Post by bot on Dec 17, 2014 16:43:15 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on Release of Alan Gross, President Obama's Announcement of Policy Changes for US-Cuba Relationship
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the President's announcement regarding the release of Alan Gross and new diplomatic initiatives for America's relationship with Cuba:
"I join in praising the release of Alan Gross and express tremendous relief at his safe return to his family. Tonight, Mr. Gross will finally be able to join his wife and their families and friends to light Hanukkah candles together - a powerful symbol of freedom both for him as well as for the many Cuban-American families who had been separated from their loved ones in Cuba.
"The diplomatic initiatives announced today with Havana do not change our firm commitment to encouraging democratic change in Cuba. The Castro regime has repressed dissent, jailed opponents, and stifled the will of the Cuban people to access information through the media and online. This brutal and repressive apparatus has ruled the island with an iron fist and stood in the way of the hopes and aspirations of the Cuban people for far too long. The United States will not cease to promote individual freedom and democratic ideals or to support those who are standing up for human rights in Cuba at great personal risk.
"Today's actions must be met with reciprocal steps by President Raul Castro’s regime, and I am encouraged that his government has agreed to allow greater internet access and to release a number of political prisoners. These must only be first steps. For more than half a century, the ninety miles that separate our two nations have seemed, at times, like an insurmountable divide – one that today we are bridging in a way that will, hopefully, facilitate the spread of democratic principles and greater openness to the island. Congress ought to do what it can to keep the pressure on the Cuban government to ensure that it begins to move toward greater democracy, and I look forward to being briefed fully by the Administration on these developments in the coming days."
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