Today, President Bush announced
measures to help prepare Cuba for transition to a democratic
future, including a new initiative to develop an international
multi-billion dollar Freedom Fund. Before
his speech, the President met with family members of political
prisoners in Cuba. The President believes that now
is the time to stand with the Cuban people as they stand
up for their liberty. The world should put aside its
differences and prepare for Cuba's transition to a future
of progress and promise.
• The President has asked
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary
Carlos Gutierrez to lead the effort to form the Freedom
Fund by enlisting foreign governments and international
organizations to contribute. This Fund
would help the Cuban people rebuild their economy and
make the transition to democracy. It would give
Cubans access to grants, loans, and debt relief to rebuild
their country as soon as Cuba's government demonstrates
that is has adopted, in word and deed, fundamental freedoms:
freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of
the press, freedom to form political parties, and the
freedom to change their government through periodic, multi-party
elections.
• The President also announced
measures that the United States government is prepared
to take right now to help the Cuban people directly –
but only if Cuba's ruling class gets out of the way.
-- If Cuban rulers will
end their restrictions on Internet access for all of
the Cuban people, the U.S. is prepared to license nongovernmental
organizations and faith-based groups to provide computers
and Internet access to Cuban students.
-- If Cuban rulers allow them to
freely participate, the U.S. is prepared to invite Cuban
young people whose families suffer oppression into the
Partnership for Latin American Youth Scholarship Program,
designed to help them have equal access to greater educational
opportunities.
• The President highlighted
family members of political prisoners in Cuba who have
been jailed for nothing more than their beliefs.
-- Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso was arrested
for writing ideas that the Cuban authorities did not
like, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
-- Jose Luis Garcia Paneque was sentenced
to 24 years in prison for daring to speak the truth
about Cuba's regime.
-- Omar Pernet Hernandez is serving
25 years in prison for being an advocate of freedom
and human rights and was punished for his beliefs.
-- Jorge Luis Gonzalez Tanquero was
arrested and is serving time inside a Cuban prison,
charged with crimes against the state after defending
the human rights of his countrymen.
-- The President also mentioned leading
dissidents such as Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Normando
Hernandez Gonzales, and Omar Rodriguez Saludes.
The President reiterates U.S. Government
policy that the embargo on the Cuban regime must stand as
long as the regime maintains its monopoly over the political
and economic life of the Cuban people. Trade
with Cuba under the current regime would merely enrich the
elites in power and strengthen their grip. Congress should
show their support and solidarity for fundamental change
in Cuba by maintaining our embargo on the dictatorship until
that change comes.
The Free World Can Do Much More
To Show Its Solidarity With The Cuban People
The United States stands with the
Cuban people in their suffering. We have
granted asylum to hundreds of thousands who have fled the
repression and misery imposed by the regime, rallied nations
to take up the banner of Cuban liberty, and authorized private
citizens and organizations to provide food, medicine, and
other aid. This aid totaled over $270 million last
year alone.
The President thanked members of
Congress for their bipartisan support in a vote for
additional funding for Cuban democracy efforts and asked
them to complete work on the measure, so that he may quickly
sign it into law.
President Bush also calls on other
nations to make tangible efforts to show public support
for dissidents in Cuba. The Czech Republic,
Hungary, and Poland have shown their leadership and courage
by becoming vital sources of support and encouragement to
Cuba's brave democratic opposition. The President
encourages other nations to follow their lead by:
-- Opening their embassies in Havana to
pro-democracy leaders and inviting them to events;
-- Using the lobbies of their embassies
to give Cubans access to the Internet, books, and magazines;
and
-- Encouraging their country's nongovernmental
organizations to reach out directly to Cuba's independent
civil society.
The United States Is Committed
To Helping Cuba Join The Democracies of the World
The policy of the United States
is clear: to break the absolute control the regime holds
over the material resources that Cubans need to live and
prosper. The Cuban people are denied the
most basic freedoms and opportunities – freedoms that
are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and which governments in our hemisphere have agreed to honor
and defend in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
Throughout the Western Hemisphere,
the United States has established itself as a reliable partner
that has worked to strengthen the sovereignty of our neighbors
by supporting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law
and by promoting open markets.
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