[Marxism] FW from Walter Lippman: Travel rights for Cuban-Americans "first step on a long road"

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andres Gomez's commentary is a good corrective to the negativity which some
people have been putting out
in the aftermath of last week's great news about ending most 
of the travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans. The struggle
is by no means over, as Andres points out, and the right of
all in the United States to travel for any reason at any 
time, remains to be won.

Really, some people just don't seem to be able to take YES
for an answer.

While it's reasonable to discuss the pros and cons of why
the US president signed the bill with these important new
provisions, it should be done in the framework of knowing
that a long journey begins with a single step and this is 
a very positive first step.

Next in line: lifting the limits on remittances.


Walter Lippmann
Mexico City, Mexico
================================================

From: Susana Hurlich
To: CubaNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: walaterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 9:09 AM
Subject: CUBANOW: The First Step of a Long Road


The First Step of a Long Road
The end of travel restrictions to Cuba of 2004

By Andrés Gómez
Translated for CubaNow by Susana Hurlich

Miami.- At last, after a hard battle of nearly five years, the brutal travel
restrictions to Cuba imposed on Cubans living in the United States by the
Bush Administration and its court minions in 2004, stopped having effect
last Wednesday, March 11th.

Although during the presidential campaign Barack Obama promised that once in
the presidency he would make an end of those travel restrictions, it wasn't
through a presidential order that he did away with them, as they say in good
Cuban style.

But what had responsibility for the change was the amendment presented by
New York Democratic Congressman, José Serrano - for many years the main
factor in Congress in the struggle to reassess U.S. policy towards Cuba - an
amendment that is part of the supplementary law of the current year's budget
recently approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president.

Serrano's amendment establishes unequivocally that none of the funds
available in that budgetary law can be used to "administer, implement or
enforce" travel restrictions to Cuba imposed on Cubans living in the United
States in 2004.

Avoiding a situation of great confusion and in order to guarantee the
continuation of family trips by Cubans to the Island, OFAC (Office of
Foreign Assets Control), the Treasury Department agency entrusted with the
administration of these matters, made public a directive in which was
announced the restoration of travel restrictions valid before those imposed
by the Republican administration in 2004.

With regard to U.S. laws, from last Wednesday on any Cuban legally resident
in the United States can travel to Cuba once a year with a general license,
without restriction as to the time that s/he may remain in Cuba.

A general license implies that one doesn't have to ask the Treasury
Department for a written license or use a license of any other kind to be
able to travel to Cuba. The new OFAC directive clarifies that trips made to
Cuba - with Treasury Department licenses or with supposedly religious
licenses -, since June 2004 up to now, do not count when calculating the
last time that one travelled to Cuba. In other words, from now on there is a
fresh start.

Henceforth, if one needs to travel to Cuba for family reasons more than once
a year, then a written license from the Treasury Department would be
required, as it was before the 2004 travel restrictions.

It also eliminates the annoying definition of who is and who isn't family of
one of the travel restrictions of 2004. Now it becomes a broad definition of
who constitutes the family in Cuba that supports the legality of that trip.
This includes relatives by blood, by marriage or by adoption up to the third
generation.

It will also allow each passenger to spend during their trip in Cuba up to
$179 per day instead of the $50 per day for the 14 day stay in Cuba
permitted by the restrictions of Bush and his court henchmen. Indeed, the
court minions should be very distressed.

Clearly this new OFAC directive responds to the will of the new president to
break down the cruel restrictions of 2004 on family travel and although he
has not yet officially and directly pronounced on them, this is a necessary
and good start.

One has to be very clear that this step is only a good start. We have to
stand firm to demand our full rights. We cannot allow that there exists any
restriction on our constitutional and human right to travel to Cuba,
whenever we want and for whatever reason, just like any other person, a
legal resident in the United States, who travels to their country of origin.

Moreover, as regards the question of travel to Cuba, we have to also stand
firm in our demand that everyone in the United States can travel to Cuba
whenever they want and for whatever reason, as is their constitutional
right. Cuba is the only country to which it is prohibited for all citizens
and legal residents of the United States to travel. That is impermissible.

And all this can be achieved just as successfully as the end of the travel
restrictions imposed in 2004 by the enemies of our families, our family here
and our family in Cuba: organizing and mobilizing ourselves; making known
how we think about these matters and participating in many ways in
activities against the travel restrictions to Cuba.

This victory, although very welcome and happy, is just the first step of a
long and arduous journey.

*The author is a Cuban journalist resident in Miami and director of
Areítodigital
*Translated by Susana Hurlich 



=========================================
     WALTER LIPPMANN
     Havana, Cuba
     Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
     "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================



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