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Cuba summit stirs interest,
passion
By Saundra Amrhein, Times
Staff Writer. Published October 7, 2004
in The
St. Petersburg Times.
TAMPA - It's a hot potato in a hot presidential
race in a key state.
But that's not the only reason the National
Summit on Cuba will be held in Tampa this
year.
Along the Gulf Coast, from Alabama to Manatee
County, all eyes are on Cuba, said Lissa
Weinmann, a senior fellow with the World
Policy Institute, one of the organizations
sponsoring the summit.
"We wanted to do a conference with
the Gulf Coast interests at large,"
Weinmann said of the summit, which starts
Friday morning at the University of Tampa.
"Tampa seemed logistically desirable."
The third annual summit, just weeks before
the presidential election, is a chance to
educate voters on important issues surrounding
the U.S. embargo against Cuba, the island's
business climate and road maps for change,
she said.
Previous summits were held in Miami and
Washington.
"What we're really trying to do is
present voters with accurate information
about the situation in Cuba in terms of
U.S. policy," she said. "Obviously,
Florida is a swing state and Cuba is a swing
issue in a swing state. It can swing voters
when they are informed."
The summit will also offer a constitutional
perspective on travel bans for all Americans
wanting to visit Cuba presented by U.S.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
Other speakers include retired Gen. John
Sheehan, NATO's former Supreme Allied Commander
Atlantic, who headed Guantanamo Bay refugee
operations. He will give a national security
analysis.
Pete Peterson, former U.S. ambassador to
Vietnam, and Nicholas Platt, former ambassador
to the Philippines, will discuss moving
from sanctions to engagement. Various business
owners and port officials will talk about
trade with Cuba.
Tampa attorney Ralph Fernandez criticized
the summit as being a one-sided "carpetbaggers
convention." "This is about money,"
Fernandez said. Weinmann said that it's
"patently untrue" that organizers
haven't reached out to other viewpoints.
Bush administration policies will be represented
by Frank Calzone, head of the Center for
a Free Cuba.
IF YOU GO
The National Summit on Cuba starts with
registration and a continental breakfast
at 7:45 a.m. Friday at the University of
Tampa, Plant Hall, in the Grand Salon. Panel
discussions, a film screening and lectures
follow. A Historic Breakfast Presentation,
including a walking tour, will be held Saturday.
Cost of registration for the summit is $150.
For information, call 212 229-5953 or visit
www.nationalsummitoncuba.org
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