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President greets freed Cubans - Slams Dictatorships
Miami Herald ^ | May 21, 2003 | BY TIM JOHNSON tjohnson@herald.com with Peter Wallsten

Posted on 05/21/2003 12:54:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

WASHINGTON - President Bush marked Cuban independence on Tuesday with a radio address denouncing Fidel Castro and a private meeting with former political prisoners and their relatives, one of whom emerged and weepily affirmed that ``this president is on our side.''

Early in the day, government-owned Radio Martí beamed a 40-second statement by Bush in Spanish to the island.

''My hope is for the Cuban people to soon enjoy the same freedoms and rights as we do. Dictatorship has no place in the Americas,'' the statement said in part.

At mid-afternoon at the White House, Bush met with 11 Cuban exile activists, one-time prisoners and their relatives.

The meeting was closed, but the exiles emerged to the driveway to speak to journalists.

''He said categorically that the embargo is supported by this administration,'' said Angel de Fana, who spent 20 years in Cuban prisons before leaving for exile. ``There is no way that he is going to reduce the pressure on this oppressive regime.''

`SATISFIED'

Another exile, Isabel Roque, broke into tears as she approached a microphone.

''We leave here satisfied,'' said Roque, sister of dissident economist Martha Beatriz Roque, who was given a 20-year jail term in a sweeping crackdown last month. ``He [President Bush] will not abandon us. Rest assured that this president is on our side.''

White House aides said the scheduled half-hour meeting stretched to a full hour.

Even so, new signs emerged that the Bush administration's policy toward Cuba is drawing disgruntlement on all sides of the political spectrum. Three Cuban-Americans in the House, South Florida Republicans who favor sharply stepped up pressure on the Castro regime, issued a tepid statement of support for the White House but skipped the meeting.

The small meeting contrasted with last year's events marking Cuban independence day, in which Bush laid out a series of initiatives aimed at coaxing Cuba's one-party regime toward political pluralism. Bush hosted a huge open meeting, then flew to Miami for a rally at which he pledged to maintain pressure on the Castro regime.

REPRESSION

In the past two months, Castro has carried out the most brutal repression of any in Latin America in the past decade, jailing 75 dissidents and democracy activists and executing three disaffected Afro-Cuban youths who attempted to hijack a ferry.

The only other Cuban-American in Congress, Rep. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, blasted Bush for what he called the president's ''dismal record'' on Cuba.

''Your policy has not differed one iota from the Clinton policy,'' Menendez said. ``Shame on you for not living up to your promises.''

Menendez said Bush has failed to enforce provisions of the Helms-Burton law to punish foreign investors in Cuba and declined to make Radio and TV Martí more effective in overcoming Cuban jamming.

GOVERNOR REPLIES

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dismissed a charge made Sunday by the president of the Cuban National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón, that he is trying to persuade his brother to invade Cuba.

''It's interesting that based on the fact that the Bush administration in Washington is reviewing Cuba policy the Cuban government is responding in this very outrageous way, saying the invasion is coming around the corner,'' Gov. Bush said.

''I'm frankly privileged to be a target. I feel honored. But after work we're not putting together a team of the National Guard to prepare an invasion, I promise you,'' the governor said.

''I don't think the United States should ever, ever eliminate any options as it relates to foreign policy and national security. Having said that, I don't see the need for an invasion of Cuba,'' Gov. Bush added.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Cuba; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bush43; communism; cuba; cubandissidents; radio
President's Message Cuban Independence Day [Full Text] Today, Cubans around the world celebrate May 20th, Cuban Independence Day. On behalf of the people of the United States, I send greetings to the Cuban community. My hope is for the Cuban people to soon enjoy the same freedoms and rights that we do. Dictatorships have no place in the Americas. May God bless the Cuban people, who are struggling for freedom. Thank you. [End]

Fidel Castro - Cuba

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Nevada lawmaker: Keep the embargo [Full Text]A Republican congressman from Nevada, Sen. John Ensign, said Tuesday in a speech to the Cuban American National Foundation in Miami that the White House must maintain the embargo of Cuba.

