Cuba Solidarity Homepage
Project USA/Cuba InfoMed
For Immediate Release: June 23, 1997
Contact: Ellen Bernstein
It's time to start cranking up our phone and fax lines again! The Cuban Humanitarian Trade Act (HR1951) was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 18. This bill, which already has bipartisan sponsorship, would exempt most trade in food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment from the standing blockade laws (which include the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Torricelli Law, and Helms/Burton). While the bill is not all we would wish for, we think it represents an important step toward gaining Congressional support for ending the blockade. We applaud the bill's sponsors -- and we know that, if we work together as effectively as we've done in the past, we're going to get this bill passed! HR1951 has a dozen original co-sponsors, four Republicans and eight Democrats: Rep. Esteban Torres (D-CA); Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), chair of the House Banking Committee; Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), ranking minority member of the House Ways and Means Committee; Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA); Rep. José Serrano (D-NY); Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX); Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA); Rep. Connie Morella (R- MD); Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-NY); Rep. Joe Moakley (D-MA); Rep. James McGovern (D-MA); and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) -- and 12 more have signed on in just the last few days.
Our goal is to secure the broadest possible co-sponsorship, so that the bill will be taken seriously by the house leadership, so that it will receive favorable hearings, and so that it will pass! We want to reach out to as many Congresspeople as we can -- not just to established allies, but also -- and especially -- to Republicans, to moderates, to reps who haven't taken on this issue before. Let's use the AAWH report, and the arguments for most-favored trade with China, and our basic humanitarian concerns, to educate new members of Congress and bring some new allies on board. So: we don't need to be calling Dan Burton, or Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, or Lincoln Diaz-Balart -- but let's try to reach out to just about everybody else!
We are asking you and all our supporters to contact your congressional representatives (202/225-3121) and urge them to sign on right away as co-sponsors of hr1951. Call them, fax them, write to them, and -- especially effective -- visit them at their home district offices! House members will be home June 27 -- July 7 for their July 4th recess. We urge you to call them right away to set up an appointment (with your representative directly, if at all possible; if not, then with a key aide). Then organize a delegation of concerned constituents to visit; and let them know that supporting this bill is the least that they can do! [When they agree to sign on, or if they need more information from a colleague, ask them to contact Eric Reuther, Rep. Torres' legislative aide, at 202/225-5256.]
We are currently putting finishing touches on a legislative packet that we would be happy to send to you in the next few days. It contains more background on the bill; quotes from the reps who are supporting the bill; a list of cosponsors so far, of key House committee members, and of members we're targeting; and some talking points for your visits. Contact us by phone/fax/e-mail and we'll be glad to send that packet out to you (by e-mail or the old-fashioned way). THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT WORK!!! "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue: but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18
Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) 402 W 145th St, New York, NY 10031
212.926.5757; fax 212.926-5842
email:ifco@igc.apc.org
IFCO/Pastors For Peace
PO Box 408130 Chicago, IL 60640-8130
tel 773-271-4817 fax 773-271-5269
email p4p@igc.apc.org
Please go to the page of the Cuba Solidarity Web site devoted to the Cuban Humanitarian Relief Act !
In a surprise move, the Treasury Department sought to avoid protracted struggle with IFCO/Pastors for Peace by initiating an offer to allow the aid to go to Cuba without a license. During six previous caravans, the US government has seized aid, issued grand jury subpoenas, and otherwise attempted to stop the Pastors' aid from getting to Cuba. But Treasury did not impede the passage of this caravan, even though it carried more than 500 tons of unlicensed humanitarian aid, including sophisticated medical equipment, high-level computers and prescription medicines.
Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, attributed today's victory in part to the success of last year's campaign to free the 435 medical computers which Treasury seized from the sixth caravan. "Perhaps our government came to understand the depth and seriousness of our commitment, and decided not to engage us in another long struggle. Perhaps the strong advocacy of 70 members of Congress, nine national religious agencies, and many thousands of US citizens, has forced a slight liberalization in the enforcement of the blockade. But we remain concerned, and much work remains to be done.
