from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
subject: Radio Havana Feb 7. War Criminal Sharon is PM
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 07 February 2001
.
*ARGENTINA: POLITICAL LEADERS DEMAND NON-COOPERATION WITH US ANTI-CUBA
CRUSADE
*CUBAN HOUSING MINISTER DISCUSSES CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS AND GAINS
*GRANMA: FOREIGN DISINFORMATION ABOUT CUBAN INTERNET ACCESS
*CARLOS DOTRES DISCUSSES PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN GOALS
*CUBAN MINISTER SIGNS ACCORDS WITH LEBANON
*ECUADORAN PRESIDENT, INDIGENOUS LEADERS SIGN AN AGREEMENT
*ARIEL SHARON'S VICTORY IN ISRAELI ELECTION PROVOKES OUTRAGE IN THE ARAB
WORLD
*FLASH! FIRST 200 DOLLAR "BUSH-BILL" CASHED IN KENTUCKY
*Viewpoint: WAR CRIMINAL ARIEL SHARON IS NEW PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL
.
*ARGENTINA: POLITICAL LEADERS DEMAND NON-COOPERATION WITH US ANTI-CUBA
CRUSADE
Buenos Aires, February 7 (RHC)-- The leaders of the two
Argentinean political organizations making up the ruling coalition have
called on President Fernando de la Rua to abstain during the upcoming
anti-Cuba vote at the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Former
Argentinean President Raul Alfonsin, leader of de la Rua's Radical Civic
Union, and former Vice President Carlos Alvarez, leader of the left-center
organization FREPASO, said the Argentinean government should follow the
examples of Brazil and other Latin American nations that habitually abstain
during the annual vote. Alfonsin said there are human rights violations in
many countries, but that nothing is ever said about the United States,
adding that Argentina should not be one of Washington's imprisoned
clients. Alvarez, who resigned as vice president amid a dispute with de la
Rua concerning the fight against corruption, also stated that Argentina
should not be automatically obedient regarding U.S. foreign policy.
Alfonsin, Alvarez and numerous leaders of the two political organizations
were highly critical of former Argentinean President Carlos Menem's
unconditional affinity to Washington's foreign policy. Observers believe,
however, that President de la Rua's government will again vote against Cuba
at the UN Human Rights Commission, since the U.S. Treasury Department was
instrumental in providing Argentina with a stop-gap 40 billion dollar loan
for the country's ailing economy. *CUBAN HOUSING MINISTER DISCUSSES
CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS AND GAINS Havana, February 7 (RHC)-Some 45,000 homes
will be built in Cuba this year according to Juan Mario Junco, the island's
Construction Minister. While Cuba does not have a homeless problem, as do
most other nations in the hemisphere -- it nonetheless has a housing
crisis, and the necessity of repairing dilapidated buildings as well as
constructing more solid and stable homes, has been a primary focus in the
past few years. One of the more successful aspects of the island's
construction industry, said Junco, is the improved training that builders
have received, although higher quality is still being sought. Responding
to criticisms about past inferior quality building and slow progress in the
restoration and repair of existing buildings, the Cuban Construction
Minister said that workers in the industry were not paid very high salaries
and acknowledged that mistakes had been made, to the dissatisfaction of
all. Nevertheless, a marked increase in housing improvements over 1999 had
taken place last year. As to tourism, this year another 3,600 hotel rooms
will be built -- especially in Varadero, Holguín and Cayo Coco. And in
industry, an important soybean plant will be finished by the end of
February, said Junco, which will considerably improve the nation's food
production. *GRANMA: FOREIGN DISINFORMATION ABOUT CUBAN INTERNET
ACCESS Havana, February 7 (RHC)-The Cuban news daily Granma Wednesday
dedicated almost an entire page to a discussion of criticisms against Cuba
for supposedly denying Internet access to its citizens. The newspaper
quotes a Washington Post article published December 26th as an example of
the disinformation spread about Cuba and the Internet. The Post claim, that
the Cuban government prohibits access to the Internet, was picked up by
other news media and widely published as truth -- including coverage on the
Internet itself. No analysis of the problems a Third World country like
Cuba has in its attempt to expand the latest technology to its population
was offered, said Granma. The reality is that there are today four official
Internet providers on the island: Cubaweb, Colombus, Infocom and
Ceniai. In comments made to Granma, Sergio Pérez of Cubaweb said that
it was totally unjust and opportunistic to give a political cast to what
was actually an economic problem: the average Cuban simply cannot afford
access -- even if they have been able to buy a computer in the first place.
