Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba on Sunday as the most prominent American political figure to venture across the chasm between two nations separated by 145km and 43 years of communist rule.
While no major policy breakthroughs are expected during his five-day visit, which is billed as a private one, many here hope that Carter's presence will advance their efforts for change. The Cuban government would like to see Carter speak out against the US trade embargo. Carter's administration was marked by an easing of American policy toward Cuba.
PHOTO: NY TIMES
Meanwhile, human rights advocates hope that Carter will lend support to their campaign for greater political and economic freedoms -- his speech at the University of Havana tomorrow evening is to be broadcast live on state television.
In either case, there are expectations that the visit could signal the start of a dialogue that shifts the focus away from adversarial suspicion toward a more constructive vision of relations between the countries.
"Since the 1960s the only thing I've seen coming from Washington, Miami and Havana is rhetoric," said Bernardo Benes, a Miami banker who helped the Carter administration negotiate the release of 3,600 political prisoners and establish family visits to the island. "I do not see any reason for the status quo to continue. Nobody is gaining anything."
But the fact that Carter is traveling here at Castro's invitation has led others to worry that the former president's visit is merely a ploy by Castro to add some luster to his own image. Last month, a resolution sponsored by Latin American countries censured Cuba at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission.
The trip has been met with skepticism by some Cuban-Americans, including several lawmakers who tried, unsuccessfully, to have the Bush administration prevent Carter from getting the federal license necessary for traveling to Cuba. The staunchly anti-Castro Cuban-American National Foundation, which sent a delegation to brief Carter in Atlanta recently, cautiously supported the trip.
Foundation leaders, excoriated by the Cuban government as part of the "Miami Mafia," suggested they were willing to see the embargo end if Havana allowed free elections.
Joe Garcia, the foundation's executive director, added that Carter's worldwide stature as a human rights advocate brought with it special responsibilities in Cuba.
"The creator of the international standard in human rights is going to meet with the greatest violator of human rights in the hemisphere," Garcia said. "He is a former president and his role has to be significant or it would not be worth risking his legacy."
However, one prominent human rights advocate in the US expressed concern that Carter would not take full advantage of his chance to address the Cuban nation.
"My fear is that the most he would do is make a few references in the abstract about human rights," the advocate said. "That is the most you can expect, as well as a very clear condemnation of the embargo as a unilateral policy."
Chief among the concerns for human rights advocates and dissidents is the fate of the Varela Project, a petition drive for a referendum on greater individual freedoms, amnesty for political prisoners and permission for Cubans to own businesses.
On Friday, its sponsors delivered two boxes to the National Assembly filled with petitions signed by 11,000 people, 1,000 more than the number needed for a referendum, as set out in the Cuban Constitution. It is the biggest peaceful challenge yet to the Cuban government.
These rights advocates have also been compiling lists of political prisoners to present to Carter. The list grew shorter by one name this month when the government released Vladimiro Roca, the last of four people who had been sentenced to five years in prison after calling for greater liberties.
Roca said Friday that he did not expect to see rapid changes coming from Carter's visit, although it would give a lift to him and his colleagues. But he was also aware that the trip could just as easily be used by the government to distract people from the country's problems.
"They are like the Roman Caesars who had to give people bread and circuses," he said. "When you have no more bread, give them circuses. It is no different with Carter's visit."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft