Ironically, Carter himself tells the best version of Castro’s most recent perfidy and how the business-suited, smiling-and-waving people’s president broadcast to Carter that his beloved Varela Project was doomed from the get-go.
Excerpts from President Carter’s Cuba Trip Report, by Jimmy Carter, 21 May 2002:
“The Varela Project was a subject of great publicity, and a petition from more than 11,000 citizens was presented to the National Assembly a few days before our arrival. As apparently permitted under Cuba’s constitution, the petition called for a referendum on: a) freedom of expression and association; b) amnesty for political prisoners not accused of attempted murder; c) rights of private enterprise; d) direct election of public officials; and e) elections to be held within one year…
“That evening at the University of Havana I made a speech and then answered questions that, as promised, was carried live on television and radio… All analysts said it was the first time in 43 years that citizens had heard any public criticism of the Cuban government, much less direct condemnation of human rights violations, a call for international inspectors, and promotion of the Varela project. I anticipated President Castro would be upset, but he greeted me after the session, and we attended the Cuban All-Star baseball game, where I threw out the first pitch…”
“After this we had an alfresco lunch with National Assembly President Alarcon, and spent most of the time talking about how he will handle the Varela petition. He replied in circuitous language that the government had not yet made a decision, but he saw both a technical issue based on interpretation of the law and also a political issue. Legally, the petition could be peremptorily rejected, and many arguments could be made against it. Politically, it would be necessary to justify a decision to the people, with those already knowing or caring about it, he said, already realizing that it was a ‘North American’ project. We tried to convince him [unsuccessfully] that the petitioners deserved a full and open hearing even if their effort was rejected.”
Undaunted by Alarcon’s all-but-outright declaration that the greatly flawed “North American” Varela Project would be dead on arrival, the ever sanguine Carter followed up his alfresco luncheon with a round of jolly meetings with “a wide range of the most notable dissidents, each the leader of an organization and many having completed prison sentences for their demands for change in the socialist regime.”
Although these notables were wisely wary of the Varela Project as falling short on efficacy, Carter recalls that all but one of the gathered dissidents bravely professed that their organization would support it – despite the danger. Significantly, they also trusted their apparently influential visitor to use his influence to expand American visitation to the island, a key consideration that they were hopeful would discourage the regime from business-as-usual with troublemakers.
With Alarcon’s clarion warning of disaster still ringing in his ears and knowing in his heart of hearts that the only influence that he had in Washington was the power to generate snickers about his Cuba trip, Carter left the brave few to their inevitable fate.
“We didn’t expect miracles, but we did expect dialogue and hoped to build relationships,” said Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program, about the inevitable fate of the dissidents.
As late as April 8, 2003 in remarks to the Georgia State legislature, Carter was singing the praises of his organization: “The Carter Center is known throughout the world as a champion of human rights.”
In the case of the Cuban dissidents, their “champion” without portfolio got a photo op with the charismatic Castro, praised him for stout advances in health and education, and then left them hanging in the wind. When Carter was safely out of Cuba, Castro effectively killed the project and unmercifully punished the messengers.
We will never know if the Varela Project would have gone forward without the false encouragement of the Carter visit. But perhaps Carter does know or suspect the truth of the matter, and it has done naught to set him free.
A Carter spokesperson suggested to NewsMax that the former president’s perceived tepid public reaction to the disaster in Cuba owes only to his firm belief that decades of fiery rhetoric between the neighbors has accomplished nothing but continued acrimony. The Nobel Laureate felt no need or value in lending his voice to that perennial diatribe.
Furthermore, he and his organization enjoy valuable good relations and contacts with the communist state that shouldn’t be jeopardized by emotive ramblings – no matter how strongly felt, the spokesperson added.
In the meantime, the ubiquitous Castro must be licking his chops and enjoying another good chuckle at Carter’s expense.
Cynical observers believe that the megalomaniacal Castro really never had a wit of interest in easing travel bans – fearing the influence of American visitors to his island. They also question whether Castro secretly favors the sanctions, which give him an excuse for his country’s weak economy and earns him the sympathy and adoration of media stars and executives, from CNN founder Ted Turner to ABC News veteran Barbara Walters and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter -- not to mention Steven Spielberg and Oliver Stone.
And, finally, those who thought the Carter trip was problematic at best have been vindicated – unfortunately at the expense of a brave band of freedom fighters.
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