panic fueled a stampede to buy US dollars as the peso Tuesday plunged to another record low of 4 to one as compared to 3.1 to one on Friday. The Argentine Central Bank shortened the hours of currency exchange agencies as thousands of desperate citizens had formed long lines hours before they had opened. With one out of four Argentines jobless, one of every two living on less than 2 dollars a day and prices rising, observers are predicting that President Eduardo Duhalde will soon have to step down and call new elections. The new currency scare comes amid reports that Argentina's mushrooming neighborhood assemblies seeking new forms of citizen participation have become the target of violence at the hands of thugs working for traditional political forces. The new neighborhood associations have organized community purchases of food at reduced prices, as well as volunteer brigades of skilled workers who reconnect homes to the public service grids when their electricity, household gas or water supplies are cut off for failure to pay their bills. Their projects range from community vegetable gardens to neighborhood banks in which people can put their savings in order to keep them out of the decrepit financial system. But local residents in the low-income suburbs to the north, south and west of Buenos Aires told the Inter Press News agency said that municipal employees and sympathizers of the traditional Justicialista and Radical Civic Union Parties, as well as hired thugs, have intimidated and beaten the more active members of the neighborhood associations, and have violently disrupted their meetings. *Viewpoint: BUSH VISIT LONG ON PROMISES, SHORT ON ACTION During his short-lived visit to Latin America, U.S. President, George W. Bush pushed through his own agenda and dealt with some issues that were not in the interest of the region at all but were only of U.S. interest. Aside from the United State's intention to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the region at all costs, it must be emphasized that Bush is following the same line of previous U.S. administrations of relegating Latin America to a secondary level. Since the terrorist attacks of last September 11th and the worsening of the situation in Colombia, it appears that the current U.S. Administration is increasingly convinced that poverty in Latin America is not a problem for the United States. The U.S. President only spent a few hours paying attention to Latin American problems, of which he did not even allow other presidents to talk in detail about the most urgent ones. The Presidents of Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador only heard Bush say that he will promote the renewal of tariff preferences for Andean products at the U.S. Congress, but without any certainty. Taking into account the region's dependence on the U.S. export market, it was clear that Bush took advantage of this trip to reaffirm his intention of promoting the tariff preference law as well as to confirm his ruling position with the exposition of his priorities. The heads of state gathered in the Salvadoran capital had sought a dialogue with Bush about the hundreds of thousands of Central American immigrants who face deportation from the United States. Some 260,000 Salvadorans and 106,000 Hondurans are working in the United States under "Temporary Protected Status," which runs out on July 5th for the Hondurans and September 9th for Salvadorans. However, Bush limited himself to saying that the United States would ensure that undocumented Latin Americans in his country would be treated with respect. The U.S. President reiterated his promise to promote the Free Trade Agreement with Central America at U.S. Congress level. However he clarified that it would only be put into practice once he received the support of the Central American governments in his campaign against terrorism and drug trafficking, offering mere promises in exchange. Latin Americans hoped that President Bush would tackle key issues of the region's social reality during his visit to Peru and Salvador, however their hopes were only unfulfilled dreams. (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-16233 2002-Mar-30 12:06:32