Dissidents accuse the EU's representative in Cuba of "collusion" with the regime

Dissidents accuse the EU's representative in Cuba of "collusion" with
the regime
DDC | La Habana | 6 de Noviembre de 2016 - 12:37 CET.

On Thursday Guillermo Fariñas and the Ladies in White, winners of the
Sakharov Prize, lamented the announcement by the EU's representative on
the island, Herman Portocarero, of the signing of an agreement between
the European bloc and the regime in Havana on 12 December, which would,
presumably, bring the Common Position to an end.

Fariñas, who last month visited various EU institutions to condemn
persistent human rights violations in Cuba, indicated in statements to
the DIARIO DE CUBA that at the EU he was able to secure "commitments by
six political blocs not to ratify the current agreement."

The dissenter views Portocarero's announcement as an attempt to "set a
precedent, to start placing pressure on other groups in the EU to
approve it."

This is why Fariñas believes that Portocarero, as the opposition has
complained before, "is demonstrating his open collusion with the Cuban
government, trying to spare it from having to make democratic changes
and grant freedoms to Cuban citizens." The opposition also stressed that
"it is important for the international community to know about this."

"The problem is that they are disseminating misinformation, implying
that when this agreement with the Council of Europe is signed everything
will be resolved, so that they can manipulate," said Fariñas.

The dissident insisted that four political groups pledged not to accept
the text that has been presented, and pointed out that, even if signed,
it will later have to be "ratified by each of the 28 national
parliaments" that make up the EU. "It is a long process, which they are
hiding, in order to manipulate international public opinion," complained
Fariñas.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, told the DDC
that the agreement "will not be valid" because it "does not put [the
Havana regime's] respect for human rights at the forefront." The
activist noted that repression against dissidents "has gotten worse."

With regards to the EU representative in Cuba, Soler said that
"apparently he does not care about human rights problems in Cuba."
Despite knowing about the repression being perpetrated, said Soler,
Portocarero "is incapable of making one call to express concern, like
the US Embassy does."

The leader of the Ladies in White added that "years ago this was not the
case, as other EU representatives on the island did show concern about
the opposition's situation."

Source: Dissidents accuse the EU's representative in Cuba of "collusion"
with the regime | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/1478432265_26523.html