Military

DATE=6-9-03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-

TITLE=POWELL-LATAM O'NITER (S-O)

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=SANTIAGO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Secretary of State Colin Powell meets Argentina's new President Nestor Kirchner today (Tuesday) in Buenos Aires as he completes a Latin American trip that included an Organization of American States foreign ministers meeting in the Chilean capital, Santiago. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from Santiago.

TEXT: The Secretary says he expects the meeting to produce a date for an early visit to Washington by Mr. Kirchner, whose populist policies have been a matter of some concern to some US officials. Mr. Powell has refrained from any criticism of the new leader, and says he intends to listen to his plans for reviving Argentina's economy.

The Secretary told O-A-S ministers Monday he seeks their support on ways to hasten an "inevitable democratic transition" in Cuba. Some O-A-S members are reluctant to debate Cuba's human rights record as long Havana is suspended from the regional body. But Mr. Powell says Cuba's recent crackdown on dissent can't be ignored:

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Cuba is the remaining totalitarian dictatorship in this hemisphere. And even though Cuba does not have membership in the O-A-S, that is no reason that the community of democracies of the O-A-S should not speak out strongly for the Cuban people.

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Only half of the O-A-S member countries signed an O-A-S resolution condemning Cuba last month. (Signed)

NEB/DAG/MAR