CUBA-USA/EMBASSY-REACTION-UPDATE U.S. tells Cuban activists that it will keep human rights on the agenda of future talks with Cuba

Record ID: 144021

  • Title: CUBA-USA/EMBASSY-REACTION-UPDATE U.S. tells Cuban activists that it will keep human rights on the agenda of future talks with Cuba
  • Date: 15th August 2015
  • Summary: ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** (SOUNDBITE) (English) WAYNE SMITH, FORMER HEAD OF U.S. INTERESTS SECTION, SAYING: "Well, let me put it this way: I've worked for 50 years to bring about today, to bring about a dialogue, that we would simply talk to one another so in that sense, I feel I have gained something. It hasn't been a waste of time. It hasn't been a waste
  • Embargoed: 30th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cuba
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACRTGRVRTDDONKAX26HZ7MK7LT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS VIDEO THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with dissidents in Havana on Friday (August 14), after he called for political change and told Cubans they should be free to choose their own leaders. The comments come as he watched the U.S. flag fly at the American embassy in Havana for the first time in 54 years and shortly before he met with Cuban Foreign Relations Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
    While leading a ceremony to mark the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Cold War adversaries, Kerry declared a new era in U.S.-Cuban relations but pressed the Communist government on democracy and human rights.
    "We remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democracy, where people are free to choose their leaders, express their ideas, practice their faith with a commitment to economic and social justice is realized more fully, where institutions are answerable to those they serve and where civil society is independent and allowed to flourish" he said in a one-party state where the media is tightly controlled and political dissent is repressed.
    "The leaders in Havana and the Cuban people should also know that the United States will always remain a champion of democratic principles and reforms. Like many other governments in and outside this hemisphere, we will continue to urge the Cuban government to fulfil its obligations under U.N. and Inter-American human rights covenants," Kerry said, his words accurately translated into Spanish and broadcast live on Cuban state television.
    Dissidents were not invited to the flag-raising in deference to the Cuban government, drawing sharp rebukes from opponents of the opening to Cuba, who say Havana has made no concessions in exchange for diplomatic ties.
    Kerry's comments drew a firm riposte from Rodriguez, who defended Cuba at a news conference with Kerry and criticized the United States' own record on rights, referring to racial strife and police brutality in America.
    Cuba fiercely rejects such conditions and it declined to attend a U.S. reception where the dissidents were present.
    Wayne Smith, the former head of the U.S. Interests Section who attended the reception, said he was pleased the two countries were talking but warned there was a long way to go.
    "Well, let me put it this way: I've worked for 50 years to bring about today, to bring about a dialogue, that we would simply talk to one another so in that sense, I feel I have gained something. It hasn't been a waste of time. It hasn't been a waste of my life. But, again, we still have lots of problems to solve," Smith said.
    Following a meeting with Kerry at the house of the U.S. Ambassador in Cuba, Jose Daniel Ferrer, executive secretary of the dissident Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), said he was happy the U.S. was willing to keep the issue with human rights as a priority.
    "I said that the meeting was very cordial, very positive. We talked about everything we could with the Secretary of State (John Kerry) and cleared up if there was any doubt, on the part of those present, that the United States would keep the issue of human rights as a priority, he reaffirmed that yes, they (U.S.) don't plan to remove this issue from their agenda. We are satisfied with that," said Ferrer.
    Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, agreed, adding access to the internet was of chief importance.
    "Very interesting because each (side) expressed, from their point of view, the current situation in Cuba, the needs, emergencies. Kerry made ??a commitment again to the human rights issue on the agenda of the United States. He also spoke on the topic of technology which of course interests me greatly, because I believe that access to the Internet, access to communications, for Cubans to become Internet users is inextricably linked to the issue of freedom and democracy," said Sanchez.
    In December 14, 2014, the United States condemned what it called Cuba's practice of repression following the detention of several activists.
    Yoani Sanchez said on Twitter police had detained her husband Reinaldo Escobar and dissident leader Eliecer Avila outside her home in Havana, taking them away in handcuffs.
    Upon announcing his new Cuba policy back in December, President Barack Obama said Cubans should not face harassment or arrest for expressing their views and that his government would continue to monitor human rights.
    On Friday, Kerry said the U.S. Congress was unlikely to lift a punishing economic embargo on Cuba unless human rights improved.
    While the tone in U.S.-Cuban relations has improved greatly since detente was announced in December, the blunt statements and rebukes underscored how far the two countries are from normal relations after decades of hostilities that outlived the Cold War.
    Both sides stressed Friday that the path toward normalization of overall relations would be lengthy and suffer occasional setbacks.
    Cuba wants the United States to end its economic embargo of the island, return the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in eastern Cuba and halt radio and television signals beamed into Cuba.
    The United States is seeking the return of fugitives granted asylum in Cuba and backs the claims of Americans whose property was nationalized in the years after Fidel Castro seized power in a 1959 revolution.
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