Tal på konferensen om Kuba i Prag 2004-09-18

 

 

Madame Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends

 

Let me start my thanking the organisers for inviting me to this very important conference. I feel proud and honoured to address you today, knowing that there are so many of us who care about Cuba. I also know how extremely important this seminar is for the Cuban people. The fact that we represent so many different countries gives us unique possibilities to spread the message all over the globe.

 

In the shadow of the atrocities in Beslan, the daily violence and terror in Iraq and the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, it is easy to forget about more ongoing so called “stable” conflicts. As we speak now, some 400 human right activists and dissidents are still in prison in Cuba, condemned to long sentences. Their crimes have been to peacefully argue for a democratic Cuba. Reporters sans Frontiers have claimed that Cuba is now the world’s biggest prison for journalists. A few of them have recently been released for health reasons, but a majority are still there, wondering if they will ever see the blue sky again. We must not let them rot.

 

I represent here the European Parliament, an institution that has a long history of paying attention to Cuba. Since 1987 there has been no less than 22 urgency resolutions condemning the regime and call8ing for the release of political prisoners. Many individuals are also very engaged in promoting democracy and human rights in Cuba. The last years the activities have increased as we noticed the growing internal opposition on the island, more organised than ever before.

 

My political group, the liberals in the European Parliament, took an initiative to a small seminar in July 2002 about the democratisation process in Cuba. Unfortunately we failed to obtain exist visas for the participants from Cuba (friends who are now in prison) to Brussels. Their faxed messages were however read out to the present parliamentarians and journalists and the Cuban Embassy became outraged by this very modest initiative, accusing it of being an insult to the Cuban people.

 

Together with committed colleagues, such as Mr Salafranca -here present- we managed to convince the whole Parliament to attribute the prestigious Sasharov Prize to Mr Oswaldo Paya and his Varela Project in December 2002. The Sasharov Prize – named after the great Alexander sasharov -  is a yearly prize given to an individual or an organisation that strive for freedom of speech, the defence of human rights and against intolerance, fanatism and hatred. Is has formerly been awarded to prominent personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Leyla Zana, Taslima Nasreen, Alexander Dubzec and.Xanana Gusmao. And now Oswaldo Paya has added his name to this hall of fame.

 

The Prize was given to Mr Paya personally but also in the name of all courageous people in Cuba. His referendum initiative impressed many of us and we thought he was a worthy winner of the prize. By the award, we managed thus to put a well needed focus on the events on the island. Until the very start of the ceremony it was unclear whether Castro would let Paya out or not, but finally he came and could collect his prize.

I met Oswaldo Paya in Havana in 2001 just before he began to collect the signatures and was very impressed by his courage and determination. In a very short time he managed to collect almost 12000 signatures calling for a referendum on democratic reform in Cuba. I thought that this initiative was a democratic inspiration, something that really needed support.

 

The big crack down on Cuban dissidents came only a few months after the Sasharov ceremony Around 80 dissidents and human rights activists were arrested and sent to jail. It is clear that Fidel Castro is now feeling very threatened. Maybe the international fame of Mr Paya, reinforced by the nomination to the Nobel Prize by many members here present, protected him a little bit. He and his family are constantly harassed and humiliated – but he can still enjoy freedom.

 

When the president of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, invited Mr Paya to Brussels one year after to come and report on the developments in Havana, he was not allowed to leave the country. We will encourage the new President of the European parliament to renew this invitation.

 

I think it is fair to say that the activities of the Parliament also had an impact on the commission who has set up an office in Havana.

 

The European Union member states have had a clear common position on Cuba for the last years. Cuba is the only country in the region not taking part of the Cotonou agreement, a favourable trade and co-operation system between the EU and the Latin American countries. As Castro has refused to make any concessions on human rights, necessary in order to join the agreement, negotiations have been frozen for some time. However there are signs that the new Spanish government want a more pragmatic opening towards Cuba. This must no happen.

 

So what can we do for our Cuban friends?  We cannot sit and wait for nature to have it´s way and for Castro to die. We must do all that we can in order to prepare for a peaceful transition of the Cuban society to democracy. Let me try to outline a few points in a future common European strategy:
 
1. The pressure on the Cuban regime must continue. Resolutions and statements by the European council, the European Parliaments and national parliaments are useful and they are also a source of hope for the prisoners and their families. We must keep on calling for the release of all political prisoners. Co-ordinated activities are important and we must seek to be clear and consistent, independent of which country leads the European Council.

 

2. As Oswaldo Paya was denied to come to the European Parliament, we should explore the possibilities to send a fact-finding mission of parliamentarians to Cuba, insisting on the right to visit the prisoners. 

 

3.  By no means should the EU give bilateral aid to the Castro regime. Cuba should not at this moment be accepted into the Cotonou agreement.

 

4. Targeted aid should be reinforced – Europe should support the different initiatives of the opposition: the Varela project, but also the independent libraries, la mesa de reflection (a joint initiative but some opposition parties), the independent journalists and other initiatives of individuals or groups in order to strengthen civil society and prepare for the transition. In this regard it is important to evaluate the former transition aid that the EU has given to South America and Eastern Europe in order to find the best ways and mechanisms

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5. The EU should keep its presence and European embassies can serve as meeting places for the opposition -  I know for instance that the Swedish Ambassador let activists meet at the Embassy. The national days-initiatives are important and must be followed by many more Embassies.

 

6. We should increase the pressure on our American friends to lift the embargo. It has not helped the situation and it only serves as an alibi for the regime to continue its oppression. The strengthening of the American embargo is very unfortunate. A vast majority in the European parliament is clearly against the embargo.

 

7. We should try to find common co-ordinated diplomatic initiatives between Europe, Latin America and the US. The resolution on Cuba at the last UN HR session in Geneva was a very important breakthrough in this regard.

 

Ultimately it is only the Cuban people who can change their own future, But the EU and the rest of the world can help and support. We have many states that have gone through the painful and difficult transition process from dictatorship to democracy and there are plenty of good examples to follow. Conferences like this are very useful in order to formulate concrete suggestions on the transition. Thousands and thousands of Cubans dream of a better future without Castro and do not want to wait until he dies. They have already waited for 45 long and difficult years. Like everybody else, the Cuban people have the right to freedom, democracy and a state of law. We have a moral obligation to help them achieve this.

 

Thank you very much.