    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [March 20, 1998]
    [Pages 412-413]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 412]]

    Statement on Cuba
    March 20, 1998

        Eight weeks ago, His Holiness John Paul II made an historic visit to Cuba. He spoke to and for the
    Catholic faithful who have for decades endured a system that denied
    their right to worship freely.
        In anticipation and in support of that visit, my administration made
    a number of exceptions to our policy regarding travel and shipment of
    humanitarian supplies to Cuba. The response of the Cuban people to that
    visit has since convinced me that we should continue to look for ways to
    support Cuba's people without supporting its regime, by providing
    additional humanitarian relief, increasing human contacts, and helping
    the Cuban people prepare for a peaceful transition to a free,
    independent, and prosperous nation.
        Prior to the Pope's visit, we authorized direct charter flights for
    pilgrims to attend Papal services. We also authorized direct
    humanitarian cargo flights to Cuba in order to reduce the cost of
    getting these needed supplies to the Cuban people. The deliveries were
    carefully monitored to ensure that they reached the people for whom they
    were intended.
        These measures were fully consistent with the letter and spirit of
    the Cuban Democracy Act and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity
    Act, which, in addition to sustaining tough economic sanctions, also
    enable and encourage the administration to conduct a program of support
    for the Cuban people.
        I continue to believe in the validity of our policy built on four
    main components:
        --pressure on the regime for democratic change;
        --support for the Cuban people through humanitarian assistance and
            help in developing civil society;
        --promotion of more concerted multilateral effort to promote
            democracy and human rights; and
        --cooperative arrangements to move migration into safe, legal, and
            orderly channels.
        I have been following carefully the various proposals put forward by
    Members of Congress and other interested groups for expanding
    humanitarian assistance to the people of Cuba, including food. I have
    asked Secretary Albright to work on a
    bipartisan basis with the Congress to fashion an approach to the
    transfer of food to the Cuban people.
        To build further on the impact of the Pope's visit, to support the role of the Church and other elements of
    civil society in Cuba, and to thereby help prepare the Cuban people for
    a democratic transition, I have also decided to take the following
    steps:
        --Resume licensing direct humanitarian charter flights to Cuba.
            Direct humanitarian flights under applicable agency regulations
            will make it easier for Cuban-Americans to visit loved ones on
            the island and for humanitarian organizations to provide needed
            assistance more expeditiously and at lower cost.
        --Establish new licensing arrangements to permit Cuban-Americans and
            Cuban families living here in the United States to send
            humanitarian remittances to their families in Cuba at the level
            of $300 per quarter, as was permitted until 1994. This will
            enable Cuban-Americans to provide direct support to relatives in
            Cuba, while moving the current flow of remittances back into
            legal, orderly channels.
        --Streamline and expedite the issuance of licenses for the sale of
            medicines and medical supplies and equipment to Cuba. Based on
            experience of the past several years, including during the Papal
            visit, we believe that the end-use verification called for in
            the Cuban Democracy Act can be met through simplified
            arrangements.
        The Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State will develop and
    promulgate new licensing arrangements in these three areas in the coming
    weeks.
        The people of Cuba continue to live under a regime which deprives
    them of their freedom and denies them economic opportunity. The
    overarching goal of American policy must be to promote a peaceful
    transition to democracy on the island. Such a transition will depend
    upon the efforts of Cubans who seek to build a vibrant civil society and
    to secure respect for basic human rights. The presence of His Holiness
    John Paul II in Cuba inspired the Cuban

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    people, providing an important psychological boost to the Cuban Catholic
    Church, to Cuba's nascent civil society, and to the Cuban people. The
    measures I have announced today are designed to build upon that visit,
    to support the Cuban people through the hardships and difficulties
    ahead, to contribute to the growth of a civil society and to help
    prepare for a peaceful transition to democracy.