SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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2003
OVERVIEW OF RADIO AND TELEVISION MARTI
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JUNE 11, 2003
Serial No. 108–28
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Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
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JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
EARL F. HILLIARD, Alabama
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
JIM DAVIS, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
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BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina, Chairman
RON PAUL, Texas
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GRACE NAPOLITANO, California
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
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DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
CALEB MCCARRY, Subcommittee Staff Director
PEDRO PABLO PERMUY, Democratic Professional Staff Member
TED BRENNAN, Professional Staff Member
JEAN CARROLL, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
WITNESSES
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Chairman, Broadcasting Board of Governors
Pedro V. Roig, Director, Office of Cuba Broadcasting
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson: Prepared statement
Pedro V. Roig: Prepared statement
APPENDIX
The Honorable Adolfo A. Franco, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development: Prepared statement
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OVERVIEW OF RADIO AND TELEVISION MARTI
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2003
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 2:35 p.m. in Room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Cass Ballenger [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Mr. BALLENGER. The Subcommittee will come to order. Today, the Subcommittee will review the operations and future plans of Radio and TV Marti.
We are very pleased that the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Kenneth Tomlinson, has agreed to appear before the Subcommittee, and we are also pleased that the new Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Pedro V. Roig, is also joining us today. I commend the men and women of Radio and TV Marti for the good work they do each day to lift the blockade off information that Fidel Castro has imposed on the Cuban people.
The recent arrest and show trials of some 70 peaceful dissidents drives home the arbitrary and cruel nature of the dictatorship in Cuba. In reality, there are 11 million political prisoners on the Island of Cuba, and despite the fear Fidel Castro sews with arrests and summary executions, many Cubans refuse to be broken spiritually. That is why now more than ever it is important we make sure that Radio and TV Marti's message of hope gets through to the Cuban people.
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As Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen properly pointed out recently, our government must continue and, where possible, increase appropriate efforts to help Cubans who are seeking to free themselves from tyranny. We are fortunate to have another tireless champion of liberty for the Cuban people as our Ranking Democratic Member, Robert Menendez.
Mr. Menendez, you may proceed with your opening statement.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for calling this important hearing. I also appreciate the witnesses who are going to be here speaking to us, and I, as you know, Mr. Chairman, am normally very brief, but I might ask you to indulge me just for a few minutes——
Mr. BALLENGER. Sure, go ahead.
Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing]. On what I think is an incredibly important issue that seems to rage no matter what we do for those who would stifle what is ultimately the opportunity in a closed society to have free and unfettered information.
The first order of business for Radio and TV Marti since its creation, today and in the future, as has been the case of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, is democracy, freedom, a respect for human rights, and overcoming the Cuban regime's stranglehold on information. That is the big picture here, and I hope that becomes the focus as well of this hearing. That is, if you agree with the proposition that we should do that which we can to promote democracy, freedom, a respect for human rights, and free information around the world and in Cuba, then in fact the focus of this hearing, I hope, will be is how do we best achieve that and are our goals being met in that regard and ultimately ensuring that the Cuban people receive the greatest amount of information that they cannot get from this regime. So let us not lose sight of that.
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Secondly, Radio and Television Marti, in my view, are vitally important to a transition process that will come to Cuba. It is most definitely in the national interests and in the national security interests of the United States to be able at any given time to convey a message of peace, support and solidarity to the Cuban people. Radio and TV Marti will be the key instruments of that communication. Their importance cannot be overstated.
With regard to the periodic efforts over the years to shut down Television Marti and redirect efforts to Radio Marti, in my view those are ill-advised from the standpoint of history. A look at the history of repression in Communist society clearly indicates the absolutely critical importance of television broadcasts to bringing about a change in those formerly Communist societies. In East Berlin, they received broadcasts from West Berlin; in Hungary, they received broadcasts from Austria; in the Baltic States, they received broadcasts from across the Gulf of Finland.
To understand how afraid the Castro dictatorship is of Television Marti, just listen to what he says about it. Castro, from the very beginning of Television Marti, declared it as electronic warfare. Interesting that simple and unfettered information is electronic warfare. Castro is absolutely frightened that the Cuban people might be exposed to the truth through the most powerful medium in the world, information through television. He absolutely fears the prospect that if the Cuban people were to view any images that are not handpicked by him, and that, in terms of messages, also are not handpicked by him that that would have a devastating blow to his regime. That is the extent of his fear.
Further, the Castro regime forces the Cuban people to go to rallies that they do not believe in and saturates the Cuban airwaves with Castro's long-winded speeches. In this way, he propagates his lies in a regime that is based on lies. He has also said that he would spare no expense to fight TV Marti and, indeed, he has spared no expense on equipment and helicopters to jam Television Marti, all of these expenditures at the expense of putting food on the tables of Cuban families.
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Now, finally, let me say what I have said before about freedom and independence in Cuba and about the ability of the Cuban people to rid themselves of this nightmare that is the Castro regime. Where there is a will, there is a way. And I would like to close this opening statement by directing that sentiment to the Administration, as I have to past Administrations, and then to the Cuban people.
To the Administration, again I would say, where there is a will there is a way. On May 20, Cuban Independence Day, the Bush Administration finally broadcast over the Florida straits to Cuba, via an EC–130, a direct broadcast. This broadcast lasted 4 hours, and it was incredibly effective. That is only one of several possible ways. Now, during the summer months, when refugee outflows are always a possibility, we should broadcast to the Cuban people the message, for their safety as well, to stay in Cuba and seek democratic change on the island in the spirit and honor of the dissidents and the last three victims of Castro's execution squads.
And to the Cuban people I remind them and repeat through this one medium that we have for free expression that the means of a free press ultimately, in the words of His Holiness John Paul II when he visited Cuba, is a venue to clearly understand ''do not be afraid.'' There are many of your brothers and sisters who adopted the Holy Father's words and said we will not be afraid. They have challenged this regime to its roots. They may have been imprisoned temporarily, we hope, as the world community finally wakes up to the oppressive nature of this dictatorship, and some may have been sentenced to long terms, but they were not afraid. And the history of changes in the world are taken by those people who are not afraid.
Let us not be afraid to strengthen Radio and Television Marti in ways that the Cuban people will have free, unfettered, full opportunity to understand what is happening in their country and in the rest of the world. It is the least we can do to pursue the Holy Father's words, do not be afraid, if we ask the Cuban people to not be afraid, let us ask this Congress to not be afraid to do what is necessary to ensure those opportunities.
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With that, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your time and look forward to the testimony.
Mr. BALLENGER. Representative Ros-Lehtinen, for an opening statement.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your leadership and for your willingness to hold this hearing to assess the status of the efforts to overcome the jamming of Radio and TV Marti, which is the voice of freedom to the Cuban people.
We are at a seminal moment in the history of United States broadcasts to Cuba, at the precipice of a momentous opportunity, an opportunity to once and for all remove the veil of silence and censorship imposed by the Castro dictatorship on the Cuban people. The regime is afraid. It fears the truth. It fears that the Cuban people, if able to see images of the Iraqi people bringing down statutes of Saddam Hussein, would be further empowered to continue their peaceful struggle for freedom for their enslaved nation.
For its very survival the dictatorship must ensure that the Cuban people never hear reports announcing that the European Union is restricting its contacts with the regime because of its human rights abuses or that the EU is demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners. The regime cannot afford for the Cuban people to learn that there is a growing and vibrant opposition, representative of all races, all socioeconomic backgrounds, from a cross-section of Cuban society willing to risk their lives for the sake of freedom and democracy for all Cubans.
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The dictatorship is acutely aware of the grave consequences of allowing the Cuban people to witness Ana Lazara Rodriguez, Luis Zuniga, Maritza Lugo, or Ramon Colas, former opposition leaders, human rights dissidents, and political prisoners testifying before the United States Congress about the atrocities committed against them and the Cuban nation by the tyrant and his death squads.
As a result, the dictatorship has, and continues to, dedicate significant time, energy and resources to jam Marti broadcasting to the island. It has employed the services of the Chinese military, experts in jamming Radio Free Asia, to upgrade its satellites and capabilities to jam specifically TV Marti.
Some in the Congress and in this Committee propose that we surrender and retreat and close down TV Marti. Fortunately, that is not what our country is all about. We are not quitters. Had that been our reaction after the deplorable attacks of September 11, we would not have had the terrorists on the run, we would not have had a free Afghanistan and a free Iraq, nor would we have borne witness to the landmark summit in Jordan last week between the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers. Had that been our attitude during the Cold War, Poland, Romania, and so many others would still be suffering behind the Iron Curtain.
The American character and moral fiber dictates much more. Even the Cuban tyrant and his thugs acknowledged in a statement issued on May 21 of this year that we are engaged in a battle of ideas. They stated that they are ready to successfully tackle any challenge ahead, and we have freedom and justice on our side. Our commitment to liberty must be stronger and greater than the regime's thirst for power so that we can confront and overcome any obstacle that the dictatorship places in our path, a path where we walk alongside Cuba's internal opposition.
