Original: Spanish
The Socialist International Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (SICLAC), meeting in Santo Domingo on 23-24 March 1998, welcomes the constructive dialogue between the Holy See, in the person of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, and President Fidel Castro. It had the immediate effect of achieving greater recognition of religious freedom on the part of the Cuban government and, at the same time, resulted in the first steps being taken towards lifting the embargo against Cuba, with the re-establishment of direct flights from the United States to the island and the removal of restrictions on the shipment of food and medicine and remittances of dollars to that country.
SICLAC, while demanding further actions by the US government with regard to the lifting of the embargo and the repeal of the Helms-Burton Law, hopes that the Cuban government pursues the economic opening and implements political conditions to open the way for better prospects for democracy in that sister Republic.
We acknowledge the release of detainees by the Cuban government, and hope this will be extended to other detainees deprived of their freedom, including Vladimiro Roca.