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ICDC Conference in Berlin, April 2007
2007-02-09 / Kristina Prunerová
The International Committee for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC) will organize a conference entitled “Democracy in Cuba: Seeking Common Initiatives” in Berlin, from 24 April to 26 April, 2007. The event will be held in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and will take place at the Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Tiergartenstr. 35.
The situation on the island has changed recently and it is now clear that the regime is ready to maintain its power. New developments on the island show that the transition of power from Fidel Castro to his brother Raúl is being silently implemented. This change would most likely preserve the totalitarian regime and, for Cubans, the current life with no respect for their basic rights and freedoms will probably continue.
Germany holds the EU presidency. Angela Merkel, the current chancellor, has declared that supporting human rights and democracy is a key foreign policy priority. All of the important players on the German political spectrum support democratic change in Cuba. They have expressed their support through political declarations and through their foundations supporting democratic activists on the island. We believe that, as the presiding state of the EU, Germany will responsibly engage with the question of relations with Cuba, and use its presidency to re-evaluate existing European policy both towards the Castro regime and the democratic portion of Cuban society.
The conference will contribute to the debate on the policy of European states towards Cuba. It will provide a meeting place for many former and current politicians from Europe, Latin America and North America, as well as representatives of non-governmental organisations and Cuban exiles who have, for some time, devoted themselves to the question of their country’s future. The conference will focus on current developments in Cuba and, almost importantly, the question of what the role of the European Union and its member states will be in the future of Cuba and how Europe can held Cubans on the road to democracy.
Among the speakers will be former President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel, former President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski, former President of Uruguay Luis Alberto Lacalle , Vice-president of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott (who will present the conclusions of his recent trip to Cuba), former political prisoners Manuel Vázquez Portal and Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés and representatives of international NGOs which support the island’s civil society.
An NGO Forum and a meeting of donors will take place in the afternoon of April 24, prior to the official beginning of the conference on April 25.
Please see the preliminary program here.
For more information, or to participate in the conference, please contact Marie Zahradnikova marie.zahradnikova@peopleinneed.cz, tel: +420 226 200 462, fax: +420 226 200 401.
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