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By Joan Lowy/Associated Press writer
POSTED: 01:18 p.m. EST, Feb 19, 2008
Campaigning in Parma, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the release of political prisoners in Cuba following Fidel Castro's resignation today.
''We need a president who will work with countries around the world -- Europe, Western hemisphere -- to push Cuba now to join the community of nations and become a democracy, and I will certainly do that as president,'' Clinton told patrons at a diner in Parma, Ohio, where she is campaigning ahead of the state's March 4 Democratic primary.
In a statement released by her campaign, the New York senator said that if elected president, ''I will engage our partners in Latin America and Europe who have a strong stake in seeing a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba, and who want very much for the United States to play a constructive role to that end. The United States must pursue an active policy that does everything possible to advance the cause of freedom, democracy and opportunity in Cuba.''
Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain also called for the release of political prisoners in Cuba, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was pessimistic regarding the opportunity for democratic reforms.
Obama, who is waging a hard-fought campaign with Clinton for the Democratic nomination, also urged that the U.S. be prepared to take steps to normalize relations with Cuba and to ease the trade embargo of the last five decades if the Cuban leadership ''begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change.''
Castro's resignation ''should mark the end of a dark era in Cuba's history. . . . Fidel Castro's stepping down is an essential first step, but it is sadly insufficient in bringing freedom to Cuba,'' Obama, an Illinois senator, said in a statement.
''Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an anti-democratic successor regime,'' Obama said. ''The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past. It's time for these heroes to be released.''
Republican McCain underscored that ''freedom for the Cuban people is not yet at hand'' despite Castro's resignation.
''We must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections,'' the Arizona senator said in a statement.
''Cuba's transition to democracy is inevitable; it is a matter of when not if. With the resignation of Fidel Castro, the Cuban people have an opportunity to move forward and continue pushing for the moment that they will truly be free. America can and should help hasten the sparking of freedom in Cuba. The Cuban people have waited long enough.''
The ailing, 81-year-old Castro resigned as Cuba's president after nearly a half-century in power. His 76-year-old brother Raul, who has hinted at political reforms, has been ruling in his place since June 2006.
Huckabee, who significantly trails McCain in the contest for the GOP nomination, said in a statement that ''until Fidel Castro is dead, there can be no significant movement towards reform in Cuba.
''Raul Castro has proven that he's as much a tyrant and dictator as his brother, Fidel. Simply providing more power to another dictator does nothing to promote freedom and democracy to the Cuban people,'' Huckabee said.
Campaigning in Parma, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the release of political prisoners in Cuba following Fidel Castro's resignation today.
''We need a president who will work with countries around the world -- Europe, Western hemisphere -- to push Cuba now to join the community of nations and become a democracy, and I will certainly do that as president,'' Clinton told patrons at a diner in Parma, Ohio, where she is campaigning ahead of the state's March 4 Democratic primary.
In a statement released by her campaign, the New York senator said that if elected president, ''I will engage our partners in Latin America and Europe who have a strong stake in seeing a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba, and who want very much for the United States to play a constructive role to that end. The United States must pursue an active policy that does everything possible to advance the cause of freedom, democracy and opportunity in Cuba.''
Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain also called for the release of political prisoners in Cuba, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was pessimistic regarding the opportunity for democratic reforms.
Obama, who is waging a hard-fought campaign with Clinton for the Democratic nomination, also urged that the U.S. be prepared to take steps to normalize relations with Cuba and to ease the trade embargo of the last five decades if the Cuban leadership ''begins opening Cuba to meaningful democratic change.''
Castro's resignation ''should mark the end of a dark era in Cuba's history. . . . Fidel Castro's stepping down is an essential first step, but it is sadly insufficient in bringing freedom to Cuba,'' Obama, an Illinois senator, said in a statement.
''Cuba's future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an anti-democratic successor regime,'' Obama said. ''The prompt release of all prisoners of conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past. It's time for these heroes to be released.''
Republican McCain underscored that ''freedom for the Cuban people is not yet at hand'' despite Castro's resignation.
''We must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections,'' the Arizona senator said in a statement.
''Cuba's transition to democracy is inevitable; it is a matter of when not if. With the resignation of Fidel Castro, the Cuban people have an opportunity to move forward and continue pushing for the moment that they will truly be free. America can and should help hasten the sparking of freedom in Cuba. The Cuban people have waited long enough.''
The ailing, 81-year-old Castro resigned as Cuba's president after nearly a half-century in power. His 76-year-old brother Raul, who has hinted at political reforms, has been ruling in his place since June 2006.
Huckabee, who significantly trails McCain in the contest for the GOP nomination, said in a statement that ''until Fidel Castro is dead, there can be no significant movement towards reform in Cuba.
''Raul Castro has proven that he's as much a tyrant and dictator as his brother, Fidel. Simply providing more power to another dictator does nothing to promote freedom and democracy to the Cuban people,'' Huckabee said.
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