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Yahoo! June
10, 2003.
US seeks democratic Cuba, but not by force: Powell
SANTIAGO, 9 (AFP) - The United States has no intention of attacking Cuba,
Secretary of State Colin Powell 'said Monday, as he sought pan-American unity to
push for democracy on the communist-ruled island.
"The fact of the matter is Cuba is the remaining totalitarian
dictatorship in this hemisphere," Powell said at a news conference in
Santiago, where he is attending an Organization of American States meeting.
"There is no reason that the community of democracies of the OAS should
not speak out for the Cuban people. The Cuban people are not allowed to speak
out for themselves."
Cuba has been suspended from the pan-American group since 1962 because it is
a dictatorship.
The communist-ruled island has returned to the international spotlight in
recent weeks following a crackdown by veteran leader Fidel Castro 'against the
pro-democracy opposition. Seventy-five dissidents were jailed in April for up to
28 years.
"The people of Cuba increasingly look to the OAS for help in defending
their fundamental freedoms against the depredations of our hemisphere's only
dictatorship," Powell earlier told the meeting of foreign ministers.
"My government looks forward to working with our partners in the OAS to
find ways to hasten the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba. Dictatorships
cannot stand the force of freedom."
Powell's comments went further than US officials had predicted before he
left Washington. State Department officials said the United States did not want
to push the Cuba issue at the OAS assembly as it did not want to reopen tensions
within the organization caused by the Iraq 'war.
But a strong condemnation of Cuba last week by the European Union (news -
web sites), which is reviewing relations with Castro's administration, has
swayed many Latin American governments and encouraged the United States to take
a harder line, diplomats said.
The 34-member OAS has for years been reluctant to confront or engage Cuba.
Many countries have justified this by saying that as Cuba is suspended it cannot
defend itself before the organization.
"Some countries want to discuss Cuba but only if this is done in a
balanced way, also discussing the US embargo, which nearly everyone opposes,"
said a senior OAS official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said that despite the international protests at the latest
repression "there is still a lot of sympathy for Castro in a lot of South
American countries."
The OAS permanent council was badly divided over a resolution condemning
Cuba introduced May 19.
Venezuela, Brazil and the 15 members of the main Caribbean grouping opposed
the draft drawn up by Canada, Uruguay and Chile, with the backing of the United
States and the rest of Latin America.
Before his speech, Powell met representatives of the Caribbean Community
nations to try to persuade them to ease their hostility to a tougher line
against their neighbor.
Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham acknowledged the divisions but also
spoke in favor of stronger action on the Cuba case.
"Many of my colleagues do not believe that the OAS of ours is not
appropriate forum to discuss the issue of Cuba," he said.
"But we do need to find constructive, positive ways to move forward on
this issue. This was echoed by many colleagues around the table."
Powell Asks OAS to Back Democracy in Cuba
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer.
SANTIAGO, Chile, 9 - Facing an uphill fight, Secretary of State Colin Powell
'challenged the Organization of American States on Monday to help the United
States find ways to "hasten the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba."
Powell, speaking at the annual meeting of OAS foreign ministers, said any
such effort would be consistent with principles of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter, approved two years ago.
Quoting from the charter, Powell told his 33 colleagues from Latin America
and the Caribbean that "the peoples of the Americas have a right to
democracy." He added, "It does not say that the peoples of the
Americas, except Cubans, have a right to democracy."
Powell's message was the strongest pitch by the United States for OAS
involvement in the Cuban issue since the government of President Fidel Castro
'was expelled from the OAS in the early 1960s because of its espousal of
Marxist-Leninist principles.
A senior OAS official, asking not to be identified, said American interest
in an OAS role in Cuba grew after the Cuban crackdown on dissidents in March.
Only 17 of the 34 OAS members signed a declaration criticizing the crackdown.
Caribbean countries showed no enthusiasm for the proposal, arguing that any
debate over Cuba should include an opportunity for the island to defend itself.
Other countries said any discussion of Cuba that focused on human rights while
excluding debate over the U.S. embargo against Cuba was inappropriate.
"Almost everybody disagrees with the embargo," said the senior OAS
official.
Powell's proposal was expected to come up in meetings he was holding with
colleagues Monday outside of OAS deliberations. He planned to meet with
Caribbean foreign ministers Monday night.
Cuba's assault on dissent included the arrest of 75 activists, including
independent journalists and directors of independent libraries.
"We deplore the crackdown of recent weeks against Cuban citizens
seeking to act upon their basic human rights," Powell said. "We
protest the harsh sentences that are being meted out to them."
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham seemed to side with Powell,
calling the penalties suffered by the Cuban dissenters "unacceptable"
and urging that the OAS find a way to deal with the issue.
Cuba maintains that the arrests and sentences were not a crackdown on
dissent but rather on subversive elements in Cuban society which, it alleges,
receive material support from the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana.
The strongest support for the U.S. stand has come from the European Union,
which said last week it was cutting back on high-level visits to the island and
was reviewing other aspects of its relations with Havana.
Beyond the industrialized democracies, though, Cuba has repeatedly been able
to demonstrate diplomatic clout. At the U.N. Human Rights Committee meeting in
Geneva, for example, a U.S.-backed resolution critical of Cuba's rights record
was defeated in April by a 2-1 margin.
Powell leaves Chile Tuesday morning for Argentina, where he will meet with
newly installed President Nestor Kirchner.
Powell Offers Friendship to Kirchner
By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, 10 - Secretary of State Colin Powell 'offered
friendship Tuesday to newly installed President Nestor Kirchner and said he
hoped to put U.S.-Argentine relations on a sounder footing.
"We are looking for strong relationships between two friends and we
look forward to working with the new president and his administration,"
Powell said as he left a midmorning meeting with Kirchner. He flew back to
Washington immediately afterward.
Powell stopped in Buenos Aires on Tuesday after attending an Organization of
American States foreign ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile the day before. A
senior OAS official said there was optimism that the U.S.-Argentine relations
can prosper now that President Bush 'has a new team of economic advisers.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill caused an uproar in 2001 when he
described Argentina as a country "that continues to consume the money of
the plumbers and carpenters in the United States who make $50,000 a year and
wonder what in the world we're doing with their money."
Powell spent about 2 1/2 hours in Argentina, including the 50-minute meeting
with Kirchner at the presidential palace. He said Sunday that he intended to
listen to Kirchner "as he tells me about his plans, his aspirations, what
he hopes for his administration."
"The United States stands ready to help," Powell said, alluding to
Argentina's economic difficulties. He did not elaborate.
On Monday, Powell challenged the OAS to help the United States find ways to "hasten
the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba."
The United States traditionally has refrained from taking the Cuba issue to
the OAS, but Powell apparently feels that the political climate in the
hemisphere may be ready for such an initiative following Cuba's crackdown on
dissidents in March.
About 75 Cubans, including independent journalists and directors of
independent libraries, were corralled by Cuban authorities and given long prison
sentences.
"How could we as a community of democracies fail to speak out?"
Powell asked at an evening news conference Monday.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim disagreed, telling reporters, "It
does not make sense to discuss Cuba without Cuban representatives being present.
It does not bring any results." Brazil's position is largely shared by the
vote-rich Caribbean bloc at the OAS.
The Cuban government does not take part in OAS deliberations, having been
expelled in the early 1960s.
Cuba contends that if a subversive movement exists in Cuba, it was "manufactured"
by the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana. Cuba also insists that those who were
arrested in the crackdown had collaborated with the U.S. diplomats. | 
