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Cuba: Papal visit followed by lifting of
restrictions on flights and remittances
Two months after Pope John Paul
II's visit to Cuba, the Clinton administration announced that it would lift some
restrictions on contact with the island first introduced in 1996. The bans on flights and
remittances were already widely circumvented. Hundreds of US Cubans travelled to Cuba for
the papal visit.
In January Pope John Paul II made
a five-day visit to Cuba. He met with Castro, following the Cuban leader's invitation
extended on his own visit to the Vatican in 1996. 100,000 people attended an open-air Mass
in Santa Clara. He spoke against abortion and in favour of better wages and the
strengthening of family life in Cuba. His speeches also called for an end to the US
embargo on Cuba. The Pope held a Mass in the Plaza of the Revolution, where Castro himself
usually delivers his speeches. There he praised the country's patron saint, Our Lady of
Charity El Cobre and called upon her to unite Cubans wherever they were. He aimed to
spread a spirit of forgiveness and peace among islanders and exiles alike.
The events were attended by
thousands of Cubans and Cubans resident or exiled in the USA who had returned for the
occasion. Hundreds of Cuban exiles came as pilgrims, on flights sponsored by churches from
Florida, New York and Puerto Rico. Press interviews with the returnees found evidence of
both a longing to return for good and a painful sense of loss stemming from a realisation
that they would never go back. It is estimated that 1 million Cubans, a tenth of the
island's population, left the country for the United States
In advance of the papal visit a
coalition of exile organizations and dissident groups published the 'Agreement for
Democracy', describing the conditions under which Cuba could abandon Communism and accept
democracy. As well as calling for elections, freedom of speech and amnesty for political
prisoners, the group affirmed that all Cubans on the island and in the diaspora were a
single nation. Opinions on how to deal with Castro are divided among Cuban exile groups.
Brothers to the Rescue, who fly over the Florida straits searching for people fleeing on
rafts and the Democracy Movement both signed the accord. The agreement was opposed by the
Cuban American National Foundation on the grounds that it did not specifically exclude
Fidel and Raul Castro from any future government. Their own published plan called for the
removal of the brothers. More militant paramilitary groups such as Commandos L and Alpha
66 did not sign the agreement.
In March, President Clinton
announced his intention to relax restrictions on direct flights to Cuba, donations of
medicine and clothes to the island and remittances. The White House wanted to be seen to
respond to the change in mood within Cuba. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met the
Pope in Rome on March 7th. Government officials claimed that the move would increase the
status of the Roman Catholic church in Cuba as well as lessen the state's hold over
welfare. It would also sideline Castro, they claimed. The ban on flights was imposed in
1996 following the shooting down of two planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue. The
decision to rescind the order divided Congress, being welcomed by Massachusetts
politicians, four of whom had flown to Cuba for the Pope's visit, and rejected by others,
including Senator Torricelli from New Jersey, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart from Florida and
Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Miami. Catholic Relief Services holds $1 million worth of
insulin for Cuba, which it had intended flying via Canada, but which could now go direct.
The Cuban American National Foundation supported the provisions for food and medicine, but
not the flights and remittances. Brothers to the Rescue were angered by the lifting of
sanctions. The Cuban government welcomed the lifting of restrictions but also called for
the full removal of the trade embargo.
The embargo causes friction
between the US and Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Trade and investment bans remain
in place under the provisions of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, despite opposition from the
US Chamber of Commerce.
It is estimated that US Cubans
send $800 million a year of money to Cuba via third countries, mainly in violation of US
Treasury rules. The new rules would allow each household to send $1,200 per year. Family
members will also be able to visit one another. Telephone traffic was opened up in 1992.
At present, more than 80,000 Cuban-Americans visit Cuba each year, paying extra for
flights via third countries. The 1996 ban on flights failed to stop the movement. The ban
on remittances was also widely circumvented.
A report in November by the UN's
Economic Commission on Latin America found evidence for a sharp rise in remittances to
Cuba in 1995 and 1996: in 1990 $100 million, in 1993 $300 million and in 1995 $600
million. These figures are in comparison with the country's gross export earnings from
sugar ($1 billion), tourism ($1.4 billion) and foreign investment ($200 million).