"The US continues to enforce a tight international blockade on the sale and trade of most essential goods to Cuba -- even the most basic goods. Our government tries to deny this, by publicly suggesting that there are no sanctions on food and medicines. But the American Association for World Health has documented the precise effects of the so-called "Cuban Democracy Act" on the health and nutrition of the Cuban people, and we have seen those effects with our own eyes. We refuse to be complicit with a policy of death and starvation. We need to stop putting a pretty face on this brutal blockade -- to admit that Cuban children are being denied access to lifesaving medicines because of our government's policies, and to stop punishing those innocent children.
"Our future work must include a concerted campaign to support legislation which will exempt food and medicine from the blockade. And from there we will keep working until Helms/Burton, and Torricelli, and the whole blockade are overturned. Our major objective is to do everything possible to awaken the conscience of this nation to the need to end this policy of death."
The aid which IFCO/Pastors for Peace will deliver to Cuban children includes: a computer-equipped mobile library; an ambulance filled with specialized pediatric medicines; four school buses and several vans; six dialysis machines, an incubator, and hundreds of tons of medical and dental equipment; 50,000 pairs of eyeglasses; equipment for blind, deaf and disabled children; and family needs such as soap, shoes, clothing, toothbrushes and powdered milk. The aid will be received by an ecumenical committee of Cuban clergy who will distribute it according to the most pressing needs. 155 members of the caravan will visit Cuba May 17-24 for a program of education and fellowship.
This morning in San Diego, the caravan was ambushed and attacked by Alpha 66 terrorists, as it passed by a Catholic church in San Ysidro on its way to the border. Eight members of the right-wing Cuban-American terrorist organization, which describes itself as "a commando military" group, rammed caravan vehicles with their cars, jumped on vehicles, hurled eggs and insults, and assaulted members of the caravan. "They even attacked our ambulance. I can't imagine how any decent person could justify attacking an ambulance for a children's hospital," said Rev. Walker. Rev. Walker expressed pity for them and asked God's forgiveness for their sinful behavior.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace
An action project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization National Office:
402 West 145th, NY, NY 10031 tel 212/926-5757 fax 212/926-5842
Midwest Office: PO Box 408130, Chicago, IL 60640-8130 tel 773/271-4817 fax 773/271-5269
A caravan of one hundred fifty participants from across the United States, Canada and Europe, carrying humanitarian aid for Cuban children worth millions of dollars, will cross the International Peace Bridge in Buffalo, NY at 9 AM today, in a direct challenge to US government's unjust economic embargo of Cuba.
In an act of civil disobedience, the 50-vehicle caravan, loaded with computers, prescription medicines, food, toys and school supplies will participate in a non-violent protest of the 37-year-old US blockade, by delivering the aid without a government license.
In a surprise move yesterday, the US Treasury Department sought to avoid a protracted struggle with IFCO/Pastors for Peace by initiating an offer to allow the aid to go to Cuba without a license. During each of its previous caravans the government has attempted to stop the caravan efforts, insisting that the group apply for government permission to ship its cargo, which it has always refused to do.
Claiming this surprise move by Treasury to be a total victory for the Pastors, the Rev. Lucius Walker, IFCO executive director said, "the best way to derail the "Track Two" aspect of the Torricelli and Helms Burton bills would be for churches, relief organizations and solidarity organizations to join forces to send aid to Cuba without requesting a license."
Since 1992 IFCO/Pastors for Peace has boldly organized six humanitarian aid caravans to Cuba to highlight an immoral policy that withholds vital food and medicine from the Cuban people. Forcing the Treasury Department to waive restriction after restriction, IFCO/Pastors for Peace has successfully delivered its vitally needed aid, while broadening the scope of allowable aid. The group is committed to continuing to challenge the embargo until it is lifted.
The Buffalo crossing will mark the first in a dual challenge to the unjust blockade. On Friday, May 16, a second-border crossing into Mexico will occur at San Diego, with hundreds of participants and supporters carrying aid from the western half of the United States.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace PO Box 408130 Chicago, IL 60640-8130 tel 773-271-4817 fax 773-271-5269 email p4p@igc.apc.org
Participants in the seventh IFCO/Pastors for Peace caravan to Cuba are gathered in San Diego and Buffalo today as they prepare to challenge the US economic blockade with a shipment of aid for Cuban children. They will spend the next few days in prayer and preparation as they get ready to deliver a mobile library, an ambulance, school busses, hundreds of tons of medical and educational aid, toys, musical instruments and "millions of tons of love" to the children of Cuba.
