Agencia Bolivariana de Notícias / http://www.abn.info.ve
Caracas, 10 abril 2008 (ABN) - La Evaluación Internacional de las Ciencias y Tecnologías Agrícolas para el Desarrollo (IAASTD) presentará el próximo 15 de abril un informe ante la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco) sobre el estado de la agricultura en el mundo y poniendo de relieve la urgencia de modificar las reglas de la agricultura moderna.
Aunque las ciencias aplicadas a la agricultura han mejorado considerablemente, la productividad en los últimos cincuenta años, los beneficios del progreso conseguido se han repartido de forma muy desigual; además, ese progreso ha ocasionado un costo social y ambiental considerable, reza un comunicado de prensa de la Unesco.
En la presentación participarán dos de los autores del informe, Fabrice Dreyfus (Escuela Superior de Agronomía de Montpellier, Francia) y Marianne Lefort (Instituto de Ciencias e Industrias de la Vida y el Medio Ambiente de París), así como Salvatore Arico (División de Ciencias Ecológicas y Ciencias de la Tierra de la Unesco) y Guilhem Calvo, consultor de la Unesco.
Los autores del documento preconizan, por consiguiente, que las ciencias agrícolas tengan más en cuenta la protección de los recursos naturales y las prácticas “agroecológicas”.
Esa protección puede consistir, por ejemplo, en la utilización de abonos naturales y semillas tradicionales, la intensificación de los procesos naturales, o un mayor acercamiento entre la producción agrícola y los consumidores a los que va destinada.
En América Latina y El Caribe, el aumento de la productividad agraria no ha traído consigo una reducción significativa de la pobreza, ya que ésta sigue afectando 37% de la población.
La importación de productos alimentarios ha creado una dependencia del exterior, trastornando al mismo tiempo la producción local.
Los autores del informe recomiendan a los gobiernos de los países que son “centros de origen” de determinadas plantas la prohibición del cultivo y el consumo de organismos genéticamente modificados, a fin de evitar toda contaminación y proteger su diversidad genética.
http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=128058&lee=16
quinta-feira, 10 de abril de 2008
Otro lago desaparece en el extremo sur de Chile
10 abril 2008 / TeleSUR / http://www.telesurtv.net
Un lago de origen glacial en el extremo sur de Chile, en la zona de los Campos de Hielo Norte en la Patagonia, desapareció en dos días tal como hace menos de un año lo hizo otro lago también en el extremo austral del país, dijo un reporte de expertos.
El lago Cachet 2, de cinco kms de largo y uno de ancho, comenzó a desaparecer a medida que el caudal del río Baker aumentaba, según un informe del Centro de Estudios Científicos de Valdivia (CECS), citado este jueves por medios locales.
El agua del lago se habría escurrido a través de un túnel subterráneo de 8 kms por el cual salieron unos 200.000 millones de litros de agua en menos de 12 horas.
"Este verano fue particularmente caluroso en (la región austral de) Aysén, por lo que el lago Cachet recibió mucha más agua de deshielos que otros años. Esta acumulación en los márgenes de los glaciales gatilla vaciamientos repentinos de agua como el observado", explicó el glaciólogo del CESC, Andrés Rivera.
En abril del año pasado, otro lago en la misma zona desapareció súbitamente. Se trata del Lago Témpanos, que tenía 1,8 km cuadrados.
El CECS precisó que el Cachet es dos veces y media más grande que el Témpano y con un volumen de agua cinco veces mayor. El agua que escurrió de él inundó parte del valle del río Colonia y el río Baker, sin causar mayores inconvenientes.
A los científicos les alarmó la frecuencia con que están ocurriendo estos fenómenos.
"La frecuencia de este tipo de fenómenos (...) confirma que estos eventos, que ocurren episódicamente en cuencas glaciares, están probablemente siendo cada vez más frecuentes debido al aumento de la temperatura ligado al cambio climático que experimenta nuestro planeta", dijo el reporte del CESC.
http://www.telesurtv.net/secciones/noticias/nota/26530/otro-lago-desaparece-en-el-extremo-sur-de-chile/
Un lago de origen glacial en el extremo sur de Chile, en la zona de los Campos de Hielo Norte en la Patagonia, desapareció en dos días tal como hace menos de un año lo hizo otro lago también en el extremo austral del país, dijo un reporte de expertos.
El lago Cachet 2, de cinco kms de largo y uno de ancho, comenzó a desaparecer a medida que el caudal del río Baker aumentaba, según un informe del Centro de Estudios Científicos de Valdivia (CECS), citado este jueves por medios locales.
El agua del lago se habría escurrido a través de un túnel subterráneo de 8 kms por el cual salieron unos 200.000 millones de litros de agua en menos de 12 horas.
"Este verano fue particularmente caluroso en (la región austral de) Aysén, por lo que el lago Cachet recibió mucha más agua de deshielos que otros años. Esta acumulación en los márgenes de los glaciales gatilla vaciamientos repentinos de agua como el observado", explicó el glaciólogo del CESC, Andrés Rivera.
En abril del año pasado, otro lago en la misma zona desapareció súbitamente. Se trata del Lago Témpanos, que tenía 1,8 km cuadrados.
El CECS precisó que el Cachet es dos veces y media más grande que el Témpano y con un volumen de agua cinco veces mayor. El agua que escurrió de él inundó parte del valle del río Colonia y el río Baker, sin causar mayores inconvenientes.
A los científicos les alarmó la frecuencia con que están ocurriendo estos fenómenos.
"La frecuencia de este tipo de fenómenos (...) confirma que estos eventos, que ocurren episódicamente en cuencas glaciares, están probablemente siendo cada vez más frecuentes debido al aumento de la temperatura ligado al cambio climático que experimenta nuestro planeta", dijo el reporte del CESC.
http://www.telesurtv.net/secciones/noticias/nota/26530/otro-lago-desaparece-en-el-extremo-sur-de-chile/
Médicos cubanos expondrán experiencias sobre misiones en África
Agencia Bolivariana de Notícias / http://www.abn.info.ve
Santiago de Cuba, 10 abril 2008 (ABN) - Médicos cubanos expondrán sus experiencias internacionalistas durante la X Conferencia sobre Cultura Africana y Afroamericana, que se desarrollará en Santiago de Cuba del 14 al 17 próximos, informaron este jueves fuentes del comité organizador.
Destaca una información de Prensa Latina que esas vivencias formarán parte del panel Cultura y Medicina, que tradicionalmente acapara el interés de los participantes y muestra la impronta de los galenos cubanos en la cotidianidad de los habitantes de apartados parajes de ese continente, más allá de las acciones de salud.
En ese contexto se insertan igualmente los miles de jóvenes que estudian Medicina y otras especialidades afines en el Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas, de Santiago de Cuba , cuyo claustro ha cooperado en la creación de facultades en países africanos.
Otro momento significativo del evento será el debate teórico acerca de la realidad actual de la mujer africana, con la presencia de embajadoras de esas naciones acreditadas en Cuba.
En ese espacio dedicado a los nexos entre el género, la raza y la identidad cultural se incluirá también una mirada a las afrodescendientes en la sociedad cubana de estos tiempos.
Han confirmado su asistencia representantes diplomáticos de Sudáfrica, Angola, Mali, Nigeria, Libia, Burkina Faso, Egipto y el Congo, así como delegaciones de Estados Unidos, Colombia, Venezuela y México.
http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=128078&lee=Array[0]
Santiago de Cuba, 10 abril 2008 (ABN) - Médicos cubanos expondrán sus experiencias internacionalistas durante la X Conferencia sobre Cultura Africana y Afroamericana, que se desarrollará en Santiago de Cuba del 14 al 17 próximos, informaron este jueves fuentes del comité organizador.
Destaca una información de Prensa Latina que esas vivencias formarán parte del panel Cultura y Medicina, que tradicionalmente acapara el interés de los participantes y muestra la impronta de los galenos cubanos en la cotidianidad de los habitantes de apartados parajes de ese continente, más allá de las acciones de salud.
En ese contexto se insertan igualmente los miles de jóvenes que estudian Medicina y otras especialidades afines en el Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas, de Santiago de Cuba , cuyo claustro ha cooperado en la creación de facultades en países africanos.
Otro momento significativo del evento será el debate teórico acerca de la realidad actual de la mujer africana, con la presencia de embajadoras de esas naciones acreditadas en Cuba.
En ese espacio dedicado a los nexos entre el género, la raza y la identidad cultural se incluirá también una mirada a las afrodescendientes en la sociedad cubana de estos tiempos.
Han confirmado su asistencia representantes diplomáticos de Sudáfrica, Angola, Mali, Nigeria, Libia, Burkina Faso, Egipto y el Congo, así como delegaciones de Estados Unidos, Colombia, Venezuela y México.
http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=128078&lee=Array[0]
Angola/Energia consome maior percentagem do crédito da China
Luanda, 10 abril 2008 - O ministro das Finanças, José Pedro de Morais, informou hoje (quinta-feira), em Luanda, que a linha de crédito da China de 2004, no valor de dois biliões de dólares norte-americanos, beneficiou, sobretudo, os sectores de Energia e Águas, bem como o da Educação.
Durante a sua intervenção na IV conferência do ciclo denominado "Angola: Realidades de hoje, perspectivas de amanhã", o titular das Finanças disse que os sectores de Energia e Águas e da Educação beneficiaram de 18 e 20 porcento do valor global da primeira linha de crédito da China.
"O financiamento da linha de crédito foi benéfico para a economia angolana, na medida em que além da energia e águas e educação, foram também beneficiados os sectores das Obras Públicas com 14 porcento, assim como as Telecomunicações e Pescas, com 13 cada" disse.
