Bush dismisses changes in Cuba

[Gunny]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Wednesday that Cuba's post-Fidel Castro leadership has made only "empty gestures at reform" and rejected calls for easing of U.S. restrictions on the communist island.

"Until there is a change of heart and a change of compassion and a change of how the Cuban government treats its people, there's no change at all," Bush said at the U.S. State Department to the Council of Americas, a business group that advocates for democracy and open markets in the Western Hemisphere.

"Cuba will not be a land of liberty so long as free expression is punished and free speech can take place only in hushed whispers and silent prayers. And Cuba will not become a place of prosperity just by easing restrictions on the sale of products that the average Cuban cannot afford."

The White House also said Wednesday that the president spoke by videoconference this week with democratic activists in Cuba, an unprecedented move that may enrage the government in Havana.

The developments are part of a stepped-up effort by Bush to talk about Cuba and press for political change since Castro officially stepped down in February after nearly a half-century ruling the island.

Fidel's brother, Raúl, took over as president in the ailing leader's place, and has unveiled a series of changes in Cuba since then, from raising salaries to dropping irritating limits on what Cubans can buy and sell.

more ... http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/07/bush.cuba.ap/index.html