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May 15, 2002.
Bush administration restates opposition to lifting restrictions against
Cuba
Wed May 15,10:14 Am Et . By Carolyn Skorneck, Associated
Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush's spokesman said Wednesday that U.S. trade with
Cuba would "prop up an oppressive regime," turning aside calls from
former President Carter and some lawmakers who want economic restrictions
lifted.
"The president believes that the trade embargo is a vital part of U.S.
policy ... because trade with Cuba doesn't benefit the people of Cuba,"
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. "It's used to prop up an
oppressive regime."
The White House defended its hard-line stand as a bipartisan group of 40
lawmakers prepared to announce support for easing the four-decade embargo on
Cuba.
"For over 40 years, our policy toward Cuba has yielded no results,"
said Rep. Jeff Flake (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., a House International
Relations Committee member. "Castro hasn't held free and fair elections, he
hasn't improved human rights, and he hasn't stopped preaching his hate for
democracy and the U.S.
"I think it's safe to say that our current policy has failed,"
Flake said. "It's time to try something new."
The House Cuba Working Group was to announce its Cuba policy review one day
after Carter spoke in Cuba and urged the Bush administration to drop the
embargo. President Bush, who supports the embargo, plans to outline his Cuban
policy next week.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said after a meeting with Bush
on Wednesday that the United States and Cuba "must tear down the barriers
that do exist." He praised Carter for visiting Cuba.
Bush himself stood by his hard-line Cuban policy Tuesday.
He was asked whether Carter's current visit in Cuba, in which he has met
with President Fidel Castro and dissidents as well, had changed his Cuba policy.
"It doesn't complicate my foreign policy, because I haven't changed my
foreign policy," Bush said.
"That is, Fidel Castro is a dictator, and he is oppressive, and he
ought to have free elections, and he ought to have a free press, and he ought to
free his prisoners, and he ought to encourage free enterprise."
Bush twice has recommended tighter restrictions on Cuba, not loosening the
embargo, including making unauthorized travel to the island by American citizens
more difficult.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who also met with Bush on Wednesday,
seem to back up the president. "Dialogue helps, but I would not be
overeager too early," he said.
"We're saying just the opposite: The best way to undermine Fidel Castro
would be to lift the travel ban, allow private financing of agriculture sales to
Cuba," Flake's spokesman, Matthew Specht, said Tuesday.
Many farm-state lawmakers have sought to knock down the trade embargo. A law
enacted two years ago allows grain sales to Cuba but is made much less effective
by a bar on public or private financing of the sales. America's competitors
readily sell their products to Cuba, often providing credit and subsidies.
However, an effort to include an easing of relations with Cuba was deleted
from this year's farm bill, which Bush signed Monday.
"Ending the Cuban embargo is a bipartisan issue," said Sally
Grooms Cowal, who was U.S. ambassador to the Caribbean nations of Trinidad and
Tobago during the administrations of the first President Bush and President
Clinton. She is now president of the Cuba Policy Foundation.
"The embargo denies Americans the right to trade and travel and has not
brought freedom and prosperity to Cuba," said Cowal in a statement. "For
40 years, the embargo has failed to lead to political and economic reform in
Cuba. When a policy this old fails to produce the intended results, it is time
for a new policy."
The Cuba Working Group has 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats committed to
lifting the travel ban, allowing normal exports of agriculture and medical
products and improving human rights for Cuban citizens.
In the Senate, Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have led
the charge for an easing of U.S. restrictions on trade and travel.
The Cuba Policy Foundation, said spokesman Brian Alexander, "is a
centrist organization that shares the U.S. goals of freedom and prosperity for
the Cuban people. We just don't believe U.S. policy has served to advance those
goals, and we do believe it has had a negative impact on the U.S. economy and
does not prepare Cuba for a peaceful and stable transition" to a free
society.
