by Alexander Manda
MEXICO CITY, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's readmission is expected to dominate
the agenda of the ministerial conference of the 34-nation Organization of
American States (OAS) from Monday to Wednesday.
The Caribbean island nation was expelled from the group in 1962. Its
members now have mixed views on Havana's return, and the current OAS meeting in
Honduras industrial city San Pedro Sula might see heated debate over the matter.
The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said two weeks ago that her
country would not support Cuba to rejoin the OAS unless it carried out political
reforms.
Cuba's return to the OAS depends on the fact that it is willing to accept
democracy, she said.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua proposes bringing Cuba back immediately and
unconditionally, saying that the 1962 expulsion was an "error and an act of
injustice."
Venezuela and Bolivia, who are politically close to Cuba, also voiced
supports for Cuba's return.
The OAS member nations are expected to vote on Cuba's readmission on
Tuesday, and if 23 of the 34 members cast the "yes" vote, the island country
would be allowed to join the century-old group again.
However, the nation at the center of the spat has repeatedly said that it
had no desire to rejoin the OAS, which, as former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said
last month, "has not done a single service to our people."
Cuba was shut out of the OAS in 1962 during the Cold War when the United
States imposed pressure on the organization in an attempt to overthrow the
socialist government of Cuba and isolate it.
A U.S. trade embargo that began in the early 1960s has cost Cuba nearly 90
billion U.S. dollars, according to official Cuban sources.
¡¡¡¡WARMING TIES
Even so, U.S.-Cuba relations have shown warming signs this year after
President Barack Obama took office, a marked difference from the bulk of
diplomatic relations under the past 13 U.S. governments.
This weekend, Cuba and the United States agreed to resume talks on direct
mail between the nations, a topic that has stagnated for decades, and migration,
suspended in 2004 under then president George W. Bush, who also set limited
remittances to the island to 300 dollars a quarter and family visits of once
every three years.
In March, ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Obama
lifted Bush's 2004 restrictions, imposed as part of a so-called "Transition Plan
toward a Free Cuba".
Surveys taken earlier this year indicate that 68 percent of U.S. citizens
believe that the country's policy toward Cuba should be changed, and it has been
too long for the two countries going without any diplomatic links since 1961.
However, Cuba's OAS readmission could be a reverse on the initial signs
which showed thawing for their relations.
Last Friday, a U.S. State Department spokesman said, "We would welcome the day when Cuba is able to join the OAS, but ... they have to take certain concrete steps in order to meet democratic principles that define OAS membership."
Ecuadorian president urges OAS nations to apologize to Cuba for isolation
TEGUCIGALPA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said on Sunday that members of the Organization of American States (OAS) should apologize to Cuba for expelling the country from the organization.
During his visit to Honduras before the opening of the 39th OAS general assembly on Tuesday, Correa urged all OAS countries to apologize to Cuba for having banned it from the Washington-based organization in 1962. Full story
OAS Assembly to discuss Cuba's re-entry
TEGUCIGALPA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The re-entry of Cuba to the Organization of American States (OAS) will be discussed during the upcoming 39th OAS General Assembly in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, OAS General Secretary Jose Miguel Insulza said on Sunday.
Insulza said that it is impossible to predict the scenarios to come on the Cuba issue, but the OAS will reach a consensus. A policy of inclusion, instead of exclusion, will be practiced, he said. Full story
