16 April 2003
Text: USAID Official
Says Agency Will Continue to Assist Cuba's People
(On Capitol Hill, USAID's Karen Harbert describes outreach efforts)
(2010)
Although "many millions of people in another part of the world" have now
been released from the grip of a brutal dictatorship, "the Cuban people are
not yet free," says Karen Harbert, the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Testifying April 16 before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on
International Relations, Harbert condemned the recent "mass arrests and
summary executions" of Cuban dissidents carried out by the regime of Cuba's
President Fidel Castro.
"One hundred peaceful Cuban citizens with courageous conviction that freedom
of thought and expression are fundamental human rights have been charged as
a threat to the regime," she noted. "Seventy-five now face extended prison
terms, while three others who sought a better life elsewhere were executed
by a firing squad at dawn. The Castro regime defended these barbaric
measures as necessary to protect national security."
While President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, other prominent
figures, and numerous international organizations "have joined their voices
in collective denunciation" of Castro's actions, "denunciations are not
enough," Harbert said. Therefore, USAID, "through its Cuba Program, pledges
increased effort and support" to Cubans who are trying to encourage
democratic change and respect for human rights in their country, she
explained.
For several years, USAID has funded action programs "to build solidarity
with Cuba's human rights activists, give voice to Cuba's independent
journalists, help develop Cuba's independent libraries, defend the rights of
Cuban workers, and provide direct outreach to the Cuban people," Harbert
told legislators, adding: "These programs are overt and transparent, as
witnessed by our presence here today."
In accordance with President Bush's Initiative for a New Cuba, which aims to
"accelerate freedom's progress in Cuba in every way possible" and to "offer
scholarships in the United States for Cuban students and professionals who
try to build independent civil institutions in Cuba, and scholarships for
family members of political prisoners," USAID officials "will strengthen our
current efforts in support of Cuba's human rights activists, independent
journalists, independent librarians, [and] independent labor unions, and to
bring hope and information to the Cuban people," Harbert said. She also
pointed out that USAID has "designed a scholarship program to make real the
president's vision for providing an educational leg-up for Cubans."
Since 1996, Cuba's human rights activists have developed national and
international networks "to press the Cuban regime for democratic change,"
she observed. "The Castro regime's latest crackdown, imprisoning scores of
these activists, sought to silence the growing call for change. But the
regime cannot silence the Cuban people, because thousands of new voices
throughout the island now call for democratic change, and their numbers are
increasing every day."
In its attempts to stifle freedom of thought, "the Castro regime has
confiscated books, newsletters, videocassettes, video recorders, laptop
computers, short-wave radios and other materials the Cuban people need to
obtain independent information," Harbert said. She then posed two rhetorical
questions: "Why is the regime afraid of a short-wave radio? What does it
want to hide from the Cuban people?"
These actions by the Castro regime clearly demonstrate that "they are
desperate and afraid," Harbert concluded. Yet the regime "is gradually
losing its grip on the Cuban people," she said. "Some day soon, this regime
will end. It will end because the Cuban people will, with a united voice,
demand democratic change."
In the meantime, "we [at USAID] pledge to increase our efforts to promote
that change, as rapidly and as peacefully as the future permits," Harbert
said.
(begin text)
TESTIMONY OF KAREN A. HARBERT, USAID DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON CUBA
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 16, 2003
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify at this
important hearing on behalf of USAID. As you know, Assistant Administrator
Adolfo Franco wishes he could be here today. These are historic times, when
many millions of people in another part of the world -- long subject to
dictatorship -- have begun to taste the fruits of freedom.
However, the Cuban people are not yet free. The latest Castro regime
atrocities against the Cuban people -- the mass arrests and summary
executions -- have awakened the consciousness of free people everywhere. One
hundred peaceful Cuban citizens with courageous conviction that freedom of
thought and expression are fundamental human rights have been charged as a
threat to the regime. Seventy-five now face extended prison terms, while
three others who sought a better life elsewhere were executed by a firing
squad at dawn. The Castro regime defended these barbaric measures as
necessary to protect national security.
President George Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, USAID Administrator
Andrew Natsios, the U.S. Chief of Mission in Havana, Jim Cason, and scores
of U.S. political luminaries have all denounced, in the strongest terms,
these outrageous actions.
The European Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, international
labor unions, Nobel Prize laureates, and newspapers around the world have
joined their voices in collective denunciation.
But denunciations are not enough. As President Bush has said, we must
greatly increase our efforts to promote a rapid, peaceful transition to
democracy in Cuba. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
through its Cuba Program, pledges increased effort and support to these
vital voices of freedom.
Authorized by Section 109 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
(LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, USAID has funded action programs -- by U.S.
universities and non- overnmental organizations -- to build solidarity with
Cuba's human rights activists, give voice to Cuba's independent journalists,
help develop Cuba's independent libraries, defend the rights of Cuban
workers, and provide direct outreach to the Cuban people. These programs are
overt and transparent, as witnessed by our presence here today.
