Bush challenges Cuba to grant freedom

The president said he won’t compromise on the trade embargo with the island.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON — In his first speech addressing Cuba in four years, President Bush on Wednesday offered the island computers, scholarships and a multibillion-dollar reconstruction fund — but only if the government gives people their freedom.

He spoke at the State Department in Washington during a gathering attended by members of Congress, foreign diplomats and relatives of jailed Cuban dissidents.

Greeting them with “Bienvenidos,” Bush said Cuban dissidents “hear the gasps of a dying failed regime.” One relative of Omar Pernet, serving a 25-year prison sentence, stood up and wept.

Despite having just 15 months left in office, Bush made it clear that he won’t compromise with Havana, saying he favors freedom over stability.

Among Bush’s highlights:

UHe offered to give nongovernmental and faith-based groups U.S. licenses to provide computers to Cubans — if Havana ends its restrictions to Internet access.

UHe offered to give scholarships to “young people whose family suffer oppression” — if the Cuban government allows them to freely participate.

UBush named Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to spearhead an international freedom fund, putting them in charge of getting other countries and aid groups to donate funds. The money would go toward loans to entrepreneurs and debt relief — only if Havana recognizes the rights to free speech, free association, freedom of the press, political parties and free elections.

“The operative word here is not stability,” Bush said. “The operative word is freedom.”

Noting that the speech was being transmitted live to Cuba — by Radio and TV Marti — the president directed portions of his address to Cubans on the island, peppering his speech with the line from Willy Chirino’s song “Nuestro dia ya viene llegando” — “Our day is coming soon.”

It was Bush’s first address devoted to Cuba since 2003, and only his fourth since assuming the presidency. It comes as interim Havana leader Raul Castro appears to be firmly in power and many nations are doing business as usual with a man who appears to be the permanent replacement for the ailing Fidel Castro.

Bush thanked the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for calling for more freedoms in Cuba. He said the opposition in Cuba — Cuba’s future leaders — will remember who stood behind them when freedom comes.

It is unclear whether the Cuban government would even permit such imports or scholarships. The Cuban government has long complained that the island lacks Internet access not because of a lack of freedom, but because the U.S. trade embargo prevents the government from purchasing the fiber optic cables needed for broader access.