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subject: Radio Havana march 19. DU hard to create and control
Radio Havana Cuba-19 March 2001
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 19 March 2001
.
*FIDEL SENDS BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO CHILEAN COMMUNIST LEADER
*NEW EMPLOYMENT SERVICE HELPS CUBAN JOB-SEEKERS
*ROUNDTABLE: ANALYZING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES
*MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION CALLS FOR MORE EFFICIENT USE OF RESOURCES
*MARY ROBINSON OPENS 57th UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION GATHERING
*PROTESTS IN ARGENTINA FOLLOW ANNOUNCEMENT OF SEVERE ECONOMIC SHOCK
PACKAGE
*ACTIVISTS IN CANADA PREPARE FOR PROTESTS DURING UPCOMING AMERICAS
SUMMIT
Viewpoint:
*DEPLETED URANIUM IS HARD TO CONTROL, EVEN FOR THOSE WHO CREATED IT
.
*FIDEL SENDS BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO CHILEAN COMMUNIST LEADER
Havana, March 19 (RHC)--Cuban President Fidel Castro sent a
message congratulating Chilean writer and Communist Party leader
Volodia Teitelboim on the occasion of his 85th birthday. The leader
of the Cuban Revolution wished Teitelboim many more birthday
celebrations, adding that -- in his words -- "may the next half of
your life be filled with the same intellectual genius and energy for
the struggle that you have demonstrated up until now... during the
first half of your life."
Speaking with reporters from Prensa Latina News Agency in Santiago de
Chile, Volodia Teitelboim expressed his appreciation for the Cuban
leader's kind words. The former head of the Chilean Communist Party
affirmed that "Fidel can count on the people of Chile, on the people
of Salvador Allende," adding "we will continue, side by side with
Fidel, to work for the liberation of our America."
The 85-year-old internationally renowned writer and novelist also
received birthday greetings from the Pablo Neruda Foundation and the
Society of Chilean Writers.
Volodia Teitelboim led the Chilean Communist Party during the 1930s
and was active in the Popular Unity coalition that helped bring
Salvador Allende to the presidency in 1970. He worked closely with
the Chilean socialist president during his administration and was
persecuted by the military dictatorship that overthrew Allende in
September, 1973.
The Chilean Communist Party leader went into exile for many years
during the bloody dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and finally
returned to Chile to continue his work for a more just and equitable
society.
*NEW EMPLOYMENT SERVICE HELPS CUBAN JOB-SEEKERS
Havana, March 19 (RHC)--A relatively new phenomenon has developed in
Cuba: job openings at the same time that there are people looking for
work. According to a feature story in Monday morning's edition of the
newspaper "Trabajadores," an employment service has been created to
help people find the jobs for which they are qualified.
The Labor and Employment Service is now operating in a number
of municipalities across the island. The service is designed to help
match qualified workers -- skilled in specific areas -- with jobs
that need to be filled.
According to official statistics, unemployment decreased to 4.7
percent last year in Havana, the Cuban capital. But statistics also
show that there are 150,000 job openings and less than half that
number are looking for jobs -- a total of 45,000. Recent studies show
that Havana has 755,000 workers, of whom 24,000 are self-employed.
While State workers are obviously the majority, the so-called
"private" sector -- or self-employed -- is still a significant
factor.
The Labor and Employment Service reveals that the main need is for
skilled workers in specific trades -- particularly in economy,
computers and electronics, as well as bricklayers, carpenters and
other professions.
*ROUNDTABLE: ANALYZING THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES
Havana, March 19 (RHC)--Monday evening's roundtable discussion --
broadcast live on Cuban radio and television -- took a look at the
development of new information technologies.
Experts in the area point out that while new technology is
becoming increasingly available here in Cuba, the primary obstacles
to further development are limited resources. For example, many of
the telephone lines -- even in Havana -- have not yet been
digitalized. This seriously limits the ability to make and receive
international as well as some local calls.
It was also noted that there are approximately ten computers for
every 1000 inhabitants and a little more than 60,000 electronic mail
accounts throughout the island.
Experts in the area of information technology point out that
existing resources must be prioritized -- with an emphasis on vital
services to the people. Cuba is not economically in a position to
have Internet access open to all of its 11 million people; the
island's technology will need to be developed much more before that
can take place.
*MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION CALLS FOR MORE EFFICIENT USE OF
RESOURCES
Havana, March 19 (RHC)--The Ministry of Transportation has called for
a more efficient use of resources. During a meeting to examine
achievements made in the year 2000, it was pointed out that the use
of trucks and buses must be improved in order better serve the
public.
Among the participants at the recent meeting was the President of
Cuba's Central Bank, Francisco Soberon. He emphasized that economic
efficiency is one area that will need to be addressed in the not-too-
distant future.
