With the participation of legislators from
the Commissions on International Relations, Constitutional and Legal
Affairs and Economic Affairs, I have the privilege of presenting this
bill, which is our response to the illegitimate and interventionist
monstrosity that violates all norms of international law, and which
has been passed by the Congress of the United States, known by the
names of its authors.
Before laying the basis for the bill we
propose, I would like to refer briefly to the circumstances
surrounding the enactment of that document by the United States
government.
Completely and deliberately falsifying
the truth, the incident of February 24 has been used as an attempted
excuse for proposing the adoption of that so-called law by the United
States.
In the first place, it must be said
that at no time before February 24, after February 24 or after the
passage of the so-called Helms-Burton Law did the U.S. authorities
declare clearly, specifically or officially their intention of vetoing
the bill, of stopping it.
Moreover, the essence of the
Helms-Burton Law, as enacted, remained practically unchanged after
November, 1995, precisely after November 13, 1995. It was then that
the Senate and House agreed on a single bill--previously, there were
two versions--and both Democrats and Republicans concurred on the
wording of the text, which, I repeat, is practically identical to the
one which was finally adopted.
This occurred little more than three
months before the incidents of February. But, additionally, as we are
well aware, an essential element of this U.S. monstrosity relates to
the intention of returning their so-called "properties" to
Batista's cohorts, to the embezzlers and exploiters born in Cuba who
later became U.S. citizens.
I have here a public document, a report
which is presented annually to the U.S. Congress by the Federal Claims
Commission, the agency which deals with reclamation of North American
citizens' properties in other countries.
This is the 1990 report: that is, five
years before the first version of what is now the Helms-Burton Law was
submitted to Congress, and two years, even, before the so-called
Torricelli Law was adopted.
The last section of the report,
referring to future programs of the Commission, states that the agency
has before it requests to re-open the Cuban claims program, which was
carried out in the sixties and culminated in the seventies, related to
U.S. reclamation on U.S. properties that were nationalized in Cuba at
the beginning of the Revolution. The requests call for extending this
program to include so-called new claimants.
The U.S. Congress received this public
report in 1990; and received reports repeating the same thing in 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995. That is, the pretension of extending
supposed rights to alleged new claimants for the return of their
properties in Cuba significantly predates the February incident, and
certainly the Helms-Burton and Torricelli Laws.
At this point, I won't elaborate on the
facts that clearly illustrate that this incident was in no way Cuba's
responsibility, but that of the United States alone.
There is no need to detail the history
of small aircraft, flying from the North, which have been used since
the triumph of the Revolution for sabotage, military provocations,
introducing elements and biological substances, and introducing into
this country bacteria to affect our crops, but also to affect, as they
have, the lives of our fellow citizens.
I won't refer at this time to the long
list of incidents violating our sovereignty carried out by the same
counterrevolutionary group which participated in the February 24th
events. But it should be remembered that the North Americans
themselves, long before February 24th, had initiated an investigation,
legal proceedings, against these persons. They had asked for and
received Cuba's cooperation in order to act against these individuals.
They had thanked us for our cooperation, and had ordered that group to
cease and desist from repeating such illegal actions.
Nor will I extend myself noting the
fact that, through various channels, our government had warned the
United States government of the dangers inherent in the repetition of
such incidents and illegal actions by groups in Florida; nor the fact
that through the same channels, we received assurances and
commitments, expressing the intent of putting a stop to further
incidents, a willingness which moreover corresponded with the
communication between both foreign offices, with what is expressed in
this document, with the cooperation they had requested and which we
had offered to avoid a repetition of such actions.
Neither will I refer to the fact that,
contrary to all the false reports that spoke of supposed civilian
aircraft, it happens that the plane in question, a Cessna-337, is
defined in all the aviation manuals as a dual-purpose craft, suitable
for either civilian or military missions.
I do not need to remind you that these
planes were used for military purposes in Vietnam and Central America;
nor will I refer to the abundant literature in the Miami press, where
some persons requested the Pentagon let them have several of the
Cessna-337s, available precisely because the Salvadoran conflict had
ended.