On the Net:
State Department's Cuba page:
http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/c2461.htm
House Group: Ease Cuban Sanctions
Wed May 15, 8:41 Am Et . By Carolyn Skorneck, Associated
Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - To undermine Fidel Castro, the United States must ease its
four-decade-long embargo on Cuba, facilitate sales of U.S. agricultural goods
and allow U.S. travel to the island, a bipartisan group of 40 members of the
House contends.
"For over forty years, our policy toward Cuba has yielded no results,"
said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a House International Relations Committee member.
"Castro hasn't held free and fair elections, he hasn't improved human
rights, and he hasn't stopped preaching his hate for democracy and the U.S.
"I think it's safe to say that our current policy has failed,"
Flake said. "It's time to try something new."
The House's Cuba Working Group was to announce its Cuba policy review
Wednesday, one day after former President Carter spoke in Cuba and urged the
Bush administration to drop its embargo against the Castro regime. President
Bush, who supports the embargo, plans to outline his Cuban policy next week.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said after a meeting with Bush
on Wednesday that the United States and Cuba "must tear down the barriers
that do exist." He praised Carter for visiting Cuba.
Bush himself stood by his hard-line Cuban policy Tuesday.
He was asked whether Carter's current visit in Cuba, in which he has met
with President Castro and dissidents as well, had changed his Cuba policy. "It
doesn't complicate my foreign policy, because I haven't changed my foreign
policy," Bush said.
"That is, Fidel Castro is a dictator, and he is oppressive, and he
ought to have free elections, and he ought to have a free press, and he ought to
free his prisoners, and he ought to encourage free enterprise."
Bush already has recommended twice during his presidency tighter
restrictions on Cuba, not loosening the embargo, including making unauthorized
travel to the island by American citizens more difficult.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who also met with Bush on Wednesday,
seem to back up the president. "Dialogue helps, but I would not be
overeager too early," he said.
"We're saying just the opposite: The best way to undermine Fidel Castro
would be to lift the travel ban, allow private financing of agriculture sales to
Cuba," Flake's spokesman, Matthew Specht, said Tuesday.
Many farm state lawmakers have sought to knock down the trade embargo. A law
enacted two years ago allows grain sales to Cuba but is made much less effective
by a bar on public or private financing of the sales. America's competitors
readily sell their products to Cuba, often providing credit and subsidies.
However, an effort to include an easing of relations with Cuba was deleted
from this year's farm bill, which Bush signed Monday.
"Ending the Cuban embargo is a bipartisan issue," said Sally
Grooms Cowal, who was U.S. ambassador to the Caribbean nations of Trinidad and
Tobago during the administrations of the first President Bush and President
Clinton. She is now president of the Cuba Policy Foundation.
"The embargo denies Americans the right to trade and travel and has not
brought freedom and prosperity to Cuba," said Cowal in a statement. "For
40 years, the embargo has failed to lead to political and economic reform in
Cuba. When a policy this old fails to produce the intended results, it is time
for a new policy."
The Cuba Working Group has 20 House Republicans and 20 House Democrats
committed to lifting the travel ban, allowing normal exports of agriculture and
medical products and improving human rights for Cuban citizens.
In the Senate, Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have led
the charge for an easing of U.S. restrictions on trade and travel.
The Cuba Policy Foundation, said spokesman Brian Alexander, "is a
centrist organization that shares the U.S. goals of freedom and prosperity for
the Cuban people. We just don't believe U.S. policy has served to advance those
goals, and we do believe it has had a negative impact on the U.S. economy and
does not prepare Cuba for a peaceful and stable transition" to a free
society.
Carter Throws First Pitch in Cuba
Tue May 14,11:49 Pm Et . By John Rice, Associated Press
Writer
Castro, 75, acted as a coach for the former U.S. president as he took six
short, flawless warmup tosses. Carter, 77, then motioned the catcher to move
back for the first pitch. It bounced off the plate.
