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US GOVERNMENTS REPORTS |
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07 April 2002
"The United
States and Cuba," by Secretary of State Colin Powell
Secretary of State condemns repression
in Cuba, urges democratic change
The column "The United States and Cuba," by Secretary of State Colin Powell,
appeared April 7, 2002, in Diario Las Americas.
Permission has been obtained from Diario Las Americas for
republication/translation of the following text by State Department/local
press in the Western Hemisphere. Credit Diario Las Americas as follows:
"Copyright (c) Diario Las Americas 2002. Reprinted by permission."
"The United States and Cuba" By Secretary of State Colin Powell
The nations of the Western Hemisphere met in Washington in late January to
approve an ambitious plan of action and cooperation to combat terrorism in
our region and in the world. Only one hemispheric country was missing --
Cuba. Our island neighbor continues to isolate itself from participation in
the vital concerns of our day and to resist the movement toward democracy,
human rights and free-market economics that has swept the hemisphere. U.S.
policy is to promote and support a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
Cuba has made several public relations overtures to the United States in
recent months but, unfortunately, the Cuban fundamentals remain the same.
The personal, political and economic freedoms that have found a home in
countries throughout our hemisphere have yet to find a welcome in Cuba. The
Cuban government still maintains an iron grip over its own people.
The government of Cuba also has made some inaccurate and inflammatory
statements about the United States since September 11. Cuba's foreign
minister, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, said that the U.S.
deliberately targeted civilians in Afghanistan. Official government
statements also suggested that we brought the September 11 attacks on
ourselves. The Cuban media repeated these and other baseless accusations
daily for several months.
In the wake of Hurricane Michelle, the United States government's Office of
Foreign Disaster Assistance offered to do a humanitarian damage assessment
in Cuba. The Cuban government declined the assistance. It also suggested
that its decision to purchase U.S. agricultural products after the hurricane
had opened the way toward normalization of relations with the United States.
This spin confuses American humanitarian sympathy for the people of Cuba
with acceptance of a government that denies them the basics of freedom and
opportunity.
In recent years, the U.S. government has sought to expand people-to-people
contact with Cuba and to make it easier for food and humanitarian supplies
to reach the Cuban people. But we would not be true to our own ideals if we
ignored the continued denial of basic human rights that the Cuban government
inflicts on its own people.
The people of Cuba have no freedom of speech, freedom of movement, or right
to private property. They continue to be jailed arbitrarily for criticizing
their government. It is on these issues that an improvement in Cuba's
relations with the United States must wait.
Meantime, there are courageous individuals in Cuba who are working daily and
heroically against great repression to bring about the institutions and
practices of a civil society. The United States will do all it can to
encourage them and to promote a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.
President Bush has said, "America will always stand firm for the
non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the
power of the state; respect for women; private property; free speech; equal
justice; and religious tolerance." A much better future waits for Cuba, one
marked by a respect for human rights, the rule of law, open markets and
greater prosperity. We look forward to the day when Cuba's people can
breathe free and their country joins the large and vital family of
democracies.
(The author is the U.S. Secretary of State.) |
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