UNITED NATIONS, October 19, 2016.- In a press release circulated here, the diplomatic mission described as positive the sixth package of measures issued by the White House, but insisted on its "very limited nature".
Because it’s a directive that seeks to open transactions already authorized in previous packages, keeping the ban on US investment in Cuba, except in the sector of telecommunications, the narrow limitation of US exports and the restrictions on imports from Cuba, the text warned.
According to the Permanent Mission, this package does not cover either the financial sphere, because the possibility for Cuban banks to open accounts in US entities remains unchanged.
"In general, the new measures are more beneficial for the United States than to the Cuban people. The reality is that the blockade is still in force," the Permanent Mission highlighted.
Obama announced the package of actions last Friday, in the context of rapprochement between Havana and Washington, a process activated on December 2014 that led to the resumption of diplomatic relations last year, and the signing of more than a dozen agreements in areas of mutual interest.
President Obama, who ends in January his second and final term, has admitted the failure of the siege imposed on Cuba for more than half a century and he demanded its lifting to Congress, because only the Congress can end the blockade after it became law in 1996.
Cuba recognizes the executive decisions by Obama to make it more flexible, but draws attention to its limited nature, because the president has broad powers to significantly reduce the scope of the unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions.
In the press release, the Cuban Permanent Mission to the UN considered the directive as a "significant step forward in the process of lifting the blockade and the improvement of bilateral relations", recognizing the Government of Cuba as legitimate interlocutor and the benefits of bonds of civilized coexistence.
However, it does not hide the purpose of promoting changes in the economic, political and social system in Cuba, nor the intention to continue developing interventionist programs, the Permanent Mission reported.
On October 26, the UN General Assembly will review a draft resolution calling for the lifting of the blockade.
Since 1992, the main deliberative organ of the UN, where its 193 member countries are represented on an equal footing, has demanded categorically the lifting of the siege, last year with 191 votes of the 193 possible votes (only the United States and its ally Israel opposed the project).
The text of the draft resolution by Cuba, reflects, like in 2015, the new prevailing bilateral scene -the progress in Havana-Washington ties- however, it notes the effectiveness of sanctions by the White House, a policy contrary to the principles of the Charter of United Nations and the International Law.
The President of Cuba Raúl Castro, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, have said that as long as the blockade remains in force, the topic will continue to be presented to the General Assembly.
(Cubavsbloqueo)
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