Two ex-presidents of the Democratic Party are traveling abroad to foster American Goodwill. Their journey will encourage stronger relations.
President Bush requested former President Clinton's Aid to attend a mostly-ceremonial event in Indonesia. Clinton will lead a delegation from the United States to East Timor's independence collaboration later in May.
It is the first time President Bush has given Ex-President Clinton a role in his administration. Ex-President Clinton was deeply involved in helping bring a peaceful transition to East Timor in 1995 when it voted to break from Indonesia. His administration requested peacemakers to be sent in when violence erupted after the election.
Closer to home, and at the request of President Castro, Ex-President Carter was the first U.S. President to visit Cuba since 1928 when Calvin Coolidge visited the island. Carter visited Cuba in 1955, four years be-fore Castro took over. Carter is traveling to meet with Castro and other high-ranking Cuban officials. Bush and America stand to benefit from the experience of two former White House residents.
Castro is looking for a boost to lift the Embargo. Carter will address an audience at the University of Ha-vana that will be broadcast on Cuban television. This will also be a first. He will visit a biotechnology cen-ter. Castro promised Carter that he would have full access to everyone and everyplace. Cuba would take no offense at his request including visiting dissidents who, like him, oppose the Embargo.
In the last few years, an increasing number of Senators, Representatives, and Governors have visited Cuba to see for themselves what Cuba is really like. As a result of these trips Congress passed legislation last year allowing the sale of food and medicine to Cuba, thereby creating an exception to the long standing Embargo. Cuba first hesitated to buy one grain of rice, but later reluctantly started placing orders totaling over $70 mil-lion dollars. Cuba's policy shift came as a result of a hurricane that devastated crops and left many homeless.
The new trade deal was a victory for those Americans legislators and farmers who had been lobbying Con-gress to open trade with Cuba.
Congress has also been working on bills that will ease the travel bans to the island. Americans today can only travel under U.S. Treasury license issued only to academics, journalists, and humanitarian groups. Americans have been getting around the travel ban by getting to Cuba through another country. This has proved to be riskier since Bush doubled the enforcement effort.
Paul O'Neil, who heads the U.S. Treasury, recently broke away from the Bush administration policies when he said; "I would rather use the resources of the treasury to track terrorist than Americans traveling to Cuba."
During Carter's four years in office, the U.S. reached out to Cuba in the following three ways:
1. Interest Sections were set up Sir Havana and Washington, D.C.
2. Travel ban to Cuba was lifted but later replaced.
3. The demarcation of maritime borders between U.S., Cuba, and Mexico.
Carter's presidency is also known for the Mariel boatlift. Carter agreed to take a group of Cubans who had stormed into the Peruvian Embassy. Castro opened Cuba's Port of Mariel and hundreds of small vessels pi-loted by Cuban-American exiles Headed to the Port of Mariel to pick up loved ones. Castro opened his prison gales releasing thousands of undesirables and loading them on boats back to America. When all was said and done, 125 thousand Mariel refugees had landed in Key West before Carter stopped the Exodus. It would take Miami more than a decade to assimilate them. Many were hardcore criminals. It has now been 27, years since the boatlift. Castro has survived four presidencies - Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush, Jr.
The true test of Carter's visit will be how he handles the Varela Project. Two days before Carter's arrival, or-ganizers delivered 11,020 registered voters' signatures to the Cuban National Assembly with a letter demand-ing that the Government recognize the initiative as a legal took to bring about changes in Cuba.
Varela Project
Five Issues
I.
Freedom of expression and association.
II.Amnesty for political prisoners who have not taken part in violent acts.
III. Free enterprise.
IV. Electoral reforms.
V- Elections within one year if the referendum passes.
The letter and signatures were delivered by Oswaldo Paya Sordina,Andrés Regis Iglesia, and Antonio Díaz. This is not a project of opposition, but a citizen project.
The need to maintain the Embargo is long gone. The policy does not benefit America and has not brought about the desired changes. The IJ.S. recently supported and encouraged China's entry into the world Trade Organization. China executes 5,000 citizens a year by shooting then in the back of their heads. It opened trade with Vietnam, a Country where 60 thousand American lives were lost in a war that divided America in the 1970's, causing riots and protests.
So why does the U.S. maintain the Embargo? A relic of the cold war? Florida was the swing state in the last presidential election. President Bush and Governor Bush of Florida feel they cannot be re-elected without the support of a few but powerful Cubans who maintain a stake in a policy that they are having trouble explain-ing to the American people.
It is only politics that separates these two otherwise friendly nations. It is well documented that Cubans on the island love and embrace American culture. Those who move to the U.S. make their first trip back as soon as they secure travel documents.
Many Cubans in Miami silently long to retire and die in Cuba. As long as we can avoid another incident like the shooting down of U.S. planes in 1996, will not be long before Americans are sipping mojitos at He-mingway's favorite hole in the wall, "La Bodeguita Del Medio."
We can only hope that Carter's trip will be the bridge that joins the great power of the north with the small island in Caribbean, giving both sides an opportunity to make concessions that will end 41 years of separa-tion and mistrust.