I am not going to repeat, but simply
demonstrate that articles like this one (shows the press clip)
appeared in the Miami press, where you can see a U.S. newspaper editor
on board a plane which still bears the insignia USAF, identifying it
as a U.S. Air Force aircraft. Nor will I explain this photo (exhibits
photo) of a plane, with the identifying letters of the U.S. Air Force
still on its wing, and which investigators of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) reported they found in Miami in the same
hangar used by this group, and as they stated--quite accurately--still
carried the letters. The "F", although somewhat blurred,
could be easily seen in close-ups.
Neither will I delve into the way the
United States manipulated the investigation entrusted to the
International Civil Aviation Organization: they did not permit
investigators to interview any witnesses; falsified evidence and
refused to turn over the original tape recordings in their possession;
and destroyed or did not submit data from their radar systems. They
obstructed the investigation, made it more difficult, and prolonged it
to the utmost. In short, they manipulated it.
But I do want to dwell on a single
point which proves the responsibility which fell and falls on certain
U.S. authorities.
In the ICAO investigators' report
itself, they refer to the fact that on February 13, the State
Department had sent a communication to other branches of the U.S.
government, warning them of the possibility that some problem might
occur with these aircraft, an incident that might involve Cuba.
On February 24th, the same Department
requested the tower at Oppa Locka airport near Miami report whether
these planes had taken off or were about to do so. At 13:08, Oppa
Locka informed Washington that the planes were on the runway, and were
positioning themselves to begin takeoff; and at 13:15, they
communicated with Washington once again, this time to report that the
planes had just taken off. This is what the North Americans admitted,
and permitted to be reflected publicly in the investigators' report.
They also furnished the investigators with this map (exhibits map),
which traces with this light green broken line the route which had
been authorized, the flight plan approved by the federal authorities
for that plane; and then in a darker, blue unbroken line, the actual
route followed. The map reads:a route pproved here, planned route, and
actual route.
If you look closely, you will see that
the flight begins at 13:15 from Oppa Locka and the map stops at 15:20
when the planes are already entering Cuban airspace--it stops there
for reasons I will explain later. But note that this means that for
one hour and 45 minutes of a flight that lasted approximately two
hours, the planes were flying over Florida or the area of the straits
which are under U.S. air control jurisdiction, or what is termed the
Flight Information Zone, which belongs to the United States of America
from the 24th Parallel north.
During one and three-quarters hours of
a two-hour flight, these planes were violating U.S. territory, U.S.
laws and U.S. regulations. Yet, the United States did absolutely
nothing to halt the continued violation of its own norms, or to
prevent an international incident.
Notice how, departing from the
authorized route--an action that international covenants determine is
reason enough to force a craft to terminate its flight and land--they
saw and recorded, and so informed the ICAO, that instead of following
a route which would have taken them approximately north of Villa
Clara, the planes headed directly south, with the capital of the
Republic of Cuba straight ahead, and they maintained that direction at
all times, until that point where they decided to observe discretion
and not refer to anything beyond 15:20 hours.
But as often happens, lies are
short-lived and it is not easy to hide the truth forever. After the
ICAO investigation, a legal case was heard by a U.S. federal judge,
before whom several witnesses testified and several documents
presented. Among the witnesses was a Mr. Houlihan, the officer in
charge of the United States radar services, who has the responsibility
of recording and controlling flights to and from the United States.
This gentleman is cited in the lengthy
documentation reviewed by the judge, which of course has not been
reported in the major media, but which is public record. To give you
an idea of the length of the documentation, Mr. Houlihan's testimony
appears on page 1796, where he states that on February 17th--February
17th!--that is, one week before the incident, he was summoned to a
meeting with other U.S. officers or officials whose identities I do
not have, since he did not name them. However, he did explain that the
meeting was an official one to which he was summoned because of his
responsibilities, where it was stated that on February 24, this group
was going to fly from Oppa Locka to Cuba to create a political
incident.