According to the report, the net flow of dollars for tourism was only $400 million, and
for sugar $500 million, both sums smaller than the estimates for remittances. It is
reckoned that half of Cuba's families receive cash or food from abroad. Dollars were
legalised on the island in 1993, and the towns are full of dollar-only stores. Most of the
money comes from recent post-1980 arrivals rather than the earlier streams of exiles and
refugees. Remittances have been criticised by Castro.
Within the US Cuban community,
there were signs of the hard line taken against anyone expressing positive support for
increased relations with Cuba weakening. Many followed the Pope's visit on TV. But one
Miami Catholic church was forced to cancel a planned cruise ship visit to Cuba for the
Pope's following protest. The Archbishop of Miami attended the papal visit, but the
Cuba-American community remains divided over contacts with the regime and with the country
itself. It is estimated that there are over half a million Cuban-American Catholics in
Miami, where churches continue to process a statue of Our Lady of Charity brought from
Cuba in the 1960s.
Cuban exiles unveil manifesto for
democracy, Reuters, 14.1.98; Papal trip defining moment for Cuban Catholics in U.S., David
Briggs, Associated Press, 17.1.98; Cuban exiles undertake religious pilgrimage to
homeland, Eddie Dominguez, Associated Press, 21.1.98; Pope holds historic meeting with
Castro, Agence France Presse English Wire, 23.1.98; Cuban exiles meet those left behind,
Diego Ribadeneira, Boston Globe 25.1.98; Pope's Cuba visit fosters attitude shift, Mike
Clary, Los Angeles Times 28.2.98; U.S. expected to ease Cuban embargo, Carol Giacomo,
Reuters 19.3.98; Clinton will announce lifting of ban on flights, remittances, David L.
Marcus, Boston Globe Staff 20.3.98; U.S. to ease some curbs against Cuba, Thomas W.
Lippman, Washington Post 20.3.98; Cuban Americans watch, wonder, hope, Eric Slater and
Julkia Scheeres, Los Angeles Times 23.1.98; Cuban-Americans divided In Miami, White House
move stirs range of reactions, Teresa Mears, Boston Globe 20.3.98; Cuba says U.S. moves
'drop of water in desert', Reuters Wire 20.3.98; A look at myths of Cuba, Ernest H. Preeg,
Washington Post 2.11.97; Exiles prop up Cuban economy by sending money to families, Roxana
Hegeman, Associated Press, 27.11.97
Kurds, Turkey, the EU and Schengen
The arrival of over 1,000 Kurdish
refugees in Italy sparked off rows between the EU and Turkey, and among EU countries over
their immigration and border policies.
In January Goc Der, a Kurdish
migrants' organization in Istanbul, called upon Turkey to rebuild the Kurdish region and
allow Kurds to return. There are estimated to be 2 million Kurds in Istanbul, many of whom
have fled fighting in the south east. At least 28,000 have died since 1984 when the PKK,
the Kurdistan's People's Party, began a campaign of violent opposition to Turkish
government in the country's south east: about 3,000 villages have been evacuated in the
fighting. Five million of Turkey's 8-12 million Kurds live in the region; 4 million live
in western Turkey, others in Syria, Iraq and Iran. Turkey accuses Syria and Iran of
backing the PKK, and alleges that Greece is tolerating PKK 'terrorists' training there.
In February the Turkish army
announced that it had finally crushed the rebellion in the south east and declared that
the PKK was a spent force. The army began to distribute aid packages to the region's
villages. The PKK retorted that it had suspended operations for the winter. A ban on
Kurdish language on television and in education remains in place.
It is thought that another one
million Kurds belong to the diaspora in European countries. This may include 700,000 in
Germany, 120,000 in France and large communities in Scandinavia.