Aside from this, said Pérez, it was in any case currently logistically
impossible to connect everyone who is interested. Cuba does not have the
conditions to provide such extensive service. Priority is given to
education and health sectors. Sergio Pérez also said that it was
absolutely false that the Cuban government controls access to websites it
deems should be censored. He said that institutions and businesses
obviously have the option to limit their workers and students to certain
sites but those limitations are practiced the world over. He asked where on
the planet is it permitted for a doctor using technology provided at work
to access a pornographic site? Or even to spend time in an innocuous chat
room when he or she has patients to attend to? Cuba is currently creating
Computer Youth Clubs across the island to enable children and young people
to surf the Internet for free. The need to educate the island's youth in
this technology is recognized by the Cuban government, says Granma, if we
are to be at all competitive on the world stage. *CARLOS DOTRES DISCUSSES
PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN GOALS Havana, February 7 (RHC)-The Cuban Ministry
of Public Health has outlined extensive plans to diminish contagious
diseases and strengthen its infant/maternal program across the
island. Cuban Health Minister Carlos Dotres announced the plans at a news
conference in the central Cuban city of Ciego de Avila on Tuesday. He also
said that health authorities would attack the high rates of heart disease
and diabetes in adults. It was essential to improve the services offered by
family doctors and nurses, said Dotres, because Cuba's is a world-renowned
system that has proven to be highly effective in preventing health problems
rather than simply seeking to cure them once they manifest themselves. He
added that this system has helped to bring Cuba through the worst years of
the Special Period. Efforts to extend dental and optical services as well
as access to medicines-- always an issue in blockaded Cuba -- are being
made across the nation. "We need to go to the people rather than have them
come to us," said Dotres. "We need to work to resolve any concerns they
have with the services we offer. And above all, he added, the health
authorities need to reduce further the island's infant mortality rate which
is, nevertheless, one of the lowest on the planet." *CUBAN MINISTER SIGNS
ACCORDS WITH LEBANON Havana, February 7 (RHC)-The President of Lebanon,
Emile Lahoud, Thursday received Cuban Minister Without Portfolio, Ricardo
Cabrisas, who is on an official visit to the Middle East. Having signed
trade agreements, Cabrisas said that it was now up to Cuban and Lebanese
companies and both nations' Chambers of Commerce to forge improved
commercial ties. He also mentioned the important education and cultural
accords that Beirut and Havana have reached. For his part, the Lebanese
president said that Cabrisas' visit symbolized the traditional solidarity
that exists between the two countries and that his country admired the
spirit of the Cuban people's resistance and its head, President Fidel
Castro, to whom he sent personal regards. *ECUADORAN PRESIDENT,
INDIGENOUS LEADERS SIGN AN AGREEMENT Quito, February 7 (RHC)-- Ecuadoran
President Gustavo Noboa and indigenous leaders today signed an agreement,
following a face-to-face meeting that is expected to bring to an end
several weeks of protests against price hikes. Although details of the
agreement haven't been released, the two sides apparently ironed out
differences that were still on the negotiating table following meetings
with government representatives. Authorities had agreed to reduce the
price of a cylinder of domestic gas from $2.00 to $1.60, although
indigenous activists were pushing for a $1.50 pricetag. Authorities also
agreed to freeze gasoline prices for one year; the activists wanted a
two-year freeze. The Ecuadoran Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities
was also seeking the release of all indigenous activists jailed during the
protest and economic compensation for the family members of four activists
killed and dozens of wounded. Last Friday, in the face of massive
protests, the Ecuadoran government declared a state of emergency,
suspending constitutional rights. *ARIEL SHARON'S VICTORY IN ISRAELI
ELECTION PROVOKES OUTRAGE IN THE ARAB WORLD Beirut, February 7 (RHC)--
Media outlets in the Arab world are unanimously expressing concern and
