MIAMI, United States. – This Tuesday, representatives of the opposition and Cuban civil society residing on the island and in exile requested before the Italian Parliament the suspension of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the Cuban regime.
Specifically, Rosa María Payá, coordinator of the Cuba Decide platform, and lawyers Marco and Julio Pellitero, from the Cuban Association for Democracy, testified before the Human Rights Committee of the Italian Parliament.
Their presentations focused on the denunciation of “State terrorism of the Cuban regime against the people, the situation of the more than 1,000 political prisoners and the actions that the Italian Parliament must take in solidarity with the demand for freedom of citizens in Cuba” , according to a statement from Cuba Decide sent to CubaNet.
During his presentation, Payá showed a video with testimonies from relatives of Cuban political prisoners. In this way, Adriana Delgado appeared in front of the Italian parliamentarians, whose father is in a critical health situation; Luis Wilber Aguilar Bravo, who denounced the 23-year sentence imposed on his son for peacefully demonstrating on 11J; and Roxana García Lorenzo, who narrated the beatings and rapes against her brother, Andy García Lorenzo.
The Cuban opponent also showed photos of Sayli Navarro, a young sentenced to eight years in prison “for defending the demonstrators” of 11J.
Likewise, Payá denounced that “the Cuban regime, which has strengthened its strategic military agreement with Russia, behaves as Putin’s best transatlantic ally, promoting among the nations of Latin America and even Africa the diplomatic recognition of the supposed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and propagating through its press agencies the official Russian discourse”.
Finally, the coordinator of Cuba Decide asked the Italian Parliament to denounce the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement “by which the European Union finances the Cuban regime” and to “promote the imposition of sanctions on the Cuban repressors.”
For their part, lawyers Julio and Marco Pellitero emphasized the repression and crimes against humanity of the Cuban regime and the current social and economic crisis on the island.
They also denounced “the financing made by the Italian Treasury to organizations of the Cuban regime that falsely present themselves as civil society and warned Parliament about Italian companies that have business with the regime above the human rights of Cubans,” indicates Cuba Decide. .
Deputy Laura Boldrini, president of the Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, expressed her solidarity with the Cuban people. “I share with you your anguish and feeling of anger because after 60 years, continuing with a regime that does not allow any kind of openness or freedom is terrible and has consequences for people’s quality of life. Also worrying is the regime’s crackdown on legitimate and peaceful protests,” she said.
All the proposals made by Cubans to the Italian Parliament in this hearing will be collected in the next publication of the Pasos de Cambio platform, a space in which civil society organizations and the opposition inside and outside the Island present their initiatives.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
