Cuba and Spain at odds

Cuba and Spain at odds
Cuba's foreign ministry abruptly cancelled meetings with its Spanish
counterparts in a fit of pique over Spain's meetings with Cuban dissidents.

Sunday, September 24, 2006
by Martin Barillas

Bilateral relations between Socialist Spain and Communist Cuba have
reached a delicate moment due to recent diplomatic flap that has as yet
unforeseen consequences. In less than seven days, the Cuban government
has cancelled two interviews between the Cuban foreign ministry and the
Spanish counterpart in response to a meeting between Spain's Secretary
of State Bernardino León with members of Cuban dissident groups during
the recent 14th Annual Summit of Non-Aligned Countries held in Havana.

On September 14th, a scant few hours after the meeting at the Spanish
embassy in Cuba, Fidel Castro's government cancelled a scheduled meeting
between Secretary León and the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Eumelio
Caballero, who oversees Cuba's multilateral relations. During the past
week, a planned meeting by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos at the beginning of the
recent sessions in advance of the General Assembly of the United Nations
in New York. The two foreign ministers were to discuss various bilateral
issues. Diplomatic sources in Spain confirmed that both of the above
meetings were cancelled at Cuba's request.

To come and undertake these meetings during the Summit is a provocation,
or stupidity, if it is indeed true that Spain wants to have open
channels of dialogue with Cuba" said a Cuban diplomat to Spain's El País
newspaper. "If the meeting had taken place after the Summit, perhaps it
would not have been a problem" said the diplomat, who added that none of
the more than 30 countries invited to the Summit held such meetings with
Cuba's dissidents.

Some observers said in this case, when it rains it pours. The incoming
Secretary of State for Ibero-America of the Spanish Foreign Ministry,
Trinidad Jiménez, is especially disliked by Cuban authorities.
Systematic contacts between the Spanish government and Cuban dissidents
have never been favored by Cuba's totalitarian rulers. However, these
contacts have until now been tolerated because they had respected
age-old forms of diplomatic tradition. Cuba's displeasure is now openly
displayed.

Relations between Cuba and Spain reached a critical point during the
administration of former Spanish PM José María Aznar of the outgoing
People's Party who had supported the United States in the war in Iraq
and had also made overtures to the Cuban community of Miami. Aznar had
used Spain's status in the European Community and tried to isolate Cuba
because of its human rights violations at home. Despite Socialist PM
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's coming to power in the wake of a deadly
Islamo-fascist terrorist attack in Madrid, however, there were further
mis-steps in the diplomatic mambo of Spain and Cuba.

Spain's diplomats will need to do some fancy footwork with Cuba since
Spain must be ready for an eventual transition in the Caribbean island's
government. Spain had to un-do its previous policy of a sanctions
against Castro's government over the jailing of 75 democratic dissidents
and to restore relations between the European Community and the island.
Then Spain had to try to convince Cuban dissidents and exiles, as well
as the US government, that by doing so it was not dancing with a Cuban
diplomatic choreography. At this point, not even relations with Cuba are
going well.

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