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Show DAILY Thursday, May 8, 2008 HERALD A3 President Bush criticizes new Cuban leadership Jennifer Loven THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ' WASHINGTON President Bush said Wednesday that Cuba's Castro leadership has made only "empty gestures at reform" and rejected calls for easing of U.S. restrictions on the communist island. "Until there is a change of heart and a change of compassion and a change of how the Cuban government treats its people, there's no change at all," Bush said at the State Department to the Council of Americas, a business group M that advocates for democracy I and open markets in the Western Hemisphere. "Cuba will not be a land of liberty so long as free expression is punished and free speech can take place only in hushed whispers and silent prayersrAndCubawill not become a place of prosperity just by easing restrictions on the sale of products that the averI age Cuban cannot afford." The White House also said Wednesday that the president spoke by videoconf erence this i post-Fid- Bush to make it easier for Cuban Americans in the United States to visit family members on the island and send money to their relatives here. The U.S. Interests Section in Havana, where the activists went to participate in the conference, did not say what, if anything, Bush said in response to Roque's request. But his speech gave a clue that he's not open to change in the current U.S. approach. Also on the videoconf erence occurred Tuesday, Bush spoke with Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the 75 activists arrested in a 2003 crackdown for offenses against the Castro regime; Ber-t- a Soler, the wife of an activist still jailed for treason, and Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, who was released last year after 17 years in prison. Some of what Bush heard echoed the challenges to his Cuba policy that he hears from some at home. Roque asked were Secretary of State Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. Rice and Gutierrez, a Cuban American who left the island with his parents at age 6, chair the White House Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. Rice once said the commission was created to "accelerate the demise of Castro's tyranny." The Castros have dismissed it as an effort to destabilize Cuban society. The activists said Bush congratulated them on their bravery. "He's a president who leaves power in 10 months, but he's the head of state closest to the Cuban people," Soler told The Associated Press later. "He is one of the few presidents worrying about Cuba's problems." It was the first time Bush has spoken directly to opposition leaders on the island, the U.S. Interests Section said The use of U.S. property in Havana to facilitate the conversation won't please Cuba's govern ment, which tolerates no organized opposition and dismisses dissidents as mercenaries trying to topple the communist system. In March, Bush met at the White House with a former Cuban prisoner and his wife anniverto mark the five-yesary of the 2003 arrests. U.S.-pai- d ar I Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez contributed to this story from Havana. V. I, 1 II j Let's Build Something Together ' A 1 week with democratic activists in Cuba, an unprecedented move that may enrage the Castro government. The developments are part of a stepped-u- p effort by Bush to talk about Cuba and press for political change since Fidel Castro officially stepped down in February after nearly a half century ruling the island. Fidel's brother, Raul, took over as president in the ailing leader's place, and has unveiled a series of changes in Cuba since then, from raising salaries to dropping irritating limits on what Cubans can buy and sell. For years, lawmakers of both parties have been trying to chip away at the United States' Cold War-er- a trade, travel and home visit restrictions aimed at undermining a hostile government just 90 miles from U.S. shores. They contend the leadership change in Havana provides the opportunity to lift the embargo. But Bush has stressed that a new Castro does not mean a new Cuba, and he did so again on Wednesday. He said Cuba's government i1 Great in containers Blooms until first frost $998 - Great for borders Assorted Annuals n 1 - $028 Annual Wide range 93394 shown) iSi i Easy to grow of flower colors (Impatiens I I- - . v P 1 W . 10" pot 1 Annual Hanging Basket Shades of red, pink, salmon, coral, blue, purple, white, cream, and yejjpw (Petunias shown) 90639 - Ii Blooms June to September 'Sun or partial sun V ii 13 i 1 f. f I tan Ann! r'",- li - 7 ti1Mrj.jtr.j!: T wi'.ii eaUi purcrase Ii $50 in Lowe's Gift Cards. I I i SFECIALVALUS! s jecial Values rebate. 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