From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2002 03:38:43 -0500
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Subject: Radio Havana Cuba-14 January 2002
Radio Havana Cuba-14 January 2002
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 14 January 2002
.
*OFFENSIVE IS IN FULL SWING AGAINST THE AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO
*GENERAL SECRETARY OF INTERPOL VISITS CUBA
*CUBA-IRAN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL MIXED COMMISSION OPENS IN HAVANA
*FAREWELL TO A LEGEND: GREGORIO FUENTES DIES IN HAVANA
*ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL BLASTS IMF INTERFERENCE IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS
*BAGHDAD BLASTS WASHINGTON'S THREATS OF WAR
*PENTAGON'S SO-CALLED WAR ON TERRORISM COULD LAST AT LEAST 6 YEARS
*ISRAELI ARMY COMES UNDER FIRE FOR MASS HOUSE DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA
.
*OFFENSIVE IS IN FULL SWING AGAINST THE AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO
Havana, January 14 (RHC)-- Participants in Sunday's televised
roundtable discussion praised the positive response from people in
the Cuban capital to a government-sponsored campaign to eradicate the
Aedes Aegypti mosquito -- carrier of dengue fever. Cuban President
Fidel Castro attended the televised program.
The aim of the campaign, for which Cuban authorities have earmarked
the necessary material resources, is to insure that a new dengue
epidemic doesn't break out on the island.
Just 48 hours after the launching of the campaign Saturday morning,
experts from different health services in Havana were already
pointing to some victories, which they say were possible because of
the enthusiastic participation of Havana residents in hygiene
efforts.
A contingent of nearly 11,000 trained men and women are visiting
homes, work places and buildings to search out and destroy any
potential mosquito breeding areas.
The campaign also includes exchanging water tanks that are in bad
condition for new ones, the fumigation of all buildings and the
collection of waste materials that have accumulated in homes as well
as on the streets.
During a meeting Friday evening with representatives of the women and
men who will carry out the campaign, Cuban President Fidel Castro
said that the task is not a simple one, taking into account current
outbreaks of dengue in many regional nations. The Cuban leader said
that although the campaign is national, the main focus is in the
capital, which reports the highest number of dengue cases.
*GENERAL SECRETARY OF INTERPOL VISITS CUBA
Havana, January 14 (RHC)-- Ronald Noble, General Secretary of the
International Crime Police Organization (INTERPOL) is in Havana for
an official visit at the invitation of Cuba's Interior Ministry.
Upon arriving at Havana's José Marti International Airport, Ronald
Noble said the aim of his visit, his first to Cuba, is to support the
island's efforts in the fight against crime, drug trafficking and the
smuggling of human beings.
The general secretary of INTERPOL also announced that his
organization will provide Cuba with the equipment necessary for the
island to fully access the organization's archives.
*CUBA-IRAN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL MIXED COMMISSION OPENS IN HAVANA
Havana, January 14 (RHC)-- The 8th Cuba-Iran Inter-governmental
Mixed Commission for Economic and Scientific Cooperation began
sessions in the Cuban capital on Monday.
The Cuban delegation is headed by Government Minister Ricardo
Cabrisas, while the visiting delegation is headed by Mahmood Hojati,
Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During the three-day meeting, participants will examine the state of
implementation of agreements signed during the previous meeting and
set the guidelines and objectives for future cooperation.
The Iranian agriculture minister expressed confidence that the
meeting will further strengthen bilateral relations between Havana
and Teheran and stressed his government's interest in expanding
cooperation to other areas, including customs services, banking and
investment of capital.
*FAREWELL TO A LEGEND: GREGORIO FUENTES DIES IN HAVANA
Havana, January 14 (RHC)-- Gregorio Fuentes, the man who inspired
the main character in U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway's book "The Old
man and the Sea," died over the weekend in the Havana fishing village
of Cojimar.
Fuentes, who died at the age of 104 on Sunday, was a long-time friend
of Hemingway and the captain of his fishing boat, the "Pilar."
The legendary Cuban fisherman, who was lucid to the end, often told a
story about how he and his American friend chased Nazi submarines off
the coast of Cuba during the Second World War.
Gregorio Fuentes, who was immortalized by Hemingway's story, was born
July 18th, 1897 in the Canary Islands and migrated to Cuba at a very
young age.
*ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL BLASTS IMF INTERFERENCE IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Buenos Aires, January 14 (RHC)-- A top Argentinean government
official has taken aim at the International Monetary Fund, suggesting
that its criticism of Argentina's economic and monetary policies was
damaging the new administration's attempts to rebuild the country's
shattered economy.
Deputy Economy Minister Jorge Todesca took issue with a letter sent
by the IMF to the government last week. He said that the letter
insisted on a "more coherent" economic policy and arrived only a few
days after President Eduardo Duhalde's administration took office.
The Argentinean deputy economy minister said that the new government
is working to defuse social tensions and -- in his words -- "we don't
need the IMF to be telling us every two minutes what course we should
take when we've only been at this for seven days."
For his part, President Eduardo Duhalde took a diplomatic approach in
weekend interviews, although he made it clear that Argentina should
not be forced to take foreign advice. Monday morning's edition of La
Nacion quoted the new president -- the fifth in less than one month
-- as saying that the IMF can't help Argentina if we don't go to them
with a program that is sustainable from the viewpoint of Argentina,
not from a viewpoint based on what other countries think."
Observers noted that the president's comments reflect frustrations
within the new government that the IMF is underestimating the complex
and potentially explosive social situation in a country suffering
from a record 40 percent poverty rate and nearly 20 percent
unemployment.
