CUBA
Freedom must be restored
BY MAURICIO CLAVER-CARONE
www.uscubapac.com
It is a perilous time for the United States to be considering unilateral
changes to its Cuba policy. Cuba's dictatorship has shown neither a
desire nor a willingness to adopt democratic reforms. In fact, since
ailing Fidel Castro transferred day-to-day control of the government to
his brother Raúl, the regime has focused intentionally on peddling two
conspicuous messages to the international community, particularly
visiting U.S. congressional and trade delegations:
• The transition in Cuba has already occurred to the satisfaction of the
Cuban people.
• Cuba's regime expects the new Democratic-controlled Congress to change
U.S. policy on Cuba quickly and unilaterally.
The first is obviously and patently false. But the Cuban regime wants to
retain control at all costs, so it is imperative it dispel any idea that
political and economic reforms could follow Fidel Castro's death.
Judging by the bipartisan support for prioritizing Cuban freedom in the
U.S. Congress, the second will likely be false as well, for unilateral
changes in U.S. policy would not only legitimize the dictatorship but
also doom Cuba's nascent democracy movement. Still, it is clear that
there are American business interests, academics and former diplomats
who have adopted the regime's insidious mantra as their own and are
ready to give the dictatorship everything it needs to continue in power
without demanding or getting anything in return for Cuba's people.
These combined interests have intensified their lobbying campaign,
starting with the elimination of the U.S. travel regulations. A lot of
us have learned just how much damage can result from even the most
well-intentioned easing of the travel regulations.
One example is the ''two-track'' approach in the 1992 Cuba Democracy
Act. While this law closed important loopholes in U.S. commercial
sanctions, it simultaneously eased U.S. travel regulations to encourage
''purposeful'' contact with the Cuban people, a term once again at the
forefront of the policy debate. At a time when the Soviet Union was
collapsing and ending the subsidies that had propped up the Cuban
economy, Fidel Castro stood that U.S. goodwill gesture on its head,
isolating tourist enclaves during the ensuing ''special period''
(1992-1996) and using the increased flow of dollars to finance his
security apparatus and anti-American efforts abroad, i.e. Hugo Chávez's
rise to power in Venezuela.
Why try this democracy-defeating policy again? Cuban nationals chafe
that the government bans them from beaches, hotels, restaurants, medical
clinics and stores reserved for foreign visitors. The Cuban regime is
adroit at exploiting the divisions it creates between Cuban nationals
and the tourists that frequent the island. It also actively foments
divisions between Cuban nationals trying to survive on inadequate
government rations and those Cubans now getting supplementary
remittances from family members living abroad.
Under U.S. law, Cuban Americans are allowed -- despite their presumption
of political asylum upon arrival -- to travel to the island for family
visits. This is a privilege not afforded to asylum seekers from any
other nation, and as such, requires the moderation included in the
current regulations. Historically, however, the Cuban regime would not
even allow such visits.
It was only when the regime had a dire need for hard currency that it
began waiving its onerous exit restrictions and allowing
''nonthreatening'' and ''carefully vetted'' Cubans to emigrate, but only
without their families. The latter ensured a steady source of
remittances, exorbitant ''administrative fees'' upon emigration and
onerous ''exchange rate'' requirements in order to absorb the maximum
amount of hard currency.
Silencing critics
As the U.S. State Department's 2006 Report on Human Rights Practices
explains it, the Castro regime 'bars citizens engaged in authorized
travel from taking their children with them overseas, essentially
holding children hostage to guarantee their parents' return. Given the
widespread fear of forced family separation, these travel restrictions
provide the Cuban government with a powerful tool of punishing defectors
and silencing critics.''
In making foreign-policy decisions, timing must be the most important
consideration. Only when the Cuban regime ends its egregious policies of
segregation, family separation and the extortion of its nationals,
should the United States consider easing any of the current regulations
on travel to Cuba.
There is no room for haste or anxiety in our deliberations.
Mauricio Claver-Carone is a director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC in
Washington, D.C.
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