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EU slams Cuba for Human Rights Violations
Published: Monday, March 15, 2010 7:00 am By: Associated PressEU slams Cuba for
rights violations
Updated 3d 8h ago
The Associated Press
STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament
voted Thursday to condemn Cuba for the "avoidable
and cruel" death of a dissident hunger striker,
prompting the communist regime to vow it will not
bend to international pressure.
The Parliament called on Cuba to immediately
release its political prisoners and urged Catherine
Ashton, the EU foreign and security affairs chief, to
push the dictatorship headed by the Castro brothers
toward a peaceful transition to multiparty
democracy.
The vote, adopted 509-30 with 14 abstentions,
follows the Feb. 23 death of jailed Cuban dissident
Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died after an 83-day
hunger strike in protest of the way dissidents are
treated in the jails.
Another opposition member, freelance journalist
Guillermo Fariñas, has been on a hunger strike
since Feb. 24 and vows to continue it until
dissidents are released.
Cuba, which had hoped for improved relations with
Europe following Spain's ascension to the EU
presidency in January, blasted the EU vote as
hypocritical and wrong.
"Following a sullied debate, the European Parliament
has just passed a condemnation resolution against
our country, manipulating sentiments, distorting
facts, deceiving people and obscuring reality,"
Cuba's National Parliament declared in a statement.
"Cubans find it offensive, this attempt at teaching us
lessons," the parliamentary declaration said.
On Thursday, Fariñas lost consciousness and was
rushed to the hospital in the central Cuban city of
Santa Clara, his second trip to the hospital since he
began the fast. He was previously given intravenous
fluids.
rights violations
Updated 3d 8h ago
The Associated Press
STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament
voted Thursday to condemn Cuba for the "avoidable
and cruel" death of a dissident hunger striker,
prompting the communist regime to vow it will not
bend to international pressure.
The Parliament called on Cuba to immediately
release its political prisoners and urged Catherine
Ashton, the EU foreign and security affairs chief, to
push the dictatorship headed by the Castro brothers
toward a peaceful transition to multiparty
democracy.
The vote, adopted 509-30 with 14 abstentions,
follows the Feb. 23 death of jailed Cuban dissident
Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died after an 83-day
hunger strike in protest of the way dissidents are
treated in the jails.
Another opposition member, freelance journalist
Guillermo Fariñas, has been on a hunger strike
since Feb. 24 and vows to continue it until
dissidents are released.
Cuba, which had hoped for improved relations with
Europe following Spain's ascension to the EU
presidency in January, blasted the EU vote as
hypocritical and wrong.
"Following a sullied debate, the European Parliament
has just passed a condemnation resolution against
our country, manipulating sentiments, distorting
facts, deceiving people and obscuring reality,"
Cuba's National Parliament declared in a statement.
"Cubans find it offensive, this attempt at teaching us
lessons," the parliamentary declaration said.
On Thursday, Fariñas lost consciousness and was
rushed to the hospital in the central Cuban city of
Santa Clara, his second trip to the hospital since he
began the fast. He was previously given intravenous
fluids.
Fariñas says he will continue his protest unless
Cuban President Raúl Castro's government agrees to
release 26 ailing political prisoners. Castro was
handed power by his brother Fidel, who has been
sick.
The EU Parliament said it was particularly concerned
about Fariñas, calling his condition "alarming."
"We cannot afford another death in Cuba. We call for
the immediate release of all political prisoners," said
Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European assembly.
Buzek said Cuba has ignored appeals for increased
democracy from around the world.
The Caribbean island has been ruled by the Castro
brothers since 1959. There are about 200 political
prisoners in Cuban jails, according to human rights
groups such as Amnesty International.
Cubans can be jailed for lengthy prison terms for
crimes such as criticizing the government's
economic policies or passing out pamphlets on the
United Nations Bill of Rights.
As many as 5,000 Cubans served sentences for
"dangerousness," without being charged with any
specific crime, according to the U.S. State
Department. Prisoners are beaten on a near-daily
basis in cells infested with vermin and lacking
water, according to a department human rights
report.
