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For a better future

Jul 06,2015 - Last updated at Jul 06,2015

The US’ decision to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba last week, after 54 years of interruption, took quite a bit of courage, foresight and common sense on the part of President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro.

The two countries, separated by a mere 145 kilometres, have been completely isolated from each other for more than half a century, at the height of the cold war era, after the US tried to change the communist order on the island by force and failed.

Restoring diplomatic relations, however, was not easy. But nearly 18 months of behind-the-scenes talks, aided by the Vatican, yielded an historic exchange of letters between the presidents of the two countries, on June 20, to “unfreeze” the ties, thus setting in motion the agreement to re-establish embassies in Washington and Havana, and exchange ambassadors in due course. 

Obama’s words summarise the rationale for his decision to restore ties with Cuba; he said the historic step taken on June 20 “would end a failed and archaic policy of isolation and end a policy that was not working”.

The US president was smart to recognise that “it is long past time for us to realise this policy [of isolation] doesn’t work and it has not worked for fifty years”. Wish that others would learn from it.

Most of the credit for the thaw in relations between the two countries goes to Obama who was brave enough to break ranks with conservatives in his country who wanted the status quo to continue.

But maintaining the isolation of Cuba would only shut “America out of Cuba’s future, and it only makes life worse for the Cuban people”, said the US president.

The moral of this US-Cuban development is evident, and other countries should draw the necessary conclusions from it.

Not talking to neighbouring countries even when hostility reigns supreme is no answer. Engaging neighbours in dialogue is always more constructive.

As Obama said, again, “… American engagement — through our embassy, our businesses, and most of all, through our people — is the best way to advance our interests and support for democracy and human rights. Time and again, America has demonstrated that part of our leadership in the world is our capacity to change. It’s what inspires the world to reach for something better.”

 

Words to heed.

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