[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  CUBA

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to 
submit for the Record an article published today in the Miami Herald 
regarding the situation in Cuba. The article captures the situation 
imposed on the Cuban people by the authoritarian rule of the Castro 
brothers, as well as challenges the international community to stand 
firm in its commitment to true democratic change in Cuba. For decades 
Fidel Castro, and now his brother Raul, have deprived the Cuban people 
of freedom and the hope of a better future. It is clear that Cuba finds 
itself in a time of transition, yet surely the Castro brothers will do 
everything in their power to ensure that the system of repression that 
they have built up for the past half century will remain in place 
whenever Fidel Castro passes away. For this reason, it is incumbent on 
all of us who aspire for a free and democratic Cuba to ensure that this 
moment of opportunity for democratic change on the island is not lost.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the following article printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objcection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                  Appeasing the Castros Will Backfire

                           (By Frank Calzon)

       The ``Stockholm syndrome'' describes the phenomenon of 
     hostages who identify, cooperate with and, finally, defend 
     their kidnappers. The longer they are held, the more victims 
     are likely to be affected by the syndrome, because they are 
     totally dependent on their abusers. The control over every 
     aspect of life convinces the victim that he or she is alone, 
     there will be no help from others; resistance is useless and 
     only makes things worse.
       That's the kind of control Fidel Castro, and now his 
     brother Raul, exercise in Cuba.
       There, everything comes from Castro and his government. The 
     regime wants the Cuban people to believe they have no other 
     friends. And, alas, even foreign diplomats and their 
     dependents stationed in Havana begin after time to feel this 
     intimidating dependency and to become reluctant to protest 
     outrages directed at them because ``it only results in more 
     abuse.''
       Castro's abuse--his ability to order windows smashed or 
     call out street demonstrations--becomes ``revenge'' for 
     inviting unapproved Cuban guests to the embassy, for reaching 
     out to engage ordinary Cubans in ways not preapproved by 
     Castro's government.
       Foreign observers in Cuba seem to have great difficulty 
     imagining what the regime will do next. One reason why is 
     that they keep looking for logical reasons to explain the 
     regime's actions. Yet the reality is that much of what has 
     happened in Cuba over the last 50 years cannot be explained, 
     except as the whim of a man whose only goal is to be in 
     control of everything Cuban. Castro has a lot in common with 
     Stalin.
       The Castro regime simply deems any independent action--
     however small--to be a challenge to its totalitarian control. 
     Thus, inviting Cuba's political dissidents to an embassy 
     event is ``a hostile act.'' To give a short-wave radio to a 
     Cuban national is, curiously enough, ``a violation of human 
     rights.'' Any Cuban daring to voice support for change in 
     Cuba is ``a paid agent'' of the United States.
       What to do in a situation such as this? The principle that 
     should guide foreign governments is that they should show 
     Cubans that they have friends on the outside.
       Foreign governments can start by, at the very least, always 
     insisting on reciprocity in the freedom allowed Castro's 
     diplomats and embassies to operate in their capitals. This is 
     not what happened. Foreign missions--America's among them--
     accede to Castro's restrictions on how their diplomats and 
     embassies function in Cuba.
       Cuba's diplomats take full advantage of their freedoms in 
     the U.S. capital. They attend congressional hearings, have 
     access to the American media, develop relationships with 
     businessmen and ``progressive'' activists, host student 
     groups, speak at universities and enjoy tax-exempt status. 
     Yet U.S. diplomats in Cuba have no similar privileges in 
     Havana. They are subject to petty harassments. The Cuban 
     government goes so far as to detain shipping containers of 
     supplies sent to the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba and has 
     broken into the U.S. diplomatic pouch.
       Attempting to appease Cuba's kidnappers will backfire, as 
     it always has. It is instructive that the refugee crises in 
     1980 and 1994, which involved 125,000 and 30,000 Cubans 
     respectively, and the 1996 murder of Brothers to the Rescue 
     crews over the Florida Straits occurred at times when 
     Washington actually was trying to improve relations.
       Eventually, Cuba's long nightmare will end. If governments 
     around the world would also shake free of ``the Havana 
     Syndrome,'' they might hasten Cuba's democratic awakening.
       Fidel and Raul Castro will attempt to turn their day of 
     reckoning into a negotiation with Washington--a negotiation 
     excluding dissidents and exiles. Yet it is Cubans who must 
     decide the fate of Cuba. All evidence indicates that 
     President Bush will remain firm. If the Department of State 
     does not flinch, Cuba's interim president and new leaders 
     will have to talk with and listen to their political 
     opponents. That is what democracy means and that is what the 
     world community should boldly support today.




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