A grinning Carter then tossed the ball to the Cuban president — who
dropped it, as the crowd at Latinoamerican Stadium roared.
The two then sat back to watch four innings, with Castro often leaning
across and talking to Carter, as live bands and drummers echoed throughout the
stadium.
The crowd stood and cheered as they left at the end of the fourth inning
with Cuba's Eastern all-stars leading the West 3-1.
The game was held after one of Carter's most important events during his
five-day visit, which began Sunday. Earlier Tuesday evening, Carter gave a
speech to the Cuban people that was broadcast live across the island.
The by-play between the two seemed to indicate that Castro held no grudges
over Carter's speech in which he promoted the idea of competitive elections and
other elements of U.S. style democracy that have been notably lacking during
Castro's 43-year government.
Latinoamericano Stadium was where the Baltimore Orioles played a Cuban
national team in 1999.
It was also at that stadium that Castro's friend and political ally,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, led a team from his country in a loss to Cuba
in 1999.
Bush Expresses Concerns About Cuba
Tue May 14,11:04 Pm Et . By John J. Lumpkin, Associated
Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush urged Cubans on Tuesday to "demand
freedom" from Fidel Castro, who has gotten a burst of international
attention this week at the side of visiting former President Carter.
Bush's remarks came after the White House and Carter butted heads over
Cuba's biotechnology programs.
The president said of Carter's trip: "It doesn't complicate my foreign
policy because I haven't changed my foreign policy — and that is Fidel
Castro is a dictator and he is oppressive and he ought to have free elections
and he ought to have a free press and he ought to free his prisoners and he
ought to encourage free enterprise."
Carter said during his Cuba visit Monday that he had been told by
administration officials that the United States had no evidence the communist
country was transferring technology that could be used for terrorism.
The White House on Tuesday held to its stand that Cuba has provided other
nations with biotechnology that could be used by terrorists.
However, the United States has no evidence Cuba is exporting equipment or
expertise with the intent of helping anyone make biological weapons, a U.S.
defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Nor is there evidence
that Cuba has biological weapons of its own.
Cuba's exports consist of dual-use medical equipment — devices that
have a benign medical purpose but can be used to produce biological weapons,
officials said. Dozens of companies in Europe, Asia and the Americas also make
and export similar equipment.
Without criticizing Carter directly, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer
said the subject of biological technology never came up in Carter's pre-trip
conversation with Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser. He said
the White House is worried about Castro's biological program.
"The United States has plenty of reason to be concerned,"
Fleischer said.
Carter told Castro and leading Cuban scientists that he had asked White
House, State Department and intelligence officials specifically if Cuba was
transferring technology or other information that could be used in terrorist
activities. He said he was told Cuba was not.
Explaining the U.S. view, Fleischer pointed to a widely reported speech by
Undersecretary of State John Bolton shortly before Carter's trip.
In the speech, Bolton said Cuba has provided biotechnology to "other
rogue states" and the United States is concerned the information could
support biological warfare programs.
Fleischer praised Carter as a champion of human rights, and urged the former
president to use his influence to push Castro toward democratic reforms. He
called the Cuban leader "one of the world's last great tyrants."
Later Tuesday, Bush previewed a speech on Cuba he plans to give next week in
Washington before visiting Cuban Americans in Miami.
"My message to the Cuban people is to demand freedom and you've got a
president who stands with you," Bush said.
In anticipation of his remarks, a bipartisan group of House members is set
to call on the president to ease the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. The 40 House
members say the four-decades-old embargo has failed, and the best way to
undermine Castro is to allow Americans to travel to the island and to sell
agricultural products there.
"It's time to try something new," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a
member of the House Cuba Working Group.
The Bush administration has called for tightening restrictions on travel to
Cuba.
Guantanamo Bay base maintains few links with the Cuba beyond its fences
Tue May 14, 9:12 Pm Et . By Ian James, Associated Press
Writer
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - Most cigars sold here are Jamaican.