The Rev. Dr. William Slone Coffin, nationally known civil rights and peace activist, and The Very Rev. John Chane, Dean of St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego, gave strong support to the caravan and its mission of peace and fellowship. "This issue transcends politics, this is a humanitarian concern," said Dr. Coffin. "Our government must stop punishing innocent Cuban children."
In San Diego, the caravanistas have faced threats from the ultra-right-wing Cuban-American organization Alpha 66, whose leader attempted to disrupt today's press conference in the Dean's office at St Paul's Cathedral. Alpha 66 was featured Sunday night on San Diego local TV. Describing themselves as "a commando military organization preparing to fight in Cuba," they announced their intention to prevent Pastors for Peace from crossing the San Ysidro border with their aid later this week. One Alpha 66 representative referred to the national ecumenical organization which organizes the caravans as "Pastores para el Diable" ("Pastors for the Devil").
A recent letter from US Treasury spokesperson Peter Balsh to supporters of Pastors for Peace indicated the Treasury Department's concern that violent provocateurs might try to infiltrate the peaceful mission of the caravan.
Ellen Bernstein, member of the national staff of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, said, "We will go forward with assurance despite these threats, in the same spirit of peace and reconciliation which has always characterized our work. We know our cause is just, and we will not let ourselves be deterred or distracted from bringing our simple gifts to Cuban children."
The caravan participants who are gathered at the Buffalo, NY crossing range in age from 12 to 85 They include a spirited contingent of 7th and 8th graders and adults from the Bruderhof communities; 20 students from Earlham College; an international contingent who traveled to the US from England, Scotland, Canada, Quebec, and the Netherlands to be a part of this historic challenge to the infamous Helms/Burton law and the US blockade of Cuba.
One of the British participants, Tony Caccavone, is a taxi driver whose London cab is decorated with a huge flag of Cuba painted on the front. He shipped his taxi to the US from London, to drive it in the caravan to Cuba. When the taxi was finally released by US Customs, a week after the initial docking of the ship, three of its four tires had been deflated and the radio stolen. Tony and the caravan will file a complaint with US Customs.
Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr. Executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace, said, "The inclusive character of this caravan -- with representatives from so many countries, so many ages, so many religious backgrounds -- reflects the breadth and diversity of the worldwide public sentiment which is opposed to the US policy of bringing death to Cuba. It is time for the US to come to its senses and behave more humanely toward our neighbors."
The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace detailed its plans to deliver medical and educational aid to the children on Cuba next week at a 10AM press conference Tuesday, May 6, at the Press Triangle, southeast corner of the Capitol Lawn.
Press conference participants included:
In the first stage of the caravan on Friday, May 2, a group of 150 Canadians and US citizens successfully crossed the US border at Vancouver, Canada with medicines, school supplies and computers for Cuban children. The Canadian caravan will join the US caravan as its travels down the west coast to cross the Mexican border at San Ysidro, CA on May 16, en route to Cuba.
After a brief delay, the Canadians were issued a written guarantee that their aid would not be confiscated at the Mexican border as happened in February 1996 when the last caravan attempted to deliver medical computers to Cuban medical facilities. Ultimately, the computers were released and are now in Cuba.
An eastern leg of the caravan will cross the Canadian border at Buffalo, NY on May 14.
Inspired, in part, by the recent report issued by the American Association for World Health (AAWH), IFCO will deliver medical aid including incubators, pediatric medicines and an ambulance.
"During previous visits to Cuba we have seen the tremendous need in Cuba, " said Rev. Lucius Walker. "The recent AAWH report directly attributes that need to the vicious and inhumane US embargo that withholds even food and medicines for the Cuban people. We are going back to Cuba with this aid because our conscience will not allow us to stand by and watch the US government starve innocent Cuban children."
Additional aid that the caravan will take includes a mobile library and 5,000 Bibles donated by the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
Participants of the broad-based caravan effort include Europeans from London, the Netherlands, Scotland and Germany; local Posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), who participate despite the threatened suspension of their Post charters by the national VFW headquarters; twenty-four members of the Bruderhof community, a Protestant Christian community based in Rifton, NY; clergy representing a variety of denominations and two dozen children.
