Is Democracy Around the Corner? European and Italian Policies Towards Cuba in a Time of Uncertainty

Is Democracy Around the Corner? European and Italian Policies Towards
Cuba in a Time of Uncertainty
2006-12-05 www.radicalparty.org
Date: December 5, 2006
Place: Via di Torre Argentina 76, 3rd Floor, Rome, Italy

Welcome/opening remarks:

*Matteo Mecacci, UN Representative, Transnational Radical Party
*Emma Bonino, Italian Minister for International Trade and EU Affairs.

Panel I: Cuba today and tomorrow: what next in Cuba?

Commentator: Annabelle Rodriguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la
Cultura Cubana

§ Jaime Suchlicki, Professor, University of Miami
§ Francisco de Armas, International Representative of the Christian
Liberation Movement
§Jacek Hinz, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department, Polish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
§ Liduine Zumpolle, Director, Fundacion Cuba Futuro
§ Annabelle Rodríguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana

Panel II: Italy, Europe, and democratic change in Cuba

Commentator: Giani Riotta, Editor of TG1

§ Edward McMillan-Scott, Member of the European Parliament (EPP-ED,
Conservative group)
§ Tomas Pojar, Vice-Minister of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
§ Gianni Vernetti, Deputy Secretary for Human Rights at the Italian
Foreign Ministry (La Margherita, ALDE, Liberal Political Group)
§ Markus Meckel, Member of the German Parliament, Social Democratic Party
§ Umberto Ranieri, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Italian
Chamber of Deputies, Democracia Sinistra (Democratic Left)

Panel III: What can Italians do to support a peaceful transition?

Commentator: § Maurizio Turco, Executive Member of the Transnational
Radical Party, Member of the Italian Parliament and former Member of the
European Parliament (MEP)

§ Sergio D'Elia, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Secretary
General of Hands Off Cain
§ Ricardo Carreras, President, Spanish Solidarity with Cuba
§ Erik Jennische, Program Director, Swedish International Liberal Centre
§ Oswaldo Alfonso, former President of the Liberal Party of Cuba,
ex-prisoner of conscience condemned to 20 years in prison during the
"Black Spring" of 2003
§ Kristina Prunerova, Secretary of the International Committee for
Democracy in Cuba

Keynote Speaker: Raul Rivero, ex prisoner of conscience, poet, journalist

Closing remarks: Marco Pannella, Member of the European Parliament,
Secretary General of the TRP

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Panel I: Cuba today and tomorrow: what next in Cuba?

Jaime Suchlicki, Professor, University of Miami .
Overview of the present situation and expectations for the near future.

Francisco de Armas, International Representative of the Christian
Liberation Movement.
Perspective of the Christian Libertaion Movement and Oswaldo Paya on the
succession period.

Jacek Hinz, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department, Polish
Foreign Ministry
Mr. Hinz was a polish journalist in Cuba in the early 1990s, worked in
the Polish Embassy in Havana in the late 1990s, and is currently Deputy
Director of the Latin America Department at the MFA. He knows very well
both the Cuban government and the democracy movement, and will provide
insight as to how these two sectors might evolve during the succession
period.

Liduine Zumpolle, Director, Fundacion Cuba Futuro.
The impact of foreign investments and European tourism on human rights
in Cuba .

Annabelle Rodríguez, President, Asociacion Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana
Overview of the present situation and expectations for the near future.

Panel II: Italy, Europe, and democratic change in Cuba

Edward McMillan-Scott, EPP-ED, MEP.
Mr. McMillan-Scott is the MEP leading efforts in Brussels to create the
European Fund for Democracy, the European Union's version of the NED. He
will present on the advantages of reforming the way the Eu promotes
democracy in closed countries such as Cuba .

Tomas Pojar, Vice-Minister of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Czech perspective on the European Union's policy towards Cuba .

Gianni Vernetti, Deputy Secretary for Human Rights and Asia at the
Italian Foreign Ministry – La Margherita, ALDE Political Group.
Comparative commentary on assistance to promote democracy and human
rights from both Italy and the EU.

Markus Meckel, Member of the German Parliament, Social Democratic Party.
The German perspective on the European Union's policy towards Cuba ,
from a Social Democratic perspective.

Umberto Ranieri, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Italian
Chamber of Deputies, Democracia Sinistra (Democratic Left).
Italian policy towards Cuba , from a Social Democratic perspective.

Panel III: What can Italians do to support a peaceful transition?

Sergio D'Elia, Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Secretary
General of Hands Off Cain.
Hands Off Cain's advocacy work on Cuban human rights.

Ricardo Carreras, President, Spanish Solidarity with Cuba.
The Solidarity Tourism model for European advocacy and awareness
campaigns on Cuba.

Erik Jennische, Program Director, Swedish International Liberal Centre.
The Swedish experience of assistance to political parties and
independent libraries.

Osvaldo Alfonso, former President of the Liberal Party of Cuba,
ex-prisoner of conscience condemned to 20 years in prison during the
"Black Spring" of 2003.
Why assistance to civil society is important, from a personal perspective.

Kristina Prunerova, Secretary of the International Committee for
Democracy in Cuba (ICDC)
Building international networks of support: the ICDC model for advocacy
on Cuba .

Matteo Mecacci
TRP UN Rep.
+1-646-2018820
+39-347-9682837
www.radicalparty.org

http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=8027