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Travel Ban Under Fire in Congress
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Progressive Portal
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Feb 15, 2002 09:19 PST
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News issued by: National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Cuba Subcommittee
606 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1706, Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414) 273-1040 ext. 12; ahei-@igc.org
Check out our website: http://www.nlg.org/cuba
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Senate moves towards Repeal of Travel Ban?
Please see the news item below on the U.S. Senate Hearings aimed at
repealing the travel ban. You should soon be able to see the excellent
testimony from the Center for Constitutional Rights from their website
and we hope that will soon be linked from the NLG/Cuba Web page as well.
See:
http://www.ccr-ny.org
We also urge you to use the ACLU's "send a free fax" offer to contact
your Senators to support the Bridges to the Cuban People Act, and
freedom to travel. It is very easy and fast. When you go to this site,
there is some information and a suggested message about our right to
travel. You can change it according to what YOU want to say. It is then
faxed for free to your senators and your representative. Click on:
http://www.aclu.org/action/cuba107.html
CUBA TRAVEL BAN UNDER FIRE IN U.S. CONGRESS
By Anthony Boodle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Marilyn Meister, a 75-year-old retired teacher
from Wisconsin, complained Monday the U.S. government is fining her
$7,500 for going on a cycling holiday in Cuba. Cevin Allen, of Seattle,
told a Senate hearing he was fined $700 for visiting Cuba for one day to
bury the ashes of his parents by the church they built as missionaries.
Their voices added to a growing clamor in the United States, from
farmers and industrialists to rights and church groups, calling for the
lifting of restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba, part of
40-year-old trade embargo against the island's communist government.
The Bush administration has stepped up enforcement of the ban on
Americans spending dollars in Cuba, despite growing pressure to end the
embargo, which has already been eased to allow some food and medicine
sales to Cuba.
U.S. officials told a Senate appropriations panel that the restrictions
were aimed at stopping hard currency from flowing into Cuban President
Fidel Castro's government. They argued tourist dollars would help prop
up a regime that continues to harass and imprison opponents, and the
embargo would only be lifted once a transition to democracy occurs. But
Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, said the ban was interfering
with the rights of Americans rather than punishing Castro.
The senator, who has visited Cuba to promote agricultural exports, plans
to propose legislation this spring to end the travel restrictions.
"Castro has been in office during the terms of 10 U.S. presidents. That
might persuade someone that this is not working," Dorgan said.
He suggested the $1 million spent by the Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Assets Control to enforce the embargo would be better used to
counter terrorist activities. Critics of the embargo say the best way to
induce political change in Cuba is to open up trade and travel to flood
the island with dollars and new ideas.
AMERICANS IGNORE BAN
Despite the fines, Americans are increasingly ignoring the travel ban.
According to OFAC, more than 150,000 U.S. citizens visited Cuba last
year, and only two thirds were licensed under provisions for cultural
exchanges and limited commercial activities.
Travel to other communist states, such as China, Vietnam and North
Korea, is permitted.
The travel ban is staunchly defended by the Cuban exile community in the
United States, which exerts considerable political influence in Florida.
"Such travel strengthens the regime and legitimizes the violation of
rights of the 11 million citizens of Cuba," said Dennis Hays, executive
vice president of the Cuban American National Foundation.
Hays told senators the hard currency revenue generated by the tourism
industry went to the Cuban government or fueled prostitution on the
island.
14:35 02-11-02
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