El Nuevo Herald By Agence France PresseA CubaNews translation. HAVANACuban opposition judged that the visit made from the US to Cuba by seven Congresspersons who explored on site the existing possibilities for a dialogue between the two countries was a positive step. They also considered that a normalization of relations will deprive the government of some of its arguments. ''Anything that amounts to a contact seems positive to me. If relations are back to normal, the big alibi that totalitarism has had in Cuba to justify repression and the national disaster situation will be removed,” said opposition economist Oscar Espinosa. For moderate dissident Manuel Cuesta, the trip made by the group of Congresspeople “was very positive” because it marked “the beginning of the thaw in the area of bad relations” between Washington and Havana. ''It is in line with the position that we have always upheld with respect to promoting dialogue” and “it weakens the logic of being under siege that the Cuban government has always manipulated with respect to the U.S. and the internal do-nothing policy,” he points out. Miriam Leyva, from the group Ladies in White, composed of the wives of political prisoners, underlined that “it is important to eliminate tensions that have only served as an excuse for the Cuban government to apply repression and justify problems.” During its five-day stay on the island, US legislators attended meetings with 77-year-old Cuban President, Raul Castro, and his brother, Fidel Castro (82), removed from power by a health crisis since 2006. In an article that he wrote last Monday about the visit by the Afro-American Representatives, Fidel Castro affirmed that Cuba ''does not fear'' a dialogue with the US nor does it need “confrontation in order to subsist, as some silly people think.” Opponents, considered mercenaries at Washington’s service by the Cuban government, said that even if there is a dialogue, the normalization of links still remains a far-away possibility. ''The dialogue already began, because they were received at the highest level,” but “we must wait for Obama to dictate his policy for Cuba,” said Marta Beatriz Roque, while Vladimiro Roca underlined that “it is fairly difficult to dialogue with a counterpart that lacks the will to respect someone else’s criteria.” |
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