Friday, April 17, 2015

Broad Recognition That Cuba Should Never Have Been Listed As a State Sponsor of Terrorism
International public opinion supports removal of Cuba from U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. The decision is recognized as an important step in advancing President Obama’s policy change to improve relations between the two countries.

Granma International news | informacion@granma.cu
April 16, 2015 10:04:40

The news that U.S. President Barack Obama decided yesterday, April 15, to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of international terrorism, and notify Congress of the change, generated broad interest internationally.

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales commented that Cuba has never been a terrorist country, but rather one which has shown solidarity with all the world’s nations, and should never have been included on any U.S. list of any kind.

Morales insisted that the U.S. “made a mistake” including Cuba on the list created unilaterally by the State Department, a policy he described as “arrogant.”

According to PL, during a press conference, the Bolivian President commented, “When is the fundamental problem between the U.S. and Cuba going to be resolved? When Washington resolves fundamental problems, lifts the blockade and returns Guantánamo to Cuba.”

The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that government spokesperson Hong Lei emphasized that China has always called for an end to all unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Cuba. In the United States, the New York Times hailed the move as a step in the right direction since it removes a major obstacle to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations.

The Washington Post reported that the removal of Cuba from the list would imply an end to a number of sanctions, including prohibitions on trade and other financial restrictions, although many of these will remain in place as a result of blockade regulations approved by Congress.

No comments: