Georgetown: The Guyana Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) has welcomed the announcement that President Barrack Obama intends to remove Cuba from the American government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism, according to GCSM President Haleem Khan.
Khan said this would eliminate a major obstacle to the restoration of diplomatic relations after decades of hostilities.
“Cuban officials have said they would find it hard to move forward with diplomatic relations while remaining on the list, which they see as a blemish to their nation’s image and a scarlet letter that has blocked Cuba from doing business with American banks and led some international institutions to shy away from opportunities to work with Cuba,” the GCSM President underscored.
Khan noted that a historic step was taken at the recent Summit of the Americas with Cuba attending for the first time since the gathering’s inception in 1994.
“The Panama meeting offered a chance not only for the rest of the region to ratify Obama’s overture to Castro, but to close the books on the Cold War and open a new chapter in inter-American relations.”
Khan noted that the Cuban government called Mr. Obama’s act a just decision and said Cuba should never have been on the list in the first place. “Cuba rejects and condemns all acts of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.” He explained that Cuba’s place on the list has long snarled its access to financial markets.
President Obama ordered a review of Cuba’s status in December, when he and Mr. Castro announced that their two nations had agreed to move toward normal relations.
In accordance with U.S. law, the president is required to inform Congress 45 days before the directive takes effect. Congress doesn’t have to validate his decision, but it could decide to take action to override his recommendation and the president could, in turn, veto such a joint resolution of Congress.
In a written message to Congress, Obama formally certified, as required under federal law, that “the government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period,” and “has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
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