ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 27, 1996 TAG: 9602270121
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: From The Washington Post and Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Declaring that Fidel Castro's government is ``repressive, violent and scornful of international law,'' President Clinton on Monday announced punitive measures against Cuba in retaliation for the weekend missile attack on two civilian planes.
In a calibrated response, the president ordered an immediate end to charter flights that shuttle tens of thousands of Cuban-Americans between Miami and Havana. He increased funding for the U.S. government's pro-democracy radio broadcasts to the island.
``We must be clear,'' Clinton said. ``This shooting of civilian aircraft out of the air was a flagrant violation of international law. It is wrong, and the United States will not tolerate it.''
Clinton also said the families of four missing airmen, members of the Miami-based activist organization Brothers to the Rescue, should be compensated from Cuban funds frozen in the United States. He said he would support tightening the U.S. economic embargo against the island and would restrict the movement of Cuban diplomats in the United States.
Meanwhile, a military officer who ostensibly defected from Cuba four years ago, joined Brothers to the Rescue, and vanished mysteriously Friday appeared in Havana Monday evening denouncing the organization on television as a ``counter- revolutionary organization.''
The dramatic re-emergence of Juan Pablo Roque appeared to confirm suspicions among U.S. officials and Miami's Cuban exile community that he was an infiltrator loyal to Cuban leader Fidel Castro. There was no sign in the 20-minute television appearance that Roque made the statements under duress, and no explanation of how he traveled from Florida to Cuba.
The timing of Roque's disappearance, around midday Friday, also raises the possibility that the Cuban government knew in advance of Saturday's Brothers to the Rescue operation.
In the television interview, Roque spoke in detail about alleged Brothers activities, listing dates and locations of the group's operations against the Cuban government. The interview was a clear attempt to bolster Cuba's contention that the group is involved in terrorist activities and that its humanitarian work is a front.
``I am in Cuba because I want to denounce to world public opinion the real character of Brothers to the Rescue,'' Roque said.
Roque recounted conversations with Brothers founder Jose Basulto, saying they had discussed ways to bring explosives into Cuba to blow up high-power wires critical to the country's electrical system. He said Basulto also talked about smuggling arms into Cuba to use in attacks against the country's leaders, including Castro.
Asked why the group continued flying missions near Cuba after it had been warned not to do so, Roque said, ``The main motive was to provoke incidents that created tensions between Cuba and the United States. That's what the extreme right in the United States wants.''
FBI agents went to Roque's suburban Miami home Monday to investigate reports that Roque may have returned to Cuba. Roque's wife, Ana, told the agents that her husband had not been home for several days.
In Washington, an administration official said speculation that Roque was a Cuban agent planted in the exile organization was ``consistent with our information.''
The president's actions clearly were taken with one eye on Havana and the other on this year's presidential campaign in vote-rich Florida, a state he lost to George Bush in 1992 by barely 100,000 votes out of 5.2 million cast.
The president is trying to avoid being outflanked by his Republican presidential rivals, who were quick to criticize him in the aftermath of Saturday's downing of the two aircraft. Clinton promised continued support for Cuba's fledgling opposition while increasing pressure on Havana.
``I think it's a shame that President Clinton's weak actions did not match his tough rhetoric,'' said Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., as he campaigned Monday in Marietta, Ga. ``We need someone who will stand up to Castro, someone who will tighten the strings on Castro, someone to drive Castro out.''
In Miami, vocal Cuban-American groups called for more dramatic action by the United States, including a withdrawal of the small corps of American diplomats in Havana, but Clinton's options were limited.
Clinton did say that he will search for a compromise with Congress on the Helms-Burton act, which seeks to increase pressure on Cuba's international partners and on foreign companies that do business on the island. Republicans in Congress say they have the votes to pass the bill without White House help.
In an effort to mobilize an international sense of outrage, the administration is working the halls of the United Nations and countless telephone lines in foreign capitals.
The United States pressed the Security Council to condemn Cuba and threatened to press for even stronger measures if China did not withdraw its objections to the U.S. proposal.
After an all-day session Monday, the council adjourned for what U.N. spokesman Ahmed Fawzi said would be a formal meeting, which means a decision will be taken.
But the meeting was delayed because the Chinese delegation claimed it had no instructions from Beijing on how to proceed. The official Xinhua News Agency said China wanted to hear from the Cubans before taking a position.
Monday, the European Union strongly condemned the attack on the two unarmed planes. The EU said ``there can be no excuse for not respecting international law and human rights norms.''
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Ana Roque wipes away tears Monday. Her husband, Juanby CNBPablo Roque, a former defector, appeared in Cuba Monday and
denounced the Brothers to the Rescue group. color.