14/05/2008
EU should not change policy on Cuba until political changes become
reality.
Jaime Mayor Oreja MEP and José Ribeiro e Castro MEP
MAYOR OREJA, Jaime RIBEIRO E CASTRO, José
The European Union should not change its policy towards Cuba until
political changes in Havana become reality and any 'critical' dialogue
with Cuban authorities are extended to the representatives of democratic
movements.
This was the main conclusion of the two-day conference organised in
Brussels by the Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman Foundations and
chaired by EPP-ED Vice-Chairman, Jaime Mayor Oreja, with the
participation of representatives of movements working for democracy
inside and outside Cuba, the US Department of State, Christian Democrat
politicians from several Latin America countries and organisations,
MEPs, experts from the European Commission and the Co-President of the
Centrist Democrat International, former Mexican President, Vicente Fox.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss the different points of views of
the two sides of the Atlantic on the perspectives in Cuba after the
Fidel and Raúl Castro regime; to analyse what the democratic
alternatives are for the country, what could be the role of the
different opposition movements, as well as the different economic
development scenarios, and the role of associated countries.
"If there is a transition or a change it should be with the sup****t of
the Cuban people", stated Jaime Mayor Oreja, who considered that the
recent announcements by Raúl Castro to allow Cubans to buy laptops or
rent hotel rooms are only cosmetic and cannot be considered as a real
will to achieve democratic freedom in the country. The President of the
Euro-Latin America Assembly, José Ignacio Salafranca MEP, and José
Ribeiro e Castro MEP pointed out that if the Cuban authorities wanted to
make the first step for change, they should allow the EP Sakharov Prize
Winners Oswaldo Payá (2002) and the 'Ladies in White' (2005) to come to
Brussels to explain what is happening in the country. "If they are not
authorised to come, from an EU point of view, it will mean that nothing
has changed", Ribeiro e Castro said.
During his speech at the conference, the Co-President of the Centrist
Democrat International, former Mexican President, Vicente Fox, called on
the EU to keep in mind the "democratic clause" in any relation to the
Cuban authorities "as it was this clause that helped Mexico to change
its political system", and he also appealed to the Cuban authorities "to
avoid cosmetic changes" and "to facilitate the process of change" as
"any action to retain freedom will be against the Cuban people."
In the view of all the different speakers at the conference, there is
nothing happening now in Cuba that allows the EU to think that democracy
will be achieved. "Political prisoners are still in prison, there is no
freedom of speech, no freedom of association, notihing that makes us
think that a democratic state will emerge", explained the Co-Chairman of
the CDU/CSU in the German Bundestag, Arnold Vaatz MP. Not enough reasons
then, for the European Parliament to sup****t any change in the EU policy
towards Cuba next June, when the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers will
discuss the subject.
For further information:
Pedro López de Pablo, EPP-ED Press Service, Tel: +32-2-2842786,
+32-475-493352
Notes to Editors:
The EPP-ED Group is the largest political group in the European
Parliament with 288 Members from all 27 Member States.
http://www.epp-ed.eu/Press/showpr.asp?PRControlDocTypeID=1&PRControlID=7401&PRContentID=12900&PRContentLG=en
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