by Matthew Hay Brown

In an apparent first for an American president, George W. Bush spoke this week with dissidents in Cuba, he said today.

"Video conferencing is one of the great wonders of the 21st century, and to be able to sit in the White House and talk to these three brave souls in Havana was a - it was an inspiring moment for me," Bush told the Council of the Americas, a hemispheric business group. "It reminded me about how much work the United States has to do to help the people in realize the blessings of liberty."

The president did not name the individuals, but described them as "a leading Cuban dissident, a former political prisoner, and a wife of a man who is held in a Cuban prison simply because he expressed his belief that all people should live in a free society." He said the conversation took place on Tuesday.

While the U.S. Interests Section in Havana supports and in some cases maintains relationships with Cuban dissidents, others keep their distance, to avoid the appearance of acting on Washington's behalf - a common criticism leveled by the Cuban government against the opponents it calls gusanos -- worms.

Cubans reportedly have welcomed modest economic reforms introduced by Raúl Castro since he succeeded his ailing brother, Fidel, as president of the Cuban Council of State in February. Bush is unimpressed.

"The Cuban government recently announced a change at the top," he said. "Some in the world marveled that perhaps change is on its way. That's not how I view it. Until there's a change of heart and a change of compassion and a change of how the Cuban government treats its people, there's no change at all."

Bush described the reforms as "empty gestures."

"Cuba's still ruled by the same group that has oppressed the Cuban people for almost half a century," he said. "Cuba will not be a land of liberty so long as free expression is punished and free speech can take place only in hushed whispers and silent prayers.

"And Cuba will not become a place of prosperity just by easing restrictions on the sale of products that the average Cuban cannot afford.

"If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, then Cuba's rulers must begin a process of peaceful democratic change, and the first step must be to release all political prisoners. They must respect the human rights in word and in deed. And they must allow what the Cuban people have desired for generations, to pick their own leaders in free and fair elections."