The Chancellor of the Netherlands is visiting the Island. The Glasnot in Cuba Foundation, with a site in Amsterdam, asks him to meet with the dissidence.
The Glastnost in Cuba Foundation, with a site in Amsterdam, criticized the Dutch foreign minister’s trip to Havana this Monday, and said that his visit “could only be successful if dialog is established with the whole Cuban society.”
“A dialog without contacts with the peaceful opposition will not be successful over the long-term,” said Kees van Kortenhof, president of Glastnost in Cuba, according to a communication released.
The Dutch NGO said it was surprised because, in association with the trip, the government of the Netherlands classifies Mariela Castro as a “defender of human rights in Cuba and in the world.”
Van Kortenhof said that description is “extravagant and ridiculous.”
“The president’s daughter limits her human rights efforts to gays, lesbians and transsexuals. Bloggers, political opponents, journalists, musicians and the Ladies in White are attacked, but Mariela Castro talks about them as ’despicable parasites,’” explains the Dutch organizations.
The chancellor Frans Timmermans asked in Havana, according to official media, for an “updating” of relations between Cuba and the European Union.
Timmermans cites, among the reasons for the development of ties, the “economic adjustments” implemented by the regime “the business possibilities these bring.”
During his stay, the Dutch minister signed a memorandum for the establishment of political consultations between foreign ministries.
DDC | Havana | 6 January 2014
6 January 2014
