RHC Weekend-04/05 May 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - Weekend News Update - 04/05 May 2002 . *THOUSANDS OF URUGUAYANS BID FAREWELL TO CUBA'S OUTGOING AMBASSADOR *CUBA DENOUNCES WASHINGTON'S HYPOCRISY ON JENIN INVESTIGATION *OTTO REICH JOINS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF INFAMOUS SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS *PABLO MILANÉS CAPTIVATES CONCERT-GOERS IN GUATEMALA *CUBAN NATIONAL BALLET CONTINUES TOUR OF CHINA *VENEZUELA: TESTIMONY POINTS TO PREMEDITATED VIOLENT COUP PLOT *ARGENTINE LABOR ACTIVISTS CALL FIRST NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST PRESIDENT DUHALDE'S CAVE-IN TO IMF *BRAZIL WARNS THAT US AGRO SUBSIDIES WILL DERAIL FTAA *MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES SLAM ISRAEL'S BARRING UN TEAM FROM JENIN CAMP *GUATEMALA: RIGHTS GROUPS ALARMED BY ESCALATING DEATH SQUAD ACTIVITY . *THOUSANDS OF URUGUAYANS BID FAREWELL TO CUBA'S OUTGOING AMBASSADOR Montevideo, May 4 (RHC)-- More than 10,000 Uruguayans rallied in downtown Montevideo early Saturday morning in a massive farewell ceremony for the island's ambassador to Uruguay. Following the rally, a huge car caravan accompanied the Cuban diplomat to the capital's international airport. Havana's outgoing ambassador to Montevideo, Joaquín Alvarez Portela, was declared persona non-grata last week when Uruguay broke diplomatic relations with Cuba. Trade union organizations, solidarity groups and numerous personalities have expressed their anger over the Uruguayan government's decision, which came after Montevideo sponsored an anti-Cuba resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission on behalf of the United States. Speaking with reporters as flag-waving solidarity activists pushed past heavy security and flooded the airport terminal, the outgoing Cuban ambassador said he was "very honored to witness the generosity of the Uruguayan people" during the final moments of his diplomatic mission in the country. Joaquín Alvarez Portela added that the farewell rally demonstrates that the people do not consider him persona non-grata, but instead see him "as a friend and brother." Referring to a donation of meningitis B vaccine, the Cuban diplomat affirmed that the shipment would arrive as scheduled, despite the fact that Montevideo has broken relations with Havana. "No Uruguayan mother or father will have to see their children die; we will come through [with the donation] and we ourselves will return someday." *CUBA DENOUNCES WASHINGTON'S HYPOCRISY ON JENIN INVESTIGATION New York, May 4 (RHC)-- Cuba has denounced Washington's "inconsistency, double standard and hypocrisy" regarding a UN mission to investigate Israeli atrocities at the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin. Havana's Ambassador to the United Nations, Bruno Rodríguez, called the U.S. position "ridiculous" -- noting that Washington threatened to use its veto at the UN Security Council in order to prevent a team of investigators from going into the refugee camp. Rodríguez criticized Tel Aviv's refusal to cooperate with the UN investigation, but took special aim at Washington's maneuvers to support Israeli aggressions. During an open floor debate on the Middle East, the Cuban Ambassador to the UN strongly condemned U.S. actions -- emphasizing that Tel Aviv would not be able to continue its attacks on the Palestinian people if it weren't for the unconditional support of the United States as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. He said that Washington's veto power and threats to use it have prevented UN action and allowed Israel to continue its repression against the Palestinian people. Ambassador Bruno Rodríguez called on the United States to suspend its military support of Tel Aviv and harshly condemned Israeli State terrorism. Cuba's representative before the United Nations pointed out the contradiction in Washington's rhetoric, which calls for a 'global war against terrorism.' He also called on the Security Council to seriously consider the proposal to establish a multinational peacekeeping force in the occupied Palestinian territories, which was presented by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, but -- not surprisingly -- has been flatly rejected by the United States and Israel. *OTTO REICH JOINS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF INFAMOUS SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS Washington, May 4 (RHC)-- The Under Secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs, Otto Reich, has joined the Board of Supervisors of the infamous School of the Americas, also known as the School of Assassins. According to reports from Washington, the controversial State Department official -- named by U.S. President George W. Bush without congressional approval -- is now also overseeing courses taught at the military school based at Fort Benning, Georgia. The School of the Americas, which first operated in the Panama Canal Zone from its founding in 1946, moved to Fort Benning in 1991. Throughout its history, the military school has been strongly condemned for teaching courses on methods of torture and right-wing ideology. Among its graduates have been army officers accused of leading brutal military coups and committing massive human rights violations. In recent years, due to increased protests against the existence of the school, the Pentagon was forced to change the name of what became known as the School of Assassins to the Western Hemispheric Institute