Carter Makes Historic Address in Cuba

Former US president Jimmy Carter has made an unprecedented address to Cubans in a live and uncensored speech in which he said their country does not meet international standards of democracy and needs to work towards greater civil liberties.

In the 20-minute speech, which he gave in Spanish and broadcast live on Cuban radio and television, Mr Carter also said that it should be the US who made the first move towards reconciliation.

For many Cubans, it was the first time they had heard such a public airing of opinions that differ from their government's views. For some it caused discomfort, but many expressed optimism about Carter's hopeful words on improving relations.

"On the day that relations between our countries are normalised, Cuba should thank Carter," said Gisela Frances, a 36-year-old office worker. "He has planted an important little seed."

Fidel Castro, who had been shunned by current and former American presidents for four decades, welcomed Carter with a promise that he could meet anyone, say anything, and speak his mind over Cuba's state broadcast network.

Democracy, Carter told viewers in heavily accented Spanish, "is based on some simple premises: all citizens are born with the right to choose their own leaders, to define their own destiny, to speak freely, to organise political parties, trade unions and non-governmental groups and to have fair and open trials.

"Your constitution recognises freedom of speech and association, but other laws deny these freedoms to those who disagree with the government." He balanced the comments with a call for an end to the 40-year embargo in Cuba on US trade and travel. "Our two nations have been trapped in a destructive state of belligerence for 42 years, and it is time for us to change our relationship," he said

"Because the United States is the most powerful nation, we should take the first step," he said. "My hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships, and repeal the embargo."

Speaking at the University of Havana, with Fidel Castro in the audience, Mr Carter did endorse some of the 65-year-old Cuban leaders favourite policies, such as free health care and universal education. But he also criticised the Cuban government. He said that Cuba needed to implement policies that would allow democratic change.

He cited articles 63 and 88 of the Cuban constitution that allows citizens to petition the National Assembly for a referendum to change laws if 10,000 or more citizens sign it. He went on to say that this had been achieved with a campaign called the Varela Project, even though very few Cubans have actually heard of it due to the stringent controls on the media by the state.

The campaign seeks a referendum on civil liberties that would ask the Cuban people if the are in favour of human rights, amnesty for political prisoners and electoral reform.

The former president, who is a long time advocate of civil liberties, went on to express concerns regarding human rights in Cuba. He said "Cuba has adopted a socialist government where one political party dominates, and people are not permitted to organise any opposition movements."

Mr Carter admitted that the US itself was not perfect when it came to respecting human rights: "A very large number of our citizens are incarcerated in prison, and there is little doubt that the death penalty is imposed most harshly on those who are poor, black, or mentally ill.

"For more than a quarter century, we have struggled unsuccessfully to guarantee the basic right of universal health care for our people."

Washington has yet to respond to the speech but it the former president may have breached a long-standing protocol that former presidents would not criticise the current administration when travelling abroad.