Reverend Jim Winkler. (Picture: cubadebate.cu)
We will continue working with people of good will in the U.S. so Congress eliminates the blockade against Cuba and we normalize relations, said Reverend Jim Winkler, President of the National Council of Churches of that country (NCC).
It will take time and will need hard work, but we will make our voice heard. Removing the blockade is the right thing to do, he said in an interview with the Cuban press that recently traveled to Washington for the third round of talks between Cuba and the U.S., ACN reported on June 3.
The Reverend, who has traveled to Cuba on several occasions, most recently a few weeks ago, agreed to give his point of view about the change of direction of relations between the two countries. He confessed to be among the surprised with the announcements of December 17: “…we have long worked for the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, but we didn’t anticipate this piece of news…”
He also said that he did not think the Obama administration had the political courage to make that decision. It is a big step forward for the President and the country publicly acknowledge that the policy has failed; the U.S. people have welcomed this decision. Some disagree, but most U.S. citizens support the change of direction with respect to Cuba, including most churches belonging to the NCC, an organization founded in 1950 that has 45 million members in more than 100,000 congregations in local communities throughout the United States.
Winkler confessed it was wonderful to visit Cuba recently and see the spirit of the people with the announcements made by Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama.
He showed a 1973 document by the NCC, which demanded that if the US had normalized relations with the Soviet Union, why couldn’t the same thing happen in the case of Cuba.
We know it takes a lot more pressure and we have to be more consistent in working with Congress, we hope that Cuban church leaders join us in Washington to have some meetings on Capitol Hill, said the Reverend.