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On May 20 of this year, we clearly demonstrated this commitment when President Bush directed the use of one of our EC–130s, in addition to using DirecTV-Latin America to transmit his message to the Cuban people, as we see in the map that appears before us.
I realize, as Ambassador Otto Reich stated following the broadcasts, that we are currently in an initial testing phase that will be followed by further tests. Nevertheless, I am anxious to hear from our witnesses today about the assessment and preliminary conclusions which have been reached concerning the viability and future use of these two approaches to TV Marti broadcasts, as well as the factors which turned the idea of the EC–130s into a reality.
I look forward to hearing the views of our distinguished panelists on provisions included in the foreign relations authorization bill authorizing the use of additional AM, FM, and shortwave frequencies to improve Radio Marti's signal delivery to Cuba, as well as provisions I included in the bill calling for the reporting to Congress on steps taken thus far to overcome the jamming of Marti broadcasts and additional proposals being considered.
Specific references are made in the bill to the successful efforts by the Falun Gong to overcome Chinese state jamming and transmit their message to the Chinese people and to the recent success of a Cuban exile organization which, on two occasions, penetrated Cuban jamming and transmitted TV broadcasts for 1 hour into the Island, this by using a Cessna equipped with $5,000 worth of equipment.
I would be interested in hearing if there have been any discussions with these individuals to ascertain whether their methods could be adopted or incorporated into the U.S. Government's strategy. If we dedicated American ingenuity and technology to confronting the Castro dictatorship's censorship, there is nothing that we could not do.
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For the close to 80 dissidents arrested and sentenced in recent months to harsh prison terms for up to 27 years, for all the Cuban people who have endured unspeakable oppression and subjugation at the hands of a ruthless tyrant, for the future of hope, freedom and democracy in Cuba, we must give Radio and TV Marti another opportunity.
Do not give up on the Cuban people. Despite the crackdown, the dissidents have not retreated. On the contrary, they are more dedicated and committed than ever before. We should respond accordingly. Let us provide the Cuban people access to a free media and information. Let us work together to ensure the success of Radio and TV Marti.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BALLENGER. I thank you. Other statements can be entered for the record by Representative Flake and Representative Delahunt. The Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, Adolfo Franco, could not be with us to testify. I have his written statement which I will include in the record, and without objection those three statements will be added to the record.
Now, if we can go on, we have Mr. Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. He is the former Director of the Voice of America and has more than 35 years of journalistic experience.
I would like to say before we go any further that we will have both witnesses testify before we start the questioning, and so, if you will, Mr. Tomlinson, you may fire away.
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STATEMENT OF KENNETH Y. TOMLINSON, CHAIRMAN, BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mr. TOMLINSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the eloquence of the Members as they addressed the challenge that we have before us.
I have been an observer of Cuban broadcasting for many years. In 1983, as a 38-year-old Director of Voice of America, I watched Senator Pell put his language in the Radio Marti bill and Senator Helms put his language in the Marti bill, and then I saw the merged product on my desk with instructions to make this thing work.
Now, I had moved back to Reader's Digest by 1985, when the first Marti broadcast occurred, but I led the original planning sessions and I have observed the Martis from afar through the years. I realize I am not the first overseer of the Martis to come before Congress to say we are going to upgrade transmission, we are going to improve programming.
The whole thing kind of reminds me of a story from my years as Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest. We had a writer in Washington who had writer's block, and he was always coming up with all these artful reasons why he couldn't deliver. And one day he called the bureau chief in Washington and he said, you know, last month when I told you that the computer ate my story? He said, well, it really happened this time.
Well, I appear before you today saying I am really serious about this mission. And one of the reasons why I believe that we are going to be able to deliver on this mission is the man seated next to me. Pedro Roig is a lawyer, educated at the University of Miami, an historian with a degree from the University of Miami, and a wise man. In the 8 weeks we have been together, I have enjoyed working with him immensely, and we have worked together and we have worked together tirelessly.
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There is an even bigger reason that I think we are going to succeed in this mission, and I can assure you that if we don't, Pedro and I are history, because the President of the United States is serious about broadcasting to Cuba and key Members of Congress are serious about broadcasting to Cuba. As it was said earlier, how can anyone oppose the ultimate mission of what we are trying to do?
Let me emphasize that Cuban broadcasting is not just about radio and it is not just about television, it is about information. The Soviets proved in the mid-century that you can jam radio, and despots have proven that you can jam television. But you cannot block information if you face a determined opponent, and the President of this United States is a determined foe and we are going to do something to get information to Cuba.
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Tomlinson, if I may. This great and wonderful body operates in a very disorganized fashion, and it just so happens that my vote is due in a Committee downstairs, and so Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will have to take over for me. I am sorry.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, thank you so much. I am honored to be in your presence.
To counter jamming we must find alternatives to conventional broadcasting. That is what we have to do. In this era of the Internet, the video-driven entertainment industry, and direct-to-home satellites there are alternatives to conventional television and radio. And while we want to do everything we can to make television and radio work, we have to remember that the goal is to get information to information-deprived people.
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First and foremost, we have to make sure that our content is inspired. We have the challenge not just to inform but to inspire and, yes, to entertain. I was Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest for many years, and I learned the difference on my way up in that organization between a good editor and a great editor. And let me tell you, you want to be in the hands of a great editor. When you have surgery, and there are good surgeons and great surgeons, you want to be in the hands of great surgeons. And that is what we need to do as we go about trying to upgrade the programming of the Martis.
It was my great privilege to be on the Board of International Broadcasting, that you made reference to, governing Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty in the 1980s. I watched how that Steve Forbes-led board was able to upgrade the quality of broadcasting coming from Radio Free Europe, upgrade the seriousness and focus, and simply the quality, making it much more effective than the previous Administration. And that is what we are going to do here.
Now, I have a statement which I will submit for the record. Obviously, with the recent horrendous crackdown against dissidents in Cuba, there is every reason for us to redouble our efforts to do what we are supposed to do. There has been reaction around the world to these human rights abuses that need to be reported to the people of Cuba, who need to understand the extraordinary support they have from around the world.
I know that the President, as I have said before, the Bush Administration, from the President on down, has directed us to do more. In recent weeks, not a day goes by I don't speak with Ambassador Otto Reich and Emilio Rodriguez and these champions in the National Security Council (NSC) because we are serious about this job.
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Now, what we did on Cuban Independence Day, May 20, is part of the continuing experimentation that we are going to be involved in. Mr. Roig will discuss what we did in detail, but surely I know the greatest change in communication I have seen in my lifetime is Internet or direct-to-home satellite communication.
In television communication in the early 1980s, we envisioned building these huge shortwave facilities to try to get our message to information-deprived places in the world. Who would have imagined the whole of Eastern Europe and all of the Middle East would be filled with little satellite dishes? I have a little satellite dish out on my farm in Virginia where I can pull in something like 400 television stations. Maybe this technology will be able to be used. Because if you offer the hope of good and serious broadcasting, people will find a means to hear it, and direct-to-home satellite broadcasting is a technology that offers us hope in that area.
What we wanted to demonstrate, though, on May 20 is that we are serious about this job. I am so proud of Major League Baseball that we are broadcasting its games on the Martis. There are about five of us who claim to have been responsible for that idea, and I think that illustrates what a good idea it has been. And I am told that during the World Series, for the first time TV Marti wasn't jammed because everybody wanted to see the series. Again, this is the kind of thing we need to do across the board. Obviously, our news and information has to be crisp and on the money, but we have to entertain and we have to inform, and this is why I am so enthusiastic about what we are trying to do.
As I said before, Madam Chair, the other reason I am enthusiastic is because I believe Pedro Roig is going to bring a new era of leadership. As I said, he better, because I will be out of a job, too, Mr. Roig.
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[The prepared statement of Mr. Tomlinson follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF KENNETH Y. TOMLINSON, CHAIRMAN, BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Mr. Chairman: I want to thank you and your Committee for holding this hearing and giving us the opportunity to appear before you this afternoon.
I'm proud to have at my side, Pedro Roig, the new Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Mr. Roig has been the director for only a few weeks, but his leadership and creativity already have made a huge difference. In coming months, the BBG looks forward to working with Mr. Roig and his team to upgrade the quality of programs and transmissions of our Marti broadcasts to that troubled country.
As you and the members of this Committee know well, Cuba is a communist totalitarian country without the basic freedoms to which all people are entitled. The media is entirely controlled by the party-state. The church is closely watched. And the regime has thrown an increasing number of its citizens behind bars on trumped up political charges.
As you are well aware, the human rights situation in Cuba has sadly deteriorated in recent weeks. The Castro government has moved to repress the democratic opposition, including those involved in the Varela Project, a petition signed by more than 11,000 Cubans asking that the regime live up to its own constitution and guarantee basic civil and human rights. The Cuban government sentenced 75 people to prison terms averaging 20 years, after what can only be described as kangaroo courts.
