Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-03-Speech-3-013"
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"en.20030903.1.3-013"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to congratulate Parliament on its initiative of tabling the debate for today, which in fact provides a good opportunity to respond to the ongoing worsening of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Cuba.
It is no longer simply a matter of the arbitrary arrests that were made a few months ago and the extremely harsh sentences that have been handed down. Fidel Castro’s regime still responds to the international community in a negative way and persecution is unfortunately still taking place in that country, which is so dear to many of us. I also wish to clear up the confusion about US policy, which is sometimes referred to. At no time has Europe, the European Union or any Member State adopted a policy towards Cuba that could be confused with the policy pursued by the United States. We are consequently all the more disappointed and indignant, because the Cuban regime has betrayed and rejected our good faith and has dashed our hopes of seeing positive developments in the Cuban regime, expressed in particular through the attempt at openness made by a delegation at the beginning of the year and in the visit to Cuba made by Commissioner Nielson, also at the beginning of the year.
We must, therefore, come up with a response that is imaginative, consistent and clear. As you all know, I have set great symbolic and political store by what I have called the ‘Sakharov Initiative’ and I am pleased to see that, following the enormous support this has received in the House, it now appears in the text of the compromise resolution. The initiative calls on the Italian Presidency, the Commission and Parliament to invite Oswaldo Payá to return to Europe, to come here to our plenary, and to be received in the European capitals at the highest level. It also calls on us to play a leading and highly visible role in the struggle and the suffering of the Cuban people for their human rights – this is the right way to move ahead and also to demonstrate the value we attach to a prize awarded by Europe, a prize that was awarded only a year ago and which we must monitor, actively demonstrating our solidarity and commitment."@en1
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