Summit of the Americas News Briefing
with:
Secretary of the Organization of American States Cesar Gaviria
Secretary of State Warren Christopher
Deputy National Security Adviser Sandy Berger

Secretary Gaviria: It is very difficult today to know what is the position of every country in relation to Cuba, and the reason for that is that the Organization of American States have never had in these years a real discussion about what to do with the Cuban issue. What you can use, and maybe the best place to go ... is to read the speeches of the foreign ministers and presidents in the 1980's. They have expressed there many times what they think about the Cuban issue.

Let me tell you what I think is time. First, let me say a consensus about the roads we have; of having a more democratic Cuba, of having a Cuba more pluralistic, of having more leadership in Cuba of one type, to be easier that Cuba will move to a market economy, and I think it is very possible to see Cuba again in the Inter-American system. There is some difference in procedure but almost every one agrees that more dramatic means should be used to try to solve this problem.

I don't know exactly how, but I would not be surprised if in the future the countries of the Americas make some effort to use more diplomatic means to try to solve this issue, and also maybe accepting some kind of gradual change that doesn't mean any how that we resign not to get all the goals political change, economic change, and of course the reintegration of Cuba in the family of the Americas.

FREE CUBA Foundation: A follow up question on the issue of the Organization of American States (OAS). Is their a time coming up were the OAS will properly discuss the Cuba issue and thus come up with some solutions?

Secretary Gaviria: No, we don't really know why the issue of Cuba hasn't been discussed in the framework of a council or in the interests of foreign ministers in all through these years, but it has been before us to discuss the Cuban issue. At any moment any country or even the secretary general can take the issue to the floor. I don't know exactly what to do, but what I do really know is there is an increasing interest or awareness to solve this issue I think Cuba today seems more prepared to make those changes at least in economic terms. In economic terms they are making some changes they are moving towards market reform. May be not as fast as we would like to see, but they are doing it. We couldn't say the same about political changes but anyhow I do think Cuba is better prepared today to make some changes. I would say another thing I would say that the meeting a year ago in which they got an agreement with the U.S. government about immigration seems to me that it is a good step for the dialogue and negotiation being used to get some of the goals all the nations of the Americas have in relation to Cuba.

FREE CUBA Foundation: So in terms of the Human Rights Watch complaint of the agreement violating article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Human Rights?

Secretary Gaviria: [Motioning he does not understand]

FREE CUBA FOUNDATION: Human Rights Watch has criticized the agreement between Cuba and the United States in regard to illegal exits for Cuban immigrants saying it is in violation of international law. Would the OAS be in favor of the United States and Cuba violating international law?

Secretary Gaviria: I don't hear well the question

Secretary Christopher: I don't believe that any of the action items is directed specifically at Cuba.

FREE CUBA FOUNDATION: It has been estimated that the U.S. is spending over $300,000 on a daily basis housing Cubans in Guantanamo. Is the U.S. going to take another step to democratize Cuba like it did in Haiti, besides the actual embargo?

Secretary Christopher: We are dealing with that problem in the most effective way that we know. There are a number of things that are being done. Some of the Cubans in Haiti are being considered for humanitarian mission to the United States. Others are being encouraged to go back to Cuba to apply for admission to the United States under the new 20,000-person quota that we have agreed with the government of Cuba on. Others are leaving for neighboring countries in the region, and a number have just gone there within the last few days.

But the underlying problem has been the protection of our borders and to ensure that we will control the immigration issues rather than having it be controlled by others. And as I say, we're dealing with that problem in the most humane and effective way that we can, but it also is necessary to do it in the context of an orderly process.

FREE CUBA FOUNDATION:To follow up on that, Mr. Secretary, these people fled Cuba because of a dictator of a communist regime. But yet, the United States is returning them to the island where they were originally persecuted. Isn't that a contradiction?

Secretary Christopher:Well, we're encouraging them to go back and to try to take advantage of the immigration numbers that we agreed with the government of Cuba would be made available. That is the best way if they want to reach the United States; indeed, it is the only way under current circumstances, except for those limited humanitarian cases

Mr. Berger: Well, first of all, Cuba is not here because when we --the president conceived of this idea of a hemispheric summit it was in many ways because of the wave of democracy that has swept the summit and the moment that presents for countries to come together and try to consolidate those gains. It would have been thoroughly inconsistent with the idea of the summit to have the one non-democracy in the hemisphere present.

In terms of American leadership , we have made it very clear that we support a peaceful transition to a democratic regime in Cuba. We very strongly support the Cuban Democracy Act.

We've indicated that if there were significant steps toward democracy and political reform in Cuba we would be prepared to take calibrated steps in response, but in the absence of that, we believe that continued strong policy with respect to the Cuban regime is appropriate and is an exercise of leadership.

FREE CUBA FOUNDATION:Following up on that, you spoke about consensus, of a common democratic culture that's being built in the Americas, yet we don't see that same culture coming together in countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Colombia that are engaged in lucrative ventures with Cuba promoting tourism and not approaching in a unified manner the Castro problem.

Mr. Berger: I think you've got to make a very important distinction. There is a clear consensus, a solid commitment to democracy and its evolution on the part of every country that is here. Now, you know, countries differ with respect to policies on a number of issues. There clearly are differences among the nations here on policy towards Cuba, but Cuba will not be, I think, a central issue in the discussions of this summit. I'm sure it will come up. I think this is a summit that is committed towards moving forward on the economic agenda, making practical steps to make sure that these gains of democracy are upheld, and working together on other common issues.