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These outrageous actions so at variance with the democratic wave that has swept the world in recent years have been denounced by people of good will everywhere, by the Bush Administration, and by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus—which on May 7 held an important meeting to focus public attention on the recent crackdown on Cuban dissidents.
But Castro's latest actions have done more than generate outrage around the world. They have led ever more people in democratic countries to conclude that we must do more to help the people of Cuba achieve the rights that are inherently theirs. And one of the most important means of helping the people of Cuba to reclaim these rights is to provide them with accurate and balanced information so they can make their own decisions and advance toward democracy.
The Bush Administration—from the President down—has directed U.S. international broadcasting to do more to reach the Cuban people with quality programming. That we will do in the coming weeks and months.
The occasion of Cuban Independence Day on May 20th and the President's special Spanish-language address to the people in Cuba gave us an opportunity to utilize multiple channels to convey the message of freedom and democracy to the Cuban people. In a special test, transmission resources for both Radio and TV Marti were enhanced during a two-day period, allowing an opportunity both to test our transmission alternatives and to let the Cuban people know that we are committed to getting our signal to them. Never before have we used so many different channels to get our message through Castro's jamming, and the reports we have to date suggest that this strategy holds promise.
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For the first time, TV Marti employed Direct-to-Home satellite service to deliver signals to those Cubans with satellite dishes, and employed an airborne transmission system operating from a C–130 aircraft flying in U.S. airspace to broadcast on a VHF channel not in use in the area and at the time of transmission. The Radio Marti testing initiatives included adding two high power short-wave frequencies per hour, for a total of six frequencies per hour over a 24-hour period, and the addition of a second AM frequency transmitted from the same airborne platform that delivered the television signal.
What reception reports we have received for this test period indicate encouraging results. Clear reception was reported for the additional shortwave frequencies employed during the broadcast surge. We also believe the second AM frequency was clear throughout much of the island. OCB has gathered preliminary reports from citizens on the island in an effort to document reception of the enhanced TV Marti transmission. Initial information indicates that the broadcasts were received, in varying periods of duration, in a number of geographical areas in Cuba. I have brought with me a map of Cuba that illustrates the areas where we have evidence that television reception was positive. OCB is still in the process of gathering and reviewing incoming data for further evaluation, and we will keep this Committee informed as new information is available.
TV Marti's special transmission on May 20th included a two-hour program devoted to the heroic struggle of the peaceful dissident movement, the brutal repression of that movement, commentary from around the world in support of the dissidents featuring well-known European and Latin American intellectuals, and the historic speech of President Bush who spoke to the Cuban people in Spanish with his message of freedom and hope. I am pleased to provide to the Committee copies of the documentary-style program on the struggle of Cuba's activists to bring liberty and democracy to the island that was featured on May 20th, with English subtitles, that I have brought with me today.
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Although the May 20th test gives us signs that we can have greater success in reaching the Cuban people with accurate and objective news and information, there is still much work to do. In a jammed environment, transmission of radio and television is a challenging proposition, even to a target audience only 90 miles from our shores. We fully expect that further tests will be needed before we lay out any future course of action. In planning these tests, we must be mindful of our treaty obligations in international broadcasting.
In the near term, the Administration has requested certain modifications to the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act that would provide us with greater flexibility to enhance our AM transmission to Cuba. We are grateful that this Committee has included this language in the pending Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 and 2005.
Aside from exploring new transmission options, we are committed to program change—and modernization at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. OCB has recently launched its upgraded website—Martinoticias.com—with multiple dynamic pages designed to enhance distribution of radio and television programming and to provide news to the increasing number of young Cubans who have access to the Internet, as opposed to the Cuban regime-controlled ''intranet.'' Since the launch of its redesigned web page, we have seen a significant increase in visitor traffic.
Radio and TV Marti are integrating more entertainment into their program schedules to balance its heavy emphasis on news and political reporting. The objective is to expand audience reach to all segments of the Cuban population, provide a dynamic pace and delivery, and use music with a more contemporary sound. Youth programs, traditionally a weak area, have increased, as have programs to draw listeners from the Afro-Cuban community, and women. Radio Marti is working to ''customize'' its programs to meet the broad audience needs on the island. We must do more. I particularly applaud the recent agreement with Major League Baseball that is enabling Radio and TV Marti to broadcast two games a week to the island.
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News programs, of course, remain the central focus of Radio and TV Marti, and we must continue to raise the bar of their reporting. Radio Marti's news department is undergoing a process of restructuring in an effort to make the operation more effective. These efforts focus on the need to ensure strict adherence to editorial guidelines, place strong emphasis on providing significant live coverage of important breaking news events, create a network of correspondents in key locations around the world, and improve access to diverse news sources. For example, Radio and TV Marti provided breaking, up-to-the-minute coverage of the United Nations Human Rights Commission's vote calling for a special representative to investigate the human rights situation in Cuba. Radio Marti news anchors broke into regularly scheduled programming to bring this story live to Cuba. OCB's U.N. correspondent on assignment in Geneva provided details of the debate, and veteran human rights activists offered analysis of the vote.
I want to emphasize in this regard that we are at great pains to ensure that Radio and TV Marti broadcasts, and especially news broadcasts, reflect clearly and completely the U.S. Government's commitment that migration from Cuba to the United States take place only in a safe, legal and orderly manner.
We are committed to fulfilling the Board's mandate that our International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) conduct two program reviews of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting per year. Since July 1999, IBB has conducted six reviews of Radio Marti. We believe these reviews are working to support innovations in programming and attention to strong journalistic standards. In addition, Radio Marti is in the process of revitalizing its internal Program Review Committee, thereby strengthening its own mechanism for program evaluation.
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We will do more.
In his testimony which you will momentarily hear, Mr. Roig captures the spirit of change that will mark our efforts in the coming months. We will find ways to get our programming through to the Cuban people. We will execute program reform to ensure the focus of our news and current affairs programs is on what is actually happening in Cuba. In the tradition of good journalism, our programming will inform, entertain, and inspire.
The recent events in Cuba confirm that it is more important than ever for us to reach the Cuban people with news of what is happening in their country as well as reactions to the events around the world.
We at the Broadcasting Board of Governors look forward to working with the Office of Cuba Broadcasting to meet the challenge of delivering the spirit and substance of freedom to the people of Cuba. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Pedro Roig.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. [presiding.] Mr. Roig, you are recognized, and we will be glad to enter your statement in full into the record and feel free to summarize.
STATEMENT OF PEDRO V. ROIG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING
Mr. ROIG. Mr. Chairman and Members of this Subcommittee, I am Pedro Roig, Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, OCB, which oversees the operation of Radio and TV Marti. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today to speak about our mission and recent initiative in support of President Bush's goals of modernizing Radio and TV Marti.
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In accordance with the legislation that created Radio and TV Marti, we are dedicated to providing the people of Cuba with a reliable source of news and information that is accurate and objective and to the promotion of freedom and democracy for the Cuban people denied to them by the Cuban government. We cover news from Cuba, the economy, news relating to the independent human rights and dissident movement, United States-Cuban relations, and international stories of interest, such as elections around the world. Radio and TV Marti programs are focused on the promotion of a civil society, democratic institutions, individual rights, and freedom.
I am pleased to report to you a number of recent initiatives that will enhance the ability of Radio and TV Marti to meet this critical mission. As Chairman Tomlinson indicated, during the period of May 19 through May 21, 2003, a number of new initiatives were evaluated in an effort to strengthen both Radio and TV Marti signals to Cuba. On May 20, OCB also launched its upgraded Web site with multiple dynamic pages designed to enhance distribution of Radio and TV Marti programs.
As important as the technical initiatives are, which are truly promising, OCB is also involved in a continuing effort to enhance the programming on both Radio and TV Marti. By the way, TV Marti, as was explained, is now broadcasting in prime time, from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., so that we can have a wider appeal to the various segments of the Cuban population. To this end, we have initiated a comprehensive review of all Radio and TV Marti programs to ensure that our broadcasts are effective, meet the highest journalistic standards, and accurately reflect U.S. Government views on important issues.
As part of our program review process, we have retained a group of outside broadcast professionals and academics to conduct a complete review of Radio Marti programs. While they are only in the beginning stages on this review, their initial reaction, in which I concur, is that Radio Marti needs to be significantly restructured to meet the needs of a changed Cuban population. In the almost 20 years since the inception of Radio Marti, the demography of Cuba has changed dramatically. The new generation's program needs and desires are different from those of previous generations and we must consider their needs, their desires in the formulation of our broadcast product.
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We are now in the process of formulating a modernized programming schedule to serve what we could call our core listeners, who are best described as mature, 35 years of age and above, both male and female, politically aware, dissatisfied with the regime, desirous of changes, and interested in reliable, factual news of Cuba and the outside world.
