[El
Tiempo, Colombia]
La Jornada, Mexico
It is 'Important
to Pray' for Better U.S.-Cuba Ties
"Ultimately,
the dire state of relations between the island and the greatest power on earth
is a consequence of hostile policies carried out by the last ten U.S. presidents
- from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush - which have included, in some
cases, subversive actions and conspiracies concocted by U.S. intelligence to
assassinate Fidel Castro - a history that has engendered an understandable skepticism
in the minds of Cuban people and their leaders."
EDITORIAL
Translated By Halszka
April 10, 2009
Mexico
- La Jornada - Original Article (Spanish)
The visit of seven members of the U.S. Congress to Cuba which
ended last Tuesday [April 7] has created the encouraging prospect of an
eventual rapprochement between the regimes in Washington and Havana, estranged
for five decades since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. After a meeting
with Fidel Castro - which he characterized as "wonderful" - and with
his brother Raúl, the current president
of the Caribbean nation, Democratic lawmaker Barbara Lee noted that under the
new administration of Barack Obama and in light of the new direction of U.S.
foreign policy, it is "time to seek a new path … it is time to talk to
Cuba." In an official statement, the Cuban government expressed its willingness
to begin a dialog with Washington, "having as its sole basis the sovereign
equality between of states and absolute respect for the national independence
and inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination."
The
meeting between the U.S. representatives and Cuban officials took place just
days after leaders of Democratic and Republican factions in the U.S. Senate introduced
a bill that if adopted, would eliminate existing restrictions on travel to
Cuba. Let’s remember that in March, Barack Obama himself signed a law relaxing
the limits on remittances and the sending of food and medicine to Cuba, as well
as on travel to the Caribbean nation - restrictions that had been
tightened in 2004 by the government of George W. Bush.
Subsequently, Republican Richard Lugar, ranking
Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that the current
White House resident designate a special envoy to the island in order to
prepare the ground for dialog with Havana and presidential support to repeal the
resolution that expelled the Cuban government from the Organization of American
States in 1962.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
These events are indicative
of a change in attitude amongst various sectors of the U.S. political class with
regard to Washington's policies toward Cuba.
These are foreshadowings
that have yet to be translated into a formal rapprochement.
But changes are beginning to emerge that would have been unthinkable just months
ago, when the unilateral, intolerant and hegemonic discourse of the Bush era
dominated the scene.
UNCLE SAM'S HAIR SPELLS: 'BLOCKADE'
SWORD-CARRYING CUBAN SAYS: '185-3' - REFERRING TO
THE NUMBER OF NATIONS WHICH HAVE OFFICIALLY COME
OUT AGAINST THE DECADES-OLD U.S. BLOCKADE OF CUBA
[Granma,
Cuba]
Of course, the progress
so far is not yet reason to ring bells of celebration. Ultimately, the dire
state of relations between the island and the greatest power on earth is a
consequence of hostile policies carried out by the last ten presidents of the
United States - from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush - which have included,
in some cases, subversive actions and conspiracies concocted by U.S. intelligence
to assassinate Fidel Castro - a history that has engendered an understandable skepticism
in the minds of Cuban people and their leaders regarding their next door neighbor.
And there remains an
additional factor working against the possible normalization of relations
between the two countries: the economic, commercial and financial blockade Washington
has imposed on Havana for almost half a century - a punishment that is illegal,
inhumane and unjust, which has been roundly condemned by the majority of the international
community and has, moreover, proved ineffective as a measure of exerting political
pressure on the Castro government and even counterproductive to the United
States itself, depriving many U.S. companies of legitimate opportunities to
invest and do business with Cuba in all sectors of the economy.
In short, it is important
to pray that the recent rapprochement between the Cuban regime and representatives
from the U.S. Capitol will result in a respectful and equitable dialog between
the two nations; that the Obama Administration listens to the demands of
international public opinion and some sectors within its own country that seek a
radical modification of foreign policy toward Cuba, and that in the coming
months the world can help in establishing the basis for a new relationship.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Merco Press, Uruguay:
Lula Vows Not to Embarrass Obama Over Cuba Embargo
El Universal, Venezuela:
Of Obama and Chavez: 'Unconditional' Meetings and 'Equal' Treatment
El Caribe, Dominican Republic:
Obama's Task at Summit of the Americas: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Gazeta, Russia:
Castro and Chavez Split Over Obama
Semana, Colombia:
Around the World, Politicians Have Learned from Nixon
Tal Cual, Venezuela:
Crimes of Hugo Chavez Worse than Richard Nixon's
CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US April 15, 10:19pm]
