Spain seeks human rights commitment from Cuba

Spain seeks human rights commitment from Cuba

Madrid, Feb 16 : Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has
asked the Cuban government for a 'commitment' to respect human rights so
that Madrid can convince its European Union partners to soften the
bloc's stance toward the communist-ruled island.

Moratinos Monday repeated his wish of revising the bloc's relationship
with the Havana authorities at a press conference in Madrid with the
EU's top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, and Brazilian
Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

The Spaniard expressed the need to open the debate on how to relaunch
relations with Cuba and to secure the "commitment" of Raul Castro's
government to upholding human rights on the island.

Moratinos said the EU's so-called common position on Cuba, put into
effect in 1996 at the insistence of then-Spanish Prime Minister Jose
Maria Aznar, had furnished "not very satisfactory results" and thus a
revision of that policy would be in order.

He expressed confidence that Ashton and the European leaders could be
convinced to shift gears vis-a-vis Cuba, although the unanimity of the
EU's 27 member-states would be required to change the current policy,
which links political dialogue with Cuba to advances in the area of
democracy and freedom.

"The question is going to be discussed in the working groups and we'll
see what level of consensus can be reached on the European level. From
there, the appropriate decisions will be taken," he said.

Spain currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Moratinos recalled that Ashton, in her Jan 11 appearance before the
European Parliament, showed herself to be open to revising the common
policy, although she acknowledged that problems pertaining to the lack
of freedom on the communist island continue to exist.

Spain is going to evaluate the willingness of the Cuban regime to
introduce improvements in the area of human rights at the meeting that
the two governments will hold in Madrid later this week.

This will be the fourth meeting within the scope of the dialogue
mechanism, which got under way after Moratinos's trip to Havana in April
2007, a visit that opened a new phase in bilateral relations.

--IANS

Spain seeks human rights commitment from Cuba .:. newkerala.com Online
News -52122 (16 February 2010)
http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-52122.html