Also, as part of the program review process noted above, we have also undertaken a comprehensive study of a format designed to attract a younger listener, best described as a person 18 to 35 years of age, both male and female, raised under the current regime, curious about the outside world, skeptical of Cuban media, for the most part nonpolitical, however, dissatisfied with their current circumstances and desirous of a better way of life.
But regardless of the nature or form of the revised programming for Radio and TV Marti, I assure you that the central core of the program material we broadcast will be consistent with our mission to provide objective, complete and accurate information and the promotion of democracy to the Cuban people.
It should be noted that both Radio and TV Marti has extensive in-depth coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom. TV Marti actually went to an all-news format during this crisis and the recent crackdown in Cuba of peaceful human rights leaders, which enabled the Cuban people to stay informed on these critical events.
Furthermore, OCB has entered into an agreement with Major League Baseball to broadcast two regular season games per week throughout the 2003 season, as well as the entire playoffs and the World Series on both Radio and TV Marti. This will serve an important tool for Radio and TV Marti to build audience share, while enabling us to fulfill our mandate to provide uncensored news and information to the people of Cuba.
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In closing, I would like to assure you as the Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, I will continue to diligently work toward meeting President Bush's stated goal of modernizing Radio and TV Marti, and the congressional mandate to, your mandate to further open communication of accurate information and ideas to the people of Cuba, and to promote the cause of freedom to Cuba.
I wish to thank you for this opportunity and I will be glad to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Roig follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF PEDRO V. ROIG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am Pedro Roig, Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which oversees the operations of Radio and TV Martí. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to speak about our important mission, and recent accomplishments and initiatives in support of President Bush's goal of modernizing Radio and TV Martí.
In accordance with the legislation that created Radio and TV Martí, we are dedicated to providing the people of Cuba with a reliable source of news and information that is accurate and objective, and to the promotion of freedom and democracy in Cuba. All of our efforts are focused on this very important mission, and ways that we can better deliver news and information to the Cuban people, denied to them by the Cuban government. We cover the Cuban economy, news relating to the independent human rights and dissident movement, U.S.-Cuban relations, and international stories of interest such as elections around the world. Radio and TV Martí programming is focused on the promotion of civil society and democratic institutions in Cuba and the promotion of freedom of the press.
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I am pleased to be able to report to you on a number of recent initiatives and accomplishments that will enhance the ability of Radio and TV Martí to meet our critical mission.
As Chairman Tomlinson indicated, during the period of May 19 through May 21, 2003, a number of new initiatives were evaluated in an effort to strengthen both Radio and TV Martí broadcasts to Cuba.
On May 20, OCB also launched its upgraded web site with multiple dynamic pages designed to enhance distribution of Radio and TV Martí programming.
OCB is also involved in a continuing effort to enhance the programming on both Radio and TV Martí (which is now broadcasting in prime time—6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.), so that we can have a wider appeal to the various segments of the Cuban population. To this end, we have initiated a comprehensive review of all Radio and TV Martí programming to ensure that our broadcasts are effective, meet the highest journalistic standards, and accurately reflect U.S. Government views on important issues.
As part of our program review process, we have retained a group of outside broadcast professionals and academics to conduct a complete review of Radio Marti programming. While they are only in the beginning stages of their review, their initial reaction, in which I concur, is that Radio Marti needs to be significantly restructured to meet the needs of a changed Cuban population. In the almost twenty years since the inception of Radio Marti, the demography of Cuba has changed dramatically. The new generation's programming needs and desires are very different from those of the previous generation and need to be considered in the formulation of our broadcast product.
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We are now in the process of formulating a modernized programming schedule to serve our ''core listeners'' who are best described as mature (35 years of age and above), both male and female, politically aware, dissatisfied with the regime, desirous of change, and interested in reliable, factual news of Cuba and the outside world.
As part of the program review process noted above, we have also undertaken a comprehensive study of a format designed to attract a younger listener, best described as a person (18–35 years of age), both male and female, raised under the current regime, curious about the outside world, skeptical of Cuban media, for the most part non-political, however dissatisfied with their current circumstances, and desirous of a better way of life.
The outside broadcast professionals have also noted that it is important for both Radio and TV Marti to clearly articulate, on the air, with greater frequency, the mission of Radio and TV Marti, which is to provide objective, complete, and accurate news and information, and the promotion of democracy for the people of Cuba. Regardless of the nature or form of the revised programming for Radio and TV Marti, I assure you that the central core of the program material we broadcast will be consistent with our mission.
It should be noted that both Radio and TV Martí provided extensive in-depth coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom (TV Martí actually went to an all-news format during this crisis) and the recent crackdown in Cuba of peaceful human rights leaders, which enabled the Cuban people to stay informed on these critical world events. Furthermore, OCB has entered into an agreement with Major League Baseball to broadcast two regular season games per week throughout the 2003 season, as well as the entire playoffs and the World Series on both Radio and TV Martí. This will serve as an important tool for Radio and TV Martí to build audience share, while enabling us to fulfill our mandate to provide uncensored news and information to the people of Cuba.
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In closing, I would like to assure you that as Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, I will continue to diligently work toward meeting President Bush's stated goal of modernizing Radio and TV Martí, and the Congressional mandate ''to further the open communication of accurate information and ideas to the people of Cuba,'' and to ''promote the cause of freedom in Cuba.''
I wish to thank you for the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee, and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Mr. BALLENGER. [presiding.] First of all, let me again apologize for walking in and out, and so to make this thing more even in its operation, let me allow the first question to Representative Flake.
Mr. FLAKE. I thank the Chairman and I thank Representative Ros-Lehtinen for helping to arrange this important hearing. We had a similar one a year ago, and I am glad to see some changes have been made, what seems to be a new commitment.
Let me just state from the outset that there is a difference of opinion, obviously, on this panel as to what we ought to do with Cuba. I happen to believe that we would be better served if we allowed Americans to travel in droves to Cuba and deliver the message firsthand. That is not allowed now, and until it is then we ought to make use of whatever tools we have to make sure that the Cuban people get straight information, because they certainly aren't getting it now from their government. My concern is that we have not used the tools that we have at our disposal; i.e., Radio and TV Marti, to those ends as effectively as we can.
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So I am pleased to hear the statements, but I just had a couple of questions on it. Mr. Roig, you mentioned that an outside group has been assembled to review and has already come forward with some recommendations. Who appointed that group and who are the members?
Mr. ROIG. The group was not appointed. There was a process of open bidding and they were the persons that answered. Actually, the only person I think that answered that request. They are—I don't recall their corporation names, but are very well acquainted with radio, experts on radio. And, also, they bring on board a person, an academic from the University of Miami, which is also serving within this group.
Mr. FLAKE. Can we get a list of those individuals?
Mr. ROIG. Yes, of course.
[The information referred to follows:]
87672a.eps
Mr. TOMLINSON. Absolutely. And in recent months, Congressman, we have been conducting focus groups, we have upped the resources that BBG has devoted to figuring what should be done; what situations with this program, what should be done.
In the 1970s, talking about alternatives, in the 1970s Senator Steve Simms, in the middle of the debate on USIA, said we ought to close down USIA and go drop Sears Roebuck catalogues over Moscow.
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That was a joke. Our audience is not responding well today.
Mr. DELAHUNT. It takes us a while, Mr. Tomlinson.
Mr. TOMLINSON. It does.
Mr. FLAKE. Congressman Delahunt and I actually visited facilities last year, and learned at that time that the outside advisory group at that point that was mandated as part of the legislation, I believe, was actually disbanded. It sounds as if that has been brought back. Is that the case? Is this modeled on this same advisory group that was in place before?
Mr. TOMLINSON. The formal advisory group is being reconstituted. Those nominations are coming to the Hill in coming weeks. But the people we have used, the radio consultants we have used and the focus groups we have used have been a rather conventional industry means of assessing the quality of what we are doing.
Mr. FLAKE. Focusing on Radio Marti for a minute, the problems with TV Marti, obviously, are technical. The problems with Radio Marti are content. We have seen, and it is difficult, obviously, to get a scientific survey in Cuba, but we have expended significant resources in order to attempt to do so, and what those studies have shown is that the market share, if you will, in Cuba has dropped substantially. The last survey I believe showed it to be under 5 percent. That is not an issue of jamming but rather of content.
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Can you tell us the review process that has gone on? What have you done already? Can you give us some kind of inkling or roadmap as to where we are going with content to improve that?
Major League Baseball, I think that is wonderful. I talked about it with Elliott Abrams and others quite a while ago and they were excited at that point. He is one of the others, I think, who is claiming credit for that. But that is great, and I think however we can increase market share, but it has to be done.
So what on content? Where are we going here?
