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Unite
in push for Cuba's freedom
President's policy is a start; now for the follow
up
Posted on Tue, Oct. 14, 2003 in
The
Miami Herald.
We welcome President Bush's restatement last
week of U.S. policy toward Cuba. Included were
old and new measures designed to help Cubans on
the island, and that prepare the United States
for Cuba's inevitable transition to democracy.
U.S. policy also would be strengthened with a
diplomatic push to involve more Latin American
leaders in freeing Cubans from tyranny, an approach
that Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega
recently described as a ''personal mission.''
Now what is needed is the follow through.
Mr. Bush announced an increase in the number
of Cubans allowed to legally come to the United
States each year, which will encourage safe, controlled
legal immigration. Not only is that better for
U.S. national security, but it also should cut
down on the number of desperate Cubans taking
risky sea voyages -- sometimes in the hands of
unscrupulous smugglers who have little consideration
for passengers' well-being. The State Department
already has helped dampen desperation by speeding
up the process by which 20,000 U.S. visas are
issued yearly in Havana.
A new Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba,
headed by cabinet members Mel Martínez
and Colin Powell, will search for ways to encourage
Cuba's transition to a free society. Such clout,
if applied, could help unite the international
community in promoting change. After the Cuban
regime's crackdown on dissidents and summary executions
of three men who attempted to flee the island,
the world realizes that Cuba's problem is its
brutal dictator -- not U.S. policy. The OAS, in
particular, should do a lot more. We salute Mr.
Noriega's commitment, in his words, "to encourage
greater involvement by Latin American governments
in the quest for democracy and development in
Cuba.''
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