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President Obama's Responseso Yoani Sanchez'sQuestionsThank you for this opportunity o exchange iews with you and your readers nCubaand around he world and congratulations n receiving he Maria MooreCabotPrize award rom the Columbia University GraduateSchoolofJournalism for coverageofLatin America that furthers nter-Americanunderstanding. ourichly deserved he award. 1 was disappointed ou were denied he ability to
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travel to receive he award n personoYour blog provides he world a unique widow into the realities of daily life inCuba. It is telling that the Internet hasprovidedyou and other courageousCuban bloggerswith an outlet to express ourself so freely, and 1 applaudyour collectiveefforts to empower ellow Cubans o express hemselveshrough he useoftechnology. The govemmentand peopleof the United Statesoin all of you in looking forward to the day all Cubanscan reely express hemselvesn publicwithout fear and without reprisals.QUESTION #1: FOR YEARS, CUBA HAS BEEN A U.S. FOREIGN POLICYISSUE AS WELL AS A DOMESTIC ONE, IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF,THE LARGE CUBAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. FROM YOURPERSPECTIVE, N WHICH OF THE TWO CATEGORIES SHOULD THECUBAN ISSUE FIT?
AII foreignpolicy ssuesnvolvedomestic omponents,speciallyssues
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concemingneighbors ike Cuba rom which fue United Stateshas a largeimmigrant population and with which we have a long history of relations. Ourcommitment o protect and support ree speech, uman ights, and democraticgovemance t home and around he world also cuts across he foreignpolicy/domesticpolicy divide. AIso, many ofthe challenges haredby our twocountries, ncluding migration, drug rafficking, and economic ssues, nvolvetraditional domesticand foreign policy concems. Thus, U.S. relationswith Cubaare rightly seen n both a foreign and domesticpolicy contextoQUESTION 2: SHOULD YOUR ADMINISTRATION BE WILLING TO PUTAN END TO TRIS DISPUTE, WOULD IT RECOGNIZE THE LEGITIMACY
 
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OF THE RAUL CASTRO GOVERNMENT ÁS THE ONL y V ALIDINTERLOCUTOR IN THE EVENTUAL T ALKS?
As 1 have said before, 1 am prepared o havemy administrationengagewith the Cubangovernmenton a rangeof issuesof mutual nterestas we have alreadydone in the migration and direct mail talks. It is algomy intent to facilitate greatercontactwith fue Cubanpeople,especiallyamongdivided Cuban amilies, which 1 have doneby removing U.S. restrictionson family visits and remittances.We seek o engagewith Cubansoutsideof the governmentas we do eIsewhere around he worId, as he government,of course, s not the onIy voice that mattersin Cuba. We take every opportunity o interactwith the fuII rangeof Cubansocietyand Iook forward to the day when fue government eflects he freeIyexpressedwiII of the CubanpeopIe.QUESTION 3: HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RENOUNCED THE USE OFMILITARY FORCE AS THE WAY TO END THE DISPUTE?The United Stateshas no intention of using military force in Cuba. The UnitedStates upports ncreased espect or human ights and for political and economicfreedoms n Cuba,and hopes hat !he Cubangovernmentwill respond o the desire of the Cubanpeople o enjoy the benefitsof democracyand be able o freely determine Cuba's future. Only the Cubanpeoplecan bring aboutpositive change in Cubaand t is our hope hat they will soonbe able o exercise heir full potential,QUESTION 4: RAUL CASTRO HAS SAID PUBLICL y THA T HE IS OPENTO DISCUSSANY TOPIC WITH THE U.S. PROVIDED THERE IS MUTUALRESPECTAND A LEVEL PLA YING FIELD. IS RAUL ASKING TOOMUCH?For years, have said hat it is time to purguedirect diplomacy,without preconditions,with friends and foes llike. I am not interested, owever, n talkingfor the sakeof talking. In the caseof Cuba,suchdiplomacy should create opportunities o advance he interestsof the United Statesand he causeof freedom for the Cubanpeople.We have already nitiated a dialogueon afeasof mutual concem gafe, egal, andorderly migration, and reestablishing irect mail service. Theseare small steps,
 
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but an mportant part of a process o move U.
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-Cuban relations in a new and more
positive, direction. Achieving a more normal relationship,however,will requireaction by the Cubangovernment.QUESTION 5: IN A HYPOTHETICAL U.S.-CUBA DIALOGUE, WOULDYOU ENTERTAIN PARTICIPA TION FROM THE CUBAN EXILE COMMUNITY, THE CUBA-BASED OPPOSITIONGROUPSAND NASCENTCUBAN CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS?When consideringany policy decision, t is critical to listen to as many diversevoices aspossible. When t comes o Cuba,we do exactly hat. The U.S.government egularly talks with groupsand ndividuals inside and outsideof Cuba that have an nterest n our relations. Many do not always agreewith the Cubangovernment;many do not always agreewith the United Statesgovernment;and many do not agreewith eachother. What we shouldall be able o agreeon moving forward is the need o listen to the concernsof Cubanswho live on theisland. This is why everythingyou are doing to project your voice is so mportant- not ust for the advancement f the freedomof expressiontself, but algo orpeopleoutsideof Cuba o gain a betterunderstanding f the life, struggles,oys, and dreamsof Cubanson fue island.
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QUESTION 6: YOU STRONGL SUPPORTTHE DEVELOPMENT OF NEWCOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES. BUT,CUBANS CONTINUE TO HA VE LIMITED ACCESSTO THE INTERNET.HOW MUCH OF THIS IS DUE TO THE U.S. EMBARGO AND HOW MUCH
OF T IS THE RESPONSIBILITYOF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT? .
My administrationhas aken mportant steps o promote he free flow ofinformation o and from the Cubanpeopleparticularly through new technologies.We havemadepossiblegreater elecommunicationsinks to advance nteraction betweenCubancitizens and ue outsideworld. This will increase he means throughwhich Cubanson the island can communicatewith eachother and with personsoutsideof Cuba, or example,by expandingopportunities or fiber optic and satellite ransmissionso and rom Cuba. This will not happenovemight. Norwill it have ts full effect without positive actionsby the Cubangovernment. 1understandhe Cubangovernmenthasannounced plan to provide Cubansgreater
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