18 May 2009 - Issue : 834
Cuba's attitude to human rights will play the key role in the upcoming
European Union's review of the bloc's position on relations with the
communist island state, an EU official said. The evaluation "will depend
on the manner with which Cuba approaches human rights," said Czech
Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, whose country chairs the EU until June 30.
Cuba asked the EU to normalise relations but was rejected over human
rights concerns. Kohout said that he also met with his Cuban counterpart
Bruno Rodriguez Parilla during the EU's Prague-based meeting with Latin
American countries.
The EU lifted previous light sanctions against Cuba, imposed over
arrests of dissidents in 2003, nearly a year ago after Raul Castro took
over control of the country from his aging brother Fidel. However,
divisions among the bloc's 27 members on how to deal with Cuba have lead
to a compromise under which EU leaders decided to annually assess their
common position on Cuba. That next review is now due in June.
Kohout said that it was too early to say whether the current "mutual
development of political dialogue" between Cuba and the EU would cause
the bloc to change its stance in June "Cuba enjoys normal relations with
practically every country in the world and is willing to advance the
normalisation of its relations with the EU," said Parrilla on the
sidelines of a meeting with top EU officials in Brussels. But Kohout
stressed that human rights remained a matter of "concern" for the EU,
and noted that any decision to normalise relations would have to be
taken by the bloc's member states.
"One of the biggest values of the EU is the safeguard of human rights.
We expressed our concerns about human rights (in Cuba), and in June we
will evaluate our common position," said Kohout, whose country has in
the past sided with anti-Castro hardliners. The EU introduced mild
sanctions against Cuba following its Black Spring crackdown on
dissidents in 2003, when the country's Communist regime arrested 75
government critics, including intellectuals and human-rights activists.
The sanctions, which included limits on high-level government visits and
the role of EU diplomats in Cuba's cultural events, were suspended in
2005 and lifted by EU leaders in June, after Raul Castro took over
control of the country. Divisions among the EU's 27 member states on how
to deal with Cuba have lead to a compromise solution whereby the bloc
keeps reviewing its so-called "common position" vis-a-vis Cuba once a
year - a practice that Rodriguez Parrilla described as "outdated" and
"obsolete." Louis Michel, the European Commissioner in charge of
development and humanitarian aid, openly sided with doves such as Spain
by proposing that governments should raise difficult questions such as
human rights, but also "listen to each other" and follow the principle
of "noninterference." He said that, "I believe that this political
dialogue will finish at some moment and I hope that we will be able to
lift, or at least modify, our common position soon."
Rodriguez Parrilla's visit to Brussels came amidst the backdrop of
change in the world with the Communist Caribbean island, after President
Barack Obama recently relaxed travel restrictions for US citizens
imposed by his predecessor, George W Bush. While in Brussels, the Cuban
minister talked with the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and
exchanged views on a series of issues, including immigration and the
imminent closure of the United States' infamous prison camp in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Washington eagerly awaits Cuba's return to the
inter-American diplomatic system, a top US official told a gathering at
the Organization of American States. "We look forward to the day when
every country in the hemisphere, including Cuba, can take its seat at
this very special table, in a manner that is consistent with the
principles of the Inter-American democratic charter," said
Undersecretary of State James Steinberg.
"The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba and we have changed
our policy in ways that we believe will advance liberty and create
opportunity for the Cuban people," Steinberg said in a speech delivered
at the annual Council of the Americas meeting. He added that Obama "has
also made clear our willingness and our readiness to engage
constructively with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues." He
added that, "We must also call on our friends in the hemisphere to join
together in supporting liberty, equality and human rights for all
Cubans." In April, Obama lifted travel and money transfer restrictions
on Americans with relatives in Cuba.
Cuba wants new EU ties, but human rights is the key - NEW EUROPE - The
European News Source (19 May 2009)
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