De acordo com o governante, os sectores das Saúde e da Agricultura foram também contemplados com 12 e 10 porcento do mesmo valor, respectivamente.
Porém, adiantou, que em 2007 foi negociada uma outra linha de crédito avaliada em 500 milhões de dólares norte-americanos, cujos benefícios recaiu sobre o sector de saúde, com 31 porcento, educação (28%), assim como para as telecomunicações, com 13 porcento.
O ministro disse que o sector das Obras Públicas beneficiou de 11 porcento e o da energia e águas dez porcento, enquanto o das Pescas consumiu oito porcento do valor do reforço do primeiro financiamento.
Por outro lado, José Pedro de Morais informou que em 2007 foi negociada uma segunda linha de crédito no valor de dois biliões de dólares norte-americanos, ainda sem qualquer desembolso, por estar em curso a definição de áreas e sectores beneficentes. (AngolaPress)
Durante a sua intervenção na IV conferência do ciclo denominado "Angola: Realidades de hoje, perspectivas de amanhã", o titular das Finanças disse que os sectores de Energia e Águas e da Educação beneficiaram de 18 e 20 porcento do valor global da primeira linha de crédito da China.
"O financiamento da linha de crédito foi benéfico para a economia angolana, na medida em que além da energia e águas e educação, foram também beneficiados os sectores das Obras Públicas com 14 porcento, assim como as Telecomunicações e Pescas, com 13 cada" disse.
De acordo com o governante, os sectores das Saúde e da Agricultura foram também contemplados com 12 e 10 porcento do mesmo valor, respectivamente.
Porém, adiantou, que em 2007 foi negociada uma outra linha de crédito avaliada em 500 milhões de dólares norte-americanos, cujos benefícios recaiu sobre o sector de saúde, com 31 porcento, educação (28%), assim como para as telecomunicações, com 13 porcento.
O ministro disse que o sector das Obras Públicas beneficiou de 11 porcento e o da energia e águas dez porcento, enquanto o das Pescas consumiu oito porcento do valor do reforço do primeiro financiamento.
Por outro lado, José Pedro de Morais informou que em 2007 foi negociada uma segunda linha de crédito no valor de dois biliões de dólares norte-americanos, ainda sem qualquer desembolso, por estar em curso a definição de áreas e sectores beneficentes. (AngolaPress)
Moçambique/Multinacionais vão investir forte prospecção de petróleo
Maputo, 10 abril 2008 - As 10 companhias petrolíferas envolvidas na pesquisa de petróleo em Moçambique vão investir este ano pouco mais de 157 milhões de euros em actividades de prospecção, anunciou hoje a ministra moçambicana dos Recursos Minerais, Esperança Bias.
Bias apresentou estes dados ao falar sobre "O Papel dos Recursos Minerais na Economia Moçambicana", na VII Reunião dos Economistas da CPLP, que decorre desde quarta-feira em Maputo.
Os gastos com as pesquisas de petróleo previstos para este ano em Moçambique superam os de 2007, ano em que as multinacionais que participam no processo investiram pouco mais de 94,5 milhões de euros, referiu a titular do pelouro dos Recursos Minerais de Moçambique.
Esperança Bias disse que os investimentos estão a ser realizados no âmbito dos 13 contratos de pesquisa e produção de petróleo firmados entre as petrolíferas e o Governo de Moçambique.
O centro e o norte de Moçambique são as duas regiões onde decorrem operações de prospecção petrolífera, indicou Bias.
"Para permitir que as comunidades tirem proveito das concessões feitas pelo Governo às multinacionais, serão investidos só na zona da Bacia do Rovuma, norte de Moçambique, 1,35 milhões de dólares por ano", em projectos sociais como escolas, centros de saúde, hospitais, orfanatos e abastecimento de água, acrescentou Bias.
A ministra dos Recursos Minerais aludiu também aos benefícios que o país poderá ter com a implantação de grandes projectos no sector, estimando em 757 milhões de euros só em exportações de diversos bens gerados a partir dos recursos minerais, a partir de 2010. (Notícias Lusófonas)
Bias apresentou estes dados ao falar sobre "O Papel dos Recursos Minerais na Economia Moçambicana", na VII Reunião dos Economistas da CPLP, que decorre desde quarta-feira em Maputo.
Os gastos com as pesquisas de petróleo previstos para este ano em Moçambique superam os de 2007, ano em que as multinacionais que participam no processo investiram pouco mais de 94,5 milhões de euros, referiu a titular do pelouro dos Recursos Minerais de Moçambique.
Esperança Bias disse que os investimentos estão a ser realizados no âmbito dos 13 contratos de pesquisa e produção de petróleo firmados entre as petrolíferas e o Governo de Moçambique.
O centro e o norte de Moçambique são as duas regiões onde decorrem operações de prospecção petrolífera, indicou Bias.
"Para permitir que as comunidades tirem proveito das concessões feitas pelo Governo às multinacionais, serão investidos só na zona da Bacia do Rovuma, norte de Moçambique, 1,35 milhões de dólares por ano", em projectos sociais como escolas, centros de saúde, hospitais, orfanatos e abastecimento de água, acrescentou Bias.
A ministra dos Recursos Minerais aludiu também aos benefícios que o país poderá ter com a implantação de grandes projectos no sector, estimando em 757 milhões de euros só em exportações de diversos bens gerados a partir dos recursos minerais, a partir de 2010. (Notícias Lusófonas)
REFLEXIÓN DEL PRESIDENTE FIDEL CASTRO
La victoria china (parte I)
TeleSUR / http://www.telesurtv.net
Sin algunos conocimientos históricos elementales no se comprendería el tema que abordo.
En Europa habían oído hablar de China. Marco Polo, en el otoño de 1298, contó cosas maravillosas del singular país al que llamó Catay. Colón, navegante inteligente y audaz, estaba informado de los conocimientos que poseían los griegos sobre la redondez de la Tierra. Sus propias observaciones lo hacían coincidir con aquellas teorías. Ideó el plan de llegar al Lejano Oriente navegando hacia el oeste desde Europa. Calculó con excesivo optimismo la distancia, varias veces mayor. Sin imaginarlo, se le atraviesa en su ruta, entre el Océano Atlántico y el Pacífico, este continente. Magallanes realizaría el viaje concebido por él, aunque murió antes de llegar a Europa. Con el valor de las especias recogidas se pudo pagar la expedición iniciada con varias embarcaciones, de las cuales sólo una regresó, como preámbulo de futuras colosales ganancias.
Desde entonces, el mundo comenzó a cambiar con pasos acelerados. Viejas formas de explotación volvieron a repetirse, desde la esclavitud hasta la servidumbre feudal; antiguas y nuevas creencias religiosas se extendieron por el planeta.
De esa fusión de culturas y hechos, acompañada por los avances de la técnica y los descubrimientos de la ciencia, nació el mundo actual, que no podría comprenderse sin un mínimo de antecedentes reales.
El comercio internacional, con sus ventajas y sus inconvenientes, se imponía por las potencias coloniales, como España, Inglaterra y otras naciones europeas. Estas, especialmente Inglaterra, pronto comenzaron a dominar el suroeste, sur y sureste de Asia, así como Indonesia, Australia y Nueva Zelandia, extendiendo su dominio por la fuerza en todas partes. A los colonizadores les faltaba someter al gigantesco país chino, de milenaria cultura y fabulosos recursos naturales y humanos.
El comercio directo entre Europa y China se inició en el Siglo XVI, después que los portugueses establecieron el enclave comercial de Goa en India y el de Macao al sur de China.
El dominio español de Filipinas facilitó el intercambio acelerado con el gran país asiático. La dinastía Qin, que gobernaba China, intentó limitar todo lo posible este tipo de operación comercial no favorable con el exterior. Lo permitieron solo por el puerto de Cantón, ahora Guangzhou. Gran Bretaña y España tenían grandes déficits por la baja demanda del enorme país asiático, relacionados con mercancías inglesas producidas en la metrópoli, o productos españoles procedentes del Nuevo Mundo no esenciales para China. Ambas habían comenzado a venderle opio.
El comercio del opio en gran escala era dominado inicialmente por los holandeses desde Jakarta, Indonesia. Los ingleses observaron las ganancias que se aproximaban al 400 por ciento. Sus exportaciones de opio, que en 1730 fueron de 15 toneladas, se elevaron a 75 en 1773, embarcado en cajas de 70 kilogramos cada una; con él compraban porcelana, seda, condimentos y té chino. El opio y no el oro era la moneda de Europa para adquirir las mercancías chinas.
En la primavera de 1830, ante el de-senfrenado abuso del comercio de opio en China, el emperador Daoguang ordenó a Lin Hse Tsu, funcionario imperial, combatir la plaga, y este ordenó la destrucción de 20 mil cajas de opio. Lin Hse Tsu envió carta a la Reina Victoria pidiéndole respeto a las normas internacionales y que no permitiera el comercio con drogas tóxicas.
Las Guerras del Opio fueron la respuesta inglesa. La primera de ellas duró tres años, de 1839 a 1842. La segunda, a la que se sumó Francia, cuatro años, de 1856 a 1860. También se les conoce como las Guerras Anglo-chinas.
El Reino Unido obligó a China a firmar tratados desiguales, por medio de los cuales se comprometía a abrir varios puertos al comercio exterior y a entregarle Hong Kong. Varios países, siguiendo el ejemplo inglés, impusieron términos desiguales de intercambio.
Semejante humillación contribuyó a la rebelión Taiping de 1850 a 1864, la rebelión Bóxer de 1899 a 1901 y, por último, a la caída de la dinastía Qin en 1911, que por diversas causas —entre ellas la debilidad frente a las potencias extranjeras— se había vuelto sumamente impopular en China.