A few pages later in his testimony, Mr.
Houlihan explains that on February 23, that is one day before the
incident, he was summoned to a second meeting, where it was confirmed:
"Tomorrow, February 24, this group will take off from Miami to
fly over Cuba, to create a political incident."
On February 24th, according to Mr.
Houlihan's testimony on page 1808--and these are statements made under
oath, during a trial--he was summoned at 7:45 am to yet another
meeting with other officers, where it was reaffirmed that the flight
and the programmed incident would take place that day.
In addition to testimony from
witnesses, the judge was presented with documents like this one
(exhibits document), which is a record, a log, of the U.S. radar
services, which gives a minute-by-minute account. In the case of these
planes, you see that the map ended at 20 past the hour, correct? Was
this because they lacked further data? No, it was because it was not
in their interests to reveal this data to the world.
I am going to read what this log says
transpired at 22 past, two minutes later. I quote:
"I saw three
airplanes"--these belonged to the counterrevolutionary
group--"crossing into Cuban territory and advancing some three
miles, maintaining a southerly course. At 3:23," it continues,
"the three planes continue advancing inside Cuban territory
towards the south." If we review these events, we will see that
we are talking about the very instant that our Air Force, fulfilling
its duty and acting with absolute responsibility, defended our
country's skies and put an end to the violation of our sovereignty and
to this threat, a serious threat to the population of the City of
Havana.
The question must be asked: Which
government is responsible for this incident? Which one had prior
knowledge? Which one could have prevented this from happening? The
Cuban government, which had received promises, which had been informed
that measures had been taken against these people, which had
cooperated in adopting these measures; or the government whose
authorities obviously knew in advance that the flight was going to
take place as a provocation, just as Mr. Houlihan testified?
How can it be explained that they knew
about the flight one week in advance, if--as is well known, and is
also reflected in the ICAO testimonies--permission for take-off by a
civilian aircraft is requested only minutes before take-off? That is,
apparently, no one knew until mid-day on February 24th, that the
flight would take place: but the State Department knew, the Radar
Service knew, and they had reiterated their warnings about the flight
on several occasions. How can you explain such knowledge, if not as
collusion with the ones responsible for this outrageous and malicious
act?
They went to the trouble of verifying
that the planes were there, that they took off; they traced their
entire route, registered the violation of Cuban airspace, confirmed
that throughout the flight they were violating U.S. regulations, and
later concealed the evidence. They justified the provocation and are
attempting to use the United Nations as a pretext for imposing on the
world a law which the whole world rejects.
Summing up, it can be said that on the
U.S. side, there are authorities who were responsible for the
incident, that allowed it to happen, that aided in the cover-up, and
that in fact facilitated or were associated in some way with its
preparation and planning. To what extent? History will tell.
I only wish to point out the following:
on May 8, 1996, Mr. Dennis Hayes, who until May of the year before had
headed the State Department section dealing with Cuba, was questioned
at a U.S. Senate hearing, and admitted that he personally had flown in
this group's planes. When one senator appeared surprised at such a
thing, and asked how it could be possible, the answer he received was
extraordinary. Said Mr. Hayes: "When I was named to that post, I
found that was normal practice, that my predecessors had also done
it." I don't know if Mr. Hayes successors have continued
the tradition. But even he, who was charged with attending to
relations with Cuba, accompanied the provocateurs on several of their
flights.
It has also been demonstrated that some
of these planes, in addition, came from the U.S. Air Force, and the
ICAO has documents submitted by Cuba which prove that these
individuals, moreover, received equipment, received training, and the
pilot provocateurs are even pictured on film in meetings with U.S.
officers.
It is against this backdrop of lies,
falsifications, gross adulteration of the facts, that some have tried
to justify the enactment of the monstrosity known as Helms-Burton.
