Cuba defends line in Wilma dispute
Regime rejects U.S. claims over relief visit
By Vanessa Arrington
The Associated Press
November 4, 2005
HAVANA · Cuba on Thursday rejected Washington's claim that it wanted to politicize a visit -- now on hold -- by three U.S. relief specialists to tour areas of the island damaged by Hurricane Wilma.
In statement defending its position in the dispute, Cuba's communist government said it made clear from the start that it accepted the visit as a way to discuss sharing information about hurricane preparedness and improving disaster assistance among countries in the region -- not as a way to get U.S. aid.
"Cuba rejects the accusation of having changed the purpose of the visit ... as well as the insinuation that our acceptance of the visit means we are seeking to gain political advantage and open a channel for the discussion of bilateral problems between the two countries," said a Foreign Ministry statement published by state-run newspapers.
The State Department said Wednesday it had put its plan to send the specialists on hold because Cuba wanted to turn the visit into a discussion of unrelated issues.
Wilma never hit Cuba directly, but gigantic waves created when the storm passed through the Florida Straits caused massive flooding in Havana on Oct. 24, crushing chunks of the city's famed Malecon seawall and filling homes with waist-deep water. Heavy rain drenched the island's western tip, and tornadoes spun off the hurricane's outer bands caused additional damage.
Cuba's acceptance of the team was seen as a rare show of cooperation between the two neighbors, which have been at odds during President Fidel Castro's 46 years in power.
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Wednesday that Cuba sent the U.S. government a proposed two-point agenda for the trip on Monday: an exchange of views on how the United States, Mexico, Cuba and other countries in the region can help each other during disasters, and a visit to areas affected by Wilma in Havana and the western state of Pinar del Rio.
The Bush administration never offered direct economic aid to the Cuban government, but said assistance would be offered to the Cuban people via independent non-governmental groups based on the U.S. team's recommendations.
Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-acuba04nov04,0,2677920.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba
Regime rejects U.S. claims over relief visit
By Vanessa Arrington
The Associated Press
November 4, 2005
HAVANA · Cuba on Thursday rejected Washington's claim that it wanted to politicize a visit -- now on hold -- by three U.S. relief specialists to tour areas of the island damaged by Hurricane Wilma.
In statement defending its position in the dispute, Cuba's communist government said it made clear from the start that it accepted the visit as a way to discuss sharing information about hurricane preparedness and improving disaster assistance among countries in the region -- not as a way to get U.S. aid.
"Cuba rejects the accusation of having changed the purpose of the visit ... as well as the insinuation that our acceptance of the visit means we are seeking to gain political advantage and open a channel for the discussion of bilateral problems between the two countries," said a Foreign Ministry statement published by state-run newspapers.
The State Department said Wednesday it had put its plan to send the specialists on hold because Cuba wanted to turn the visit into a discussion of unrelated issues.
Wilma never hit Cuba directly, but gigantic waves created when the storm passed through the Florida Straits caused massive flooding in Havana on Oct. 24, crushing chunks of the city's famed Malecon seawall and filling homes with waist-deep water. Heavy rain drenched the island's western tip, and tornadoes spun off the hurricane's outer bands caused additional damage.
Cuba's acceptance of the team was seen as a rare show of cooperation between the two neighbors, which have been at odds during President Fidel Castro's 46 years in power.
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Wednesday that Cuba sent the U.S. government a proposed two-point agenda for the trip on Monday: an exchange of views on how the United States, Mexico, Cuba and other countries in the region can help each other during disasters, and a visit to areas affected by Wilma in Havana and the western state of Pinar del Rio.
The Bush administration never offered direct economic aid to the Cuban government, but said assistance would be offered to the Cuban people via independent non-governmental groups based on the U.S. team's recommendations.
Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-acuba04nov04,0,2677920.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba
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