Open letter to Obama calls for new steps to promote change in Cuba

Open letter to Obama calls for new steps to promote change in Cuba
BY DAVID ADAMS
MIAMI Mon May 19, 2014 12:59pm EDT

(Reuters) - The White House should expand licensed travel for all
Americans to Cuba and increase support for civil society on the
communist-ruled island, according to an open letter to President Barack
Obama signed by an unprecedented group of 44 policy reform advocates and
former U.S. officials.

The letter released on Monday was signed by John Negroponte, the
Director of National Intelligence under President George W. Bush,
retired Admiral James Stavridis, who stepped down last year as Supreme
Allied Commander of NATO, and several former senior State Department
officials and prominent Cuban Americans.

It's the latest sign of increased pressure on the Obama administration
to soften the U.S. Cold War-era policy on Cuba and follows a February
poll that found a strong majority of Americans favor loosening the
five-decades-old punitive policy of Cuba sanctions.

While stopping short of calling for legislation to end the economic
embargo, it lists measures that are within the executive authority of
the president and do not require congressional approval.

The recommendations seek to take advantage of a "window of opportunity"
created by reforms underway in Cuba to reduce state control in some
economic areas and allow the creation of small, privately run businesses.

Reducing U.S. restrictions on travel and financial activity in Cuba
would help "by giving greater freedom to private organizations and
individuals to directly and indirectly serve as catalysts for meaningful
change in Cuba," the letter said.

Supporters of maintaining tough sanctions against Cuba were quick to
reject the proposals.

"History has proven that Castro only eases economic measures when he's
forced to, not as a 'good-will' measure," said Mauricio Claver-Carone,
director of the influential U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC.

By seeking to use executive authority the recommendations involved
"circumventing the rule of law," since the embargo was passed by
Congress, he added.

Signatories say the recommendations were vetted by a New York law firm,
Shearman & Sterling, which advises major corporations and governments.

Among the recommendations is the expansion of travel licenses to include
exchanges by professional organizations, including law, real estate,
financial services, hospitality and any area defined as supporting
independent economic activity.

It also recommends anyone should be allowed to offer services and send
money and goods to Cuba such as telecommunications hardware, cell
towers, and satellite dishes.

Additionally, the letter urges the White House to hold "serious
discussions with Cuban counterparts" on issues such as national
security, migration, drugs and the environment.

Any talks with Cuba, the letter said, should be used as "leverage" to
help secure the release of jailed U.S. government contractor Alan Gross,
who is serving a 15-year jail sentence in Cuba for trying to set up
illegal internet connections in Cuba.

"The letter is a very rational, common-sense request," said Joe Garcia,
a Cuban American congressman from Miami. "The president's policy of
allowing more travel and remittances to Cuba has produced more change in
Cuba in the last five years than the previous 50 years."

(Reporting By David Adams; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sofina Mirza-Reid)

Source: Open letter to Obama calls for new steps to promote change in
Cuba | Reuters -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/19/us-usa-cuba-policy-idUSBREA4I0AU20140519