Page B4
April 18, 2001
(Elje JJortlanò (0hßeruer
U u rtla u íi
Jiang Visits Venezuela, Winning Support Against Human Rights Resolution
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)
President Hugo Chavez gave Chi­
nese President Jiang Zemin his
vote against a U.S.-sponsored
resolution condemning China’s
human rights record.
“We don’t believe any country
in the world has the right to con­
demn another,” Chavez said half­
way through Jiang’s three-day
visit to Venezuela. “We are going
to vote against the resolution.”
Up for a vote this week by the
U.N. Human Rights Commission
in Geneva, the resolution cites
repression of members ofthe Falun
Gong spiritualist m ovem ent,
Christians, Muslims, Tibetans and
others.
Hoping to play host to the 2008
Olympic Games, China wants to
defeat the resolution, if not avoid
a vote altogether by the 53-mem­
ber commission. Five of six na­
tions Jiang has visited during his
12-day Latin American tour are
commission members.
During a wreath-laying cer­
emony at the tomb o f South
American independence hero
Simon Bolivar, Chavez repeated
hiscriticism of U.S. certifications
of countries’ human rights and
drug trafficking records. When a
recent U.S. State Department
report cited extrajudicial killings
by Venezuelan police, Chavez
went on national television to read
an Amnesty International report
on human rights abuses in the
United States.
Chavez announced that he will
visit China in May, and he said he
was writing a letter of condolence
to the Chinese people and the
family of the Chinese fighter pilot
who perished after a collision with
a U.S. spy plane over the South
China Sea on April 1.
China insists that Washington
take responsibility for the colli­
sion. U.S. officials blame reck­
less flying by the pilot, Wang Wei.
Venezuela has its own territo­
rial spats with Colombia and
Guyana, and it scrambled two
fighter planes when a U.S. Coast
Guard cutter on anti-drug patrol
neared V enezuelan w aters in
October.
Jiang is concluding a Latin
America tour to increase Chinese
investment and influence in the
region. He has a vocal ally in
Chavez, a proclaimed admirer of
Chinese revolutionary Mao Tse-
tung who shares China’s view
that a world order dominated by
the United States is unaccept­
able. On Tuesday, Jiang and
Chavez sign multimillion-dollar
accords on energy, taxation, min­
ing and agriculture. China will
invest in a $60 million tractor fac­
tory and another plant to produce
Giving Support to
the Family of
Jose Mejia-Poot
Fulfilling an Ancient Mayan Prophecy
“ Profecía,” Teatro M ilagro’s
sc i-fi environm ental M ayan
m ystery, will perform for one
last time in Portland on Thurs­
day, April 19 at Da Vinci Arts
School, located at 2508 NE.
Everett.
D on’t miss your chance to
catch this final Portland perfor­
m ance, before the troupe goes
back on the road.
Also, on Saturday, April 14,
at 2 p.m .. Teatro Milagro will
present an original adaptation
o f “ Profecia” with students from
the Green house School. This
free perform ance will be in the
Studio T heatre at El Centro
M ilagro, 525 SE. Stark.
In “ Profecía,” it is the year
2012. The fulfillm ent ofX utan,
an ancient M ayan prophecy ap­
proaches. There will be a great
earthquake and rains will flood
the earth, unless four individu­
als can alter the course o f hu­
manity.
Will they continue in their
abusive ways or, guided by an
otherw orldly child, learn to live
in harm ony with the planet?
An earthquake rumbles as an­
cient M ayans foretell the com ­
ing ofX utan. The Mayan proph­
ets depart for another galaxy,
leaving behind a small child to
warn hum anity.
A psychic, driven to ancient
pyram ids by foretelling dreams,
unites forces with the child. Two
college students, arriving at the
pyram ids in Palenque, join the
struggles o f the Mayan people.
The Mayans, the students and
the psychic are drawn together
on the eve of the prophecy to
await their destiny and the fu­
ture o f the world.
F o r m ore in fo rm a tio n at
“ P r o f e c ía ,” c o n ta c t D añ el
M alán at the M iracle Theatre at
503/236-7253.
a tar-based fuel called Orimulsion.
China may provide farming ex­
pertise in exchange for Orimulsion
imports, Chavez said.
Officials also were discussing
the idea of jointly manufacturing
Chinese K.-8 and Y-12 military
training and cargo planes in Ven­
ezuela, Chavez said.
Chinese-Latin American trade
is nearly $10 billion, w hile
Venezuela’s trade with China is
$350 million. Chinese businesses
invested $530 million in Venezu­
ela last year.
The M exican C onsulate o f
Portland would like to inform
the public that there has been a
donation based bank account
established for the benefit o f
the family o f Jose Santos V ictor
M ejia Poot, who was killed by a
police officer in a psychiatric
hospital on April 1. This ac­
count, m aintained by US Bank,
will provide the fam ily o f the
victim with aid in the following
weeks as they m ourn the death
o f their beloved husband, son
and brother. Donations m ay be
d e liv e re d to any US B ank
branch in the name o f the Jose
Santos M ejia Poot Fam ily Re­
lie f Fund. Your generosity is
Cast members o f "Profecía "from left: Danielle Malan, Francisco Garcia,
Mava Malan-Gonzalez, Manuel Hall and Laurel Garcia.
much appreciated.
