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21 May 2003
By Scott Miller
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The Bush Administration will continue to do all it can to bring about respect for human rights and to foster a transition to democracy in Cuba, says Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez.
Martinez was among the senior Bush Administration officials, congressional leaders and prominent members of the Cuban-American community who convened in Washington on May 21 to commemorate Cuba's struggle for freedom and open a photo exhibit entitled "Cubans ... and their Loved Ones."
The exhibit tells the story of oppression in Cuba through 30 photos of Cuban political prisoners and their families. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will host the exhibit, on loan from the Center for a Free Cuba, for 44 days to remember the 44 years of oppression of the Cuban people under the regime of dictator Fidel Castro.
A day after the 101st anniversary of Cuban independence, the U.S. officials at the exhibit's opening ceremony discussed their aspirations for a free Cuba, condemned Castro's ongoing crackdown against dissidents, and reiterated their commitment to supporting a democratic transition and respect for human rights in Cuba.
USAID Administrator Andrew S. Natsios introducing Secretary Mel Martínez.Adolfo Franco, USAID assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, opened the ceremony. He described the photo exhibit as "a tribute to Cuba's struggle for freedom," in honor of the brave Cubans who participate in this struggle every day. Franco called Cuba's dissidents, both those pictured in the exhibit and those not, "the heroes of the new Cuba struggling to be born."
He also condemned the Castro regime's arrest in April 2003 of 100 of Cuba's most prominent human rights activists and independent journalists. Seventy-eight of these activists where given long, harsh prison sentences for simply expressing a different point of view, Franco said.
USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios said that Fidel Castro has "hijacked" for more than 40 years Cuba's dream of independence that was first realized 101 years ago. He added that the exhibit opening offers an opportunity to "bear witness to the prison that is Cuba and offer our support for those who languish in its jails."
USAID Assistant Administrator Adolfo A. Franco gives tour of photographic exhibit to Secretary Mel Martinez and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18).Natsios said the exhibit's photographs demonstrate that it is not just dissidents who suffer from Castro's repression, but also their spouses, children and family friends.
The USAID official pledged that his agency would continue to support President Bush's Initiative for a New Cuba and work with the State Department, Congress and others to implement the administration's plan to "accelerate freedom's progress in Cuba in every way."
"The day will come when Cuba will be free," Natsios said. "Until that time, USAID will keep faith with the Cuban people and their dream of independence."
Martinez echoed the USAID officials' support for and commitment to a free Cuba and conveyed his impressions of President Bush's May 20 meeting with 11 victims of Castro's repression. He said the president heard detailed accounts of each dissident's suffering and expressed determination to support the struggle for a free and independent Cuba.
Martinez emphasized that the struggle underway in Cuba is not one between that nation and the United States. Instead, "the struggle is really between the Cuban government and the Cuban people," he said.
He added that the Bush Administration is concerned not only with the Cuban people's current struggle, but how to support the island's inevitable transition to democracy. Until such a transition occurs, Martinez said, the United States will continue to do all it can to take effective measures to bring about democratic change.
Secretary Mel Martinez observing the exhibitOne such measure is unmasking the lies of the Castro regime. To that end, the U.S. special envoy for Western Hemisphere initiatives, Otto Reich, announced that TV Marti -- which aims to provide balanced news coverage -- yesterday was seen in Cuba for the first time in over 12 years. TV and Radio Marti are produced by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, a U.S. international broadcasting bureau.
The four-hour broadcast from a U.S. plane flying over U.S. airspace marks the beginning of a testing period of various U.S. efforts to break Castro's "information blockade," Reich said. He noted that TV Marti broadcasts will also be transmitted via satellite, and that the power of Radio Marti's broadcast signal will be enhanced to provide often-inaccessible information.
The congressional leaders who attended the exhibit opening, including Florida Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mark Foley, and Mario Diaz-Balart, applauded the Bush Administration's current review of U.S. policy toward Cuba and said they looked forward to further initiatives that demonstrate even greater solidarity with the Cuban people.
Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, which is loaning the photographs for the exhibit, said that the Cuban-American community also supports the Bush Administration's policies toward Cuba. He proclaimed the U.S. president "the best friend of the Cuban community that we have had."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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