Since our first grant to Freedom House in the summer of 1996, USAID has
taken seriously the charge to promote a peaceful transition to democracy in
Cuba, by increasing the flow of accurate information on democracy, human
rights, and free enterprise to, from, and within the island. These programs
give voice and strength to the repressed and provide moral support to the
courageous.
On May 20th of last year, President Bush announced his Initiative for a New
Cuba. The president said, "Our plan is to accelerate freedom's progress in
Cuba in every way possible, just as the United States and our democratic
friends and allies did successfully in places like Poland, or in South
Africa ...." The president also said: "Our government will offer
scholarships in the United States for Cuban students and professionals who
try to build independent civil institutions in Cuba, and scholarships for
family members of political prisoners ...."
USAID is proud to be part of this effort. Just as we did in Poland, Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, South Africa, Chile, Nicaragua and elsewhere -- we will
strengthen our current efforts in support of Cuba's human rights activists,
independent journalists, independent librarians, [and] independent labor
unions, and to bring hope and information to the Cuban people. We also have
designed a scholarship program to make real the president's vision for
providing an educational leg-up for Cubans, as articulated in his Initiative
for a New Cuba. We will be announcing that program in the coming weeks.
Over the past seven years, Cuba's human rights activists have developed
national and international-level networks to press the Cuban regime for
democratic change. The Castro regime's latest crackdown, imprisoning scores
of these activists, sought to silence the growing call for change. But the
regime cannot silence the Cuban people, because thousands of new voices
throughout the island now call for democratic change, and their numbers are
increasing every day.
USAID pledges to redouble our effort to build solidarity with Cuba's human
rights activists -- responding with alacrity to their requests for books,
videos, short-wave radios, and other means of information and communication.
Since 1997, USAID grantees have worked with solidarity committees around the
world to call for international support for Cuba's peaceful activists. USAID
has also provided more than 120,000 pounds of food and medicine to the
families of political prisoners and other victims of repression inside Cuba.
We will strive to increase this support. For accepting this humanitarian
assistance (food and medicine), people deprived of jobs, income and medical
care are called by the Cuban government "the paid agents of imperialism."
Contrary to the Cuban government's allegations, USAID is not providing cash
payments to any activists, persons or organizations within Cuba.
The Castro regime last month imprisoned dozens of independent journalists.
But many will still find ways to send to the outside world their reports of
deteriorating economic conditions, human rights violations and the
conditions inside Cuba's prisons, and many others will report from elsewhere
on that imprisoned island. No one believes that imprisonment will silence
the voices of Raul Rivero and other brave Cuban independent journalists.
Over the past several years, USAID grantees have published via the Internet
more than 18,000 articles by Cuba's independent journalists. We will
increase our efforts to publish their reports, and to distribute them in
hard copy on the island. And we will continue to provide Cuba's independent
journalists with the books, videos, training materials, and other
information they request.
The Castro regime has imprisoned many independent librarians for the alleged
"crime" of lending books to their neighbors. Books by Martin Luther King,
Vaclev Havel, Jose Marti, and other alleged "subversives" are the evidence.
USAID has provided Cuba's independent libraries and the Cuban people
directly with more than 1.7 million books, brochures, newsletters and other
informational materials. We will increase this flow of information to the
growing numbers of independent libraries throughout Cuba, and we will
especially increase the circulation inside the island by independent Cuban
writers.
The Castro regime has also imprisoned independent Cuban labor leaders. USAID
will continue to work with free unions world-wide to put pressure on the
Cuban government to respect workers' rights and to allow the development of
independent unions inside Cuba.
The Castro regime has confiscated books, newsletters, videocassettes, video
recorders, laptop computers, short-wave radios and other materials the Cuban
people need to obtain independent information. However, this will not deter
courageous Cubans from expressing independent points of view, nor will it
dissuade USAID from increasing its outreach efforts to the Cuban people. On
the contrary, USAID will increase its programs of outreach to the Cuban
people, to provide them with more books, videos, and short-wave radios with
which they can listen to international radio broadcasts from around the
world, including Voice of America, Radio Marti, the BBC, and Radio
Netherlands. USAID has already provided the Cuban people with more than
7,000 short-wave radios. The Cuban government has denounced this as a
"violation of Cuban national sovereignty" and as "introduction of
contraband." Why is the regime afraid of a short-wave radio? What does it
want to hide from the Cuban people?
The actions of the Castro regime this past month, as well as over the past
decade, show they are desperate and afraid, and choose to resort to
practices and punishments unacceptable to civilized people in this century.
But the Castro regime is gradually losing its grip on the Cuban people. Some
day soon, this regime will end. It will end because the Cuban people will,
with a united voice, demand democratic change.
We pledge to increase our efforts to promote that change, as rapidly and as
peacefully as the future permits. Thank you for this opportunity, and I know
that news of the support of this Congress will somehow penetrate Castro's
prison walls and reach those who deserve it most.
Mr. Chairman, with that I conclude my testimony and am pleased to answer any
questions that you and other committee members may have this afternoon.
Thank you.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) |
