Vaclav Havel Urges EU To Take A Stand Against Cuba
MichaelW on Mar 12 2008 at 11:37 am | Filed under: Around the Web
The New Centrist posts a letter from the former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel, and other signatories, highlighting Cuba’s systematic violations of individual rights, and encouraging the EU to aggressively address the communist nation:
Five years ago, the European Union was on the verge of fulfilling one of the aspirations of the Velvet Revolutions that swept across Central and Eastern Europe by expanding from 15 to 25 members through the accession of several post-communist states. Yet, while the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain may have fallen into the dustbin of history, others vestiges of the Soviet era remain firmly in place. Certain areas of the world have been transformed for the better, even as others have been suspended in time to fend for themselves. One place that has not changed is Cuba, despite Fidel Castro’s decision to retire and hand the reigns of power over to his brother Raul.
On March 18, five years ago, Castro’s government cracked down on the Varela Project and other civil society initiatives rather than risk allowing a spark of democratic reform to spread across Cuba as it had in the former Soviet bloc. The 75 prisoners of conscience locked up were dissidents, independent journalists, leaders from civil society, and librarians, who had dared to speak the truth openly about what life is like in Cuba. Even though seven prisoners have recently been released, 52 of the 75 remain incarcerated in deplorable conditions. In general, the only reason that any of these prisoners were freed was because of how seriously their health had deteriorated.
As they say, RTWT.
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