Bush Urges Support For Democracy in Cuba

WASHINGTON — President Bush, trying to loosen Fidel Castro's nearly half-century hold on power, blistered Cuba's communist regime yesterday and challenged allies to help foster a democratic uprising or risk the shame of staying silent.

Mr. Bush's first major address on Cuba in four years offered no change in American policy and only modest proposals that even he acknowledged would likely be rejected by the island's rulers. With Raul Castro running Cuba on his ailing brother's behalf, it was unclear whether Mr. Bush's latest effort would have any effect.

Still, Mr. Bush seemed emboldened by even the possibility of regime change in Cuba. An ailing Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since July 2006.

"Now is the time to support the democratic movements growing on the island," Mr. Bush said in a State Department speech, with family members of Cuban political prisoners seated behind him on stage. "Now is the time to stand with the Cuban people as they stand up for their liberty. And now is the time for the world to put aside its differences and prepare for Cubans' transition to a future of freedom and progress and promise."

Mr. Bush then appealed to other nations to chip in with money and support, casting a longstanding political struggle in moral terms.

"The dissidents of today will be the nation's leaders tomorrow. And when freedom finally comes, they will surely remember who stood with them," he said.

The pro-democratic movement that Mr. Bush lauded, in perspective, is small. Members of Cuba's small organized opposition are better known outside than inside the country.