*MARY ROBINSON OPENS 57th UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION GATHERING
Geneva, March 19 (RHC)--United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Mary Robinson, inaugurated Monday in Geneva the 57th annual
UN Human Rights Commission gathering. Robinson placed particular
emphasis on the deteriorating situation in Colombia, which has
registered an increase in summary executions, massacres, torture and
death threats, mostly by right-wing paramilitary groups.
She has reportedly drawn up 21 recommendations to Colombian President
Andres Pastrana and leftist rebels, aimed at enhancing compliance
with human rights norms and international humanitarian law. Robinson
also focused on the Middle East, where she said abuse in Palestinian
territories continues, and on the dramatic situation in Sierra Leone.
The world body official deplored the lack of contributions to the
agency she heads, recalling that the Human Rights Commission only
receives 2 percent of the UN budget. Robinson announced that she will
resign from her post next September at the end of her first mandate.
The Commission's annual gathering will begin its work Tuesday with
speeches from government ministers of 12 nations, among them Mexican
Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda.
*PROTESTS IN ARGENTINA FOLLOW ANNOUNCEMENT OF SEVERE ECONOMIC SHOCK
PACKAGE
Buenos Aires, March 19 (RHC)--Protests continued Monday in
Argentina following Friday's announcement of a severe economic shock
package. Students, teachers, pensioners and jobless protesters
blocked roads and bridges in Buenos Aires Province and occupied
buildings in colleges and high schools.
Argentina's new Economy Minister, Ricardo Lopez Murphy, announced
spending cutbacks over the next two years to the tune of $4.5
billion. The cutbacks will particularly affect the education sector.
Teachers' unions are planning more street protests and a strike on
Tuesday and Wednesday, along with the General Labour Confederation
and the Argentinean Workers Central.
Several government ministers of the ruling coalition have resigned
to protest the cutbacks, which come in the face of a 32-month-long
recession.
*ACTIVISTS IN CANADA PREPARE FOR PROTESTS DURING UPCOMING AMERICAS
SUMMIT
Quebec, March 19 (RHC)--Social activists in Canada are preparing for
the upcoming Third Summit of the Americas, expressing concern over
government plans to militarise the city of Quebec. Between April 20th
and the 22nd, Canadian authorities will deploy 5 thousand police and
a 4.5-kilometer barbed-wire and cement wall, in what is being called
an unprecedented militarization in time of peace.
Some Canadian politicians are also questioning Canada's reputed image
of tolerance when thousands simply want their voices to be heard in
the face of closed-door negotiations on the setting up of a Free
Trade Zone of the Americas. Canadian social democratic House Deputy
Svend Robinson has accused authorities of restricting the right to
peacefully protest.
Kathy Price, spokesperson for the Inter-Ecclesiastic Committee for
Human Rights in Latin America -- grouping Canada's principal
Christian churches -- stated over the weekend that there is deep
concern in the religious community over the militarization of Quebec.
She said Windsor was only a warming up -- in reference to the massive
police deployment during the June, 2000 Organization of American
States gathering where demonstrators protested peacefully.
Price stated that converting Quebec into a fortress is testimony to
the failure of the Third Summit of the Americas. Over the weekend
hundreds of activists in a church in Toronto took classes in peaceful
civil disobedience and how to protect oneself from mounted police
charges and tear gas.
Viewpoint:
*DEPLETED URANIUM IS HARD TO CONTROL, EVEN FOR THOSE WHO CREATED IT
The use of depleted uranium in various areas of Eastern Europe by
NATO invasion forces, especially the United States, has created an
alarming situation worldwide. NATO forces used the deadly strategic
weapons in Kosovo and other areas of the Mediterranean without first
warning residents or providing for protective measures.
In fact, NATO troops and civilians alike were exposed to the
deadly substance which makes artillery fire more effective, but whose
deadly effects are still not completely understood. NATO has
announced that an investigation will be mounted, but time has passed
and nothing more has been said about the dangers that persist in the
areas that were attacked with weapons containing depleted uranium.
Now, the world's attention has been distracted by the hoof-and-mouth
and mad cow epidemics that have erupted across Europe. Of course,
that is also of great importance, but we must not forget the great
danger that threatens to extend to other places where Washington may
decide to intervene with its so-called "weapons of pacification."
Behind today's problems created internationally by current economic
policies looms the terrible spectre of aggression and intervention
through the use of non-conventional warfare. If we are to survive as
a species, problems must be resolved by other methods which are
available to all. If not, the terrible consequences could be
irreversible for everyone.
(c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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rhc-eng-20479 2001-Mar-20 03:35:12 " JC
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