That North American law--to somehow
label it--attempts to deny Cuba's existence as a sovereign state, to
eliminate the Cuban nation, impose colonial servitude and enslave our
people; it seeks to intensify and universalize the blockade by
sanctions and illegal threats against third parties, to force them to
accept Yankee policy. Its purpose is to economically strangle Cuba,
and increase our people's difficulties; it makes immoral use of food
and medicines as weapons of war; attempts to turn suffering, hardship
and sickness into instruments of a policy which cynically manipulates
the concept of freedom, that prostitutes the idea of liberty and whose
real objective is to lead an entire nation to martyrdom. The Platt
Amendment pales in comparison. This is, strictly speaking, a genocidal
act, publicly announced and openly and shamelessly promoted.
Moreover, this law, although U.S.
propaganda has attempted to confuse this issue, has been in effect
since March of this year, when President Clinton saw fit to sign it.
On August 16th this year, President
Clinton declared at the White House that he was designating a man by
the name of Eizenstat as special envoy for Cuban affairs. Since then,
this gentleman has tired himself out traveling the world over, trying
to confuse or put pressure on other governments, trying to create a
common front against Cuba, supposedly to promote what they call
"democracy". That is the title they have assigned him:
"special envoy for democracy in Cuba."
But when Clinton presented this
gentleman, he explained that he would continue in the posts he has
held during many years in the United States. One of these is Under
Secretary of Commerce, the other is special envoy
for the return of properties in Eastern and Central Europe. That
is the U.S. idea of democracy: democracy is returning the lands to the
big landowners, the factories to the former exploiters. And this is
the only democracy that Mr. Eizenstat knows anything about. I don't
think he knows anything about workers parliaments; I don't believe he
has ever met with a People's Council; nor do I think he has ever
sought out the feelings and concerns of the North American or any
other people. What he knows a great deal about, and where he has been
successful--as I'll explain later--is in recovering nationalized or
expropriated properties, which with this law, is the essential meaning
for the Yankees of the destruction of the Cuban Revolution and the
imposition in Cuba of the model or kind of democracy that they
promote.
Let us not confuse the issue. The law
makes this absolutely clear. It does not mean that the problems
between Cuba and the United States would be solved if we were to go
insane and accept the imposition here of the U.S. regime; even so our
problems with them would not be resolved. Neither does it propose our
surrender to put a stop to the war; nor does it even suggest that our
collective suicide could put an end to the differences with the United
States. If there is something for which we should be grateful to Mr.
Helms and Mr. Burton, it is that they have put things quite clearly in
the law. I don't plan to analyze the law, but I would like to refer to
a particular paragraph, the one that ends Title II of the law, which
as you know, is the part outlining the annexationist plan. It offers a
description of how they would organize the Republic of Cuba once,
through intensified economic warfare, they had managed to destroy the
Cuban Revolution--something that of course, they will never
accomplish. But in their plan, once they had done this, then Cuba
would enter what they call a period of transition, which in reality
would be a bloodbath, the extermination of our people who would not be
willing to give up their achievements so easily. Then, according to
the law, the "democratic regime" would emerge in Cuba, which
to be considered democratic would have to be certified by the
President of the United States, subject to approval by Congress.
So, now there is this "democratic
government" which has emerged after the victory of the
counterrevolution, which has been set up to organize Cuba as they
would have it organized. But nevertheless, so there is no room for
doubt, the last paragraph of that Title closes with this statement:
"the future diplomatic and economic relations, the possibility of
normalizing diplomatic and economic relations between the United
States and that democratic government of Cuba have an indispensable
prerequisite", which they term the solution of the property
question.
On September 20, the State Department
announced the establishment of a special unit to oversee application
of the Helms-Burton Law, within the Office of Cuban Affairs of that
Yankee ministry. In making the announcement, they not only outlined
the functions of the office, but also gave its telephone and fax
numbers, its mailing address, and announced they would provide its
e-mail address, and went on to explain why the unit had been
created. They set it up to make an effort to locate persons who might
have owned some property which had been expropriated in Cuba after
1959.
They make reference to the
already-known group of North Americans affected by the agrarian reform
and nationalization laws, persons who were U.S. citizens at the time.
