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"The
U.S. government will need to be prepared well in advance".
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. should have
assistance in Cuba within weeks of President Fidel Castro's death to
support a transitional government and help move the country toward
democracy, a government report recommends.
The report was prepared by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba,
an interagency group co-chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, a Cuban-American.
President Bush created the commission in 2003 to "help hasten and ease
Cuba's democratic transition," according to its Web site.
The report, obtained by CNN in advance of its scheduled release next
week, is billed as a strategic plan to promote democracy on the island
once Castro is no longer in power. (Watch how the U.S. has designs on
Cuba after Castro -- 1:17)
"The U.S. government will need to be prepared well in advance to help in
the event assistance is requested by the Cuban transition government,"
the report says.
Castro has been in power since 1959 and has shown no signs of stepping
down despite being 80 and despite rumors of his deteriorating health.
Castro's brother, Raul, is believed to be his successor.
The United States and Cuba, which have no formal diplomatic relations,
are constantly at odds, but tensions between the two countries have
increased in the past year.
Earlier this month, the Cuban government cut off electricity to the U.S.
interests section in Havana, the capital. The State Department said
requests to have the power restored went unanswered for several days.
Cuba was accused by the State Department of engaging in "bully tactics"
to thwart pro-democracy efforts in the country.
The Bush administration already has tightened the four-decades-old U.S.
embargo of the island, increased Radio Marti news broadcasts into Cuba,
curtailed visits home by Cuban-Americans and limited the amount of money
Cuban-Americans can send to relatives.
In September, Bush appointed Caleb McCarry, a former Republican staff
member of the House International Relations Committee, as Cuba
transition coordinator -- or point man on regime change in Cuba. The
position was among the commission's earlier recommendations.
While noting that Castro has plans for a successor, the commission says
the message that the U.S. would assist a democratic Cuba could bolster
democratic forces in the country and create an environment where
democracy and economic reforms could thrive.
Lending a hand with health care and clean water would be good starts,
the report says.
The report also calls on the the U.S. "to put in place preparations that
will ensure that the U.S. will be in a position to provide technical
assistance in the first two weeks after a determination that a Cuban
transition is under way."
That would include legal experts to help with elections. Training judges
and police would be essential, according to the report.
The six months immediately following Castro's death or ouster would be
key to determining U.S. success in the mission, the report says.
"This critical 180-day period could mean the difference between a
successful transition period and the stumbles and missteps that have
slowed other states in their transitions toward democracy," the report
says.
It calls for an $80 million "democratic fund" for two years to
strengthen civil society, boost opposition to Castro's regime and
facilitate the free flow of information. It recommends at least $20
million a year for democracy programs "until the dictatorship ceases to
exist."
The report recommends offering a substantial aid package to the
transitional government if it met certain criteria under the 1996
Helms-Burton Act.
Those criteria would include freeing all political prisoners, legalizing
all political activity, conducting democratic elections and establishing
a free press.
The State Department had no comment on the report because it hasn't been
officially released, but officials did say the report could change.
Cuba expert Philip Peters of the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based
think tank, said normalization of relations between Cuba and the United
States could take time.
"Despite extensive planning for a full transition, it seems more likely
that after Fidel Castro's departure, we will see a socialist successor
government that will decide whether, where, and how fast to reform the
policies it inherits," Peters wrote.
"Washington will then have to decide how to use U.S. influence to
promote positive change," said Peters, a former State Department
appointee during the Reagan and first Bush administrations.
He noted that U.S. influence "will be limited by decades of policies
that have blocked communication between our peoples and governments, and
by the all-or-nothing posture that the Helms-Burton law imposes on U.S.
diplomacy."
Source: CNN
June 30, 2006
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