Saturday, September 12, 1998; Page A17

Your paper is right to quote Pope John Paul II during his visit to Cuba ["Food for Cuba," editorial, Sept. 3] when he said, "The world should open up to Cuba." You neglected to print, however, the rest of the pope's plea: "that Cuba open itself to the world."

The fact is that the world continues to open itself to Cuba, but Fidel Castro -- as the Vatican noted recently -- has yet to open Cuba to the world or, more important, allow the existence of civil society and open Cuba to the Cubans.

Your editorial says that the food crisis in Cuba is due to "mismanagement aggravated by drought." But history shows that food shortages began when Castro imposed a Marxist command economy almost 40 years ago. It is not simply a question of mismanagement. Shortages and Communist economics go hand in hand -- as the Poles, North Koreans, Russians and others will attest.

Humanitarian assistance did not end food shortages in Central Europe, the end of Communist rule did. Cuba is a tropical island surrounded by a bountiful sea and should be self-sufficient. To the extent that there was a minimal economic opening a couple of years ago, it was because of the pressures exerted upon Castro. But as the pressure receded, Castro curtailed those reforms, such as the right of Cubans to self-employment. Channeling assistance through the regime without insisting on full accountability -- as you suggest -- will simply strengthen the regime's repressive apparatus and vitiate the need for economic reform.

Your editorial says that "the whole continuing Cuban-American confrontation represents a Cold War anomaly." This is so because Castro's Cuba is an anomaly. Today Poles, Hungarians and others no longer fear a knock on the door in the middle of the night. They no longer have to pretend to support their governments or spend hours queuing for inadequate rations. That is the kind of normality, not dependency on foreign handouts, we wish on the Cubans.

Your paper obviously means well. Additional coverage of conditions in Cuba would help; but the policy debate will benefit by a greater appreciation of the facts.

-- Frank Calzon

The writer is director of the Center for a Free Cuba.