¿Qué ocurrió con Japón?
Este país, de antigua cultura y muy laborioso, como otros de la región, se resistía a la "civilización occidental" y durante más de 200 años —entre otras causas por su caos en la administración interna— se había mantenido herméticamente cerrado al comercio exterior.
En el año 1854, después de un viaje exploratorio anterior con cuatro cañoneras, una fuerza naval de Estados Unidos al mando del Comodoro Matthew Perry, amenazando con bombardear a la población japonesa —indefensa frente a la moderna tecnología de aquellos buques—, obligó a los shogunes a firmar, en nombre del Emperador, el Tratado de Kanagawa, el 31 de marzo de 1854. Así se inició en Japón el injerto con el comercio capitalista y la tecnología occidentales. Desconocían entonces los europeos la capacidad de los japoneses para de-senvolverse en aquel campo.
Tras los yanquis, llegaron los representantes del imperio ruso desde el Extremo Oriente, temiendo que Estados Unidos, a quienes vendieron después Alaska el 18 de octubre de 1867, se les adelantaran en el intercambio comercial con Japón. Gran Bretaña y las demás naciones colonizadoras europeas arribaron rápido a ese país con los mismos fines.
Durante la intervención de Estados Unidos en el año 1862, Perry ocupó varias partes de México. El país perdió al final de la guerra más del 50 por ciento de su territorio, precisamente las áreas donde se acumulaban las mayores reservas de petróleo y gas, aunque entonces el oro y el territorio donde expandirse, y no el combustible, eran el objetivo principal de los conquistadores.
La primera guerra chino-japonesa fue declarada oficialmente el 1º de agosto de 1894. Japón entonces deseaba apoderarse de Corea, un Estado tributario y subordinado a China. Con armamento y técnica más desarrollados, derrotó a las fuerzas chinas en varias batallas próximas a las ciudades de Seúl y Pyongyang. Posteriores victorias militares le abrieron el camino hacia territorio chino.
En el mes de noviembre de ese año, tomaron Port Arthur, actual Lüshun. En la desembocadura del río Yalu y en la base naval de Weihaiwei, sorprendida por un ataque terrestre desde la península de Liaodong, la artillería pesada japonesa destruyó la flota del país agredido.
La dinastía tuvo que pedir la paz. El Tratado de Shimonoseki, que puso fin a la guerra, fue firmado en abril de 1895. Se obligaba a China a ceder Taiwán, la península de Liaodong y el archipiélago de las Islas Pescadores a Japón "a perpetuidad"; pagar además una indemnización de guerra de 200 millones de taeles de plata y abrir cuatro puertos al exterior. Rusia, Francia y Alemania, defendiendo sus propios intereses, obligaron a Japón a devolver la Península de Liaodong, pagando en cambio otros 30 millones de taeles de plata.
Antes de mencionar la segunda guerra chino japonesa, debo incluir otro episodio bélico de doble trascendencia histórica que tuvo lugar entre 1904 y 1905 y no puede omitirse.
Después de su inserción en la civilización armada y las guerras por el reparto del mundo impuestas por Occidente, Japón, que ya había librado la primera guerra contra China antes señalada, desarrolló su poderío naval lo suficiente como para asestar tan duro golpe al imperio ruso, que estuvo a punto de provocar prematuramente la revolución programada por Lenin al crear en Minsk, diez años antes, el Partido que posteriormente desataría la Revolución de Octubre.
El 10 de agosto de 1904, sin previo aviso, Japón atacó y destruyó en Shandong la Flota Rusa del Pacífico. El zar Nicolás II de Rusia, exaltado por el ataque, ordenó movilizar y zarpar, rumbo al Extremo Oriente, la Flota del Báltico. Convoyes de buques carboneros fueron contratados para llevar a tiempo los cargamentos que necesitaba la Flota mientras navegaba hacia su lejano destino. Una de las operaciones de traspaso de carbón se tuvo que realizar en alta mar por presiones diplomáticas.
Los rusos, al entrar en el sur de China, se dirigieron al puerto de Vladivostok, único disponible para las operaciones de la Flota. Para llegar a ese punto había tres rutas: la de Tsushima, su mejor variante; las otras dos requerían navegar al este de Japón, e incrementaban los riesgos y el enorme desgaste de sus naves y tripulantes. Lo mismo pensó el almirante japonés: para esa variante preparó su plan y situó sus barcos de modo que la Flota japonesa, al dar la vuelta en "U", todas sus naves, en su mayoría cruceros, pasarían a distancia aproximada de 6 mil metros de los buques adversarios, con gran número de acorazados, que estarían al alcance de los cruceros japoneses, dotados de personal rigurosamente entrenado en el empleo de sus cañones. Como consecuencia de la larga ruta, los acorazados rusos navegaban a sólo 8 nudos frente a los 16 de las naves japonesas.
La acción militar se conoce con el nombre de Batalla de Tsushima. Tuvo lugar los días 27 y 28 de mayo de 1905.
Participaron, por el imperio ruso, 11 acorazados y 8 cruceros.
Jefe de la Flota: Almirante Zinovy Rozhdestvensky.
Bajas: 4 380 muertos, 5 917 heridos, 21 barcos hundidos, 7 capturados y 6 inutilizados.
El jefe de la Flota Rusa fue herido por un fragmento de proyectil que le golpeó el cráneo.
Por el imperio japonés participaron: 4 acorazados y 27 cruceros.
Jefe de la Flota: Almirante Heichachiro Togo.
Bajas: 117 muertos, 583 heridos y 3 torpederos hundidos.
La Flota del Báltico fue destruida. Napoleón la habría calificado de Austerlitz en el mar. Cualquiera puede imaginarse cuán profunda herida causó el dramático hecho en el tradicional orgullo y patriotismo rusos.
Después de la batalla, Japón pasó a ser una temida potencia naval, rivalizando con Gran Bretaña y Alemania y compitiendo con Estados Unidos.
Japón reivindicó el concepto del acorazado como arma principal en los años venideros. Se enfrascaron en la tarea de potenciar la Armada Imperial japonesa. Solicitaron y pagaron a un astillero británico la construcción de un crucero especial, con la intención de reproducirlos después en astilleros japoneses. Más tarde fabricaron acorazados que superaban a sus contemporáneos en blindaje y poder.
No había sobre la Tierra ninguna otra nación que igualase a la ingeniería naval japonesa de los años 1930 en diseño de buques de guerra.
Eso explica la acción temeraria con que un día atacaron a su maestro y rival, Estados Unidos, que a través del Comodoro Perry los inició en el camino de la guerra.
Proseguiré mañana.
Fidel Castro Ruz
30 de marzo de 2008
http://www.telesurtv.net/especiales/fidelcastro/cartas.php?ckl=102
quarta-feira, 9 de abril de 2008
Aos leitores
Devido a falhas verificadas nos serviços de internet, Mercosul & CPLP teve as suas postagens interrompidas por alguns dias.
Os editores lamentam os transtornos causados aos estimados leitores.
Os editores lamentam os transtornos causados aos estimados leitores.
East Timor: Former PM Alkatiri claims alleged assassination attempt on Xanana Gusmao was faked
By Patrick O’Connor
8 April 2008 / World Socialist Web Site / http://www.wsws.org
Mari Alkatiri, former East Timorese prime minister and current general secretary of the Fretilin opposition party, has alleged that the reported assassination attempt on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on February 11 was a fake. In an interview with the Portuguese News Network, he claimed that Fretilin has photographs showing that the vehicle, which supposedly came under fire, initially only had two bullet holes but later appeared in public with 16. Alkatiri also raised a number of serious questions regarding the related shooting of President Jose Ramos-Horta and the killing of rebel major Alfredo Reinado.
The former prime minister’s statements cast further doubt over the official explanation of the events of February 11. According to Prime Minister Gusmao and the Australian and international media, Reinado was killed while he was leading an attempted coup or coordinated assassination against both Ramos-Horta and Gusmao. This, however, remains the most unlikely scenario.
Reinado, who with several of his men had mutinied in May 2006 and joined in armed attacks against government forces, had been wanted on murder and firearms charges. In mid-January, however, the former major reached an agreement with Ramos-Horta under which he would surrender to the police in return for a full presidential pardon. Around the same time, Reinado publicly released a DVD in which he bitterly denounced Gusmao, his former patron, accusing him of directly instigating the 2006 military split that led to the Australian military intervention and the ousting of Alkatiri’s Fretilin administration.
On February 7, 2008 Ramos-Horta convened a meeting at his residence involving Gusmao, Alkatiri, and other parliamentarians. The president told the participants that he agreed with Fretilin’s demand for fresh elections. Formed in August 2007, the Gusmao-led coalition government had been wracked by internal divisions and was becoming increasingly unpopular.
Taken together, these circumstances render the official “coup” explanation of the events of February 11 entirely implausible. Reinado supposedly attempted to assassinate a president who was preparing to both grant him a full pardon for his crimes and who had decided to support efforts to oust Gusmao’s administration through new elections. Attempts by the Australian media to explain these contradictions have rested on the claim that Reinado was simply insane.
An alternative and more coherent possibility is that Reinado, and perhaps Ramos-Horta also, was set up for assassination by Gusmao or forces close to Gusmao, with the likely support, or at least knowledge of, Australian personnel in Dili. Canberra and Gusmao have both benefited from the events of February 11. The Timorese government has enacted a series of authoritarian measures to prop up its rule, while the Labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used the alleged coup attempt as a pretext for dispatching more troops to bolster its neo-colonial occupation of the oil-rich state.