Last year five members of IFCO/Pastors for Peace declared a 94-day fast to protest the violent seizure of medical aid destined for Cuban hospitals, by a coalition of federal, state and local authorities.
"We are morally prepared to endure a similar struggle, if necessary, to deliver this desperately needed aid to Cuba," said Rev. Walker. "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue: but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18
Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) 402 W 145th St., New York, NY 10031 212.926.5757; fax 212.926-5842 email:ifco@igc.apc.org
The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization/Pastors for Peace announced today, that its seventh challenge to the US embargo of Cuba on behalf of Cuban children will depart soon.
Beginning May 1, 300 volunteers form the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany will begin travelling along 15 routes stopping in 100 cities to hold educational events and to collect humanitarian aid as part of this non-violent protest to the US government's Cuba policy.
On May 14 and 16 the seventh US-Cuba Friendshipment caravan, dedicated to the needs of the children of Cuba, will cross the Canadian and Mexican borders, respectively, with 500 tons of humanitarian assistance to be delivered to Cuban churches for distribution to the children of Cuba.
"We have witnessed the commitment that Cuba has made to its children and we refuse to comply with a policy that compromises that commitment, said Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr, IFCO executive director and founder of Pastors for Peace.
Caravan volunteers include clergy and laypeople from various denominations, veterans and children.
In Garberville, CA Post 6354 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) will participate in the caravan despite threatened suspension of its Post charter by the national VFW headquarters. "The VFW needs to recognize the fact that the 37-year-old embargo of Cuba is not working," said Fredy Champagne, Commander of Post 6354. "In the past, the VFW has worked to lift the embargo of Vietnam. As veterans who saw the devastation there, we refuse to allow the US government to continue to use economic warfare to starve the children of Cuba, in our name."
Post 6354 has drafted a resolution calling for lifting the embargo against Cuba and will take the resolution to its state and national conventions this summer. Post 5888 of Santa Cruz has also signed onto the resolution.
Twenty-four members of the Bruderhof community, a protestant Christian community based in NY, PA and Ct, will join the caravan. "There shouldn't be a law against loving your neighbor and bringing food to people. If there is, then I want to break it.", said a Bruderhof youth who will participate in the challenge.
On May 14, the caravan will cross the border at Buffalo, NY, where IFCO has been served a grand jury subpoena to provide information about our earlier challenges to the embargo. On May 16, the caravan will cross at San Ysidro, CA, where last year five members of IFCO/Pastors for Peace declared a 94-day "Fast for Life", to protest the violent seizure of 435 medical computers for Cuban hospitals by a coalition of federal, state and local authorities.
"Unfortunately, the US government is pathologically obsessed with the need to destroy Cuba," said Rev. Walker. "We are morally bound to disobey this immoral polity aimed at hurting innocent children."
IFCO/Pastors for Peace will hold a national press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday, May 6 at 10 am.
The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization/Pastors for Peace announced today it will organize a "people's challenge" to the US embargo of Cuba. On May 14, 300 volunteers including clergy and laypeople from varying denominations and participants from Canada, Europe and Mexico will deliver over 500 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba -- without a US government license.
This US-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan, which is dedicated to the children of Cuba and comes at a time of increased world-wide outrage at the far-reaching effects of the US embargo, will be organized with extensive participation from Canadian and European organizations.
"In its pathological obsession to destroy Cuba, the US is violating the sovereignty of other nations in the world by trying to force them to support a US policy of economic warfare against Cuba," said Rev. Lucius Walker, IFCO executive director and founder of Pastors for Peace. "Just as the international community is outraged at this attempt to compromise their political and financial autonomy, hundreds of thousands of US citizens reject the government's immoral, shameful blockade of Cuba. We plan to keep challenging the blockade until it is lifted."
Travelling along 15 routes, caravan participants will collect humanitarian aid for the caravan in over 150 cities throughout the US and Canada. The caravan will cross the border at San Diego and Buffalo with computers, medicines, school busses and a mobile educational resource center, to be delivered to an ecumenical distribution committee established by IFCO/Pastors for Peace.
"It is our special obligation as US citizens to help the most innocent victims of this amoral policy; the children of Cuba," said IFCO staff member Peggy Hopson-Diaz. " This caravan will help assuage the urgent needs of Cuban children, but more importantly raise awareness among congregations and communities throughout this continent , that the people of Cuba are not our enemy."
