June 25: Reporters Without Borders appealed to Raúl Castro’s government for a show of magnanimity towards the organisation’s correspondent, Ricardo González Alfonso, and other imprisoned journalists in return for the European Union’s decision on 23 June to lift the political sanctions it had imposed Cuba. The Cuban government had made this a condition for restoring normal relations with the EU. “There have been a few advances in freedom of expression and information since Raúl Castro took over as Council of State president on 24 February, with Cubans being given the right to buy their own computer equipment or enter tourist hotels that have better Internet connections,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The dialogue begun by the Spanish government undoubtedly contributed to this, just as it led to the release in February of independent journalist Alejandro González Raga and two other detainees from the 2003 ‘Black Spring’.”
The press freedom organisation added: “A similar gesture is now needed with the 23 other journalists who are still imprisoned, 19 of whom have been held since the March 2003 crackdown. (…) As well as being the Reporters Without Borders Cuba correspondent, González is the founder of the Manuel Márquez Sterling journalists’ association and the independent magazine De Cuba. He was arrested on 18 March 2003 and was given a 20-year prison sentence on the absurd charge of being a “mercenary” in the pay of the United States. He has been held in Havana’s Combinado del Este prison since the end of 2004.” (RWB Press Release, 25/6/08)
June 24: Cuba welcomed the European Union's lifting of sanctions against the communist-rule island, saying "truth" and "reason" had defeated the punitive measures.
"We never surrendered in this confrontation, because we were convinced that reason would prevail," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said during an official visit in Angola, according to the state-run agency Prensa Latina. The EU "had no other choice but to abandon its strong-arm policy," Perez Roque said. "The truth opened the way in the recent decision of the EU to lift its sanctions." It was the first reaction of Raul Castro's regime since the EU officially lifted its sanctions on Cuba in the hope of encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel Castro era. Castro, 81, described the EU's decision to end the sanctions "enormous hypocricy." He criticized the EU for demanding that human rights be respected in Cuba, while it approved a "brutal" immigration law and kept quiet about abuses committed by US President George W. Bush's administration. (AFP, 24/6/08)
June 23: The EU officially lifted its sanctions on Cuba in the hope of encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel Castro era. "The problems that came up during the day have been resolved. The decision has been adopted," a spokesman for the current Slovenian presidency of the bloc said, referring to a procedural error that had briefly delayed the move. The measure was a largely symbolic political step as the European Union sanctions have been suspended since 2005. It was championed by Spain, which normalised relations with Cuba last year. The political decision was taken by EU foreign ministers at a meeting on June 19, but the move received formal endorsement at a meeting of European agriculture ministers in Luxembourg. Earlier, the wrong version of the text for the decision was presented, causing a delay, the Slovenian spokesman said. The Swedish delegation noticed that an annex with conditions on the lifting of the sanctions was missing. Among the conditions tied to the lifting of the sanctions, which restricted high-level diplomatic contacts, is a clause obliging the EU to review the human rights situation in the communist-ruled island yearly. (AFP, 23/6/08)
June 23: A "clerical error" delayed the definitive lifting of European Union sanctions against Cuba, a Swedish diplomatic source said. The move, aimed at encouraging democracy on the island in the post-Fidel era, was due to be approved by EU agriculture ministers meeting in Luxembourg. However the Swedes held up the deal as the paperwork wasn't all in place. "It's not a political problem at all, it's just a procedural issue, a clerical error," the Swedish source said. The lifting of the EU sanctions is largely a symbolic political move as the measures have been suspended since 2005. A small minority of EU member states, led by the Czech Republic, along with the Netherlands and Denmark, had been reluctant to definitively lift them, insisting that the EU should continue to press on the prisoners and wider human rights issues. (AFP, 23/6/08)
June 22: In an article published in the official web site Cubadebate, for the third time Fidel Castro slammed a European Union decision that lifted diplomatic sanctions on Cuba but imposed tough conditions on Havana to maintain sanction-free relations with the union. The ailing 81-year-old former leader, who handed power over to younger brother Raul in February, said the EU has no right to lecture Cuba on human rights (The Scotsman, 23/6/08)