In his interview with the Portuguese News Network (PNN), published March 4, Alkatiri described the alleged ambush on Gusmao as a “cheap fiction”. He claimed that a Fretilin representative took photographs of Gusmao’s vehicle with two bullet holes as it was parked on the street. Later, however, the same vehicle was shown in a ditch with 16 bullet holes.
The Fretilin leader also questioned the circumstances of Reinado’s killing. “How is it that Alfredo Reinado is going to attack the person [Ramos-Horta] who was trying to find an elegant solution for him?” he asked. “Who was attacked first, was it Reinado or the President of the Republic? If it was Reinado, according to the first facts, he would have been dead for an hour before. If he was dead before, why did Reinado’s men and those of the President of the Republic stay looking at each other until the President arrived?”
Alkatiri speaks with the World Socialist Web Site
The World Socialist Web Site contacted Alkatiri on April 2. He said that he had nothing to add to the PNN interview, but also made clear that he was not retracting his previous statements.
Referring to the agreement between Ramos-Horta and Reinado reached in January, Alkatiri stated, “This is why it is very strange, very ironic, that Reinado came down to attack exactly the person that was trying his best to work with Reinado”. The WSWS asked if Fretilin would publicly release its photographs of Gusmao’s vehicle. “I am still waiting for the investigators to ask me about it and then I will deliver them to them,” he replied.
In his interview with PNN, Alkatiri demanded an independent commission of inquiry, excluding personnel from Australia. “Countries that have a presence here, in the area of justice or advisors in the area of security, cannot have their elements make up a part of this commission,” he told the WSWS, adding that the February attacks occurred, “with all of this [military] presence, and if the investigation incriminates the international presence or that of the UN, the tendency naturally is to cover it up”. Asked about the FBI investigators currently working on the case, Alkatiri replied: “In the final analysis, they are being used. Even if they want to be serious, they can’t be.”
Alkatiri declined to tell the WSWS whether he believed that Australian forces were involved in the February 11 violence, and instead repeated his demand for an international investigation. “Everything has to be investigated, that’s why we made it clear that an international commission for investigation can never include people from countries that are already operating in Timor-Leste.”
In the PNN interview, Alkatiri clearly implied that forces within the government may have instigated the double attack. “The President of the Republic [Ramos-Horta] had clearly said that there would be early elections in 2009,” he said. “It is clear that those who govern did not like this. These doubts need to be clarified for the good of the persons who are involved. If I were in Xanana’s place, I would be the first to say that I wanted this investigation to be conducted in an independent form.”
When we asked if he was suggesting Gusmao was personally responsible for the February 11 attacks, Alkatiri replied “No, I didn’t suggest any name [but] I think the investigation will really make it clear.” He refused to be drawn on why the Gusmao government has blocked the formation of an international investigation.
He denounced the “state of siege”, under which a strict curfew is in place and meetings and demonstrations banned, as “bullshit”. “It’s really a way for the government to dictate its rule, he told us. “This is not a rule of law, it is a rule by law; they are using their majority to dictate their own rules.”
Speaking to the PNN, he had earlier elaborated: “The emergency is being used to intimidate people. The population will get tired of these measures, particularly in the neighbourhoods of Dili. We are already returning to the time of Indonesia, with people not sleeping at home. In the neighbourhoods of Tunanara and Pité there are young people who are afraid that the police will come looking for them at night.... Those in power must believe that the best form of controlling this population is to put fear into them, [to deter] demonstrations or any other violent action. There is no right to demonstrate, there is no right to hold public meetings. I am accustomed to meeting in my house with many people, and now there are days when the police come by here to ask my security what it is that we are doing.”
Alkatiri told the WSWS that the ruling coalition “will pay their bill for this” at the next election, which he expects to be held in early 2009. The Fretilin leader said that when he last spoke with Ramos-Horta, three or four weeks ago, the president remained committed to bringing forward the date of the vote. Asked how he thought Gusmao would respond, he replied: “He has no options, he has no options. He has no authority to govern this country, he was not elected. We need a democratic country, not a country that is dictated by a former guerrilla.”
Canberra’s role
WSWS asked Alkatiri about the present role of the 1,000-troop Australian-led International Stabilisation Force. He replied, “The problem here, the main problem here, is who commands whom? Who is really commanding the force? United Nations, the government, the Australian brigadier, I still don’t know.... The only thing I can say is that the force came here in 2006 under my request, at that time signed by President Xanana [Gusmao] and the president of the parliament, Lu-Olo [Guterres], but since then things are developing in such a way that I think that we need to know clearly who is commanding the force.”
On the 2006 Australian intervention, which Alkatiri defended as a means of ending the police-military conflict, the following exchange occurred:
WSWS: If it is true that as Reinado alleged, Gusmao instigated that conflict as part of a coup attempt against your administration—
Alkatiri: If it is true, if it is true, it will explain a lot of things.
WSWS: And it would also explain a lot of things if it is true that Canberra was involved in that as well.
Alkatiri: It will explain a lot of things, everything, things that have developed domestically in Timor-Leste, with some kind of interference from outside.... I would like to also stress here that 2006, Prime Minister Howard was the only one that has made clear, very publicly clear, that he would prefer me to step down. It is already a way to interfere in the affairs of another country.
The former prime minister then said that with the election of the new Labor government: “I think we have a lot of space, political space, to work together. I am sure that a lot of changes will come. It is still too early to talk about but I am sure, yes.” Asked about what changes he anticipated, Alkatiri replied, “Mutual respect between Australia and Timor-Leste and other countries is one thing, and of course more cooperation, a bit more cooperation for the advantage of both countries.” And on Rudd’s response to the events of February 11, when the new Labor prime minister immediately deployed additional Australian troops, including elite SAS personnel? “He was in the government for less than 100 days and he had to respond as he did, but I am sure [that] sooner than later a lot of things change.”
In reality, the Rudd Labor government will maintain the same strategic orientation as the former Howard government. The Labor Party has a filthy record on East Timor, including the Whitlam government’s active encouragement of Indonesia’s invasion in 1975 and the Hawke-Keating government’s negotiation of the 1989 Timor Gap Treaty, under which Canberra and Jakarta carved up Timor’s oil and gas resources in violation of international law. The death of Indonesia’s former dictator Suharto earlier this year saw the squalid spectacle of past and present Labor ministers paying tribute to the mass murderer.
During Howard’s 11-year term in office, the Labor Party backed the government’s every move in Timor. The Labor opposition supported the Howard government’s crude strong-arm tactics during negotiations on the exploitation of the Timor Sea’s petroleum with the former Alkatiri administration, at one point even joining the government in ejecting Greens’ Senator Bob Brown from parliament after he issued some limited criticisms of Canberra’s stance. Labor endorsed both the 1999 and 2006 military interventions, which were driven by the Australian ruling elite’s determination to secure control over the lion’s share of Timor’s oil and gas and to shut out rival powers, above all Portugal and China. Rudd’s additional troop deployment in February was motivated by his determination to further advance this neo-colonial strategy.
Media blackout
Not a single media outlet in Australia has reported Alkatiri’s statements to the PNN. This extraordinary self-censorship is indicative of the critical role played by the establishment media as an active accomplice of Australian imperialism in East Timor and throughout the South Pacific. It continues to repeat the official “coup” and “assassination” version of the events of February 11—which virtually nobody in Dili believes—as good coin. Elementary questions have still not been raised, obvious avenues for potential investigation ignored, and important statements from leading public figures suppressed.
Alkatiri is not alone in raising serious questions regarding Reinado’s killing and the alleged ambush on Gusmao’s vehicle.
Mario Carrascalao—the former Indonesian-appointed Timorese governor and now leader of the Social Democrat Party that forms part of Gusmao’s coalition government—gave an interview with Portugal’s Lusa news that was published on February 19. Carrascalao said that “strange things” were happening in East Timor, and questioned how it was that Gusmao’s vehicle supposedly came under fire without anyone being hurt. “Whoever knows that road [where the alleged attack occurred], knows that nobody escapes an ambush,” he said. “[But] nobody was injured.”
Carrascalao also said he believed that Reinado did not attack Ramos-Horta and that someone had instead set a “trap” for the former major. He raised the possibility that either “the Australians”, the petitioners, or another section of the Timorese military was responsible. “Any of these three hypotheses is feasible,” he concluded.
As with Alkatiri’s allegations, no section of the Australian media reported Carrascalao’s remarks.
Carrascalao also provided a number of details on the meeting held at Ramos-Horta’s residence on February 7, where he was one of the participating parliamentarians. Along with government MPs, a dozen senior Fretilin representatives attended. Carrascalao told Lusa that after an hour of discussion, Ramos-Horta declared that he no longer believed that Gusmao’s government was capable of resolving Timor’s problems and that fresh elections ought to be held. Gusmao responded by insisting that his government would continue to govern alone. Ramos-Horta concluded by saying that further meetings should be held to try to reach an agreement.
These meetings, however, never eventuated. The so-called coup attempt occurred four days later, followed by Gusmao’s announcement of the “state of siege”.
Ramos-Horta questions Australian military response
Late last month President Ramos-Horta gave several interviews, providing his first account of what led up to his wounding on February 11. While Ramos-Horta, like Alkatiri, undoubtedly knows much more than he is publicly saying about the circumstances surrounding the alleged dual assassination attempt, his statements are significant.
Speaking with Fairfax’s Lindsay Murdoch, he explained that he was on a morning walk when he first heard two sets of gunshots. Murdoch reported: “Horta said he had initially looked at two Timorese army soldiers who were with him and said ‘yes, the shots are from the house’. But he then encountered the Dili manager of the ANZ bank, who was riding a bike.”
