Radio Havana Cuba-21 May 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 21 May 2002 . *MAJOR MEDIA HIGHLY CRITICAL OF GEORGE W. BUSH'S CUBA POLICY SPEECH *EU-LATIN AMERICA-CARIBBEAN SUMMIT HAD MODEST RESULTS: PEREZ-ROQUE *VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE VISITS CANARY ISLANDS *IBERO-AMERICAN GATHERING ON WOMEN AND COMMUNICATIONS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA *NEW INTERNET-POSTAL MAIL SERVICE 'WORLDWIDE LETTERS.COM' COMING TO CUBA *TENS OF THOUSANDS TAKE TO STREETS OF BERLIN TO PROTEST AGAINST BUSH *MASSIVE STREET DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE RISE IN ARGENTINA *US ATTORNEY GENERAL TARGETED IN SEPTEMBER 11 WARNING COVERUP SCANDAL *AMID REPORTS OF WARLORD INSTABILITY IN AFGHANISTAN, US CONGRESS QUESTIONS BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S POST-TALIBAN POLICY Viewpoint: *BUSH'S SPEECHES IN WASHINGTON AND MIAMI: MORE OF THE SAME . *MAJOR MEDIA HIGHLY CRITICAL OF GEORGE W. BUSH'S CUBA POLICY SPEECH Havana, May 21 (RHC) -- Media reaction to US President George W. Bush's Cuba policy speech has been highly critical. In an opinion piece Tuesday, the British news daily The Guardian affirmed that the US stance on Cuba looks increasingly anachronistic in light of its support for countries such as Saudi Arabia - which it called a wealthy nation where elections are far from common. The Guardian's Duncan Cambell, in reference to Bush's charge that Fidel Castro has turned a beautiful island into a prison, stated that whether those locked up under the late, US-supported Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista would agree that it has always been a paradise is another matter. Noting that the blockade hasn't destroyed the revolution, Cambell said that more and more the blockade appears to have little function but to appease a vindictive Cuban-American lobby. South Florida's Sun Sentinel, noting that Bush has set the high-jump bar higher for Cuba than for China or Vietnam, editorialized Tuesday that the president's announced plan sounds like a rehash of 40 years of failed US policy towards Fidel Castro. In a special report, the BBC affirmed that most Cubans would like to see an improvement in relations with the United States and at least an easing of the blockade - but not on terms laid out by President Bush. BBC correspondent in Havana, Daniel Schweimler, after noting that no one in Cuba is starving and that hospitals and schools continue to function better than most in the rest of Latin America - despite shortages of books, medicines and spare parts for machinery - wrote that most Cubans merely want to see a better variety of better quality goods on the shelves, and the money to buy them. The Washington Post reported that Bush's remarks came in the face of growing bipartisan support in Congress and within the US business and farming communities for an ease in the blockade, noting that the president simply restated policies that persisted throughout several administrations. The Post and Associated Press quoted numerous US lawmakers accusing Bush of playing politics instead of shaping policy and noting that 40 years of efforts to isolate Cuba have failed totally. Even the New York Times, which invariably supports Washington's cold war rhetoric towards Cuba, called Bush's speech an unfortunate reaffirmation of polices that have been in place for four decades now. *EU-LATIN AMERICA-CARIBBEAN SUMMIT HAD MODEST RESULTS: PEREZ-ROQUE Havana, May 21 (RHC)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Felipé Pérez Roque says that the recently-held 2nd European Union, Latin America and Caribbean Summit in Madrid had modest results. Upon his return to the Cuban capital on Monday, the island's foreign minister told reporters that the most important aspect of the Summit was the possible creation of an alliance between the European Union and the Caribbean. He added that for a real alliance to be achieved, the European Union needs to make a firm and definite commitment with Latin America and the Caribbean -- "putting words into action." Felipé Pérez Roque warned that Washington's regional plan to annex the economies of Latin America to the U.S. -- known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) -- is also a threat to the European Union. He described the FTAA as an imperialist plan by the United States to "throw itself over the continent and seize its natural resources." Cuba's top diplomat described last week's European Union, Latin America and Caribbean Summit in Madrid as useful, but said there was certainly nothing to celebrate yet. *VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE VISITS CANARY ISLANDS Las Palmas, May 21 (RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage says that relations between Havana and the Canary Islands are excellent, adding that he was looking forward to his two-day visit to the Spanish islands -- located in the Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Morocco. Accompanied by Cuba's Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas, and Havana's Ambassador to Spain, Isabel Allende, the Cuban vice president arrived in the Canary Islands on Monday. Last night, Carlos Lage and his delegation met with solidarity activists as well as Cuban residents in Las Palmas. Speaking with reporters Tuesday morning, the Cuban vice president said he has also met with Román Rodríguez, President of the Autonomous Government of the Canary Islands. The meeting served to review the current state of relations between Cuba and the Canary Islands, with a view towards promoting new ideas in order to further improve relations. The Canary Islands form two provinces and are made up of the islands of Tenerife, Palma, Gomera, Hierro, Grand Canary, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Carlos