En route to San Diego and Buffalo, the "Caravan for the Children of Cuba" will hold public educational events at campuses, churches and community organizations throughout the US and Canada. Thousands of volunteers are involved at the local level in organizing material aid shipments and fundraising events in support of this project.
Last year at the San Diego border, five members of IFCO/Pastors for Peace declared a 94- day "Fast for Life", to protest the confiscation of 435 medical computers for Cuban hospitals by a coalition of federal, state and local authorities.
During the "Fast for Life" a very strong partnership was formed with major religious denominations including the National Council of Churches of Christ, USA; the General Board of Church and Society - United Methodist Church (UMC); General Board of Global Ministries - UMC; the Episcopal Church; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; the National Baptist Convention, USA; the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the Alliance of Baptists. After an unprecedented campaign of pressure by our church partners, members of Congress and individuals and organizations across the US, Canada and Europe, US officials released the computers and are now in service at health care facilities across Cuba.
"We are morally prepared to suffer the level of abuse that we encountered in San Diego last year, if necessary," said Rev. Walker. "Armed with faith and conscience we are committed to stand against this immoral policy."
IFCO is a 30-year-old ecumenical agency committed to social justice and has been organizing caravans since 1985.
###
Copyright 1996 InterPress Service, all rights reserved. Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.
by Yvette Collymore
WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (IPS) - As analysts search for clues on the direction of U.S. policy toward Cuba following President Bill Clinton's return to office for a second term, the U.S. leader Thursday commended Canada for trying to improve human rights in the Caribbean country.
Clinton, who this month suspended one of the most potent aspects of the notorious anti-Cuba 'Helms-Burton' law, defended U.S. policy. But he also gave Canada credit for putting human rights on the table during this week's visit to Havana by Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy.
''I believe that our policy is the proper one, but I'm glad that the Canadians are trying to make something good happen in Cuba,'' Clinton said, adding that he was satisfied that Canada and European countries ''are now talking more to Cubans about reforms.''
For his part, Clinton must make it appear that Canada and European Union (EU) allies are giving something in return for taking the sting out Helms-Burton for the time being. Clinton's Jan. 3 suspension of a key provision of the bill was his second waiver since he signed the bill into law last March.
For their part, the Canadians appear to be knitting closer ties with President Fidel Castro and Cuba.
Axworthy, the highest ranking Canadian official to visit Cuba in more than two decades, left Canada with a joint declaration that calls for cooperation in a number of areas, including the administration of justice, the strengthening of a citizens' complaint commission in Cuba, drug interdiction, a sports accord, and food aid.
But while Clinton was eager to cast the Canadian visit in the best possible light, Castro's foes on Capitol Hill were not as enthused.
''If we're going to forget all principle and let Fidel Castro get by with all of his atrocities, then we better look at the status of our principles; and Canada certainly should look at hers,'' said Jesse Helms, the ultra-rightist chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the authors of 'Helms-Burton'.
Asked whether Washington should consider retaliatory actions against Canada, Helms said, ''Oh, I don't think we should get into that.'' But he added, ''they've been transshipping sugar from Cuba for a long time in violation of U.S. laws. There's got to be some understanding of what a neighbour should be to another neighbour.''
(The Canadians) have been riding roughshod over us for long enough,'' Helms went on, comparing Ottawa's approach to Castro with the appeasement policy towards Nazi Germany followed ''by a fellow named Neville Chamberlain.''
The question here, meanwhile, is whether Clinton will make any further moves to ease relations with Cuba beyond the waiver of Helm-Burton, as suggested by a bipartisan group of retired Congressmen here earlier this month who visited Cuba in December. The group, which included two right-wing Republicans, called for increased exchanges between Washington and Havana, greater cooperation in drug interdiction, and other measures to build confidence between the two nations.
Clinton's remarks Thursday capped several days of confusing statements from the State Department which illustrated the uncertainty of Washington's future course of action.
On Tuesday, the department's spokesman Nicholas Burns charged that, by sending Axworthy to Havana, Canada was taking offering aid and comfort to a dictator. ''You reward him by sending your Foreign Minister down there, by having visits as usual, by trading,'' he told reporters here. ''We think that's wrong.''
