Castro regime bans "counter-revolutionary" Czech reception at Havana hotel

[31.10.2005] - Current Affairs - Rob Cameron
Castro regime bans "counter-revolutionary" Czech reception at Havana hotel

Relations between the Czech Republic and Cuba have long been cool, but
the thermometer dropped a few more degrees on Friday, following an
incident in the Cuban capital. Czech diplomats had been planning to
celebrate Czechoslovak independence day at a Havana hotel, but the
reception was banned at the last minute by the Cuban authorities.
Havana Havana
Czechs and Slovaks celebrated independence day on Friday, the 87th
anniversary of the foundation of the independent Czechoslovak state. The
Czech embassy in Havana had booked a luxury hotel to celebrate the
event, and invited a number of Cuban and foreign guests. But it was the
invitations issued to twenty so-called "Ladies in White" - wives and
relatives of Cuban political prisoners - which angered the Castro
regime, and at the last minute the reception, dubbed
"counter-revolutionary" by the Cuban authorities, was banned.
Kristina Prunerova works at the People in Need human rights group, and
is also secretary of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba
(ICDC). She told Radio Prague the ban had come as no surprise:
"I think this is a typical reaction of a totalitarian regime, such as
the regime of Fidel Castro. They're trying to prohibit any activity that
would go against the regime. Obviously they don't want the world to know
about the opposition, so they're trying to eliminate the contacts. And
this was probably the reason why they tried to stop the celebration in
the hotel in Havana."
Fidel Castro Fidel Castro
An impromptu reception was later held at the Czech Ambassador's
residence, attended by a number of EU ambassadors. The Czech government
has made Cuba a foreign policy priority, opposing attempts within the EU
to take a more conciliatory stance towards the Castro regime. Kristina
Prunerova says many Czechs - who spent four decades living under
Communism - feel a moral obligation to promote human rights and
democracy in Cuba.
"I think the most important fact is the common history that we share
with Cubans, because we also lived under the Communist regime and a
strong totalitarian regime such as the one Fidel Castro is running in
Cuba. We feel solidarity, because we were also helped from abroad and
that solidarity was very important to us. Now we're trying to help in
Cuba in that same way."
The Czech Republic is fighting something of a lonely battle within the
EU on Cuba. However Czech diplomats have been encouraged by the recent
support of several EU countries for a resolution condemning human rights
abuses in Cuba in the United Nations human rights commission. Both the
Czech government and NGOs hope the EU itself is slowly swinging towards
adopting a unified position on Cuba.

(Radio Prague made several attempts to speak to the Cuban charge
d'affaires this morning, but was told she was not available for interview).

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/72198