Members of Congress urge President Bush to heed the requests of Cuban dissidents for greater exchange between the United States and Cuba.
In a letter to President Bush, Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) call for the President to heed the requests of noted Cuban dissidents, Martha Beatriz Roque and Oscar Espinosa Chepe, to allow for travel between the U.S. and Cuba and for the sending of remittances to the island.
During a May 6 videoconference with President Bush, Ms. Roque, leader of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society, asked the President to remove these restrictions. In an article appearing in the Spanish newspaper ABC , Mr. Espinosa Chepe, a respected economist and former political prisoner also called for a change in U.S. policy.
The Members of Congress note “The dissidents are asking us to ease restrictions on Cuban American travel and remittances both for humanitarian reasons and to give Cuban citizens greater independence. We believe, and agree, that the type of policies they recommend give us a greater chance of encouraging positive change in Cuba."
