Kazecky says Cuba expelled him over human rights support

Kazecky says Cuba expelled him over human rights support
15:14 - 16.04.2006

Havana- Czech diplomat Stanislav Kazecky, whom Cuba refused to extend
his visa and accused of subversion and work for the USA, thinks that the
Cuban government thereby reacted to the Czech foreign policy in support
of human rights, he said in an interview for Spanish news agency EFE today.

Kazecky, first secretary of the Czech embassy in Havana, who will return
home today, expressed regrets that he is leaving Cuba under such
circumstances. He admitted that the Cuban government's step surprised him.

"I suppose that the Cuban foreign minister's reaction was provoked by
Czech policy focused on human rights," said Kazecky.

On Friday, Cuba officially refused to extend Kazecky's visa over his
alleged "subversive" activities on the island and gave him a 72-hour
deadline to leave the country.

Cuban Foreign Minister Perez Roque accused the Czech diplomat of
fulfilling subversive tasks of U.S. special services, being involved in
the distribution of money and printed material, trying to provision
mercenary groups and helping the U.S. administration in this

Kazecky, who assumed the diplomatic post in Cuba un April 2004, denied
the accusation again today. He said that in Cuba he "represented foreign
policy of an independent state."

Kazecky noted that the unexpected Cuban reaction tells something about
Cuban foreign policy.

The Czech Foreign Ministry sharply criticised the Cuban step and took a
reciprocal measure in reaction to it, refusing to extend the visa of a
Cuban diplomat in Prague.

Czech-Cuban relations have been tense since the collapse of communism in
1989 and they have sharpened in several conflicts.

Cuba criticises the Czech Republic for supporting Cuban opposition and
its efforts for the development of democracy in Cuban society. In the
U.N. the Czech Republic has pushed through the resolution condemning the
violation of human rights in Cuba, and Czech diplomats rank among the
sharpest critics of Fidel Castro's regime in the EU.

http://www.ctk.cz/english/services/english/index_view.php?id=183379