Cuban émigrés call for more involvement in the country

Posted on Wednesday, 05.02.12

Cuban émigrés call for more involvement in the country

Cuban government-sponsored meeting of émigrés in Washington heard
requests for them to be more involved in Cuba.
By Juan O. Tamayo
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

A weekend meeting of Cuban diplomats and émigrés in Washington heard
calls for the Raúl Castro government to allow the émigrés to return,
invest and buy property in the island just like any resident,
participants said Tuesday.

The by-invitation-only gathering of about 115 Cubans living in the
United States issued a final declaration that hewed closely to the
topics mentioned in the invitations issued two months ago by the Cuban
diplomatic mission in Washington.

It demanded the end of the U.S. embargo and all other sanctions, the
release of five Cuban spies convicted in South Florida in 1998, the
island's removal from the U.S. list of countries that support
international terrorism and an end to Washington's financial support for
pro-democracy programs in Cuba.

Among other items, it also urged the U.S. government to extradite Cuban
exile Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela to face terrorism charges and
eliminate the Cuban Adjustment Act because it spurs illegal migration to
the United States.

But some participants said that during the closed-door meeting several
émigrés urged Havana authorities to give Cubans living abroad the same
rights as Cubans living on the island. They said they prefer "émigré"
over "exiles" to avoid any political connotation.

Most Cubans living abroad now need Cuban government permits to return to
the island and are not being allowed in most cases to buy properties or
invest in businesses under their own names. The U.S. embargo also limits
Cubans living in the United States.

Cuban officials told participants at the conference Saturday that the
government is "on the irreversible path to normalize relations with the
émigrés," said Hugo Cancio, a participant and Miami music promoter who
owns Fuego Entertainment.

Cancio added that if the Cuban government does offer more equal
treatment, the U.S. émigrés are likely to become more active in opposing
U.S. sanctions on the island.

Castro and other island government officials have spoken several times
about the need to improve relations with Cubans living abroad and to
change the laws and regulations that control emigration as well as the
rights of émigrés.

But several days when the official announcement of the reforms was
expected have come and gone without a word. Unconfirmed reports now
making the rounds of Havana say the changes may be unveiled at the
mid-summer meeting of the legislative National Assembly of Peoples Power.

Sympathizers say Castro wants to correct past wrongs and promote
reconciliation with Cubans abroad, while opponents complain that he only
wants their money because of Cuba's dire economic straits.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/02/2778186/cuban-emigres-call-for-more-involvement.html