Over the past several weeks, massive protests in Argentina have been
carried out in response to the government's economic policies. On
Friday, protesters ransacked banks and ATMs after Duhalde moved to
help prop up the mostly foreign-owned financial system by expanding a
freeze on bank deposits -- part of the IMF recipe for economic
austerity.
Jorge Todesca, the deputy economy minister, pointed out that the
International Monetary Fund is trying to give advice from more than
10,000 kilometers away and without much knowledge of the situation.
And the Argentinean official added that IMF officials "should talk
less if they don't have anything interesting to say."
*BAGHDAD BLASTS WASHINGTON'S THREATS OF WAR
Baghdad, January 14 (RHC)-- Iraqi newspapers over the weekend
blasted suggestions that the United States might target Iraq in its
so-called war against terrorism. The official al-Qadissiya newspaper
condemned U.S. threats against Iraq, saying that while Washington
claims that other countries threaten their stability, it is actually
the United States that threatens world stability.
On Saturday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns said
that the United States had yet to decide whether to use military
force against Iraq and that Washington planned to discuss the issue
with its allies from the 1991 Gulf War. Speculation has intensified
that the United States could start a new phase in its war on
terrorism after Afghanistan by attacking such countries as Somalia,
Iraq or Sudan.
U.S. President George W. Bush recently warned that Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein would "find out" the consequences if he did not allow
the return to Baghdad of United Nations weapons inspectors,
triggering speculation that Iraq might be the next target of U.S.
forces.
The ruling Baath party newspaper al-Thawra said Washington wanted to
use the issue of weapons inspectors as a pretext to attack Iraq.
Accusations by U.S. officials that Iraq is developing weapons of mass
destruction "are false and aimed at achieving other goals," according
to the newspaper in a front-page editorial.
U.N. inspectors left Iraq in December 1998 -- accused of spying for
the United States and its NATO allies -- and have not been allowed to
return since. Iraq, still under international sanctions, says it has
no weapons of mass destruction and wants a complete end to the U.N.
embargo, imposed on the Arab nation under pressure from Washington.
*PENTAGON'S SO-CALLED WAR ON TERRORISM COULD LAST AT LEAST 6 YEARS
Washington, January 14 (RHC)-- U.S. military officials are now
saying they believe the so-called war against terrorism will last at
least six years. According to reports from the U.S. capital, Pentagon
officials are being asked to draw up budget plans for new weapons,
based on the prediction that the war led by Washington will last
until at least the year 2008 -- and some observers say even longer.
Billions of dollars will be allocated to develop even more of the
weapons that have been used in Afghanistan, such as unmanned
surveillance and attack aircraft. It is also being reported that U.S.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has President George W. Bush's
support for a sharp increase in military spending.
The London Daily Telegraph reported over the weekend that there have
been clashes between the U.S. Defense Department and the Central
Intelligence Agency over the quality of intelligence coming out from
Afghanistan. Some military officials feared there was a "missed
opportunity" when the Pentagon ordered U.S. Central Command to rely
on local Afghan forces rather than U.S. troops to try to intercept
and capture Osama bin Laden after the assault on the Tora Bora
mountains, where he was allegedly hiding. Not only did bin Laden
apparently escape, but so have a number of Taliban leaders over the
past two weeks, raising questions about the competence or corruption
of the Afghan forces.
*ISRAELI ARMY COMES UNDER FIRE FOR MASS HOUSE DEMOLITIONS IN GAZA
Tel Aviv, January 14 (RHC)-- The Israeli army is coming under
increasingly heavy fire from critics at home and abroad for razing
Palestinian houses and leaving at least 600 homeless. And remarks by
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that Tel Aviv's latest military
operations were "defensive" has sparked an angry response in the Arab
world.
There has been strong criticism inside Israel for the decision to
destroy the dozens of houses the military claims were used to smuggle
arms and fire on Israeli border posts. Israeli Foreign Minister
Shimon Peres and Science and Culture Minister Matan Vilnai both
voiced concern at the destruction. Vilnai said the army should have
used a less indiscriminate response than bulldozing dozens of houses,
its harshest such operation since the Palestinian uprising broke out
more than 15 months ago. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Peres
has demanded "clear explanations" for the action, which the army says
destroyed 22 buildings.
Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said the operation
constituted a "crime against humanity" and called on the United
States to adopt a "constructive position."
The head of the Israeli human rights group Peace Now, Moria Shlomot,
called the mid-winter destruction of homes "an unconscionable and
inhumane act (which) has nothing to do with security."
Several dozen Peace Now activists carried out a demonstration in
front of the Israeli defense ministry in Tel Aviv. Organizers of the
protest said the Israeli government has lost all moral conscience and
that its illegal orders involve all Israeli citizens, particularly
the country's young soldiers who carry out the operations.
Zeev Schiff, a journalist with the daily Haaretz, called Tel Aviv's
destruction of Palestinian homes -- in his words -- "an act of
undisguised ruthlessness, a military action devoid of humanitarian
and diplomatic logic, based on simplistic and over-generalized
operational considerations." Other commentators in the daily said the
operation was almost certainly illegal and, as collective punishment,
could be classified as a "war crime."
The latest Israeli actions also drew criticism from the European
Union's new acting presidency, Spain. In statements to the Arab daily
Al-Hayat, Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Pique said that these
actions by Israel cannot be justified in any way and cannot be
included in the so-called fight against terrorism. He added that the
latest events have dangerously heightened tensions, which does not
give cause for optimism.
(c) 2002 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.
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