But on Wednesday, Burns read from an altogether different script, noting that Axworthy ''was raising human rights issues during his visit, and that is a very good thing.'' He added that Washington was skeptical about the results.
On Thursday, shortly after the new secretary of state, Madeleine Albright was sworn in, Burns again registered the agency's displeasure. ''We do not believe that high-level contacts of this sort are an effective device for the promotion of democracy in Cuba,'' he said.
If the State Department's zig-zags were confusing, at least one group is advising observers to ''follow the money'' to better understand U.S. policy towards Havana.
A new report issued Thursday by the Washington-based Centre for Public Integrity traces the history of the Cuban embargo from its origins in the 1960s, examining the Cuban-American lobby and how it became a force in influencing Washington's actions toward the Castro government.
The study -- 'Squeeze Play: The United States, Cuba, and the Helms-Burton Act' -- highlights in particular the clout of the Miami-based Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), whose leader, Jorge Mas Canosa has gained considerable influence in Washington.
The report states that since 1979, individuals and organizations with a direct interest or stake in the future of Cuba have poured more than 4.4 million dollars into the political system to influence U.S. policy toward the Caribbean nation.
Of that amount, some 3.2 million dollars came from trustees, directors, and officers of the CANF, ''which has become the most potent voice on U.S. policy toward Cuba'' since its inception in 1981, says the report.
''CANF and its director, Jorge Mas Canosa, have created a lobbying force that is, dollar for dollar, arguably the most effective in Washington,'' says Centre director Charles Lewis.
While CANF's contributions pale in comparison to the massive amounts with which lobbyists interested in other parts of the world supported the campaigns of Democrats and Republicans in the last elections, according to Lewis, they add up to very large sum for a relatively small country.
While CANF played the leading role in gaining Congressional backing for the Helms-Burton law, the report points out that more discreet interests whose eyes were firmly fixed on the bottom-line provided ample support.
The study cites some of those interests, including the Bacardi spirits empire. Bacardi lost its distillery and brewery properties following the Cuban Revolution. Under Helms-Burton, Bacardi can use the powers of U.S. courts to keep competitors from setting up shop in its old properties, says the report.
The law, which is aimed at discouraging foreign investment in Cuba, was passed overwhelmingly by Congress in the wake of the Feb. 24, 1996 shootdown by Cuban MiG fighters of two Cessna aircraft piloted by anti-Castro activists from Miami.
Title Three of the law permits U.S. companies and Cuban emigres whose properties were seized after the 1959 Cuban revolution to file federal lawsuits against any foreign companies that they believe are profiting from seized assets, including sugar mills, farmland, or nickel mines. Title Four of the law empowers the U.S. government to punish executives of foreign companies that are believed to be ''trafficking'' in those properties, by barring the executives and members of their families from entering the United States.
Clinton originally opposed the bill, arguing that it would create tensions with Washington's friends and neighbours and clog up the U.S. federal court system with potential claims. But, worried about his electoral fortunes in Florida and New Jersey where Cuban-Americans enjoy significant political clout, Clinton signed the law last March.
But when Canada and EU allies cried foul, Clinton opted to waive Title III of the law last year. When Clinton announced the second waiver Jan. 3, European nations agreed to urge Castro to adopt political reforms.
CANF president Francisco Hernandez immediately dismissed the Centre's findings, calling the report ''a complete sham'' Thursday. ''Quite obviously, the purpose is to attempt to discredit the community in order to undermine U.S. policy toward Cuba, which is overwhelmingly supported by Cuban Americans.''(end/ips/yjc/jl/96)
Origin: Washington/U.S.-CUBA/ ----
[c] 1996, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) -- All rights reserved
May not be reproduced, reprinted or posted to any system or service outside of the APC networks, without specific permission from IPS. This limitation includes distribution via Usenet News, bulletin board systems, mailing lists, print media and broadcast. For information about cross- posting, send a message to online@ips.org. For information about print or broadcast reproduction please contact the IPS coordinator at online@ips.org.
Date sent: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 16:08:37 EST
CLINTON HAS TO STEP BACK ON HELMS-BURTON
By Kristianna Tho'Mas
On Jan. 3, President Bill Clinton was forced to waive
indefinitely the provision in the Helms-Burton Law that
would allow companies to be sued for using property that had
been expropriated during the Cuban Revolution.