''I look at Cuba today and see a lot of European and Canadian businesses that have been operating there for years -- making a tidy profit at the expense of the Cuban people -- yet Cuba has not been transformed, and Castro has not changed one iota,'' Ensign said.

The lawmaker said he would introduce a bill that would provide $30 million to finance a transition government for Cuba, and another $20 million for human rights activities through the Organization of American States and for dissidents, activists, relatives of prisoners and others seeking to build civil society.

Ensign said, in his prepared remarks, that a recent crackdown on dissidents in Cuba, in which scores of pro-democracy activists were rounded up and given jail terms of up to 28 years, was a sign of desperation by the Castro regime.

''This crackdown is not a sign of his strength. It is a sign of fear and weakness. It is a sign that the end is coming. Castro knows it -- and he is lashing out,'' Ensign told the foundation.

Ensign scoffed at the idea that softening the embargo of Cuba could help bring about political change.

''American investment cannot liberate Cuba. To the contrary, American investment would only help Castro prop up Cuba's teetering economy and perpetuate his dictatorship,'' Ensign said.

``The facts are so plain and simple, it's hard to believe that anyone with an education and a half-way open mind could not see it. Yet the anti-embargo crowd continues to press its case.''

Ensign compared those opposed to the embargo of Cuba to ``the French and Germans who argued throughout the 1990s that we should lift restrictions on trade with Saddam Hussein.''

1 posted on 05/21/2003 12:54:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: All
December 29, 2000 - Fidel, Saddam and Hugo --An improbable but growing friendship of three military revolutionaries ***The Castro-Hussein-Chávez connection is anti-American and anti-capitalistic, but not in an ideological way. What matters to the three is domestic power built upon a base of nationalism that they believe legitimizes their policies

In a way, this bizarre trio represents the rebirth, a half century later, of the kind of nationalist populism spawned by General Juan Perón in Argentina and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. Mr. Castro and Mr. Saddam gained power through armed revolutions; Mr. Chávez, a paratroopers' lieutenant colonel, was democratically elected in 1998, after serving time for trying to overthrow the government in 1992.

Mr. Chávez is the most intriguing new leader to emerge in Latin America since Mr. Castro - and he is the lynchpin between Mr. Castro and Mr. Saddam. Although Cuba had been sending doctors and health workers to Iraq for years, there had not been any major contacts between the two countries until Mr. Chávez appeared on the scene. This fall, Mr. Chávez became the first democratically elected foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the Gulf War, ostensibly to invite Mr. Saddam to a summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. But it also was an in-your face gesture toward the United States.

……………. The Iraqi link is one aspect of Mr. Chávez's international involvements that the United States must not underestimate, with Cuba playing a central role. Since he took office in February 1999, Mr. Chávez has proclaimed his "identification" with the Cuban revolution. He visited Havana and entertained Mr. Castro in Caracas for five days last October. Mr. Castro treated Mr. Chávez as a son, an attitude seldom displayed by the Cuban leader toward any young people. During that same visit, Mr. Chávez granted Cuba large crude-oil price discounts, as he has done selectively elsewhere in the Caribbean, and agreed to help complete building a Cuban oil refinery.

Mr. Castro is Mr. Chávez's guide in the art of gently and gradually introducing authoritarian government to Venezuela. Mr. Chávez abolished the Senate and established a unicameral Parliament whose members support him. He has a new constitution, approved by a simple majority of voters in a referendum, that grants him considerable power.

To complicate matters and his relations with the United States, Mr. Chávez has been openly supporting leftist guerrilla movements in neighboring Colombia. The (FARC) rebels control big swaths of Colombian territory, along with numerous coca plantations. Washington has already committed $1.3 billion, mainly in military aid, to the eradication of both guerrillas and coca plantations. This could foreshadow a big U.S. commitment in Colombia and an eventual conflict with Mr. Chávez that may interfere with the flow of oil north from Venezuela.****

2 posted on 05/21/2003 12:59:17 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: All
No Moral Coherence - Human Trophies *** Gabriel García Márquez's support of Fidel Castro takes the novelist down a bitter street. A wave of denunciations against the comandante, unleashed by the West's most important intellectuals, has swamped the Nobel laureate.

