09 May 2004	Sunday	18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

HAVANA: New US policy prescriptions aimed at "hastening" a transition to democracy in Cuba were received with scepticism or even outright disapproval by dissidents, while the government of Fidel Castro threatened to file a complaint in international forums.

"If the aim is to democratize Cuba, the effect will be the contrary," Manuel Cuesta, spokesman for Arco Progresista, a coalition of social democratic dissident groups, told IPS.

The plan, which will stiffen the four-decade US embargo against this socialist island nation, was announced by President George W. Bush on Thursday in Washington. A total of 59 million dollars will be allocated for its implementation.

The measures will limit family visits to Cuba to just one trip every three years, under a specific licence only valid for visiting immediate family members. In addition, it will reduce the amount that visitors from the United States can spend on food and lodging in Cuba, from 164 dollars a day to just 50 dollars a day.

Furthermore, it will promote the creation of an international fund, in collaboration with other countries, to help protect and develop civil society in Cuba and finance educational programmes for the children of dissidents.

At the same time, the Bush administration said it will step up enforcement and "sting operations" against "mules" who carry money or other supplies to Cuba illegally, while baggage limits will also be strictly enforced.

Mr Cuesta said the measures would have a "negative" impact on dissident groups in Cuba, which were hit hard last year when 75 activists were given lengthy prison sentences for allegedly "conspiring" with the United States.

"The US government's money and meddlesome support weakens the dissident movement, even those who have no traditional links with US policy towards Cuba, as in the case of Arco Progresista," he argued.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Cuban government said the new measures are "unacceptable provocations that destroy the norms and principals of international law."

The measures will thus have to be discussed "in the most diverse global forums, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva," said the communique.

Vladimiro Roca, spokesman for the dissident coalition Todos Unidos, said he was grateful for "anything that is done in favour of democracy" in Cuba, and said foreign aid was "necessary" to make it possible for him and other activists to remain in the country, exercising their right to dissent.

"If the government feels that it has to throw us in jail, it will do so, whether or not (US) support exists," said Mr Roca, who completed a five-year prison term in 2002 on charges of "sedition".

He downplayed the importance of the travel restrictions proposed by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, which was created by the US government last year to help focus efforts on achieving its objectives of "hastening Cuba's peaceful transition to a representative democracy and a free market economy".

The commission was coordinated by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega.

"People will keep travelling, they'll just come in through third countries instead of using direct flights from the United States," said Mr Roca-Dawn/The InterPress News Service.