However, they say that there are many, many others who have still to
come forward. So they create this unit to promote the search for these
people, to find them. Or in other words, to mobilize the whole mob of
former exploiters, torturers, mafiosos, and spur them on to make their
claims, to file suits and go after those countries and companies
investing in Cuba. Thus, while at times they try to say they are
acting with moderation, "democratically", in practice they
have continued step-by-step applying the law in a way that cannot go
unheeded by Cubans.
A little later, on September 27, the
State Department published a report, in fulfillment of provisions set
down by the Helms-Burton Law.
This is the report they are mandated to
make under Section 207 of the law. This section asks the State
Department to present its assessment of how the issue of properties
will be treated, now that the U.S. claimants are joined by the Batista
followers, the embezzlers, etc., etc. They are asked for a study on
the significance of this, and for government proposals on how this
section of the law should be applied.
This is the document they publish on
September 27, and here, among other issues, they define to some extent
the nature of that future democratic government.
That government, among other things.
would have U.S. advisors coming to this country to write the laws to
govern the solution of property questions. It would have advisors to
help create institutional mechanisms for returning properties, and
advisors to carry out--and this is no surprise--a program to educate
the people of Cuba, to teach them the virtues and advantages of once
again making the big landholders owners of the land, the former
exploiters owners of the factories, the landlords owners of the
housing where the majority of Cubans live today, etc. And this series
of recommendations is capped by demonstrating the true nature of Mr.
Eizenstat's "democratic mission". It says that Mr.
Eizenstat's experience in Europe, his accomplishments in Eastern and
Central Europe in terms of recovered properties, would be extremely
useful, a valuable contribution to applying this program conceived for
the future of Cuba.
The draft bill has been presented to
you, with the series of modifications proposed by the three
commissions mentioned earlier, taking into consideration all the
foregoing, and the significance of the measures adopted by the
Yankees.
With this bill, we seek to ensure a
comprehensive response by the entire Cuban nation to that monstrosity
which intends to destroy it. Our law seeks to prevent and punish any
form of collaboration in Cuba with the application of Helms-Burton or
any of its clauses. It would clearly define our position on the
famous issue of property compensation, clearly reaffirming that a
process of negotiation based on equality and mutual respect between
the government of the United States and the government of the Republic
of Cuba, which would include indemnization to Cuba for the blockade,
attacks, theft, and crimes of Batista's men and embezzlers, is the
only way to find a just solution to fair and adequate compensation,
which our own laws have always contemplated for former owners whose
properties were once nationalized.
I would like to clarify, what's more,
that when we refer to possible fair and adequate compensation in the
context just described, we are speaking exclusively of those who were
U.S. citizens at the time of nationalization, and no one else. But,
furthermore, the interests of these U.S. citizens, who were citizens
at the time of nationalization, would only be considered if they in no
way associate themselves with the Helms-Burton Law, take advantage of
its possibilities, or try to use it against third parties or in any
other form.
In addition, our law seeks to protect
foreign investments in Cuba, assist investors who might face adverse
consequences due to attempts to apply the Helms-Burton Law against
them. We consider this a fundamental obligation, our duty towards
those who have shown respect for Cuban sovereignty, who have had
confidence in our development potential, and who have respected
our laws and find themselves threatened or unjustly attacked as a
consequence of Helms-Burton.
Our law also seeks to encourage our
people's participation in confronting this Yankee monstrosity. First,
by updating the data on our national claim, through mechanisms
proposed in one of its articles, via the claims commissions which the
Ministry of Justice is mandated to establish. And in addition, we will
continue promoting the study of this Yankee monstrosity so that every
Cuban knows it in full detail, so that all of us are consciously
prepared to confront it, and to assure that future generations will
also be prepared.
One last word on the property question,
an essential factor of the U.S. law, as it refers to Cuba.