Ramos-Horta told Murdoch: “He [the manager] said in a casual and relaxed way that the ISF [Australian-led International Stabilisation Force] was doing an exercise near my house. Well, that being the case, I felt relaxed and decided to go home.” In another interview, with East Timor’s TVTL, Ramos-Horta said: “He [the ANZ manager] told me that the ISF were having an exercise near my residence. He asked whether I was informed about it or not, but I replied to him that I had never received any information that [sic] what the ISF were doing near my house. I became angry because if the ISF were doing exercises near my house without my knowledge, it is a bit [sic] mistake.”
According to the president, he then approached his house and saw a bullet-riddled Timorese army vehicle but did not see any Australian troops. By this time Reinado was already dead after being shot in the head, according to some accounts, up to an hour earlier. Ramos-Horta then encountered what he called “one of Alfredo’s men in full [military] uniform” who shot him in the back as he turned to flee. Ramos-Horta was hit with “dum-dum” bullets—which are banned under the Geneva Convention because they expand and fragment on impact—and later underwent six operations in an Australian hospital.
Ramos-Horta told ABC Radio that immediately after being shot, “I heard them [the soldiers with him] cursing the ANZ bank representative, blaming him for what happened because he misled us into going to the house. Because of that I was worried that they could take reprisals against him, so I told them, ‘no, don’t think that,’ because he also didn’t know, he thought it was a military exercise because it never occurred to him, or to me, that my house was under attack.”
Ramos-Horta raised further questions regarding the Australian military’s failure to capture those involved in the shoot-out. “I didn’t see any ISF elements or UNPOL [police] in the area ... normally they are supposed to show up instantly, and in this case of extreme gravity they would normally seal off the entire area, blocking the exit route of the attackers. That didn’t happen. As far as I know, no hostile pursuit of the attackers was made for several days. How did Mr Alfredo Reinado happen to be totally undetected in Dili when the ISF was supposed to be keeping an eye on his movements?”
Ramos-Horta has declared his support for a commission of inquiry to investigate these questions.
Angelita Pires
Asked by ABC Radio why he thought the rebel soldiers would want to shoot him, Ramos-Horta replied: “Not the slightest idea. Because I was the only leader in the country they said they trusted. Mr Alfredo Reinado told me a month before, and he told all other individuals who talked with him, that I was the only leader he knew who was not involved in the crisis of 2006. I was the only one they trusted and I was the only one who spent months often travelling to the bush area, to the mountains, to the valleys, meeting with them to try to find a dignified solution for the country, that is acceptable to all.”
Ramos-Horta nevertheless insisted that the attack was an assassination attempt. Reinado, he told the Fairfax press, “was a very unstable person, never consistent with what he said ... he does something else the next day while under the influence of his intimate associate and lover Ms Angie Pires and others who were behind him. While I managed to create a certain climate of confidence among him and his men, there were some elements behind him who would manipulate and influence the situation.”
Angelita Pires, a dual East Timorese-Australian citizen, acted as Reinado’s lawyer and representative in Dili. Arrested on February 17, she is alleged to have known about preparations for the alleged attacks on Ramos-Horta and Gusmao, but has denied the charges. She has also released a public statement rejecting Ramos-Horta’s allegation that she had manipulated Reinado.
When the WSWS asked Alkatiri about Pires’s role, he replied: “I don’t want to really comment on a single person, because a lot of people, even the most important people, were always with Reinado.”
As with so many aspects of this affair, the closer one examines Pires and her connections, the murkier the situation appears.
Pires, who spent most of her life in Australia, appears to have had a very close working relationship with senior Australian officials in Dili. Until February 1—ten days before the shoot-out at Ramos-Horta’s residence—she was an employee of an AusAID contractor, Enterprise Challenge Fund (ECF). An article in the Australian on February 20 stated: “Local officials claimed she was dismissed from the ECF program because of her alleged links with rebel leader Alfredo Reinado. It is believed AusAID had raised concerns about Ms Pires late last month, but that a decision had already been made to sack the 42-year-old by the program’s manager, Coffey International, on the advice of their local officials. AusAID last night confirmed Ms Pires had a history of working for Australian-funded contractors in East Timor, but declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding her dismissal.”
Pires claims to have acted as a go-between, coordinating Reinado’s movements with the Timorese security agencies and the Australian military. The ISF confirmed this when it told the Australian that it had met her “in a public place in Dili” in January to ensure that Reinado’s men and the ISF knew each other’s general movements. The Australian military also said that she was “not a paid informant of the ISF and no money or gratuities were ever passed to Ms Pires”.
This statement appeared to be in response to rumours in Dili regarding the source of a large sum of cash reportedly found on Reinado’s dead body. “It was not $29,000. It was not $31,000. It was exactly $30,000, in $US100 notes,” the Australian quoted a senior East Timorese government source as saying in an article published March 18.
The same article revealed that Gusmao held Pires responsible for the break-down in negotiations between Reinado and the government that preceded the public release of the former major’s DVD accusing the prime minister of instigating the 2006 crisis. According to the Australian’s government source, a meeting between Gusmao and Reinado in Dili had been arranged in early December, but the former major never showed up. “Angelita Pires called and said, ‘He’s not coming,’” the source said. “The prime minister was very upset and very disturbed that a third party was throwing stones into this. Alfredo never called us to explain. She called. She was saying the real plan was to arrest Reinado and then shoot him dead in front of the prime minister.”
Pires has reportedly indicated that she believes Reinado was subsequently set up on February 11. According to the Age: “After the attacks, Pires told friends Reinado was lured to Mr Ramos Horta’s house to be assassinated because he was about to reveal plots by powerful political figures.”
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/alk-a08.shtml
See Also:
East Timorese government steps up repression in aftermath of alleged “coup attempt” [1 March 2008]
East Timor: Official “assassination” claims collapse [19 February 2008]
8 April 2008 / World Socialist Web Site / http://www.wsws.org
Mari Alkatiri, former East Timorese prime minister and current general secretary of the Fretilin opposition party, has alleged that the reported assassination attempt on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on February 11 was a fake. In an interview with the Portuguese News Network, he claimed that Fretilin has photographs showing that the vehicle, which supposedly came under fire, initially only had two bullet holes but later appeared in public with 16. Alkatiri also raised a number of serious questions regarding the related shooting of President Jose Ramos-Horta and the killing of rebel major Alfredo Reinado.
The former prime minister’s statements cast further doubt over the official explanation of the events of February 11. According to Prime Minister Gusmao and the Australian and international media, Reinado was killed while he was leading an attempted coup or coordinated assassination against both Ramos-Horta and Gusmao. This, however, remains the most unlikely scenario.
Reinado, who with several of his men had mutinied in May 2006 and joined in armed attacks against government forces, had been wanted on murder and firearms charges. In mid-January, however, the former major reached an agreement with Ramos-Horta under which he would surrender to the police in return for a full presidential pardon. Around the same time, Reinado publicly released a DVD in which he bitterly denounced Gusmao, his former patron, accusing him of directly instigating the 2006 military split that led to the Australian military intervention and the ousting of Alkatiri’s Fretilin administration.
On February 7, 2008 Ramos-Horta convened a meeting at his residence involving Gusmao, Alkatiri, and other parliamentarians. The president told the participants that he agreed with Fretilin’s demand for fresh elections. Formed in August 2007, the Gusmao-led coalition government had been wracked by internal divisions and was becoming increasingly unpopular.
Taken together, these circumstances render the official “coup” explanation of the events of February 11 entirely implausible. Reinado supposedly attempted to assassinate a president who was preparing to both grant him a full pardon for his crimes and who had decided to support efforts to oust Gusmao’s administration through new elections. Attempts by the Australian media to explain these contradictions have rested on the claim that Reinado was simply insane.
An alternative and more coherent possibility is that Reinado, and perhaps Ramos-Horta also, was set up for assassination by Gusmao or forces close to Gusmao, with the likely support, or at least knowledge of, Australian personnel in Dili. Canberra and Gusmao have both benefited from the events of February 11. The Timorese government has enacted a series of authoritarian measures to prop up its rule, while the Labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used the alleged coup attempt as a pretext for dispatching more troops to bolster its neo-colonial occupation of the oil-rich state.
In his interview with the Portuguese News Network (PNN), published March 4, Alkatiri described the alleged ambush on Gusmao as a “cheap fiction”. He claimed that a Fretilin representative took photographs of Gusmao’s vehicle with two bullet holes as it was parked on the street. Later, however, the same vehicle was shown in a ditch with 16 bullet holes.
The Fretilin leader also questioned the circumstances of Reinado’s killing. “How is it that Alfredo Reinado is going to attack the person [Ramos-Horta] who was trying to find an elegant solution for him?” he asked. “Who was attacked first, was it Reinado or the President of the Republic? If it was Reinado, according to the first facts, he would have been dead for an hour before. If he was dead before, why did Reinado’s men and those of the President of the Republic stay looking at each other until the President arrived?”
Alkatiri speaks with the World Socialist Web Site
The World Socialist Web Site contacted Alkatiri on April 2. He said that he had nothing to add to the PNN interview, but also made clear that he was not retracting his previous statements.
Referring to the agreement between Ramos-Horta and Reinado reached in January, Alkatiri stated, “This is why it is very strange, very ironic, that Reinado came down to attack exactly the person that was trying his best to work with Reinado”. The WSWS asked if Fretilin would publicly release its photographs of Gusmao’s vehicle. “I am still waiting for the investigators to ask me about it and then I will deliver them to them,” he replied.
