    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [October 24, 2007]
    [Pages 1379-1384]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Department of State
    October 24, 2007

        Thank you very much. Gracias. Buenos dias. I am pleased to be here
    at the State Department. I appreciate the work that's done here. Every
    day, the men and women of this Department serve as America's emissaries
    to the world. Every day, you help our country respond to aggressors and
    bring peace to troubled lands. Every day, you advance our country's
    mission in support of basic human rights to the millions who are denied
    them. Secretary Rice constantly tells me
    about the good work being done here at the State Department, and on
    behalf of a grateful nation, I thank you for your hard work, and I'm
    pleased to be with you.
        Few issues have challenged this Department--and our Nation--longer
    than the situation in Cuba. Nearly half a century has passed since
    Cuba's regime ordered American diplomats to evacuate our Embassy in
    Havana. This was the decisive break of our diplomatic relations with the
    island, a troubling signal for the future of the Cuban people and the
    dawn of an unhappy era between our two countries. In this building,
    President John F. Kennedy spoke about the U.S. economic embargo against
    Cuba's dictatorship. And it was here where he announced the end of the
    missile crisis that almost plunged the war--world into nuclear war.
        Today another President comes with hope to discuss a new era for the
    United States and Cuba. The day is coming when the Cuban people will
    chart their own course for a better life. The day is coming when the
    Cuban people have the freedom they have awaited for so long.
        Madam Secretary, thank you for your
    introduction. I'm pleased to be with you and Ambassador
    Negroponte and all who work here. Thanks
    for the hospitality. I'm pleased to be here with our Secretary of
    Commerce, Secretary Carlos Gutierrez,
    born in Cuba. I appreciate other members of my administration who are
    here.
        I particularly want to thank the Members of Congress who have joined
    us: Senator Mel Martinez,
    born in Cuba; Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, born in Cuba; Lincoln Diaz-Balart, born in Cuba; su hermanito--[laughter]--Mario Diaz-
    Balart. I want to thank Chris Smith for joining us, Congressman from Jersey;
    Thaddeus McCotter, Michigan; Debbie
    Wasserman Schultz from Florida, as
    well as Tim Mahoney from Florida. Appreciate you
    being here.
        I thank the members of the diplomatic corps who have joined us. I
    appreciate the Ambassadors to the Organization of American States who
    are with us. I particularly want to thank the Cuban families who have
    joined me on the stage.
        One of the great success stories of the past century is the advance
    of economic and political freedom across Latin America. In this room are
    officials representing nations that are embracing the blessings of
    democratic government and free enterprise. And the United States is
    proud and active to work with you in your transformations.
        One country in our region still isolates its people from the hope
    that freedom brings and traps them in a system that has failed them.
    Forty-eight years ago, in the early moments of Cuba's revolution, its
    leaders offered a prediction. He said, and
    I quote, ``The worst enemies which the Cuban revolution can face are the
    revolutionaries themselves.'' One of history's great tragedies is that
    he made that dark prophecy come true.
        Cuba's rulers promised individual liberty. Instead, they denied
    their citizens basic rights that the free world takes for granted. In
    Cuba, it is illegal to change jobs, to change houses, to travel abroad,
    to read books or magazines without the expressed

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    approval of the state. It is against the law for more than three Cubans
    to meet without permission. Neighborhood watch programs do not look out
    for criminals. Instead, they monitor their fellow citizens, keeping
    track of neighbors' comings and goings, who visits them, and what radio
    stations they listen to. The sense of community and the simple trust
    between human beings is gone.
        Cuba's rulers promised an era of economic advancement. Instead, they
    brought generations of economic misery. Many of the cars on the street
    predate the revolution, and some of--Cubans rely on horse carts for
    transportation. Housing for many ordinary Cubans is in very poor
    condition, while the ruling class lives in mansions. Clinics for
    ordinary Cubans suffer from chronic shortages in medicine and equipment.
    Many Cubans are forced to turn to the black market to feed their
    families. There are long lines for basic necessities, reminiscent of the
    Soviet bread lines of the last century. Meanwhile, the regime offers
    fully stocked foodstores for foreign tourists, diplomats, and
    businessmen in communism's version of apartheid.
