Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-16-Speech-2-139"
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"en.20041116.12.2-139"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Cuba must not become some kind of fenced-off reserve, with a sign on the fence reading ‘human rights not respected here’. Cuba is not an ‘animal farm’, to use the title of a book by George Orwell, nor is it Fidel Castro’s ‘farm’. During yesterday’s one-minute speeches, it was said that Members of this House should not travel to Cuba on EU money, but that is not the issue at stake. We must stand firm and continue to call on the Cuban regime to respect human rights, and we must be rigorous in demanding the release of political prisoners. We should not, however, create additional barriers and obstacles. If we isolate Cuba, Castro is most likely to benefit, not the opposition. According to Human Rights Watch, Castro is not suffering under the US embargo, but the Cuban people as a whole most certainly are.
The Eighth Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly will begin next Saturday in the Netherlands, and in view of this I should like to note that 77 of the countries that are Members of the Assembly believe that relations with Cuba should be stepped up, not scaled down. We would do well to fight for human rights, and we should do so effectively. Sometimes, even if our intentions are good and we defend the correct values, we may unintentionally cause harm to the people of Cuba and assist those who order them to chant ‘socialism or death!’ I hope the decision taken on Cuba by the EU’s 25 Foreign Affairs Ministers in December will be realistic and that it will defend human rights."@en1
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