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September 19, 2001.
Cuba confirms contacts with US over anti-terrorist campaign, migration
HAVANA, Sept 19 (AFP) - Cuba, considered by Washington to be a state sponsor
of terrorism, has had diplomatic contacts with the United States on terrorism
and the international situation, a foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed
Wednesday.
"These contacts have been sporadic, limited to a small number of
issues," which also included migrant smuggling, spokeswoman Aimee Hernandez
said in a written response to reporters' questions here.
The United States and Cuba -- the lone communist-ruled country in the
Americas -- do not have full diplomatic relations. Washington has had a tough
economic embargo clamped on Havana for more than 40 years.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said from Washington Tuesday
that US diplomats had called at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington to ask
for help.
"We asked the Cubans through our traditional channel for any
information they might have about terrorist attacks," Boucher said.
That meeting occurred Friday and Boucher said he was not aware of any
response from Havana, where President Fidel Castro has spoken out against last
week's terror strikes in Washington and New York, and called for the founding of
an "Anti-Terrorist International" movement.
Hernandez said the latest exchange of information addressed "people
involved in migrant trafficking; any attempt to use our territory for terrorist
attacks against the United States or other countries; or issues that, given the
international situation, could further the goal of fighting illegal activities."
The spokeswoman seemed to downplay the significance of the US-Cuban
contacts, stressing "they have taken place in the past, typically related
to fighting drug trafficking, on illegal immigration issues, receiving (illegal
migrants) and preventing incidents in waters bordering the two countries."
"As such, the aforementioned contacts (on terrorism) have no special
meaning, and have not been secret or unusual," Hernandez underscored.
She added: "Cuba is not averse to any kind of sporadic or regular
exchange with US authorities insofar as it can be useful and in the interest of
both countries."
Cuba and the United States inked bilateral migration accords in 1994 and
1995 under which Washington agreed to grant Cubans who wish to emigrate at least
20,000 visas annually, and to repatriate Cubans who are picked up at sea after
leaving the country illegally seeking US shores.
Havana, in turn, agreed to try to dissuade people from emigrating illegally
and to reintegrate returnees into society. So far this year, Washington has
returned 654 people to Cuba, but the lucrative business of trafficking in Cuban
migrants has continued to grow.
Under the United States' Cuban Adjustment Act, Cubans who reach US soil are
automatically allowed to stay in the United States and to work, and after a year
to seek permanent residence, and later US citizenship, if they choose.
Havana complains this US law encourages Cubans interested in seeking "the
American Dream" to risk their lives crossing the shark-infested Florida
Straits in rafts or with smugglers running overloaded speedboats. So far, its
requests that Washington change the law have fallen on deaf ears.
Last week, the government of the neighboring Cayman Islands said it was
holding three Afghan nationals who may have information about last week's
terrorist attacks in the United States.
"It appeared likely that the men had arrived here on 20th August (2000)
on a flight from Cuba using Pakistani passports," a statement said.
Further, Panama is investigating an alleged connection between a financial
firm registered there and Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden, the main suspect
in the terror strikes, authorities there said Tuesday.
Panama also is investigating two people detained here en route to Cuba with
false passports the day of the terror strikes on the United States, a migration
spokeswoman said.
U.S. Contacts Sudan, Cuba for Help
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer.
WASHINGTON, 19 (AP) - In its quest for a diverse anti-terror coalition, the
Bush administration said Tuesday it has made overtures to Sudan and Cuba.
Russia's foreign minister, arriving to meet with President Bush, called on
nations to "interact more effectively'' to fight global terrorism.
"One more time, the fact proved to be true, that terrorism does not
recognize borders,'' Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told reporters late
Tuesday after arriving in Washington. "This is the challenge to the
civilized community that needs to be forcefully confronted.''
Ivanov was to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites)
and the president on Wednesday.
Sudan and Cuba are the second and third nations on the State Department
terrorism list seen as potential sources of information in last week's attacks.
Powell called Sudanese Foreign Minister Osman Ismail Mustafa and asked for
his cooperation after taking note of Sudan's offer to play a constructive role
combating terrorism.
High-level contacts with Sudan have been extremely rare, and State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the conversation a good beginning.
Boucher also said a U.S. official visited Cuba's diplomatic mission in
Washington and asked for whatever information Cuba might have about the
terrorist attack. Cuba strongly condemned the Sept. 11 disaster.
U.S. officials said a diverse anti-terrorism coalition would be more viable
politically than one limited largely to Western democracies. Powell has been
reaching out to Arab and Muslim countries in recent days.
Meanwhile, officials reacted skeptically to conditions that Afghanistan
(news - web sites)'s ruling Taliban movement was said to be demanding in
exchange for extraditing Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), the prime suspect
in the attacks.
The conditions include international recognition of Taliban rule and the
lifting of U.N. sanctions.
An administration official said the U.S. stance is based on two U.N.
Security Council resolutions approved over the past two years in response to the
Taliban's role in sheltering bin Laden.
The resolutions demand that bin Laden be expelled to a country where he can
be brought to justice. U.S. officials hold out little hope that the Taliban will
comply with that.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also raised doubts Tuesday about
whether the surrender of bin Laden by the Taliban would enable that group to
evade hostile actions by the U.S. military.
"Clearly you begin on a journey with one step, and he would be one
step,'' Rumsfeld said on CBS' "The Early Show.'' But he said even if bin
Laden were not protected by the Taliban, the radical organization he heads,
al-Qaida, "would continue doing what it's been doing. So clearly the
problem is much bigger than bin Laden.''
As for Pakistan, Boucher said there was no promise of U.S. assistance for
that country in exchange for its pledge to back American efforts to hunt down
those responsible for last week's attacks.
"It was entered into without any demands, without any conditions,
without any quid pro quos,'' he said.
Sen. Sam Brownback (news - bio - voting record), R-Kan., said the United
States should lift trade sanctions on Pakistan and back World Bank (news - web
sites) loans for economic development in Pakistan "so the population can
see a positive reason to engage with the United States.''
Sanctions against Pakistan were imposed in response to its nuclear weapons
program and to the October 1999 military coup that installed Gen. Pervez
Musharraf as president.
Powell received a warm expression of support and sympathy Tuesday from South
Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo. President Bush had an evening meeting and
dinner scheduled with French President Jacques Chirac, who was expected to
reaffirm his forceful opposition to international terror.
The United States lists Cuba, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Iran, Iraq and North
Korea (news - web sites) as supporters or sponsors of terrorism. The United
States has contacted Cuba, Sudan and Syria as part of its search for information
on the attacks.
There has been no contact with Iran, but the State Department said Saturday
it was heartened by Tehran's response to the attacks and sees a possible role
for Iran in the present situation.
Some officials are skeptical about any overture to Iran, noting that the
State Department has listed Iran as the world's chief sponsor of terrorism for
years. On the other hand, Iran, which shares a border with Afghanistan, may have
an interest in taking action against the Taliban based on long-standing hostile
relations.
Cuba has voiced strong opposition to the attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon (news - web sites). But its criticisms have been coupled with
strongly worded complaints that alleged terrorism originating from anti-Castro
groups in Miami occurs without international condemnation.
On the Net: State Department:
http://www.state.gov/ | 
