Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-16-Speech-2-130"
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"en.20041116.12.2-130"2
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"Thank you, Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, at this late hour. Exactly two years ago, we awarded the Cuban democracy activist, Oswaldo Payá our Sakharov Prize. It was the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe that had proposed him for this prize, and he received it for his courageous fight for democracy and justice in Cuba. He received it as a representative of all Cubans from different party groups: Christian Democrats, Liberals, Social Democrats and others who, by peaceful means, are trying to pave the way for a new Cuba without Castro, whether his name be Fidel or Raoul.
Payá and the others are working for a Cuba in which democracy, human rights, pluralism, freedom and justice exist for all. It was not easy getting Oswaldo Payá here. On several occasions, the Cuban regime tried to prevent him from coming, but we succeeded in the end. Unfortunately, we did not succeed in getting him to come back.
Since Oswaldo Payá was awarded the Sakharov Prize, the situation in Cuba has deteriorated. About eighty democracy activists have been arrested and sentenced, following farcical trials, to very long prison sentences. They are now spread out over the island. They are faring badly. Their living conditions are appalling, and they very rarely see their families. Many of them are ill.
I have met many of these people. They are fantastic, courageous people who wish to adopt a peaceful route to establishing human dignity and democracy for themselves and their fellow countrymen. For Castro, the dictator pathetically romanticised by many in Europe, these people are, however, a grave threat. That is why they had to be silenced. That is why they have been imprisoned. Osvaldo himself is at liberty, and his family is harassed on a daily basis.
The situation in Cuba, one of the world’s last Communist dictatorships, is worse. No progress has been made since the Council toughened its so-called common position. Castro continues to be intractable. He appears to want to isolate the country completely. Just as the Commissioner said, he is boycotting the EU and our Member States. Several Members of the European Parliament, including Swedish MEPs, have been denied entry to the country. There is a debate at the present moment as to whether the EU should modify its common position or make it less stringent. That would be very unfortunate. Why should we reward Castro when there is no progress on human rights? For once, the EU has a consistent position on a dictatorship. Why, then, should we change it?
Oswaldo Payá and the other dissidents are appealing to us to hold fast to our values and to the policy we have adopted. That is why it is important to intensify our dialogue with the dissidents and to support a gradual transition to democracy. We honoured Oswaldo Payá and the other Cuban democracy activists here in this House, and that was a long-term commitment. We must stand up for human rights and vigorously reject a change to the common position. Just like ourselves, Cubans are entitled to democracy and human rights. Let us show them which side we are on."@en1
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