CASTRO IN CARBONDALE: WHO WOULD BENEFIT?

Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois is trying very hard to make U.S.-Cuban relations a topic of interest in the middle of this country.

Simon, who is the head of Southern Illinois University's Public Policy Institute at Carbondale, tried top bring Cuban President Fidel Castro to Illinois for a summit with then-President Bill Clinton. Simon opposes U.S. sanctions against Cuba that have been in effect since 1961. The former senator is correct when he characterizes the sanctions as ineffective. They certainly have done little to diminish the dictatorial control Castro exerts over his island nation.

More importantly, those who have suffered the most under the U.S. embargo against Cuba has been the Cuban people. Thousands of Cubans have fled the island, and thousands more have died trying. In addition, the embargo has cut off an important trading partner for U.S. producers, farmers in particular.

So Simon sees his idea for a summit as way to improve the situation on both sides of the 90-mile Caribbean divide.

Even though the meeting between Clinton and Castro never took place, Simon still wants to make the effort to bring Castro to Carbondale for a meeting with U.S. officials. A recent visit by Simon and other officials on an educational mission to Cuba reinforced Simon's desire to hold the summit.

Such a meeting would, of course, be quite a coup for SIU and Simon's Public Policy Institute. A Castro visit to the United States is no easy bit of scheduling. Consider the rigmarole required to get Castro to New York last year for a special anniversary session of the United Nations -- the one where Castro and Clinton accidentally bumped into each other for a moment.

There's little doubt that a meeting in Carbondale between Castro and any officials of the U.S. government would bring distinction to SIU. But would it accomplish the goal of easing the embargo and making life better for Cubans?

Foreign visitors who have had the opportunity to go to Cuba and visit with Castro tend to agree that the dictator can be an affable host. He can also monopolize a meeting for hours on end as he lectures his visitors on the socialist principles that have loosely guided his no-slack regime.

It would be easy to see Castro's visit as little more than a public-relations triumph for a man who has no intention of changing his ways. In the end, such a summit in Carbondale would be a victory for Castro while millions of Cubans would still be under his totalitarian thumb.