THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 5, 1994 TAG: 9409050077
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Cuba on Sunday gave what a U.S. official called an ``outlandish'' response to an American proposal for increased immigration. Officials said bridging the gap will be difficult.
The Cuban delegation's offer called for admitting more than 100,000 immigrants to the United States and for a declaration that the U.S. trade ban with Cuba is at the root of the problem. The response included other unacceptable demands, U.S. officials said.
``They are asking for too much; they have gone too far,'' said one U.S. official. ``It is not acceptable. The numbers are too big, and other things they raised are beyond what we can accept.''
The Cuban request did not specify over what period of time the 100,000 people would be admitted.
The offer came during the third day of talks in which the Clinton administration is trying to persuade Cuban President Fidel Castro to stem the flow of boat people from his country.
Cuba's proposal appears to be based on Havana's complaint that migration through legal channels has been unfairly slow and the U.S. has to make up for lost time.
The proposals threw into question Castro's seriousness in reaching an agreement, U.S. officials said. They expressed some befuddlement about the Cuban offer, and one described the U.S. proposals on immigration as ``generous.''
In these talks, the United States has offered to let a minimum of 20,000 Cubans a year migrate through a combination of immigrant visas, appeals for refugee status and special dispensation from Attorney General Janet Reno.
In effect, the United States would modify a 1984 agreement in which Cubans could qualify for a maximum 20,000 visas a year. Only 11,000 immigrant visas were issued under the program, which was in force for eight of the past 10 years.
``What we have offered is firm, with no loopholes,'' a U.S. official said. It is uncertain politically whether Clinton can increase Cuban immigration above the offer, given national sentiment opposed to the influx of newcomers from poor countries.
According to Cuba's math, about 150,000 Cubans should have been permitted into the United States since 1984, and Washington is beholden to them. ``Just think how many people have died waiting for a visa,'' Cuba's chief negotiator, Ricardo Alarcon, said last week.
State Department spokesman David Johnson held out the possibility that the talks may reach a dead end, saying, ``I want to caution against premature speculation that an agreement will be reached.''
His comments, made when the talks concluded Sunday, were the first pessimistc assessment by U.S. officials since the negotiations began Thursday. Another round is scheduled for today, and U.S. diplomats worked late into the night at the American mission to the U.N. to forge a written response.
KEYWORDS: CUBA REFUGEES IMMIGRANTS by CNB