June 26, 2007

Híradó Online

Orbán Taking Cuban Political Prisoners Under His Wings

The opposition in Cuba is constantly being harassed by the authorities. Thus, MPs of the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) have decided to volunteer as personal guardians of persecuted Cubans.

Leader of the foreign affairs cabinet of FIDESZ Zsolt Németh announced that FIDESZ politicians and MPs are taking up personal guardianship of Cuban political prisoners.

The President of FIDESZ met with members of the Cuban Democratic Initiative, the opposition party MP said. This emigrant umbrella organization is a member of the International Association of Christian Democrats, whose Vice President is Viktor Orbán.

Zsolt Németh emphasized the fact that there are currently 300 political prisoners in Cuba, and the opposition is constantly being harassed by the authorities. Contemplating this situation, the President of FIDESZ has decided that politicians and MPs of their party are taking up personal guardianship of Cuban political prisoners. It was Viktor Orbán who first announced his intention to do so.

The responsibilities that go with the personal guardianship are twofold: on the one hand, the guardian has to make sure that the case of the political prisoner is kept on the agenda, and, on the other hand, he also has to maintain a personal relationship with the prisoner’s family, the politician said.

He said FIDESZ hopes that this initiative will contribute significantly to the Cuban democratization process.

It was the Institution for Democratic Transition that contacted FIDESZ and organized a meeting with members of the Cuban Democratic Initiative, Mr. Németh said. As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he is meeting them again on Thursday, he added.

June 26, 2007

Népszava

János Kóka Met with Cuban Opposition Leaders

The 11-member delegation of Cuban opposition leaders led by Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat met with the President of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) János Kóka on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Hungarian liberals, the liberal party told the Hungarian News Agency (MTI).

The President of SZDSZ claimed at the meeting that the free democrats oppose all steps that help preserve a deeply undemocratic and economically stagnating system, the party proclamation states.

Among the participants at the meeting were leaders of Cuban political opposition platforms and representatives of non-profit organizations. Chairman of the Cuban Liberal Union Rolando Behar was also present.

The SZDSZ shared its experiences as a democratic opposition party and the democratic transition process with the Cuban guests, according to the liberal party statement. The SZDSZ is planning to take concrete action in partnership with the Cuban democratic opposition. The party is working on forging strong partisan ties with the Cuban Liberal Union, and is trying to direct attention to the human rights violations in Cuba with continuous campaigns.

The SZDSZ is also joining the "Adopt a political prisoner" campaign, the first step of which is a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday by the New Generation chapter, to which the Cuban opposition leaders have been invited. Tomorrow members of the Cuban delegation are meeting with Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky as well.

The President of the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) also met with the Cuban opposition politicians on Tuesday. After the meeting chairman of the party's foreign affairs cabinet, Zsolt Németh announced that politicians and MPs of FIDESZ are taking up personal guardianship of Cuban political prisoners.

The President of FIDESZ met with members of the Cuban Democratic Initiative. This emigrant umbrella organization is a member of the International Association of Christian Democrats, whose Vice President is Viktor Orbán.

June 27, 2007

FigyelőNet

New Generation "Adopts" Cuban Prisoner

The New Generation, the youth organization of the Hungarian Liberal Party (Alliance of Free Democrats – SZDSZ), is keeping track on their website of the fate of an independent Cuban journalist imprisoned for political reasons within the framework of the Cuban opposition campaign "Adopt a political prisoner".

The youth chapter of the Hungarian Liberal Party is paying special attention to the fate of Luis Henrique Garcia Ferrer, Vice President of New Generation Flóra Takács announced on Wednesday at a peaceful demonstration held near the building of the Cuban Embassy in Budapest. Three members of the Cuban democratic opposition participated in the demonstration.

Several international human rights organizations are regularly monitoring the state of political prisoners; the prison conditions of those receiving international attention may be improved, said Dániel Kaderják, leader of New Generation's foreign affairs task force. They hope to be able to achieve something similar, he added.

The journalist "adopted" by the liberal youth is currently the youngest political prisoner in Cuba. Garcia Ferrer was arrested in March 2003 and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for having participated in the realization of the Varela Plan. Under the plan, more than 11 thousand signatures were collected so that a referendum would be held to ensure the right to freedom of speech, establishing a multi-party system, and the right to launch private enterprises, as put forth in the Cuban constitution. Approximately 300 Cuban political prisoners are registered at the moment.