outrage over Tuesday's election of ultra-right wing leader Ariel Sharon as
Israel's new Prime Minister. Arab radio stations and the press are
referring to Sharon as a terrorist and the Butcher of Sabra and Chatila,
calling his electoral victory a clear sign that Israel is not ready for
peace. One Lebanese newspaper thanked the Israelis for electing Sharon,
calling his victory and en to the myth of the peace process. Chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat asked what are Israelis and Palestinians
going to talk about when Sharon maintains that Jerusalem will be Israel's
indivisible capital, Tel Aviv won't withdraw from the Jordan Valley, and no
Jewish settlements in occupied territories will be dismantled. Anonymous
sources in Washington, meanwhile, have revealed that the U.S. State
Department has instructed its officials to stop using the term "Middle East
peace process" and to substitute "peace negotiations" or "actions toward
peace." *FLASH! FIRST 200 DOLLAR "BUSH-BILL" CASHED IN KENTUCKY Havana,
February 7 (RHC)-- From our "hard-to-believe" file, here's a story that
even we find hard to believe: According to an article published by
the Cuban daily Juventud Rebelde, a cashier in Danville, Kentucky accepted
a 200 dollar bill at a local Dairy Queen. While it should have been
obvious that the currency was phony -- there ARE no 200 dollar bills in
circulation in the United States -- the face on the bill should really have
given it away. On the front was a picture of the current president of the
country -- George W. Bush. If that wasn't enough, the slogan on the
counterfeit currency read: "Everyone has the right to carry a firearm." And
to top it off, on the back of the bill was the drawing of an oil well, an
allusion to the Bush family fortune. The cashier took the bill for a $2.12
purchase and returned the change -- $197.88. Juventud Rebelde says that
police are investigating the fraud... and there was no word on whether or
not the cashier is still working at the fast food
establishment. *Viewpoint: WAR CRIMINAL ARIEL SHARON IS NEW PRIME
MINISTER OF ISRAEL The recent electoral victory of Zionist former general
Ariel Sharon has caused serious concern over the future of the troubled
Middle East negotiations, since Sharon has a huge criminal record against
the Palestinian people, who will never forget the slaughter carried out
in Shabra and Shatila as well as many other, still unpunished, similar
actions. The long and persistent Israeli settlement process on the
Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and Jordan has poisoned the
sovereignty and other national rights of the Palestinian people. It is now
likely to continue since the key reason for the Zionist general's climb to
power has been his policies on those territories. Just when peace
negotiations seemed to be on the path to progress, under the auspices of
the United States, mainly responsible for the conflict in the region,
Sharon put a halt to the progress by staging a public provocation in East
Jerusalem, territory claimed by the Palestinian Authority as the
future capital of the Palestinian State. Sharon aimed this provocation at
getting electoral support from the most reactionary circles of Israeli
Zionism, with significant economic power in and out of the Middle East
region. On the other hand, Israel has the right to exist as a state,
notwithstanding that its government is a puppet of U.S. imperialism whose
main objective is looking after its interests in the Middle East oil
sector. The Expel Philosophy, denounced by Cuban President Fidel Castro at
the United Nations, has been undeniably acting against the rights of
the Palestinian people and has been the major cause for the prolonged
conflict in that part of the world. That philosophy has set precedents
whose consequences cannot yet be calculated. Cuba has always been in
solidarity with the Palestinian people and other Arab nations, who hold the
oil needed for capitalist industry to function. The Palestinian National
Authority is willing to continue with peace efforts and it will never be
seen to frustrate them. The new Israeli rulers will not be able to wreck
the future of those who are determined to struggle until their last breath.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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rhc-esp-19438 2001-Feb-08 00:39:30 " JC
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