Radio Havana Cuba-17 April 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 17 April 2002 . *TV ROUNDTABLE EXAMINES FAILED RIGHT-WING COUP IN VENEZUELA *PROTESTERS IN QUITO CONDEMN WASHINGTON'S HOSTILITY TOWARD CUBA *RIGHT-WING CHILEAN PARTY DECRIES PRESSURE ON GOVT TO VOTE AGAINST CUBA *PRIME MINISTER OF GRENADA ARRIVES IN HAVANA *WASHINGTON DUCKS FALLOUT OVER ATTEMPTED RIGHT-WING COUP IN VENEZUELA *OUTRAGE IN EUROPE OVER ISRAELI ABUSES IN JENIN REFUGEE CAMP *ANOTHER JUDGE WANTS TO QUESTION KISSINGER ON CRIMES COMMITTED BY LATIN AMERICAN DICTATORSHIPS *ARGENTINE PUBLIC WORKERS PROTEST UNPAID SALARIES; DUHALDE PREDICTS MORE UNREST *Viewpoint: RIGHTS FOR ALL? . *TV ROUNDTABLE EXAMINES FAILED RIGHT-WING COUP IN VENEZUELA Havana, April 17 (RHC)-- During Tuesday evening's special roundtable discussion -- broadcast live on Cuban radio and television -- experts examined the recent attempt by right-wing forces to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and destroy the revolutionary process in that country. For the third consecutive day, panelists took a look at events in Venezuela, noting that daily activities have returned to normal. Statements aired on Venezuelan television by Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel were re-broadcast as part of the roundtable discussion. Rangel said that people in the capital, Caracas, and other Venezuelan cities are going about their daily affairs and that there are no shortages of food or other necessities. Analysts discussed the support given by officials from several Latin American countries to the coup leaders. A journalist with Trabajadores newspaper, Lazaro Barredo, referred to recent accusations made in Lima by former Peruvian President Alan Garcia against the current president, Alejandro Toledo. Over the weekend, while Hugo Chavez was being held by military officers, Toledo commented that Chavez was never one of his idols. The former Peruvian president, along with others, is calling on Alejandro Toledo to apologize to his Venezuelan counterpart. Panelists also criticized the position assumed by many Venezuelan private media outlets and international television networks -- such as CNN en Espanol and Miami's Channel 51 -- which distorted the events in Venezuela and announced that Hugo Chavez had resigned as the country's president, instead of reporting that he had been detained after refusing to resign. Last night's roundtable discussion ended with coverage of a special ceremony held at the Cuban embassy in Caracas on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque traveled to the Venezuelan capital to personally bestow the Calixto Garcia Medal of Courage on 28 Cuban diplomats and members of the embassy staff. They held out against a right-wing mob of hundreds who threatened to storm the diplomatic mission on Friday and into Saturday morning. According to the Cuban foreign minister, speaking at the ceremony yesterday afternoon, the mob destroyed seven cars used by diplomatic personnel and even threw molotov cocktails against the building. The Cuban Council of State decided to honor the embassy's staff for heroically resisting the attacks and vowing to defend a small piece of Cuban territory, even at the cost of their own lives. *PROTESTERS IN QUITO CONDEMN WASHINGTON'S HOSTILITY TOWARD CUBA Quito, April 17 (RHC)-- Protesters gathered in front of the U.S. embassy in Quito, Ecuador on Tuesday to protest Washington's hostile campaign against the Cuban Revolution. Organizers of the protest called on the Ecuadorian government to resist pressures to vote against Cuba during the upcoming debate at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Hundreds of demonstrators picketed Washington's embassy in downtown Quito, protesting Washington's brutal economic blockade against the island and the U.S.-sponsored campaign to condemn Havana for alleged human rights violations. The protest action was sponsored by the Ecuadorian Committee in Solidarity with Cuba, as well as women's organizations, labor unions and human rights groups. Following the peaceful demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy, protesters marched to the offices of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry -- calling on Quito to not join with Uruguay, which was pressured by Washington to sponsor the annual resolution against Cuba in Geneva. *RIGHT-WING CHILEAN PARTY DECRIES PRESSURE ON GOVT TO VOTE AGAINST CUBA Santiago de Chile, April 17 (RHC)-- Lawmakers from the right-wing Chilean political party National Renovation have called on the administration of President Ricardo Lagos to reject pressure to vote against Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Three legislators and one former candidate from the right-wing party issued a statement in Santiago, addressed to the Chilean president, urging him