UNITED NATIONS - For the 18th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly condemned the US economic embargo against Cuba. The 187 countries voting in favor were friends and foes, democracies and dictatorships.
But this was the first vote since President Obama took office, and everyone listened for hints of change. While the administration has taken steps to improve relations with Cuba, it renewed the embargo just last month.
The speech by Susan Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, was more conciliatory than in previous years. But there was no hint the embargo would be lifted unless Cuba allowed "political and economic freedoms."
When the embargo first came to the floor of the General Assembly, many European nations abstained. But then came the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which imposed fines and other sanctions on foreign firms dealing with Cuba. In the ensuing years, the UN vote turned heavily against Washington, not only in Europe but in all of Latin America.
This year it was 187 to 3 votes with two abstentions. The United States, Israel and the Pacific island of Palau voted "no" while the Marshall Islands and Micronesia (also Pacific isles) abstained. The resolution is not binding but expresses the will of the international community. Cuba has been under a US trade and travel embargo since 1962, three years after Fidel Castro took power.
New York Philharmonic banned?
Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said the embargo had prevented his country from obtaining needed drugs for adults and children, including those combating HIV/AIDS as well as equipment to detect cancer. The US government, he said, recently stopped the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from performing in Cuba. "The blockade is an uncultured act of arrogance," Rodriguez said. "How can artistic creation be considered a crime?"
"President Obama has a historical opportunity to lead a change of policy towards Cuba," the minister said, and at minimum could grant waivers to ease the embargo. While Cuba purchases agricultural products from the United States, he said it has to pay cash in advance and could not transport the cargo in its own vessels.
In response, Ambassador Rice said, "Here we go again. I suppose old habits die hard."
"The hostile language we have just heard from the Foreign Minister of Cuba seems straight out of the Cold War era and is not conducive to constructive progress. We will not respond in kind to painfully familiar rhetoric that we have heard in years past -- rather, I am prepared to acknowledge that there is a new chapter to this old story," Rice said.
She noted that the Obama administration had promoted family visits and remittances and had expanded the amounts of humanitarian items Americans could donate. It also resumed talks on migration, moved to establish direct mail service and enhanced the ability of US telecommunications and agricultural firms to pursue agreements.
"These are important steps and can be the starting point for further changes in the relationship," Rice said.
The isolation of the United States on Cuba follows a series of US initiatives in the United Nations, with engagement on disarmament issues, such as a proposed arms trade treaty, and human rights bodies. Gone is the embarrassing US stand on women's issues whenever family planning in poor nations arises.
But on Cuba, the lobby remains strong, even though polls show a split in the Cuban-American community.
Elena Freyre, executive director of the moderate Cuban American Defense League in Miami, told CNN after the vote:
"The definition of insanity is to do something over and over again and expect a different result. We are not going to get a different result. It's not working."
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Of course, the embargo has been the #1 reason for the continued presence of the Casto brothers at the helm of that totalitarian state. And, of course, if the embargo were ever lifted, Fidel would find some other excuse for preventing greater contact with Americans as it will be the downfall of his communist regime. Without America to blame, his house of cards would fall instantly.
Note that there are only two countries out of about 200 countries in the world that support the embargo: the United States and Israel. The embargo doesn't prevent Cuba from trading with practically every country in the world so absense of trade with the U.S. is NOT the reason the Cuban economy doesn't work (although that's the excuse Castro uses for ANY failings of the Cuban economy). The reason is, of course, communism and centralized planning.
i'd also like her to explain how we can deal with china - and HOW much of our debt do they own - but not cuba?
The "Trading With The Enemy" Act (its formal title is the "Export Administration Act") licenses issued by the US Treasury Department (for travel expenses in Cuba and purchase of goods outside the USA for Cuba) and the US Commerce Department (for sending US made products from the US or anywhere else To Cuba) are an embarrassment to all those who have to apply for them and most likely to those US officials who have to license these activities as opposed to being used to stop transfers of high technology items to actual enemies of the United States.
The UN vote sends a powerful message to those in Cuba that US policy hasn't changed and that Obama is hostage to people like N.J. Democratic Senator Robt. Menendez, the #2 Democrat in the US Senate and a Cuban-American hardliner, on any change for the better in our relationship. The USA's UN Amb. Susan Rice knows better and should have left the dirty work of defending the same old, same old to her subordinates.
