Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/556850
ByBradleyKlapperand Michael Weissenstein The Associated Press HAVANA Jubilant crowds waved American flags and chanted "Long live the United States!" as the Stars and Stripes rose over the newly reopened U.S. Em- bassy in Cuba on Friday af- ter a half-century of often- hostile relations. Secretary of State John Kerry cele- brated the day but also made an extraordinary, nationally broadcast call for democratic change on the island. Hundreds of Cubans mixed with American tour- ists outside the former U.S. Interests Section, newly emblazoned with the let- ters "Embassy of the United States of America." They cheered as Kerry spoke, the United States Army Brass Quintet played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and U.S. Marines raised the flag alongside the building over- looking the famous Male- con seaside promenade. Meeting more than 54 years after the severing of diplomatic relations, Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minis- ter Bruno Rodriguez set an early September date for the start of talks on full nor- malization of a relationship so long frozen in enmity. Not all the talk was as warm as the sunny sum- mer day. Kerry and Ro- driguez said their nations would continue to disagree over issues such as democ- racy and human rights. But they also said they hoped to make progress on issues ranging from maritime se- curity and public health to the billions of dollars in du- eling claims over confisca- tion of U.S. property and the U.S. economic embargo on the island. It seemed that virtu- ally all of Cuba was glued to television or listening by cellphone as Kerry di- rectly addressed the is- land's people on political re- form. That's a subject that has remained off-limits in Cuba even as the single- party government has im- plemented a series of eco- nomic reforms and re-es- tablished diplomatic ties with the U.S. "We remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democ- racy, where people are free to choose their leaders, ex- press their ideas, practice their faith," Kerry said. He spoke before an audience of Cuban and U.S. diplomats on the embassy grounds and hundreds of thousands, per- haps millions, of islanders watching and listening live. Addressing reporters with Kerry after the cere- mony, Rodriguez responded by indignantly opening his remarks with complaints of U.S. human rights trans- gressions — from police shootings of black men to mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. naval base that Cuba says must be returned. "Cuba isn't a place where there's racial discrimina- tion, police brutality or deaths resulting from those problems," Rodriguez said. "The territory where tor- ture occurs and people are held in legal limbo isn't un- der Cuban jurisdiction." Many Cubans disagree with that assessment, in- cluding Afro-Cubans who say discrimination is still rampant despite the revolu- tion's egalitarian ideals, and human rights groups who say regular, short-term ar- rests of government oppo- nents aim to intimidate dis- sent and include beatings. In New York, Republi- can presidential contender Marco Rubio, a Cuban- American senator from Florida, said he would re- verse the Obama adminis- tration's new Cuba policy on his first day in office, argu- ing it gives the Castro gov- ernment international legit- imacy and more resources to repress its people. Kerry acknowledged that the Obama administration would have a difficult fight in Congress to end the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba so that normal business ties between the two countries could resume. President Barack Obama also called for change in Cuba when he announced the new U.S. policy of en- gagement in December, but his words were less pointed than Kerry's in Havana. Cuba formally reopened its Washington embassy last month. DETENTE Kerry calls for democracy as US flag raised in Cuba ISMAELFRANCISCO—CUBADEBATE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry watches the raising of the American flag at the newly opened U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, on Friday. By Andrew Taylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON Opponents of President Barack Obama's nuclear pact with Iran tried turninguptheheatthisweek on undecided Senate Demo- crat Jon Tester with a TV ad saying politician like him would have "blood on their hands" if they supported the deal.ButtheburlyMontanan came out in favor, the latest of a string of Democrats to shrug off ad campaigns from opposition groups. The ad against Tester was pretty tough, but the real money is being spent by an offshoot of the high-powered American Israel Political Ac- tion Committee, which is running ads on nationwide TV and in the states of more than a dozen undecided Democrats, among them Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Chris Coons of Del- aware and Mark Warner of Virginia. The accord would curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, and the House and Senate are slated to vote next month on a reso- lution of disapproval. "Iran had signed a treaty banning torture, but they did it anyway," says Ahmad Batebi, an Iranian human rights activist who was tor- tured by the regime. "Now they've signed a deal prom- ising no nuclear weapons, but they keep their nuclear facilities and ballistic mis- siles. What do you think they'll be doing?" The ad by Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, the AIPAC-sponsored group, is tougher than an earlier one it ran. But the ad doesn't ask viewers to take any action, like calling their senator or congressman. And it doesn't name names. Instead, it dis- plays the group's website ad- dress, where those inclined to visit will find more infor- mation and get automated assistance in calling their lawmakers. "If part of what you're try- ing to do is influence mem- bers of Congress to vote against the deal — it's not the members of Congress who are going to see this, you're targeting it to their constitu- ents — so I don't understand why there isn't a call to ac- tion at the end of the ad. You know, 'Call Congress, call your congressman' to gener- ate heat that way," said Ro- dell Mollineau of Rokk Solu- tions, who has orchestrated ad campaigns for American Bridge 21st Century, a Dem- ocratic super PAC. So do lawmakers feel like the ads are tightening the screws? It is August, af- ter all, when fewer eyeballs watch TV and many people are on vacation. "No pressure at all," said Manchin spokesman Jon- athan Kott, adding that his boss is leaning toward supporting the agreement. "I know he is aware of the ads and campaigns, but he hasn't heard about them from constituents." The ad aimed at Tester — whose staff has yet to see it aired on Montana's airwaves — was produced by a group called Vets Against the Deal and features an Iraq War veteran who was badly wounded by a blast from an Iranian-made bomb. "Every politician who is involved in this will be held accountable. They will have blood on their hands," says retired Staff Sgt. Robert Bartlett, whose facial scars are evident. Tester announced on Thursday that he was back- ing the deal. "It's clear this deal is the only option right now to stop Iran from devel- oping a nuclear weapon," the senator said in a statement. The AIPAC-allied group is also running ads in the Philadelphia media market, aimed at Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Coons and Cory Booker, D-N.J. 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