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December 07, 2003.
BACKGROUND: REVISION 3
(11/17/03) The proposed policy statement declares and explains the Green
Party's opposition to any U.S. intervention in Cuba. The International
Committee expects this statement to serve as the basis for national and
state party organizing for peace and regional development,
coalition-building with kindred organizations, electoral campaign
materials, and press statements, and will be submitted to the Platform
Committee for inclusion in the 2004 Green Party Platform.
The original statement was drafted by IC member David Schwartzman, of
the DC Statehood Green Party. The proposed resolution (Rev. 1) was
approved by the International Committee on Monday, October 27, 2003 by a
vote of 30-1-3-4 (Yes-No-Abstain-NotVoting). This extensively revised
version (Rev. 3) was prepared in response to CC members' concerns
regarding Rev. 1 and Rev. 2, by IC members Judie Hilke-Lundborg and
Bahram Zandi , and IC Co-Chair Tony Affigne , with contributions by
other IC members.
Proposal:
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REV. 3: INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTION of the GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
OPPOSING U.S. INTERVENTION IN CUBA NOVEMBER 2003
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PEACE BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF CUBA AND THE UNITED STATES
The Green Party of the United States hereby declares its strong desire
for peaceful relations with the people of Cuba, and greater interchange
between our two nations. We call on the U.S. Congress to enact a joint
resolution lifting the U.S. embargo and restoring all normal diplomatic
relations, and we call for a U.S. pledge not to use military force or
political and economic subversion against the Republic of Cuba.
HOSTILE U.S. RHETORIC IS A STEP BACK TO THE COLD WAR
As Greens we are committed to non-violence, democracy, and social
justice. Like others in the Americas, we are alarmed by the Cold War-era
rhetoric of the U.S. administration. In recent months U.S. officials
have said that Iraq was "a very good example for Cuba," and
accused Cuba of developing bio-weapons which might be shared with
terrorists. This claim has been emphatically denied by the Cuban
government.
While military intervention in Cuba could be expensive and dangerous for
Bush, both militarily and politically, we can expect continued
disinformation about weapons of mass destruction, and continued
anti-Cuba rhetoric from this administration. The official U.S. military
policy remains a doctrine of pre-emptive force and subversion, against
"rogue states". Thus we are concerned, just as the people of
the Caribbean region are concerned, that U.S. policy toward Cuba, during
the "War on Terror," could take a turn for the worse at any
time.
We are also disappointed by the Bush Administration's recent, clumsy
attempts to stiffen travel restrictions on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba,
thousands of whom are in Cuba each year for study, civil sector
assistance, the arts, and trade. We call on our fellow citizens and
their organizations to likewise oppose tightened Cuban travel and pledge
to continue opposition until the ban is lifted.
CUBAN ACTIONS CAN ALSO THREATEN BETTER RELATIONS
As Greens, however, we deplore executions, whether state-ordered
killings are used against common criminals, or political dissidents. The
tragic execution in April 2003 of three hijackers in Cuba impels us to
even more committed action against the death penalty, both here in the
US and in Cuba.
This Cuban government action was used by Cuba's enemies to advocate
extreme U.S. action. The Global Greens Charter, adopted by more than 70
national Green parties in 2001 -- including the Green Party of the
United States -- condemns capital punishment and demands its worldwide
abolition.
THE DIFFICULT RECENT HISTORY OF U.S.-CUBAN RELATIONS
Relations between Cuba and the U.S., in years after the Revolution of
1959, were characterized by U.S.-initiated military attacks, bombings,
contamination of crops, and hundreds of attempted assassinations. Mutual
hostility once brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
More recently, conflicts surrounding the ongoing U.S. embargo, the
Mariel boatlift, overflights by Cuban expatriates, disagreements over
migrant exit and entry policies, and the Elian Gonzalez incident, have
kept U.S.-Cuban relations tense and hostile. At the same time, even the
U.S. Congress has grown weary of U.S. policy. For three years in a row
the House of Representatives voted to end the travel ban on Cuba -- most
recently this past September 9, by a vote of 227-188. On October 23 the
U.S. Senate adopted the same policy, by a vote of 59-36.
