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fyi, this open letter to the Cuban Community will be printed in the
Miami Herald in the next couple of days. The signatories are highly
respected leaders of organizations in the US who are working vigorously
to help establish better relations between the US and Cuba. One of
these leaders is our own Ricardo Gonzalez, who is President of the Cuban
Committee for Democracy.
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OPEN LETTER TO THE CUBAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
The recommendations made by the President's Commission for Assistance
to a Free Cuba are more than just arrogant and election-year pandering.
They are:
* Anti-family because they clearly discriminate against the Cuban
family by restricting the definition of the family to the most immediate
members of the family unit, thus your cousin and your aunt are no longer
your family;
* Anti-Cuban because they single out Cuba for punishment that is
unprecedented in the history of American foreign policy, limiting our
visits to once every three years and reducing our per diem to $50;
* Anti-American because they deny Americans their freedom to travel,
therefore making them a hostage of the Bush Administration's agenda with
respect to Cuba; and
* Anti-logic because they are essentially a rehashing of a 45-year
policy, one that is significant only by the failure to accomplish its
objectives.
But it is the fierceness with which these recommendations deal with
Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits that really stands out of
the Commission's report. They can only be described as egregious
penalties on the Cuban family that will cause tremendous suffering and
criminalize Cuban Americans *rightfully and justly* determined to
help their families back home.
Did you know that . . .
... Thousands of Cuban Americans will never be able to visit Cuba
again? The Bush Administration's proposals will make it impossible to
visit unless we have a parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling or child in
Cuba.
... You will no longer be allowed to send money or assistance to
anyone in Cuba who is not a parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling or
child. Ever!!
The President's Cuba advisers obviously believe that to "assist the
Cuban people to representative democracy," we must deny them whatever
opportunity they have to improve their lives. They claim to have a
"mandate to support the hastening of democratic change" in Cuba, but we
ask: When did they get this mandate and from whom?
Certainly, not from Cubans who live on the Island. For it is hardly
likely that anyone in Cuba would ask for more hardship on the assumption
that it would help bring down the government. In fact, even dissidents
inside Cuba repudiate these actions and urge the U.S. to do exactly the
opposite. Menoyo, Payá, Sánchez and Morúa, among others, have published
documents in Havana calling the recommendations an act of interference
in Cuban affairs that will make their struggle for democracy even more
difficult.
We respectfully ask President Bush to reject the recommendations of
this Commission for they will continue to harm and divide Cuban
families, and will continue dilating the so much needed process of
reconciliation among Cubans.
As Cuban Americans, we believe that applying a policy of engagement is
the most effective way to accomplish change and create the conditions
that will allow for a peaceful evolution to a Cuban solution. Any
transition in Cuba must be gradual and must come from the Cuban people
themselves and not imposed from the outside. As recent surveys have
indicated, most Cuban Americans favor this view.
With the support of a majority of Americans, Congress has repeatedly
voted to change the current failed policy of embargo and isolation. The
Bush Administration ought to heed the advice of Congress and serve the
best interests of people in both countries. The entire world would
rejoice if the U.S. would adopt reasonable and future oriented policies
to open a new chapter in its relations with Cuba.
One would think that with the sad experiences we are living with Iraq,
the Bush Administration would choose a more logical and productive path
to solve the 45-year impasse with Cuba. Those among the Cuban American
community who promote a confrontational policy need to understand that
perpetuating such a policy will only lead to more tensions with Cuba.
Our message to President Bush is to:
Promote peace through engagement. To stay the present course is pure
folly.
Respectfully,
SILVIA WILHELM
Executive Director and Founder
Puentes Cubanos, Inc.
LULY DUKE
President
Fundacion Amistad
PATRICIA GUTIÉRREZ-MENOYO
Board Member
Cambio Cubano
ANTONIO ZAMORA
President
The Time is Now Coalition
DELVIS FERNÁNDEZ-LEVY
President
Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
RICARDO GONZÁLEZ
President
Cuban Committee for Democracy
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