Cuban ruler Raúl Castro said he is working to relax Cuba’s migration policies, almost certainly referring to Cubans abroad who want to travel back to the island but perhaps also — and much more significantly — to Cubans on the island who want to travel abroad.
Castro’s comments to parliament, as reported in the government-run news media, remained unclear late Monday but sparked broad interest among island residents who have long demanded the right to travel abroad without the need for obtaining a government “exit permit.”
He was quoted as saying that the government “is making advances with the reform and elaboration of a series of regulations” on migration that have lasted “unnecessarily” for a long time. But the reports gave no details on exactly who would benefit.
“We take this step as a contribution to the increase in links between the nation and the émigré community, whose makeup has changed radically since the first decades of the revolution,” Castro reportedly said in comments that seemed to indicate that the eased regulations would apply to Cubans abroad.
“In their overwhelming majority Cubans today emigrate because of economic reasons, and almost all of them preserve their love for family and country,” he added. The government for decades referred to Cubans who moved abroad as “counterrevolutionaries” and “worms”
Estimates of the number of Cubans who are living abroad and have been denied Havana permission to return range from 67,000 to 200,000, including “rafters” or others who left the island illegally and those who left legally but stayed abroad more than 11 months.
His comments that the “updating” of the migration regulations would retain measures to “defend” the revolution also seemed to refer to Cubans living abroad, because radical exiles are not allowed to return legally to Cuba.
Earlier addressing lawmakers, Castro indicated that changes could well be introduced to Cuba's controversial travel and emigration rules. According to him, the time had come for ushering in political and social reforms and warned that those trying to undermine the reform process would be prosecuted. "Let's clean our heads of all sorts of nonsense," he said.
Besides, Castro told the National Assembly that the government was "working to orchestrate the modernisation" of the country's migration policies. For long, rights groups had flayed Cuba's emigration policy which required its citizens to secure government's prior permission for traveling abroad.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is set to discuss a slew of proposals put forward by the President which include downsizing of the country's massive government workforce, restricting state involvement in key areas like farming, retail and infrastructure before giving its formal endorsement.
Even as the state-controlled enterprises move out in order to give space for small-scale businesses, the government will also phase out state subsidies for goods and public utility services.
Analysts though say the implementation of economic reforms mooted by Castro will be easier said than done as it is likely to encounter stiff resistance from party officials who face the prospect of unemployment.
The septuagenarian Raul Castro, who had earlier served as Cuba's Defense Minister, took over as President from his brother Fidel after the latter was forced to step down over health concerns.
No comments:
Post a Comment