In January the arrival by boast of
1,200 Kurdish refugees in Italy provoked disputes between EU countries and Turkey, but
also within the EU. There were rumours that as many as 20,000 Kurds were planning to leave
for Europe, paying up to $3,900 each for passage. It is thought that over 10,000 Kurds
from Turkey and Iraq have entered the EU illegally since the start of 1997. Under pressure
form the EU and Germany in particular, Turkey clamped down on people leaving the country
as refugees, arresting Kurds as they boarded boats. One vessel was detained upon arrival
in Greece, after 3 people had drowned in the crossing. The German Foreign Minister, Klaus
Kinkel, insisted that Turkey tighten up its policies on departures.
Although 7 EU countries signed an
agreement in Rome to deal with the refugees, the Turkish chief of police complained that
the Europeans had failed to lay the blame on the PKK. Turkey denied signing the agreement.
The Turkish authorities regard the flow as a criminal matter, not about political
refugees, and blames the PKK for the organised smuggling of people into Europe. The PKK
accuses Turkey of causing the crisis in order to depopulate the south east.
The arrival of the Kurdish
refugees in Italy coincided with a further stage in the Schengen accord, by which the
majority of EU countries are seeking to harmonise their external controls over immigration
and asylum policy and lift internal border checks. Italy was heavily criticised for
dealing with refugees and illegal immigrants in an ineffective way. Austria reinstated its
border checks with Italy and increased border personnel only a month after signing the
Schengen accord. German politicians chided Italy and accused the government of trying to
pass on refugees to other countries. Some regional German politicians called for a
suspension of the accord.
The Schengen agreement facilities
exchange of information between European countries on refugees and immigrants. In December
Italy and France authorities closed down a network smuggling people into the continent.
The panic over Kurds spurred on moves to increase border controls at the EU border. These
include mandatory finger-printing of persons without complete documentation and instant
deportation. Italy responded and rescinded the 15 days grace period it allowed illegal
immigrants to leave the country. German authorities also accused Greece of failing to
patrol its borders. Italian police arrested Kurdish refugees on their way to Germany at
several locations throughout the country. The French Interior Minister blamed the creation
of 'safe havens' in northern Iraq.
In February German courts
sentenced Kani Yilmaz, former spokesman of the PKK, to seven years for firebombings of
Turkish properties in Germany in 1993: having already served time in detention he was
released. Yilmaz was arrested in London in 1994. Germany now recognises the PKK as a
criminal organization and not a terrorist group, and authorities are still searching for
18 activists. Turkey reacted angrily to the redesignation of the PKK, which remains banned
in Germany. The chief of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, agreed to abide by German laws in 1996,
since when arson attacks on Turkish targets had declined considerably. Nonetheless, the
German authorities accuse the PKK of dealing in weapons, extortion and false documents.
The Austrian office of the
Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK), the political wing of the PKK, called on the
country to end investment in Turkey until the resolution of the Kurdish question. ERNK's
headquarters is in Brussels.
Europe tightens borders against
fleeing Kurdish refugees, Agence France Presse English Wire, 3.1.98; Kurdish influx test
Schengen open border accords, Bertrand Bollenbach, Agence France Presse English Wire,
3.1.98; Kurdish question on international scene since 1920s, Ceyhun Erguven, Agence France
Presse English Wire 6.1.98; EU passport-free regime buckles, Ian Traynor and Helena Smith,
The Guardian, 6.1.98; Europe, Turkey dispute fault over Kurdish exodus, Agence France
Presse English Wire, 9.1.98; EU police chiefs meet on migrants, John Hooper, The Guardian
9.1.98; Pro-Kurdish group calls on Turkey to rebuild south-east, Agence France Presse
English Wire, 12.1.98; Turkish army says Kurdish rebellion crushed, Umit Enginsoy, Agence
France Presse English Wire, 20.2.98; Kurdish separatists call on Austria to end investment
in Turkey, Agence France Presse English Wire, 11.1.98; Germany tries to soothe Turkey over
lifting "terrorist" label from Kurd group, Agence France Presse English Wire,
16.1.98; German court sentences Kurdish separatist to seven years, Agence France Presse
English Wire, 11.2.98; Kurdish rebels get bomb-making lessons from Greece: Turkey, Agence
France Presse English Wire, 28.3.98
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