For immediate release Thursday, May 23, 2002
Press contact: Brian Alexander with the Cuba Policy Foundation
Cell (202) 321-CUBA (2822)
ENGAGEMENT,
NOT TAXPAYER FUNDED BROADCASTS, ARE PATH TO REFORM IN CUBA
U.S.
SPENDS MILLIONS PER YEAR ON RADIO AND TV TO CUBA THAT FEW OR NO ONE RECEIVES
Thursday, June 6, 2002, Washington
– At a hearing today, the House Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights, will examine U.S. government funded radio and
television broadcasts to Cuba. The
broadcasts of Radio Martí and TV Martí, are intended to provide accurate
and objective news and information on issues of interest to the people of Cuba
in order to promote democracy in Cuba.
However, the broadcasts have come
under increasing scrutiny, as Radio Martí listenership has dropped below 5
percent in Cuba, and TV Martí broadcasts, which are successfully jammed by the
Cuban government, are viewed by virtually no one in Cuba. Meanwhile, annual U.S. government funding
for the Miami-based stations is over $20 million per year.
The House Subcommittee hearing
will also examine claims about a lack of oversight and objectivity of the
broadcasts.
According to Ambassador Sally
Grooms Cowal, president of Cuba Policy Foundation, “If the United States
wants to flood Cuba with the flow of ideas and the tools for building
democracy, rather than wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on a failed
program, American tourists and investors should be allowed into Cuba.”
Ms. Cowal added, “The
broadcasts are just another example of the pattern of failure in U.S. policy
toward Cuba. The embargo has failed for
four decades to promote political and economic reform in Cuba, while the Martí
broadcasts fall short in their goal of supplying Cubans with outside, objective
information. When a policy approach
fails this consistently, it is clearly time for a new approach.”
The Hearing will be held at
10:30am, June 6, 2002, in Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
DC.
For more information, please
contact the Cuba Policy Foundation.