for Cooperation and Security. In an attempt to clean up its image, the military school has added courses on human rights and civilian control of the armed forces. Political observers on Capitol Hill say it is not ironic that Otto Reich is now on the school's Board of Supervisors -- pointing out that Reich has clear connections to anti-Cuba, right-wing terrorists. The State Department official served under the Reagan administration during the 1980s and was involved in illegal activities in support of the Nicaraguan contras. Earlier, during the 1970's, he was a friend of Orlando Bosch, involved in the sabotage bombing of a Cubana airliner in 1976, in which all 73 persons on board were killed. *PABLO MILANÉS CAPTIVATES CONCERT-GOERS IN GUATEMALA Guatemala City, May 4 (RHC)-- Cuba's popular singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés performed before thousands of concert-goers in Guatemala City on Thursday. Together with his group, made up of excellent musicians, the singer interpreted more than a dozen songs. One of the founders of the New Song Movement in Cuba, Pablo Milanés captivated his Guatemalan audience with renditions of old favorites and more recent compositions. After performing for nearly two hours, Pablo said goodnight and left the stage, but was quickly brought back for an encore by a thunderous standing ovation. *CUBAN NATIONAL BALLET CONTINUES TOUR OF CHINA Beijing, May 4 (RHC)-- Cuba's National Ballet Company continues its successful tour of China, with nightly performances at the Grand Theater of Shanghai. The prestigious ballet troupe wrapped up a series of sell-out performances in Beijing earlier this week before traveling to China's second largest city and main cultural center. The last time the Cuban National Ballet appeared in China was 38 years ago and Prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso has returned this time as the group's director. The ballet is performing the work "Don Quixote," choreography by Alicia Alonso herself, Maria Elena Llorente and Marta Garcia, based on the original by Marius Petipa. Critics praised the excellent technique of the Cuban ballet troupe, which is considered one of the world's best. The group, made up primarily of young dancers, demonstrates harmony especially during the second act, which is considered by many as the most beautiful scene of the play. "Don Quixote" -- inspired by the famous work of Miguel de Cervantes -- was first performed in 1869. The first Cuban version was in 1988 and is now part of the Cuban National Ballet's wide repertoire. Nearly four decades after its last performance in China, critics say the Cuban ballet has again achieved resounding success. *VENEZUELA: TESTIMONY POINTS TO PREMEDITATED VIOLENT COUP PLOT Caracas, May 4 (RHC)-- On-going testimony before the Venezuelan Congress has revealed a premeditated plot to overthrow President Hugo Chavez that included armed police officers in civilian clothes and snipers firing at Chavez supporters, as well as the systematic persecution and murder of pro-government activists in the poor neighborhoods surrounding the capital. Freddy Bernal, mayor of the Libertador Municipality in the capital, Caracas, late Friday showed legislators investigating the events surrounding the attempted right wing coup photos and videos of small groups of police in neighboring municipalities who had joined the mostly peaceful opposition march and later opened fire on Chavez supporters. Bernal said he also has more than 60 witnesses to back up his charges. Outgoing Defense Minister and designated Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told the legislative commission that government authorities have a list of 30 people who were summarily executed in poor neighborhoods known to be bastions of support for the Venezuelan president. Rangel said that during the short, de facto rule of business leader Pedro Carmona, there was an "orgy of repression" that included armed assaults against the headquarters of seven mayors belonging to Chavez's ruling party -- stating that during that brief period "fascism bared its teeth." He said one of those mayors is his son, who escaped being killed, and added that many houses were also raided by an opposition army general -- Ovidio Pogglioli -- leading a unit of what he called "20 Rambos." Pogglioli proclaimed himself director of Venezuela's police intelligence department and issued arrest orders against Chavez followers. *ARGENTINE LABOR ACTIVISTS CALL FIRST NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST PRESIDENT DUHALDE'S CAVE-IN TO IMF Buenos Aires, May 4 (RHC)-- Argentina's dissident labor movement has called the first nationwide strike against President Eduardo Duhalde's subservience to the International Monetary Fund, to be held on May 14. Hugo Moyano, leader of the dissident Argentine Workers Movement - the radical sector of the General Labor Confederation - told Duhalde to decide once and for all if he's with the people or with the IMF before hungry Argentines throw him out of office for prostituting himself free of charge. Moyano's speech coincides with stepped up criticism of IMF policies. According to Duhalde's former Treasury Secretary Oscar Lamberto, Washington's IMF delegate and second most powerful member of the credit institution, Anne Kruger, wants Argentina to - in his words - "explode" so that the country's capital assets depreciate and can be bought cheaply by US firms. The strike announcement also coincided with an end to the truce that the Argentine economy had given new Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna. On Thursday, the country's jittery stock market suffered the first losses in a week, inflation reports from the month of April flew in the face of the government's campaign to prevent price hikes and the government's tax income last month plummeted by 18.5 percent. Combining the number of job losses, bankruptcies and people that have fallen below the poverty line since the beginning of the year, analysts are calling Argentina's situation a nightmare. *BRAZIL WARNS THAT US AGRO SUBSIDIES WILL DERAIL FTAA Brasilia, May 4 (RHC)-- The government of Brazil has warned that Washington's multibillion dollar package of subsidies for the agro sector threatens to derail negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, the FTAA. Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Lafer also stated Friday that the US legislation runs contrary to recent World Trade Organization agreements. On Thursday, the US House of Representatives, in a 280 to 141 vote, gave a green light to a 45 billion dollar agro subsidies bill that the Senate is also expected to pass - sparking angry reaction from Washington's trade partners around the world. Brazil expects to loose 2 billion 400 million dollars worth of exports that won't be able to compete with subsidized US products. The US's subsidized produce will diminish international prices, particularly affecting farmers in poor and developing countries. But industrialized countries like France and Canada are also very concerned. Canadian Agriculture Minister Lyle Vancliff stated Friday that the international community is witnessing a move towards more protectionism instead of the liberalization preached by Washington. Canadian opposition lawmakers are demanding that the ruling Liberal Party explain how Ottawa is going to help Canadian farmers face subsidized US products. *MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES SLAM ISRAEL'S BARRING UN TEAM FROM JENIN CAMP United Nations, May 4 (RHC)-- More than 50 countries slammed Israel late Friday in the final United Nations Security Council session on charges of Israeli atrocities in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp. Numerous Arab nations, in reference to Israel's refusal to allow into the camp a UN fact-finding mission, stated that Tel Aviv has proven that it has much to hide and much to be ashamed of. Syria's UN ambassador Faisal Mekdad, referring to Israel's demands concerning the composition of the fact-finding team, said it would seem that the accused has the right to name his judges. Irish ambassador Richard Ryan said Israel has much to loose by refusing to cooperate because the suspicion will always remain. Many countries also deplored the Security Council's inaction, after a veto threat by the United States blocked a resolution to condemn Israel and secretary general Kofi Annan, bowing to pressure, decided to simply disband the fact-finding team. Mexico's ambassador, Roberta Lajous, said the Security Council's credibility has been undermined. Palestinian representatives went further, terming as "scandalous" the Security Council's inaction. Spanish ambassador Inocencio Arias, speaking on behalf of the European Union, also expressed alarm over the damage to Palestinian civilian infrastructure and basic social services during Israeli incursions into the West Bank - stating that this type of destruction has nothing to do with Israel's security. His denunciation coincided with similar statements in Hamburg, Germany by EU foreign affairs commissioner Chris Patten, who angrily pointed out that the destruction of civilian installations like the Palestinian Education Ministry and the Office of Property Titles has nothing to do with the struggle against terrorism - adding that something else is hiding behind this policy. Palestinian officials have charged that with the massive theft of property titles Israel is paving the way for the theft of more Palestinian land from those who can no longer prove their ownership. *GUATEMALA: RIGHTS GROUPS ALARMED BY ESCALATING DEATH SQUAD ACTIVITY Guatemala City, May 4 (RHC)-- Human rights organizations in Guatemala are expressing indignation and alarm amid escalating death squad persecution of their members. On Friday, an employee of Guatemala's National Coalition of Widows - known by its Spanish acronym CONAVIGUA - was temporarily kidnapped and tortured by armed individuals driving a van in centric streets of the capital. The organization, led by renowned indigenous activist Rosalina Tuyuc - who occupied a congressional seat from 1996 to 2000 as member of the leftist New Guatemala Democratic Front - helps the widows of those killed or forcibly disappeared during the country's 36-year civil war. The kidnapping took place just four days after the assassination of a member of the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation. CONAVIGUA is one of 17 organizations forming the National Human Rights Movement, which has denounced a stepped up intimidation campaign in recent months that includes 22 assassinations, six assassination attempts and some 20 night time raids against the organizations' offices. The activists are charging that the campaign is being carried out by a parallel power structure in which agents of the state could be participating and which the government is doing nothing to dismantle. (c) 2002 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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