not to go along with the annual resolution condemning Cuba for alleged human rights violations. The right-wing lawmakers argue that the leadership of the National Renovation party -- while no friend of the Cuban Revolution -- has clearly expressed its rejection of powerful countries intervening in the affairs of weaker nations. The open letter to Chilean President Ricardo Lagos notes that the ruling coalition, known as the Concertacion, has not been clear about its intentions during the upcoming vote in Geneva and has essentially turned its back on Cuba -- despite the fact that many of the country's present leaders were given asylum and assistance from Havana during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In statements to Prensa Latina News Agency, one of the lawmakers -- Luis Plaza from Santiago de Chile -- strongly condemned Washington's economic blockade against the island. Plaza, who is also the president of the National Association of the Terminally-Ill, said it was absurd that the Geneva-based United Nations Commission would attempt to criticize a country that truly respects the most important human right: the right to health care. The legislator also took the opportunity to announce that he was in contact with Cuban embassy personnel in Santiago de Chile in order to arrange for the treatment of chronically ill patients on the island. Luis Plaza told reporters that in Chile, unfortunately, the sick are condemned to die simply because they live in a country where one's money is more important than one's health. *PRIME MINISTER OF GRENADA ARRIVES IN HAVANA Havana, April 17 (RHC)-- Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell arrived in the Cuban capital last night to begin a four-day working visit to the island. The purpose of his visit is to promote bilateral relations in culture and commerce. The Grenadian prime minister was welcomed by Cuban Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Pedro Nunez. On Wednesday, Keith Mitchell toured the Training School for Social Workers, located in Cojimar. Before his visit ends on Friday, he will meet with high-ranking government leaders and tour other places of interest, including the International School of Physical Education and Sports, where young people from Latin America, Africa, and Asia are studying. Cuba and Grenada enjoyed close diplomatic and political relations during the administration of the New Jewel Movement, which toppled the dictatorship of Eric Gairy in March of 1979. Led by Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the Grenadian Revolution brought fundamental changes in housing, education and health care. Following a military coup and the assassination of Bishop and a number of his closest cabinet members, the United States launched a brutal invasion of the small Caribbean island in October 1983. *WASHINGTON DUCKS FALLOUT OVER ATTEMPTED RIGHT-WING COUP IN VENEZUELA Washington, April 17 (RHC) -- Despite desperate denials, Washington has continued ducking the fallout from its anti-democratic role in the attempted right wing coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the White House has been forced to admit that a senior administration official was in contact with the Venezuelan coup leader, Pedro Carmona, the very day he took over. Otto Reich, the controversial assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, reportedly called Carmona to advise him not to dissolve the National Assembly - though without condemning his de facto rule. The Times asserted that though administration officials cited the call as evidence that they had sought to uphold the democratic process in Venezuela, the disclosure raised questions as to whether Reich or other officials were stage-managing Carmona's takeover. The news daily also affirmed that Reich's advice to Carmona on the very day that military officers took Chavez into custody at an army base suggests an early and urgent administration interest in the success of a plot against a constitutionally-elected president, noting that the United States did not condemn the action against Chavez until Saturday evening after angry protesters forced Carmona to resign. On Capitol Hill, Democratic majority leader, Senator Tom Daschle, said he was very concerned about what message Washington's role in the coup sends concerning US support for democracy in Venezuela and around the world. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd expressed dismay that the Bush administration had been slow to criticize Chavez's ouster. Democratic Representative William Delahunt said Washington's reaction badly damaged a country that preaches democracy, asking whether the US is again opening itself to criticism of having double standards and being hypocritical. *OUTRAGE IN EUROPE OVER ISRAELI ABUSES IN JENIN REFUGEE CAMP London, Brussels, Ramallah, El Cairo, April 17 (RHC) -- Israel is facing a tidal wave of criticism in Europe over what is being called the Israeli army's outrageous abuse in the West Bank's Jenin Palestinian refugee camp. Veteran British Labor MP and prominent Jewish parliamentarian Gerald Kaufman Tuesday launched a ferocious attack on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, denouncing him as a "war criminal" who was staining the Star of David. MPs from across the House of Commons compared Sharon's tactics to the actions of Zionist terrorists in Palestine in the 1940s. Kaufman, who described himself as a lifelong friend of Israel, said "the Jewish people, whose gifts to civilized discourse include Einstein and Epstein, are now symbolized throughout the world by the blustering bully Ariel Sharon, a war criminal implicated in the murder of Palestinians in the Sabra-Shatila camp and now involved in killing Palestinians once again." He condemned Palestinian suicide bombers, but added that it was important to ask why Palestinians resort to such tactics - asserting that "we need to ask how we would feel if we had been occupied for 35 years by a foreign power which denied us the most elementary human rights and decent living conditions." Kaufman recalled that the Zionist Irgun gang, which launched a series of terrorist attacks in Palestine leading up to the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, blew up the King David hotel in Jerusalem, slaughtering 91 innocent people - also denouncing the Zionist, terrorist massacre of Palestinians in the Deir Yassin village. In Brussels, the European Union's external relations commissioner, Chris Patten, said Israel must accept a UN investigation of alleged atrocities against Palestinians. Patten condemned Israel's refusal to heed the calls for humanitarian assistance, as well as its efforts to prevent international media coverage of what occurred in Jenin. The EU's aid commissioner, who affirmed that the job of relief workers was more difficult in the West Bank than in Chechnya, stated that he was "deeply concerned about the way in which basic principles of humanitarian law - in particular regarding access to civilian casualties - are being flouted." Meanwhile, on the heels of what's being called Secretary of State Colin Powell's failed Middle East peace mission an angry Yasser Arafat demanded that the Bush administration and the international community put a stop to Israel's aggression, human rights violations and his forced isolation. Raising his voice in what was called apparent exasperation, Arafat asked was it acceptable that he can't leave what's left of his compound surrounded by Israeli troops and tanks. The statements came after a meeting between Powell and Arafat that Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo termed as "disastrous." Bitterly denouncing the end of the Secretary of State's mission, lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Powell leaves the situation much worse than when he came. Noting that US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz publicly came out in support of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Palestinians were meeting with Powell, Erekat said they do not have neon signs on their foreheads saying "stupid". Following the meeting Powell headed for Egypt, where in an apparent expression of anger and frustration, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has refused to meet with him. At the same time, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher rejected US President George W. Bush's call Wednesday on Arab nations to fight terrorism, saying that first Israel's aggressions against the Palestinian people must stop. *ANOTHER JUDGE WANTS TO QUESTION KISSINGER ON CRIMES COMMITTED BY LATIN AMERICAN DICTATORSHIPS Madrid, April 17 (RHC) -- Another judge investigating crimes committed by Latin American dictatorships wants to question former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, who in 1998 engineered former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's arrest in London, has filed a request with British authorities to allow him to question Kissinger when the American arrives in the British capital next week to attend a convention of business leaders. Garzon's petition was sent Tuesday and is based on the European Convention on Terrorism, which requires signatories to cooperate with each other's judicial processes relating to terrorism. Besides investigating crimes of the Pinochet regime, Garzon is also probing the disappearance of hundreds of Spanish citizens in Argentina during that country's last military rule. The Spanish judge reportedly wants to question Kissinger over his suspected involvement in Operation Condor, a concerted plot by former military dictatorships in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to