State Department
Briefing about Cuba
STATE
DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING
BRIEFER: RICHARD BOUCHER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN
12:20 P.M. EST, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2004
Q Cuba says the U.S. has suspended migration
talks. Can you tell us why?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, that's not exactly the
way it is.
Q Okay.
MR. BOUCHER: We have told Cuba that we're
ready to go to talks when they're ready
to discuss the serious issues that need
to be discussed. Unfortunately, the Cubans
have continued to refuse to discuss the
issues that we've identified.
We think the talks need to provide a forum
to discuss a productive agenda, including
a commitment to substantive discussion of
five Cuban impediments to safe, legal and
orderly migration. Cuba has long refused
to engage on these matters:
Specifically, Cuba's obligation, under
the accords, to issue exit permits to all
qualified migrants. It's a matter of basic
fairness.
The need for Cuba to meet its commitment
to cooperate in holding a new registration
for the lottery from which two-thirds of
all legal migrants are selected.
The need for deeper Cuban port for repatriations
by the Coast Guard, to ensure the safety
of life at sea.
Cuba's responsibility under the accords
to again permit U.S. interest section personnel
to travel to monitor returned migrants,
reversing a policy that was put into place
pending the - place during the regime's
March 2003 crackdown on civil society.
And fifth, Cuba's obligation, under international
law, to accept the return of Cuban nationals
determined to be excludable from the United
States.
We have raised each of these issues in
at least the last six sessions of the talks,
and Cuba's refused to discuss them substantively.
In some cases, including as recently as
October 24th, 2003, Cuba has subsequently
informed us by diplomatic note that it rejected
any discussion of such issues in the talks.
Consequently, when the Cuban government
proposed January 8th for the next round
of migration talks, we determined that given
the Cuban government's expressed unwillingness
to engage on these five most important issues,
that another round of talks at this point
did not serve our interest.
Although there's nothing in the accord
that requires a regular schedule of meetings,
the United States is willing to reconsider
the scheduling of the next round of migration
talks when Cuba informs us that the -- informs
us that it agrees to a productive agenda,
including a commitment to the discuss these
five issues.
Q I'm sorry. I don't -- you know, I'm not
familiar with the background of this. Is
this -- is the U.S. position the culmination
of Cuba's -- what should I say? -- Cuba's
stance in previous rounds, or is this something
new? And also, although I wouldn't be surprised
at your answer --
MR. BOUCHER: These are --
Q -- the Cubans say this is politics; it's
the election season, and it's a time to
get tough on Cuba.
MR. BOUCHER: It's a time to have safe,
legal migration from Cuba. That's not an
election issue, that's an issue of humanitarian
concern. That's an issue of concern for
the people who want to come here. That's
a matter of concern for the people who lose
their lives at sea. It's time for Cuba to
reverse steps it took last March to make
it harder for us to make sure that -- to
visit people who might have been repatriated
for Cuba. It's time for Cuba to agree to
safe repatriations to a deeper-water port.
It's time for Cuba to open up the system
that is established, that's supposed to
be working fairly for everybody, to make
sure it does work fairly for all Cubans
who might want to come here.
These are issues -- in response to the
first half of your question -- we've raised
before, that we've raised before in these
talks with the Cubans, which the Cubans
have either refused to discuss during the
meeting and then at times reiterated after
the meeting they refused to discuss them.
So the point is not just to have a meeting;
the point is to deal with the serious issues
involved to try to make sure that people
who do want to come here can come here in
a safe and orderly way.
Q Is the right word "suspension,"
"postponement"; but certainly
not "cancellation," right?
MR. BOUCHER: The discussions are not scheduled
at this point because the Cubans refuse
to discuss the issues that need to be discussed
for this to be a safe and orderly system.
Q Richard, (when was ?) the last round?
MR. BOUCHER: (Refers to briefing materials.)
I, of course, don't have that with me. But
I'll check for you.
Q It was going to be every six months.
(Off mike.)
MR. BOUCHER: I don't know exactly when
--
Q And are you aware if your side or the
Cuban side has ever turned down a proposed
-- have you guys ever done this before,
basically said thanks for the offer, but
--
MR. BOUCHER: I think at times we've had,
you know, differences over scheduling, difference
over timing.
Q Yeah, but have these five issues ever
forced the -- whatever you're going to --
postponement or cancellation, whatever the
term is, has this ever happened before for
these meetings, for these reasons?
MR. BOUCHER: Whether talks have been put
off before because issues --
Q For these reasons.
MR. BOUCHER: -- these issues were not going
to be discussed? Again, I don't know. I
have to check. I'm sorry.
Q Do you know when they sent you the note
that you referred to?
MR. BOUCHER: Well, the note that I cited
was October 24th.
That was an example where they came back
to us even after a round of talks and said
it rejected any discussion of such issues
in these talks. In the present instance,
when they proposed January 8th, we told
them that we were willing to have the meeting
if they were willing to discuss these five
important issues, and they then refused,
and that's why the talks aren't being scheduled
at this time.
Q So -- and do you know when they did that?
MR. BOUCHER: I'll have to check on that
too.
Q Well, when did they propose the January
8th date?
MR. BOUCHER: Okay, I'll answer all the
when questions too. I'm sorry, we did the
policy without the who, what, when, where
and how, as is our wont.
Q On Cuba? Recently, Secretary Powell has
been alluding in interviews, and even the
president came out on the record saying
that the U.S. would be trying to do more
to work towards a free Cuba. Can you talk
about some of the efforts that the U.S.
has been taking in the last few months above
and beyond what you've done traditionally
to forge a free Cuba?
MR. BOUCHER: I think you have to look at
the president's announcement last fall,
when he indicated that we were going to
move forward on the commission to study
how the United States could relate to a
free Cuba, relate to a post-Castro Cuba,
and what we might do to encourage that prospect.
The other Cabinet member involved was Secretary
Martinez. He has, of course, left the government
at this point, but that commission will
continue its work and will produce a report
by mid-year. So that is being looked at.
But at the same time, the president also
announced a number of steps to tighten up
on some of the loopholes that we felt benefited
the Cuban government in terms of cashflow
and other arrangements and to make sure
that the rules that we did have regarding
travel and trade with Cuba were being respected.
So it was a series of steps that the president
announced last fall that really embody the
initiative that we've taken.
The president also announced earlier in
a basic
policy framework an initiative with Cuba,
which is when Cuba's ready to change, we're
ready to change our policy. If they have
elections, like other countries have done,
and allow -- respond to the will of the
people who've signed petitions and otherwise
looked for more democracy and a right to
decide their own government, then of course
we would adjust our policy as well.
Okay, yeah?
Q The Argentinean government --
Q Still on Cuba, if I could.
MR. BOUCHER: Okay.
Q The -- do we know the number of exit
permits that haven't been issued for those
who have been approved to travel to the
United States?
And secondly, wouldn't you say that over
the course of the 10 years or so of the
migration agreement that the -- it has,
by and large, been a very positive thing
that has in some ways avoided unchecked
immigration?
MR. BOUCHER: I certainly would agree with
that. That's why we wanted this, that's
why we want to make it work and we want
to make it work well. This is an agreement
that helps people come here without risking
their lives at sea, that has probably saved
many lives over the course of the years.
And that's why it's important for us to
see it work properly, for it to be open
fairly to other Cubans, for it to be implemented
in a way that doesn't risk people's lives
when they're returned; implemented in a
way that lets us check on people. And some
of these steps that Cuba has taken, one
I cited is part of the crackdown in March
of last year, have made it more difficult
to operate this system properly.
As far as the actual number of permits
issued and people they haven't allowed to
leave, again, it's something I'll have to
check on.
Q And when you say the crackdown in March,
you're not talking about the crackdown on
dissidents --
MR. BOUCHER: Well, as part of the crackdown
on dissidents, they also restricted the
ability of our Interest Section to go out
and meet people and talk to people and check
on people, which has always been part of
the program in the past.
Okay, ma'am? Argentina.
Q Yes. Argentinian government has reacted
very harshly to the -- Roger Noriega's comments
yesterday in the Council of the Americas
about their policy towards Cuba. Do you
have any reactions about
that?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't think we're going
to get into reacting to reactions to reactions.
I'll just -- I think Mr. Noriega probably
expressed himself very well. I'll leave
it at that.
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