I'm sympathetic with the Obama administration's caution in
confronting events in Iran. It is not clear that
full-throated U.S. government support for the demonstrators
would do more to help than hurt human rights activists.
However, it seems always appropriate to highlight human rights
abuses. Especially where activists, or their
representatives--when, as in the case of Cuba, the activists are
in jail--believe a meeting with or at least statement from the
president would be helpful. In such a case it's hard
to understand why he would refuse.
My Cato Institute colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo poses the
question:
How come President Obama can find time
to call and congratulate Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa
on his reelection (someone who has said that he prefers "a
thousand times" to be a friend of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez
than to be an ally of the United States) but
can't find time to meet with, or at least issue a statement
supporting, Cuban dissidents at the White House as his
predecessors did?
It's a good question. The
U.S. government cannot bring democracy to Cuba.
But the Obama administration can help highlight oppression in
Cuba. Doing so doesn't mean intervention in Cuba
or even refusing to engage Havana. But doing
so does mean helping ensure that heroic people fighting for
freedom are not forgotten even as the Castro regime attempts
to portray itself as victim rather than oppressor.
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (Crossway).