We must remember that this nation was
founded by men who decided to join with the exploited, the slaves, the
poor people, sacrificing their wealth, their families, their personal
property and their own lives. They decided to sacrifice everything for
the great property they created, a homeland that they thought should
belong to all, not just a few. In fact, those patricians of the
independence war of 1868 were unjustly stripped of their properties,
receiving absolutely no compensation from the Spanish colonialists,
properties that in many cases, were later taken over by Yankee
monopolies and those who served them in this country.
It is not the U.S. empire, but our
homeland, that has so much to reclaim: compensation for intervention
and humiliation, aggression and siege; and compensation for its
people, the Cuban people, who suffered hunger and malnutrition,
poverty and homelessness as a few became rich off the sweat of others,
the poor people who had no schools or hospitals, because others had
embezzled from the national treasury.
It is not the big landowners who have
anything to reclaim here, but in any case, the small farmers who
suffered evictions, misery and exploitation; not the exploiters, who
lived off the labor of our workers, but our workers who helped to
enrich a privileged minority and who before had no rights at all; not
the racists who have claims here, but the black and mestizo people who
in the past suffered discrimination and humiliation; it is not the
empire, but the nation, which has much to reclaim and to demand, which
has all the rights and which will never renounce them.
This U.S. law was christened using the
words solidarity and democracy. We know the law continues to be
a mystery for North Americans, that only a few of them have become
acquainted with it or even read it for the simple reason that no one
has published it. But we have published it here, and taken the trouble
to do whatever is necessary for our people to become familiar with its
every detail. And we are the ones who will give it a truly democratic
answer.
We are going to demonstrate what
democracy and solidarity are. We are going to make sure that all our
people, all our organizations, are aware of what the annexationist
plan means for Cuba; that they know our response, and are mentally and
intellectually prepared to guarantee that the present generation of
Cubans will never be enslaved, will never be destroyed, will not see
their achievements liquidated by the imperialist enemy. But, in
addition, that we are able to guarantee that our children and our
children's children have the same will of steel for centuries to come,
the same firm and indomitable consciousness of today's Cubans, to
ensure that neither exploitation, poverty nor the U.S. empire will
ever return to this country.
Thank you very much. (Applause)
RICARDO ALARCON DE QUESADA Quesada, president
of the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of Cuba
LET IT BE KNOWN:
That the National Assembly of People's Power, in its session on
December 24, 1996, Centennial Year of the Death in Combat of Antonio
Maceo, corresponding to the 7th Regular Session of the 4th
Legislature, has approved the following:
WHEREAS:
In the United States of America, the Helms-Burton Act, which has as
its objective the colonial reabsorption of the Republic of Cuba, has
been put into effect.
WHEREAS:
Cuba has long suffered the imperialist policies of the United States
of America designed to take control of Cuba through different means,
starting with the attempts to buy the island from Spain, through the
application of its ideas of Manifest Destiny and the concept that Cuba
is a ripe apple which will fall into U.S. hands, and the resulting
Monroe Doctrine, attempting to systematically impede our struggles for
national liberation, to the 1898 intervention which thwarted the
independence for which the Cubans had been fighting
with machetes, courage,
intelligence, and audacity,
thus converting Cuba into its colony.
WHEREAS:
Through the Platt Amendment and its continued intervention and
meddling in the internal affairs of the country, the United States of
America usurped part of the national territory by installing the
Guantánamo naval base, imposed corrupt and despotic regimes,
including the ignominious and bloody tyrannies of Machado and Batista,
and since 1959 has systematically attacked Cuba with the declared
objective of putting an end to its independence, eliminating Cuban
nationality, and forcing the population into servitude.
WHEREAS:
The Cuban people, faithful bearers of the independence legacy of the
Liberation Army fighters, of the workers, peasants, students and
intellectuals who have fought and will continue to fight the
pretensions of their enemy of over a century, are prepared to
undertake the greatest efforts and sacrifices to maintain the
sovereignty, independence and freedom that they won forever on January
1, 1959.