Spanish is rarely spoken. Small U.S. flags adorn the antennas of Chevrolet
pickups, and the music blaring from stereos has a distinctly American beat.
The Guantanamo Bay naval base is part of Cuba only geographically speaking.
Enclosed in 28 kilometers (17.5 miles) of fence guarded by U.S. Marines, it is
firmly isolated from the land beyond.
Few people come or go under the sign that declares in Spanish, "Republic
of Cuba: Free Territory of America," and coils of rusted concertina wire
remain as a reminder of political differences that have divided two nations for
more than four decades.
Few traces of Cuba remain on the U.S. base except for about 35 Cubans who
live here, a mix of longtime residents and their descendants.
"We all know each other," says Gloria Martinez, a 69-year-old
widow who has lived on the base since 1961, when she and her husband sought
refuge after the triumph of Fidel Castro's communist revolution.
Martinez has become a U.S. citizen and knows English, but she prefers
Spanish and enjoys cooking Cuban dishes of pork, black beans and rice for
friends. "Here, I have a big family," she says.
But for nearly all the 4,700 military personnel and civilians here, free
time means paintball tournaments, yoga classes and dancing to hip-hop tunes —
beer bottles in hand — at the recreation hall.
"It feels like I'm just in another place in America," says Lance
Cpl. Joshua Devore, a 21-year-old Marine from Rochester, New York, who helps
guard prisoners accused of having links to Afghanistan's fallen Taliban regime
or the al-Qaida terrorist network.
The base has no stoplight, and some say it feels like a small American town
of the 1950s. The weekly newsletter announces a "military spouse"
apron sale and each day's school lunch, from fish sticks to fruit gelatin.
The base closed its gates to Cuba in 1961 after the failed CIA-backed
invasion by anti-Castro Cubans at the Bay of Pigs. The only people allowed
through nowadays are 10 elderly Cuban workers who arrive at the gates by bus
each morning — the last among thousands who once commuted to jobs here. The
youngest among them is 62.
In many ways, the base is an island within an island, a sort of modern-day
Alcatraz, which like the now-closed prison off San Francisco has become useful
due to its isolation. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called it "the
least worst place we could have selected" for the captives from the Afghan
war.
Radios on the base pick up Cuba's Radio Reloj on the AM dial, and at night
the lights of the nearby towns Caimanera and Boqueron cast their glow from below
the horizon.
But the U.S. trade embargo prevents buying Cuban cigars or anything else
from the other side. It's also impossible to telephone Cuba directly.
Normal channels of communication were cut long ago. U.S. troops seized the
land in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, and since a 1903 agreement, the
United States has leased it from Cuba for 2,000 gold coins a year, now valued at
dlrs 4,085.
The U.S. government still pays, but Castro's government opposes the U.S.
presence and refuses to cash the checks. Since 1964, when Cuba cut the water
supply, the base has drawn its water from a desalination plant.
With the end of the Cold War, tensions have eased. Along the fence, Marines
in guard towers watch Cuban guards in distant lookout posts. Now and then, a
thump from the explosion of an old Cuban land mine breaks the silence, set off
by a passing animal or perhaps just age.
Cubans from the nearby city of Guantanamo still occasionally swim across the
bay or cross mine fields in hopes of taking refuge. But the number of
asylum-seekers has waned, and now most are sent back as required by a 1995
migration agreement.
A small number who can prove a fear of political persecution are allowed to
stay until U.S. officials find other countries to accept them. Earlier this
year, about 25 such Cubans were living on the base in separate barracks. Most
have since departed for new homes in other countries, residents say.
In the mid-1990s, the base held tens of thousands of Cuban and Haitian boat
people picked up by American ships as they tried to get to the U.S. mainland.
Most of the Cubans were admitted into the United States; most Haitians were sent
home. The last of the Cubans departed in 1996, leaving empty camps on the dry,
cactus-dotted hills.
