September 16, 1999

BBC News. September 15, 1999 Published at 19:42 GMT 20:42 UK

The secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, Cesar Gaviria, says Cuba remains the biggest single political problem for the western hemisphere.

Mr Gaviria, speaking in Washington at the start of his second term in office, said he hoped that when his mandate expired in five years' time, Cuba would have progressed towards a democratic and pluralistic society. Mr Gaviria, a former Colombian president, urged all thirty-four members of the OAS to work towards the organisation's goals of regional integration, peace, democracy, justice and freedom.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

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