Mr. ROIG. First, I must restate that I have been here for 8 weeks on this job, so I am still learning, but my impression on this, trying to get an accurate measure of the audience in Cuba, is very difficult, for several reasons that are very obvious, especially people might be afraid even of saying I am listening to Radio Marti to any stranger. The different surveys have a wide gap between both. I have seen the extremes, some claiming 5 percent, as you mentioned, others going as high as 85 percent. But I do have problems with all this and it is very difficult.
I do believe a way that might be closer to what we want to find out is getting people, recent arrivals, through some independent people that might do this for us at locations that could be considered like friendly locations, meaning some sort of welfare or a guidance as they arrive in the United States and they feel comfortable. What I am saying, avoiding, for example, the airport, where they are just arriving and they are worried, et cetera. Those answers could even be problematic.
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So trying to get a university or definitely an independent body that will look into that within, let's say, 6 months of their arrival, and we might get a better and more accurate idea of everything; actually the quality, the audience, their needs. I think that is important, and I am trying right now to establish that kind of a measurement.
Mr. FLAKE. One last question, if you will indulge.
Back to TV Marti, Mr. Tomlinson. You spent time, obviously, at Reader's Digest. Are you familiar with the feature you had called That's Outrageous?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I originated that.
Mr. FLAKE. Good, good. On TV Marti we have been doing it for about 12 years now. We have spent at last count I think about $160 million on TV Marti, and there is little evidence that all but a very few handful of Cubans have ever watched a minute of it. That's outrageous. I would think you would agree, would you not?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, I look to the future and I look to direct-to-home satellite technology. And I am not sure we are going to deliver, but I tell you this, if television does not get through to the people, we should find other means to get the information we need to get in Cuba, that free flow of information.
Mr. FLAKE. Let me tell you where I am coming from. I am not for taking the budget of TV Marti and putting it back anywhere other than moving it over to Radio TV and improving the content, but doing something else with it.
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I am in favor of, unless there is a real promise, and we have been hearing this year after year after year, at what point or how often do you have to fly a C–130, how many hours of broadcast does it take to justify the $11 million we spend a year? At what point will we say to the Administration, or will you recommend that we are not doing it, therefore, let's move it to Radio Marti, let's pass out radios, let's do other things to undermine the government there other than?
I cannot imagine that Castro or others are doing anything but laughing at this point at our expenditure of that money unless we are going to actually do something with it. How many flights will it take, is what I would ask?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, Congressman, I plan to be back up here in a couple of months. I hope to be in this job for quite some time. I hope to establish credibility with you because we have got to find a way to make television or radio or Internet or something work to get through to the people of Cuba. It is my feeling right now that we have a better chance of making Television Marti work than we have overcoming jamming with Radio Marti because of the situation with the frequencies and the NAB concerns and what have you. But again it goes back to, and I don't want to put too many eggs in one basket, but if we can make this direct-to-home satellite proposition work, that would be a fantastic breakthrough. But again, we have a relatively short time to deliver here and we are going to be focused on it.
Mr. FLAKE. I thank the witnesses and thank the Chairman for his indulgence.
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Mr. TOMLINSON. Thank you so much, and thank you for your interest.
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Delahunt.
Mr. DELAHUNT. I thank the Chair and I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I want to associate myself with most of the remarks of my friend and colleague from Arizona, Mr. Flake. There is no secret that he and I have opinions that differ from those of my very good dear friend, the Ranking Member, and my other friend, the Chair of the Mideast Subcommittee, on the issues of Cuba.
Putting that aside for a moment, I hear your optimism. But as Mr. Flake just indicated, and I mean to focus specifically for a moment on TV Marti, it has been described as a TV station without an audience. This is really about effectiveness. Now, I hear you, Mr. Tomlinson, and you say it is about your job and you are counting on Mr. Roig, but we have heard other promises. Now, I happen to disagree vehemently with the consequences of Helms-Burton. That is no secret. And I think my friend from Arizona also does.
But we heard from the Administration that title V would be enforced, and yet a waiver has been filed. We have heard promises before about our relationship with Cuba from this particular Administration. I just hope you can deliver, because with all due respect I think we are running out of time. I do not know whether there is a technology that exists which would allow a TV signal to penetrate Cuba that would not violate international conventions. I think we have to be very careful in terms of our international conventions, because it goes far beyond just simply Cuba. Once that occurs, we go down a slippery slope, I would respectfully submit.
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I would like nothing better than some time, some occasion to be with Mr. Flake in Havana and listen to that World Series game pitting the Boston Red Sox against some National League club.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. The Florida Marlins.
Mr. DELAHUNT. It could actually be this October.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. DELAHUNT. I yield to my friend.
Mr. MENENDEZ. You might be waiting some time for that to happen, and it isn't because of the quality of their work.
Mr. DELAHUNT. We have been waiting for 84 years, Mr. Menendez.
But it is an a battle of ideas, and I really hope to see some creativity, some thinking out of the box. When your predecessor was here last year, Mr. Roig, and I apologize if I am not pronouncing your name correctly, I asked him about programming. Because I really think it is important in terms of programming, if you are going to have an audience, if the American taxpayers are going to support something that is effective, there has to be programming there, and I do seriously applaud the idea of transmitting the baseball games, because clearly it is a passion for the Cuban people as it is for us. I asked him last year, would Cuban-Americans, with a variety of viewpoints, and there are various viewpoints within the Cuban-American community, be invited to participate on Radio Marti, have a good discussion, have a debate, demonstrate our diversity, our battle of ideas, which is what this is all about?
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That is what makes America different than Cuba. That is what we need. I do not know if that has happened.
Mr. TOMLINSON. If I may just say one thing, when I interviewed Pedro for this job, I knew he had had a program on Radio and Television Marti for 5 years, and I asked him to tell me what he felt his significant accomplishments were with that program. And Pedro, what did you tell me?
Mr. ROIG. Basically, I preach with actions. And that program, and I am very proud to say, that I have all the views, the most extreme views for many years. Not just one time or two times, but every issue that is being debated within the American society, within this Congress, was also debated in that program.
Mr. DELAHUNT. I think that is an excellent idea.
Mr. ROIG. People that were for the embargo and against the embargo; and people not just once but many times, because there were permanent features.
Mr. DELAHUNT. That is excellent, and I applaud that and encourage it. I think it is absolutely essential, and I would suggest too the participation of non-Cuban-Americans. I would enjoy, and I think I speak for Mr. Menendez, hearing Representative Flake and Representative Ros-Lehtinen debate those issues on Radio Marti. Would you join me in watching and listening?
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Only if it is in Spanish.
Mr. DELAHUNT. Only if it is in Spanish. That is a typical Republican, fix the rules.
Mr. ROIG. Congressman, I think you just offered something that is a great idea and we should pursue that debate.
Mr. DELAHUNT. Also, this was all prompted last year by an amendment that was filed by Mr. Flake and myself that would have diverted the funding from TV Marti to Radio Marti for the purposes that he stated, and it was prompted by a series of articles that appeared in Miami newspapers about serious budget issues as well as personnel issues. I hope that those have been resolved. I presume they have.
Mr. ROIG. Yes.
Mr. DELAHUNT. But also within those stories appeared many, even within the Marti stations themselves, that indicated things had changed since the stations had moved or Marti had moved to Miami. Back on May 23, and this is a clip from the Washington Post, it states here that the Heritage Foundation——
Now that is a pretty conservative group, the Heritage Foundation. Would you agree, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. BALLENGER. I will go along with that.
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Mr. DELAHUNT [continuing]. Last month proposed ending TV Marti's expensive broadcasts, and even Heritage advocates, as do other long-time observers, giving the Martis a second chance as long as the stations return to Washington and reshape their programming.
I will conclude my questions and ask you to comment on that, either Mr. Tomlinson or Mr. Roig.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, you know, after I finished that round of running the Voice of America, I told friends that running a journalistic institution under Civil Service rules constitutes an unnatural act. Pedro here has his job ahead of him. It is a good thing he is a lawyer. It is a good thing he is committed to the rule of law, because it is very difficult. You have a lot of emotions tied to journalists on their best days, and he has quite a leadership challenge as we move forward.
This question of the movement of the news operation to Miami, of course, has been on the table. As Pedro has told me, he believes that professionalism is the most important factor involved here. If you are dealing with real pros, it doesn't matter whether they are in Miami or Phoenix or Washington, they are going to do a professional job. And professional jobs mean good decision-making, professional decision-making.
And professionalism also means being able to come up with a plan to demonstrate that Television Marti is not a waste of money and to be able to demonstrate in coming months that, as I said and as I suspect, that it will be easier for us to overcome the problems blocking Television Marti than it will be the problems blocking Radio Marti. But let's see.
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We have heard you. We have heard you. And as I said, I expect to see you again.
Mr. DELAHUNT. We will be back in Miami; right, Mr. Flake, at some point?
Mr. FLAKE. Sure will.
Mr. ROIG. I think we already have a commitment for a debate.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. You have got it.