"We, liberal youth, want a free and democratic Cuba in which human rights and freedom of press are respected, and nobody that preaches freedom has to live in fear", reads the flyer calling for the promotion of free Cuba distributed at the demonstration.

Dániel Kaderják said that the UN Human Rights Council's decision on Monday to remove Cuba and Belorus from the list of countries in which the situation of human rights needs special scrutiny is unacceptable. Human rights are still being violated in these countries, he added.

During their 3-day visit to Budapest, members of the Cuban democratic opposition met with President of the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) Viktor Orbán, President of SZDSZ János Kóka, and Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky, and are meeting with President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) Ibolya Dávid on Thursday. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Cabinet of FIDESZ Zsolt Németh announced at a press conference on Tuesday that FIDESZ politicians and MPs are taking up personal guardianship of Cuban political prisoners; it was Viktor Orbán who first announced his intention to do so.

The International Centre for Democratic Transition informed the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) on Wednesday that it is hosting a delegation of members of the Cuban opposition in Budapest with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 11 members of the delegation are Cubans living abroad who actively take part in promoting a peaceful and democratic transition in Cuba. The aim of their meetings in Hungary is to collect information on the process of the negotiation-based Hungarian transition, and the possibilities for its application in Cuba.

June 27, 2007

Népszava Online

Hungary Has a Moral Obligation to Share Experiences

Members of the Cuban opposition visiting Budapest met, among others, with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kinga Göncz, the minister told the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) on Wednesday. The Hungarian experiences of democratic transition were discussed at the meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Kinga Göncz said. They wanted to hear our experiences and the way the transition came about in Hungary, she added.

According to Kinga Göncz, Hungary has a moral obligation to share its experiences of the negotiation-based regime change with those interested. The head of the Hungarian diplomacy already indicated earlier that Hungary is ready to help the Island with the democratic transition if Cubans express a need for it. During the course of bilateral relations Hungary stresses human rights issues, and the European Union’s standpoint to encourage support for the Cuban opposition is binding for every member country, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told the MTI.

During their visit to Budapest, the members of the Cuban democratic opposition already met with President of the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) Viktor Orbán, President of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) János Kóka, and Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky, and are meeting with President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) Ibolya Dávid on Thursday. The 11 Cuban opposition members are hosted by the International Centre for Democratic Transition with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The members of the delegation are Cubans living abroad who actively take part in promoting a peaceful and democratic transition in Cuba. Their aim with the Hungarian meetings is to collect information on the process of the negotiation-based Hungarian transition, and the possibilities for its application in Cuba.

June 28, 2007

MTI

MDF Supports Cuban Democratization

The MDF supports the Cuban democratization, MDF (Hungarian Democratic Forum) party spokesman Szabolcs Kerék-Bárczy told the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) on Thursday, after party president Ibolya Dávid met with a delegation of Cuban opposition leaders in the Parliament.

The MDF initiates a five-party statement to be issued by the Hungarian Parliament called "Together for a Democratic Cuba", the spokesman said after the party leader met with an 11-member delegation of Cuban opposition members living abroad, led by Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat. The proposed statement reads: "We, parties of the Parliament of the Republic of Hungary would like to express our solidarity and support for the Cuban people struggling for the democratization of their country. We strongly believe that all human beings including the Cuban people have a right to human dignity and freedom, democratic institutions, and true pluralism."

Ibolya Dávid is volunteering to be guardian of a female prisoner and would like to contact her family, the spokesman said. The MDF unequivocally supports the Cuban democratization, he added.

MDF's President is taking the initiative to persuade Hungary's UN ambassador to push the UN Human Rights Council to review its decision not to pay special attention to the human rights situation in Cuba any more. Szabolcs Kerék-Bárczy emphasized Ibolya Dávid's gesture to wear a white dress at the meeting in order to express solidarity with women whose relatives were imprisoned. Since a 2003 initiative, female relatives of the imprisoned have protested oppression in Cuba wearing this outfit, he said.

