c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Cuban exiles in the United States plan to take a flotilla of small boats to Havana in January during Pope John Paul II’s visit, defying Fidel Castro, the U.S. government and the Roman Catholic Church.

Members of the Democracia Movement say their intention is to assert their rights as Cubans, promote a message of democracy and possibly provoke a reaction from Castro that would generate international criticism.

Ramon Raul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based Democracia Movement, said he and a small but determined band of followers are “part of the Cuban people” and have the right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to travel to their homeland for the pope’s visit.

“Our intent is to go into Cuba and be present there, before the eyes of the world, to listen to the pope’s message,” said Sanchez, who has taken to the seas in previous protest flotillas and had confrontations with the Cuban coast guard.

Castro has made clear he has no intention of letting the exile group ashore, and the Vatican has indicated it doesn’t want any such trouble. The U.S. government has been adamant about keeping the boats at their docks in South Florida.

Mario Fernandez of North Bergen, N.J., head of the Democracia Movement in New Jersey, said if the United States attempts to use a presidential order and seize their boats at Florida marinas before they embark for Cuban waters, they will find other boats and other ports to carry out their mission.

“And if Castro does something foolish, it will show his true face while he is being pictured with the pope _ that is a key element,” said Fernandez.

“I am aware that if we get apprehended by the Cuban government, we may spend the rest of our lives in jail,” he said. “We are at risk, but we don’t care. The bottom line is we feel we have the right to go back to our country.”

While the exile group faces opposition to their plan on all fronts, the U.S. government meanwhile has indicated it will allow the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami to charter a cruise ship to ferry some 1,000 pilgrims to the island for the pope’s visit.

The church, which has received tentative approval of the idea from Castro, would screen the people who want to make the journey, with the Cuban government having the final word.

Fernandez’s group opposes the cruise ship, saying it “plays with Castro’s music” by giving him hard currency, by allowing him to “pick and choose who he wants to come in” and by adding to his legitimacy.

After Cuban fighter pilots shot down two unarmed planes and killed four Cuban-Americans over international waters in February 1996, President Clinton issued an emergency decree giving him powers to stop protests before they even begin. The order was extended last May in anticipation of the papal visit.

Under this decree, the Coast Guard may board any noncommercial vessel in South Florida and ask the captain if he plans to enter Cuban territorial waters. If the captain answers yes or does not answer at all, the Coast Guard has the authority to seize the vessel and make an arrest and seek fines up to $10,000.

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Sanchez, whose vessel was confiscated last June when he told the Coast Guard he would go into Cuban territorial waters for a protest, is challenging the presidential order in federal court on grounds it violates First Amendment free speech rights and the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Sanchez and Fernandez said that if the court case isn’t decided before the pope’s Jan. 21-25 visit, or if they lose, they will find another way to move ahead with their plans.

The State Department has made clear, however, that it will enforce the emergency order, and, if necessary, stop boats at sea from heading into Cuban waters to reduce risks to U.S. citizens and to prevent a flareup between the United States and Cuba.

“Appropriate law enforcement actions will be taken,” said a White House official who asked to remain anonymous. “We want to prevent an international incident.”

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A spokesman for the Castro government who did not want to be quoted by name said the Democracia Movement will not be welcome.

“We have to take care of our own security and the pope’s security,” the Cuban official said. “Any country has to take appropriate measures to avoid any kind of problem.”

Thomas Quigley, a senior adviser on Latin American and Caribbean policy issues with the U.S. Catholic Conference, said the purpose of the pope’s visit is to tend to the spiritual needs of Cuban Catholics and open Cuba further for church operations on the island.

While issues like the Vatican’s opposition to the U.S. economic embargo or Castro’s human rights abuses may come up, Quigley said, those hoping for the visit to be focused on a political message “may be disappointed.”

Quigley also said it is inevitable groups like the Democracia Movement or others may seek to use the pontiff’s visit for their own purposes.

“But what we want is a successful visit without disruptions or embarrassing events,” he said. “We don’t want any attempts at manipulation or any provocative acts.”

“The thing to avoid is Managua,” said Quigley, referring to the 1993 papal visit to Nicaragua when Sandinista supporters disrupted a public Mass.

Wayne Smith, a former diplomat who follows Cuban events at the Center for International Policy in Washington, said he expects the pope and Castro will both benefit from the visit, with the Cuban-American exile groups relegated to the sidelines.

Smith said Castro certainly wants to increase his legitimacy in the eyes of the world with the pope’s visit, and take advantage of the pontiff’s opposition to the economic embargo. Cuba is the only Latin American country the pontiff has not visited.

Smith said he expects that although it is subject to “irrational acts” like the 1996 shootdown of the planes flown by Cuban-Americans, “the Cuban military will have strict orders not to use force” or create an international incident if groups like the Democracia Movement try to make their political statement.

MJP END COHEN