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Kazecky says Cuba expelled
him over human rights support
Prague
Daily Monitor,
Czech Republic, April 16, 2006.
Havana, April 16 (CTK) - Czech diplomat
Stanislav Kazecky, whom Cuba refused to
extend his visa and accused of subversion
and work for the US, thinks that the Cuban
government thereby reacted to the Czech
foreign policy in support of human rights,
he said in an interview for Spanish news
agency EFE today.
Kazecky, first secretary of the Czech embassy
in Havana, who will return home today, expressed
regrets that he is leaving Cuba under such
circumstances. He admitted that the Cuban
government's step surprised him.
"I suppose that the Cuban foreign
minister's reaction was provoked by Czech
policy focused on human rights," said
Kazecky.
On Friday, Cuba officially refused to extend
Kazecky's visa over his alleged "subversive"
activities on the island and gave him a
72-hour deadline to leave the country.
Cuban Foreign Minister Perez Roque accused
the Czech diplomat of fulfilling subversive
tasks of U.S. special services, being involved
in the distribution of money and printed
material, trying to provision mercenary
groups and helping the U.S. administration
in this
Kazecky, who assumed the diplomatic post
in Cuba un April 2004, denied the accusation
again today. He said that in Cuba he "represented
foreign policy of an independent state."
Kazecky noted that the unexpected Cuban
reaction tells something about Cuban foreign
policy.
The Czech Foreign Ministry sharply criticised
the Cuban step and took a reciprocal measure
in reaction to it, refusing to extend the
visa of a Cuban diplomat in Prague.
Czech-Cuban relations have been tense since
the collapse of communism in 1989 and they
have sharpened in several conflicts.
Cuba criticises the Czech Republic for
supporting Cuban opposition and its efforts
for the development of democracy in Cuban
society. In the U.N. the Czech Republic
has pushed through the resolution condemning
the violation of human rights in Cuba, and
Czech diplomats rank among the sharpest
critics of Fidel Castro's regime in the
EU.
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