Clinton Puts Off Final Decision On Cuba Sanctions

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 16) -- In a delicate political and diplomatic maneuver, President Bill Clinton plans to allow Americans to sue foreign firms using assets illegally seized by Cuba after its 1959 revolution, but imposed a six-month delay on any court cases, an administration official said.

Today is the last day the president, under the so-called Helms-Burton amendment, can waive the right of American property owners to prosecute in U.S. courts companies now using confiscated property or assets. Clinton, by default, will allow the amendment to become law, though his moratorium delays any active trials until Feb. 1, 1997.

Asked about his intentions last night, Clinton said, "I must do what I think is in the national interest of the United States and what is likely to bring democracy to Cuba. We have to keep pushing until we get a democratic response in Cuba."

But by delaying, Clinton has effectively punted on the matter. A high priority for Cuban Americans in Florida and New Jersey, Helms-Burton also portends a serious rift with foreign allies. It's a controversy he'd just as soon avoid during an election season; he could even extend past the Feb. 1 deadline.

An example of the international sentiment: "The best way to get change in Cuba is not to clobber your allies," European Union trade official Sir Leon Brittan told the Associated Press.

Republicans, for different reasons, are also angry. "President Clinton's continued indecision until the last possible moment demonstrates, once again, that this president is rudderless when it comes to standing up for American principles," likely GOP nominee Bob Dole said in a speech to the nation's governors.

The bill's author, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) said, "President Clinton has once again taken a firm stand on both sides of an important issue."

Some 5,911 American properties were illegally wrested from their owners from 1959 to 1961 after the Cuban revolution. Though Cuba has expressed its desire to compensate the property owners as part of a rapproachment between the two countries, the administration says such a friendship could only result from dramatic political and economic reform by Cuba.

Clinton Puts Off Final Decision On Cuba Sanctions

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