http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2006/agosto/mar15/34multa.html
Alliance of Baptists fined $34,000 for "tourist" activities in Cuba By Robert Marus WASHINGTON (ABP) - The government agency charged with enforcing the United States' ban on travel to Cuba has notified the Alliance of Baptists that it will be fined $34,000 for allegedly engaging in tourist activities while in Cuba for religious purposes -- a charge the Alliance denies. Meanwhile, a group of Christian aid workers met July 31 with State Department officials to protest a new government recommendation that would further restrict the ways American religious groups can work with their Cuban counterparts. Critics said the Bush administration's actions are demonstrating political discrimination against groups like the Alliance, which formally has opposed Bush's Cuba policy. Stan Hastey, executive director of the Washington-based Alliance of Baptists, notified members of the organization's board July 25 he had received the fine notice from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. The notice, dated July 5, informed Hastey the organization would receive the fine for violating the terms of its license for religious travel to Cuba. The Alliance, a fellowship of 117 churches and a budget of $374,000, has a longstanding missions partnership with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba, which pairs local Alliance congregations with Cuban churches. Due to the U.S. economic and travel embargo on the island nation's communist regime, religious groups must use renewable travel permits for religious activity to enable U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. The permits are granted through OFAC. More than a year ago, OFAC officials informed the Alliance of Baptists that its license had been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that a group from an Alliance church in Alabama had misused the license to visit Cuban tourist sites. Hastey said OFAC did not inform him any further about the investigation's progress. In the meantime, the original license expired. The OFAC informed Hastey the group would be fined not only for the alleged violations by the Alabama church but also for alleged violations by four other Alliance churches that traveled to Cuba under the license between 2003 and 2005. Those congregations are the First Baptist churches of Washington, D.C.; Savannah, Ga.; and Greenville, S.C.; and Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville. The U.S. government agency claims that the church members' activities in Cuba were not purely religious but also related to tourism. Hastey said many of the itinerary items Treasury officials apparently interpreted as tourist activities were actually religious work. For example, the team from Alabama stayed in Varadero, a beach town near Havana, one night. However, Hastey said, that was because a Presbyterian guest house is located in Varadero and is convenient to a nearby Baptist church the team had visited. Treasury Department spokesperson Molly Millerwise said she was unaware of any other religious groups that had incurred such fines under the restrictions. Hastey said Alliance leaders have until early September to respond to the fine notice. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> 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/
