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CUBA
NEWS
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Top Senate Democrat slams US crackdown on
Cuba
WASHINGTON, 14 (AFP) - The US Senate's top Democrat
rejected White House moves to tighten sanctions
on Cuba, calling instead for a policy on engagement
with the Communist-ruled island.
"I think that it's important for us to recognize
that as we trade with China, with Vietnam, with
countries around the world with whom we have disagreements,
that it's equally as important for us to find
ways with which to do it with a country 90 miles
(145 kilometers) off our shore," Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said.
"Obviously we all recognize the incredible
difficulties that Fidel Castro (news - web sites)
has caused for his own people and for the region,
but there are millions of people that don't share
the view of their imposed leader and would like
better relations with us."
His remarks come one month after the House of
Representatives voted to end decades-old US restrictions
on travel to Cuba, and as the Senate mulls bringing
similar legislation to a floor vote this fall
-- despite a promised veto by US President George
W. Bush.
Daschle said the embargo has strong opposition
in the Senate, especially among lawmakers from
farm states like his which would like to sell
their produce to Havana.
"The Senate has gone on record on a number
of occasions now with the clear expectation that
we will begin trading agriculturally ... with
Cuba, and I think the Senate was right to speak
out and do so. I hope we continue to do that in
the future," he said.
His remarks follow a similar statement by the
Republican chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, who said earlier this month
that the 43-year-old trade embargo against Cuba
has not worked.
"We must think beyond our fruitless war
of attrition that has only served to make (Cuban
President Fidel) Castro a folk hero in some parts
of the world," said Indiana Senator Richard
Lugar, calling for a re-examination of US policy.
Lugar added that he could support ending the
travel ban "at an appropriate time."
In remarks coinciding with a major anniversary
of Cuba's independence fight, Bush said Friday
that restrictions on travel to Cuba by US citizens
would be more strictly enforced and that Washington
would increase the number of immigrant visas for
Cubans seeking to enter the United States.
Under current sanctions, US citizens are not
allowed to spend money in Cuba, unless they have
special authorization from the US Treasury Department.
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