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Did you know that this weekend could see the beginning of the end of the the US embargo on Cuba? President Obama is meeting all other regional Heads of State at the Americas Summit in Trinidad and Tobago and there is a growing call for him to commit to engage with Cuba. This would bring to an end half a century of regional polarisation and would set the stage for a new era of dialogue in which respect for human rights and democracy can be pursued.

This is our chance to show the US administration that we want Cuba policy to change. Click this link and add your name to the global petition and Avaaz members will deliver it to Obama and other leaders in the region by posting on the sail of a boat which they will sail in the harbor near the summit:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/lift_cuba_embargo/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

For more information read the full alert below.

Thanks!

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Dear friends,

On Monday, Barack Obama announced a welcome and long-overdue shift in US policy on Cuba, lifting restrictions on family members visiting and sending financial support to relatives on the island.

This week, the U.S. administration is watching for the world's reactions -- as it decides whether to move further. A strong international response now can send a signal to American politicians that we welcome these first steps -- but that much more is needed. It is time to bring an end to the failed and divisive US policy that has punished ordinary Cubans for almost five decades.

We have a unique chance to let be heard at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago this weekend, where Obama will for the first time discuss Cuba with all of his counterparts from throughout the region. Sign the petition calling for US-Cuba engagement now -- Avaaz members will sail a boat in the harbor near the summit and the number of petition signatures will be painted on the boat's sail, for reporters and leaders from across the Americas to see:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/lift_cuba_embargo/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

When the United States put its first embargo on Cuba in 1960, the policy's supporters claimed it would accelerate democracy and human rights. A half-century later, the claim has proven hollow, and has caused immeasurable economic harm to ordinary Cubans, blocking agricultural and medical supplies, new technology, information and ideas.

Some argue that as long as the embargo exists, the Cuban government can blame it instead of being forced to address its own systemic failures and serious breaches of freedom of speech, association and dissension.

Today there is more hope than ever that Cuban - US relations can change, with implications for the whole region. Across Latin America leaders are calling on President Obama to initiate a new beginning. In the US, recent surveys find that three quarters of US citizens want their government to shift away from the policy of isolation, and even previously hard-line Cuban exile groups are calling for change.

At this moment, as the United States and the region responds to Obama's tentative first steps, our voices have a critical role to play. If we remain silent, we risk ceding the debate to polarizing forces in the US and in Latin America who fear a reconciliation.

Sign the petition now, send this message to friends, and watch for the Avaaz sailboat in Trinidad on Saturday:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/lift_cuba_embargo/98.php/?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Let's send a massive message to President Obama and all the regional leaders gathered in Trinidad that a new beginning in relations is possible -- if they are ready to move past the failed policies of the past and embrace the opportunities of the present.

With hope,

Luis, Alice, Paula, Graziela, Ben, Raj, Iain, Ricken, Brett, Paul, Margaret, Pascal, Taren and the rest of the Avaaz team.

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Obama: Lift the Cuban Embargo

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