[R-G] Cuban ambassador to Austria criticises CzechRep's stand on Cuba

[Anthony Fenton]

Copyright 2007 Czech News Agency (CTK)
All Rights Reserved
CTK National News Wire

February 22, 2007 Thursday 8:04 PM (Central European Time)

SECTION: GENERAL NEWS

LENGTH: 381 words

HEADLINE: Cuban ambassador to Austria criticises CzechRep's stand on  
Cuba

BYLINE: ms

DATELINE: Vienna Feb 22 (CTK)

BODY:


Cuban ambassador to Austria Norma Goicochea criticised the Czech  
Republic saying it is one of the EU countries that pursue "the EU's  
Latin American strategy that is close to the USA," in a meeting with  
journalists today, the Austrian news agency APA has reported.

She said that Cuba is afraid that the U.S. Administration of  
President George W. Bush is planning to topple the Cuban regime and  
that it wants to engage the EU in it.

Goicochea said that the Czech Republic is the leading force of the EU  
countries that want to push through the EU a Cuban policy close to  
the USA.

She said that the EU governments siding with the United States  
support a strategy that disrespects the Human Rights Charter and the  
right to self-determination and sovereignty of states, and bears  
clear signs of interference.

These countries include besides the Czech Republic also Hungary,  
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, Goicochea said.

Cuba accused EU countries of preparing a new plot against the "island  
of freedom" in early February already.

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg then dismissed similar  
information as "an attempt to divide the European countries before  
the EU approves a medium- and long-term strategy on Cuba."

Goicochea conceded today that Cuba does not have documents about the  
EU's possible future strategy on Cuba that would be pushing through  
an anti-Cuba policy based on the alleged U.S. programme.

She, however, referred to unofficial information and said that Bush's  
plan contains "a secret addendum that we do not know," but which  
could contain "terrorist" as well as "military actions."

Goicochea warned that if the EU approves the strategy, the new  
"difficult situation" could also harm bilateral relations of  
particular EU states with Cuba.

"Cuba wishes to conduct an open dialogue with the Europeans," she  
said and added that it should be based on mutual respect.

The EU imposed diplomatic sanctions on Cuba in 2003 in protest  
against the execution of three hijackers who wanted to get to the  
United States, and against the high sentences Cuban authorities  
imposed on more than 70 dissidents.

Havana then froze relations with the respective European countries'  
diplomats. The relations officially changed only in January 2005 when  
the EU suspended the sanctions.

ms/mr/pv