Yet public opinion in the U.S. is divided, with 50% or more in recent
surveys supporting continued U.S. hostility, and retention of the
embargo. In the spring of 2003 things got worse, following the execution
of the hijackers by the Cuban government, and the trial and imprisonment
of 75 Cubans convicted of subversion -- for accepting $20 million in
U.S. aid.
The entire region is affected. Other countries in the Caribbean -- all
of whom have voted in the United Nations to condemn the U.S. embargo --
fear the implications of U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military
pressure on Cuba -- easily imagining this pressure directed at their own
nations.
GREEN POLICY TOWARD CUBA
In this environment of U.S. militarism, divided U.S. policy and public
opinion, and the ongoing economic blockade, the Green Party of the
United States recognizes our responsibility to present a clear and
principled alternative, helping lead the region to peace and security.
In our Platform, our public statements, and our electoral campaigns, we
pledge to advocate full normalcy in U.S.-Cuban diplomatic relations, and
peaceful negotiation of lingering issues. We honor the people of Cuba
and will treat them with all the respect due any sovereign nation.
We call on the U.S. Congress and President Bush, as well as the U.S.
Departments of State and Defense, to reduce tensions in the Caribbean by
explicitly rejecting the use of force or subversion against Cuba.
We call for an immediate end to U.S. sanctions. This is not a new
position; we are already on record calling for the end of the blockade,
as a violation of human rights, preventing food and medicine from
reaching people living in a sovereign nation offering no threat to the
United States. In this we join world opinion: On Tuesday, November 4,
the U.N. General Assembly again voted -- for the 12th time -- to call
for an end to the U.S. embargo, this time by a vote of 179-3. Only
Israel, the Marshall Islands -- and our own U.S. government -- voted
against the resolution.
We reiterate our position: The blockade must end!
We call on the Cuban legislature to abolish the death penalty, and
remove this contentious issue once and for all. We join Greens worldwide
and many others in the global peace and justice community in condemning
the recent executions of three Cubans convicted of hijacking. We urge
the Cuban legislature to consider the repeal of capital punishment for
any crime, since we hold that capital punishment is a serious violation
of human rights, in our own country as well in the rest of the world.
Finally, we call on the people of the United States to recognize Cuba's
social achievements, and allow further development to proceed without
U.S. interference.
Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate and the longest life
expectancy rate in all of Latin America. The World Health Organization
calls Cuba's free health care system "a model for the world."
Cuba has the highest literacy rate and the highest average educational
level in Latin America. Cubans are world leaders in sustainable
development, including organic agriculture and alternative energy.
These positive changes since 1959 deserve the world's encouragement and
acknowledgment. The people of Cuba who have made such progress, deserve
a full opportunity to continue, without the external threats of U.S.
attacks, or the internal threats of political repression. As Greens, we
give our support to all possibilities for greater democracy in Cuba, and
we urge that U.S. intervention in Cuba cease.
GREEN PARTY COMMITMENT
We affirm our commitment to work for the objectives stated above. We
urge the State Green parties, to carry this message to the American
people. We must take every opportunity to educate the public about
Cuba's sovereignty, Cuba's achievements, and the importance of opening
and normalizing relations between the people of Cuba and the people of
the United States. We believe that only this approach will engender a
cooperative atmosphere where political freedoms and the interchange of
commerce and culture can be expanded.
Resources: Global Exchange Reports on Cuba:
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/cuba
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/cuba/background/factsheet.html
"Double Standard: Four decades of US-sponsored Terrorism"
http://www.newhumanist.com/cubaterror.html
"Embargo: Economic Arsenal of Death" by Rev. Bob Carlsten
http://www.newhumanist.com/carlsten.html
The Global Greens Charter demands that the death penalty be abolished
worldwide (Section 6.10):
http://www.gp.org/documents/globalgreenscharter01.html
References: CONTACTS: International Committee Co-Floor Managers
Judie Hilke-Lundborgh, IC Member
Hawaii Green Party - Delegate to the CC
judie@aloha.net
Bahram Zandi, IC Member
Maryland Green Party - Delegate to the CC
bahram@greens.org
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