[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 21 (Monday, May 27, 2002)]
[Pages 854-858]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the 100th Anniversary of Cuban Independence in Miami, Florida

May 20, 2002

    The President. Thank you very much. Sientense. Voy a hablar en 
Espanol hoy, pero no. No. [Laughter] No quiero destruir un idioma que 
bonita, y por eso voy a hablar en Ingles. [Laughter] Thank you for 
having me. God bless you all, and thanks for coming. It is such an 
honor--it is such an honor--

[[Page 855]]

for me to be here today with so many who love freedom.
    One hundred years ago, a proud island people declared independence 
and put Cuba on a democratic course. We're here today to celebrate this 
important anniversary. We are here today to honor the Cubans and Cuban 
Americans who strengthen America with their character and with their 
enterprise. We are here today--we are here today to proclaim loudly and 
clearly to the entire world--to todos--that the Cuban people's love of 
liberty cannot and will not be denied.
    Audience members. [Inaudible]
    The President. Not only today will we remind the world how much we 
love freedom and long for freedom, but I also want to talk about a 
proposal and a challenge that will help put Cuba on the path to freedom.
    I want to thank mi hermano--mi hermanito--[laughter]--y el gran 
Gobernador de este estado. Thank you, Jeb. We love you y mi cunada 
bella. [Laughter] I love being with my family. I love being with my 
family. There's nothing more important than family in life, and I love 
my brother Jeb a lot.
    I'm honored to be with a great American, a great American who is a 
graduate of Pedro Pan, Mel Martinez, who brings a big difference in our 
Cabinet. [Applause] I didn't realize Mel had that many cousins. 
[Laughter]
    I want to thank the two United States Senators from Florida for 
being here, Senator Graham and Senator Nelson. I'm honored that you're 
here. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate working with Senator Graham 
and his important job of chairing the Intelligence Committee in the 
United States Senate. I want to thank two fine Congressmen, Ileana Ros y 
Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
    I can't--listen, every time I see and hear Gloria Estefan sing, it 
makes my heart feel better. Gloria, thank you, and it's good to see 
Emilio. And I appreciate Jon Secada as well. Jon, you did a great job. 
Thank you very much--honored you're here.
    I appreciate Vicki Huddleston, our Ambassador, Principal Officer at 
the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, for being here. Vicki, thank you 
for coming--appreciate you. I'm honored to be traveling today with Otto 
Reich, the Under Secretary for the State Department. Dr. Elsa Murano is 
here today as well, who is in my administration. Thank you, Elsa, for 
being here. Where are you? Thank you, Doc--appreciate you coming. Emilio 
Gonzalez, the Director of the Western Hemisphere Affairs of the National 
Security Council--where are you, Colonel? Yes, Emilio. He's on my 
National Security Council. He reports directly to Arroz--[laughter]--
Senorita Arroz. [Laughter]
    Today, when I landed in Miami, I got off the airplane there and had 
a chance to meet a young man named Emilio J. Rodriguez. Emilio is with 
us today. Emilio, stand up for a second. [Applause] The reason I bring 
up Emilio is, I say oftentimes to Americans who want to--how best they 
can participate in our country, how best to fight evil is to do some 
good, is to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. If 
you're interested--if you're interested in helping define our Nation to 
the world and if you're interested in resisting evil, do some good. And 
that's what Emilio does. He is a 19-year-old honor student at Miami-Dade 
Community College. He volunteers in park cleanup programs. He does art 
shows for children, and he hosts activities at a school for mentally 
challenged Cuban American children. For this, we're grateful for your 
service. Thank you for being here.
    The accomplished individuals I just named are just a small handful 
of over a million fellow Americans from Cuban descent who make such an 
incredibly important contribution to our country. So, as on the one hand 
we--we celebrate independence, but we also celebrate the greatness of 
America that opens her doors so that people can realize their dreams. 
The success stories are unbelievable and unbelievably powerful. People 
have escaped a jail and have come to America and have succeeded and have 
been able to raise their families and have been able to prosper. It's a 
wonderful part of the American story.
    But it's not just a story of the elderly and the older Cuban 
Americans; it's a story throughout generations. I want to talk about 
Miguel Arguelles, who came to America in 1995, at age 10 years old. At 
age 10, he couldn't speak English. A few weeks from

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now, he'll graduate as the valedictorian of Miami Lakes' Barbara Goleman 
Senior High School. He comes in 1995; he is going to be the first person 
to have graduated from that high school to attend Harvard University.
    I want to read what Miguel wrote in his application essay, and I 
want all Americans from all backgrounds to listen to what this young man 
said. He said he was born in a place where the sun shines brightest and 
drowns in tears, where Santa Claus has not the visa to enter and dreams 
cannot escape their prison of nonexistence, where hopes are shattered 
and religion is an endangered species, where freedom is in shackles.
    I love how you put that. It's essential that--Miguel, that you not 
only succeed, but it's essential that we remember the shackles of 
freedom that Miguel wrote about, that there are people whose lives are 
being disrupted because Cuba is not free. I want to thank you for your 
poignancy.
    And the shackles that this young man wrote about are an insult--an 
insult--to the Cuban independence dreamed of by Felix Varela and 
generations of Cuban patriots. They're an insult. The shackles he wrote 
about are an insult to Jose Marti, who sacrificed his life for a great 
principle. No, we stand here today to declare loud and clear to the 
entire world: Cuba must not only be independent; Cuba must be free.
    One hundred years ago, Cuba declared her independence. And nearly 50 
years ago, nearly a half century ago, Cuba's independence and the hopes 
for democracy were hijacked by a brutal dictator who cares everything 
for his own power and nada for the Cuban people. In an era where markets 
have brought prosperity and empowerment, this leader clings to a 
bankrupt ideology that has brought Cuba's workers and farmers and 
families nothing--nothing--but isolation and misery. I was amazed to 
read in this modern era, the Cuban regime banned the sale of computers 
to the public. What does that tell you? In an era where every other 
nation in our hemisphere has chosen the path to democracy--every nation 
in our hemisphere has chosen the path to democracy--this leader instead 
chooses to jail, to torture, and exile Cuban people for speaking their 
minds.
    But the amazing thing is, through all the pains--through all the 
pains--the Cuban people's aspirations for freedom are undiminished. We 
see this today in Havana, where more than 11,000 brave citizens have 
petitioned their Government for a referendum on basic freedoms. If that 
referendum is allowed, it can be a prelude to real change in Cuba.
    This country has no designs on Cuba's sovereignty. We have no 
designs on the sovereignty of Cuba. But we'll continue to be a strong 
and consistent supporter of the Cuban people's aspirations for freedom. 
And nowhere is that support stronger than right here in the streets of 
Miami, Florida. The support will never waive here, and it's not going to 
waive in my heart, either. For how long it takes--after all, we fight 
for freedom here in America. We love freedom. We love what freedom 
means. It is the cornerstone of our country, and therefore, we will 
never stop in our search for ways to advance freedom in Cuba.
    Earlier today, in la Casa Blanca, I announced an initiative for a 
new Cuba that offers Cuba's Government a way forward, toward democracy 
and hope and better relations with the United States. Cuba is scheduled 
to hold elections to its National Assembly in 2003. I challenge Cuba's 
Government to make these elections free and to make them fair.
    To make them free and fair, they must give opposition candidates the 
freedom to organize, assemble, and speak. They must give them the chance 
to open up the airwaves, so they can get their message out to the 
people. To make them free and fair, they must release all political 
prisoners so they can participate in the elections. In order to make 
sure we know if they're free and fair, they must let human rights 
organizations into Cuba, to make sure that the elections are free and 
fair. Once the 2003 elections are certified as free and fair by 
international monitors, once Cuba begins the process of meaningful 
economic reform, then and only then I will explore ways with the United 
States Congress to ease economic sanctions.
    For 43 years--for 43 years--every election in Cuba has been a fraud 
and a sham. Mr. Castro, once, just once, show that you're