        Cuba's rulers promised freedom of the press. Instead, they closed
    down private newspapers and radio and television stations. They've
    jailed and beaten journalists, raided their homes, and seized their
    paper, ink, and fax machines. One Cuban journalist asked foreigners who
    visited him for one thing: a pen. Another uses shoe polish as ink--as a
    typewriter ribbon.
        Cuba's rulers promised, quote, ``absolute respect for human
    rights.'' Instead, they offered Cubans rat-infested prisons and a police
    state. Hundreds are serving long prison sentences for political offenses
    such as the crime of ``dangerousness,'' as defined by the regime. Others
    have been jailed for the crime of ``peaceful sedition,'' which means
    whatever Cuban authorities decide it means.
        Joining us here are family members of political prisoners in Cuba.
    I've asked them to come because I want our fellow citizens to see the
    faces of those who suffer as a result of the human rights abuses on the
    island some 90 miles from our shore.
        One of them is Olga Alonso. Her brother,
    Ricardo Gonzalez Alonso [Alfonso],*
    has been harassed by Cuban authorities since he was 11 years old,
    because he wrote things that the Cuban authorities did not like. In
    2003, Ricardo was arrested for his writings and sentenced to 20 years in
    prison. The authorities seized illegal contraband they found in his
    home. These included such things as a laptop computer, notebooks, and a
    printer. Olga, we're glad you're here, and thank you for coming.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Marlenis Gonzalez and her daughter
    Melissa are here. They recently arrived
    from Cuba, but without Melissa's father. Jorge Luis Gonzalez
    Tanquero dared to defend the
    human rights of his countrymen. For that, he was arrested for crimes
    against the state. Now he languishes in poor health inside a Cuban
    prison. Bienvenidos.
        Damaris Garcia y su tia Mirta
    Pernet are with us today. Damaris calls the
    Cuban Government ``a killing machine''--those are her words. They've
    seen relatives imprisoned for supporting liberty. One beloved family
    member, Omar Pernet Hernandez, was a
    poor man who sold candy on the streets of Havana. For advocating
    freedom, he is serving a sentence of 25 years. He's 62 years old, he's
    emaciated, yet he remains a determined advocate for human rights for the
    Cuban people. Bienvenidos.
        Also with us is Yamile Llanes Labrada. Yamile's husband Jorge [Jose]* Luis Garcia
    Paneque was a surgeon and
    journalist. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison for daring speak the
    truth about the regime. Yamile herself was accused of espionage, and she
    feared for the safety of her four children.
    After Jose's arrest, a mob organized by state authorities surrounded
    their

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    house. The mob carried sticks and threatened to set fire to the house
    with the family inside. Earlier this year, Yamile and her children made
    it off the island. They do not know when they'll see their father again.
    Bienvenidos, Yamile.
        I want to thank each of you coming today. I thank you for allowing
    me to share your stories, and I thank you for your courage. I ask that
    God watch over you and your loved ones. Que Dios les bendiga a ustedes y
    a su familias. And I join your prayers for a day when the light of
    liberty will shine on Cuba.
        These are just a few of the examples of the terror and trauma that
    is Cuba today. The ``socialist paradise'' is a tropical gulag. The quest
    for justice that once inspired the Cuban people has now become a grab
    for power. And as with all totalitarian systems, Cuba's regime no doubt
    has other horrors still unknown to the rest of the world. Once revealed,
    they will shock the conscience of humanity, and they will shame the
    regime's defenders and all those democracies that have been silent. One
    former Cuban political prisoner, Armando Valladares, puts it this way: It will be a time when ``mankind
    will feel the revulsion it felt when the crimes of Stalin were brought
    to light.'' And that time is coming.
        As we speak, calls for fundamental change are growing across the
    island. Peaceful demonstrations are spreading. Earlier this year,
    leading Cuban dissidents came together for the first time to issue the
    Unity of Freedom, a declaration for democratic change. They hear the
    dying gasps of a failed regime. They know that even history's cruelest
    nightmares cannot last forever. A restive people who long to rejoin the
    world at last have hope, and they will bring to Cuba a real revolution,
    a revolution of freedom, democracy, and justice.
