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.c The Associated Press
By JOHN RICE
HAVANA (AP) -
Fidel Castro dropped in on a party for U.S. congressmen and said Pope John Paul
II's visit is "a good thing'' that will encourage religious faith in Cuba,
the lawmakers said Saturday.
Led by Rep. Joe Moakley, the four Massachusetts Democrats also met Saturday
with four prominent Cuban dissidents who told them that political repression by
Castro's regime continues, though it has eased recently.
Castro showed up unexpectedly at a Friday night reception for the
congressmen put on by Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon.
"Mr. Castro was expansive on the idea of freedom of religion,'' Rep.
Bill Delahunt said. "He indicated very frankly and very flatly that
religions were going to flourish on the island of Cuba. There was nothing that
he could do or anybody wished to do to put the genie back in the bottle.''
In a Saturday Mass in the eastern city of Santiago, the pope delivered his
most direct political message yet in his pilgrimage to Cuba, advocating freedom
of expression and association.
John Paul continued his advocacy at a center for leprosy patients outside
Havana on Saturday evening, where he called for the release of Cuban political
prisoners.
Moakley said Castro "seemed much more mellow'' during Friday's
reception than during a similar meeting two years ago and was "very
verbose.''
Delahunt, Moakley and the other two congressmen - Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep.
Richard Neal - support a measure to lift the U.S. embargo on food and medicine
shipments to Cuba but leave other restrictions intact.
"(The dissidents) feel that things are getting a little better'' in
terms of human rights, Moakley said, but still call for a lifting of the U.S.
embargo.
Several Cuban dissidents Moakley met two years ago since have been
imprisoned, he said.
Dissident Elizardo Sanchez told the congressmen he was somewhat optimistic
that Cuban officials would respond to the Vatican's appeal to release a number
of political prisoners.
The lawmakers also asked Cuban officials to release political prisoners but
said they received no response.
Cuba's dissidents are fragmented into several small groups with little
ability to publicize their ideas on the island.
AP-NY-01-24-98 2034EST |