Carter Meets With Castro Dissidents
As the strains of the "Star-Spangled Banner" faded in the wind at Havana's international airport, President Fidel Castro turned to his visitor and said, "It's been a long time since that happened."
Jimmy Carter, the U.S. president who did more than any other to ease tensions with Cuba, arrived for a visit on Sunday - the first time a U.S. head of state, in or out of office, has come to the communist island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
Carter had his first meeting with opponents of the Castro government Monday morning. Veteran rights activists Elizardo Sanchez and Oswaldo Paya joined Carter for a breakfast meeting at his hotel in Old Havana Monday morning. Both are coordinators of Project Varela, a proposed referendum asking voters if they want guarantees of individual freedoms, an amnesty for political prisoners, the right to own their business and electoral reforms.
Carter's visit comes at the latest in many moments of tension, following allegations last week by Undersecretary of State John Bolton that Cuba is seeking to develop biological weapons.
Castro denounced those claims as "lies" in a speech Friday and challenged the United States to provide evidence. When Carter arrived, Castro promised him "complete access" to any Cuban biotechnology laboratory.
Carter is scheduled to visit a major laboratory Monday, the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology on the outskirts of Havana.
When they arrived, Castro escorted Carter and his wife Rosalynn to a wooden podium where flags from the two nations flew side by side and both national anthems were played. The "Star-Spangled Banner" is rarely heard in Cuba, though it was also played when the Baltimore Orioles competed against a Cuban all-star baseball team here in 1999.
On Sunday night, a dark-suited Castro played host to Carter and his delegation at talks and a dinner in the Palace of the Revolution.
The visit gave the Cuban leader an unusually high-profile chance to reach out to Americans, and he used it by symbolically throwing open the doors of the island to Carter, who has made a post-presidential career out of monitoring elections in developing democracies.
Castro nodded in agreement when Carter asked if a Tuesday speech would be broadcast live. "You can express yourself freely whether or not we agree with part of what you say or with everything you say," Castro said. "You will have free access to every place you want to go."
"We shall not take offense at any contact you may wish to make," he added, an obvious reference to the dissidents and human rights activists Carter plans to meet.
Cuban officials have been irritated with some other foreign leaders who have held similar meetings, but Castro said Carter had proved his sincerity in the past.
"A man who, in the middle of the Cold War and from the depth of an ocean of prejudice, misinformation and distrust ... dared to try to improve relations between both countries deserves respect."
Speaking in Spanish, Carter said he hoped "to discuss ideals that Rosalynn and I hold dear ... peace, human rights, democracy and the alleviation of suffering."
He said there were "differences on some of these issues" with Cuban leaders, "but we welcome the opportunity to try to identify some points in common and some areas of cooperation."
After the arrival ceremony, Castro gave the Carters a taste of the sort of honors visiting heads of state received in the era of Carter's 1977-81 presidency: He joined the Carters in a black Soviet-made Zil limousine donated to Cuba by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in the mid-1970s. It is used only for the most distinguished guests.
Carter, the first former or sitting president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge came in 1928, has emphasized that his visit is private and that he will not be negotiating with the Cuban government.
There have been 10 American presidents since Castro took power, and relations were less hostile under Carter than any other.
As president, Carter oversaw the re-establishment of diplomatic exchanges between the two countries and negotiated the release of thousands of political prisoners. He also made it possible for Cuban exiles to visit relatives on the island and, for a short time, for other Americans to travel here freely.
But relations have remained cold. A U.S. trade embargo is still in place and visits by Americans are tightly limited, or are supposed to be: Tens of thousands skirt or ignore the travel ban each year.
"Jimmy Carter! You are one of our best presidents! I love you!" yelled Elaine George of Benicia, California, as Carter walked past the lobby window of her hotel during a tour of Havana's historic district.
"I'm not supposed to be here," said George. "Don't tell my mother!"