Date: Sat, 4 Apr 1998 18:42:35 -0500
Subject: M-I: Fwd: NJ Gov. Whitman urges Cuba to repatriate Assata Shakur
From: jschulman-AT-juno.com (Jason A Schulman)


>From: "Compa~ero" <companyero-AT-mindspring.com>
>N.J. Gov. puts fugitive at center of U.S.-Cuba ties
>04:41 p.m Apr 02, 1998 Eastern
>
>By David Morgan
>
>PHILADELPHIA, April 2 (Reuters) - New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman
>said on Thursday the repatriation of a former Black Panther living under
>asylum in Havana should be part of any normalization of relations
between
>the United States and Cuba.
>
>In a telephone interview, Whitman urged the government of Fidel Castro
to
>respect the laws of the United States by moving in good faith to return
>50-year-old Joanne Chesimard to serve out a life sentence for the 1973
>murder of a New Jersey state trooper.
>
>The governor, a Republican, made a similar appeal to Cubans on Wednesday
on
>Miami-based Radio Marti, a U.S. government funded station that
broadcasts
>anti-communist programming to Cuba.
>
>Earlier on Thursday, a Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman responded to the
>Radio Marti broadcast by pointing out that Cuba had no extradition
treaty
>with the United States and by saying Havana had reason to disagree with
>charges against Chesimard.
>
>``I know there's no extradition treaty,'' Whitman told Reuters. ``This
>isn't about an extradition treaty. This is about -- as we move towards
the
>normalization of relations with Cuba -- that an act of good faith must
be
>the return of Joanne Chesimard.''
>
>She also said the Cuban government was in no position to agree or
disagree
>with the charges against Chesimard.
>
>``It's not up to them to agree or disagree with the accusations against
>her. She was tried in a court of law here in the United States of
America
>for a crime she committed in this country, subject to our laws, and was
>found guilty,'' Whitman said.
>
>``We're not talking about interfering with internal government policy in
>Cuba. We're talking about the return of a convicted murderer.''
>
>Chesimard, New Jersey's most wanted fugitive, was convicted of murdering
a
>state trooper during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike and sentenced
to
>life in prison. In 1979, she escaped from a maximum security cell and
>turned up in Cuba, where Castro granted her asylum. She has been living
>there ever since under the name, Assata Shakur.
>
>Once a leading member of the Black Panther movement, state authorities
say
>Chesimard became a ruthless ``terrorist'' after joining the extremist
Black
>Liberation Army.
>
>Chesimard claims she is innocent and that her murder conviction was
>motivated by racism. She said earlier this week that Whitman was using
her
>case as a political ploy to bolster a tough-on-crime image.
>
>The governor has written letters to President Bill Clinton and U.S.
>Attorney General Janet Reno urging further federal assistance in getting
>Chesimard back into custody.
>
>On Thursday, she said she expected them to respond within the next week.
>
>``We expect that our laws will be recognized. You can't move forward on
a
>good relationship with another country if you're not respectful of one
>another. This, to me, is an indication of respect,'' Whitman said.
>
>Clinton last month announced a slight easing of Washington's 36-year
>economic embargo on Cuba, with measures that included permitting a
>resumption of direct charter flights between the United States and Cuba
and
>the sending of family remittances to the island. ^REUTERS-AT-
>
>CUBA WILL NOT EXTRADITE ASSATA SHAKUR TO THE U.S.
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- Cuba's Foreign Ministry announced
>Thursday that Cuba has no intention of extraditing African-
>American activist and former member of the Black Panther
>Party, Assata Shakur.  In recent days, the governor of New
>Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman, has been offering a 50,000
>dollar reward for Assata's return to the United States.
>
>Assata Shakur was arrested in 1973 on the New Jersey Turnpike
>and said she was shot several times by police while her hands
>were in the air.  The activist had been brought up on numerous
>charges before her capture, all of which resulted in
>acquittals or were dismissed with the exception of the
>shooting death of a New Jersey police officer during her
>arrest.
>
>Found guilty on that charge in 1977, Assata Shakur insists
>that the trial was plagued not only with numerous
>irregularities, but also with racism.   Sentenced to life in
>prison, Assata escaped from a high-security prison in 1979 and
>later reappeared in Cuba, where she was granted political
>asylum.
>
>Recently, New Jersey police officials have publicly confessed
>that they would be willing to hire bounty hunters and attempt
>to kidnap the Black activist in Havana.
>
>During his weekly press briefing on Thursday, Cuban Foreign
>Ministry spokesperson Alejandro Gonzalez was asked by a
>foreign journalist about the possible extradition of Shakur.
>The Cuban official responded by saying that the African-
>American activist was subjected to unfair treatment in the
>U.S. and that the Cuban government has reason to believe she
>was framed on the charges against her.  Alejandro Gonzalez
>also reminded the journalists that Cuba and the United States
>do not have an extradition agreement.
>
>CUBA AND TURKEY STRENGTHEN BILATERAL RELATIONS
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- Turkey and Cuba have strengthened
>bilateral ties with the signing of an exchange protocol at the
>foreign ministry level.  Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Isabel
>Allende said that the agreement will contribute in
>strengthening the multilateral and cooperation relations
>between both nations.
>
>Turkish Under Secretary of Foreign Relations, Kormaz Jaktanie,
>is in Havana on an official visit.  He told reporters Thursday
>that his presence in Cuba shows Ankara's interest in
>developing its relations with the island and opens the door
>for Turkey to increase relations with Latin America.
>
>PESO CONTINUES TO GAIN AGAINST THE U.S. DOLLAR
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- The Cuban peso has gained against the
>U.S. dollar.  Money exchanges are buying one dollar for 19
>Cuban pesos and selling one dollar for 21 pesos.  This is the
>fourth change so far this year.
>
>Until yesterday, the exchange rate was 20 Cuban pesos to one
>U.S. dollar.
>
>TOURISM SUBMARINE WILL BEGIN OPERATIONS AT VARADERO BEACH
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- A modern tourism submarine will begin
>service later this month off the coast of Varadero Beach
>Resort, located 140 kilometers northeast of Havana.
>
>The submarine, called "Mundo Magico" (Magical World), will be
>used for underwater excursions in areas near Varadero that are
>rich in coral and other marine wildlife.  The 44-seat
>submarine is equipped with a 24-inch viewing-window and a
>video monitor.  Passengers can select images captured by four
>cameras mounted outside the submarine.
>
>Mundo Magico is a joint operation run by Puertosol and Surford
>Ltd., a British company with Spanish capital.  According to
>the AIN News Agency, Mundo Magico represents an investment of
>three and a half million dollars.
>
>CONSTRUCTION MINISTRY WILL HOST INTERNATIONAL FAIR
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- Cuba's Construction Ministry confirmed
>the participation of over 130 national and foreign firms at an
>international fair, slated to take place from April 8th to the
>12th on the island.
>
>The organizing committee points out that the Construction
>Ministry will look for possible agreements and the exchange of
>technology in order to recuperate capital investment in a
>short period of time.
>
>CUBA TO ATTEND A WORLD EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE OCEANS
>
>Havana, April 2(RHC)-- Cuba's Chamber of Commerce Vice
>President Jose Miguel Diaz Mirabal said he will travel to
>Lisbon, Portugal to attend the World Exposition dealing with
>Oceans.
>
>The Cuban official added that the island will demonstrate its
>tourism potential, its marine research and the rational use of
>sea resources.  Lisbon's World Exhibition is dedicating the
>event to "The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future."  Some 145
>nations, 20 of them from Latin America, are to attend the
>event.
>||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
>||||     ***Cuba Information Access ***
>||||  The current events in La Republica de Cuba...
>||||  Where else are you going to get it ?
>||||	<companyero-AT-mindspring.com>
>||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
>

