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Cuba,
Spain Hold Talks on Human Rights
AP. June 1, 2007.
Spain said Thursday it held "frank
and cordial" discussions about human
rights, the death penalty and treatment
of prisoners in Cuba, despite U.S. complaints
it has been too friendly with the communist
island.
In a joint statement, Spanish and Cuban
authorities did not report any major agreements
in the two days of closed-door meetings,
and leading Cuban government critics were
barred from attending.
Both sides said the meetings remained friendly,
despite delving into human rights topics
that usually make Cuban officials bristle.
Spain went ahead with the discussions despite
recent European Union sanctions against
Cuba for imprisoning government critics,
as well as comments by U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice _ who will make a
one-day visit to Madrid on Friday _ that
the United States and Spain differ on how
to deal with Cuba.
"I'm sure we see eye to eye for the
need for democracy in Cuba," Rice said
Tuesday. "But I don't see how that
course is advanced by simply dealing with
the current regime."
The Cuban-Spanish statement said the talks
touched on "individual and collective
rights for everyone," the death penalty,
prison systems and "respect for human
rights in the fight against international
terrorism."
It described the meeting as "cordial,
frank and constructive" and said the
two sides agreed to continue talks later
this year at a meeting of the U.N. General
Assembly in New York.
Many governments and rights organizations
around the world accuse Cuba of violating
liberties by jailing critics and limiting
speech and press freedoms.
The island's communist government rejects
those charges, saying it respects human
rights more than most nations by offering
a wide social safety net that includes free
health care. Havana dismisses outspoken
critics and dissidents as "mercenaries"
of the United States.
The dissident Cuban Democratic Project
said Tuesday that the meetings were a positive
step that sought to "open a new and
much-hoped-for space for constructive dialogue."
Rice was to meet Friday with Spanish Foreign
Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whom she
earlier criticized for failure to meet with
dissidents during an April trip to Cuba.
She said Spain has done little to further
the democracy Washington hopes will one
day take hold on the island.
"The Cubans deserve better,"
Rice said. "And I think we will talk
about that."
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