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unafraid of a real election. Show the world you respect Cuba's citizens 
enough to listen to their voices and to count their votes. Start to 
release your chokehold on the working people and on enterprise. Then and 
only then will we talk about easing sanctions and not before.
    The goal of the United States, the goal of our policy towards Cuba 
is not a permanent embargo on Cuba's economy; our goal is freedom for 
Cuba's people. Full normalization of relations with Cuba, diplomatic 
recognition, open trade, and a robust aid program will only--only--be 
possible when Cuba has a new Government that is fully democratic, when 
the rule of law is respected, and when the human rights of all Cubans 
are protected.
    Under the new initiative for Cuba--under this new Initiative for a 
New Cuba, the United States recognizes that freedom sometimes grows step 
by step, and we will encourage those steps. You need to know that I feel 
so strongly about freedom--I mean, the current of history runs toward 
freedom; eventually, it's not going to be denied. And our plan is to 
accelerate freedom in Cuba in every way possible. We'll work to 
encourage freedom within Cuba by making life better for people living 
under and resisting the Castro regime. So, today I want to talk about 
some steps we can take, the beginning of some important steps.
    My administration will ease restrictions on humanitarian assistance 
from legitimate U.S. religious and other nongovernmental organizations 
that directly serve the needs of the Cuban people, and to help build a 
Cuban civil society. The United States will provide such groups with 
direct assistance that can be used for humanitarian and entrepreneurial 
activities. Our Government will offer scholarships in the United States 
for Cuban students and professionals who are trying to build independent 
civil institutions. And we will offer scholarships to the children of 
political prisoners. We're willing to negotiate direct mail service 
between the United States and Cuba. My administration will also continue 
to look for ways to modernize Radio and TV Marti.
    These are beginning steps. We'll listen to the leaders in the 
community for innovative ways to continue the inevitable march and to 
hasten the inevitable march toward freedom.
    Mr. Castro must now act. He has his chance. He's been given an 
opportunity. We will continue to enforce economic sanctions and ban the 
travel to Cuba until Cuba's Government shows real reform.
    Audience members. Cuba si, Castro no! Cuba si, Castro no! Cuba si, 
Castro no!
    The President. And when we--when I talk about economic reform--when 
I talk about economic reform, I mean real economic reform. The 
Government must allow for workers to be able to organize in unions 
outside of the control of the Government. The Government must respect 
private property. Economic reform means the Government must allow 
employers to hire who they want to hire, as opposed to those on a 
special list. Economic reform means that when workers earn hard 
currency, they get to keep the hard currency, as opposed to it going to 
the Cuban Government. We know what the Cuban Government's up to. We 
trade in hard currency; they pay in pesos and keep the difference. And 
therefore, without meaningful reform, trade with Cuba would do nothing 
more than line the pockets of Fidel Castro and his cronies.
    Audience members. Cuba si, Castro no! Cuba si, Castro no! Cuba si, 
Castro no!
    The President. I say reform because we care about the people. We 
want to reform, insist upon reform so the people will benefit. We hurt 
for the people in Cuba. We long for a day when they realize the same 
freedoms we have here in America. I want you to understand that I know 
what trade means with a tyrant. It means that we will underwrite 
tyranny, and we cannot let that happen. And I also want you to know I 
will not allow our taxpayers' money to go to enrich the Castro regime, 
and I'm willing to use my veto.
    The initiative I've just--the initiative I've outlined today offers 
the Cuban Government a way forward, a way towards democracy, a way 
towards prosperity, a way towards respect. The choice now rests with Mr. 
Castro.
    Audience members. Boo-o-o!
    The President. If Mr. Castro does not allow free elections, he will 
be protecting his cronies at the expense of his people. And

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eventually--and eventually--despite all his tools of oppression, Castro 
will need to answer to his people.
    Ten years before Cuba achieved independence, Jose Marti wrote this: 
``If our suffering homeland could see the care with which her absent 
children are preparing to serve her, if our homeland could see the 
tenderness with which she is loved by her children in exile, the joy of 
their faith and her pride at once would give her the strength to break 
her chains at last.''
    Those words, written a long time ago, apply with equal power today. 
The dream of a free and independent Cuba has been deferred, but it can 
never be destroyed, and it will not be denied.
    For those listening on Radio Marti, it's important for you to know 
the United States stands with the Cuban people, not just on Independence 
Day but on every day--every day. Every day we stand with those who 
reject tyranny and torture and embrace liberty and life. Every day we 
stand with the plantados in prison confronting illegitimate power with 
righteous truth. Every day we stand with the Cuban families everywhere 
seeking a better future. Every day we cultivate ``una rosa blanca'' for 
Cuba's freedom.
    Thank you all for coming. Viva Cuba libre!

Note: The President spoke at 3:10 p.m. at the James L. Knight Center. In 
his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and his wife, 
Columba; entertainers Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada; Gloria Estefan's 
husband, producer Emilio Estefan, Jr.; Under Secretary of Agriculture 
for Food Safety Elsa A. Murano; National Security Adviser Condoleezza 
Rice; and President Fidel Castro of Cuba. He also referred to Operation 
Pedro Pan, a 1960s immigration program in which thousands of Cuban 
children were sent to the United States by their parents. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these 
remarks.