Humanitarian Hand to Cubans

As the recent papal visit to Cuba continues to reverberate in Washington, the Clinton administration has taken a few modest but positive steps to reverse isolationist policies that benefit no one.

The measures proposed Friday by the president would streamline medical aid to Cuba, authorize direct humanitarian flights from the United States and legalize limited remittances from Cuban Americans to relatives in Cuba. Another measure would seek ways to ease restrictions on food shipments to Cuba.

It’s been questioned whether the president has the authority to ease the embargo codified by the 1996 Helms-Burton law. White House lawyers, however, maintain that these measures are not covered by that law.

Predictably, the presidential move has angered the remaining clique of Cold War warriors in Congress, including Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), Cuban-born Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). They criticized the White House for failing to demand reciprocity from Fidel Castro, who they say will inevitably be bolstered by the remittances, and for failing to consult beforehand with Congress.

But there is no reason why the Clinton administration should have sought reciprocity from Castro and thus granted him the power to veto them in a negotiation. These measures are meant to benefit the people of Cuba, not the Castro regime.

While it is true that the specific measures were not discussed in Congress, the White House argues that it held broad consultations on Cuba with key members of Congress and the Cuban American leadership in Florida. Regarding giving Americans the right to each send as much as $1,200 a year to Cubans, all that means is that a long-standing practice would become legal.

These measures would allow the United States to build new bridges to the Catholic Church and other nongovernmental organizations in Cuba that strengthen civil society. More important, they signal a recognition that things are changing in Cuba and that the United States is moving to pave the way for an eventual transition to democracy.