Published on Thursday, May 8, 2008
By Roger Runningen
WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg): President George W. Bush said Cuba's
leaders should begin taking steps toward democracy by releasing
political prisoners on the island-nation.
"If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, Cuba's rulers
must begin a process of peaceful, democratic change, and the first step
must be to release all political prisoners,'' Bush told a conference of
business and political leaders in Washington.
US President George W. Bush. AFP PHOTO
Bush disclosed that he spoke Tuesday with dissidents in Cuba via a
videoconference from the White House. "It was an inspiring moment for
me,'' he said. "It reminded me how much work the US has to do to help
the people in Cuba realize the blessing of liberty.''
The president spoke with opposition leaders Martha Beatriz Roque, Jose
Luis Garcia "Antunez'' and Berta Soler, wife of imprisoned dissident
Angel Moya. The three gave Bush their accounts of the "political,
economic and social situation,'' Agence France-Presse reported from Havana.
Cuba "remains mired in the tyranny of a bygone era,'' Bush said. "It's
going to take courage and determination'' of such people "to help
inspire the island to embrace freedom.''
The US has maintained an all-out trade embargo on Cuba since 1962. Bush
has refused to open talks with Raul Castro, who began a five-year term
as head of state when his brother, Fidel, stepped down in February. Bush
has called Raul Castro a "tyrant'' and said that talks with him would
"give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and human
dignity.''
Cuba, Bush said, has made "empty gestures at reform'' such as allowing
use of cell phones, but is "still ruled by the same group that's
oppressed the Cuban people for half a century.''
Bush said Cuba must allow its citizens "to pick their own leaders in
free and fair elections. This is the policy of the US, and it must not
change until the people of Cuba are free.''
The president spoke at the State Department to the Council of the
Americas, a group that pushes for stronger economic ties in the
Americas. Its membership stretches across sectors such as banking and
finance, consumer products, energy, mining and manufacturing and
includes such companies as PepsiCo Inc., Pfizer Inc., Citigroup Inc. and
General Motors Corp.
Bush used the event to stress the importance of relations with Mexico,
Central America and South America.
He reaffirmed US-Latin American efforts to reduce the flow of cocaine
and other illegal drugs into the US. He underscored the US commitment to
the Mérida Initiative, a three-year, $1.4 billion agreement between the
US, Mexico and the countries of Central America to combat drug
trafficking and crime.
The administration has requested $550 million pay for military and law
enforcement training and equipment in Latin America and to strengthen
the justice systems of nations there.
Bush also reinforced the administration's effort to win congressional
approval of a US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The US House of
Representatives has voted to postpone a decision on the accord, perhaps
killing the deal.
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