Cuba's victory at the European Parliament on June 10th and Castroism's double defeat

“If we take the widest and wisest view of a Cause, there is no such thing as a Lost Cause because there is no such thing as a Gained Cause. " - T.S. Eliot

Original source: CubaBrief 

Cuba won a victory at the European Parliament (EP) on June 10, 2021, and the Castro dictatorship, together with its allies, suffered a double defeat when the EP resolution on the human rights and political situation in Cuba (2021/2745(RSP)) passed with 386 voting for the resolution, 236 against the resolution, and 59 abstaining.

This was a victory for Cuba because the European Parliament acknowledged "the right of the Cuban people to demand the democratisation of their country through a dialogue with civil society and the political opposition in order to establish a roadmap towards democratic multi-party elections." This elected body recognized that the sovereignty of Cuba exists among all Cubans, not the dictatorship that has ruled them with force for 62 years. Furthermore this deliberative body outlined the present situation in the island nation, and the systematic absence of human rights.

The resolution also demanded action on the part of EU officials recognizing where true sovereignty lies. It "calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to acknowledge the existence of political opposition to the Cuban Government, and therefore to include it in the institutionalized, formal, open and public political dialogues between the EU and Cuba, upholding the pillars of the EU Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA)." Something that they have refused to do under this agreement.

The EP resolution passed on June 10th strongly condemns the jailing of Cuban dissidents, the existence of political prisoners, and recognizes that the PDCA with Cuba has not led to "any substantial and tangible positive result for the Cuban people."

The resolution demands an "immediate repeal of Decrees 349 and 370 and other Cuban laws that violate freedom of expression;" and condemns "the systemic labor and human rights violations committed by the Cuban state against its healthcare personnel assigned to work abroad on the medical missions.”

The resolution also recognizes that "the imprisonment of Denis Solís González, Luis Robles Elizástegui, Maykel Castillo Pérez (‘Osorbo’)," ... "and more than 120 political prisoners and convicts of conscience, and all the arbitrary and repressive actions registered in April and June 2021, constitute a breach" of the agreement and a case of special urgency, as established in Article 85 (3b) of the PDCA; calls for the EU to convene an urgent meeting in this regard accordingly."

Rosa María Payá blasted EEAS's normalization of the Castro regime

This places the EU bureaucracy in the spotlight, and repudiates claims made in official documents that have drawn the ire of Cuban dissidents. Rosa María Payá and Cuba Decide in their January 2020 letter to the European Union cited the "EEAS’s 2016 Annual Human Rights and Democracy in the World report, which describes the island’s government regime with the following absurdity: 'Cuba is a one-party democracy, with elections that are held at the municipal, provincial, and national level.'

The European Parliament voiced its displeasure with the "current EU Ambassador in Havana [who] has publicly made statements affirming that ‘Cuba is not a dictatorship.’"

Three political groups, spanning from the center left to the right, sponsored the resolution and below are the Members who signed on representing their respective parties.

Leopoldo López Gil, Michael Gahler, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Gabriel Mato, Antonio López-Istúriz White in name of the EPP Group

Javier Nart, Malik Azmani, Olivier Chastel, Dita Charanzová, Vlad Gheorghe, Klemen Grošelj, Karin Karlsbro, Moritz Körner, Karen Melchior, Urmas Paet, Frédérique Ries, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Hilde Vautmans in name of the Renew Group.

Anna Fotyga, Hermann Tertsch, Ryszard Czarnecki, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, Bogdan Rzońca, Assita Kanko, Charlie Weimers, Valdemar Tomaševski, Adam Bielan, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Carlo Fidanza, Elżbieta Kruk, Raffaele Fitto, Elżbieta Rafalska, Ruža Tomašić in name of the ECR Group.

Missing where the Socialists & Democrats Group, and this is where the Castro dictatorship, together with its allies, suffered their second defeat.

