[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 43 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[Pages 1406-1410]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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--

[[Page 1407]]

``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 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 house. The mob carried sticks and 
threatened to set fire to the house with the family inside. Earlier this

[[Page 1408]]

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 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.

[[Page 1409]]

    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 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

[[Page 1410]]

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 Amer-

ica. 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.