[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 33 (Monday, August 19, 1996)]
[Pages 1455-1456]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Efforts To Bring Democracy to Cuba

August 16, 1996

    To further our continuing effort to help bring democracy to Cuba, I 
have asked Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Stuart 
E. Eizenstat, to serve as Special Representative of the President and 
Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Cuba. His mission 
will be to engage our allies over the next 6 months on concrete measures 
to advance democracy in Cuba as we implement Title III of the Cuban 
Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (LIBERTAD) in the manner I 
described last month. I have also asked U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., 
Madeleine Albright and former U.S. Representative Dante Fascell, 
distinguished former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to 
serve as our advisers on how best to pursue this important objective.

[[Page 1456]]

    On July 16, I decided to allow Title III of the Cuban Liberty and 
Democratic Solidarity Act (LIBERTAD) to enter into force, putting 
companies doing business in Cuba on notice that by trafficking in 
expropriated properties they face the prospect of lawsuits in the United 
States. I also suspended the right to file suit for 6 months to allow us 
time to forge a common approach with our allies and trading partners to 
accelerate democratic transition in Cuba. U.S. allies and friends have 
long shared this goal, but we have not always agreed on how to achieve 
it. The time has come for us to take more concrete steps together.
    At that time, I also announced that I would appoint a special 
representative to build international support for increasing pressure on 
Cuba to open up politically and economically; encouraging forces for 
change on the island; better targeting foreign assistance in ways that 
advance democratic goals; and promoting business practices that will 
help bring democracy to the Cuban workplace. In coming weeks and months, 
Stu Eizenstat will consult with Cuban-American civic leaders and Members 
of Congress here in the U.S. before traveling to Europe, Canada, and 
Latin America to enlist the cooperation of allied governments, non-
governmental groups, and companies.
    As stipulated by law, at the end of this 6-month period I will 
review the progress we have made with our allies before deciding whether 
to continue the suspension of the right to sue under Title III.
    I am confident that the democratic values and far-reaching interests 
that we share with our allies and partners will allow us to overcome 
disagreements over some aspects of the LIBERTAD Act and refocus our 
attention where it belongs, on promoting democracy in the hemisphere's 
only nondemocratic nation.
    Cuba's recent actions underscore the need for the United States and 
the international community to press hard for change on the island. In 
February, Cuban MIG's shot down without warning two unarmed U.S. 
civilian aircraft in international airspace, killing four innocent men. 
The Cuban Government has systematically repressed prodemocracy activists 
and independent journalists.
    Stu Eizenstat has a unique combination of domestic and foreign 
policy experience as former President Carter's chief domestic policy 
adviser and as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. Ambassador 
Eizenstat will continue to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce and as 
the State Department's special envoy for property restitution in Central 
and Eastern Europe.