Lawyer to visit Cuba:Reconciliation, teaching among goals

[Judi Lynn]

Published Friday, March 19, 2004

Lawyer to visit Cuba

Reconciliation, teaching among goals

By Erin Adamson
The Capital-Journal
Pedro Irigonegaray hopes his vision for Cuba's future will initiate reconciliation between exiled Cubans and those still living on the island when he attends a government conference in Havana in May.

The Topeka lawyer and exiled Cuban has received a letter from Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera, of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations, inviting him to attend The Nation and Immigration conference from May 21 to 23. The conference's objective is to allow dialogue between exiled Cubans with the intention of normalizing relationships between Cuba and exiles.

"For many years, I have seen a stagnation in the relationship between the United States and Cuba," Irigonegaray said. "That stagnation is unfortunately fueled by old wounds that just simply will not heal."

He thinks the United States should first offer Cubans the symbol of freedom by inviting Cuban dignitaries to sign The Paris Peace Treaty, which Spain and the United States signed Dec. 10, 1898. That treaty ended the war for Cuban independence, or the Spanish-American War, and gave the U.S. powers to intervene politically and militarily on the island. Irigonegaray thinks the U.S. should then withdraw the American military base from Guantanamo Bay and lift the trade embargo.
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http://www.cjonline.com/stories/031904/loc_pedro.shtml