By EFE,
Havana : The Cuban government has hailed the decision by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to “unconditionally” reverse its 47-year-old suspension of the communist-ruled island.
“On an historic day and one of vindication for the peoples of our Americas, the general assembly of the OAS today unconditionally repealed the resolution by which Cuba was expelled from that organisation,” the government said in a statement read on state television.
Foreign ministers from the 34 OAS member nations agreed Wednesday at their general assembly in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to rescind the 1962 resolution suspending Cuba, but said that an eventual return to the fold would depend on Havana’s “commitment to the organisation’s values”.
“Cuba has not asked, nor does it want, to return to the OAS, full of a dark and submissive history, but it acknowledges the political value, the symbolism and the rebelliousness involved in this decision pushed by the people’s governments of Latin America,” the communique adds.
“Despite the pressure, influence and manoeuvres of the United States, the formidable strength of Latin America that is being born made possible the making of amends, the historic rectification, the implicit condemnation of the dishonest past,” the Cuban government said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement: “Cuba can come back into the OAS in the future if the OAS decides that its participation meets the purposes and principles of the organisation, including democracy and human rights.”
“I am pleased that everyone came to agree that Cuba cannot simply take its seat and that we must put Cuba’s participation to a determination down the road – if it ever chooses to seek re-entry,” she said.