June 22: Fidel Castro followed his scathing on the European Union's decision a day earlier to lift its sanctions on Cuba. Fidel branded the EU's decision "a great hypocrisy" because it is conditioned on human rights progress and democratic reforms in Cuba, and also in view of the "brutal" immigration law it passed a few days earlier that made illegal immigration a crime. “In the reflection I wrote three days ago, I stated: ‘Our country has demonstrated that it can stand up to all pressures and help other peoples’. Could Europe affirm the same thing?, Castro said “This is the second time Cuba is thus recognized by UNESCO. It is reasonable to assume that no country where human rights are systematically violated can reach such high educational levels”, Castro wrote. (AFP, Radio Habana Cuba, 23/6/08)
June 21: Cuban authorities have released six dissidents who were briefly detained just hours after the European Union had totally lifted its sanctions on the island, saying there had been signs of improvements in Cuba's human rights. The dissidents were detained on June 20 as they staged a protest near an office of the Ministry of Interior, in charge of domestic security, in the city of Matanzas. News reports from Havana identified the six as Jorge Luis ''Antúnez'' García Pérez; his wife, Iraida Pérez; Idania Yanes; Yesmielena Surbano; Benito Ortega; and Blas Fortún. Ortega said that security agents had told the group that they were under investigation for disobedience, resisting and causing damage. Cuban authorities often detain dissidents briefly, usually to prevent planned gatherings or warn the government critics to stop their activities or face tougher sanctions. (EFE, 21/6/08)
June 20: The European Union dropped diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, defying the US and ending the "cocktail wars" with the communist island. Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development, said it was a "positive step forward. The EU-Cuba relationship has been in a state of limbo for several years. This decision clears the way for a more open and frank dialogue on a range of issues including human rights, the environment, science and technology." Mr Michel said Cuba could become eligible for EU aid. "We can now look forward to improving and deepening co-operation on issues of common interest, such as climate change or external development assistance. It is essential that the EU be in a position to accompany Cuba in any future developments. This can only be to the benefit of all sides and most especially the people of Cuba," he said. The commissioner, who visited Cuba in March, welcomed recent social reforms including changes to property ownership rights, salaries, agriculture and access to mobile phones. (The Financial Times, 20/6/08)
June 20: The United States downplayed the European Union's decision to lift its sanctions on Cuba, even after a White House official a day earlier called it disappointing. "The US and the European Union share common objectives in Cuba: freedom, democracy and universal human rights," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. On June 19, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Washington was "disappointed" at the EU decision, which he said should have come after human rights conditions improved in Cuba. McCormack refused to describe the US reaction as disappointment, saying: "This is a tactical difference." "From our consultations (…) we understand that the European Union will set human rights benchmarks for its dialogue with the Cuban government," including the release of political prisoners, respect for civil and political rights and freedom of information for all Cubans. "These benchmarks send the right message about what is important: the need for the Cuban government to change the way it treats its citizens," McCormack said, adding the EU was expected to announce its conditions for normal relations with Cuba next week. EU foreign ministers took the decision to lift Cuba sanctions on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels. The move, which is to become official on June 23, is a largely symbolic gesture as the sanctions have been suspended since 2005. They were imposed in 2003 after Cuba jailed 75 dissidents. (AFP, 20/6/08)
June 20: Fidel Castro slammed an EU decision lifting diplomatic sanctions against Cuba but imposing tough human rights conditions, calling it an ''enormous hypocrisy'' in light of Europe's new rules on illegal immigration. The ailing 81-year-old former leader said in an online essay that the EU has no right to lecture Cuba on human rights given what he called the ''brutal'' immigration policy. ''At my age and in my state of health, you don't know how long you're going to live,'' he wrote on the CubaDebate Web site. ''But from now on I wish to register my scorn for the enormous hypocrisy behind this decision.'' Castro also said neither the sanctions nor their end would have ''absolutely any economic consequence'' for Cuba, which is also the target of a decades-old U.S. economic embargo. The immigration measures adopted by the European Union seek to standardize the process by which illegal immigrants are held and deported in member nations. It contains some contentious provisions, such as allowing for migrants to be held for as long as 18 months before being expelled. Raul Castro's government has yet to comment on the lifting of the sanctions. (AP, 20/6/08)
