CARICOM welcomes US move to end Cuba 'travel ban'
By Rickey Singh
Guyana Chronicle
October 26, 2003
BRIDGETOWN---Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, Edwin Carrington, has warmly welcomed the approval by the United States Congress of Legislation to end a 40-year-old travel ban to Cuba by American citizens.
In giving his thumps up yesterday for this significant development, Carrington, however, noted that for the legislation to take the intended positive effect, now depended on President George W. Bush giving his assent.
Following the approval last month by the House of Representatives of relevant legislation to end the travel restrictions on Americans wanting to visit Cuba, the Senate last week approved by a 59-36 majority, a similar bill.
Carrington told the Sunday Chronicle in a telephone interview from Georgetown, home of the Community Secretariat:
"CARICOM, which has been consistent in its annual endorsement at the United Nations for an end to the four decades of embargo against Cuba, view the passage of legislation to end the travel ban on Americans as a decidedly positive step, and looks forward to further encouraging developments".
Meanwhile, Jamaica, which perhaps stands to lose more, among CARICOM tourist destinations, in competitive tourism with Cuba, has given its own cautious welcome to legislation calling for an end to the travel ban
Aware of the heavy dependence of Jamaica's economy on its vital US$1.2 billion a year tourism industry, Tourism Minister Aloun Assamba, said that a "temporary slump" of visitors from America may result for the lifting of the travel ban, but the "Jamaican brand was strong enough to ensure an early recovery".
She joined Foreign Minister, K.D. Knight, in expressing Jamaica's support for end of the travel restrictions by Americans to Cuba.
Foreign Minister Knight said in a brief response to the Senate vote, that "we have always felt that engagement (between the USA and Cuba) is always better than isolation".