Posted on 04/10/2002 1:10:19 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Former President Jimmy Carter is preparing to meet with President Fidel Castro of Cuba next month in what both supporters and opponents of current U.S. policy toward Cuba hope will ultimately open the way for changes in the two countries' relationship.
Carter will be the first former president to travel to Havana since Castro took control in 1959.
''President Carter looks forward to the opportunity to meet with Cubans from all walks of life and to talk with President Castro,'' said Deanna Congileo, a Carter spokeswoman.
Permission for the trip was granted last week when the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control decided Carter's request was legitimate under the license category of ``activities of private foundations or research or educational institutions.''
That license is issued to people traveling on behalf of institutions ''that have an established interest in international relations to collect information related to Cuba for noncommercial purposes,'' said Tasia Scolinos, a Treasury Department spokeswoman.
The visit, scheduled for the middle of next month, has energized members in both camps of the Cuba issue -- those who support a hard-line approach and those who believe engagement is the better tool to bring about democratic changes on the communist-ruled island.
Carter has strongly opposed the embargo on Cuba and backs an end to travel restrictions. But he also has been a vocal champion of human rights.
''This is an important, historical visit,'' said Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Institute for Cuba and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami. ``It could be very productive if Carter emphasizes the issue of human rights. He will raise his moral stature if he puts in context support for lifting in the embargo in exchange for respect for human rights.''
While those opposed to the embargo are hopeful Carter will return from Havana with a message of engagement, those opposed to taking a softer stance say the trip provides an opportunity to shine an international spotlight on human rights abuses and lack of freedom under the Castro regime.
''It's exciting news,'' said Sally Grooms Cowal, president of the Cuba Policy Foundation in Washington. ``It sends a signal to the Cuban people that America is willing to engage. It initiates at least the beginning of a dialague.''
Joe Garcia, executive director of the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, said the visit provides an opportunity to force Castro's hand.
''Carter's greatest legacy is his belief of mixing human rights with U.S. foreign policy,'' Garcia said. ``Hopefully, Mr. Carter will stay focused on what he's good at.''
Cubans on the island recently interviewed about the prospects of a visit by Carter said it would be a welcomed gesture.
''That would be marvelous,'' said Alexis Capote, 32, who works at an ice cream stand along the Malecón. ``Anything to help better relations between Cuba and the United States.''
The Carter Center at Emory University in Atlanta expects to release details on the proposed trip in about a week.
Carter, a Democrat who held the White House from 1977-81, is credited with opening communication between Havana and Washington after nearly two decades of hostility and virtually no contact.
Though the United States and Cuba do not maintain full diplomatic ties, a U.S. interests section was opened in Havana during Carter's administration. Cuba also has an interests section in Washington and the offices serve as diplomatic liaisons between both nations.
Castro, who extended the invitation to Carter in January, has publicly stated that the former president is free to ``make all the criticisms he wants to.''
In preparation for the trip, Washington is sending a State Department official to the Carter Center to give a briefing on Cuba.
''Now that he is going, we hope that he will take a message supporting democracy, human rights and freedom,'' said a White House official. ``President Bush hopes that message will be taken directly to Fidel Castro.''
President Bush, meanwhile, is expected to unveil the administration's revised policy on Cuba later this month. Plans also are under way for Bush to visit Miami in May to commemorate Cuba's independence from Spain.
At a similar celebration in the White House last year, Bush said he would stand firm behind the embargo as a ``moral statement.''
Maria Recio, a staff writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, contributed to this report from Havana.
Amen, my friend.
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