June 19: The European Union's decision to lift sanctions against Cuba appears to be "a step in the right direction" but still must be fully evaluated, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said. The EU's foreign ministers agreed to lift the diplomatic sanctions that, despite having been suspended since 2005, impeded the normalization of relations between the communist island and the European bloc. "If it has happened (as described in the news), I think that, yes, it's a step in the right direction," Perez Roque told the press during a reception for visiting Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez. "We've seen the news, but we'll take our time in evaluating the issue, knowing the official decisions and, in the appropriate moment, we will react in an official way," he said. Perez Roque said Cuba would not accept any pressure from the EU. "Our position has been very firm the whole time, that a rectification by the European Union was necessary, that without that it was impossible to negotiate with them, because Cuba doesn't accept negotiating under pressure or under impositions," he said. (Reuters, 19/6/08)
June 19: Leading Cuban dissidents expressed disappointment over the European Union's decision to lift their sanctions against Cuba, fearing it could lead to further crackdowns. Oswaldo Paya said he hopes the move does not signify the EU' approval of Raul Castro's government. ''This regime has not announced any change that is significant for rights or liberty, and we know we have to conquer that ourselves,'' Paya said. "We are going to expect horrible things to happen to the opposition," said Martha Beatriz Roque, the sole woman among the 20 released dissidents. With the sanctions in place "the government was tremendously aggressive with us and with the people -- now that (the sanctions) have been eliminated, their aggression will double," Roque told the press. The decision implies "telling the Cuban government to continue violating human rights," she said. "The EU no longer remembers the 75 prisoners." Oscar Espinosa, another one of the released dissidents, said the EU decision "is truly distressing because it could encourage the most hard-line sectors within the government." The move "could be interpreted as a sign that an intolerant stance (towards political dissidents) yields benefits in the relations with the European Union," Espinosa said. The Ladies in White -- wives and mothers of the 75 political prisoners, a group that won the European Parliament's 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- also lamented the decision. "The situation in Cuba will remain the same," said Ladies in White member Berta Soler. "There will only be a change when these political prisoners are in the streets." (AFP, AP, 20/8/08)
June 19: The European Union deal on Cuba was struck after the Czech Republic and Sweden - backed by Germany - dropped their opposition to the policy shift. "The EU's passive policy is becoming an active policy," reads the agreement's final wording distributed by the Czech foreign ministry. The new EU line is to be annually reviewed and unanimously assessed by all 27 member states, with special attention to be paid to human rights issues. "If the assessment results are not satisfactory, this EU policy will come to an end," the paper says, translated from the Czech language. When asked about what "real progress" means, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg replied by pointing to a number of Prague's priorities. They include a change in the "horrifying" situation of some 200 political prisoners and the international community having access to them. In addition, every high-level visit to Cuba should also include meetings with representatives of the democratic opposition. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Sweden has tried to establish high-level contacts with Cuba since 2005, when the EU sanctions were suspended, but was rebuffed by Havana. "We're explicit about what we expect: democratic changes, releasing political prisoners, open economy," Mr. Bildt said. Cuba said we've been "too tough in our language," he added. (EUObserver, The Wall Street Journal, 20/6/08)
June 19: The European Union agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but imposed tough conditions on the communist island to maintain sanction-free relations, officials said. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the bloc felt it had to encourage changes in Cuba after Raul Castro took over as the head of the country's government from his ailing brother Fidel. ''There will be very clear language also on what the Cubans still have to do (…) releasing prisoners, really working on human rights questions,'' she told reporters at an EU summit. ''There will be a sort of review to see whether indeed something will have happened.'' The largely symbolic decision takes effect on June 23. The diplomatic sanctions, which banned high-level visits to EU nations by Cuban officials, have not been in force since 2005. They were imposed in 2003 following the arrests of dozens of dissidents but suspended two years later. (AP, 19/6/08)
