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From: "Michael Erisman" <PSMERIS@scifac.indstate.edu>
Subject: ACTION ALERT/HELMS-BURTON BILL
From: Wayne S. Smith, Chair
LASA Task Force on Scholarly Relations With Cuba
Wayne S. Smith, the Chairman of the CUBA Task Force, with
the approval of President Cynthia McClintock, is calling on all
LASA members to be in touch with their congressmen and senators
to express strong disapproval of the bill now before the
Congress introduced by Senator Jesse Helms and Representative
Dan Burton. Called "The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
Act of 1995", the bill calls on the president to go to the UN
Security Council in an effort to force other countries to join
our embargo against Cuba. It proposes sanctions against
countries that continue to trade with and invest in Cuba. It
also adds Cuban-American claims to the American claims long
registered with the U.S. Claims Commission. Putting forward the
claims of those who were not citizens or whose company was not
incorporated in the United States at the time the property was
nationalized goes against international law and what has always
been U.S. practice.
Most damaging is that the bill outlines a series of
preconditions which must be met before the embargo could be
lifted or other steps taken to re-engage with Cuba. One of the
key preconditions is that all the nationalized properties
mentioned above must be returned or fully paid for. Cuba has
already made it clear that it will not accede to this demand.
The president's hands would thus be tied and diplomacy would go
out the window. There could be no step-by-step approach in
dealing with Cuba. Indeed, the door would be closed for good to
any chance of improving relations -- or at least for so long as
the legislation might be on the books.
The legislation could be voted on as early as mid-June so it
is important that LASA members weigh in with their
congressmen, and even more importantly, with their senators
as soon as possible. This legislation must be stopped!
Wayne S. Smith
Center For International Policy
1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 324
Washington DC
Tel: 202/232-3317
Fax: 202/232-3440
E-Mail: cip@igc.apc.org
Prof. Chris Chase-Dunn
Department of Sociology
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD. 21218 USA
tel 410 516 7633 fax 410 516 7590 email chriscd@jhu.edu