12 ways the U.S. could really help Cuba

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Within two hours of President George Bush’s tirade against Cuba on Oct. 24, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque delivered Cuba’s response to reporters in Havana.

He had advice as to what “the U.S. president should propose as aid,” instead of Bush's unrealistic proposals. Perez Roque said, “I want finally to point out what we really believe President Bush ought to propose as an agenda for Cuba. I describe them now.”

Here’s the list:

1. Respect for Cubans’ right to their independence and sovereignty.

2. An immediate end to the policy of aggression and threats.

3. An end to intervention in Cuba’s internal affairs and attempts to manufacture an internal opposition.

4. An end to subversive acts against Cuba and the dismantling of the radio and television that offend the name of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí.

5. The immediate lifting of the blockade.

6. The elimination of the ban on travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens and family visits by Cubans living there.

7. An end to the stimulation of illegal emigration from Cuba. The repeal of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the fulfillment of the Migratory Agreements.

8. An end to the aggressive disinformation campaigns against Cuba.

9. The release of the five anti-terrorist fighters, “the Cuban Five,” who are political prisoners in U.S. jails.

10. The extradition of the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela for trial there or his trial in the United States.

11. The immediate closure of the torture center Bush created on the Guantánamo Naval Base.

12. The cessation of Bush’s pressure on the international community to support his anti-Cuba policy.

atwhit @megalink.net