MADRID, November 19 (EFE): Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alparís called on Friday for freedom of expression and demonstration in Cuba.
Alparís said at a parliamentary committee of the Spanish parliament before a question from the spokesman for the far-right Vox party, Ivan Espinosa Monteros.
Fox accused the government of the socialist Pedro Sanchez of trying to normalize, as well as with the president’s trip to the island, which is unnatural, the impossibility of free expression of ideas, the formation of parties, unions, the creation of companies, the status of political prisoners, and misery. or a ban on leaving Cuba.
According to Vox, the current Spanish government has chosen to be on the side of the “Castro dictatorship”. Espinosa de los Monteros warned: “They maintain an unsustainable lukewarm, demanding that they return the credentials to Effie, while remaining silent before the system. We cannot remain silent, if they do not become supporters of the oppressive regime.” .
Alparis dismissed Fox’s accusations and defended that he had spoken “very clearly” about Cuba and that when Sanchez traveled to the island in 2018, the president of the United States, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France or the three popes had already done so. Therefore, differently from the rest, he spoke about human rights and already met with activists.
After the accreditations of five Effie journalists were revoked – hours before the peaceful protests on November 15 – the Cuban authorities returned two of them and informed the Spanish government of their intention to return two more and grant a journalist a visa, before November 28. The new head of the bureau, Juan Palop, is “a supposed dropper relief,” according to the agency’s head, Gabriela Canas, who is demanding the restoration of all credentials of its employees in Havana.
The minister also noted that Cuban dissident Juno Garcia had arrived in Spain with an entry visa from the Spanish consulate in Havana.
Alparis had announced that he would hold a meeting with Garcia, who arrived in Madrid from Cuba last Wednesday after the protest called by his Archipelago platform to demand political change on the island.
The Spanish government granted Junior Garcia a “short-term visa and limited territorial validity”, issued in special cases such as humanitarian reasons or international obligations.
Garcia confirmed that he did not seek asylum in Spain, that his visa is for 90 days and will return to his country, after he arrived by surprise in Madrid with his wife two days after last Monday, the Cuban authorities almost completely stifled protest. It was promoted by dissidents seeking political change, something the archipelago community advocated but not authorized by the Cuban government. EFE
Note to subscribers: The decisions of the Cuban authorities in recent months have decimated the Efe Mission team in Havana, where currently only two journalists can continue to do their work. Efe hopes to be able to regain her informational ability on the island in the coming days.
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