Cuban newspaper: Summit of Americas to define U.S. policy

2009-04-17 12:15:26  

    HAVANA, April 16 (Xinhua) --

The world will know if the United States, under President Barack Obama, is willing to change its policy towards the region at the fifth Summit of the Americas, Cuban state-run newspaper Granma said Thursday.

    Obama, the first U.S. president to attend the summit, will lead a 1,000-member U.S. delegation to Trinidad and Tobago, where all the hemisphere's nations will show up except Cuba.

    Many nations expect that Obama will move to lift the 50-year-old U.S. economic blockade on Cuba.

    Granma described the U.S. policy alternatives as either "the great garrote" or "good neighbor," echoing the phrases used by former U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.

    "The failure of neo-liberalism, the global economic crisis and Obama's rise to power has created great expectations for a new agenda for U.S. policies on security, economy and foreign relations," the newspaper said.

    Obama pledged Thursday to renew and sustain a "broader partnership" with other states in the Western hemisphere. The Cuba issue, though not on the official agenda, is expected to be raised during the three-day summit.

Obama says U.S. expects signals of change from Cuba

2009-04-16 23:19:25  

    WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) --

The United States expects to see signals of change from Cuba, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday.

    "What we're looking for is some signals that there are going to be changes in how Cuba operates," Obama told CNN television hours before his departure for his first official visit to Mexico as American president.

    Speaking of the changes that the United States expects from Havana, Obama called for the release of political prisoners and freedom of speech in Cuba.

    Cuba's government denies reports that it has political prisoners.

    Obama made the remarks after he announced on Monday the lifting of restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to Cuba, and allowed American telecommunications firms to provide services for the Cubans.

    The move by the White House was said to be a major shift in its long-standing policies of isolating Cuba.

    Since the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959, U.S. administrations have invariably adopted a hostile policy toward Cuba. Washington broke off relations with the country in 1961, and has imposed an economic blockade and restrictive measures on trade with Cuba since 1962.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Things to watch at 5th Summit of the Americas

 2009-04-17 05:03:12  

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, April 16 (Xinhua) --

The Fifth Summit of the Americas is to be held here between Friday and Sunday and will bring together 34 heads of state and government of the Americas to discuss and make decisions on issues of relevance for the region.

    The following are things to watch before and during the three-day event.

    All 33 visiting foreign leaders are arriving in the capital city of the Carribean island starting Thursday and they will go into a series of bilateral meetings or group meetings. U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to arrive on Friday and will leave on Sunday.

    On Friday the opening ceremony will takes place in the Hyatt Regency hotel at 6 p.m. (2200 GMT). The leaders and their delegations will be treated to a cultural show after that. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning and his wife, Local Government Minister Hazel Manning will then host a cocktail reception for the leaders, their spouses and special guests.

    Aside from attending the opening ceremony, Obama plans to hold three separate group meetings in addition to the official closed-door session between all participating heads of government. The group meetings are likely to be with Caribbean leaders, Central American leaders and a third group composed of heads of state of South America and Mexico, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

    On Saturday the leaders will go into bilateral discussions in the morning. This will be followed by the summit's first plenary session at Hyatt Regency. At noon, Manning will host a working lunch for the visiting leaders at the hotel. The second and third plenary sessions will be held in the afternoon.

    Activities at the Hyatt will end on Saturday evening when Manning hosts an official dinner and a culture show. On Sunday, the final day of the summit, all 34 leaders will hold a retreat at the Diplomatic Center. That will be followed by the closing ceremony, signing of the Declaration of Port-of-Spain and final press conference at the center.

    Meanwhile, the leaders' spouses will be given a tour of Port-of-Spain on Sunday and that will be followed by a fashion show at 10 a.m. All leaders and their delegations are scheduled to leave this country on Sunday and Monday.

    The private sector, civil society and youth forums will be held on board the cruise ships Caribbean Princess and Carnival Victory from Wednesday to Thursday. These ships which will be docked at the Port-of-Spain port.

    Trinidad and Tobago will be the first Caribbean nation to host the Summit of the Americas since its inception in 1994 in Miami, United States. 

Editor: Mu Xuequan