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From: John Clancy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [CubaNews] Granma news for Jan 10. Fidel,ICAP,Raul Castro
subject: Granma news for Jan 10. Fidel, ICAP, Raul Castro
© Copyright. 1996-2001. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/
ONLINE EDITION - January 10, 2001
NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM
A colossal movement in search of solutions for the country
"VERY positive" was President Fidel Castro's description of the
support given by Cuban innovators and rationalizers in the search for
solutions related to the country's economic, scientific and social
life.
In a speech given during the closing session of the 13th National
Science and Technology Forum, held over three days in Havana, Fidel
recalled that the innovators' movement began with the search for
solutions to problems related to the supply of spare parts, but today
has become a colossal and fabulous movement that has penetrated into
vital areas of the economy and society.
President Castro-who presented distinctions and recognitions to
various centers, researchers, students and journalists-praised the
quality of the prizewinning reports, linked to themes of vital
importance, and said that many other entries were worthy of
distinction.
Some 1,500 delegates and guests from across the island participated
in the forum, where 529 carefully selected topics were debated. More
than two million solutions to a diverse range of technological
problems were suggested, mainly in the areas of replacing imports
with nationally produced products and circumventing problems caused
by the rigid U.S. economic blockade of the island.
Examples of the solutions achieved by this innovators' movement have
been the refrigerant gas LB-12, Cátalo paint, an effective cold
medication known as Kogrip, and a new human recombinant interferon,
Alpha 2B.
During this year's event, one of the most noteworthy presentations
concerned a Cuban industrial plant to produce activated charcoal in
Baracoa, Guantánamo province. This plant is capable of saving up to
$250 million USD annually through the substitution of imports of a
similar product which is in high demand.
The Cuban president said, "The best thing about this forum is the
willpower, the spirit and the unselfishness with which it has
worked," and recalled the Cuban people's qualities and the hero that
is inside every person. "The society we have today is a feat achieved
by that same people and history," he emphasized.
He also referred to the efforts being made to improve Cuba's
socialism, since unjust situations exist that have not been created
deliberately but are a reality. "There are social problems that
must be solved and they must be solved through ambitious programs
involving great dedication and with available resources," he said.
He observed that "life is not a commodity and one of capitalism's
worst crimes has been to convert people's health into a commodity."
He went on to speak about the efforts of Cuban health workers who are
carrying out internationalist missions in countries on all the
continents.
He said that Cuba could do things in the fields of health, education
and sports that the United States and other developed countries
cannot achieve.
Later in his speech, Fidel referred to the concept of general and
integral culture that Cubans are developing and the importance this
has not only in order to understand the world in which we live, but
also so that there will be more opportunities to communicate the
truths of this world and of Cuba.
"The tragedy of today's world is ignorance, including in the
developed world, where there is no society that can call itself
completely cultured," he said.
Referring to the awards, where recognition was paid to 15
collectives, 19 papers judged as being the most relevant and five
representatives from diverse social sectors, he mentioned that
the methods of teaching through educational computer software were
very interesting.
The Ministry of Education was presented as an example of the use of
audiovisual instruction, allowing a greatly increased capacity for
imparting courses to professors and teachers.
During the Forum's final day at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist
Tribunal, the scientists, innovators and rationalizers demanded the
end of the United States' economic war against the island and the
repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act. They also called for the
extradition of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices, in
order for them to stand trial in Cuba.
* NEWS * INTERNATIONAL * SPORTS * CULTURE * This WEEK
* FROM OUR MAILBAG * OUR AMERICA * ARTS IN THE WORLD * MORE
INFORMATION ON THE SOUTH SUMMIT
Javier Sotomayor | Documentos | Revistas | Correo-E | Inglés |
Francés | Portugués | Alemán
© Copyright. 1996-2001. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/
ONLINE EDITION
*************
ICAP - January 10, 2001
40 YEARS OF CUBAN INSTITUTE OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE PEOPLES
An abundance of solidarity
BY MARELYS VALENCIA (Granma International staff writer)
THE murmurs against the oppression began in the '60s. They were
irreverent years that had started a little earlier, in 1959, when for
the first time a Latin American nation departed from the normal
obedience to the United States. Africa, Asia and the Caribbean
emerged from the depths and glimpsed the light. Something in the
developed world also awoke to the brightness.
In the midst of various attacks launched by the United States, the
measures taken prior to the formal establishment of the blockade, and
Cuba's isolation from the rest of Latin America's governments, except
Mexico, the country opened itself up to those who needed it and to
those who supported its unique social process. On December 30, 1960,
the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) was created
and a new phase of giving and receiving was born.
During a celebration marking the organization's 40th anniversary, its
president, Sergio Corrieri, said that ICAP's founding wasn't an
opportunistic decision, but history has demonstrated just how
opportune and useful it was. He recalled ICAP's work in defense of
the Revolution, noting that during the last decade, when many were
announcing the imminent collapse of the island's socialist system
following the fall of the Eastern European bloc, the number of
friendship associations with Cuba had tripled.
In a congratulatory message, President Fidel Castro described the
institution's work as meritorious and said that the two world
solidarity encounters organized in 1994 and 2000 were eloquent proof
of the results achieved. He said that these "represented a beautiful
reward to the people for their heroic struggle in the special
period's very difficult circumstances."
Cubans know the meaning of the word "solidarity" very well. Ever
since their struggle for independence began in the 19th century, men
and women in various other countries have made contributions to that
effort and some have even joined the ranks of the Mambí independence
fighters. Solidarity also emerged from this island to back other
causes throughout the century.
But Cuba faced a unique enemy during the 1960s, the most powerful
country on the planet with a social system that launched all types of
slanders against the island. But on the other hand, friends met
together and through ICAP programs were able to travel to Cuba and
find out about the real situation.
