EU-CUBA: The Rocky Road of Rapprochement

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jun 13 2005 (IPS) - Dissidents in Cuba are split on their attitudes towards the policy of constructive dialogue adopted by the European Union (EU) in its relations with Cuba’s socialist government.

This divergence of opinion has led to different expectations for the decision to be announced Monday regarding the EU diplomatic sanctions imposed against Cuba in 2003, following the imprisonment of 75 opposition members accused of conspiring with the U.S. government to destabilise the country, and the execution of three men who attempted to hijack a passenger ferry to the United States.

"I haven’t expected anything from the EU, ever since it failed to defend the right of its member states with embassies in Cuba to invite us to their receptions," prominent dissident Vladimiro Roca told IPS.

Roca is the spokesman for the opposition group Todos Unidos (Everyone United), and has been one of the most vocal critics of the EU’s decision to lift these sanctions in January.

The EU is currently evaluating the effectiveness of this move, which led Cuba to seek the normalisation of relations with European diplomatic representatives in Havana, paving the way for dialogue and rapprochement.

The sanctions adopted in 2003 included limiting high-level bilateral governmental visits, reducing EU member state participation in cultural events in Cuba, and inviting representatives of the Cuban dissident community to national holiday celebrations at EU embassies in Havana.

It was this last decision that most harshly stung the government of President Fidel Castro, which hit back by freezing all contact with European diplomats. Even low-level functionaries and journalists from Cuba refused to attend EU functions.

"We do not agree with the lifting of these measures, and we believe they should be resumed, to pressure the government," said Angel Polanco, spokesperson for the Assembly to Promote Civil Society (APSC), which hosted the first ever dissident congress in Cuba on May 20 and 21.

The fact that this meeting – attended by over 150 delegates from throughout the country, according to the organisers – was allowed to take place without intervention from the Cuban authorities is considered one of the positive signs now being evaluated by EU experts and officials.

Nevertheless, both Roca (who attended the APSC as a special guest on behalf of Todos Unidos) and Polanco maintain that this incident cannot be viewed as a show of greater openness on the part of the country’s leadership.

"The government was forced to allow this meeting, it had no choice," said Polanco.

While the authorities did nothing to prevent or interfere in the congress, they did however deport a number of European lawmakers, politicians and journalists who had entered Cuba with tourist visas but with the intent to attend the dissident gathering.

While these expulsions could have posed an insurmountable stumbling block on the shaky path of dialogue, European sources predict that when the EU ministers evaluate the bloc’s stance towards Cuba on Monday, they will issue a condemnation but nonetheless stick to the road of rapprochement.

"The (Cuban) government has done nothing to change in these last six months, but I can understand that it is difficult for the EU to bring about an improvement in this situation. I myself do not support any kind of rupture that would interrupt the dialogue between the EU and the Cuban authorities," remarked Cuban dissident economist Oscar Espinoza.

The suspension of the sanctions against Cuba, unanimously backed by the 25 EU member states, was a "necessary evil" according to Espinoza, one of the 14 prisoners released on parole for health reasons from among the 75 dissidents sentenced in 2003.

Oswaldo Payá, leader of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL) and driving force behind an initiative to promote political changes in Cuba through constitutional reforms, told IPS that the remaining prisoners’ situation continues to deteriorate, and there have been no further releases.

"We do not think that a relationship can be built while this situation is tolerated," he said, adding that instead of concentrating on whether or not to maintain certain measures, it would be better to evaluate the issues of "political prisoners, the need for democratic opening and what can be done to promote these goals."

Manuel Cuesta, spokesman for the dissident coalition Arco Progresista, also noted that no more prisoners have been released, nor have any steps been taken towards greater government tolerance, but he still believes that the current stance of the EU will prove more effective.

"Dialogue and persuasion have to be given more time. The EU is demonstrating that its policy towards Cuba is consistent, and not merely ad hoc," said Cuesta, whose coalition groups together a number of small organisations with social democratic tendencies.

For his part, Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo, leader of Cambio Cubano (Cuban Change) and a proponent of dialogue with the Castro government, called the EU stance coherent and sensible, and noted that the European bloc is clearly seeking to stake out "its own path" in relations with Cuba.

Gutiérrez Menoyo is an outspoken critic of policies of "confrontation", like the one followed by the United States, where he lived until August 2003 before moving back to Cuba. His presence on the island is tacitly accepted by the island’s authorities, although he has yet to be granted legal resident status.

The Cambio Cubano spokesman said he had been invited but had declined to attend meetings with dissidents organised by EU member state embassies in Havana as a means of compensating for the cancelled invitations to national holiday celebrations.

He added, however, that he has remained in contact with European diplomats on an individual basis.

Last Monday, the EU Political and Security Committee (COPS) moved to uphold the suspension of the sanctions against the island until June 2006, when the so-called Common Position on Cuba will be reviewed.

The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council is expected to ratify the decision this week in Luxembourg, the current seat of the bloc’s rotating presidency.

The Common Position was adopted in 1996 with the declared aims of promoting democratisation, respect for human rights and an improvement in living conditions for the Cuban population.

Havana has opposed this initiative from the outset as interference in its internal affairs. It also denies the claim that there are political prisoners in Cuba, and maintains that the imprisoned opposition members are mercenaries working for and paid by the United States.