June 18: Cuban dissidents have called on the European Union (EU) not to definitively end its diplomatic measures imposed on the island’s communist government in 2003. “I’m glued to the radio to see what happens, and intrigued,” said Oscar Espinosa Chepe, one of the 75 government opponents whose jailing in Spring 2003 prompted the EU to impose sanctions on the communist country. While Espinosa and 19 others - one of whom later died - have been released on medical grounds, 55 of the group of dissidents popularly known as “Group of 75″ still remain behind bars. Speaking about EU’s ties with Cuba, Espinosa told the press that the postponement of the EU meeting on Cuba was evidence of the “controversy” that exists within the EU over the possibility of lifting the measures. “I’m in favour of improving relations with the Cuban government, they should encourage the possible reforms (in progress) … but not at the cost of throwing out a series of accords. The government has not released anyone. It hasn’t given real signs of change,” he noted. Espinosa said that the lifting of the sanctions could become a victory for the most hardline elements in the Cuban government. Martha Beatriz Roque, the head of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, also criticised Spain for its effort to get the EU sanctions on Cuba revoked. “Spain can’t do that because there are ex-socialist countries that know what this totalitarianism is,” said Roque. “I don’t know what the result is going to be, but I can certainly say that the postponement indicates that there is no consensus,” she said, emphasizing that “if anyone needs to change, it’s the Cuban government and not the European Union.” (EFE, 18/6/08)
June 17: Four Cuban exile groups asked the European Union (EU) to maintain its current diplomatic sanctions against the Government of Cuba until democratic change is brought about in the Caribbean island and human rights are respected. The statement is signed by writer and president of the Cuban Liberal Union, Carlos Alberto Montaner; Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat of the Cuban Democratic Directorate; Sylvia Iriondo of Mothers and Women Against Repression in Cuba (M.A.R for Cuba) and Angel De Fana from ‘Plantados’ until Freedom and Democracy in Cuba. (EFE, 17/6/08)
June 16: A Cuban dissident group asked the EU to press Havana for "real" reforms ahead of a review of its Cuba sanctions, dismissing changes introduced so far by President Raul Castro as cosmetic. Arco Progresista said the "limited changes" since Raul Castro took over from his ailing brother Fidel, 81, on February 24 tilt Cuba "toward a consumer society, but are not real steps toward a democratic society." Raul Castro, 77, has allowed Cubans to buy computers, own mobile telephones, rent cars and spend nights in hotels previously only accessible to foreigners. "This year we haven't seen any political change. Nor is there a timeline for political reforms or a democratic opening," Arco spokesman Manuel Cuesta said in the group's statement. Arco did not ask for the sanctions to be lifted altogether, but said the European Union should strive for "closer relations" while forcing the Castro government to institute real political reforms. (AFP, 16/6/08)
June 16: European Union foreign ministers postponed a decision on whether to lift sanctions on Cuba, leaving the controversial issue for a summit of the 27-nation bloc on June 19. The measures were imposed after a crackdown on dissent in 2003 and include a freeze on visits by high-level officials. They were formally suspended in 2005 but abolition would be seen as EU encouragement for reforms by Cuban President Raul Castro, who took over after the Feb. 24 retirement of his brother Fidel. "The foreign ministers' debate on Cuba is postponed to Thursday," the EU Presidency said. "They have enough difficult topics to discuss today," an EU diplomat said, referring to talks on the bloc's reform Lisbon Treaty, rejected by Irish voters. (Reuters, 16/6/08)
June 16: The Czech Republic and Sweden said they would likely block efforts to lift European Union sanctions against Cuba unless it improves its respect for human rights.
Many EU countries, led by Spain, are eager to improve ties with Cuba's new leader, Raul Castro, who took over from his ailing brother, Fidel Castro, last year. These countries want the 27-nation EU to lift the diplomatic sanctions it imposed five years ago. The oddity about this debate, however, is that the sanctions are not even in effect at the moment. They have been suspended since 2005. But European Union officials, along with Spain, are pushing to have the EU scrap the sanctions altogether in an overture to show Cuba that the EU is ready to rebuild ties. Diplomats said the plan would "recognize changes in Cuba" in improving rights for its citizens. It would also continue an annual review of human rights in Cuba -- and leave open the possibility that the European Union might impose the sanctions again. But the extent to which human rights in Cuba have improved is a point of dispute. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Monday that, before his country would support ending the sanctions, it would have to see evidence that Raul Castro is doing more to release dissidents and support the rights of its citizens. "If we don't achieve any progress in human rights issues, we'll block it," Schwarzenberg told reporters in Luxembourg for EU foreign ministers talks. And Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Cuba did not even seem interested in forging closer ties, which would include talks on rights and reforms. (AP, 16/6/08)
