Central Europe Online,
March 12, 2001.
PRAGUE, Mar 11, 2001 -- (CTK - Czech News Agency) U.S. Secretary of State
Colin Powell said in a phone interview with Czech President Vaclav Havel that he
was anxious about the Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan's approach to the
preparation of a resolution on human rights in Cuba, presidential spokesman
Ladislav Spacek told CTK.
Powell's criticism concerns the Czech-proposed additions to the planned
resolution which speak against U.S. economic sanctions applied towards Cuba.
Recently Powell said the additions were a problem.
"Powell and Havel talked also about the embargo and human rights in
Cuba and agreed that this year's text of the resolution should not markedly
differ from last year's text," Spacek said.
Powell and Havel agreed that they considered initiative concerning the
resolution very important and would cooperate in the issue," Spacek said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil told CTK that Kavan would hold
talks about the document with U.S. diplomats next week. Kavan will also talk
about a number of aspects of Czech- American relations, Pospisil said.
"We firmly believe that the talks will explain a number of
misunderstandings and that the quality of Czech-American relations, which we
consider high, will be preserved," Pospisil said. He added that he was
sorry about the fact that "the situation surrounding the preparation of the
resolution is being dramatized."
"The preparation of the 2001 resolution have not been completed yet,"
Pospisil noted.
Havel said on Friday he was annoyed at the way Czech diplomats were
negotiating the resolution.
Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, who is trying to push through the criticism of
economic sanctions, has also been criticized by a number of Czech politicians.
Similarly to the United States, Poland, which in the recent years
participated in the drafting of the resolution together with the Czech Republic,
rejects the criticism of economic sanctions and is not therefore taking part in
preparing this year's resolution.
The resolution is to be discussed by the UN Human Rights Commission in
March. ((c) 2001 CTK - Czech News Agency)
© 1995-2001 European Internet Network Inc. All
rights reserved. | 