WHEREAS: The
process of nationalizing the riches and the natural resources of the
Nation, carried out by the Revolutionary Government in the name of the
Cuban people, was put into effect in accordance with the Constitution,
existing laws and international law, without discrimination, with the
objective of public benefit, making available adequate compensations,
which were agreed upon through bilateral negotiations with all of the
governments involved, with the exception of the United States of
America, which refused it because of its policy of blockade and
aggression, gravely damaging its own citizens with its actions.
WHEREAS:
The Cuban people will never permit their country's destiny to be
determined by laws dictated from any foreign power.
WHEREAS:
The Helms-Burton Act has been almost unanimously rejected by the
international community, due to its violation of the principles of
international law, recognized in the United Nations Charter, as well
as for its extraterritorial application which contradicts
international norms, attempting to arbitrarily and illegally dictate
rules to be followed by other states.
WHEREAS:
An important number of foreign businesspeople have demonstrated their
confidence in Cuba by investing in the country or negotiating possible
investments, using all the possible legal formulas to contribute to
the protection of their interests.
WHEREAS: The
National Assembly of People's Power, as the representative of all of
the people, repudiates the Helms-Burton Act and declares its
uncompromising decision to adopt all possible legal formulas as a
response to
this anti-Cuba legislation, and to demand the compensation to which
the State and the people of Cuba have a right.
THEREFORE:
By the powers granted by Article 75, subparagraph b, of the
Constitution of the Republic, the National Assembly of People's Power
has adopted the following:
LAW NUMBER 80
Reaffirmation of Cuba
dignity and sovereignty act.
Article 1:
The Helms-Burton Act is declared illegal, inapplicable and without
value or legal impact.
Consequently, all claims by persons or
corporations, regardless of citizenship or nationality, on the basis
of the Helms-Burton Act, shall be considered null and void.
Article 2: The
disposition of the Government of the Republic of Cuba, expressed in
the nationalization laws implemented more than 35 years ago, in
relation to an adequate and just compensation for the expropriated
goods of persons and corporations which had U.S. citizenship or
nationality at that time, is reaffirmed.
Article 3: The
compensation for the U.S. properties nationalized by virtue of this
legitimate process, validated by Cuban laws and international law, to
which the previous article refers, may form part of a negotiating
process between the Government of the United States of America and the
Government of the Republic of Cuba on the basis of equality and mutual
respect.
The compensation claims for the
nationalization of said properties should be examined
together with the
compensation to which the
Cuban State and people have a right, as a result of the damages caused
by the blockade and all types of aggressions for which the Government
of the United States of America is responsible.
Article 4:
Any person or corporation of the United States of America that uses
the procedures and mechanisms of the Helms-Burton Act, seeks its
protection or tries to employ it in any way shall be excluded from the
possible future negotiations referred to in Articles 2 and 3.
Article 5:
The Government of the Republic of Cuba is in charge of adopting the
provisions, means and additional facilities that will be necessary for
the complete protection of current and potential foreign investments
in Cuba, and the defense of legitimate interests of the same in the
face of actions that could derive from the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 6:
The Government of the Republic of Cuba is charged with applying or
authorizing the formulas that are required for the protection of
foreign investors against the application of the Helms-Burton Act,
including the transfer of foreign investors' interests to fiduciary
companies, financial units or investment funds.
Article 7.
The competent state bodies, as authorized by the Government of the
Republic of Cuba, in accordance with the provisions of the legal
regulations in force, shall provide foreign investors who request them
all available information and
documentation necessary for the defense of their legitimate interests
against the provisions of the Helms-Burton Act.
In addition, they shall supply the
above-mentioned information and documentation to foreign investors who
request them in order to
pursue legal action in the courts of their respective countries, by
authority of legal
provisions that protect their interests or that have been established
to prevent or limit the application of the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 8.
Any form of collaboration, direct or indirect, which favors the
application of the Helms-Burton Act is declared unlawful.
Collaboration shall be defined as, among other acts:
Seeking information for or supplying
information to a representative of the Government of the United States
or any other individual for the purpose of using it directly or
indirectly in the possible application of the act, or aiding another
person in seeking or supplying such information.