June 15: Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos will defend in Luxembourg the lifting of sanctions imposed on Cuba by the European Union in 2003 to protest the imprisonment of 75 opponents of the Castro regime. Moratinos will speak in the Council of Ministers for general affairs and foreign relations of the need to remove the diplomatic sanctions, which were suspended in 2005, to open up a dialogue with Cuban authorities coinciding with the process of change recently initiated on the communist island. Spain, along with Germany, France and Italy, is leading the effort to take steps toward dialogue and cooperation with Cuba, but other EU members such as the Czech Republic refuse to resume relations as long as there are no equal gestures by Havana toward the dissidents. (EFE, 15/6/08)
June 16: A group comprising relatives of the 75 opposition activists jailed in spring 2003 says it will continue accepting aid from Cuban exiles, but won't take money from the US government. Spokeswoman Berta Soler told foreign correspondents in Havana that the Ladies in White welcomes help from exile groups on the condition "that really no government gives them money." The exiles "collect money through campaigns, lunches, exhibitions. They collect money for us. That is not dirty money," said the wife of Angel Mora, who is serving a 20-year sentence. "The United States government has never given the Ladies in White a penny. No government has ever given us money," Soler said. "I don't know if it gives anything to the opposition, but the US government gives nothing to the Ladies in White." The Cuban regime accused Ladies in White member Laura Pollan of receiving $2,400 from anti-Castro elements in Miami. The activist confirmed receipt of the funds and that the aid was distributed among 18 families of political detainees. Pollan said she didn't know the ultimate source of the money. (EFE, 16/6/08)
June 15: US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez released the following statement after speaking with Cuba's leading dissidents on Father's Day. Representatives of the Ladies in White and other Cuban dissidents participated in the call. "Today I had the distinct privilege to speak with some of Cuba's leading dissidents in Havana who continue to struggle every day living in repression under Raul Castro's communist regime. I have the utmost respect and admiration for their continued efforts on behalf of freedom for political prisoners and democracy in Cuba, and assured them of President's Bush's continued support. "We must never forget that the Cuban people are suffering terribly under a brutally repressive regime. It is important that the United States continues to support the dissidents' efforts for change until the hundreds of political prisoners are released, and human rights are restored." Secretary Gutierrez co-chairs with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, a U.S. Cabinet-level commission formed to explore ways the United States can help hasten and ease a democratic transition in Cuba. (US News Service, 15/6/08)
June 12: Mexico and Spain are calling for an easing of sanctions against Cuba in the light of recent reforms by the communist-run island. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said, "The steps taken by Cuba have a positive tint." He said the European Union should fully lift sanctions imposed after the 2003 arrest of dissidents in Cuba. They were suspended in 2005. At a joint press conference in Madrid, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his country has full relations with Cuba and rejects the US embargo, which has been in place for nearly 50 years. "The embargo has not worked," Calderon said. Calderon said Cuban President Raúl Castro is "on the right path" with recent housing reforms and an end to bans on owning cell phones, staying in tourist hotels and buying electronics. (AP, 12/6/08)
June 11: Cuban journalist Carlos Serpa Maceira said he was warned by Cuban State Security against reporting for Radio Marti. Serpa Maceira, who has since been released, told the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) that he was taken from his home on June 6, threatened with deportation from Havana and pressured to renounce journalism by police and state security officials. "Courageous journalists like Carlos Serpa Maceira, who face grave personal danger in pursuit of the right to a free press and freedom of speech, serve as an information lifeline to the people of Cuba" said Edward E. Kaufman, member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, the parent agency of Radio and TV Marti. During his detention, Serpa Maceira was reproached for broadcasting a news story on Radio Marti, threatened with deportation from Havana to Isla de la Juventud (the Island of Youth), where he was born, and pressured to sign an Official Warning to cease his journalistic activities. "In the document," he explained, "they accuse me of having given news coverage to an aborted demonstration in Havana on June 4 for the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square events in China and that such activity was a counter-revolutionary provocation." He refused to sign the document and was later released. (Radio Martí, 11/6/08)
