Brussels, 13/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Cuban authorities have accused the EU of "capitulating" to the United States, and have called for demonstrations outside the Italian and Spanish embassies in Cuba, to protest against sanctions adopted by the EU.
As a sign of protest against the execution of three hijackers and the arrest of 75 opponents of the regime, the EU last week decided unanimously to limit bilateral high-level governmental visits, to reduce the Member States' involvement in cultural events, to invite Cuban dissidents to ceremonies to mark national holidays, and to revise the common position on Cuba (see EUROPE of 7 June, p.7).
"The European Union has once again backed down to the United States on its Cuba policy", declared the Cuban Foreign Minister in a statement. Cuba is accusing the EU of trying to "forget the difference the Iraqi war brought to the surface, between 'old Europe'- as Rumsfeld called it- and the imperial government, nazi-fascist by nature, which wants to impose its dictatorship on the rest of the world." The statement presents the "exceptional reasons" which forced Cuba to take "active measures against three hijackers", and comments that "nobody has ever seen the European Union presenting a condemnation of the United States to the Commission on Human Rights for their use of the death penalty". In fact, "Cuba can therefore not take this criticism by the EU seriously: all it sees in it is hypocrisy and double moral standards".
Likening dissidents to United States agents, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, also declared that "Cuba calmly and firmly warns European ambassadors and the local mercenaries of the American government that it will tolerate neither provocation nor blackmail". He specified that "European ambassadors must be aware that they are deficient in their obligations under the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, if they are used for subversion against Cuba".