        Now is the time to support the democratic movements growing on the
    island. Now is the time to stand with the Cuban people as they stand up
    for their liberty. And now is the time for the world to put aside its
    differences and prepare for Cuban's transition to a future of freedom
    and progress and promise. The dissidents of today will be the nation's
    leaders tomorrow. And when freedom finally comes, they will surely
    remember who stood with them.
        The Czech Republic and Hungary and Poland have been vital sources of
    support and encouragement to Cuba's brave democratic opposition. I ask
    other countries to follow suit. All nations can make tangible efforts to
    show public support for those who love freedom on the island. They can
    open up their Embassies in Havana to prodemocracy leaders and invite
    them to different events. They can use their lobbies of the Embassies to
    give Cubans access to the Internet and to books and to magazines. They
    can encourage their country's nongovernmental organizations to reach out
    directly to Cuba's independent civil society.
        Here at home we can do more as well. The United States Congress has
    recently voted for additional funding to support Cuban democracy
    efforts. I thank you all for your good work on this measure, and I urge
    you to get the bill to my desk as soon as we possibly can. I also urge
    our Congress to show our support and solidarity for fundamental change
    in Cuba by maintaining our embargo on the dictatorship until it changes.
        Cuba's regime uses the U.S. embargo as a scapegoat for Cuba's
    miseries. Yet Presidents of both our political parties have long
    understood that the source of Cuba's suffering is not the embargo but
    the Communist system. They know that trade with the Cuban Government
    would not help the Cuban people until there are major changes to Cuba's
    political and economic system. Instead, trade with Cuba would merely
    enrich the elites in power and strengthen their grip. As long as the
    regime maintains its monopoly over the political and economic life of
    the Cuban people, the United States will keep the embargo in place.
        The United States knows how much the Cuban people are suffering, and
    we have

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    not stood idle. Over the years, we've granted asylum to hundreds of
    thousands who have fled the repression and misery imposed by the regime.
    We've rallied nations to take up the banner of Cuban liberty, and we
    will continue to do so. We've authorized private citizens and
    organizations to provide food and medicine and other aid, amounting to
    more than $270 million last year alone. The American people, the people
    of this generous land, are the largest providers of humanitarian aid to
    the Cuban people in the entire world.
        The aid we provide goes directly into the hands of the Cuban people,
    rather than into the coffers of the Cuban leaders. And that's really the
    heart of our policy: to break the absolute control that the regime holds
    over the material resources that the Cuban people need to live and to
    prosper and to have hope.
        To further that effort, the United States is prepared to take new
    measures right now to help the Cuban people directly, but only if the
    Cuban regime, the ruling class, gets out of the way.
        For example, here's an interesting idea to help the Cuban people:
    The United States Government is prepared to license nongovernmental
    organizations and faith-based groups to provide computers and Internet
    access to Cuban people, if Cuba's rulers will end their restrictions on
    Internet access for all the people.
        Or the United States is prepared to invite Cuban young people whose
    families suffer oppression into the Partnership for Latin American Youth
    Scholarship Programs to help them have equal access to greater
    educational opportunities, if the Cuban rulers will allow them to freely
    participate.
        We make these offers to the people of Cuba, and we hope their rulers
    will allow them to accept. You know, we've made similar offers before,
    but they've been rejected out of hand by the regime. It's a sad lesson,
    and it should be a vivid lesson for all: For Cuba's ruling class, its
    grip on power is more important than the welfare of its people.
        Life will not improve for Cubans under their current system of
    government. It will not improve by exchanging one dictator for another.
    It will not improve if we seek accommodation with a new tyranny in the
    interests of stability. America will have no part in giving oxygen to a
    criminal regime victimizing its own people. We will not support the old
    way with new faces, the old system held together by new chains. The
    operative word in our future dealings with Cuba is not ``stability.''
    The operative word is ``freedom.''