Pilar Ruiz Huélamo, a member of the Socialists & Democrats Groups and Spain's PSOE Party in an e-mail communicated:

"PPE and RENEW have asked for a point in the next plenary session on the situation in Cuba, Borrell's statement with resolution. One of the points they want to denounce is the one described in this manifesto that 5 deputies have already signed. As you know, it will be difficult to stop it, we do not have a majority. I wonder if you want to notify the Cuban Embassy or that I notify Heidy. Borrell's cabinet is already aware. I take the email to make an appointment with Javier next week to discuss this issue and others if possible."

The response by Isabel Garcia Tamara, from Javier Moreno Sánchez's office, confirmed the collusion with the Castro regime when she instantly answers yes, that they will carry out the communication with Havana and the appointment with "JM", president of the PSOE in the European Parliament and president of the Friendship Group with Cuba. Mr. Moreno Sanchez is an avid defender of dictator Raúl Castro.

Below is the excerpt of the above mentioned e-mail that had circulated among members of the Socialists & Democrats Group that appeared in the Spanish Daily, ABC.

This led José Ramón Bauzá, a member of the Spanish centrist party Ciudadanos [Citizens] to write a letter to Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union asking if his staff had been involved in trying to shut down debate on human rights in Cuba at the European Parliament.  

As time passes, the decision of Lithuania not to ratify the PDCA with Havana, is now viewed both as a historic act of solidarity with Cubans, and looking out for European interests. 

Free Cubans owe Lithuanians a debt of gratitude. When the rest of the European Union embraced the Castro regime in a EU-Cuba agreement that gutted human rights concerns it was the Lithuanian Parliament that stood alone in 2020 refusing to ratify it with leaders saying it would betray "Cuban political prisoners" and demanding a commitment to human rights and democracy for the Cuban people. 

On May 5, 2021 Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) led her colleagues House Committee on Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Michael McCaul (TX-10), Congressman Carlos Gimenez (FL-26), and Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) introduced H.Res.440, commending Lithuania for refusing to ratify the European Union's (EU) Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with Cuba.

Other EU states who ratified the PDCA with the best of intentions ended up providing millions in Euros to the Castro dictatorship, making the EU complicit in the repression of Cuban dissidents, the exploitation of Cuban workers, and the destabilization of democracy in Latin America. 

We hope that Lithuania will no longer be standing alone, and that other EU member states will join Vilnius in defending both the interests of Europe and the well being of 11 million Cubans, and to not confuse them with the dictatorship oppressing them. The June 10th resolution is a good start, but there is more to do in order to cut off funding to the dictatorship while finding avenues to help Cubans directly. 

World listens to free Cubans: Oswaldo Payá addressed the European Parliament on this day in 2002

"17 years since the historic speech of Oswaldo Payá, National Coordinator of the Christian Liberation Movement, in the European parliament upon being recognized with the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights for his efforts to achieve unity." - Regis Iglesias Ramirez, over Twitter on December 17, 2019

Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Pat Cox, European Parliament President

The visit of the Spanish monarchs to Cuba in 2019 and the Spanish Prime Minister's visit to the island in 2018 were both regrettable for the cause of Cuban freedom.  They embraced the dictatorship and refused to meet with Cuban dissidents. The Spanish King gave advice to the regime promoting human rights, but also sat down with Raul Castro, in what amounted to a recognition of the Castro dynasty that continues to rule Cuba. It is important to remember that the Spanish monarchy is subject to the maximum political authority in Spain which is the Prime Minister, who is a Socialist, and behind the drive to improve relations with the Castro regime.



This is a far cry from 17 years ago when another Spanish Prime Minister demonstrated his solidarity with Cuban democrats by meeting with Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and supporting his nomination for the Sakharov Prize for Human Rights.

It was 17 years ago today that Oswaldo Payá addressed the European Parliament and weeks later returned to Cuba to continue his struggle for the liberation of the Cuban people. It was seven years ago that the Castro dictatorship's repressive forces took his life.

However, today we remember this moment when the world listened to this Cuban democrat and that Cubans were not represented by the Castro dictatorship, but had their own voice.

SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR. OSWALDO PAYÁ UPON ACCEPTING THE SAKHAROV PRICE FOR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

Strasbourg, 17 December 2002


English translation below:

First of all, I should like to express my thanks to Mr. Pat Cox, President, and to this Parliament in which the many peoples of Europe are represented.

You have awarded the Andrei Sakharov Prize to the people of Cuba. I say “the people of Cuba” because they are the ones who so richly deserve such an award. I say it without excluding any of my fellow countrymen, irrespective of their political stance, because rights have no political, racial or cultural hue. Nor have dictatorships any political color: they are neither right-wing nor left-wing, they are merely dictatorships. In my country there are thousands of men and women who are fighting in the midst of persecution for the rights of all Cubans. Hundreds of them have been imprisoned solely for having proclaimed and stood up for those rights, and this is why I am receiving this award on their behalf.

I say that this prize is for all Cubans because I believe that, in awarding it, Europe wishes to say to them: “You too are entitled to rights.”

This is something which we have always firmly believed, but there are times when this truth has seemed to be less than self-evident to many of the world’s people.

I have not come here to ask you to support those who oppose the Cuban Government or to condemn those who persecute us. It is of no help to Cuba that some people in the world side with the country’s government or with the latter’s opponents on the basis of an ideological standpoint. We want others to side with the Cuban people - with all Cubans – and this means upholding all their rights, supporting openness, supporting our demand that our people should be consulted via the ballot box regarding the changes we are calling for. We are asking for solidarity so that our people can be given an opportunity to speak through the ballot box, as proposed in the Varela Project.

Many people have linked this prize to the Varela Project, and rightly so, since the thousands of Cubans who, in the midst of repression, have signed the petition calling for a referendum are making a decisive contribution to bringing about the changes which Cuba needs. Those changes would mean involvement in cultural and economic life, civil and political rights, and national reconciliation. That would constitute a genuine exercise in self-determination by our people. We must reject the myth that we Cubans have to live without rights in order to support our country’s independence and sovereignty.

Father Felix Varela has taught us that independence and national sovereignty are inseparable from the exercise of basic rights. We Cubans – whether we live in Cuba or in the diaspora – are a single people and we have both the determination and the ability to build a just, free and democratic society, without hatred and without the desire for revenge. In the words of José Marti, ‘With everyone and for everyone’s benefit’.

We have not chosen the path of peace as a tactic, but because it is inseparable from the goal for which our people are striving. Experience teaches us that violence begets more violence and that when political change is brought about by such means, new forms of oppression and injustice arise. It is our wish that violence and force should never be used as ways of overcoming crises or toppling unjust governments. This time we shall bring about change by means of this civic movement which is already opening a new chapter in Cuba’s history, in which dialogue, democratic involvement, and solidarity will prevail. In such a way we shall foster genuine peace. Cuba’s civic combatant heroes – the ordinary people who have signed the Varela Project – carry no weapons. Not a single hand is armed. We walk with both arms outstretched, offering our hands to all Cubans as brothers and sisters, and to all peoples of the world.

The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING.

There are still those who perpetuate the myth that the exercising of political and civil rights is an alternative to a society’s ability to achieve social justice and development. They are not mutually exclusive. The absence of any civil and political rights in Cuba has had serious consequences such as inequality, the poverty of the majority and privileges of a minority and the deterioration of certain services, even though these were conceived as a positive system to benefit the people. In this way, although many Cubans have for years worked out of love and in good faith, the situation as regards civil and political rights is now serious, quite apart from a widening inequality and the deterioration in the quality of life of the majority of the population. Among other things, the freedom of action of the citizens of Cuba has been limited, which has neutralized their huge potential for creativity and productiveness and is the main reason for the country’s poverty.

