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CNN Live Saturday

Jimmy Carter Heads to Cuba Tomorrow

Aired May 11, 2002 - 18:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CALLAWAY: Former President Jimmy Carter is heading to the island nation of Cuba, hoping to improve Cuban-U.S. relations there. And CNN's Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman is joining us now to give us an update on preparations for this big meeting. What are people anticipating is actually going to happen with Jimmy Carter's visit there?

NEWMAN: Good afternoon, Catherine. Indeed, President Jimmy Carter will be touching down here at Havana International Airport about 30 hours from now. He will be met, or it's expected he'll be met, by President Fidel Castro himself. And he is planning to meet with all sorts of Cubans from the government, from the opposition, ordinary Cubans on the street -- he wants to visit Cuba's medical facilities, he wants to see how people live here.

As he has said, he wants to hear from everyone before forming his own opinion. But on some things, Catherine, he has already formed an opinion. He has clearly expressed opposition to U.S. sanctions, the U.S. economic embargo against this country.

But he has also spoken out, throughout his whole career, in fact, against human rights or against the lack of respect for human rights and that also may be one of his main topics while he is here. He will be actually addressing Cubans, Cubans all over the country, in an address at the University of Havana on Tuesday, which the Cuban government has actually promised to broadcast live on Cuban radio and state-run television, Catherine. And that will be a very, very interesting moment.

CALLAWAY: Yes, it will be very interesting. CNN will be covering that most definitely. But, Lucia, I want to get back to the report that you had for us just a few minutes ago about how timely this visit is with the dissidents there openly criticizing, petitioning the government, for more democracy. Is there any connection here on this happening the same time as Jimmy Carter's visit?

NEWMAN: Well, the petition, the 10,000 or more signatures, had already been gathered before the arrival of President Carter. The opposition was clearly looking for the right moment to present it. And this is obviously from their point of view an ideal moment. All of the eyes of the world are on Cuba, the international press is here, and they're taking advantage of that to give utmost publicity to this initiative, which the Cuban government has called subversive, counter- revolutionary, and simply a plot instigated, produced and financed by the U.S. government.

Of course, the opposition denies that, but President Carter has himself expressed interest in the Varela Project, and will be speaking with, in fact, the sponsors of it while he's here, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: I just have to bring this up because Elian Gonzalez, we all know that name; relations were certainly strained during that time. You think a decent amount of time has passed since this incident and is this not the perfect time for a U.S. representative to be there?

NEWMAN: This is a very unusual time -- or, rather, a rather difficult time for President Jimmy Carter to come here because after a certain lull in the storm, the tensions between the United States and Cuba are absolutely on the rise. You may recall that this week the Bush administration accused Cuba of being sort of a function of the Axis of Evil, producing and exporting technology for making or -- has the potential for making biological weapons.

President Fidel Castro last night shot back, called the U.S. administration liars and cynics and, in fact, challenged the administration to come up with any proof, saying that none of this is true. So, it is a moment of great tensions and in the middle of that, former president Carter wants to come here and try to bring the countries together again, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: It'll be an interesting few days for you, Lucia. Lucia Newman, from Havana, thanks Lucia.

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