June 11: “We will not accept any kind of sanctions against Cuba as we have not accepted the sanctions imposed on our country either,” said Radojko Bogojevic, Secretary of State of the Republic of Serbia. Bogojevic, who is in Havana to participate in a meeting between officials from the foreign ministries of Cuba and Serbia, said in an interview with Granma news daily that his country rejects any European approach that implies sanctions against the Caribbean nation. “You have resisted the sanctions imposed by the United States and also those of the European Union. In both cases, we believe they are unjust and we reject them,” he added. With regards to bilateral relations between Cuba and Serbia, he expressed his satisfaction at the results of his meetings in Cuba and
noted that bilateral ties are very good. (ACN, 11/6/08)
June 11: Nine Polish members of parliament and senators of the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the liberal Citizens’ Platform party have formed a coalition in support of Cuban dissidents to promote democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba. “Our mission is to work in support of democracy, human rights and the political prisoners on the island,” said MP Maciej Plazynski. (EER, 11/6/08)
June 11: The dissident group Agenda for Transition asked the European Union to work in favour of the Cuban people instead of the Cuban government, and stressed that more than 200 dissidents still remain in prison in Cuba. “More than 200 political prisoners remain in Cuban prisons, including 55 prisoners of conscience from the 2003 Black Spring crackdown that triggered (the EU) sanctions in the first place and which are now due for review,” indicated the group in a statement released in Havana. Dissident Vladimiro Roca, member of the secretariat of Agenda for Transition, said that the letter was delivered to the French Embassy in the Cuban capital. (EER, 11/6/08)
June 10: The European Union and the United States urged Cuba's new government to free "all political prisoners" to show it is serious about improving human rights. US President George W Bush sharpened that challenge to new Cuban President Raul Castro in remarks after an EU-US summit in Slovenia, saying improved ties depended on a prisoner release. "Before relations should go forward, all political prisoners ought to be freed," Bush told a news conference. "If the Castro administration really is different, the first way to show that difference to the world is to free the political prisoners." Days after Castro took office as the island's new communist leader, Cuba in February signed two international human rights pacts that Fidel Castro opposed, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In a joint statement after the EU-US summit, both sides welcomed Cuba's signing of the treaty and urged the Castro government to ratify the covenant "and demonstrate its commitment by unconditionally releasing all political prisoners." (DPA, 10/6/08)
June 10: A leading Cuban dissident said that he plans to return to the island after a nearly two-year absence to fight for the freedom of political prisoners. Hector Palacios, who was in Puerto Rico for a two-day visit from his current home in Spain, told reporters that he and his wife Gisela Delgado — also a Cuban dissident — would soon travel back to their Caribbean homeland to resume leadership of his outlawed opposition group, Liberal Unity. Palacios, now 66, was incarcerated in 2003 on charges of undermining Cuba's communist system. He was released on medical parole in December 2006, cutting short a 25-year prison sentence. "We want a country where people can live in peace," Palacios said, adding that he is willing to meet with President Raul Castro, who succeeded his elder brother, Fidel, in February. "Change is going to happen." Palacios said he does not fear being imprisoned again in Cuba and that he looks forward to helping liberate the roughly 230 political prisoners he claims are on the island. It will be a hard fight, Palacios said. "There's one obstacle," he said. "Fidel is alive." Palacios was among 75 dissidents rounded up in March 2003 on charges they were US mercenaries working to undermine Cuba's communist system. (AP, 11/6/08)
June 10: European Union states are nearing agreement on ending sanctions on Cuba in defiance of US calls for continued pressure for democratic reform on the communist island, diplomats said. Closed-door talks on the move are continuing as EU leaders host President George W. Bush for a farewell summit in Slovenia. EU foreign ministers could endorse the step at a meeting in Luxembourg on June 16, the envoys said. The measures were imposed after a crackdown on dissent in 2003 and include a freeze on visits by high-level officials. They were formally suspended in 2005 but an outright abolition would be the EU's way of encouraging Cuba's new leadership after the February 24 retirement of Fidel Castro. "The time could be right because of changes undertaken by Cuba's new leadership," said one EU diplomat. Signs of an opening include new rules allowing Cubans to buy cell phones, rent rooms in hotels once reserved for foreigners, and an increase in public debate. "Sanctions could be lifted (…) but linked with dialogue, with a review. We are working on finding the exact formula," another EU diplomat said of the ongoing talks ahead of the June 16 meeting of EU foreign ministers. (Reuteers, 10/6/08)