Everything should be on the table in negotiations with Cuba. We can provide Cuba US$20 billions over 3 years in investments. We can help them become independent of Venezuela for oil. We can help them with one million in annual tourism.
Menendez is far from a hardliner. He has successfully pushed for elimination of Bush era family remittances and visits restriction. Castro is a genius especially in negotiations. Change is coming but lets continue to take baby steps. We should encourage Cuba to allow small family own businesses.
The report also said that the message from President Obama was delivered promptly to Cuba by the Foreign Minister of Spain.
While I do not support the embargo on Cuba, I believe that a more balanced article would have provided some insights about the more indrect ways that the Obama Administration is trying to reach out directly to Cuba.
In addition, anyone who pays close attention to politics in this country would expect that some small signals need to be coming from the Cuban side in order to encourage additional steps to what has already been done in these 9 months
As a US citizen, I am underwhelmed by my country's continuance of the embargo. It has not worked in the past, is not working now, and won't work in the future. If the Senator from New Jersey is the problem, he needs to wind up on the same trash heap as HoJo.
As you know many US citizens travel to Cuba via other countries and the government generally does not prosecute them. As the law is not longer being enforced, why does it exist? It has become a silly pretense to assuage a few Bautista relics who continue to focus on the past.
If you study history prior during the time of Bautista, you will understand why the Cubans were happy to support Castro.
What shocked everyone was that mass executions of 1000s and jailing of 100,000 without due process. If that was not enough he destroyed the special economic relationship Cuba had with the US. this relationship resulting in Cubans having more cars, tvs, refrigeratiors per capita than any European country except UK and Sweden.
Today the vast majority of Cubans under the age of 40 want change.
Access to our culture gave them access to our ideals. A weapon unused in Cuba.
Castro LOVES the embargo; without it, his regime falls in 6-12 months.
And, as you say, it is our culture that will do it faster than anything.
I am virulently anti-communist and I recognize the embargo for what it is: an encouragement and enabling of the communist system in Cuba and the continued enslavement of 11 million people.
The same exact thing can be said about this condemnation vote they keep having.
obama something to agree upon.
between the ussr, china, korea, vietnam, cuba, central and south america, all of the communists have murdered around 100 million people to institute their failed agenda. thats roughly 5 times the number that hitler killed and a very conservative estimate.
the usa has had issues in the past, but even with that this nation has the best record for defending the innocent and protecting liberty all over the world.
we have sent our sons, husbands, and fathers all over this globe trying to push democracy to anyone willing to let us in, and we have never entered a country that didnt either attack us first, present a credible threat, or was oppressing people. your comparison lacks reason and fact.
Cheers!
If you were to ask ten people on the street exactly why we have had this embargo in place for 45 years, not a single one would be able to tell you in succinct terms why... Was it because - god forbid - they have a different political system than us? Did they threaten us? Do they still threaten us? The point here is that we need to start demanding the official reason why our government does what it does abroad....
As far as I can tell there are three very powerful forces that will seek to keep the embargo in place:
1. The sugar, tobacco, and tourist lobbies.
2. The desire to maintain a "showcase" of the crappiness of communism (even if we are helping with that.)
3. The Cuban vote.
Cheers!
the showcase is lit and on display to anyone willing to look. the larger the government the smaller your life!
well... it shows that the UN isn't influenced by money, and that the US isn't the centre of the world.
Cuba is the Archilles Heel of the LatAm left. The LatAm Left's ultimate goal is Mexico in 2012. Cubans are well educated and peaceful. We must do all we can for there to be a peaceful transfer of power when the Castro brothers go. But baby steps. Castro has an IQ in the 160s and has out brainstormed us for 50 years. He is the Road Runner to our Wiley Coyote.
Also Cuba appears to have up to 20 billion barrel of offshore Oil. Houston, the high tech energy center of the world, is nearby. We can help Cubans enter the 21st century in so many ways.
Cuba should not be allowed to buy any Televisions, no toys, no computer monitors, no consumer electronics, none of the cheap WallMart stuff tht makes America great. In another 45 years cheap WallMart stuff will take over all of America's economy. When that day comes and WallMart not being allowed to export anything from America to Cuba, the world will see the full economic might of America and will be astonished
"The hostile language we have just heard from the Foreign Minister of Cuba seems straight out of the Cold War era..." That's because Washington is continuing a Cuba policy stuck in that time. When the US does the same thing and expects a different result, that's the definition of insanity.