Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-10-Speech-3-397"
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"en.20100310.23.3-397"2
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"Madam President, I believe that the debate that we have had regarding the issue of the situation of prisoners of conscience in Cuba, due to the death of one of them, Orlando Zapata, shows that there is a high level of agreement between Members and political groups. I am certain that this will be demonstrated tomorrow in the vote that is to take place on the resolutions resulting from this debate, which are basically in line with the position of the Council, the Commission and all the European Union institutions. This undoubtedly strengthens the European Union in this essential dialogue with Cuba and in the objective of advancing and improving the lot of the Cuban people.
I think that we can agree that we need to speak out immediately in any place where there is a violation of human rights. I think this is a fundamental principle that has been highlighted, and it should always be measured using the same yardstick.
The European Union must come to the fore as soon as there is a violation of human rights, because that is part of its very personality. In this case, we are doing so in relation to Cuba, by saying and demanding that all the remaining prisoners of conscience in Cuba should be released and that human rights should be respected there.
That is not all, however: we need to work effectively and be effective, achieve results that improve the well-being and living conditions of prisoners of conscience or even make it possible for them to be released.
In some cases, this has been achieved, and in some cases, progress has been made. This is because, amongst other things, there is a fundamental element of European Union policy in relation to Cuba, which is political dialogue. This dialogue was resumed recently – which I believe is a good thing – and, by putting an end to the sanctions which were part of the European Union’s position, and which did not make any sense at all, and resuming this political dialogue, it has been possible to do something that had not been possible since 2003: talking to the Cuban authorities about prisoners of conscience.
Naturally, the evaluation that some of you have mentioned, the evaluation of the result of this dialogue, will have to take place periodically, and there will have to be an evaluation of this process this year. Many of you – I am referring, for example, to the speeches by Mr Mauro, Mr Yáñez-Barnuevo or Mr Michel – have highlighted the importance of this dialogue, of this cooperation, and of the moral authority that the European Union has to talk to Cuba and achieve progress, which is the ultimate aim.
We therefore welcome the majority agreement in this House regarding the human rights situation in Cuba, which I believe can be summarised in one message: although we continue to be open to dialogue with Cuba, the European Union is going to continue to demand that all political prisoners be freed there and that the civil and political rights of Cuban citizens be respected."@en1
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