US Offers To Lift Cuba Embargo If Havana Embraces Democracy Thursday, August 24, 2006
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=317696&sid=WOR ZEENEWS.COM Washington, Aug 24: The United States has said it would move to lift a 44-year trade embargo on Cuba if the interim government of the communist state embraces democracy. Tom Shannon, Assistant Secretary of State for Western hemisphere affairs, said the US administration, "in consultation with Congress," would "lift the embargo" if the Cuban interim government accepted democratic rule, respected human rights and paved the way for free elections. He said that in 2002, President George W. Bush made a similar offer but it was rejected by ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who on July 31 provisionally handed over power to his brother Raul Castro after undergoing major surgery. "The offer is still on the table," Shannon said. "If the Cuban regime were prepared to free political prisoners, respect human rights, especially those rights most important for the effective exercise of democracy, if you are prepared to permit the creation of independent organisations ... and if you are prepared to create a mechanism and a pathway towards elections, then we would, in consultation with the Congress, look to find ways to lift the embargo," Shannon told a news conference. The junior Castro, in his first public statement last week since taking over from the bearded strongman who has ruled Cuba for nearly 48 years, said that he had mobilized tens of thousands of reservists and militia members to face a possible US invasion threat while his elder brother recuperated from an operation. The United States has invaded and administered Cuba in the past, a subject of everyday political discussion by the Cuban government. The communist regime has been the target of the trade embargo since 1962. --------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
