Cuba return to OAS not automatic: Clinton
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Cuba's return to the Organization of American States will not be automatic, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday after the body voted to lift a 47-year ban on Havana.
"Cuba can come back into the OAS in the future if the OAS decides that its participation meets the purposes and principles of the organization, including democracy and human rights," Clinton said in a statement.
In an historic move on Wednesday, the OAS agreed to lift the suspension on Cuba's membership imposed in 1962 and which barred the island because of its Marxist orientation.
The new text adopted at the OAS summit in Honduras on Wednesday said that to complete its readmission Cuba would have to comply with "the practices, aims and principles of the OAS" which includes the democratic guidelines set out in its charter.
Clinton had insisted in talks at the Honduras summit that communist-run Cuba should not be readmitted to the body without pre-conditions demanding democratic and human rights reforms.
In a marathon talks Tuesday the US delegation appeared to have failed to broker a deal for Cuba's return.
But Clinton praised OAS officials saying: "The member nations of the OAS showed flexibility and openness today, and as a result we reached a consensus that focuses on the future instead of the past.
"I am pleased that everyone came to agree that Cuba cannot simply take its seat and that we must put Cuba's participation to a determination down the road -- if it ever chooses to seek reentry.
"If and when the day comes to make that determination, the United States will continue to defend the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and other fundamental tenets of the organization."
Alluding to the tough negotiations, Clinton said: "Many member countries originally sought to lift the 1962 suspension and allow Cuba to return immediately, without conditions.
"Others agreed with us that the right approach was to replace the suspension -- which has outlived its purpose after nearly half a century -- with a process of dialogue and a future decision that will turn on Cuba's commitment to the organization's values."
Cuba is the Americas' only one-party communist regime, and a harsh OAS critic. Though political parties other than the Cuban Communist Party are outlawed in Cuba, Havana maintains Cuba is a democracy, and far less corrupt than other multiparty governments.
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News outlets are reporting that the Organization of American States (OAS) has voted to rescind the 1962 suspension of Cuba.  The Washington D.C. based organization had suspended the island nation in 1962, three years after Fidel Castro led the successful overthrow of the U.S. backed Batista government. At the time, the organization cited the incompatibility of Cuba's Marxist-Leninist doctrine with its own charter.

Since Cuba's suspension the U.S. government has stated that any lifting of the ban would depend upon both developments of personal freedoms and democratic reforms on the island.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had stated at the OAS meeting that "membership in the OAS must come with responsibilities;" however, the U.S. delegation left before the final vote citing the inability of the organization to reach an agreement on the issue of Cuba.  

Many Latin American governments, most of whom have long since called for the lifting of the Cuban suspension without precondition, have applauded the vote. Honduran President Zelaya declared that "the cold war has ended," while the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Fander Falconí, stated that "this is a moment of rejoicing for all of Latin America."  Falconí was careful to clarify that although the vote itself was voted upon "without conditions," it was not an open invitation to the Cuban government to take a seat at the organization.  The vote removes the ban upon Cuba's membership, but OAS member states must still satisfy OAS requirements and conventions on human rights.

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said that the United States had worked to ensure "the return of Cuba to participation in the OAS will be done consistent with the principles and purposes of the democracy and human rights."