Clinton signed the bill into law last year in the hope of
strangling the Cuban Revolution economically. The particular
provision he had to suspend imposes the law on other
countries.
Mexico, Canada and the U.S.'s imperialist allies in Europe
have been hostile to Helms-Burton, especially those
provisions that infringe on their sovereignty. Canada's
International Trade Minister, Arthur Eggleton, has accused
the U.S. of holding a sword over the heads of other
countries.
The other imperialist powers feel that the Clinton
administration is trying to impose U.S. foreign policy on
the rest of the world.
Following the overturn of socialism in Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union, Cuba's largest trading partner at the
time, Cuba has had to look elsewhere for trade and
investment. With U.S. policy uniformly hostile to Cuba,
Havana has looked to others to fill the gap, including
capitalist rivals of the U.S.
And these countries, while not being friendly to Cuban
socialism, have been open to the prospect of making money
through investment in and trade with Cuba.
U.S. imperialism is isolated on the issue of blockading
Cuba. In the United Nations General Assembly in late 1996,
the vote was 137-3 against the U.S. on the issue of trade
with Cuba.
While Cubans still suffer economic hardships because of
the U.S. blockade, the Cuban economy has not only survived
but has grown since the low point after the USSR collapsed.
The GNP of Cuba has grown by 3 percent in the last year,
and this is in spite of the devastating hurricanes that
swept the island in the last two years.
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint
granted if source is cited. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
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By Kristianna Tho'Mas
From: NY Transfer News Collective nyt@blythe.org
- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Sept. 26, 1996 issue of Workers World newspaper
Members of Pastors for Peace arrived in Cuba Sept. 13 with a shipment of 435 computers in a challenge to the unlawful blockade against the people and the government of Cuba. The computers had all been donated by individuals and groups in the United States.
The struggle to get the computers to Cuba was a long and difficult one.
In January and February the U.S. Treasury Department stopped and confiscated the computers from volunteers as they tried to cross the border into Mexico and Canada. The government claimed that Cuba might use the computers for military purposes.
The Cuban government has from the start said the donated computers were to be used solely for a medical information network in emergency clinics and other priority institutions.
On Feb. 21 Lucius Walker, director of the New York-based Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and three other members of Pastors for Peace started a hunger strike that lasted 95 days. They demanded that the computers be released to be sent to Cuba.
A formula was finally worked out in which the computers were released to other religious organizations.
- END -
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Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.
CONTACT: Joretta Purdue #451
WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- Nearly 400 low-grade computers were transported across the U.S.-Mexican border Sept. 11 on their way to Cuban health clinics and hospitals.
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, acting for a consortium of religious associations, assumed custody of the computers, when they were released in two batches May 24 and June 14 by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Most of the computers had been seized at the border near San Diego Feb. 17. The others were intercepted at the U.S.-Canadian border and were being held in Vermont.
Return of the computers was sought through a 94-day fast led by the Rev. Lucius Walker, a Baptist who heads the International Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) and Pastors for Peace. The fast ended when the computers were released in California May 14.
The Vermont batch, less than 40, were held longer because of a technicality and released June 14. This group was transported over the Canadian border Sept. 7.
Seven months of negotiation led to the return of the donated computers and permission to take them to Cuba, where they will support the United Nations' and Pan American Health Organization's INFOMED network, a medical information network.
In a statement issued Sept. 11, the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett said the board had "never applied for or requested a license from the Treasury Department for the computers." He has explained in the past that these donated, used computers are humanitarian aid and that some of the people involved with the gift have expressed the belief that application for a license would condone an embargo they vehemently oppose.
The Rev. Eliezer Valentin-Castanon, a member of the board staff, accompanied the shipment Sept. 11. He will work closely with the Cuban ecumenical council to monitor the computers' use.
The board holds title to the computers for religious groups that include the American Baptist Church/USA, National Ministries; the Episcopal Church; the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; and the United Methodist Church's Boards of Church and Society and Global Ministries.
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On Friday night, the 94-day "Fast for Life" officially ended when US Customs released nearly 400 used medical computers which they had seized from IFCO / Pastors for Peace volunteers who were attempting to take them to Cuba. The computers were released to the official custody of the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.