Mr. BALLENGER. Representative Ros-Lehtinen.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Panelists, in the past we have tried to secure additional transmission sites, such as Belize a few years ago. Unfortunately, politics; that is, the relationship between these countries and the Castro regime, have prevented the establishment of these additional transmission sites. How are you being supported by our State Department through its diplomatic efforts to secure assistance for our hemispheric partners for Marti broadcasts? Is this an area that is being explored further?
Mr. TOMLINSON. I can assure you that Otto Reich did everything in his power to take care of that Belize problem. It was so sad when we lost that alternative.
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We are pursuing alternatives. We are pursuing alternatives that will not create a problem with domestic broadcasting. That is what we are up against, because of the threat of jamming.
Mr. ROIG. There is right now, and starting next Monday, there is a test on a radio station in the Bahamas that we will find out pretty soon if it is feasible.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Another country that has very strong ties with the Castro regime.
Mr. ROIG. Right, the Bahamas. This specific station is in Turks and Caicos, which could help cover the eastern part of the island much better.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Much success.
Mr. TOMLINSON. That signal is headed toward Cuba, not toward Boston.
Mr. ROIG. Right.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Great. Great. Also, looking at the map that you have offered to us, we see that there seems to be a higher reception in the western top of the island from Havana to Matanzas. Could you please elaborate on whether you were focusing on one section or the other? And that is the photo of the May 20 transmissions that were seen throughout the island.
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It is truly a feat to overcome the jamming of the regime in Havana, and I applaud you for finally doing it. We are just trying to grasp the strategy followed for the transmissions that day.
Mr. ROIG. To stress this point, this was 1 day, actually a few hours, so it is very preliminary. I don't want to give the impression this is the solution. This is the beginning of something that could be very attractive. But the result, the input that we are receiving is encouraging.
It is difficult to show, but west of Havana, if you take the capital as the center point, west of Havana you see report of receptions. East of Havana, more report of receptions. In Havana, very difficult. The reports are very brief, the jamming was immediately effective within the City of Havana. But at both sides of the City of Havana, west and east, the reports are very encouraging.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you.
Mr. TOMLINSON. And it is interesting to note, Pedro, and you might pick up on this, what we see in the western part of the Island is the result of the broadcast of the C–130. But we have reports over here on the eastern part of the island. And if these reports are accurate, they surely came from people's satellite dishes.
Mr. ROIG. That seems to be, and again this is very preliminary, but we believe that these reports in Manzanillo, Banos, or Guines should have been the satellite, but we cannot commit for sure where they came from. But we are believing, because of the distance from the plane, that they were satellites.
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you. As you know, Martha Beatriz Roque was sentenced, along with many other dissidents. One of the charges against her was that she had done interviews for the Martis. What ramification does this have for improving the content of Radio and TV Marti if you have interviews with dissidents and then they are charged by Fidel Castro as being an enemy of the revolution because giving interviews to foreign press not authorized by Fidel Castro is actually a crime in Cuba? What kind of ramifications does that have for you as a journalistic operation?
Mr. ROIG. For us, it is always a concern when you interview somebody in Cuba that could be critical to the government. It is always a concern. And that tells a lot about the courage of women and men that are doing that criticism. It is beyond our control. When they take that call, I mean when they call and they speak and they criticize, they are taking an enormous risk.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Very courageous on their part.
Mr. ROIG. And for us it is just the ability to give the platform, the tools for them to express their views.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you. One last question, Mr. Chairman.
In your testimony, you stated during the period of May 19 through 21 a number of new initiatives, and we have been discussing those in our hearing, were evaluated in an effort to strengthen the radio and TV broadcasts. You had said satellite dishes, broadcasting from other countries. What other new initiatives are you considering for further use?
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And dovetailing on that, in the same manner that distribution of radios to the Cuban people through the AID section 109 program, that Mr. Menendez has been so helpful on, has helped to increase the listenership of Radio Marti. Are we considering similar approaches for TV Marti, such as the satellite ideas that you mentioned, handheld TVs? What else can we do? What else is out there in terms of technology?
Mr. ROIG. I really don't know the answer to that. I do not know even if we could or we are authorized to do it. So the answer is I do not know.
Mr. TOMLINSON. I will tell you, we are going to come back to you with alternatives, and there are any number of alternatives racing through my head right now. We had discussions about this yesterday, in fact, with Otto and Emilio brainstorming, and so we are going to have alternatives.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I agree with my colleague, Congressman Menendez, where there is a will, there is a way, and we certainly want there to be a will and a way on increasing the transmissions and improving the programming.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BALLENGER. Representative Menendez.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Tomlinson, you have 35 years as a journalist and journalistic experience; is that true?
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Mr. TOMLINSON. It seems like a lot more.
Mr. MENENDEZ. At least 35 years, though?
Mr. TOMLINSON. At least.
Mr. MENENDEZ. And you had a stint as Director of the Voice of America, did you not?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Beg your pardon?
Mr. MENENDEZ. You had a period of time in which you served as Director of Voice of America?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Yes. I was Director of Voice of America for 2 years.
Mr. MENENDEZ. In the process of serving as a Director of Voice of America, did you broadcast to countries that were dictatorships or communist countries?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Absolutely.
Mr. MENENDEZ. And in the process of broadcasting into those countries, were the Voice of America efforts jammed?
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Mr. TOMLINSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Was jamming a current and common course of events during the time you were transmitting into Eastern Block countries and other countries?
Mr. TOMLINSON. The places we were most needed was where the jamming was most concentrated.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Did you ever cease to transmit as a result of jamming?
Mr. TOMLINSON. We did not and redoubled our efforts. When the Pope went to Poland the first time, we put on additional transmitters. We put on 24/7 coverage just like the then CNN.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Voice of America has had virtually universal support in the Congress of the United States, has it not?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Always had great support.
Mr. MENENDEZ. If, in fact, the inability to penetrate at the levels we all would like to see in a closed society would be the measurement by which we would abandon such efforts, then it would not have the support that it had this whole period of time?
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Mr. TOMLINSON. And the more jamming we got, the more support we got.
Mr. MENENDEZ. With reference to the regime, how much money, if you know, do we estimate that the regime spends in jamming this terrible flow of information into the Cuban people?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Pedro, I have seen figures. It is in the millions, of course. George have you seen——
Mr. MOORE. Five to six million.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Five to six million annually? Five to six million dollars annually to jam free flow of information? I hope my colleagues in their next visit to Cuba would maybe consider the possibility of urging that that money be used for Cuban families in a much more positive way.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Toward that end, Congressman, in the 1980s, dear Charlie Wick and the President of the United States, supported by Leonard Marks, who is a great person in the international broadcasting, they went to Moscow and they shamed Gorbachev into stopping jamming. I am not saying that we can do that in this time frame, but they made jamming such an issue, they so shamed Russian leaders, the Russian leaders were blocking people of former Soviet Union from receiving free information. It became such an international issue that they backed down.
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Mr. MENENDEZ. As a matter of fact, isn't it true that in moments of transition, whether those transitions took place peacefully or by military actions within their own country, by military forces in their own country, that those are the moments, some of the most important moments in which the ability to transmit a message and the intention of the United States and information as to what is taking place, is incredibly important?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Most critical moments. It is also the time when listening is at its highest, and, of course, we all know the story of Gorbachev during the attempted coup digging into that closet of that doctor to find a shortwave radio so that he could find out what is going on.
Mr. DELAHUNT. We do the same thing with CNN.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Roig, let me ask you a question. Why would Marta Beatriz or so many others risk their liberty and their movement to speak through a medium that has no audience?
Mr. ROIG. I do think that they believe and they take those courageous actions because they do believe that Radio Marti has an audience, an important audience in Cuba.
Mr. MENENDEZ. So, in other words, they would not risk their life or their liberty if they didn't believe that this opportunity existed?
Mr. ROIG. That is my opinion, yes.
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Mr. MENENDEZ. And isn't it, in fact, for them for the most part that peaceful effort to create change inside of Cuba, ultimately that their only echo within Cuba is Radio and Television Marti?
Mr. ROIG. Right. And I would like, if possible, for the record to offer this contribution, this message that was written on January 14, 2003, by Oswaldo Paya Sardinas, and it basically says regarding Radio Marti:
''I wish to thank you, here and from Cuba, for the work that you do. For the heart that you put into it. For giving us a voice and for raising our hopes. Only God can see the work that you do. You bring light, and you bring truth, and you give voice to many Cubans even in the darkest of moments.''
Mr. MENENDEZ. And that, of course, is the founder of the Varela Project?
Mr. ROIG. Yes.
Mr. BALLENGER. Let me just say, without objection, we will include that.
Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank the Chairman for doing so.
That project has been acclaimed by people on all sides of this question, and, therefore, if that individual believes that the medium is so important and powerful to send messages to Cuban people, it would seem that those who support his efforts should support, hopefully, his views in that regard.
