[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S6546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              CUBAN POLICY

  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, one of the most shortsighted policies we 
have anywhere is our policy toward Cuba.
  The reality is, we are letting a small group dictate American policy 
because of domestic political interests.
  There is not a single nation in the world that doesn't believe our 
policy toward Cuba is counterproductive.
  Our aim should be to get the Government of Cuba to ameliorate their 
hard stands on human rights issues, and it has had the opposite effect.
  Certainly, if we had followed a different course, it is hard to 
believe the situation could be any worse than it is right now.
  Recently, the New York Times had an article by Larry Rohter titled, 
``Latin American Nations Rebuke U.S. for the Embargo on Cuba.''
  They are right in their criticism.
  I ask that the New York Times article be printed in the Congressional 
Record.
  The article follows:

                [From the New York Times, June 6, 1996]

       Latin American Nations Rebuke U.S. For the Embargo on Cuba

                           (By Larry Rohter)

       Panama, June 5.--In a display of near unanimity, the 
     countries of the Organization of American States, gathered 
     here for their annual meeting, singled out the United States, 
     criticizing the recent extension of the economic embargo 
     against Cuba as a probable violation of international law.
       The criticism came in the form of a resolution aimed at the 
     Helms-Burton Law, which President Clinton signed into law in 
     March.
       A vote on Tuesday on the measure, which had 32 co-sponsors, 
     ended with the United States, traditionally the 
     organization's dominant force, as the sole dissenter.
       Dismayed by the strong language of the resolution, the 
     United States fired back with a harsh assessment of the 
     behavior of some of its closest allies, including many 
     members of the organization who have supported American 
     intervention in the past in places such as Haiti and the 
     Dominican Republic.
       In a stinging speech at the gathering, which ends on 
     Friday, the United States delegate, Harriet C. Babbitt, 
     condemned the resolution as an act of ``diplomatic 
     cowardice.''
       ``What is the message that will emerge from this 
     assembly?'' she asked her fellow delegates. ``That the 
     hemisphere will flex its muscles to defend and justify 
     illegal expropriations, but remain silent while our brothers 
     and sisters in a neighboring state remain subject to the 
     caprices of a brutal dictator? Where is our sense of 
     perspective?''
       Cuba was ``excluded'' from the organization in 1962 as part 
     of an American diplomatic effort to isolate Fidel Castro and 
     the Communist Government he continues to lead.
       Since then, Cuban officials and the state-controlled press 
     have regularly ridiculed the organization as a claque of 
     subservient puppets manipulated by the United States.
       In Havana, a spokesman for the Cuban Foreign Ministry said 
     the resolution ``was really a surprise,'' and thanked 
     organization members for their support.
       The Helms-Burton legislation tightens the 35-year-old 
     economic embargo against Cuba by allowing American citizens 
     to sue foreign companies that ``traffic'' in property seized 
     from Americans and denies executives of those companies the 
     right to enter the United States.
       Congress overwhelmingly approved the bill after Cuban Air 
     Force pilots shot down two small civilian aircraft owned by 
     Cuban exile groups in February, killing four people.
       The resolution is directed against all laws that ``obstruct 
     international trade and investment'' or ``the free movement 
     of persons.''
       In addition, the Inter-American Juridical Committee, an 
     independent body that advises the organization on legal 
     matters, was asked to ``examine the validity under 
     international law'' of Helms-Burton and to prepare a 
     ``judgment'' as soon as possible.
       Coming from a forum that has always done its best to avoid 
     controversy, the vote could only be interpreted as a stunning 
     defeat for the United States and a rejection of the Clinton 
     Administration's get-tough policy toward Cuba.
       But at a news conference after the rebuke, Ms. Babbitt 
     tried to put the best face on the vote and to mend some 
     fences. ``We have in effect agreed to disagree on this 
     issue,'' she said. ``We share the same goal, but we disagree 
     on the methods of attaining that goal.''
       Privately, members of the American delegation said they 
     were distressed not only with the language of the resolution 
     but also by the manner in which it was pushed through. They 
     also complained of being given insufficient time to consult 
     with Washington.

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