"We are thankful to God and the hundreds of thousands of supporters who never gave up the struggle to free the computers," said Rev. Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO / Pastors for Peace, as he ended his fast. "Together, we have made an effort to appeal to the soul and integrity of our nation. Our efforts have not been in vain, but much work remains. The new broad coalition which has grown around the Fast will keep working to send these computers on to Cuba. And as the coalition grows, we will keep working together for a more humane US / Cuba policy."
At midnight on the east coast, while US Customs was handing over the computers, fasters Jim Clifford, Lisa Valanti, and Rev. Lucius Walker broke their 94-day fast during a special service of thanksgiving at the United Methodist Building in Washington, DC. The fasters savored rice broth in the company of religious leaders, congressional aides and members of their support team.
Clergy representing the United Methodist Church arrived at a San Diego Customs storage facility at 9pm (Pacific time) Friday to receive the boxed medical computers, which will be kept in storage in the US, pending completion of the commitment shared by a coalition of national church partners to deliver them to Cuba without requesting a license. The coalition includes six national mainline denominations and the National Council of Churches. The computers are intended to be donated to Cuban churches and health care facilities. Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett, general secretary of the UMC General Board of Church and Society, said, "We are optimistic that this medical aid will soon be exported for humanitarian use in Cuba."
"The release of these computers was made possible by the active support of hundreds of thousands of people of conscience in all parts of the US and the world," said Rev. Walker. He expressed "special gratitude for the committed work of Congressman Charles A. Rangel (D- NY), whose tireless advocacy helped seal this victory." Rangel led a group of more than 70 members of Congress who pressed the Clinton Administration to release the computers.
CONTACT:
By Kristianna Tho'Mas
From: NY Transfer News Collective nyt@blythe.org
- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Sept. 26, 1996 issue of Workers World newspaper
Members of Pastors for Peace arrived in Cuba Sept. 13 with a shipment of 435 computers in a challenge to the unlawful blockade against the people and the government of Cuba. The computers had all been donated by individuals and groups in the United States.
The struggle to get the computers to Cuba was a long and difficult one.
In January and February the U.S. Treasury Department stopped and confiscated the computers from volunteers as they tried to cross the border into Mexico and Canada. The government claimed that Cuba might use the computers for military purposes.
The Cuban government has from the start said the donated computers were to be used solely for a medical information network in emergency clinics and other priority institutions.
On Feb. 21 Lucius Walker, director of the New York-based Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and three other members of Pastors for Peace started a hunger strike that lasted 95 days. They demanded that the computers be released to be sent to Cuba.
A formula was finally worked out in which the computers were released to other religious organizations.
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@wwpublish.com. For subscription info send message to: ww-info@wwpublish.com. Web: http://www.workers.org)
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.
CONTACT: Joretta Purdue #451
WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- Nearly 400 low-grade computers were transported across the U.S.-Mexican border Sept. 11 on their way to Cuban health clinics and hospitals.
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, acting for a consortium of religious associations, assumed custody of the computers, when they were released in two batches May 24 and June 14 by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Most of the computers had been seized at the border near San Diego Feb. 17. The others were intercepted at the U.S.-Canadian border and were being held in Vermont.
Return of the computers was sought through a 94-day fast led by the Rev. Lucius Walker, a Baptist who heads the International Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) and Pastors for Peace. The fast ended when the computers were released in California May 14.
The Vermont batch, less than 40, were held longer because of a technicality and released June 14. This group was transported over the Canadian border Sept. 7.
Seven months of negotiation led to the return of the donated computers and permission to take them to Cuba, where they will support the United Nations' and Pan American Health Organization's INFOMED network, a medical information network.
In a statement issued Sept. 11, the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett said the board had "never applied for or requested a license from the Treasury Department for the computers." He has explained in the past that these donated, used computers are humanitarian aid and that some of the people involved with the gift have expressed the belief that application for a license would condone an embargo they vehemently oppose.
The Rev. Eliezer Valentin-Castanon, a member of the board staff, accompanied the shipment Sept. 11. He will work closely with the Cuban ecumenical council to monitor the computers' use.
The board holds title to the computers for religious groups that include the American Baptist Church/USA, National Ministries; the Episcopal Church; the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; and the United Methodist Church's Boards of Church and Society and Global Ministries.
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