U.S. denies visa to peace activist from Cuba
Despite appeals by Sen. Lincoln Chafee and other members of Congress, the Rev. Raul Suarez will not be allowed to speak at the University of Rhode Island on multiculturalism.
01:00 AM EST on Saturday, February 7, 2004
BY JENNIFER D. JORDAN
Journal Staff Writer
A Baptist minister and peace activist from Cuba who was scheduled to speak at the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday has been denied a visa and cannot enter the country, according to the U.S. State Department.
The decision -- which follows President Bush's recent crackdown on Cuban visitors and heightened security measures -- drew criticism from local civil-rights leaders, who said a pastor preaching nonviolence should be welcomed, not shut out.
The Rev. Raul Suarez, who runs the Martin Luther King Memorial Center and is pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Havana, said in a phone interview yesterday that he has traveled to the United States about 20 times since 1980 to speak to church groups and at universities. Mr. Suarez, 69, is also an elected member of the Cuban Popular National Assembly, but says he is not a member of the Communist Party.
Yet, for the third time since 2001, Mr. Suarez said his U.S. visa application has been denied, despite letters from Sen. Lincoln Chafee and a group of 11 members of Congress asking the State Department to let Mr. Suarez come next week. He was also scheduled to speak at Black History Month events in Mobile, Ala., and Boston.
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http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20040207_visa7.21e711.html(It's possible this is a free registration only site)