By Volker Hermsdorf on June 14, 2021
photo: Bill Hackwell
On Thursday the European Parliament approved a “motion for a resolution on human rights and the political situation in Cuba” by 386 votes in favor, 236 against and 59 abstentions.
The motion was formulated and presented, among others, by declared fascists from the right-wing parties Vox (Spain), Fratelli d’Italia and HSP-AS (Croatia) of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. Politicians from the conservative and right-wing Polish PiS, the Spanish People’s Party (PP) and the liberal alliance Renew Europe, to which the German FDP also belongs, also supported the measure.
This comes after the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, defended Tuesday in the plenary of the European Parliament the “Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba” agreed in 2017 that expresses a clear criticism of the US blockade, never the less the right-wing bloc has thus managed to damage the EU’s relations with the socialist island state after all which the state propaganda agency Marti Noticias immediately celebrated, smugly pointing out that “a dozen Social Democrats” had also supported the motion.
The ten-page document accuses Cuba, among other things, of the “existence of political prisoners and arbitrary detentions”. As evidence, it points to “the ongoing attacks against the artists of the San Isidro movement,” even though several representatives of the U.S.-funded San Isidro group have since admitted their links with U.S. authorities and terrorist structures. The EU right-wingers call for the release of “all political prisoners and persons arbitrarily imprisoned for merely exercising their freedom of expression and assembly.” The Spanish counter-organization “Cuban Prisoners Defenders,” supported by PP and Vox, hailed a “historic resolution” that also “condemns the enslavement of medical brigades abroad and confirms that the dialogue agreement is being violated.”
On political and diplomatic relations, the resolution calls on the European External Action Service not to participate in future dialogues with Cuba “if civil society is not adequately represented”. The far-right Czech ruling party ANO, sent on Twitter, “Strong message of solidarity with the Cuban people.”
The International Relations Commission of Cuba’s National Assembly condemned the resolution approved by the EU Parliament as “misleading and interfering”. In a statement published on the Cuban Parliament’s website, the deputies pointed out that the resolution undermines the EU’s credibility and reflects its double standards towards the Cuban nation. There does not appear to be “any intention of cooperation or dialogue,” the text said, adding that such behavior is disrespectful because Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign state. “Once again, the European Parliament has played the sad role of being held hostage by a small group of extreme right-wing deputies who are obsessed with the destruction of the Cuban Revolution and who have a proven connection with Miami-based organizations financed by the government of the United States of America,” the statement said.
However, “in the face of the violent, vulgar and neo-fascist rhetoric of this minority group, voices were also raised by (other) parliamentarians who exposed the truth about Cuba and unmasked this action as hypocrisy,” the Cuban parliamentarians paid tribute to their colleagues in the EU Parliament who, during Tuesday’s debate, called for solidarity and an end to the U.S. blockade, which violates the human rights of all Cubans and international law.
Source: Rebelion, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English