Cuba opens arms to emigres

By Stephen Gibbs
BBC correspondent in Havana

Hundreds of Cuban emigres from around the world are attending a conference in Havana hosted by the Cuban government.


Some of the men who tried to overthrow Castro in 1961 got their passports back

Young and old from 46 countries across the world, the Cuban emigres were crammed into a small Havana conference hall.

They were warmly welcomed by Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

He gave particularly special thanks to those delegates who had come from the United States.

President George W Bush has recently tightened restrictions on Cuban-Americans travelling to Cuba and the US government made it quite clear it would not be issuing licences to anyone who wished to attend this conference.

Many of those who came anyway are highly sympathetic to the current Cuban government. Most say that they only left Cuba for economic reasons.

They loudly applauded two announcements from the foreign minister. One was that customs procedures would be simplified for Cubans returning home; another was that Cuba will offer scholarships to Cuban universities to children of Cubans living abroad.

Cuban again

But perhaps the most symbolic act of reconciliation was when seven men who took part in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion - a failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro - were reinstated as Cuban citizens.

All renounced their hostility to the Cuban government long ago.

Cuba is currently reaching out to moderate Cubans abroad.

Apart from anything else, they bring the country badly needed tourist dollars when they return.

But there is a significant group of Cubans whose opinion will not be heard at this conference: those hardline exiles who, for 45 years, have been successfully lobbying a succession of US presidents with the message that the best way to deal with Cuba is to isolate it.

Exile who once invaded Cuba gets citizenship restored, urges independence for island

Saturday May 22, 2004
By VANESSA ARRINGTON
Associated Press Writer

HAVANA (AP) Antonio Zamora was a teenager when he fled his native Cuba and joined a U.S.-led effort to topple the island's communist government.

Now 63, the Miami-based lawyer was back on Cuban soil this week attending a ceremony to restore his citizenship and that of six other Cuban exiles who participated in the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

``This was a surprise,'' Zamora told reporters Friday at an immigration conference for overseas Cubans. ``It signifies a gesture of reconciliation, of leaving behind an unpleasant period.''

After receiving his new Cuban passport, Zamora reflected on his participation in the U.S.-backed invasion.

``It was the Cold War, and I was against communism,'' he said. ``We fell into a historical trap.''

A young Zamora left Cuba in October of 1960 to join the plot to oust Fidel Castro, whose 1959 revolution roiled the island and pushed it toward a socialist system.

In April of 1961, Zamora was among 1,500 exiles trained by the CIA in Guatemala who charged the island. The three-day invasion ended in debacle and more than 1,000 invaders were captured, Zamora among them.

He spent more than 1{ years in a Cuban prison before his release on Christmas Eve 1962.

Zamora went to the United States to build a new life, spending time as a U.S. Navy officer then studying to become a lawyer. In 1981, he helped found the Cuban American National Foundation, one of the most powerful, anti-Castro exile organizations. He was a member until 1992.

His attitude toward Cuba then began to soften.

``After a lot of thinking, I came to the conclusion that dialogue was the best way to deal with Cuba,'' he said.

He came back to the island for the first time in 1995, and has been trying to reach common ground with the government and its people ever since.

He says he doesn't agree with the way many things work under Castro, but he resents the United States' meddling in Cuban affairs. He came to the immigration conference, the third of its kind in a decade, to show support for an independent Cuba and make suggestions for change.

The first step, he believes, is to put politics aside and focus on improving the lives or regular Cubans.

``There is a situation of great tension here,'' he said. ``I think the Cuban people need some years of peace, of uninterrupted progress.

``Eventually, the political problems will resolve themselves.''

In the meantime, he said the U.S. government and Cuban exiles who have chosen to cut themselves off from their homeland should stop trying to plan Cuba's future.

The Bush administration has taken an aggressive stance against Cuba.

On May 6, Bush announced new measures to crack down on the island, including restrictions on money transfers and family visits, increased efforts to transmit anti-Castro television to Cuba and the appointment of a coordinator to plan a transition from socialism to capitalism.

Zamora criticized the latest measures, particularly those affecting the ability of Cuban-Americans to visit and help relatives on the island.

``They are completely ignorant about Cuban reality,'' he said of U.S. officials, adding that even many conservative, anti-Castro Cubans in Florida have told him they no longer support Bush, either.

``His votes are going to be substantially reduced,'' said Zamora, who believes relations between the United States and Cuba could improve considerably were Bush's opponent, Democratic contender John Kerry, to win the presidential election in November.

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