14ymedio, Havana, 31 March 2017 — A delegation from the European Union in Cuba visited the Coexistence Study Center (CEC) in the city of Pinar del Río on Thursday. The group was headed by EU political attaché in Havana, Carlos Perez Padilla, and also included representatives from the embassies of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden, according to a text published on the CEC’s Facebook account.
Diplomats spoke with the Center’s team about the “vision, mission and lines of work” of the independent center. They also received details on the “Itinerary of Thoughts and Proposals for the Future of Cuba” and the program of “ethical and civic education for citizenship,” which the center promotes.
The current situation of the digital magazine Convivencia (Coexistence) and the microprojects that for years have been carried out by the team were also part of the conversation that took place “in a climate of cordiality and frank communication,” CEC said in Facebook.
The meeting took place in the midst of an intense escalation of pressure against the CEC, whose members have been victims in the last months of numerous interrogations by the State Security and officials from the department of Immigration and Aliens.
Economist Karina Gálvez, one of the founders of the think tank, is being prosecuted for alleged “tax evasion” and her house was sealed by the prosecutors handling her case.
Last November, the police prevented the holding of a meeting on Culture And Education In The Future Of Cuba: Vision And Proposal in Pinar del Rio.
The Center organizes training courses for citizens and civil society and operates independently of the State, the Church and any political grouping. The magazine of the same name emerged in 2008 and is published bimonthly.