Requesting, receiving, accepting or
facilitating the distribution of or benefiting in any way from
financial, material or other forms of resources issued by the
Government of the United States of America or channeled by it through
its representatives or through any other means, for purposes which
would benefit the application of the Helms-Burton Act.
Divulging, disseminating, or aiding in
the distribution of information, publications, documents or
propagandistic material from the Government of the United States of
America, its agencies or dependencies or any other source, with the
purpose of
facilitating the application of the Helms-Burton Act.
Collaborating in any way with radio or
television stations or other media or propaganda sources with the
purpose of facilitating the application of the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 9.
The Government of the Republic of Cuba shall present the National
Assembly of People's Power or the Council of State, depending on the
jurisdiction involved, with the draft legislation necessary for
imposing sanctions for all actions which in one way or another involve
collaboration with the objectives of the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 10.
It is hereby ratified that monetary remittances sent by persons of
Cuban origin resident abroad to family members residing in Cuba shall
not be subject to taxes of any kind. The Government of the Republic of
Cuba shall adopt all measures deemed necessary to facilitate such
remittances.
Persons of Cuban origin resident abroad
shall be permitted to hold bank accounts in freely convertible
currency or in Cuban pesos in Cuban banks, and the interest accruing
on these accounts shall not be subject to taxes of any kind.
In addition, it shall be permitted for
insurance policies to be taken out naming permanent residents of Cuba
as beneficiaries. The beneficiaries shall be allowed to freely collect
the corresponding payments without paying taxes of any kind.
Article 11.
The Government of the Republic of Cuba shall maintain current data on
the compensation owed by the Government of the United States of
America as a consequence of the effects of the economic, trade and
financial blockade and its aggression against the country, and shall
add to these
claims the damages and losses caused by thieves, embezzlers, corrupt
politicians and mafiosos, as well as the torturers and murderers who
were part of the Batista dictatorship, for whose actions the
Government of the United States has taken responsibility by approving
the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 12.
Individuals who themselves or whose family members have been the
victims of personal injury or material damage as the result of the
actions sponsored or supported by the Government of the United States
of America referred to in the following paragraph shall be able to
file claims for the corresponding compensation before the Claims
Commissions that shall be created and organized by the Ministry of
Justice of the Republic of Cuba, and which shall be authorized to
decide upon the validity of these claims, as well as upon the amount
owing and the responsibility of the United States of America.
The actions referred to in the
preceding paragraph shall include death, injury or economic losses
caused by the torturers and murderers of the Batista dictatorship, as
well as by saboteurs and criminals in the service of U.S. imperialism
against the Cuban nation since January 1, 1959.
The Ministry of Justice shall be
authorized to regulate the procedures involved in filing the claims
referred to in this article and to issue any further resolutions for
this purpose.
Article 13. The
National Assembly of People's Power and the Government of the Republic
of Cuba shall cooperate and work in coordination with other
parliaments, governments and
international agencies, with the aim of promoting any actions deemed
necessary to block the application of the Helms-Burton Act.
Article 14.
The people of Cuba as a whole are called upon to continue the profound
and systematic examination of the annexationist and colonialist plans
of the Government of the United States of America included in the
Helms-Burton Act, as a means of ensuring that in every territory,
community, workplace, educational institution and military unit there
is full knowledge of the specific consequences that the execution of
these plans would entail for each and every citizen, and to guarantee
everyone's active and conscientious participation in the measures
needed to defeat them.
FINAL PROVISIONS
FIRST:
The Government of the Republic of Cuba and the appropriate state
agencies shall be authorized to issue any resolutions deemed necessary
for the fulfillment of the provisions of the present Law.
SECOND:
Any laws or regulations contrary to the present Law shall be rendered
null and void when this law enters into effect, upon publication in
the Official Gazette of the Republic.
ISSUED at the National Assembly of
People's Power session at the International Conference Center in the
City of Havana, on the twenty-fourth day of december of nineteen
hundred and ninety-six.