Near a seaside cliff, one Cuban artist left a sculpture of a woman, her gaze
fixed in the distance — a silent reminder that this place, too, is part of
Cuba.
Once a month, U.S. and Cuban officers meet at the gates to discuss security
issues. Relations between their governments, though, remain cool.
"Someday maybe they'll open up the gates and let us down in Guantanamo
City," says Army 2nd Lt. Jason Miller of Bettendorf, Iowa. "But not
until the United States and Cuba mend fences."
Carter Makes Live Speech in Cuba
Tue May 14, 8:02 Pm Et . By Anita Snow, Associated Press
Writer
HAVANA (AP) - Jimmy Carter informed Cubans about a fledgling democracy
effort under way in their communist country, speaking Tuesday night in an
unprecedented and uncensored nationwide broadcast.
The former American president's mention of a proposed referendum project was
the first time many Cubans learned of the grassroots effort to demand changes in
Cuba's socialist system.
"I am informed that such an effort, called the Varela Project, has
gathered sufficient signatures and has presented such a petition to the National
Assembly," Carter said, speaking before a gathering that included President
Fidel Castro.
"When Cubans exercise this freedom to change laws peacefully by a
direct vote, the world will see that Cubans, and not foreigners, will decide the
future of this country," said Carter, who spoke in Spanish, reading from a
prepared text.
Organizers of the project turned in to the National Assembly 11,020
signatures asking for a referendum asking voters if they favor human rights, an
amnesty for political prisoners, the right to have a business, and electoral
reform.
But in a statement that was sure to please Castro, Carter called for an end
to four decades of American trade sanctions against the island.
"My hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted
travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships,
and repeal the embargo," he said.
"Public opinion surveys show that a majority of people in the United
States would like to see the economic embargo ended, normal travel between our
two countries, friendship between our people, and Cuba to be welcomed into the
community of democracies in the Americas," said Carter
But, he added, "most of my fellow citizens believe that the issues of
economic and political freedom need to be addressed by the Cuban people.
"After 43 years of animosity, we hope that someday soon, you can reach
across the great divide that separates our two countries and say: "We are
ready to join the community of democracies," said Carter. "And hope
that Americans will soon open our arms to you and say, "We welcome you as
our friends."
Carter also noted the difference between his country and Cuba and touched on
concerns about human rights on the island.
"Cuba has adopted a socialist government where one political party
dominates, and people are not permitted to organize any opposition movements,"
said Carter. "Your Constitution recognizes freedom of speech and
association, but other laws deny these freedoms to those who disagree with the
government."
"My nation is hardly perfect in human rights," Carter allowed."
A very large number of our citizens are incarcerated in prison, and there is
little doubt that the death penalty is imposed most harshly on those who are
poor, black, or mentally ill. For more than a quarter century, we have struggled
unsuccessfully to guarantee the basic right of universal health care for our
people.
"Still, guaranteed civil liberties offer every citizen an opportunity
to change these laws," he added.
On the eve of the speech, a debate emerged between the former U.S. president
and Castro over the meaning of human rights and democracy.
Carter, a longtime civil liberties advocate, appeared to set the stage for
his Tuesday night address when he told students at a social workers school on
Monday that Americans "feel that it is very important to have absolute
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
"We take pride in our freedom to criticize our own government and to
change our government when we don't like it by voting in elections that are
contested," Carter said. "Our people are completely free to form our
own businesses, to hire other people to work and to make a profit."
Afterward, Carter was to attend a baseball game between all-star teams
comprised of top players from eastern and western Cuba. Castro's attendance was
not confirmed, but was considered likely.
Earlier Tuesday, Carter visited an AIDS sanitarium on Havana's outskirts and
toured a farm cooperative outside the capital with Agriculture Minister Alfredo
Jordan.