A member of the delegation Calixto A. Navarro told the MTI that Hungary, just like Cuba, has experienced communist oppression. He stressed that the purpose of their visit was to build solidarity between the Hungarian people and their government and the Cuban people. Hungary can direct the EU's attention to Cuba, he claimed. We want the same liberties as the ones Hungary is now enjoying, he added. "Hungary can be the voice of Cuba, it can help Cuban political prisoners and their relatives", said Calixto A. Navarro. He then went on to say that if political prisoners are named, it becomes increasingly difficult for the Cuban regime to torture them.

He said there are approximately 330 political prisoners in Cuba, most of them civil activists, writers, and journalists. Even women are imprisoned, he emphasized. He also stressed the fact that the scale of oppression has increased since Fidel Castro’s illness, and civil resistance has also been reinforced.

President of the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) Viktor Orbán met with the delegation on Tuesday. After the meeting foreign affairs cabinet chair of FIDESZ Zsolt Németh announced that FIDESZ politicians and MPs are taking up personal guardianship of Cuban political prisoners; it was Viktor Orbán who first announced his intention to do so.

On Tuesday, the delegation met with János Kóka, the President of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) as well. SZDSZ is also joining the "Adopt a political prisoner" campaign, the party informed the press after the meeting. In addition, SZDSZ is planning to take concrete action in partnership with the Cuban democratic opposition. The party is working on forging strong partisan ties with the Cuban Liberal Union, and is trying to direct attention to the human rights violations in Cuba with continuous campaigns, the party told the MTI.

The Cuban opposition members visiting Budapest also met with Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky and the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Budapest-based International Centre for Democratic Transition informed MTI on Wednesday that it is hosting the delegation of the Cuban opposition in Budapest with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 11 members of the delegation are Cubans living abroad who actively take part in promoting a peaceful and democratic transition in Cuba. The aim of their meetings in Hungary is to collect information on the process of the negotiation-based Hungarian transition, and the possibilities for its application in Cuba.

June 26, 2007

Directorio Democrático Cubano

Delegación de cubanos libres se reúne con canciller y líderes de la oposición húngara en Budapest

Budapest, 26 de junio de 2007. Representantes de organizaciones pro-democráticas del exilio cubano iniciaron una visita oficial en Budapest, Hungría el día de ayer para establecer relaciones y abrir las puertas a la causa de la libertad de Cuba con la democracia húngara. En el día de hoy, la delegación se reunió con el jefe de la oposición Viktor Orban,  presidente de FIDESZ-Unión Cívica Húngara (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége), partido político demócrata cristiano húngaro. Orban habló de la experiencia de las fuerzas democráticas anticomunistas en Hungría. También se realizaron reuniones con ministros del gobierno en el Parlamento húngaro, incluyendo a Kinga Goncz, Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores de Hungría con quien se conversó de mutuo interés sobre la democracia y la libertad.

Las actividades comenzaron con una visita solemne al cementerio donde están enterrados los héroes húngaros de la revolución de 1956 contra el comunismo soviético. Se depositó una ofrenda floral ante la tumba de Pal Maleter, quien fue el Ministro de Defensa del gobierno comunista que unió sus armas al pueblo y se levantó contra los soviéticos. Maleter fue ejecutado por los soviéticos después de ofrecer varias semanas de resistencia al ejército rojo. La ofrenda llevaba inscritas las palabras: "En nombre de los cubanos de la oposición democrática de dentro y fuera de Cuba".

"Los partidos políticos húngaros, al igual que el gobierno, están comprometidos en ayudar a los presos políticos y la oposición cubana. Es un momento histórico en el que se unen quienes aman la libertad para apoyar un proceso de cambio democrático en Cuba," dijo Calixto Navarro, miembro del Directorio Democrático Cubano.

La delegación de cubanos que asiste a la visita oficial está conformada por: Maria Eugenia Cosculluela de M.A.R por Cuba, Joel Brito de Grupo Internacional por la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa en Cuba, Rolando Behar de la Unión Liberal Cubana, José Ignacio Rasco del Partido Demócrata Cristiano Cubano, Natalia Bellusova de la Asociación Iberoamericana por la Libertad, Peter Kolossa y Nora Szego de ICDT en Hungría, Tomás Rodríguez de Agenda Cuba, el Comandante Húber Matos de Cuba Independiente y Democrática, Ángel De Fana de Plantados Hasta la Libertad y la Democracia en Cuba, Ramón Colás de Bibliotecas Independientes de Cuba, el Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat  y Calixto Navarro del Directorio Democrático Cubano.