Yahoo! February 6, 2001
Cuba Frees Prominent Czech Citizens
By Vivian Sequera, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA (AP) - Two prominent Czechs jailed for more than three weeks in
communist Cuba were homeward bound after they admitted to breaking the law in a
case that strained relations between two former Cold War-era allies.
Czech lawmaker Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik were arrested after meeting with
Cuban dissidents in January.
"They understand they offended the Cuban people and that was not their
intention,'' said Anders Johnson, secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, which helped mediate the men's Monday night release.
Johnson was accompanying the men and their relatives back to Europe on an
Iberia Airlines flight bound for Madrid.
Pilip and Bubenik were alone in a room on Sunday when they drafted the
admission that led to their release, Johnson said. The men signed it Monday
afternoon in front of diplomats from several nations called together by Cuban
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
Pilip, 37, a former finance minister, and Bubenik, 32, a former student
leader, were freed after the gathering and sped away to the airport. The men
were not made available for questions, and a copy of the declaration was not
made public.
But Johnson and Juan Pablo Letelier, a Chilean congressman and president of
the Inter-parliamentary Union's human rights committee, told an airport news
conference that the statement said the pair was unfamiliar with Cuban law and
unknowingly violated it when they met with dissidents.
Johnson said the men emphasized that they came to Cuba of their own accord
after stopping first in the United States to meet with representatives of the
nonprofit U.S. organization Freedom House. The men said that they did not know
that their activities on the island would be considered subversive and illegal,
Johnson said.
Havana had earlier accused Pilip and Bubenik of traveling to Cuba on behalf
of Freedom House, a pro-democracy group that receives money from both the U.S.
government and private sources. Freedom House has declined comment on whether it
was involved in the Czechs' trip to Cuba.
In their declaration, the men said "that they violated national law and
if that violation had offended the Cuban people then they ask for forgiveness,''
Letelier said.
President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) had earlier suggested that the
case could be resolved if an apology were offered.
Tension between the two countries ran high in recent weeks, with Castro
calling the Czech embassy in Havana "a cave of spies,'' which had "spent
10 years spying.''
If convicted on charges of acting against the island nation's security and
inciting a rebellion, the Czechs could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
Cuban authorities remain furious about the Czech Republic's role last year
in introducing a U.N. resolution to condemn Cuba for its human rights record.
Poland, another former socialist ally, cosponsored the resolution, which was
later approved at a meeting in Geneva.
The two men were arrested Jan. 12 after they met with dissidents in the
central Cuban province of Ciego de Avila. Cuban authorities claim the Czechs
were acting on behalf of American interests, accusations U.S. officials have
branded as "ludicrous.''
Diplomat: Czechs Say Didn't Know
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA, 5(AP) - In a move that could free them, two Czech citizens held on
charges of inciting rebellion signed a declaration Monday that they violated
Cuban law when they met with dissidents here.
In the presence of diplomats, former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip, 37, and
former student leader Jan Bubenik, 32, signed the declaration, admitting to "the
error of not knowing Cuban law and of violating Cuban law.''
Cuban authorities "said they could make a decision in the next few
hours'' about the two Czechs, said Marco Antonio Loustaunau, Mexico's commercial
attache, who witnessed the signing of the declaration.
The pair was arrested Jan. 12 after they met with dissidents in the central
Cuban province of Ciego de Avila. Cuban authorities claim the Czechs were acting
on behalf of American interests, accusations U.S. officials have branded as "ludicrous.''
If convicted on charges of acting against the island nation's security and
inciting a rebellion, the Czechs could face up to 20 years in prison.
Diplomats from Sweden, Chile, and Great Britain were seen entering the
Foreign Ministry building for the meeting called by Cuban Foreign Ministry
Felipe Perez Roque.
Anders Johnson, secretary-general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which is
mediating the case, said before the meeting he was optimistic the pair would be
freed soon.
"There is willingness by the highest authority to seek a resolution,''
said Johnson. "There is a very, very high probability that it will be
resolved in the next 24 to 72 hours.''
President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) had suggested early Saturday that
the case could be resolved if an apology were offered.
Czech President Vaclav Havel refused to apologize last week after the Cuban
Foreign Ministry suggested such action would help solve the dispute between the
two countries.
Tension between the two countries ran high in recent weeks, with Castro
calling the Czech embassy in Havana "a cave of spies,'' which had "spent
10 years spying.''
Cuban authorities are furious about the Czech Republic's role last year in
introducing a U.N. resolution to condemn Cuba for its human rights record.
Poland cosponsored the resolution, which was later approved at a meeting in
Geneva.
Johnson said that since arriving in Havana last Wednesday, he has met three
times with Castro and with Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon in
hopes of helping free the pair.
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