Lage headed the Cuban delegation to the recently concluded Second Summit of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean -- held in Madrid last week. Over the weekend, he began official visits to Spanish autonomous regions, including the Basque Country, where the Cuban delegation spent two days. *IBERO-AMERICAN GATHERING ON WOMEN AND COMMUNICATIONS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, May 21 (RHC)-- The 5th Ibero-American Encounter on Women and Communications is underway in the Cuban capital. More than 200 delegates from 15 countries are taking part in the event, which is co-sponsored by the Regional Cultural Office of the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Federation of Democratic Women. Participants at the meeting -- taking place at the Neptuno-Triton Hotel Complex -- are debating issues related to communications and globalization. Workshops and panel discussions will also examine other aspects of communications and women's issues -- including reproductive health, violence against women, sexist language and new information technology. According to organizers of the forum, delegates will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other women from around the world, as well as visit local neighborhood committees of the Federation of Cuban Women. The 5th Ibero-American Encounter on Women and Communications runs through Thursday, the 23rd. Among the countries represented with delegations: Spain, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico. For the first time this year, women delegates from the African continent are taking part in the Ibero-American event -- demonstrating the international importance being given to the issue of women and communications. *NEW INTERNET-POSTAL MAIL SERVICE 'WORLDWIDE LETTERS.COM' COMING TO CUBA Havana, May 21 (RHC)-- A new service to send messages to Cuba from any part of the world will begin soon on the island. The service, which will operate over the Internet, can print 450 two-page letters an hour. Cubanacan Express, Correos de Cuba and the Canadian company World Wide Letters Incorporated -- creator of the Global Mail Solutions System -- are participating in the project. According to Prensa Latina News Agency, the Canadian firm will supply the technology, Cubanacan Express will operate the facilities and Correos de Cuba will distribute the letters through more than 1000 post offices across the island. *TENS OF THOUSANDS TAKE TO STREETS OF BERLIN TO PROTEST AGAINST BUSH Berlin, May 21 (RHC) -- Tens of thousands took to the streets of Berlin in the first protest against US President George W. Bush's Wednesday visit to Germany and other European nations. The demonstration was organized by an alliance, grouping 240 peace, anti-globalization, labor, religious and political groups, calling itself "axis for peace" to confront Bush's "axis of evil" rhetoric. Shouting "Stop the war" and carrying posters reading "No more blood for oil" and "The axis of evil includes the Pentagon," demonstrators finally concentrated in the Alexanderplatz in the heart of Berlin. Authorities in Germany have deployed unprecedented security in Berlin, where the government fears an embarrassing situation if violence erupts during the demonstrations. The German city was the scene of violent disturbances last May 1st, on International Worker's Day, that left close to 200 police injured and 150 demonstrators arrested. Organizers of the demonstration have insisted that the protests are not anti-American, but rather, anti-war and against Bush's foreign policy in a number of arenas - from the environment to the Middle East. *MASSIVE STREET DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE RISE IN ARGENTINA Buenos Aires, May 21 (RHC) -- Tens of thousands of unemployed Argentineans Monday took to the streets in a number of provinces in what appears to be the beginning of another massive protest campaign. In the capital, Buenos Aires, at least 10,000 demonstrators packed the streets, while several hundred protesters blocked entry points into the city. Similar protests were reported in the provinces of Chubut, Mendoza, San Juan, La Plata, Santa Fe, Tucumán, Salta and La Matanza. The protests, which come as the dissident wing of the General Labor Confederation prepares the first general strike against President Eduardo Duhalde on Wednesday, will reportedly continue until May 29 and culminate in another general strike called by the independent Argentinean Worker's Central. At the center of protesters' demands were food, medicine, welfare and special public services rates for poor families. In a broader sense, the protesters called for economic democracy and political sovereignty with respect to multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund. The protests coincide with what has been called a unique letter campaign from Argentineans to the IMF calling on the credit institution to refrain from giving the Duhalde government another line of credit that will merely disappear into the pockets of corrupt politicians. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that in an unprecedented campaign, the IMF has received more than 7,000 letters and e-mails denoting the extent to which Argentineans distrust and reject their political leaders. *US ATTORNEY GENERAL TARGETED IN SEPTEMBER 11 WARNING COVERUP SCANDAL Washington, May 21 (RHC) -- US Attorney General John Ashcroft is coming under increasing media attention in the controversy over who knew what and when before September 11. The British news daily The Guardian reported Tuesday that Ashcroft is accused of playing down the terrorist threat in the first months of the Bush administration, while accusing those who have been critical of massive roundups of terrorism suspects since the attacks of undermining his counter-terrorism efforts. The Guardian's Washington correspondent Julian Borger noted Tuesday how the attorney general diverted resources from measures to prevent terrorism to more traditional targets like drugs and child pornography, while at the same time ceasing to use commercial flights in July - just as the intelligence "chatter" about a possible Al Qaida strike on US soil was getting louder. He has been accused of putting ideology before the battle against terrorism, reported The Guardian, seeking to limit investigations of gun-purchase records of those held on suspicion of terrorist connections, stepping up raids on California health centers providing the chronically ill with medicinal marijuana and arguing that the battle against Colombia's Marxist rebels should be considered part of the broader counter-terrorist effort. The article coincided with a US Today/CNN poll in which 68 percent of the American people said the Bush administration should have disclosed earlier the information it had on possible terrorist attacks, while The Washington Post affirmed that the administration's highly criticized penchant for secrecy could for the first time boomerang on the White House. *AMID REPORTS OF WARLORD INSTABILITY IN AFGHANISTAN, US CONGRESS QUESTIONS BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S POST-TALIBAN POLICY Washington, Khost, Afghanistan, May 21 (RHC) -- Influential US lawmakers have reportedly begun challenging the Bush administration's handling of post-Taliban Afghanistan amid growing reports of Afghan warlord rivalry that is hindering the country's reconstruction and deteriorating security. The Washington Post reported that Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the International Relations Committee, is backing an amendment to a 1 billion dollar reconstruction aid bill for Afghanistan that would require the White House to quickly submit a plan explaining how the administration is going to address the security situation in Afghanistan. Other lawmakers are reportedly supporting expansion of an international security force outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, amid reports that warlords are intimidating and bribing residents into supporting their candidates for elections to a traditional nationwide assembly to be held next month. The Washington Post article comes amid reports of a deepening dispute between Afghanistan's interim government and warlord Padsha Khan Zadran, who controls vast regions of the Khost and Paktia provinces. Over the past three weeks, the interim government has declared Zadran a wanted killer, unsuccessfully handpicked a successor to dethrone him and placed 3,000 government troops in Kabul on alert in the face of a possible attack by his forces. Western diplomats and some of Zadran's rivals reportedly blame the United States military for propping him up. The warlord has helped American Special Forces in trying to seal the nearby border with Pakistan, which his rivals say has inflated his political and economic power. Viewpoint: *BUSH'S SPEECHES IN WASHINGTON AND MIAMI: MORE OF THE SAME Out of step with history and reality, the president of the United States, George Bush on Monday gave the world another example of intolerance and political blindness. He spoke first in Washington, D.C. then in Miami in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of US intervention in Cuba. Pressured by right-wing sectors, the leader of the nation that seeks to lead the world in a holy war against terrorism, demonstrated the cynicism and double standards that have become his trademark. It is certainly cynical to talk of democracy and human rights in other countries while at the same time publicly announcing that Washington will maintain measures that restrict fundamental rights of its own citizens, who are expressly prohibited from traveling to Cuba. Citizens and US residents are also banned for trading with the Caribbean island. Is this the way a champion of "free trade" acts? Not to mention the latest protectionist measures and tariffs Bush has imposed to protect US interests. Just yesterday Washington refused to extend the Preferential Tariff Accord for the Andean Region. From today on those member nations will have to pay elevated tariffs in order to place more than six thousands products on the US market. This occurred despite promises made to Peru's president, Alejandro Toledo, during Bush's recent lightning visit to Lima. And if we are talking about double standards, what better example than the presence of the leaders of the ultra right-wing terrorist organization Cuban National Foundation at a 25 thousand dollar-a-plate fundraiser dinner for the Republican Party and the president's brother Jeb Bush's electoral campaign? What is the world to think when two Cuban Americans convicted of murdering former Chilean foreign minister, Orlando Letelier in a terrorist attack in the heart of the United States, are invited guests at the fundraiser where they are embraced by other promoters of terrorism? And remember this lavish dinner party was held in the city of Miami, the same city where a court recently freed the Salvadoran generals who ordered the kidnapping, torture and murder of four US nuns. What is strange indeed is that this same man who seeks to lead a world crusade against terrorism fails to begin his campaign by cleaning his own house. Instead, he defines "axis of evil" and leaves out terrorist institutions based in Florida. Regarding Cuba, no one here lost any sleep yesterday and few were surprised at what Bush had to say in his two speeches. Cuba has survived more than forty years of bellicose rhetoric emanating from the White House and the latest outburst was just more of the same. (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-4852 2002-May-22 23:37:08