This state of affairs cannot be justified by saying that the Cuban people have adopted this system out of choice. You all know that none of the peoples represented in this Parliament, and no people in the world, would ever give up the right to exercise their fundamental freedoms.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that well-being and economic and social progress are the fruits of being able to exercise one’s rights. In the same way, a democracy is not genuine and complete if it cannot initiate and sustain a process that raises the quality of life of all its citizens, because no people would freely vote for the kind of poverty and inequality that results in the masses becoming disadvantaged and marginalized. The peoples of Latin America are calling for a genuine democracy which will enable justice to be established. It is scandalous that methods intended to overcome a crisis and end poverty can be applied in the name of efficiency when in reality they threaten to obliterate the poor. I cannot claim to herald new positions or propose new models, but the people of Cuba have lived and suffered under various political and economic systems.

We now know that any method or model which purportedly aims to achieve justice, development, and efficiency but takes precedence over the individual or cancels out any of the fundamental rights leads to a form of oppression and to exclusion and is calamitous for the people. We wish to express our solidarity with all those who suffer from any form of oppression and injustice, and with those in the world who have been silenced or marginalized.

The cause of human rights is a single cause, just as the people of the world are a single people. The talk today is of globalization, but we must state that unless there is global solidarity, not only human rights but also the right to remain human will be jeopardized. If there is no solidarity between people we will be unable to preserve a fair world in which it is possible to continue living as human beings. I therefore humbly believe that rather than new models, both for societies and for relations between countries, what we need is a new spirit.

This new spirit, which should find expression in solidarity, cooperation, and justice in the relations between countries, will not impede development, because if policies and models are made secondary to personal realization and the establishment of justice and democracy, and if policies are humanized, we will bridge the gulfs that divide peoples and will become a true human family.

We bring from Cuba a message of peace and solidarity for all peoples. The people of Cuba accept this prize with dignity and in the hope that we can rebuild our society with love for all, as brothers, and as children of God. Cubans are straightforward people and want nothing more than to live in peace and progress in our work, but WE CANNOT, WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO, AND WE DO NOT WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT FREEDOM.

We dedicate this prize and our hopes to the Lord Jesus, born in a lowly manger.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

European Union continues its retreat on human rights accommodating another dictatorship

The talk today is of globalization, but we must state that unless there is global solidarity, not only human rights but also the right to remain human will be jeopardized. - Oswaldo Paya, European Parliament, December 17, 2002

Today a majority of the European Parliament rejected the legacy of Vaclav Havel putting profits over principle, abandoning Cuban dissidents to advance a commercial relationship with the Castro regime. By a vote of 567 votes to 65, with 31 abstentions, European Parliament members backed the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the EU and Cuba. Previous rapprochements with the dictatorship in Cuba have coincided with a worsening human rights decision and the death of high profile dissidents.

Ideas have consequences and the rejection of Havel's ideas began back in 2014 when Czech deputy foreign minister Petr Drulák argued that a "foreign policy with its stress on human rights was wrong and harmful." This abandonment of human rights did not begin with Cuba but in February of 2015 when the European Union lifted sanctions on the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. This was followed in February of 2016 with lifting sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus. This is the continuation of a decline in human rights around the world that has been going on for over a decade. Empowering and appeasing dictators had terrible consequences in the 20th century and this mistake is being repeated in the 21st century.  The case of North Korea should be a cautionary warning for those advocating this approach.

This latest retreat from a human rights centered policy occurred while Amnesty International has issued two urgent actions in the space of a week on human rights activists on hunger strikes in Cuba protesting harassment, intimidation and arbitrary imprisonment. On Sunday 50 Ladies in White ( EU Sakharov Prize laureates) were arbitrarily detained to prevent them attending Mass and peacefully marching for the release of Cuban political prisoners. Ignoring all this and the murder of 2002 Sakharov laureate Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and youth leader Harold Cepero of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) on July 22, 2012 and the imprisonment of the current MCL leader Eduardo Cardet is a sad testament to the current political climate where the worse are full of passionate intensity and those who know better pay lip service to human rights while legitimizing murderous dictatorships in Zimbabwe, Belarus and Cuba.

If the members of the European Parliament were serious about human rights in Cuba they would immediately suspend the newly announced agreement, because the provisions on human rights are being violated by the Castro regime.