In his interview with PNN, Alkatiri demanded an independent commission of inquiry, excluding personnel from Australia. “Countries that have a presence here, in the area of justice or advisors in the area of security, cannot have their elements make up a part of this commission,” he told the WSWS, adding that the February attacks occurred, “with all of this [military] presence, and if the investigation incriminates the international presence or that of the UN, the tendency naturally is to cover it up”. Asked about the FBI investigators currently working on the case, Alkatiri replied: “In the final analysis, they are being used. Even if they want to be serious, they can’t be.”
Alkatiri declined to tell the WSWS whether he believed that Australian forces were involved in the February 11 violence, and instead repeated his demand for an international investigation. “Everything has to be investigated, that’s why we made it clear that an international commission for investigation can never include people from countries that are already operating in Timor-Leste.”
In the PNN interview, Alkatiri clearly implied that forces within the government may have instigated the double attack. “The President of the Republic [Ramos-Horta] had clearly said that there would be early elections in 2009,” he said. “It is clear that those who govern did not like this. These doubts need to be clarified for the good of the persons who are involved. If I were in Xanana’s place, I would be the first to say that I wanted this investigation to be conducted in an independent form.”
When we asked if he was suggesting Gusmao was personally responsible for the February 11 attacks, Alkatiri replied “No, I didn’t suggest any name [but] I think the investigation will really make it clear.” He refused to be drawn on why the Gusmao government has blocked the formation of an international investigation.
He denounced the “state of siege”, under which a strict curfew is in place and meetings and demonstrations banned, as “bullshit”. “It’s really a way for the government to dictate its rule, he told us. “This is not a rule of law, it is a rule by law; they are using their majority to dictate their own rules.”
Speaking to the PNN, he had earlier elaborated: “The emergency is being used to intimidate people. The population will get tired of these measures, particularly in the neighbourhoods of Dili. We are already returning to the time of Indonesia, with people not sleeping at home. In the neighbourhoods of Tunanara and Pité there are young people who are afraid that the police will come looking for them at night.... Those in power must believe that the best form of controlling this population is to put fear into them, [to deter] demonstrations or any other violent action. There is no right to demonstrate, there is no right to hold public meetings. I am accustomed to meeting in my house with many people, and now there are days when the police come by here to ask my security what it is that we are doing.”
Alkatiri told the WSWS that the ruling coalition “will pay their bill for this” at the next election, which he expects to be held in early 2009. The Fretilin leader said that when he last spoke with Ramos-Horta, three or four weeks ago, the president remained committed to bringing forward the date of the vote. Asked how he thought Gusmao would respond, he replied: “He has no options, he has no options. He has no authority to govern this country, he was not elected. We need a democratic country, not a country that is dictated by a former guerrilla.”
Canberra’s role
WSWS asked Alkatiri about the present role of the 1,000-troop Australian-led International Stabilisation Force. He replied, “The problem here, the main problem here, is who commands whom? Who is really commanding the force? United Nations, the government, the Australian brigadier, I still don’t know.... The only thing I can say is that the force came here in 2006 under my request, at that time signed by President Xanana [Gusmao] and the president of the parliament, Lu-Olo [Guterres], but since then things are developing in such a way that I think that we need to know clearly who is commanding the force.”
On the 2006 Australian intervention, which Alkatiri defended as a means of ending the police-military conflict, the following exchange occurred:
WSWS: If it is true that as Reinado alleged, Gusmao instigated that conflict as part of a coup attempt against your administration—
Alkatiri: If it is true, if it is true, it will explain a lot of things.
WSWS: And it would also explain a lot of things if it is true that Canberra was involved in that as well.
Alkatiri: It will explain a lot of things, everything, things that have developed domestically in Timor-Leste, with some kind of interference from outside.... I would like to also stress here that 2006, Prime Minister Howard was the only one that has made clear, very publicly clear, that he would prefer me to step down. It is already a way to interfere in the affairs of another country.
The former prime minister then said that with the election of the new Labor government: “I think we have a lot of space, political space, to work together. I am sure that a lot of changes will come. It is still too early to talk about but I am sure, yes.” Asked about what changes he anticipated, Alkatiri replied, “Mutual respect between Australia and Timor-Leste and other countries is one thing, and of course more cooperation, a bit more cooperation for the advantage of both countries.” And on Rudd’s response to the events of February 11, when the new Labor prime minister immediately deployed additional Australian troops, including elite SAS personnel? “He was in the government for less than 100 days and he had to respond as he did, but I am sure [that] sooner than later a lot of things change.”
In reality, the Rudd Labor government will maintain the same strategic orientation as the former Howard government. The Labor Party has a filthy record on East Timor, including the Whitlam government’s active encouragement of Indonesia’s invasion in 1975 and the Hawke-Keating government’s negotiation of the 1989 Timor Gap Treaty, under which Canberra and Jakarta carved up Timor’s oil and gas resources in violation of international law. The death of Indonesia’s former dictator Suharto earlier this year saw the squalid spectacle of past and present Labor ministers paying tribute to the mass murderer.
During Howard’s 11-year term in office, the Labor Party backed the government’s every move in Timor. The Labor opposition supported the Howard government’s crude strong-arm tactics during negotiations on the exploitation of the Timor Sea’s petroleum with the former Alkatiri administration, at one point even joining the government in ejecting Greens’ Senator Bob Brown from parliament after he issued some limited criticisms of Canberra’s stance. Labor endorsed both the 1999 and 2006 military interventions, which were driven by the Australian ruling elite’s determination to secure control over the lion’s share of Timor’s oil and gas and to shut out rival powers, above all Portugal and China. Rudd’s additional troop deployment in February was motivated by his determination to further advance this neo-colonial strategy.
Media blackout
Not a single media outlet in Australia has reported Alkatiri’s statements to the PNN. This extraordinary self-censorship is indicative of the critical role played by the establishment media as an active accomplice of Australian imperialism in East Timor and throughout the South Pacific. It continues to repeat the official “coup” and “assassination” version of the events of February 11—which virtually nobody in Dili believes—as good coin. Elementary questions have still not been raised, obvious avenues for potential investigation ignored, and important statements from leading public figures suppressed.
Alkatiri is not alone in raising serious questions regarding Reinado’s killing and the alleged ambush on Gusmao’s vehicle.
Mario Carrascalao—the former Indonesian-appointed Timorese governor and now leader of the Social Democrat Party that forms part of Gusmao’s coalition government—gave an interview with Portugal’s Lusa news that was published on February 19. Carrascalao said that “strange things” were happening in East Timor, and questioned how it was that Gusmao’s vehicle supposedly came under fire without anyone being hurt. “Whoever knows that road [where the alleged attack occurred], knows that nobody escapes an ambush,” he said. “[But] nobody was injured.”
Carrascalao also said he believed that Reinado did not attack Ramos-Horta and that someone had instead set a “trap” for the former major. He raised the possibility that either “the Australians”, the petitioners, or another section of the Timorese military was responsible. “Any of these three hypotheses is feasible,” he concluded.
As with Alkatiri’s allegations, no section of the Australian media reported Carrascalao’s remarks.
Carrascalao also provided a number of details on the meeting held at Ramos-Horta’s residence on February 7, where he was one of the participating parliamentarians. Along with government MPs, a dozen senior Fretilin representatives attended. Carrascalao told Lusa that after an hour of discussion, Ramos-Horta declared that he no longer believed that Gusmao’s government was capable of resolving Timor’s problems and that fresh elections ought to be held. Gusmao responded by insisting that his government would continue to govern alone. Ramos-Horta concluded by saying that further meetings should be held to try to reach an agreement.
These meetings, however, never eventuated. The so-called coup attempt occurred four days later, followed by Gusmao’s announcement of the “state of siege”.
Ramos-Horta questions Australian military response
Late last month President Ramos-Horta gave several interviews, providing his first account of what led up to his wounding on February 11. While Ramos-Horta, like Alkatiri, undoubtedly knows much more than he is publicly saying about the circumstances surrounding the alleged dual assassination attempt, his statements are significant.
Speaking with Fairfax’s Lindsay Murdoch, he explained that he was on a morning walk when he first heard two sets of gunshots. Murdoch reported: “Horta said he had initially looked at two Timorese army soldiers who were with him and said ‘yes, the shots are from the house’. But he then encountered the Dili manager of the ANZ bank, who was riding a bike.”
Ramos-Horta told Murdoch: “He [the manager] said in a casual and relaxed way that the ISF [Australian-led International Stabilisation Force] was doing an exercise near my house. Well, that being the case, I felt relaxed and decided to go home.” In another interview, with East Timor’s TVTL, Ramos-Horta said: “He [the ANZ manager] told me that the ISF were having an exercise near my residence. He asked whether I was informed about it or not, but I replied to him that I had never received any information that [sic] what the ISF were doing near my house. I became angry because if the ISF were doing exercises near my house without my knowledge, it is a bit [sic] mistake.”
According to the president, he then approached his house and saw a bullet-riddled Timorese army vehicle but did not see any Australian troops. By this time Reinado was already dead after being shot in the head, according to some accounts, up to an hour earlier. Ramos-Horta then encountered what he called “one of Alfredo’s men in full [military] uniform” who shot him in the back as he turned to flee. Ramos-Horta was hit with “dum-dum” bullets—which are banned under the Geneva Convention because they expand and fragment on impact—and later underwent six operations in an Australian hospital.
Ramos-Horta told ABC Radio that immediately after being shot, “I heard them [the soldiers with him] cursing the ANZ bank representative, blaming him for what happened because he misled us into going to the house. Because of that I was worried that they could take reprisals against him, so I told them, ‘no, don’t think that,’ because he also didn’t know, he thought it was a military exercise because it never occurred to him, or to me, that my house was under attack.”