It all happened as a result of the recent executions of three young men, shot dead ''to prevent an American invasion'' -- as if Castro had become an Aztec priest who conjures fate by means of human sacrifices.

Suddenly, the mutiny was directed at García Márquez, the prior of Latin American literature. ''Where is García Márquez's signature, in the face of this limitless cruelty?'' everyone asked. The author first said that he repudiated the death penalty but then made clear his inalterable affection for the dictator.

Murderers also have friends, and García Márquez wasn't willing, like José Saramago, to break with the old tyrant just because of a handful of new victims and some fresh blood on the execution wall.

………………..How can someone justify the huge moral concession of traveling to Havana to support or show affection for the oldest of the Latin American executioners? Very simple: by rescuing one or two captives and, if possible, returning home with them in a suitcase and exhibiting them as a great diplomatic success.

3 posted on 05/21/2003 1:13:49 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
President Bush doesn't make empty talk. And the Cubans in Congress should have been at this meeting supporting the freed dissidents and the president.

The photos of the meeting were icredible. I have such admiration for the Cubans who got out of that Communist hellhole and are fighting to free Cuba.
4 posted on 05/21/2003 2:15:56 AM PDT by WaterDragon (Only America has the moral authority and the resolve to lead the world in the 21st Century.)
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To: WaterDragon
President Bush doesn't make empty talk.

Bump!

"Dictatorships have no place in the Americas." - George W. Bush

Silencing Venezuela: Hugo Chavez's proposed media law ( Radio - Television - Newpapers)***Arelis Lopez holds a sign reading 'Yes to information' and wears a bandanna over her mouth and hand cuffs as she protests with other members of 'Women for Freedom' against a media law proposed in Congress that will restrict graphic violence on television and reduce subjective censoring by radio and television channels, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, May 20, 2003. Opponents believe that if passed, the law could prohibit television and radio stations from criticizing the government. The sign at right reads 'We will go to jail in defense of freedom' and their shirts read 'Guards of freedom."***

5 posted on 05/21/2003 2:22:30 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"How can someone justify the huge moral concession of traveling to Cuba to show support or affection for the oldest of the Latin American executioners?"

Including 2 former demacratic presidents of the U.S.A. I lost all respect for Carter(I never respected Clinton in the first place) when he did this (went to Cuba and praised Castro, said it (Cuba) has a better health care system than the U.S
I'd say this is proof positive that demacrats are insane.

Remember during the Elian ordeal, how the 'RATS kept saying there's no difference between the USA and Cuba and that Elian would NOT BE ANY BETTER OFF IF HE STAYED HERE.?!I mean they (RATS) went on and on about how there was nothing good about us, that our country had NOTHING TO OFFER Elian, they tried to say that he would be be happier in Cuba (they insinuated that he would end up in a gang-because his family here was poor and they kept talking about the "wonderful" free education system and health care of Cuba, that Elian would go to college for free in Cuba-ugggh it makes me sick to remember all the BS they were trying to pass out). Then Clintoon's goons drug him to take him back there, one of his grandmothers asks for asylum but they turn her down and cover it up. The whole fact that his mother died trying to bring him here.

( I remember, they pulled him out of the water on Thanks Giving. He survives all that only to be dragged back there (Cuba )be brainwashed, and have his freedom taken away, because of a selfish, miserable-excuse-for-a-human-being president, along with his useless, worthless, political party, saw no benefit in the United States of America, Clinton and the 'RATS sent him back)

This is why demacrats are not fit to serve in government. They don't value our country(they want to tear up the Constitution, destroy Capitalism and go Socialist) They can't tell the difference between us and Cuba.

As for Elian, he helped save this nation, because what happened to him was the beginning of our people waking up and seeing the true nature of the left, So God Bless him, I hope Cuba can be freed and that he will come back here some day.

