HAVANA, March 14, (APP/AFP) – US President Barack
Obama, who visits Cuba in a week, promised dissidents he would directly discuss human rights issues with their president, Raul Castro, in a letter published Sunday.
Obama told the Ladies in White, a group of wives and children of
political prisoners, that he understood their struggle, in the letter dated March 10 but published online by the dissident organization three days later.
“I fully understand the obstacles that ordinary Cubans face in
exercising their rights,” Obama wrote in English. “The United States believes that no one in Cuba or anywhere else should face harassment, arrest, or assault just because they are exercising a universal right to have their voices heard.”
“As I have in the past, I will raise these issues directly with
President Castro,” Obama stressed.
The White House confirmed to AFP that the letter was authentic.