Most Cubans have never even heard of Project Varela, which authorities here
claim was "imported" from the United States. Organizers describe the
project as a homegrown citizens effort with moral support — but no
financial assistance — from abroad.
In the last decade, communist Cuba for the first time has allowed a limited
number of people, mostly artisans and tradespeople, to start small businesses or
open family restaurants.
On the issue of individual freedoms, international rights groups charge that
Cuba's government does not recognize civil liberties such as free speech,
assembly and association. Those who publicly criticize Cuba's leaders — and
Castro in particular — can face possible prison time depending on the
degree and form of that criticism.
Although some dissidence is now tolerated, government opponents are
routinely harassed and accused of being "counterrevolutionaries" or of
working for the U.S. government.
Jimmy Carter tells Cubans about referendum project in live speech on
government television
Tue May 14, 7:34 Pm Et . By Anita Snow, Associated Press
Writer
HAVANA - In an unprecedented and uncensored live broadcast, former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter told Cubans about a proposed referendum to demand changes
in Cuba's socialist system.
Carter's mention of Project Varela, made before a gathering Tuesday evening
that included Cuban President Fidel Castro, was the first time many Cubans
learned of the homegrown effort to initiate changes in Cuba's socialist system.
"I am informed that such an effort, called the Varela Project, has
gathered sufficient signatures and has presented such a petition to the National
Assembly," said Carter, who addressed Cubans in their native Spanish,
reading from a prepareed text.
"When Cubans exercise this freedom to change laws peacefully by a
direct vote, the world will see that Cubans, and not foreigners, will decide the
future of this country," he added.
Organizers of the project turned in to the National Assembly 11,020
signatures asking for a referendum asking voters if they favor human rights, an
amnesty for political prisoners, the right to have a business, and electoral
reform.
Carter also noted the difference between his country and Cuba and touched on
concerns about human rights on the island.
"Cuba has adopted a socialist government where one political party
dominates, and people are not permitted to organize any opposition movements,"
said Carter. "Your Constitution recognizes freedom of speech and
association, but other laws deny these freedoms to those who disagree with the
government."
"My nation is hardly perfect in human rights," Carter allowed."
A very large number of our citizens are incarcerated in prison, and there is
little doubt that the death penalty is imposed most harshly on those who are
poor, black, or mentally ill. For more than a quarter century, we have struggled
unsuccessfully to guarantee the basic right of universal health care for our
people.
"Still, guaranteed civil liberties offer every citizen an opportunity
to change these laws," he added.
In a statement that was sure to please Castro, his host, Carter called for
an end to four decades of American trade sanctions against the island.
"My hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted
travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships,
and repeal the embargo," he said.
"Public opinion surveys show that a majority of people in the United
States would like to see the economic embargo ended, normal travel between our
two countries, friendship between our people, and Cuba to be welcomed into the
community of democracies in the Americas," said Carter
But, he added, "most of my fellow citizens believe that the issues of
economic and political freedom need to be addressed by the Cuban people.
"After 43 years of animosity, we hope that someday soon, you can reach
across the great divide that separates our two countries and say: "We are
ready to join the community of democracies," said Carter. "And hope
that Americans will soon open our arms to you and say, "We welcome you as
our friends."
Carter Debates Democracy With Castro
Tue May 14, 1:39 Pm Et . By John Rice, Associated Press
Writer
HAVANA (AP) - Former President Jimmy Carter found himself in a debate on
human rights and democracy with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, after he sparked
controversy at home by saying U.S. officials told him they had no evidence Cuba
was involved in developing weapons of mass destruction.
The White House held Tuesday to its stand that Cuba has provided
iotechnology to other nations that could be used by terrorists.
Without criticizing Carter directly, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer
said the subject of biological technology never came up in Carter's pre-trip
conversation with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. He said the White
House is worried about Castro's biological program.
The debate over democracy came Monday night, when Carter visited schools.