The Venceremos Brigade was born during the 1960s in those same United
States. It was the pioneer of a movement that was later extended to
other countries and regions. For example, there are now brigades from
the Scandinavian countries, South America, Europe, Canada, Latin
America and the Caribbean, New Zealand and Australia. There are over
100 organizations and solidarity networks promoting exchanges and
friendship toward Cuba that have always been linked to ICAP.
During the 40th anniversary celebrations, Cuban trade union leader
Pedro Ross observed that the institution represents a part of the
Revolution's foreign policy. Its objectives have been to spread the
truth about the Revolution throughout the world, seek friends and
multiply their numbers, and to carry Cuban's humanity to every corner
of the earth.
************
January 10, 2001
Raúl recommends that U.S. normalize relations with Fidel's Cuba
HAVANA (PL).- "With our insuperable differences, it would be better
for the imperialists to try to normalize relations with Cuba during
Fidel's lifetime rather than in the future, because it is going to be
more difficult then," said First Vice President and Minister of the
Armed Forces Raúl Castro during an interview transmitted by Cuban
national television on January 4.
He said that the population currently demonstrates a consolidated
unity that will be a decisive factor in maintaining the Revolution
during the third millennium. "I don't say in the 21st century, I say
in the third millennium and, to be more categorical, as long as the
planet exists. That unity has deepened and is more embracing."
Raúl Castro recalled that the country has greatly improved its
institutions and has an efficient Communist Party. He attributed the
fundamental role in the preservation of the socio-political process
initiated on January 1, 1959, to the "vigilant attitude of a people
who are learned, cultured and ever more politicized.
"We have institutions, in first place the Party, which are
sufficient enough to ensure that we will not be taken by surprise by
either well-intentioned foolishness or by evil betrayals," he added.
With regard to those in the United States who speak about a post-
Castro era and a peaceful transition on the island, he responded: "Of
course there will be a transition process* to an even better
socialism."
During the 45-minute televised conversation, Raúl recalled the Cuban
people's battle lasting from the end of 1999 to midway through 2000
for the return of the shipwrecked child Elián González, who was
arbitrarily held in the United States for seven months.
"During the 1960s the people's reactions were characterized by the
excitement and joy of the triumph of the Revolution," he explained.
"Now there is the same enthusiasm, a more moderate excitement
(precisely because it is deeper), and much more consciousness than
then.
"The victory that is represented by the Cuban people's battle of
ideas hasn't escaped anybody, least of all our adversaries," he
emphasized, and added that these events "have demonstrated
the Revolution's strength to our people and to the world."
Switching to military terms, he said that during the Cubans' long and
tough battle "fresh troops are arriving like a kind of strategic
second echelon."
The Cuban president's younger brother prophesized years of difficult
battle ahead and considered the Revolution's durability to be the
best tribute to the people and to those who "fell in the heroic
struggle and didn't live to see the end of the 20th century."
He scorned ideas for posthumous tributes to himself in the form of
monuments or the naming of streets, factories or farms. "I would
prefer Cubans to be alert so that the island doesn't suffer the self-
destruction experienced by the Soviet Union during the past decade,"
he said.
The Cuban first vice president emphasized that with the arrival of
the year 2001, a new century and the third millennium, his
compatriots had enjoyed a well-deserved rest and also a
well-deserved joy for the advent of the 42nd anniversary of the
Revolution.
"Nothing has come free of charge for our people. Looking back on
history we see that many things came into being with a great deal of
blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice. Our people have never stopped
struggling. That has been demonstrated even better and more massively
since the triumph of the Revolution," he said.
He observed that the United States is Cuba's only adversary and
described that country as "the most powerful country in the world, in
every sense except morally." However, he said he was "optimistic" and
had a "calm joy" with regard to the Revolution's future.
Raúl reiterated that in the third millennium Cuba would pass along a
road containing both struggles and victories. He argued that Cubans
would be capable of defeating the hostile policies Washington has
maintained towards the island for more than 40 years. The United
States, he said, "will have to repeal all the acts that have been
passed such as Torricelli and Helms-Burton," approved by the U.S.
Congress in 1992 and 1996, respectively.
He remarked that the nation's defense had always been guaranteed
because spending has never stopped in that sector, although the rate
of spending of has depended on the resources available to the state.
In response to questions about the level of patriotism among the
Cuban people, he said that this was explained by the explosive ethnic
composition of the country's inhabitants, whose heritage is
fundamentally Spanish and African.
He recalled that one of the happiest moments of his life was when he
met up once again with his brother, Fidel Castro, after the battle of
Alegría de Pío which followed the landing in eastern Cuba of the
Granma cabin cruiser in December 1956. That marked the beginning of
the struggle waged by a group of young people against the blood-
thirsty regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista (1952-1959).
"The triumph of the Revolution was a time of joy and worry at the
same time," he said, "because we didn't know what would come
afterwards, since it was a process that had only just begun."
With regard to President Fidel Castro, he emphasized that he combines
a capacity for great strategy with a political genius that has
allowed him to overcome U.S. strategies to defeat the Revolution. He
noted that those victories were due to "the variety of methods used
in the struggle."
* NEWS * INTERNATIONAL * SPORTS * CULTURE * This WEEK
* FROM OUR MAILBAG * OUR AMERICA * ARTS IN THE WORLD
* MORE INFORMATION ON THE SOUTH SUMMIT
Javier Sotomayor | Documentos | Revistas | Correo-E | Inglés |
Francés | Portugués | Alemán
© Copyright. 1996-2001. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/
ONLINE EDITION " JC
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