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Cuba dissidents back Obama pledge | Cuba dissidents back Obama pledge |
(2 days later) | |
A group of Cuban dissidents has backed a call by the US presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, for direct talks with the new Cuban President, Raul Castro. | A group of Cuban dissidents has backed a call by the US presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, for direct talks with the new Cuban President, Raul Castro. |
The organisation, Women in White, is made up of female relatives of Cuban political prisoners. | The organisation, Women in White, is made up of female relatives of Cuban political prisoners. |
In an open letter to Mr Obama they wrote of their hope that his policies may help free their husbands and sons. | In an open letter to Mr Obama they wrote of their hope that his policies may help free their husbands and sons. |
Mr Obama told Cuban exiles in Miami on Friday that America needed to talk to its enemies as well as its friends. | Mr Obama told Cuban exiles in Miami on Friday that America needed to talk to its enemies as well as its friends. |
Mr Obama also said that - if elected in November - he would lift President George Bush's restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba but maintain the US trade embargo. | Mr Obama also said that - if elected in November - he would lift President George Bush's restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba but maintain the US trade embargo. |
Applauded | Applauded |
The position of both Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican hopeful John McCain is that any change in policy would only benefit Cuba's communist leaders. | The position of both Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican hopeful John McCain is that any change in policy would only benefit Cuba's communist leaders. |
The founder of Women in White, Miriam Leiva, and her recently freed dissident husband, Oscar Chepe, also wrote an open letter to Mr Obama. | |
They applauded his offer to allow Cuban Americans to freely visit relatives here. | They applauded his offer to allow Cuban Americans to freely visit relatives here. |
They also wrote that a more creative policy could help the transition towards democracy and that the current confrontation is used by the authorities in Havana to justify their repression. | They also wrote that a more creative policy could help the transition towards democracy and that the current confrontation is used by the authorities in Havana to justify their repression. |
The Cuban government denies that there are any political prisoners on the island, calling them all mercenaries in the pay of the United States. | The Cuban government denies that there are any political prisoners on the island, calling them all mercenaries in the pay of the United States. |
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