Cuba may return to OAS, ambassador says

Cuba may return to the Organization of American States (OAS) in a few years, said on Thursday (4) the new permanent Brazilian representative to that organization, ambassador Ruy de Lima Casaes e Silva, whose nomination to the post received a favorable report by the Committee on External Relations and National Defense, and will be now submitted to the Plenary.
The Cuban government – and not the Cuban state, as highlighted by the ambassador – was excluded from OAS in 1962, during a meeting in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, at the height of the Cold War, in a world polarized by the United States and former Soviet Union. The Cuban government, at that time, was getting increasingly closer to Moscow.
- I am not trying to justify the suspension, but there were elements at that time that led to this decision.
The world is completely different now, and one of the issues that have been given attention is the reincorporation of Cuba. It is not a simple operation, but it is a possibility for the next years – said Casaes, whose nomination had senator Serys Slhessarenko (PT-MT) as ad hoc rapporteur.
Founded in Bogotá in 1948, as reminded by the ambassador, OAS became the first international institution to put democracy as an “essential element” for a state to become a member. Currently, he said, the organization’s agenda focuses on issues like democracy and the preservation of human rights.
Immigrants

The committee also approved the nomination of first class minister Paulo César de Oliveira Campos to the post as ambassador to both Spain and the Principality of Andorra. The presidential message containing his nomination had senator Arthur Virgílio (PSDB-AM) as rapporteur.
During his exposition to the senators, Campos stressed that this is an “excellent moment” for the bilateral relations. Spain, according to him, became the second biggest foreign investor in Brazil, with a strong presence in finance, telecommunications, tourism and infra-structure.
Spain has been facing an economic crisis long before the beginning of the international crisis, he reminded, and its economy may experience negative results in 2009, when unemployment might hit 15%. Even so, informed the ambassador, Brazil is waiting for more Spanish investments, especially in infra-structure projects which compose the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), and also for more Spanish tourists.
The most delicate issue of the relation, according to Campos, remains immigration. After many Brazilians were stopped from entering Spain, a number of measures were adopted in March to reduce the inconveniences experienced by the Brazilians. The ambassador said that he will not accept to see Brazilians being treated “as criminals”, even if they are in an irregular situation.
Another presidential message – who also had Virgílio as rapporteur – was approved. It contained the nomination of first class minister Edmundo Sussumu Fujita to the post of Brazilian ambassador to South Korea. In the ambassador’s opinion, the Republic of Korea should be seen as an example to Brazil, after leaving its condition of underdeveloped country and becoming an economic power in only 50 years.
In 2009, as he informed, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be in Seul to participate in the celebrations of the 50 years of the bilateral relation, one that Fujita will look to deepen, focusing in science and technology. The ambassador reminded that 80% of South Koreans have access to high-speed internet connections and said that Brazil can give a great contribution in the biofuel area.
The committee also aproved the nomination of Frederico Salomão Duque Estrada Meyer, current ambassador to Cazakistan, to also be ambassador to Turkomenistan and to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Senator Cristovam Buarque (PDT-DF) was the rapporteur.(Agência Senado)