WASHINGTON, May 21 CDA-policy-on-Cuba
WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sarah Stephens, director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, released the following statement in response to today's speech by President Bush on Cuba:
"At a time when we're seeing real reforms in Cuba, from decentralizing agriculture to allowing Cubans new personal liberties, President Bush is wrong to dismiss these changes as a 'cruel joke' and he's wrong to position the United States against the process of change.
"The president can do a lot more than sending cell phones to Cuba, he can send Americans to Cuba by wiping out restrictions on family travel, and more broadly support change through engagement and by encouraging the Cuban people to determine their future for themselves."
The Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) has hosted three trips to Cuba in 2008 to interview Cubans and to assess the reform process taking place there. CDA is devoted to changing U.S. policy toward the countries of the Americas by basing our relations on mutual respect, recognizing positive models of governance in the region, and fostering dialogue particularly with those governments and movements with which U.S. policy is at odds. CDA's website is www.democracyinamericas.org.
SOURCE Center for Democracy in the Americas