Carter said he would discuss "the differences in our approach to the
form of governments we have" during a major speech Tuesday night, which
Castro promised would be broadcast live throughout the communist island.
"In the United States, we believe that it is very important to have
absolute freedom of expression and freedom of assembly," Carter told
students at a school for social workers, citing two liberties that nearly all
human rights groups find lacking in Cuba.
Castro played host to Carter at the Latin American School of Medicine, where
the Cuban leader argued that the concept of democracy was born in ancient
Athens, with fewer than 20,000 citizens ruling some 50,000 non-citizens and
80,000 slaves.
Noting the vast poverty of most of the world's people, Castro compared
Western-style democracies to an Athens in which a minority unjustly dominates
the majority and said Cuba was striving for "a society with justice"
and equal opportunity. He said his country was seeking "that dream of
justice, of true liberty, of true democracy, of true human rights."
Castro used the occasion at the school — where the impoverished country
gives free six-year medical educations to 6,000 poor students, most from Latin
America — to begin drawing the outlines of a longer response that is sure
to come. The response is to be a statement of principles that may serve for his
revolutionary movement's 50th anniversary next year.
Critics say Cuba's government harasses organized opposition groups, accusing
them of being hirelings of foreign governments, and has allowed no opposition
parties during Castro's 43 years in power. Cuban exile groups had urged Carter —
who has campaigned for democracy in other nations — to raise the issue
during his visit to Cuba.
"We take pride in our freedom to criticize our own government and to
change our government when we don't like it by voting in elections that are
contested," said Carter, who began Monday by meeting two human rights
activists who have spent time in Cuban prisons.
Early Tuesday, Carter — who arrived in Havana on Sunday as the first
former or current American president to visit Castro's Cuba — toured Cuba's
AIDS sanitarium before traveling to a farm cooperative, both on the outskirts of
Havana. After his Tuesday night speech, Carter was scheduled to attend a
baseball game of all-star teams from eastern and western Cuba. Castro also was
expected to attend.
During his stops, Carter was not taking questions from reporters, and staff
members said he would save his comments to the media for Friday, when he has
scheduled a news conference.
The White House spokesman's comments about biotechnology came a day after
Carter said he had been told by administration officials that the United States
had no evidence the communist country was transferring technology that could be
used to make weapons of mass destruction.
Carter told Castro and leading Cuban scientists that he had asked White
House, State Department and intelligence officials specifically if Cuba was
transferring technology or other information that could be used in terrorist
activities. He said he was told Cuba was not.
Explaining the U.S. view, Fleischer pointed to a widely covered speech by
Undersecretary of State John Bolton shortly before Carter's trip. In the speech,
Bolton said Cuba has provided biotechnology to "other rogue states"
and the United States is concerned the information could support biological
warfare programs.
"The United States has plenty of reason to be concerned,"
Fleischer said.
On Monday, Carter said anybody with such evidence should accept Castro's
offer to tour the Cuban biotechnology centers for themselves.
He also urged Cuba to "intensively concentrate" on enforcing its
existing contracts, which ban other countries from converting Cuban medical
technology to other uses.
But the former president praised Cuba's "generosity" in spreading
treatments against or detection of hepatitis, meningitis, Alzheimer's, cancer
and AIDS to some of the world's poorest nations. Cuba claims its vaccines have
saved the lives of thousands of children.
"It may be that Cuba is unique in having emphasized health needs as a
driving force and not just to make a profit," Carter said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told ABC on Monday that "we do believe
that Cuba has a biological offensive research capability."
"We didn't say it actually had such weapons, but it has the capacity
and capability to conduct such research and this is not a new statement, I think
it's a statement that has been made previously," Powell said. "So
Undersecretary Bolton's speech, which got attention on this issue again, it
wasn't breaking new ground as far as the United States' position on the subject."
The Cuban government on Tuesday thanked Powell for his "efforts in
clarifying" the debate over the island and germ warfare. | 