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Lastly, Mr. Tomlinson, let me ask you, you met with the President and he expressed to you his support, I understand, for Cuba broadcasting efforts; is that true?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Yes, sir.
Mr. MENENDEZ. And did he tell you that in no uncertain terms? That you should use anything and everything that you legally could to permeate the market inside of Cuba?
Mr. TOMLINSON. He certainly implied that, and he also sat me down to, ''Visit with my little brother,'' his brother, the Governor of Florida.
Mr. MENENDEZ. I didn't know he was part of the Federal Government now. So the message that you got from the President is, do anything and everything legally possible to make sure that the people of Cuba get a successful penetration of free flow of information?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Absolutely.
Mr. MENENDEZ. If that's the case, let me just ask you, the President's Administration promised on May 20th of last year and May 20th the year before, which happens to be Cuban Independence Day, to dedicate everything to overcome the Castro Regime's jamming. Now, to quote another famous President, Ronald Reagan, ''I would like to trust but verify.'' What is it that you are now doing that will ensure—I heard your responses, but I want to know what you are doing proactively, what your time frame, what technologies are you using, what means are you pursuing to ensure that that penetration that the President, in his conversation told you, and that in two speeches on Cuban Independence Day has been made, becomes a reality. Because we are now in the third year of these promises, and I think it is legitimate for all, on whoever's side of view you hold on the broadest policy issues, how are we going to make sure that we achieve some of these things? We obviously saw that technology is possible. You had the opportunity to use direct satellite, and it seems to have some beneficial effects. You had the opportunity to use a EC–130. There are other opportunities here. I am wondering what it is that you are going to concretely do to ensure that this penetration that the President directed you to do, and that we certainly want to see, and that the Cuban people need, becomes a reality.
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Mr. TOMLINSON. We are going to do all of the above and more. You know, things sometimes work slowly in government and in this town, despite the fact that I have a long record of support from Republicans and Democrats in the work I have done in international broadcasting. I have been involved in international broadcasting for the government for many, many years. It took me 10 months to be confirmed for this job. I was not really in this job until last August because, as you well know, you had better not do anything until you are confirmed. In recent weeks, we have had this informal task force with Ambassador Reich, with Colonel Gonzalez. We did a huge search which produced this new director, and then we have been focusing on what can we do. That is where we came up with the Latin American direct-to-homes satellite answer which could, knock on wood, be quite a breakthrough. That is how we came to organize the use of the EC–130, which was such a revolutionary thing but there are other things——
Mr. MENENDEZ. What is your time frame, and, specifically, what do you intend to pursue? You mentioned these as experiments. Are these experiments going to continue? Are they a one-shot situation in which you evaluate individually? Are you going to have other such experiments? Do you intend to pursue other forms of penetrating better? What is it that you intend to do?
Mr. TOMLINSON. All of the above and more.
Mr. MENENDEZ. All of the above and more. Well, I would appreciate your submitting to the Committee, since you don't seem ready to be able to do it now, a time frame in which you intend to pursue all of the above and more and the different options that you intend to pursue, because we have heard a lot, and I have heard a lot for the last decade that I have been here from both Democratic and Republican Administrations, and I have been critical of both. I was critical of President Clinton when he waived title V. President Bush does it as habitually as President Clinton does. Title IV wasn't implemented by the Clinton Administration, isn't implemented by the Bush Administration. We repatriate people to Cuba just as we did in the Clinton Administration. Over 2,000 Cubans have been repatriated in this Administration. And we have heard that Radio and Television Marti—we are going to use all the technology in the most technologically advanced Nation in the world—we heard that we are going to use everything we can to penetrate information to the people of Cuba, and we are being told today, and I respect that you are on the job not that long, that we are going to have all of the above but we do not have a time frame, and we don't have the different avenues available for you now. Even those of us who are enormously supportive, we need to know how serious this Administration is about penetrating, because this is the most powerful tool that can be had at the end of the day, but where there is a will, there is a way. And I would just commend to your attention, as well what Pope John Paul said to the people of Cuba, don't be afraid, I urge you not to be afraid in pursuing the courses of technological opportunity that exist to permeate inside Cuba.
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Mr. TOMLINSON. Even more important, I submit, than the timetable is focus and priority, and I promise you that these issues are among the most important things that I am looking at each day when I come to work, and we will produce it.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. BALLENGER. We don't have anybody from Appropriations here but, we have got somebody from Ways and Means. So let me ask Congressman Weller if he would like to legitimize some of your expenses.
Mr. WELLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to be a Member of International Relations as well as Ways and Means, and Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Roig, I am seated here but I also stand with you on your mission. I believe you have an important mission to serve our Nation, as well as the interests of the Cuban people. One thing I think we all witnessed during my lifetime, thanks to the firm leadership of Ronald Reagan, we saw the Soviet Empire fall, the Berlin Wall fall, and those who rose as leaders following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Empire thanked the United States for Radio Free Europe, your work on Voice of America, and the role that you played on sharing information and giving hope to those who saw a greater democracy, and those who were seeking basic human rights for the people that lived in their neighborhood and in their country. So you do play a very important role. Much of the questioning has been focused on the technology we are use being to penetrate the jamming efforts of the Castro regime. And let me just ask a basic question. What type of technology does the average Cuban have in his or her home? What type of televisions do they have? What type of radios do they have? How many have Internet access? Just so I understand their market.
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Mr. ROIG. I just heard this morning at breakfast the name of the Chinese TV set that they are giving now which is called Panda. It seems that it is a fairly good set. According to the Miami Herald, there are over 20,000, and could be less, could be more, 20,000 dishes to get direct home signals in Cuba. That is a guess.
Mr. WELLER. Twenty thousand——
Mr. ROIG. I don't know how——
Mr. WELLER. How many residences in Cuba? I mean you are talking several million residences, aren't you?
Mr. ROIG. According to the last poll, there were over 12 million people. We are talking 20,000 households.
Mr. WELLER. Satellite dishes?
Mr. ROIG. Exactly. That could have the satellite dishes. They also said that is one of the growing markets in Cuba. They also mentioned the fact that in the hotel industries, which is the largest industry for working Cubans right now, number one, the tourist industry, most of the thousands of thousands of rooms have this also, these facilities. So some people could figure that employees could also take a look at some of these programs. So overall we might be talking about a substantial number of sets.
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Mr. WELLER. Is it fair to say that, based on what you have stated, that the average Cuban household has fairly contemporary technology with a television or radio in their home in which to——
Mr. ROIG. Sorry?
Mr. WELLER. The average Cuban has contemporary or current technology similar——
Mr. ROIG. I am not saying that.
Mr. TOMLINSON. I suspect the situation is not unlike you run into with automobiles in Cuba. Through chewing gum and bailing wire, they have some fine '55 Chevrolets running there and running very well.
Mr. WELLER. Black and white television is probably common if——
Mr. ROIG. I don't know. I am telling you the name of the TV sets that they have brought to Cuba. I have heard somehow that there are over 100,000 TV sets brought from China. I don't know how they distribute. I don't know how you get those TV sets. I don't know how you buy them. That is beyond my knowledge.
Mr. TOMLINSON. But what is the typical television set found in a Cuban home?
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Mr. ROIG. It is a Chinese set. It is usually Chinese.
Mr. TOMLINSON. How old?
Mr. ROIG. I don't know.
Mr. WELLER. And then the radios they would have in their home would be the jam boxes you can find anywhere on the American street? Do they have those or are they old technology as well?
Mr. ROIG. I don't know the answer.
Mr. WELLER. Does the Castro regime jam our fore market television and radio signals that come from Miami or San Juan Puerto Rico? I mean are Cuban households able to receive those signals?
Mr. ROIG. We hear stories that some of the signals, sometimes even some of the TV channels, can get into the shores of Havana, and sometimes they claim they have listened to stations from Miami in the Mantanzas or Mariel area.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Ninety miles is a long way to get a television——
Mr. ROIG. Not always, but it is a claim that it has happened.
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Mr. WELLER. So, of course, if they have a satellite signal, they can watch the Chicago Cubs or the Chicago White Sox beat the Red Sox if they want. Then what about Internet access? Does the average Cuban have access to the Internet?
Mr. ROIG. The average Cuban does not have access to the Internet. Usually totalitarian states control the Web site or whatever because they want to control the flow of information, and if people among themselves can directly talk to each other and exchange information, that is out of their control and they are not prone to promote or even accept that possibility. Now, our Web site, we believe—and we just recently began—we believe that we are beginning to have communications with Cuba, but we don't know who is communicating with our Web site. If the authorities, some people that could have access through their jobs, on their jobs, et cetera. We don't know, but we are beginning to receive in the last weeks, and we could get you more information if you are interested on the Web site hits that are beginning to grow.
Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Weller, I think we are going to vote in a few minutes, and I was going to hope Ms. Harris would have a chance to ask a question.
