Havana/The Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba (CTDC), one of the main opposition platforms of the island, urged the European Union (EU) on Tuesday to “temporarily suspend” its agreement of political dialogue and cooperation (ADPC) with Cuba.
The political organization argued in a statement that the Cuban government “has instrumentalized this agreement to obtain economic benefits and sell an image and narrative of modernization, without assuming real commitments with the political openness or with the improvement of human rights.”
Therefore, the CTDC – who already made a similar request last September – urged the EU to “reassess and temporarily suspend the ADPC until there are” concrete advances in human rights and democracy “on the island (…) and to comply with “democratic and economic” standards.
“Only with a clear and coordinated response of Western democracies will be possible to respect human rights and a peaceful change to democracy in Cuba”
He also asked “to guarantee the participation of Cuban civil society in negotiations and dialogues on the possible review of the agreement” and its support for the CTDC proposal for an amnesty and decriminalization law of dissent in the country.
“Only with a clear and coordinated response of Western democracies will be possible to achieve respect for human rights and a peaceful change to democracy in Cuba,” the platform argued in its statement.
The organization indicated that one of the main reasons for its request is the deterioration of human rights in the country, where it denounced “systematic persecution and repression” to opponents, “flagrant violation” of constitution rights, escalation of arbitrary detentions and Lack of collaboration with international organizations.
Secondly, he alleged the “failure” of the economic model, with the “monopoly” exercised by Gaesa, “a military conglomerate that controls the resources of the country”, the “repression against the private sector” and the defaults of the external debt.
Finally, he highlighted his “opaque strategic alliances” with Russia, Belarus, North Korea, China and Iran and their “logistics and military” support to countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela, “regional destabilization factors.
He highlighted his “opaque strategic alliances” with Russia, Belarus, North Korea, China and Iran and their “logistics and military” support to countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela
The agreement that currently governs bilateral relations between Cuba and the EU was signed in 2016 and includes a clause of respect for human rights, whose violation allows to suspend it.
The ADPC, not without controversy within the EU (has not been ratified by Lithuania and is criticized by conservative political families), replaced the so -called “common position” of the EU to Cuba, which the block has maintained since 1996 and linked Any advance in the bilateral relationship to progress in democratization and human rights on the island.
The agreement promotes cooperation in favor of sustainable development, democracy and human rights, as well as the possibility of finding shared solutions to global challenges through joint actions in multilateral forums.
