wfn.org | Changes in Cuba policy lauded, but fall short

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 7, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-71B{009}

By United Methodist News Service

The Clinton administration's easing of restrictions on contact with Cuba is
viewed as a positive development by several United Methodists involved in
ministry to the Caribbean nation.

But, they add, the changes fall far short of lifting the United States'
37-year embargo against Cuba, a move the denomination officially supports.

Approved on Jan. 5, the changes will: allow any U.S. resident to send
payments of up to $1,200 a year to Cuban families, instead of just
individuals; increase charter passenger flights to and from Cuba; allow food
and agricultural supplies to be sold to Cuban nongovernmental groups and
institute direct mail service.

The Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, a member of the Americans for Humanitarian
Trade with Cuba Advisory Council, called the Clinton administration's
actions "commendable" but unlikely to provide the necessary steps toward
ending the embargo.

"It's a preliminary step, timid at best, in responding to the needs of the
people of Cuba," said Fassett, general secretary of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society.

"Our Christian brothers and sisters in Cuba are working on the issues of
survival," he added.

The Rev. Michael Rivas, a Cuban-American and a deputy general secretary of
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, agreed that "anything that
in any way contributes to easing some of the problems has to be welcome."

But he pointed out that the 1996 United Methodist General Conference, the
denomination's top legislative body, had called for the United States to
lift its economic embargo against Cuba and start negotiations with the Cuban
government to resume normal diplomatic relations.

"By that standard, this (action) is superficial," Rivas said.

The Rev. Phil Wingeier-Rayo, who was a missionary in Cuba during the 1990s,
said he was excited about Clinton's action, although he noted the political
motivation to strengthen nongovernmental groups within Cuba in hopes of
de-stabilizing the Castro government.

"I believe the greater the exchange between the peoples, the more both sides
win," he said. "Not only will the Cuban government's restrictive internal
policies be exposed, but also the U.S. embargo will be challenged.

"With greater contact, both sides will see each other for what they really
are: two countries with a human face. Neither side will be able to vilify
the other."

The Board of Global Ministries received a U.S. Treasury license in 1998 to
provide humanitarian aid to the Methodist Church of Cuba. It also has
provided aid through shipments under a license held by the National Council
of Churches (NCC). Other United Methodist bodies, such as the Florida Annual
(regional) Conference, have worked to assist the Cuban people.

But how the easing of restrictions might aid that work is unknown, according
to the Rev. Lawrence Rankin of the Florida Conference. "It's not clear how
the remittances of funds can be done. Will this mean that we can exchange
checks instead of bringing cash in? Will this help the flow of General
Advance dollars to the Cuban Church treasury?" 

The conference is still struggling with Cuban custom restrictions as well,
Rankin said. "We shipped over 9,000 hymnals, arriving mid-November at Havana
harbor, and we are still waiting for the customs officials to release the
hymnals to the Cuban church, even though all the paper work is in order."

While the embargo remains in place, it "hinders the health and wholeness of
the Cuban people," Rankin said. 

However, "Cuban and Florida Christians are friendlier than ever with each
other," he noted. "(The) historic friendliness of the U.S. and Cubans is
rekindling as official relations slowly are thawing." The Florida Conference
signed an official document of cooperation with the Methodist Church in Cuba
in 1997.

The Rev. Oscar Bolioli, a Methodist and NCC director for Latin America and
the Caribbean, expressed concern that the Clinton administration's actions
were designed to halt what he considered a "growing momentum" for proposals
to create a bipartisan commission on American policy toward Cuba. Such a
commission, opposed by both President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore,
would have addressed the embargo issue.

Through its relief agency, Church World Service, the NCC has shipped food,
medicine, medical equipment, school supplies and other items, valued at a
total of $10 million, to the Cuban Council of Churches since 1992.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/