CUBA: White House Press Corps Piles on State Dept. at Briefing

[magbana]

Cuba: press piles on State Department at briefing

The State Department was grilled on its Cuba policy by the press corp at Friday's daily briefing, according to the just-released transcript.

AFP reporter Sylvie Lanteaume wanted a reaction to the possibility that Cuban leader Raul Castro may ease travel restrictions for Cubans. Was the administration prepared if "a huge amount of travelers'' came to the United States, she asked. This possibility follows announcements Cubans will be allowed to, among other things, buy cell phones or stay at tourist hotels.
Mccormack_070723_ms McCormack referred the preparations to the Department of Homeland Security. He called Raul Castro's reforms "cosmetic changes."
"It still remains a fact,'' he said, "the Cuban people can't think at work for themselves or can't think at home."
"So it's got to be all or nothing?" a reporter asked. "They have to get rid of everything?"
"Don't you get points for incremental changes?" wondered a correspondent.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing you don't get points for is transitioning power from one dictator to another,'' McCormack responded, "without the Cuban people having any say whatsoever in whether or not they want that person to head their government, or even what kind of government they're going to have."
He said "a handful of people" were deciding Cuba's future and people could not express their views freely, a situation that "qualitatively has not changed from, you know, today to 10 years ago to 20 years ago."
"So are you talking about Cuba or China?" a reporter asked.
"Or Saudi Arabia?" volunteered another, amid laughter.
"Okay,'' said McCormack.
"No, Sean, I'm serious,'' a reporter pressed on. "You've just described something that – you know, you -- that's a situation in some countries that you're very friendly with."
McCormack said the situations were "qualitatively different" and that "economically'' the Chinese "have had more opportunities."
A questioner wanted to know why this "incremental stages" process was acceptable in China but not in Cuba.
McCormack said that "it's our assessment" that it wasn't the same thing.
The questions grew longer than the responses.
A reporter pointed out that the State Department praised "the little things'' that countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia did to offer more freedom. "And don't you think you're missing an opportunity here to encourage more reforms like you're doing around the world by, you know, kind of dismissing these little things that the Cubans are doing?"
"No, we don't think we're missing out," McCormack said.
"No, I mean, could you give a fuller answer than that?"
"I don't think it requires one.''
The line of questioning ended with a reporter again asking if "there would be a massive influx" of people coming to the United States from Cuba if Havana lifted controls on travel.
"You would have to talk to the Department of Homeland Security for their sorts of assessments or the Coast Guard,'' McCormack said. "I don't have that kind of assessment."

April 21, 2008 | Permalink
TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/1016365/28356906

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2008/04/cuba-press-pile.html

http://snipurl.com/257z1

[Mika]

1. Amazing that people assume the US would start granting travel visas to Cubans.

As it is now, the US State Dept won't grant travel visas to Cubans.

Americans, by and large, are completely in the dark about Cuba policies thanks to the media, as usual.