June 9: EU states are nearing a deal to permanently lift sanctions on Cuba despite protests from human rights activists and hundreds of political prisoners remaining in jail. "The time could be right because of changes undertaken by Cuba's new leadership," a EU diplomat told the press ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on the topic on June 16. "Sanctions could possibly be lifted (…) we are working on finding the exact formula," another diplomat said. The EU froze high-level diplomatic relations with Havana in 2003 after the jailing of 75 dissidents and the execution of three people trying to flee to the US. The EU measures were temporarily suspended in 2005 and are reviewed every six months. (EUObserver, 9/6/08)
June 9: Dissident leader Oswaldo Paya reported that political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer García, “has been on a hunger strike for a week” and is enduring “horrible conditions” in solitary confinement at El Típico prison in Las Tunas. José Daniel Ferrer García, member of the MCL, is one of 75 dissidents sent to prison in the spring of 2003. He’s serving a sentence of 25 years of jail. (EER, 9/6/08)
June 4: Four members of the Cuban Pro Human Rights Party, the February 24 Movement, and the Frank País November 30 Democratic Party, were arrested by State Security forces and taken to the Güines police station, in Havana province, where they were threatened with imprisonment, if they continued participating in activities of the Cuban Pro Human Rights Party, an affiliate of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, in San Jose de las Lajas. (Cubanet, 12/6/08)
June 4: Young dissident Yosbany Socarras Gonzalez was sentenced to two years in prison by the municipal court of Aguada de Pasajeros, Cienfuegos province, accused of pre-criminal social dangerousness, in spite of being employed by the Integral Construction company No. 12, in the municipality of Abreu. During the hearings he was accused of meeting with antisocial elements. According to the youngster, he is usually in the company of human rights defenders. (Cubanet, 12/6/08)
June 3: A mob organized by State Security beat up Christian pastor Delmides Fidalgo López and his wife, Damaris Velásquez, in front of a secondary school in the province of Holguín. According to a report by human rights activist Juan Carlos González Leiva, the events took place in front of the “Calixto García” secondary school, in the Buenaventura municipality in Holguín. Also beaten were students Lisandra Rodríguez and José Luis Cabrera. The act of repudiation began when the pastor and his wife went to demand that Lisandra be readmitted to the school, after she was expelled on May 28 for refusing to remove a bracelet with the word “Change” written on it. González Leyva added that after the beating the victims were arrested and taken to a police station. (Cubanet, 3/6/08)
June 3: The dissident Christian Liberation Movement (CLM) denounced that the home of its leader, Oswaldo Payá, was attacked “as part of a campaign of intimidation by Cuban authorities that has been developing over the last few days”. “This Sunday afternoon, June first at approximately 7:15 PM, strangers in plain daylight hurled a rock against the front door of the home where my three children, wife and I live. The rock left a dent in my door, with rock fragments in the dent and on the floor. My neighbours witnessed the attack”, Paya said as part of the CLM statement. “The perpetrators and supporters of this act once again go from threats and agitation to violent and criminal action that threatens the life of my children and other members of my family”, Paya added. “I want to make it clear that we have no problem or conflict with anyone in our neighbourhood or anywhere else, and that all aggressions and offences we have suffered are due to my defence of the rights of Cubans”, Paya said. (CLM Press Release, 3/6/08)
June 2: Europe bears special responsibility for Nazism and communism and their consequences as both totalitarian systems were first established in it, former Czech president Vaclav Havel told the international conference The Conscience of Europe and Communism. Havel said Europe had special responsibility also for man's freedom worldwide. The EU should more radically support those who fight for freedom in countries like Cuba, Belarus and Burma irrespective of any political and economic interests, he said. “This is something that the European Union recently learned the hard way when it thought -- partly out of naivete, partly out of expediency -- that a more forthcoming attitude toward Fidel Castro's regime would lead to a more forthcoming attitude on the part of Castro toward his political prisoners and dissent in general. But Castro made a fool of the EU. He released a few critically ill prisoners, secretly jailed some others and did not let some European parliamentarians into the country. Those parliamentarians who somehow managed to slip in were unceremoniously expelled”, Havel said. The two-day conference, opening in the Czech Senate, proposed that August 23 be declared the international day of victims of totalitarian systems. (CTK, 3/6/08)
June 2: State Security forces carried out an operation against members of several peaceful dissident organizations and parties who were planning on holding a meeting in Pinar del Rio. The dissidents were detained as they arrived at the house in which the meeting was scheduled to take place. They were all released later. (Cubanet, 2/6/08)
