Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-22-Speech-4-251"
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"en.20040422.9.4-251"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should first like to welcome the fact, on my own behalf and on behalf of my group, that four political groups were able to agree on a compromise resolution, one that is in favour of Cuba, not opposed to it; a resolution that is in favour of the Cuban people, and opposed to a tyrannical regime.
I should like to mention two dates, so that we can be absolutely clear as to what is at stake: on 1 May, ten new Member States are to join this Parliament, our milieu, the house of democracy that we share. Ten years ago, eight of these States were languishing under the tyranny of Communist dictatorships. Once the Wall came down, they were able to develop democratically, to share the same cornerstones of the rule of law, democracy and freedom, and to live side by side with us. This is what we would like to see happen in Cuba.
Next Sunday, 25 April, sees the thirtieth anniversary of the ‘Carnation Revolution’, a democratic revolution, which was promptly hijacked by the extreme left and the Communists, who wished to turn Portugal – to use the expression of the time – into ‘the Cuba of Europe’. We strove hard in 1974 and 1975 to be able to call ourselves a free and democratic country and not a ‘Cuba of Europe’. What we would now like to see is Cuba become ‘the Portugal of the Caribbean’; we would like to see the carnations that brightened up Portugal do the same in Cuba; we would like to share the vibrancy, the colour and the warmth of Cuban culture, a culture we hold in high regard and which we would like to see smile and grow in freedom. This is what is at stake.
Mention has been made here of double standards. What I deplore here is the lack of solidarity, on the part of some Members of this House, with the terrible suffering in Cuba, with people sentenced one year ago to twenty or more years in prison for their beliefs. This is a diabolical state of affairs. If you do not wish to see double standards, then use your vote wisely, otherwise the accusers may soon find the tables turned on them. As revealed recently in Parliament by the
organisation, Cuba is currently the world’s largest prison for journalists. Since March, twenty-seven journalists have been imprisoned, and three were already in prison. We must, therefore, show unstinting solidarity with all those who advocate freedom of speech, of opinion and of expression, and political freedom in Cuba.
Lastly, one or two words of support for campaigns to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Cuban democrats, such as Rivero Castañeda, a great writer and poet who is in prison, or Oswaldo Payá, to whom we awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2002. We must not tire in our efforts and must never give up on promoting the Sakharov initiative until, as we have requested and as is his right, Oswaldo Payá is able to come here and speak to us."@en1
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"Reporters Sans Frontières"1
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