        In that spirit, today I'm also announcing a new initiative to
    develop an international, multibillion dollar Freedom Fund for Cuba.
    This fund would help the Cuban people rebuild their economy and make the
    transition to democracy. I have asked two members of my Cabinet to lead
    the effort, Secretary Rice and Secretary
    Gutierrez. They will enlist foreign
    governments and international organizations to contribute to this
    initiative.
        And here's how the fund will work. The Cuban Government must
    demonstrate that it has adopted, in word and deed, fundamental freedoms.
    These include the freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of
    press, freedom to form political parties, and the freedom to change the
    Government through periodic, multiparty elections. And once these
    freedoms are in place, the fund will be able to give Cubans--especially
    Cuban entrepreneurs--access to grants and loans and debt relief to help
    rebuild their country.
        The restoration of these basic freedoms is the foundation of fair,
    free, and competitive elections. Without these fundamental protections
    in place, elections are only cynical exercises that give dictatorships a
    legitimacy they do not deserve.
        We will know there is a new Cuba when opposition parties have the
    freedom to organize, assemble, and speak with equal access to the
    airwaves. We will know there

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    is a new Cuba when a free and independent press has the power to operate
    without censors. We will know there is a new Cuba when the Cuban
    Government removes its stranglehold on private economic activity.
        And above all, we will know there is a new Cuba when authorities go
    to the prisons, walk to the cells where people are being held for their
    beliefs, and set them free. It will be a time when the families here are
    reunited with their loved ones and when the names of free people--
    including dissidents such as Oscar Elias Biscet, Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, and Omar Rodriguez Saludes--are free. It will be a moment when Cubans of
    conscience are released from their shackles, not as a gesture or a
    tactic, but because the Government no longer puts people in prison
    because of what they think or what they say or what they believe.
        Cuba's transition from a shattered society to a free country may be
    long and difficult. Things will not always go as hoped. There will be
    difficult adjustments to make. One of the curses of totalitarianism is
    that it affects everyone. Good people make moral compromises to feed
    their families, avoid the whispers of neighbors, and escape a visit from
    the secret police. If Cuba is to enter a new era, it must find a way to
    reconcile and forgive those who have been part of the system but who do
    not have blood on their hands. They're victims as well.
        At this moment, my words are being transmitted into--live into Cuba
    by media outlets in the free world, including Radio and TV Marti. To
    those Cubans who are listening, perhaps at great risk, I would like to
    speak to you directly.
        Some of you are members of the Cuban military or the police or
    officials in the Government. You may have once believed in the
    revolution. Now you can see its failure. When Cubans rise up to demand
    their liberty, they deserve--they--the liberty they deserve, you've got
    to make a choice: Will you defend a disgraced and dying order by using
    force against your own people? Or will you embrace your people's desire
    for change? There is a place for you in the free Cuba. You can share the
    hope found in the song that has become a rallying cry for freedom-loving
    Cubans on and off the island: Nuestro Dia Ya Viene Llegando--our day is
    coming soon.
        To the ordinary Cubans who are listening: You have the power to
    shape your own destiny. You can bring about a future where your leaders
    answer to you, where you can freely express your beliefs, and where your
    children can grow up in peace. Many experts once said that that day
    could never come to Eastern Europe or Spain or Chile. Those experts were
    wrong. When the Holy Father came to Cuba and offered God's blessings, he
    reminded you that you hold your country's future in your hands. And you
    can carry this refrain in your heart: Su dia ya viene llegando--your day
    is coming soon.
        To the schoolchildren of Cuba: You have a lot in common with young
    people in the United States. You both dream of hopeful futures, and you
    both have the optimism to make those dreams come true. Do not believe
    the tired lies you are told about America. We want nothing from you
    except to welcome you to the hope and joy of freedom. Do not fear the
    future. Su dia ya viene llegando--your day is coming soon.
        Until that day, you and your suffering are never far from our hearts
    and prayers. The American people care about you. And until we stand
    together as free men and women, I leave you with a hope, a dream, and a
    mission: Viva Cuba Libre.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    President Fidel Castro Ruz of Cuba. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.

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