Duncan Campbell
Friday March 2, 2007
The Guardian
The Hilton group yesterday reversed its ban on Cuban delegations staying
at its hotels in Europe, and called on Britain and the US to resolve the
contentious issue, which arises from the American embargo on the
Caribbean island.
The action came after unions and parliamentary groups in Europe
announced plans to boycott the organisation after a Cuban trade
delegation was banned from a Hilton hotel in Oslo and excluded from the
group's hotels throughout Europe.
Article continues
In a letter sent to the British prime minister and foreign secretary,
and the US state department, the Hilton Hotel Corporation said: "As a
US-based company, we face a legal dilemma, with a strict ban on trading
with Cuba imposed by the US government, and contradictory legislation in
the UK making it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of nationality."
Linda Bain, a spokeswoman for the Hilton group, said US sanctions,
administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, prohibited
American companies and their subsidiaries from engaging in any
transaction with Cuba.
However, UK law forbade discrimination on the grounds of nationality,
and the group could not ask their employees to disobey it.
The Hilton group has now called for a "US-UK bilateral agreement to
reform and ease the trade sanctions within the tourism industry ... so
that this contradiction between our laws is annulled".
MPs who had challenged the ban welcomed the decision. Colin Burgon, the
Labour MP for Elmet, Leeds, said: "It is a real breakthrough for those
who want to see fair play for Cuba."
No comments:
Post a Comment