Ramos-Horta raised further questions regarding the Australian military’s failure to capture those involved in the shoot-out. “I didn’t see any ISF elements or UNPOL [police] in the area ... normally they are supposed to show up instantly, and in this case of extreme gravity they would normally seal off the entire area, blocking the exit route of the attackers. That didn’t happen. As far as I know, no hostile pursuit of the attackers was made for several days. How did Mr Alfredo Reinado happen to be totally undetected in Dili when the ISF was supposed to be keeping an eye on his movements?”
Ramos-Horta has declared his support for a commission of inquiry to investigate these questions.
Angelita Pires
Asked by ABC Radio why he thought the rebel soldiers would want to shoot him, Ramos-Horta replied: “Not the slightest idea. Because I was the only leader in the country they said they trusted. Mr Alfredo Reinado told me a month before, and he told all other individuals who talked with him, that I was the only leader he knew who was not involved in the crisis of 2006. I was the only one they trusted and I was the only one who spent months often travelling to the bush area, to the mountains, to the valleys, meeting with them to try to find a dignified solution for the country, that is acceptable to all.”
Ramos-Horta nevertheless insisted that the attack was an assassination attempt. Reinado, he told the Fairfax press, “was a very unstable person, never consistent with what he said ... he does something else the next day while under the influence of his intimate associate and lover Ms Angie Pires and others who were behind him. While I managed to create a certain climate of confidence among him and his men, there were some elements behind him who would manipulate and influence the situation.”
Angelita Pires, a dual East Timorese-Australian citizen, acted as Reinado’s lawyer and representative in Dili. Arrested on February 17, she is alleged to have known about preparations for the alleged attacks on Ramos-Horta and Gusmao, but has denied the charges. She has also released a public statement rejecting Ramos-Horta’s allegation that she had manipulated Reinado.
When the WSWS asked Alkatiri about Pires’s role, he replied: “I don’t want to really comment on a single person, because a lot of people, even the most important people, were always with Reinado.”
As with so many aspects of this affair, the closer one examines Pires and her connections, the murkier the situation appears.
Pires, who spent most of her life in Australia, appears to have had a very close working relationship with senior Australian officials in Dili. Until February 1—ten days before the shoot-out at Ramos-Horta’s residence—she was an employee of an AusAID contractor, Enterprise Challenge Fund (ECF). An article in the Australian on February 20 stated: “Local officials claimed she was dismissed from the ECF program because of her alleged links with rebel leader Alfredo Reinado. It is believed AusAID had raised concerns about Ms Pires late last month, but that a decision had already been made to sack the 42-year-old by the program’s manager, Coffey International, on the advice of their local officials. AusAID last night confirmed Ms Pires had a history of working for Australian-funded contractors in East Timor, but declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding her dismissal.”
Pires claims to have acted as a go-between, coordinating Reinado’s movements with the Timorese security agencies and the Australian military. The ISF confirmed this when it told the Australian that it had met her “in a public place in Dili” in January to ensure that Reinado’s men and the ISF knew each other’s general movements. The Australian military also said that she was “not a paid informant of the ISF and no money or gratuities were ever passed to Ms Pires”.
This statement appeared to be in response to rumours in Dili regarding the source of a large sum of cash reportedly found on Reinado’s dead body. “It was not $29,000. It was not $31,000. It was exactly $30,000, in $US100 notes,” the Australian quoted a senior East Timorese government source as saying in an article published March 18.
The same article revealed that Gusmao held Pires responsible for the break-down in negotiations between Reinado and the government that preceded the public release of the former major’s DVD accusing the prime minister of instigating the 2006 crisis. According to the Australian’s government source, a meeting between Gusmao and Reinado in Dili had been arranged in early December, but the former major never showed up. “Angelita Pires called and said, ‘He’s not coming,’” the source said. “The prime minister was very upset and very disturbed that a third party was throwing stones into this. Alfredo never called us to explain. She called. She was saying the real plan was to arrest Reinado and then shoot him dead in front of the prime minister.”
Pires has reportedly indicated that she believes Reinado was subsequently set up on February 11. According to the Age: “After the attacks, Pires told friends Reinado was lured to Mr Ramos Horta’s house to be assassinated because he was about to reveal plots by powerful political figures.”
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/alk-a08.shtml
See Also:
East Timorese government steps up repression in aftermath of alleged “coup attempt” [1 March 2008]
East Timor: Official “assassination” claims collapse [19 February 2008]
América Latina/Banco Alba entra em funcionamento no próximo dia 25
Agência de Informação Frei Tito para a América Latina
7 abril 2008 / www.adital.com.br
Após o fim da reunião da Oficina de Alto Nível para a Alternativa Bolivariana para as Américas (Alba), encerrada ontem (06) em Caracas (Venezuela), o representante venezuelano para a Alba, Rodolfo Sanz, disse que o Banco da Alternativa Bolivariana entrará em funcionamento no próximo dia 25 de abril. No entanto, antes haverá ainda uma reunião em Havana (Cuba) para resolver os detalhes da composição da Direção.
O venezuelano disse que durante a reunião em Caracas foram revisados acordos e comissões técnicas, com avanços. Com isso, foi possível estabelecer prioridades nos projetos já aprovados, como a assinatura de atas constitutivas e convênios de constituição, das empresas de energia, telecomunicações, medicamentos. E também foi possível desenvolver algumas áreas recém incorporadas: saneamento, água potável, transporte e produção agroalimentar.
Segundo repassado pelo Coletivo Nuestra América, Sanz disse que foi estabelecido "um critério de equilíbrio, ou seja, foram priorizados aqueles projetos de empresas que possam ser sustentados pelas vantagens que têm em ‘nossos países’, combinando-os com projetos sociais de alto impacto, que evidenciem e reflitam a natureza social do projeto da Alba".
A Ata Constitutiva do Banco ALBA foi assinada no último dia 26 de janeiro e o objetivo dos quatro países (Venezuela, Cuba, Bolívia e Nicarágua) que integram a Alternativa Bolivariana é que o Banco livre os países da América Latina da dependência neoliberal.
A proposta é que com a implementação do Banco, os países da região não precisem recorrer às instituições financeiras com mecanismos de dominação como Banco Mundial e o Fundo Monetário Internacional. Segundo os idealizadores do banco, cerca de 53 milhões de pessoas serão beneficiadas com a criação dele.
O Banco Alba, que será presidido por um diretor executivo de caráter rotatório, terá um capital inicial de um milhão de dólares. Cada país representado nessa entidade tem um voto, independente do capital acionário e do aporte financeiro com o qual contribuiu.
http://www.adital.com.br/site/noticia.asp?lang=PT&cod=32456
Ao publicar em meio impresso, favor citar a fonte e enviar cópia para: Caixa Postal 131 - CEP 60.001-970 - Fortaleza - Ceará - Brasil
Para receber o Boletim de Notícias da Adital escreva a adital@adital.com.br
7 abril 2008 / www.adital.com.br
Após o fim da reunião da Oficina de Alto Nível para a Alternativa Bolivariana para as Américas (Alba), encerrada ontem (06) em Caracas (Venezuela), o representante venezuelano para a Alba, Rodolfo Sanz, disse que o Banco da Alternativa Bolivariana entrará em funcionamento no próximo dia 25 de abril. No entanto, antes haverá ainda uma reunião em Havana (Cuba) para resolver os detalhes da composição da Direção.
O venezuelano disse que durante a reunião em Caracas foram revisados acordos e comissões técnicas, com avanços. Com isso, foi possível estabelecer prioridades nos projetos já aprovados, como a assinatura de atas constitutivas e convênios de constituição, das empresas de energia, telecomunicações, medicamentos. E também foi possível desenvolver algumas áreas recém incorporadas: saneamento, água potável, transporte e produção agroalimentar.
Segundo repassado pelo Coletivo Nuestra América, Sanz disse que foi estabelecido "um critério de equilíbrio, ou seja, foram priorizados aqueles projetos de empresas que possam ser sustentados pelas vantagens que têm em ‘nossos países’, combinando-os com projetos sociais de alto impacto, que evidenciem e reflitam a natureza social do projeto da Alba".
A Ata Constitutiva do Banco ALBA foi assinada no último dia 26 de janeiro e o objetivo dos quatro países (Venezuela, Cuba, Bolívia e Nicarágua) que integram a Alternativa Bolivariana é que o Banco livre os países da América Latina da dependência neoliberal.
A proposta é que com a implementação do Banco, os países da região não precisem recorrer às instituições financeiras com mecanismos de dominação como Banco Mundial e o Fundo Monetário Internacional. Segundo os idealizadores do banco, cerca de 53 milhões de pessoas serão beneficiadas com a criação dele.
O Banco Alba, que será presidido por um diretor executivo de caráter rotatório, terá um capital inicial de um milhão de dólares. Cada país representado nessa entidade tem um voto, independente do capital acionário e do aporte financeiro com o qual contribuiu.
http://www.adital.com.br/site/noticia.asp?lang=PT&cod=32456
Ao publicar em meio impresso, favor citar a fonte e enviar cópia para: Caixa Postal 131 - CEP 60.001-970 - Fortaleza - Ceará - Brasil
Para receber o Boletim de Notícias da Adital escreva a adital@adital.com.br
Venezuela/Hija de líder revolucionario Emiliano Zapata otorgará reconocimiento a Chávez
TeleSUR / 9 abril 2008
Con 93 años de edad la hija del líder revolucionario mexicano Emiliano Zapata, Ana María Zapata, llegó a Venezuela para conocer personalmente al presidente de la República, Hugo Chávez, e imponerle un reconocimiento que ofrece la organización de estudios sobre este reformador agrarista.