>
>Cuba Insists Its Military Is No Threat Abroad
>02:33 p.m Apr 02, 1998 Eastern
>
>HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba agreed Thursday with U.S. assessments that its
>armed forces are not a threat abroad, but refused to comment on reports
its
>military capacity has waned in recent years.
>
>``The Revolutionary Armed Forces (of Cuba) have never been of an
offensive
>nature, rather a defensive one,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro
>Gonzalez told reporters.
>
>Some U.S. media have reported in recent days that the Pentagon believes
>Cuba's military threat is severely diminished, due largely to shortages
of
>fuel and spare parts since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
>
>And Gen. Charles Wilhelm, commander of the U.S. Southern Command based
in
>Miami, told a congressional hearing earlier this week the
communist-ruled
>island's active military forces were half the size they were at the
start
>of the decade.
>
>Gonzalez, speaking at a weekly news briefing, said Cuban authorities had
>seen the press reports but ``it would be irresponsible to react.''
>
>He added, however, that Cuba does not represent a military threat
``either
>to the United States or to other countries.''
>
>Cuba's armed forces have suffered from shortages since their Soviet
>supply-line was disrupted, but generals insist they have maintained
combat
>readiness by conserving weapons and drawing up defensive strategies
based
>on guerrilla warfare techniques.
>
>In the years immediately after its 1959 revolution, Cuba was the target
of
>various U.S.-backed invasion plots to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel
Castro.
>Cuba takes pride in its rapid defeat of a CIA-sponsored invasion force
>which landed at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

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