US urges Cuba to free prisoners, push changes
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| Published on Friday, April 17, 2009 |
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WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- The United States called on Cuba on Thursday to release all political prisoners and show real signs of change as the two uneasy neighbors work to improve a half-century of strained relations.
"We would like to see Cuba open up its society, release political prisoners, open up to outside opinions and media," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to Haiti.
She said Cuba must encourage "the kind of society that we all know that would improve the opportunities for the Cuban people and for their nation."
US President Barack Obama also said before leaving for a Summit of the Americas that he hoped Havana would show evidence of democratic reforms to keep momentum building for warmer bilateral ties.
The two neighbors do not have full diplomatic relations, and the United States has had a full economic embargo on Cuba since 1962.
"What we're looking for is some signal that there are going to be changes in how Cuba operates," Obama told CNN television.
His remarks came ahead of a summit this weekend of 33 leaders of Latin American and Caribbean nations, at which the generations-old enmity between Havana and Washington has threatened to become a focal point.
There are more than 1.25 million Cuban Americans living in the United States, most in the southeastern state of Florida, close to Cuba, which has a population of more than 11 million.
Obama also called on Cuba to free its political prisoners and allow free speech in the interests of "a further thawing of relations" between the Washington and the only communist country in the Americas.
Cuba insists it has no political prisoners. But rights groups on the island say there are more than 200 dissidents behind bars.
While Obama enjoys enormous goodwill and popularity in most of Latin America, Cuba remains a contentious issue across the region, where left-leaning governments are in power in places like Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Venezuela.
Obama announced on Monday that the United States would lift curbs on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to the island, which the US leader called "an important first step" to defusing tensions.
"I think it's a signal of our good faith that we wanted to move beyond the Cold War mentality that's existed over the last 50 years. And hopefully we'll see some signs that Cuba wants to reciprocate," Obama said.
But former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 82, immediately derided the remittances gesture. He called for comprehensive change in US policy, including ending a punishing trade embargo, and abolishing its policy of giving special immigration treatment to Cubans who escape to the United States.
In an editorial in Cuban state media Thursday, Castro also welcomed a letter sent by retired US military officials to Obama urging an end to a ban on travel to Cuba for most Americans.
Cuba "doesn't fear dialogue; doesn't need to invent enemies," Castro wrote.
"We are not afraid to debate our ideas; we believe in our convictions."
But Washington's reply has been that the embargo will not end as long as Cuba remains undemocratic and imprisons political dissidents.
Clinton hailed Obama's moves to end the travel ban and open up communications.
"It is very significant that in his first 100 days of his presidency" he had relaxed such restrictions, she said.
"We stand ready to discuss with Cuba additional steps that could be taken ... But we do expect Cuba to reciprocate," she said.
Latin American and Caribbean nations agreed during a December summit in Brazil that the ongoing embargo against Cuba was unjust and unnecessary, and should be scrapped. | | | | Reads : 266 |
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