EU must raise Cuba's iron curtain

EU must raise Cuba's iron curtain

In discussions this week, EU politicians should remind their Cuban
partners of their duty to respect human and civil rights

One of the fundamental pillars of Europe's political architecture is a
strong and enduring belief in the universal validity of equal,
universal, and inalienable human rights. At the core of this is a belief
in the rights of human beings to a life of freedom and the protection of
their dignity.

In the years after the second world war, this humanist ideal became the
basis of Europe's spiritual and political identity and hence it is
contained in the founding documents of the European Union. Of course,
this does not mean that the EU could or would want to conquer the rest
of the world in the name of imposing its values, rules and culture on
the rest of humanity. Far from it. What Europe's devotion to humanism
does mean, however, is a determination, no matter the circumstances, to
stand firm and not abandon the fundamentals of European civilisation and
European unification. As a result, Europe places a primary emphasis on
the universality of human rights and freedoms.

To be sure, there are many places around the globe where human rights
and civil liberties continue to be trampled underfoot: North Korea,
Iran, Burma, Tibet, Zimbabwe, and many others. This week, a meeting of
the EU's general affairs and external relations council (GAERC) will
discuss once more relations between the EU and Cuba.

Despite repeated reminders from the EU, the Cuban government has done
none of the things that the Union has been urging it to do for many
years – above all, to release all political prisoners and stop the
persecution of independent civil-society groups and the regime's
political opponents. On the contrary, the Cuban government continues to
detain prisoners of conscience and to criminalise demands for a
society-wide dialogue.

This year, the peoples of Europe are marking the 20th anniversary of the
fall of the iron curtain that once divided Europe in two. That 20 years
after this epochal event an iron curtain remains around Cuba makes this
anniversary poignant.

Of course, the tourists who crowd Cuba's beaches are not aware of this
iron curtain. But, regardless of this ignorance and of its economic
interests, the EU should insist on the release of political prisoners
and use all international institutions to bring pressure to bear on the
Cuban government to respect the human and civil rights of Cuba's people.
During any negotiations with Cuba's leaders, European politicians and
diplomats should remind their Cuban partners of their obligations. They
should also be in contact with Cuban civil society to express their
solidarity with the families of the political prisoners.

From its own experiences in the 20th century, Europe knows what
catastrophes can result when concessions are made to evil. The history
of the 20th century is an object lesson in this. Time and again, Europe
paid a high price for policies of compromises with evil that were
dictated by economic interests or the illusion that evil can be appeased
and will disappear of its own accord. The EU should not and must not
repeat this error.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2009

EU must raise Cuba's iron curtain | Václav Havel
guardian.co.uk (16 June 2009)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jun/16/eu-cuba-human-rights