(This is number one on my list of outrages perpetrated by the demacratic party, primarly becuase they bullied a small child and returned him to a nightmare after he had already survived a nightmare at sea... its just unforgiveable :-(

Thank God President Bush is trying to help. Maybe with some well placed psych-ops and getting messages of freedom across to the Cuban people, it might work to get rid of Castro. Here's hoping... )

6 posted on 05/21/2003 2:43:52 AM PDT by fly_so_free (Never underestimate the treachery of the demacratic party. Save the USA-Vote a demacrat out of offic)
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To: fly_so_free
Thank God President Bush is trying to help. Maybe with some well placed psych-ops and getting messages of freedom across to the Cuban people, it might work to get rid of Castro. Here's hoping... )

Bump!

Boston Globe: Cuba's lessons on caring for children ***IF THERE IS one society in North or South America where President Bush's goal to leave no child behind is a reality, it can be found in Cuba, 90 miles off the Florida coast in one of the few remaining communist states in the world. That is the conclusion of 24 Bostonians who just returned from a week in Cuba where we focused on how Cuba raises and nurtures its kids.

The trip was organized by The Children's Museum of Boston for its trustees. Our group consisted of bankers and doctors, venture capitalists and television producers, teachers and journalists, real estate and business executives, museum staff and social service providers. Our goal was to see whether Boston could learn anything from Cuba, particularly with regard to caring for children and fostering their development through the arts.

.........Let's hope it can and that as more Americans visit Cuba's shores, we can learn something from the Cubans - about how to raise our kids here, how to instill in them self-respect and cultural pride, and how to give all of them a chance to be happy, creative, and productive adults. ***

7 posted on 05/21/2003 2:55:10 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
OMG!! Gee, did the article mention anything about Cuba's HUGE illegal immigration problem? It's such a pradise with its free health care and education, people are just going there in droves.

OOOOOPS! OH, My mistake, Cuba doesn't have an illegal immigration problem. Everyone is trying to GET OUT OF CUBA, not in.

Unfreakinbelievable article. I see the BS is still going on.

Hey leftists and demcrats, If you want to live in Communism, Why don't you move to Cuba? I'm serious. Any demacrat who wants to move to Cuba can freepmail me. I will pay for your one way plane ticket. Fidel will welcome you with open arms. You can enjoy all the free health care, day care, and education, and you'll be able to spout your disgust for America all day long with out consequences.

Think of how happy you will be? Fidel will love you .It will be a big plus for his propaganda campaign if a bunch of you miserable America-Haters moved there. I'm totally serious. I double-dog-dare you to move to Cuba.

8 posted on 05/21/2003 3:30:07 AM PDT by fly_so_free (Never underestimate the treachery of the demacratic party. Save the USA-Vote a demacrat out of offic)
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To: fly_so_free
*** In the past two months, Castro has carried out the most brutal repression of any in Latin America in the past decade, jailing 75 dissidents and democracy activists and executing three disaffected Afro-Cuban youths who attempted to hijack a ferry.***

____________________________________________________________

International educators conference held in Cuba [Full Text] HAVANA - President Fidel Castro told a group of educators from around the world that education can create a better world by helping to resolve social problems, such as the nagging racial discrimination that still exists in Cuba. Closing the international educators conference here on Friday night, Castro told hundreds of participants that over four decades his socialist government can boast high marks for its primary school programs. But he said secondary education here needs serious improvement.

Beginning in early 2002, Cuba launched a campaign to improve conditions at its primary schools, but reforms for the older students are still pending. Cuba's secondary school program will be radically improved, Castro declared. "The future developing of our education will have enormous political, social and human connotations," the Cuban leader said.

Despite the huge changes that the 1959 revolution made in Cuban society, some social problems have not been completely eliminated, including racial discrimination, Castro acknowledged. "While science shows unquestionably the real equality that exists among human beings, discriminations lives on," especially among the island's poorest groups, Castro said. [End]

9 posted on 05/21/2003 3:46:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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