HAVANA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Cuba has won a major diplomatic battle against
the United States at the Organization of American States (OAS), when the
organization revoked a resolution issued 47years ago to exclude Cuba, although
the island country said it will not return to that mechanism.
The 1962 resolution to exclude Cuba from the OAS was revoked on Wednesday
during the 39th OAS General Assembly held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
The document revoking the resolution, at the beginning, was agreed by a
special group of 10 ministers and then it was presented to the delegates from
the 34 member countries by Honduran Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas.
Cuban authorities said on Thursday in a communiqu¨¦ broadcasted by local TV
that the OAS decision was a "historic rectification."
"In a historic day..., the OAS General Assembly derogated without
conditions the resolution that excluded Cuba from that organization," the
communiqu¨¦ said.
"Cuba has not requested (rejoining the OAS) and it does not want to return
to the OAS... But it recognized the political value, the symbolic significance
and the rebellion of this decision boosted by the people's governments of Latin
America," the communiqu¨¦ said.
The official daily "Granma" said on Thursday that "Fidel (Castro) and the
Cuban people will be absolvent by history," when mentioning the words of
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya at the General Assembly.
The newspaper also carried remarks by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega,
who said the revocation "leaves without effect the expulsion of Cuba, it cleans
a spot over the organization."
Cuba was excluded from the OAS in 1962 after most of the member countries,
under the pressure from the United States, agreed that Cuba's socialism was
incompatible with the principles of the Inter-American system.
At the end of 2008, a number of Latin American leaders, including
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Nicaragua's Ortega, Bolivia's president Evo
Morales and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, requested the reentry of Cuba to
the continental political dialogue.
The issues was discussed at the 5th Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad
and Tobago in April, but due to disagreements between the United States and
Latin American countries, participants agreed to bring the issue to the General
Assembly in Honduras.
Despite the revocation, some Cuban experts believe the discussion of Cuba
at the OAS itself showed there are no common interests in the region and that it
is necessary to form a Latin American and Caribbean organization.
But experts agree that it is a recognition of the "dignity and strength" of
Cuba for 50 years of the Socialist Revolution.
The main loser of the battle is the United States, which failed to block
the process of revocation.
With the door open for Cuba to rejoin the OAS, experts say, the next step
is expected to be the lifting of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, which was
imposed some 50 years ago.
