Stay out of our internal affairs, Cuban envoy tells Dominica

Stay out of our internal affairs, Cuban envoy tells Dominica
May 17, 2009 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) --

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC - Cuba's Ambassador to Dominica, Oswaldo Cobacho,
is urging authorities here to stay out of his country's internal
affairs.The Cuban diplomat, who is resident in Roseau, was reacting to a
question by a local journalist about whether Dominica would use its
close relations with Havana to push for greater democracy for the people
of that Caribbean state."Your question suggests to me that you think
that the Minister for Foreign Affairs had the right to go to Cuba and
ask Cuba for democratic changes," he responded, adding that Cuban
governance is "only a matter for the Cuban people".Cobacho said he had
noticed a disturbing trend lately of some factions of the Dominica
society wanting to get the (Dominica) government involved in Cuba's
internal affairs."I am seeing the interest of a few persons in Dominica
to bring the Cuban matter to the internal political affairs of Dominica
and this is completely wrong," Cobacho warned."I am hearing some
programmes on the radio and other things that the people are
continuously having a lot of concern about Cuba. I say, my God, these
people are very smart people how they can have this opinion."The
ambassador said his country would not get involved in Dominica's
internal affairs and asked Roseau to do the same."Our relationship has
always been based on mutual respect and non-interference. I advise all
of you that we are not interested in participating in nothing that is
happening here," the Cuban envoy said.Meantime, Foreign Affairs
Minister, Vince Henderson has vowed not make calls for democracy in
Cuba. Henderson, who recently attended a Cuba/Dominica joint Commission
Meeting and a meeting of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM), told
journalists here that the issue was never on the agenda and declared
that Dominica would not get involved in Cuba's governance
issues."Dominica has always taken the position that it does not
interfere in domestic affairs of countries. Cuba has never sought to
impose its own view on us and China has not done that. We do not impose
on countries our values and we expect to respect the values of other
countries," he said.

Individual.com (18 May 2009)

http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=101294709&hash=e5815b84f35126e79c2fb241f55f31e1