persecute and eliminate their opponents during the 1970s and 80s. Garzon now joins judges in Chile, Argentina and France who also want to question the former secretary of state about his ties with regimes that committed crimes against humanity. And Kissinger faces two civil action lawsuits in the United States for two Pinochet regime assassinations believed to have been supported by the CIA. The US's former top diplomat recently canceled a visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil - invited by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso - due to planned protests against his presence there and to possible legal complications that could arise in criminal charges that have been filed against him by victims of torture and the family members of the forcibly disappeared. *ARGENTINE PUBLIC WORKERS PROTEST UNPAID SALARIES; DUHALDE PREDICTS MORE UNREST Buenos Aires, April 17 (RHC) -- Argentine workers in San Juan Province have taken over provincial government buildings and numerous hospitals demanding their unpaid salaries as President Eduardo Duhalde predicts another outburst of social unrest. As a major nationwide strike by transportation workers approaches in protest of continuous price hikes of gasoline and diesel fuel, Duhalde admitted that the provinces are as bankrupt as the country's financial system. Public workers in the western San Juan Province, 1,200 kilometers from the capital, Buenos Aires, say their salaries haven't been paid since January. But the International Monetary Fund has forced Argentina's provinces to promise to reduce public spending by 60 percent as a condition for a renewal of loans. Protesting public workers in Cordoba Province have also paralyzed the provincial administration. The disturbances coincide with a new government report affirming that more than 7 million Argentine children and minors, constituting almost 56 percent of that sector's population, are members of families living below the poverty line. The local news daily "Clarin" reported that this translates into 2 million more poor children than 4 years ago. *Viewpoint: RIGHTS FOR ALL? Miriam Rosa Versegui, a young Peruvian engineer, emigrated from her country to look for the means to support her two little daughters. One day, while walking along the streets of the city in which she worked as a maid, the police stopped her for no apparent reason but her Latina look. She was then humiliated and raped. When she filed an accusation, the authorities simply disbelieved her and threw it out. The case of Antonio Augusto Fonseca from Guinea Bissau was even worse. He was found dead in a prison cell for undocumented immigrants. His family never received an explanation and there was no police investigation to determine who was responsible. Both cases took place in Madrid, in the core of supposedly civilized Europe. And both reflect the turmoil of these times in which accusations of human rights violations bounce freely from one side to the other, and most carry some sort of political motivation. The reality is that many people, including those with higher education training, face the risks associated with emigrating to other countries as a result of the lack of opportunities in their homelands, where the right to a decent life, a job and access to basic services are continuously denied. Caught between lack of a future and the threat of hunger, tens of thousands of Latin-Americans, Africans, Asians are forced to leave their lands to seek other means to keep body and soul together. Many of them, like butterflies, are attracted to the shining lights of First World cities that were financed with the blood, sweat and toil of their ancestors - but it is not meant for them. In Spain, Italy, France, Great Britain or Germany newly arrived immigrants will discover that skin color or racial features are sufficient arguments to make them the targets of humiliation, torture, or even death in an environment of total impunity and silence. Would it be necessary, when it comes to human rights, to speak about a sector of humanity that enjoys every human right, and another sector that only exists to see their rights violated? In these times of Geneva meetings, political maneuvers to judge the innocent and protect the guilty, disguised condemnations and witch hunts, one wonders if it is not time to ask what the purpose of all this is? If we have not fulfilled the elementary objective that prompted humanity to sit down at a common table more than 50 years ago? How much longer will it take for it to sink in that human rights are for everyone, and not for those who can pay for them? The answer, unfortunately, is still nebulous, for, as usual, those with the gold set the rules. (c) 2002 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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