Mr. WELLER. I'd be happy to accommodate my friend from Florida. Thank you. I do support your mission.
Mr. ROIG. Thank you.
Ms. HARRIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to applaud your efforts. As a Key West conch—I was born in Key West and a native Floridian. I have applauded your efforts from the onset and want to congratulate you and hope that they continue on successfully.
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My question was just a source of information. With such an oppressive nation as Cuba, how do you know that we are getting the accurate information, the 20 satellite dishes, the numbers of TV's, radio? How do we actually assess that correctly? And then, secondly, if we really are successfully making it through whether by satellite and radio stations, do you think the Air Force will continue to allow us to use the EC–130? I mean, how are the other types of opportunities that we have, and is there any way to be certain to accurately reflect how many people are really getting the signals?
Mr. TOMLINSON. Gauging our effectiveness is one of the most difficult things we face. Mark Twain said years ago figures lie and liars figure, and you have the same situation with many surveys. And doing surveys in a totalitarian land is extraordinarily difficult. The results are extraordinarily different. I look for trend lines, and I hope to see that trend line up as we—as Pedro delivers in coming weeks with better programming, with greater efforts to penetrate jamming. You look—Cuba is only 90 miles from America's coast and you say why in the world with all our technology can't we overcome it? The fact of the matter is they concentrate jamming. It is impossible to overcome if you do it frontally. But there are other things we can do, other ways we can get information to Cuba, and I am confident that we are going to continue some training missions down there with——
Mr. DELAHUNT. Would the gentlelady yield for a minute?
Ms. HARRIS. Yes.
Mr. DELAHUNT. There are 50,000 Cubans, Mr. Tomlinson, that fly from Havana to Miami for family visits and return every single year. Doesn't that represent a sample? And I respect what you are saying about a totalitarian regime in terms of penetrating within the island, but you have a ready-made sample, I would submit, in that there are some 50,000 Cubans who fly from Havana to Miami every single year. I would think that that is probably the best source of information that could be made available in terms of programming, in terms of the questions that you raised.
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Ms. HARRIS. If the gentleman would yield back. Have we interviewed those people? Do we talk about that? It just seems like there would be a much more credible source. It seems like we could have better access to information than we seem to be hearing.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Well, there are visitors in our official surveys. We also are utilizing newly arrived Cubans for these focus groups that we are putting together trying to gauge the reaction. I am just saying as an old journalist, I am frequently skeptical of basing all we do on these surveys.
Mr. BALLENGER. If I may interrupt the hearing right now. First of all, I want to thank Mr. Tomlinson for the edification of the people in the audience. We didn't subpoena him; he volunteered to come on his own, and that is not very common up here, I must admit, and we thank you for doing so.
Mr. TOMLINSON. Thank you, sir.
Mr. BALLENGER. And Congressman Menendez has a statement that he would like to make.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you both for your testimony.
Mr. Chairman, I want to take a moment, that this is the last time someone who has worked for me for some time and for this Committee will be with us in the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, Pedro Pablo Permuy, who has been the Democratic Staff Director for the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. He brings enormous talent to the issues, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the State Department and then at the Defense Department, is now going to the dark side, is going to the private sector, that is. But he is going to Greenberg Traurig and bringing his expertise there. We are going to miss him, but we want to congratulate him and thank him for all the tremendous service that he has given the Committee.
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. If the gentleman would yield. I second those comments. Pedro Pablo certainly comes from good stock. His dad is a wonderful human rights advocate in our Cuban exile community and a tireless fighter for all the right causes. Congratulations.
Mr. BALLENGER. I would just like to add for a fellow that really didn't know much about this, everybody here was fairly educated about this program except me. So I have learned a great deal, and I want to commend you all for what you are doing, and I will be glad to help in any way I can, Mr. Tomlinson. And considering you for North Carolina, I owe somebody something for something, and I will do everything I can to help you out.
Mr. TOMLINSON. You also gave this Administration and this town M.C. Andrews, and we appreciate that too.
Mr. BALLENGER. Like I said, we do constructive things every once in a while.
With that the Committee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:57 p.m. The Subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Material Submitted for the Hearing Record
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ADOLFO A. FRANCO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of USAID concerning the vital programs carried out by Radio and TV Marti that directly communicate with and inform the Cuban people.
I have great confidence in Mr. Pedro Roig, the new Director of Radio and TV Marti. I know he and his team will do an outstanding job in building an ever-stronger and even more effective Radio and TV Marti.
Mr. Chairman, as you know, the Cuban people continue to suffer terribly under Fidel Castro's long dictatorship. Many on the Island want to leave, to seek decent lives elsewhere, as did so many who left before them. They are desperately unhappy, not due to economic reasons, but because they are deprived of the most basic freedoms and human rights. Castro's repression grows worse every day.
For example, in late March, Castro's military intelligence forces arrested more than one hundred peaceful human rights activists, independent journalists, and independent librarians. The regime sentenced 78 of them to prison terms ranging from 12 to 27 years or a cumulative total of one thousand, four hundred years in prison. The Castro regime in April executed three young Cubans who hijacked a passenger ferry, after a summary trial which lacked even the forms of due process.
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The crimes of those arrested in March? They met openly with U.S. diplomats, wrote reports that criticized the Castro regime, and lent some books to their neighbors—books written by people such as Martin Luther King, Vaclev Havel and Jose Marti. In other words, these Cuban citizens are now in prison because they sought to discuss ideas freely and peacefully. They sought to exercise the most fundamental human rights—the rights to freedom of inquiry, freedom of association, freedom of speech.
Freedom, of course, threatens totalitarian regimes like that of Fidel Castro. As President Bush has said, and as our Chief of Mission in Havana, James Cason, has said, Fidel Castro is afraid of freedom, and he is afraid of human rights. He rules by fear and by censorship. But the Cuban people have begun to lose their fear, and they crave freedom of information and freedom of self-expression.
Radio and TV Marti represent an indispensable means of providing uncensored information to the Cuban people. Their broadcasts also give the Cuban people the chance to express themselves freely. Cuba has spent significant resources to try to jam Radio Marti broadcasts, the Cuban people constantly look for times and places when the jamming is less intense. Some brave Cubans even participate in Radio Marti telephone call-in shows, openly defying the regime's repressive controls.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shares with Radio and TV Marti the objective of increasing the flow of accurate information on democracy, human rights and free enterprise to, from, and within Cuba.
USAID and Radio/TV Marti are active partners in a number of projects. USAID provides short-wave radios to the Cuban people and assists in the distribution of Radio and TV Marti interviews in hard copy throughout Cuba. USAID shares with Radio and TV Marti the research papers and conference proceedings from our work with the University of Miami and others on Cuba transition issues. Radio and TV Marti have honored me several times personally by interviewing me for their broadcasts to the Island. Let me expand a little on these initiatives.
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First of all, the short-wave radios are very important. As I testified last year, USAID staff and grantees know from experience that small, inexpensive short-wave radios can receive Radio Marti, the BBC, Radio Netherlands, Voice of America and other broadcasts clearly, not only in Havana, but elsewhere on the Island. We have made it a priority to provide as many radios as we can to the Cuban people, in spite of vehement complaints and outright opposition from the regime. So far, we have provided Cuban citizens with about ten thousand short-wave radios, rechargeable batteries, and battery re-chargers. We won't be satisfied until every Cuban household has a short-wave radio.
Second, USAID grantees have the ability to disseminate newsletters and other written information throughout Cuba. They are constantly looking for ways to integrate the excellent programming produced by Radio and TV Marti into their newsletters. The programming content not only includes information on U.S. policies and actions but also provides unbiased international news coverage.
Third, the University of Miami Cuba Transition Project, under the leadership of Professor Jaime Suchlicki, continues to produce in-depth analysis on a wide range of issues that will be important during the future transition to democracy in Cuba. The project has published outstanding papers in Spanish as well as in English by the best Cuba scholars in the United States and Western Europe. These include Carmelo Mesa-Lago's study of the growing economic and social disparities in today's Cuba. They include Laura Patallo Sanchez's paper on the role of the judiciary in a post-Castro Cuba. They include Brian Latell's study of the Cuban military and its role in transition. They include the study of the Spanish transition and its lessons for Cuba, by Carlos Alberto Montaner. USAID makes sure all these studies and all these scholars are available to Radio and TV Marti, to further enrich their excellent programming.
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Working together, we know we can engage the Cuban people in a free and open dialogue not only about Cuba's tragic past and present, but more importantly, about its future. Working together, USAID and Radio/TV Marti can give the Cuban people the knowledge and information to help them move towards a peaceful transition to democracy. Working with the Cuban people, involving them in debate, dialogue and discussion, USAID, Radio and TV Marti and the rest of the United States Government can help to hasten the onset of that transition. And we can help the Cuban people ensure that transition is successful.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony.