FOUR POLICY POINTS

“Recommendations for the Immediate Implementation of a

U.S.-Cuba Policy under the Four Promises Doctrine”

OUTREACH TO CIVIL FREEDOM FIGHTERS

It is a well known fact that Vaclav Havel’s Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, and the strength of student and union movements like ‘Solidarity’ in Poland, gave rise to civil society, building islands of independent thought, movement, interaction and self-reliance among the repressed peoples of Eastern Europe.  The development of a self-contained civil society within the gates of repression helped create a parallel culture that offered the people of the former Soviet Bloc countries an alternative to the corruption, exploitation, fear and powerlessness that characterizes communist regimes.   It offered them hope.

However, the triumph of freedom would have been much further delayed without the determined support of the United States, through direct aid, the voice of Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe, and the relentless efforts of the Reagan administration to garner international support and recognition for the brave dissidents and reformists of the time. 

In Cuba we are witnessing a similar situation.  Cubans, increasingly, are losing their fear and vocalizing their desire to be architects of their own future.  We see many examples of this in the efforts of such brave dissidents as Raul Rivero, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Victor Rolando Arroyo, and Oswaldo Paya. We see in Project Varela the same determination to challenge the system that we saw in the ‘Solidarity’ movement two decades ago. The same resilience and determination of a Walesa or a Havel in the civil freedom fighters of the Cuban independent library movement, and in the scores of independent journalists that risk everything so that the world no longer claim ignorance to the barbaric practices of a ruthless regime. 

Cuba’s civil freedom fighters struggle under the tremendous forces of the regime’s repressive machinery, constantly decimated by outrageously long prison sentences delivered under sub-human conditions. Yet, they listen to a lot of rhetorical support from the United States and others while getting very little precious resources to help them endure and overcome. 

Once and again, we have witnessed, in the presence of the necessary political will, what an exemplary role for positive political and social change the United States can play. By isolating Eastern European communist regimes while actively lifting the isolation of the people—supporting the democratic opposition and cultivating an emerging civil society with financial and other means of support—it did what no one could have predicted.  It can do the same in Cuba.

In fact, in a September letter to the Editor of the Washington Post signed by Havel, Walesa and Goncz, the renowned former dissidents and democratically elected Presidents of Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary, called for U.S. policy to emulate Reagan’s successful approach in the 1980’s.  (See attached Washington Post editorial)

The Castro regime counts on hundreds of millions of dollars to repress, harass, incarcerate, yet, the aid we offer those battling against its oppressive forces is minimal, only $4 million dollars for the current fiscal year, much of which must be used outside the island. The U.S. has in recent years granted much more significant aid to dissident groups in places like Serbia-Montenegro where the U.S. Congress passed a bill to provide its civil society with $60 million dollars in aid.  (See: Serbia-Montenegro Act of 1999-Sponsor: Congressman Chris Smith R-NJ)   When Congress has been reluctant, Administrations have on many occasions utilized other mechanisms to speed up aid disbursement.  We have seen this more recently in the $20 million dollar aid package the U.S. authorized to the Palestinian Authority, classifying the U.S. funds as humanitarian aid. 

To achieve the kind of pro-active policy that is necessary in Cuba, we reiterate our previous recommendations:

• Provide direct aid to families of prisoners of conscience especially those denied access to jobs by Cuban authorities or who have lost the wages of an imprisoned spouse or parent.  This is not only for humanitarian reasons, but also to counter the regime’s continued, systematic campaign to decimate Cuba’s peaceful opposition.

• Initiate a vigorous and vibrant assistance to the civil society by developing and overseeing programs that provide material resources to Cuba’s democratic opposition and independent groups, including independent journalists and libraries.  This can be done through Section 109 funds but more speedily through Presidential Directive, or through the State Department classifying the funds as ‘humanitarian aid’. Material resources for Cuba’s activists would include books, radios, computers, printers, digital cameras, small transmitting equipment and low-tech items such as paper and pens. 

• U.S. funding should be used to promote visits by national and international civic groups to teach nonviolent resistance methods and civil society building.  The U.S. government should coordinate with former Eastern bloc nations to use their experience and activists. 

• Provide democratic transition training, low-tech training, and scholarships in areas such as accounting, bookkeeping, building antennas, radio and TV repair, appliance repair.  In short, courses throughout Latin America funded by the U.S. and run through the OAS to engage them on U.S. policy.  Cuban students could also be awarded scholarships by universities or the private sector to attend business schools as well as computer and internet training in the U.S. 

• A micro loan program should also be created to help independent farms and small businesses.  The loans should be a maximum of $1500 and administered by independent groups, coordinated with outside NGO’s or the U.S. Interests Section.  The idea would be to stimulate self-reliance and encourage Cubans to break free from the regime by providing them with the means for greater independence from the controlling and paternalistic state.

• The U.S. should work with NGO’s involved in medical assistance to buy and distribute medicines on the Island, which can be distributed to unemployed physicians and medical personnel.  Over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and similar products can also be distributed to dissidents and human rights organizations to assist in outreach within their communities.

• The United States should work closely with the European Union and other allies to create a government sponsored/privately run international fund for the protection and development of civil society in Cuba. This fund should engage, train and provide resources for volunteers of different nationalities to travel to the Island for several weeks providing logistical and technical assistance to independent libraries, professional organizations, charity organizations, journalists, educators, nurses and medical doctors working independently of the government.
•  

MAKING RADIO AND TV MARTI WORK

Radio Marti, established in 1984, was the first opportunity the Cuban people had in decades to have an independent source of news and information.  Its effect at one point caused the Cuban government to reorganize its radio broadcasts.  Ninety percent of the population was tuning in to Radio Marti.  Unfortunately, through successive administrations, the goals of this federal program were subjected to the whims of patronage politics.

At no time has the need for professional and reliable management combined with a directed message of freedom to the Cuban people, been more important.  However, during the last three years Radio Marti has gone from bad to worse.  The time has come for the federal government to demand professionalism and efficiency from this very useful and critical tool of the U.S. Information Agency.

Since 1986, TV Martí was the brightest and best hope to bring about freedom and democracy to Cuba.  For 17 years now, the efforts and expenditures of TV Marti have been wasted simply because of the lack of commitment on the part of successive administrations.  For nearly two decades, every administration has promised that TV Marti would be seen, yet not one has had the political will to deliver on that promise. 

The lack of success in reaching the Cuban people contrasts with the efforts of the U.S.  throughout the world.  The voices of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty transmitted the message of hope and freedom to those who suffered under communism in the eastern bloc.  It broke down the information barrier and successfully overcame jamming by increasing the power of transmissions or constantly switching frequencies knowing that these countries possessed only a limited amount of transmitters for blocking.  It transmitted radio messages from the air in Afghanistan, successfully took over the airwaves in Iraq, and has found European partners willing and able to participate in transmitting radio programming into Tibet.   The bottom line is that it has been done, and can and should be done in Cuba.  Now is the time for the U.S. to relay a consistent message that is truly in tune with its stated goals of freedom and democracy for its closest neighbor.

To that end, we recommend the following measures be taken:

• Appoint vacancies, unfulfilled since the passing of its Chairman, Jorge Mas Canosa, six years ago, to the Presidential Advisory on Cuba Broadcasts with qualified and knowledgeable individuals, as the law requires.

• Seek out the assistance of our Caribbean and Latin American neighbors in researching possible new locations from which to transmit Radio Marti programming.

• Streamline and professionalize Radio/TV Marti administration-ensuring that individuals hired on as personnel are thoroughly qualified, including actively recruiting technical experts that will address the jamming issue.

• Extensive research, conducted over several years, confirms the feasibility of reaching the Island with both VHF and UHF TV signals, with little potential interference, broadcasting through several, probably three, 2,500 ft. directional antennas. The cost of the equipment and the antennas is estimated not to exceed $3 million dollars. Far less than the cost of a single balloon pointed toward a narrow spectrum of the Island’s population, for a few hours per day, weather permitting, as presently done with meager results. The capability to reach the Island exists; the funds are available, only the political will is missing.

• The heroes of the Brothers to the Rescue organization have proven, with very few resources, that it is possible to transmit a TV signal from a flying plane within the jurisdictional waters of the U.S. and reach Cuba. The U.S. has several C-130 airplanes equipped to transmit TV signals over extended periods of time. This approach has been used with great success in several parts of the world, the latest in Iraq. Why not in Cuba?    

• Distribute video cassette tapes of TV Marti programming via U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

• While Iranian exiles operating out of California have made tremendous impact with their satellite broadcasts into Iran, in Cuba, satellite dishes are illegal and extremely difficult and costly to buy on the black market. In fact, out of a population of over 11 million, it is estimated that only 10,000 inhabitants, outside government offices, have access to a satellite dish.  If there is to be any sort of impact from new TV Marti satellite broadcasts, the U.S. should engage in helping to make accessible the necessary equipment to Cubans via the U.S. Interests Section and other means, as well as distributing information on how to build antennas and dishes.

INDICTMENT OF FIDEL CASTRO FOR THE
BROTHERS TO THE RESCUE MURDERS

Perhaps there is no other issue that can provide a degree of satisfaction to Cuban Americans than an indictment of Fidel Castro for the Brothers to the Rescue murders.  For 44 years, through nine U.S. presidents, Castro has acted with impunity, dividing and destroying a nation, and ordering over 18,000 political assassinations, some as recently as this year.  Cuban Americans are victims of Castro's dictatorship, and they
eagerly seek justice.

Cuban Americans have learned that America's greatness lies in its unflinching commitment to justice.   Unfortunately, in the case of the Brothers to the Rescue murders, that has not been the case.  Although one Castro agent, Gerardo Hernandez, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, and recently the two Cuban MIG pilots and Castro's head of aviation were indicted in Florida, the self-admitted mastermind of the murders goes unaccused and unpunished.

Legal experts have advised us of the following:

           Castro made a grave mistake by sending agents to Florida because
those acts subjected him to the jurisdiction of our federal and state
courts.

             Concerns with the concept of universal jurisdiction and the
International Criminal Court should not be raised in this case because
again this is a local crime; four Florida residents, three U.S. citizens,
murdered pursuant to activities carried out by Castro's agents in Florida.

            Castro does not enjoy head of state immunity.  The downing of these small planes by Castro's MIGs can not be considered an Act of the State  protected by head of state immunity because Cuba's national security was never implicated.  The Brothers to the Rescue planes were there to find
rafters and save lives.  Thus, their downing can only be deemed a criminal
act, just like dictator Manuel Noriega's drug dealing.

            Simply stated, what needs to occur is for the President of the
United States to allow the U.S. Justice Department to proceed with the
indictment.

            Beyond justice, the indictment of Fidel Castro will make him vulnerable internationally and within Cuba.  Those that reluctantly protect him may rethink the notion if they see him as an indicted criminal sought by the United States.  The U.S. is known for going after dictators wherever they are.  Moreover, Castro will limit his trips abroad and thus minimize his continuous rallying of the enemies of the United States.

            Therefore, we propose that the United States should, without further
delay, indict Fidel Castro for the murder of the Brothers to the Rescue
pilots.

IMMIGRATION POLICY

Immigrant Visa Program

Increasing the number of visas available to Cuba guarantees nothing to civil society and keeps control in Castro’s hands.  It was the Castro regime that insisted on an increase to the 20,000 annual visas, not Cuba’s dissidents or the Cuban American community.  While we can appreciate the sentiment that moved the present Administration to expand the visa program, that is, the humanitarian interest of dissuading potential rafters from taking to the seas, no number of visas under the present regime will ever satiate the demand.  And it is critical to keep in mind that Cuban rafters take to the sea not because of U.S. immigration policy, but because they are desperate to escape their island-prison.

As it stands, current immigration policy is not acceptable.  As a rule, the Castro regime does not grant exit visas to those who have played a significant role in creating civil society, making clear that only those who conform and toe the party line will be rewarded with a prized visa to the U.S.  The critical decision of who should benefit from the 20,000 immigrant visas granted to Cuba every year should fall exclusively to the government of the United States, not to Castro as it presently does. 

Under the current system, the Castro regime allows a complete processing of the visas at the U.S. Interests Section.  However, determination of who actually gets to leave the country is determined by Cuba’s issuing of the exit visa, known as the “white card.”  There are literally hundreds of cases of individuals who cannot leave the country even though they have refugee or immigrant visas.  This reality can sometimes have tragic consequences, as witnessed in the many cases of those who have lost their lives at sea with a U.S. visa in their possession.  Also tragic are the numerous cases of mostly women and children held as hostages of the regime as when a family member has sought asylum abroad. 

Castro extorts cash payments for exit visas from professionals and families living in the U.S. Fees between $20,000 and $30,000 is sometimes required to gain the release of doctors and lawyers, and $15,000 for engineers.  Our present distribution of immigrant visas gives the Castro government the time and the ability to carry out such extortions.  Further, the exit processing and medical exams required under U.S. law make the Castro government again the chief beneficiary of present policy.  Medical exams for this purpose that are routinely performed in other Latin American countries for generally less than $70, in Cuba cost between $350-400 per person, giving Castro a profit of upwards of $5,000,000 per year.  A Cuban passport, an item not required by the U.S. government, also has to be paid for in order to obtain exit. 

The cost of airfare poses a similar situation whereas Castro regime-approved charter services (charging exorbitant fees) have become a lucrative business for Castro.

The very fact that the transactions described above are done on the basis of United States dollars adds a Machiavellian dimension to the problem considering that most Cubans do not have regular access to dollars, at least not to the degree that the fees exacted would require.  The average Cuban earns in pesos the equivalent of around $15 a month, and even the relatively few who are employed by foreign companies are paid in pesos after the Cuban government confiscates roughly 95% of the salary that the foreign employers pay to the state in dollars.

There has not been a lottery visa for Cuba since 1996, when half a million Cubans participated.  Neither the Cuban American community nor the U.S. government requested the lottery visa program; it was Cuba.  Yet, it is now a reality that must be dealt with in such a manner that would bring the program into balance and wrench control away from Castro. 

Seven years later, these visa applications are now stale.  It is time to revisit the lottery, gain control of it, and end the extortion.  Our primary concern should be refugee visas, not immigrant visas, and priorities should be set accordingly.  The victims of political persecution should be the first processed for visas under the refugee program, so that if they can leave through the Interests Section in an organized manner, then the program will truly help to diffuse some rafter incidents. 

We propose the following be enacted:

• A new list of lottery applicants should be initiated and Cuban Americans in the U.S. should be able to apply for their family members on island in order to avoid retaliation from the regime.  U.S. NGO’s with extensive refugee resettlement and visa program administration experience should also be allowed to generate lists of participants. 

• Cubans approved for travel by the U.S. must receive travel permits from Cuba within a reasonable amount of time- between 30 to 45 days.  After that point, processing should be completely frozen until all those issued immigrant visas are processed.  Visa processing should not be allowed to continue while we are beholden to the whims of the regime. 

• For every visa not granted to a Cuban, the regime must provide a justification that merits a denial (ex: criminal behavior as defined by international standards, not Cuban law.

• An entity such as ICM (International Committee on Migration) should be tasked with coordinating travel in order to reduce Castro’s profiteering on charter flights.

• The U.S. should issue travel documents and disallow the use of a Cuban passport, which now only serves to channel millions in hard currency to the regime.

Beyond Wet-foot and Dry-foot

As a result of negotiations with the Cuban regime in May of 1995, the Clinton administration entered an immigration agreement to regulate and control the exodus of Cuban refugees. The main result of that ill-fated accord with the greatest offender of human rights this hemisphere has ever known was that for the first time in its proud history, the U.S. relinquished its responsibility and avowed commitment to protect those fleeing from oppression and tyranny. To secure Castro’s commitment not to precipitate another massive exodus, the U.S. agreed to return all those caught at sea trying to escape the Island.

To enforce the agreement, while seeming to comply with U.S. law, President Clinton issued an Executive Order creating what is known as the wet-foot/dry-foot policy. Under said order Cubans interdicted at sea would be screened and later repatriated while those that reached land would be eligible for adjustment of their migration status in the U.S. after one year and one day of their arrival (as required by the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966). Three years after a new U.S. President, George W. Bush, promised to redress the grievance committed against the Cuban people, the U.S. continues to implement a policy whereby a human being’s fate, and his possibility of being welcomed to America, is determined by whether it is high or low tide.

Moreover, interdiction at sea takes place under circumstances that conspire against the freedom seeker.  Cubans are dehydrated, disoriented, frightened and vulnerable, yet they are being screened at sea by minor functionaries without any semblance of due process. On the other hand, asylum seekers that enter the country via land borders or on international flights are subjected to long-term detentions (up to 8 months) in federal prison facilities with common criminals subjected to a process that is, at best, unfair and undue. 

The wet-foot/dry-foot policy was put into place by Executive Order, and by Executive Order it can be revised or reversed.  We suggest the following changes be enacted to make the process consistent with the goals of a pro-active Cuba policy:

• Experienced and highly trained immigration personnel should screen Cuban asylum seekers. Those denied asylum should have the benefit of a second screening at the U.S. Interests Section. In any case, the benefit of the doubt should be placed with the asylum seeker, as provided by international norms.

• No attempt should be made to intercept potential asylum seekers within the 3-mile limit of territorial waters of the U.S.

• Persons mentioned and/or recognized by international human rights watch organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International should be presumptively considered as valid asylum seekers as well as those who have suffered imprisonment for political reasons.

• Those caught at sea who are reclaimed by the Castro regime accused of criminal activities connected to their attempt to escape the Island should be placed in Guantanamo Base and given the right to due process of law.

• The process by which potential refugees are held for extended periods of time aboard U.S. coastguard vessels should be reviewed.

• Although we recognize the post September 11^th exigencies that are in place, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BCIS) should revamp its system of processing Cuban asylum seekers that enter through land borders or international flights so that they are released in accordance with current law and in a timely manner.

IN CLOSING

For too many years now, we have had static, sterile policy in which the goal of a free Cuba has been paid lip service but where conflicting political priorities have prevented the creation of a more pro-active policy. The interest in preserving what many have referred to as “stability” on the island, which is nothing more than preventing mass migration to the U.S., has made the U.S. complacent, our policy stale and bent toward preserving the status-quo, permitting the suffering of the Cuban people to be extended in exchange for Castro’s willingness to serve as warden to eleven million people. 

Our community celebrated the election of a new Presidency in the year 2000 as a herald of new ground to be broken. We believed the new Administration would make the earnest effort to succeed where nine others had failed.  We believed it shared our common vision of bringing Cuba back into the fold of free and democratic nations in our hemisphere, with stability rooted in the respect for human rights and real economic progress, not on the oppression of Cuban citizens. 

We still firmly believe that window of opportunity has not yet closed. That the opportunity still exists to combine a reinvigorated pro-active policy, including specific and targeted measures, with the political will that is needed to make it happen.  A new U.S. policy towards Cuba is due, one that actively seeks to empower the Cuban people and promote their independence from the current regime.

 Now, more than ever, it remains painfully clear that peaceful, positive change can only come to Cuba if we firmly and decisively seek the challenge to join hands with the Cuban people and begin to break the shackles of dependence forced on them by the Castro regime.