May 21, 2002 - Bush: Embargo Stays Until Cuba Reforms*** WASHINGTON - President Bush sent a message of both hope and caution Monday as he promised to maintain the U.S. embargo against Cuba until the government there adopted a wide-ranging series of political and economic reforms.
In two speeches marking Cuban Independence Day, the president offered a set of proposals designed to return Cuba to the "community of democracies" in the Western Hemisphere.
The "Initiative for a New Cuba" calls for free and open elections next year in the National Assembly and the opening of Cuba's economy through a series of improvements, including better treatment of Cuban workers and their ability to form independent trade unions.
"One hundred years ago, Cuba declared her independence and nearly 50 years ago, nearly a half century ago, Cuba's independence and hope for democracy were hijacked by a brutal dictator who cared everything for his own power and nada for the Cuban people," Bush said, denouncing Fidel Castro at a Miami event. Attending were Cuban-American entertainers Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, who immigrated from Cuba as a child.
"All elections in Castro's Cuba have been a fraud. The voices of the Cuban people have been suppressed, and their votes have been meaningless. That's the truth," Bush said in an earlier speech at the White House.
"Start to release your chokehold on the working people and on enterprise," Bush demanded in Miami. "Then - and only then - will we talk about easing sanctions, and not before."
The president was introduced by his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, who is seeking re-election in November.
Thousands of Cuban-Americans roared approval at Bush's remarks, interrupting him again and again with standing ovations and cries of "Libertad! Libertad!" and "Cuba, si, Castro, no!"
Bush shouted back, "Viva Cuba libre!"
Bush's speech represented his administration's most comprehensive Cuba policy statement to date.
"If Cuba's government takes all necessary steps to ensure that the 2003 elections are certifiably free and fair, and if Cuba begins to adopt meaningful market-based reforms, then - and only then - will I work with the United States Congress to ease the ban on trade and travel between the two countries," Bush said.
At present, trade with Cuba is restricted for the most part to U.S. sales of medical-related goods and the cash-only sale of food.
Americans who wish to travel to Cuba generally must receive a license from the Treasury Department. Those with a professional interest in Cuba or with family ties on the island are eligible for licenses. Tourism by Americans is forbidden.
Bush's speeches came just days after former President Carter, during a visit to Cuba, urged an end to the U.S. embargo.
Democrats on Capitol Hill generally expressed disappointment with Bush's statements.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on Latin America, said Bush "set forth a laundry list of actions that the Castro government must take before the U.S. takes even one step toward modifying U.S. policies. "By doing so he has guaranteed that the current political system in Cuba will remain the same."
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said the embargo "has not accomplished one thing it was meant to accomplish. What a foolish policy it is."***
The Bush administration was wary of some suggested steps, such as a ban on cash remittances to Cuban families from relatives in the United States, officials said. That is due to concerns the move could make humanitarian conditions worse and do little to weaken Cuban President Fidel Castro's communist government.
But the administration is discussing ways to aid pro-democracy forces, such as boosting broadcasts from the United States or giving communications equipment such as fax machines to dissidents, an activist said. It was also seeking to rally additional international opposition against Castro.
"To my way of thinking anyway, it's difficult to overcome the humanitarian implications of a cut-off of remittances," one State Department official said on Monday. "It's hard to say to somebody 'You can't send $50 a month to your mother'."
Said an anti-Castro activist: "Everything that I'm being told is not to expect any kind of major policy initiatives (on Tuesday). We're not unhappy with that. I think we need to avoid reactive and predictable steps that maybe run counter to what our actual interests are." Bush is to mark the 101st anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain -- a major rallying date for anti-Castro Cuban-Americans -- by meeting former Cuban political prisoners and relatives of current prisoners at the White House.
The meeting comes only weeks after Cuba jailed some 75 dissidents in its harshest crackdown in decades. Cuba's government has called the crackdown and prison sentences of six to 28 years a defense against U.S. "mercenaries."
"We will highlight the brutal repressive nature of this regime," a U.S. official said of the Tuesday's White House event.
Although banning cash remittances would have an immediate impact on Cuba's struggling economy, the payments -- estimated to be as much as $1 billion a year -- are a vital source of income for many Cubans coping with economic hardship since the collapse of the Soviet Union. [End]
There's the reason for maintaining the embargo: Jimmy Carter, the foreign policy FAILURE, tyrant appeaser, and numero uno hater of America!
Yes, Jimmy Carter hates America for voting him out of office. He's a bitter and spiteful little man, whom the press adores primarily for his left-wing views, and not for his 'habitat for humanity.'
Carter has many people fooled, but not me. He may be a USNA graduate, but he didn't learn a damn thing.