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Czech government wants
EU to get tougher with Cuba
Pravda,
Russia, June 12, 2006.
Support within the EU for a tougher stance
on Cuba is strongest in the eight eastern
European nations that joined the bloc in
2004 and where memories of the legacy of
communism are still fresh.
The Netherlands and Sweden also favor a
tougher stance, but Spain is among countries
that oppose it, officials said.
Czech officials said that not only have
Europe's policies failed to foster a measure
of democracy in Cuba, but the emergence
of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has
been a boon for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
A Castro ally, Chavez has called U.S. President
George W. Bush an alcoholic, a terrorist
and an imperialist. He has denounced the
U.S.-led war in Iraq, and repeatedly accused
the U.S. of trying to overthrow him to seize
the South American country's vast oil reserves.
Washington has denied it has any plans for
an invasion.
Czech officials said they want the EU to
provide more funding for civil society groups
as it has done for Belarus, a country widely
seen as flouting democracy.
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