El C o n su lad o de M éxico
info rm a que con o b jeto de
apoyar a los fam iliares de José
S a n to s V íc to r M e jía P oot,
m u e rto
en un
h o s p ita l
psiquiátrico de Portland a causa
de los disparos que recibió de un
oficial de la policía, se abrió la
cuenta a nom bre de José Santos
M ejia Poot Fam ily R elief Fund
en el B anco U S B ank. Tu
heneroosa donación que puedes
depositar en cualquier sucursal
de US Bank, será de gran ayuda
• para cubrir diversos gastos que
la fam ilia enfrenta en estos
momentos. U nete a esta noble
causa solidaria.
Audition Notice for Upcoming
Plays at El Centro Milagro
Teatro M ilagro, the bilingual tour­
ing theatre com pany o the M iracle
Theatre Group, announces auditions
for its upcom ing season o f plays.
Auditions, by appointm ent only, will
be held on Sunday, M ay 20, from 12 to
4 p.m. at El Centro M ilagro, 5252 SE.
Stark. For an audition appointment,
contact Danielle Malan, Artistic Direc­
tor at 503/236-7253 or by email at
m^lanfamilagro.org.
Needed are one man and one woman,
age 20 - 30 for tw o touring produc­
tions. The first, “Aventuras de Don
Q uixote, is an elem entary school age
production that will begin touring in
July for 10 perform ances, and then
continue on a sem i-regular basis
through the 2001 - 2002 school year.
The second, “FRIDA, un retablo,” is a
high school to college age production
that will tour from January through
N ovem berof2002. Pay for these posi­
tions is on a per show basis and addi­
tionally, there is per diem money for
travel. All interested applicants need
to have a flexible w ork schedule that
allows for travel, experience working
with youth and some knowledge o f
Spanish.
“ Adventures de Don Quixote” - by
Danel M alan
A traveling troupe o f actors has
com e to town to put on a show about
Don Quixote. There is one small prob­
lem. The actorplaying the lead role has
gotten so obsessed with the part, he
really thinks he is Don Quixote. Do
they try to stop him, or let him seek the
impossible dream? M aria’s Mom, hwo
has dragged her daughter tot he li­
brary, believes the show m ust go on,
no matter what! The acting troupe and
Maria are unwillingly pulled into the
drama. Maria, unbelieving at first, ends
up a true champion for Don Quixote, as
she learns to share his passion for the
written word.
“FRIDA, un retablo” - by Danel
Majan
Life and art intertwine in this surre­
alistic vision ofFriday Kahlo, interna­
tionally acclaim ed M exican artist, as
famed for her eccentric lifestlye as she
is for her paintings. V ia imaginary
friends and artistic passion, Frida cre­
ated an escape from the miseries ofher
reality. Despite childhood diseases and
innumerable operations, she lived each
day to its fullest.
%
sted tiene una familia que lo respalda
Imagínese; hoy cambia todo. "Yo" da
paso a "nosotros ". "Nuestro" sustituye
a "mió". Y vivir feliz el resto de la vida
es una meta, no un hecho. ¿Está
nervioso? Para -'nada. Usted cuenta
con el apoyo de una familia sólida
American Family Mutual Insurance.
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amables agentes le
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información. Ahora
respire profundo.
Luego... ¡aviéntese!
N o s o tro s
lo
protegemos.
Brazil Currency Drops to Lowest Ever
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — The
specter o f a currency devaluation in
neighboring A rgentina and corrup­
tion allegations against the President
ofBrazil ’ s Senate pushed the Brazilian
real to its lowest point ever against the
dollar M onday.
The real closed at 2.196 to the dollar,
the w eakest finish ever for the cur­
rency that was created in m id -1994 as
part o f an econom ic stabilization plan
that put an end to triple digit inflation.
F ora few months after it was launched,
the real was worth more than the dollar.
The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange
closed dow n 3.5% with brokers blam­
ing the same factors pressuring the
currency. On Saturday, Argentine Fi­
nance M inister Domingo Cavallo un­
veiled a plan under which the country
would abandon its parity to the U.S.
dollar pegging it instead to a basket o f
several m ajor currencies.
“This smells like devaluation tome,”
said one Rio de Janeiro trader who
blamed the sell o ff on investors seek­
ing coverage from regional turbulence.
Also M onday, Senate President
Jader Barbalho defended him self on
the Senate floor against widening
charges that he was involved in a
corruption scheme thatmay have bilked
tax payers out o f as much as 2 billion
reals($920million), further fueling un­
certainty o f the future o f political and
economic reforms in Brazil.
Cautious Cincinnati Lifts Curfew
S tory C ontinlt . d F rom F ront P age
Luken said he will appoint a
commission to look into solutions.
Unlike previous groups, he said,
the panel will be able to oversee
implementation o f its plans. That
would require City Council ap­
proval. The City Council planned
to meet Tuesday to discuss de­
m ands by black leaders for a city
ordinance allowing officials to
bypass Cincinnati police officers
and firefighters when hiring new
t
chiefs. The city charter requires
chiefs to be promoted from the
ranks, but black leaders say that
perpetuates problems. The 1,000-
member police force is 28 per­
cent black; the city of 311,000 is
43 percent black.
Cincinnati was sued by last
month by citizen groups who ac­
cused the police department o f
failing to end 30 years of police
harassment o f blacks.
The flash point for the protests
was the fatal shooting April 7 of
Timothy Thomas, 19, as he fled
from officers trying to arrest him
on 14 warrants, mostly for traffic
offenses. The FBI, police and the
county prosecutor are investigat­
ing the shooting by O fficer
Stephen Roach, who is white.
Roach, 27, was placed on leave.
Fifteen blacks and no whites
have died in confrontations with
police since 1995, four o f them
since November.
AUTO HOMf BUSMtSS HtMTH UFl
¡SJK3
Toda La Protección Bajo Un M ism o Techo
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