Yahoo! May 25, 2001
Cuba 'Endorses' Dissident Aid Bill
By John Rice , Associated Press Writer.
HAVANA, 24 (AP) - With admitted irony, Cuba on Thursday endorsed U.S.
legislation to aid dissidents on the island, saying it would display U.S.
efforts to create subversion in the communist nation.
"It seems like an excellent, brilliant idea,'' Cuban Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque told a news conference, saying Cuba endorses the measure "fervently
and emphatically.''
He called the proposal "authentic testimony'' of what Cuba has been
saying for a long time - dissidents on the island are financed by the United
States. Dissidents deny such allegations.
The proposal was authored by a group of senators led by Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Jesse Helms of North Carolina and Joseph Lieberman of
Connecticut. It would provide $100 million in aid over four years to help
dissidents with cash, fax machines, telephones and other items.
Helms last week called it "a blueprint for a more vigorous U.S. policy
to liberate the enslaved island of Cuba.''
When a Spanish journalist nicknamed "Monkey'' suggested Perez Roque
explain that the Cuban endorsement was ironic, Perez Roque replied, "I
think Monkey is giving the sense of the thing.''
He grew more serious when asked what Cuba might do with dissidents who
receive such funds.
"In the total of all countries, to receive money from a foreign power
to organize subversive activities inside the country is a crime,'' Perez Roque
said.
He declined to be specific. "We do not renounce any options,'' he said,
comparing it to a guerrilla struggle based on surprise.
Perez Roque also ridiculed President Bush (news - web sites) for remarks at
a May 20 White House reception for anti-Castro Cuban-Americans, where he said
that freeing Cuba from communism was "a moral imperative'' for the United
States.''
"Our reaction is of stupefaction and surprise,'' he said.
Caribbean Leaders Positive About Region's Economic Vitality; Industry
Leaders Probe Emergence of Cuban Tourism, Competitive Impact of Caribbean-Based
Internet Gaming at Annual Conference
Friday May 25, 9:01 am Eastern Time. Press Release. SOURCE: Caribbean Gaming
& Tourism Conference
NEW YORK, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading executives of the Caribbean Basin's
gaming and hospitality industry will deliver an upbeat message to colleagues and
competitors at the third annual Caribbean Gaming & Tourism Conference
scheduled for June 12-14 at the Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Against a backdrop of increased capital investment throughout most of the
region and individual success stories, including the dramatic influx of tourists
to Cuba, noted industry experts believe that the economic outlook for the region
is robust. Three keynote addresses will open each day of the conference which
attracts industry leaders from throughout the Americas:
Tuesday, June 12
Cuba: The Sleeping Giant Awakens
Speaker: John S.
Kavulich, II, President, U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic
Council, New York, NY
Focus: An assessment of the Caribbean's awakening giant and how hospitality and
tourism developments in the island nation will affect the entire region.
Wednesday, June 13
Caribbean Economics for the 21st Century
Speaker: Jose Villamil, Chairman, Estudios Tecnicos, Inc., San Juan, PR;
Chairman of the Board, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Puerto Rico
Focus:
A five-year economic forecast for the region based on current and planned
expansion, the competition for capital, and market conditions outside the
region that will impact tourism and spending patterns.
Thursday, June 14
The Internet-Caribbean Marriage ... Why the Love
Affair?
Speaker: Sue Schneider, Chief Executive Officer and President,
River City
Group, St. Louis, MO
Focus: A look at the competitive
impact of Caribbean-based Internet gaming and why Caribbean governments have
issued more Internet gaming licenses to date than all other parts of the world
combined.
This year's Regulators' Roundtable features an outstanding panel of speakers
headed by moderator Frederic E. Gushin of Spectrum Gaming Group:
* Guillermo Cabret, Director of the Gaming Division, Puerto Rico
Tourism
Company;
* Dennis Leroy Richardson, Former Governor, St. Maarten;
*
Carlos Fonseca Sarmiento, Manager, Legal Department of the Gaming Commission of
Peru; and
* Eileen Peterson, Chairwoman of the Virgin Islands Casino
Control Commission.
Additional key topics at this year's Caribbean Gaming & Tourism
Conference include slot marketing, and surveillance and security. All sessions
will have simultaneous English-Spanish translation.
Conference participants represent every gaming jurisdiction in the region as
well as parts of Central and South America. Delegates range from Chairmen of the
Board to slot directors, CFOs, and security specialists to pit bosses. In
addition, exhibit space at this year's event is selling much faster than
expected.
Corporate supporters include Aristocrat Leisure Industries, Sydney,
Australia, Platinum Sponsor; AC Coin & Slot Service Company, Atlantic City,
NJ, and Unidesa Gaming, Barcelona, Spain, Gold Sponsors; and Gaming Systems
International, Las Vegas, NV, WMS Gaming, Chicago, IL, Puerto Rico Tourism
Company, San Juan, PR, Silver Sponsors. Media sponsors include IGWB, Casino
International Magazines, Casinos de Latinoamerica, and ALAJA.
For more information on Caribbean Gaming & Tourism Conference 2001,
contact Bruce Smith, WestVille Productions, 914-337-1246; via fax at
914-337-1147; or by e-mail at bsmith7823@aol.com. Find the latest conference
updates at http://www.caribbeangaming.net. | 