By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA, Nov 30 2004 (IPS)

The release of five dissidents over the past two days could pave the way for an eventual patching up of ties between Cuba and the European Union, say diplomats and activists.

"These are signals from the Cuban government that will perhaps facilitate an assessment favourable to a thaw in relations with the EU," a European diplomat who asked not to be identified commented to IPS.

The source pointed out that in the eyes of the EU, all "prisoners of conscience should be freed."

Nevertheless, the European Commission (the EU executive organ) welcomed the release of the prisoners, who were among an original group of 75 dissidents sentenced to up to 28 years in prison last year on charges of conspiring with Washington to undermine Cuba’s socialist government.

"I believe this will facilitate the discussions in Brussels and will bolster the stance of those EU partners that believe it is better to seek routes of dialogue with authorities in Cuba," said the diplomat.

Experts on Cuba from the 25 EU member countries will meet in Brussels on Dec. 14 to discuss a possible rapprochement with the government of Fidel Castro.

Expectations built up over the weekend when nearly 20 imprisoned dissidents were brought to Havana for medical exams, after which five were released on parole, for health reasons, including poet and journalist Raúl Rivero and Osvaldo Alfonso, the founder of the Democratic Liberal Party, an illegal opposition group, who were freed Tuesday.

And on Monday, economist and former Cuban diplomat Oscar Espinosa Chepe, human rights activist Marcelo López, and Margarito Broche, with the Rafters’ Association, were released.

Marta Beatriz Roque and six other government opponents had already been released in the first half of the year, which means 63 of the group of 75 dissidents remain in prison.

Dissidents and diplomats regard the release as a gesture towards the Spanish government of socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which is pressing for a more flexible EU stance towards Havana.

Last Thursday, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque met for over an hour in the Foreign Ministry with Spanish Ambassador Carlos Alonso Zaldívar and publicly announced the restoration of official contacts between the two countries.

After the meeting, which apparently took Zaldívar by surprise, he referred to "a complex process driven by Spain" aimed at creating "more normal" EU-Cuba relations.

The Spanish government believes it is necessary to overcome the "unsatisfactory" current state of relations with Cuba, which were particularly tense under the administration of Zapatero’s predecessor, centre-right former prime minister José María Aznar, who followed a hard-line policy towards Havana.

In June 2003, the EU adopted several measures against Cuba in response to the arrests and summary trials of the 75 dissidents in April as well as the firing squad executions of three men who tried to hijack a passenger ferry to reach the United States.

In retaliation, the Cuban government refused all official EU aid, and cut off direct communications with the ambassadors of the EU countries, which had begun inviting dissidents to the embassy receptions held to celebrate European national holidays.

The EU is now seeking to come up with more effective instruments to orient its ties with Cuba, based on reports drawn up by the European ambassadors in Havana.

Government opponents in Cuba say this week’s releases came in response to the new analysis of ties with Cuba taking place within the EU, although some said they were sceptical with regards to the Cuban government’s intentions.

"I believe (the Cuban government) is continuing to send out false signals of change or flexibility to the international community, especially the EU and Spain," said Elizardo Sánchez, the head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, a dissident group.

According to the activist, these are "false signals" because while some dissidents are released, "the detentions, searches, threats and interrogations" continue for others.

In his first statements to the press after he came out of prison, Rivero said he believed the move was aimed at "re-establishing" relations with the EU, although he added that he was not well-informed on the question.

Rivero said the conditions during his first year in prison were tough, although he underlined that he suffered no physical mistreatment. "The first 11 months, I was in a punishment cell, separated from the others," he said.

Nevertheless, he was allowed to read, and he also wrote around 50 poems in the Canaletas prison in the central province of Ciego de Avila where he was held until Friday, when he was transferred to Havana for a medical check-up that led to his release.

Rivero was serving a 20-year jail term, accused of conspiring with the U.S. government against Cuba’s independence and sovereignty. But he said the charges were false. "I am not a conspirator, neither with the United States nor with any other foreign government," he stated.

"I am coming out (of prison) without rage, with an attitude that is basically constructive. I feel no hatred, at least no strong hatred. In the trial I said clearly that I would never want a government for Cuba that was not Cuban," he added.

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