Como presidenta de honor de Emiliano Zapata Fundación de Estudios e Investigación, Ana María Zapata, entregará a Chávez un reconocimiento que también ha sido entregado al comandante Fidel Castro.
“Mi deseo es conocerlo personalmente, es un hombre valioso para el futuro de la patria, conocerlo personalmente y saludarlo de hermano, darle un abrazote”, expresó Zapata.
Por su parte, la presidenta de la Fundación, y nieta del líder revolucionario, Margarita Zapata, recordó que Fidel Castro recibió también la medalla de la Fundación, y lo calificó como “uno de los grandes precursores de la revolución social en América Latina, y gran heredero del general Zapata”.
Además, manifestó que se dará inicio “a la conmemoración del Centenario de la Revolución Méxicana en Venezuela porque creemos que el proyecto que lleva a cabo el Presidente Hugo Chávez Frías es la continuidad de la Revolución Mexicana que quedó interumpida con el asesinato de Zapata”.
http://www.telesurtv.net/secciones/noticias/nota/26486/hija-de-lider-revolucionario-emiliano-zapata-otorgara-reconocimiento-a-chavez/
Con 93 años de edad la hija del líder revolucionario mexicano Emiliano Zapata, Ana María Zapata, llegó a Venezuela para conocer personalmente al presidente de la República, Hugo Chávez, e imponerle un reconocimiento que ofrece la organización de estudios sobre este reformador agrarista.
Como presidenta de honor de Emiliano Zapata Fundación de Estudios e Investigación, Ana María Zapata, entregará a Chávez un reconocimiento que también ha sido entregado al comandante Fidel Castro.
“Mi deseo es conocerlo personalmente, es un hombre valioso para el futuro de la patria, conocerlo personalmente y saludarlo de hermano, darle un abrazote”, expresó Zapata.
Por su parte, la presidenta de la Fundación, y nieta del líder revolucionario, Margarita Zapata, recordó que Fidel Castro recibió también la medalla de la Fundación, y lo calificó como “uno de los grandes precursores de la revolución social en América Latina, y gran heredero del general Zapata”.
Además, manifestó que se dará inicio “a la conmemoración del Centenario de la Revolución Méxicana en Venezuela porque creemos que el proyecto que lleva a cabo el Presidente Hugo Chávez Frías es la continuidad de la Revolución Mexicana que quedó interumpida con el asesinato de Zapata”.
http://www.telesurtv.net/secciones/noticias/nota/26486/hija-de-lider-revolucionario-emiliano-zapata-otorgara-reconocimiento-a-chavez/
Moçambique/Parlamento ratifica tratado de interdição de testes nucleares
Maputo, 9 abril 2008 - A Assembleia da República de Moçambique ratificou terça-feira em Maputo, por unanimidade e aclamação, o Tratado de Interdição Completa de Ensaios Nucleares, em vigor deste 1996.
Ao ratificar o documento, proposto ao Parlamento pelo Governo moçambicano após a sua aprovação pelo Conselho de Ministros, Moçambique compromete-se "a não realizar qualquer teste de explosão de armas nucleares ou outro tipo de explosões nucleares e a proibir ou evitar tais explosões em qualquer lugar sob sua jurisdição ou controlo".
O tratado obriga também os Estados signatários "a não encorajarem outras nações a realizar testes de armas nucleares ou quaisquer outros ensaios com explosões nucleares".
Com a ratificação hoje do tratado pela Assembleia da República, Moçambique tornou-se no 145º Estado a fazê-lo, dos 178 que assinaram o documento.
Mas para que se torne vinculativo, o instrumento deve ser ratificado por 44 países já previamente definidos no tratado, o que só foi feito por apenas 35, incluindo Rússia, Reino Unido e França - estando ainda por ratificar potências nucleares como Estados Unidos e China, apesar de terem assinado o documento.
A Índia e o Paquistão, que se juntaram recentemente ao grupo das potências nucleares, ainda não assinaram o tratado. (Notícias Lusófonas)
Ao ratificar o documento, proposto ao Parlamento pelo Governo moçambicano após a sua aprovação pelo Conselho de Ministros, Moçambique compromete-se "a não realizar qualquer teste de explosão de armas nucleares ou outro tipo de explosões nucleares e a proibir ou evitar tais explosões em qualquer lugar sob sua jurisdição ou controlo".
O tratado obriga também os Estados signatários "a não encorajarem outras nações a realizar testes de armas nucleares ou quaisquer outros ensaios com explosões nucleares".
Com a ratificação hoje do tratado pela Assembleia da República, Moçambique tornou-se no 145º Estado a fazê-lo, dos 178 que assinaram o documento.
Mas para que se torne vinculativo, o instrumento deve ser ratificado por 44 países já previamente definidos no tratado, o que só foi feito por apenas 35, incluindo Rússia, Reino Unido e França - estando ainda por ratificar potências nucleares como Estados Unidos e China, apesar de terem assinado o documento.
A Índia e o Paquistão, que se juntaram recentemente ao grupo das potências nucleares, ainda não assinaram o tratado. (Notícias Lusófonas)
CPLP/Plano Estratégico para Saúde na agenda de I encontro de ministros
Cidade da Praia, 9 abril 2008 - A criação de um Plano Estratégico para a Saúde (PECS) comum aos oito Estados membros da Comunidade de Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP) estará em destaque na primeira reunião dos ministros da Saúde da organização da lusofonia.
Sobre o encontro dos ministros da Saúde da CPLP, que decorre na sexta-feira e sábado na Cidade da Praia, capital de Cabo Verde, o secretário executivo da comunidade, Luís Fonseca, disse hoje à Lusa que o plano vai permitir uma abordagem "multilateral" à cooperação na Saúde entre os oito.
"Muito já foi feito na cooperação na saúde. É até a área em que mais resultados temos conseguido. O trabalho tem sido bastante eficaz, mas de forma bilateral (...). É preciso fazer com que seja possível colher maiores benefícios através da multilateralidade, utilizando melhor os recursos", disse Luís Fonseca, antes de embarcar para a cidade da Praia.
Para Fonseca, "a ideia [da estratégia conjunta] passa por coordenar melhor as acções de Portugal e Brasil, que têm nos países de língua portuguesa alguns dos maiores beneficiários da sua ajuda neste domínio".
Na primeira reunião formal de ministros da Saúde da CPLP, que acontece na mesma semana em que também os titulares das pastas de Administração Interna dos "oito" estrearam o formato, estarão também em destaque a organização e integração das redes de Saúde, mecanismos de coordenação e também a situação do HIV/SIDA nos "oito".
Isto porque na próxima semana, de 14 a 17 de Abril, decorre o II Congresso da CPLP sobre DST e SIDA no Rio de Janeiro, em que estarão presentes investigadores, professores, especialistas, activistas, estudantes e profissionais de saúde.
Ainda antes do início da reunião, na manhã de sexta-feira, está prevista uma visita ao Hospital Agostinho Neto, na capital cabo-verdiana, a que se seguirá a abertura formal e intervenções dos diferentes ministros.
O programa para o último dia prevê a leitura, comentário e aprovação do Projecto de Resolução sobre a Elaboração do Plano Estratégico para a Cooperação em Saúde na CPLP (PECS/CPLP).
Serão ainda apresentados o Centro de Formação Médica Especializada da CPLP, o Documento Conjunto ONUSIDA - CPLP, a Iniciativa de Cooperação OMS/Recursos Humanos para a Saúde nos PALOP, e a reunião culminará com a aprovação e assinatura da Declaração da Praia sobre Saúde. (Notícias Lusófonas)
Sobre o encontro dos ministros da Saúde da CPLP, que decorre na sexta-feira e sábado na Cidade da Praia, capital de Cabo Verde, o secretário executivo da comunidade, Luís Fonseca, disse hoje à Lusa que o plano vai permitir uma abordagem "multilateral" à cooperação na Saúde entre os oito.
"Muito já foi feito na cooperação na saúde. É até a área em que mais resultados temos conseguido. O trabalho tem sido bastante eficaz, mas de forma bilateral (...). É preciso fazer com que seja possível colher maiores benefícios através da multilateralidade, utilizando melhor os recursos", disse Luís Fonseca, antes de embarcar para a cidade da Praia.
Para Fonseca, "a ideia [da estratégia conjunta] passa por coordenar melhor as acções de Portugal e Brasil, que têm nos países de língua portuguesa alguns dos maiores beneficiários da sua ajuda neste domínio".
Na primeira reunião formal de ministros da Saúde da CPLP, que acontece na mesma semana em que também os titulares das pastas de Administração Interna dos "oito" estrearam o formato, estarão também em destaque a organização e integração das redes de Saúde, mecanismos de coordenação e também a situação do HIV/SIDA nos "oito".
Isto porque na próxima semana, de 14 a 17 de Abril, decorre o II Congresso da CPLP sobre DST e SIDA no Rio de Janeiro, em que estarão presentes investigadores, professores, especialistas, activistas, estudantes e profissionais de saúde.
Ainda antes do início da reunião, na manhã de sexta-feira, está prevista uma visita ao Hospital Agostinho Neto, na capital cabo-verdiana, a que se seguirá a abertura formal e intervenções dos diferentes ministros.
O programa para o último dia prevê a leitura, comentário e aprovação do Projecto de Resolução sobre a Elaboração do Plano Estratégico para a Cooperação em Saúde na CPLP (PECS/CPLP).
Serão ainda apresentados o Centro de Formação Médica Especializada da CPLP, o Documento Conjunto ONUSIDA - CPLP, a Iniciativa de Cooperação OMS/Recursos Humanos para a Saúde nos PALOP, e a reunião culminará com a aprovação e assinatura da Declaração da Praia sobre Saúde. (Notícias Lusófonas)
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