Speech will try to raise pressure for reform on island
By WILLIAM E. GIBSON | Washington Bureau Chief
October 24, 2007
President Bush today will press Cuba to open up the Internet to its
students, and will urge the international community to contribute to a
"Freedom Fund" to help rebuild the island if it becomes democratic.
In a speech to be delivered at the State Department, Bush will offer to
allow private groups and faith-based organizations to send computers to
Cuban students, but only if the Cuban government allows them access to
the Internet.
The speech is intended to build international pressure to force reforms
in Cuba and to encourage other nations to prepare for its eventual
transition to democracy. It also fulfills promises to Cuban-American
leaders, several of whom will attend the ceremony.
A senior administration official, who previewed the speech to reporters
on Tuesday, insisted that Bush is not just courting favor with South
Florida's anti-Castro exile community. "This is not to a Miami
audience," said the official, who spoke on condition he not be named.
Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and
other Cuban-Americans are expected to attend the speech today.
Bush's initiatives depend on unlikely cooperation by the Cuban
government and by other foreign governments, many of which have not
joined the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
Even before the initiatives were disclosed, Cuba's state-run newspaper
Granma condemned Bush's anticipated pressure tactics as "equivalent to a
new conquest of Cuba by force."
The administration official said Bush's speech is not timed to coincide
with any particular event or with Fidel Castro's health problems, which
have prompted him to turn over power to his brother, Raul Castro. The
international fund would help pay to restore housing, electrical grids
and other structures. The president has no specific money goal or a
proposal for how to distribute the money.
"The United States clearly will want to help the Cubans as they define
what it is they need," the official said. "But we think that the
international community should be thinking that way, as well."
Bush's gambit to open up Internet access stems from his belief that
exposure to news and information from outside Cuba will encourage a
democratic movement. The president also will invite Cuban students to
participate in a hemisphere-wide scholarship program that would allow
them to travel outside their country.
With consumer goods in short supply in Cuba, most people don't own
computers or earn enough to buy them. Open Internet access is reserved
for few Cubans. More have access to an Intranet system, which blocks
some pages and servers.
The U.S. Interests Section in Havana offers Internet access to those who
are willing to take turns, but the waiting lists are often longer than
officials can accommodate.
The speech Bush plans to deliver includes messages the administration
hopes will reach the Cuban people and especially Cuban military forces.
"He will note that they are going to face a choice," the official said.
"And the choice is: Which side are they on — the side of Cubans who are
demanding freedom, or are they going to face the choice of having to use
force against their fellow citizens, against a dying regime?"
Staff Writer Ruth Morris contributed to this report.
William E. Gibson can be reached at wgibson@sun-sentinel.com or
202-824-8256 in Washington.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-flacuba1024nboct24,0,2625119.story
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