Part II Visegrad Four Democracy Assistance Policies in Target Countries Cuba: Forging Alliances Across the Transatlantic Divide - Francesco Guarascio
Co-ordination of Policies Between Visegrad
Conferences and campaigns in Europe to raise awareness on Cuban issues (PIN - PIPA) Promotion of independent research and think-tanks in Cuba (PIPA)
Preparing Cuban intellectuals, economists, and teachers for the transition of Cuba (PIPA) Publishing and distribution for informal education centres and independent libraries in Cuba (PIPA) Support to political activists and their families (PIPA)
Humanitarian help to families of dissidents in Cuba and awareness-raising campaigns in Slovakia and Europe (Pontis Foundation)
Support to independent libraries in Cuba (Pontes)
‘Hungarian Cuba Democracy Project’ to inform Hungarian public on Cuban current issues (Freedom House Europe - Hungary)
‘Polish Solidarity with Cuba’, mainly aimed at raising the awareness of the Polish people about the Cuban civil society and peaceful democratic movement (Lech Wałęsa Institute)
References
Cuba, a New History, Richard Gott (2004) Bloqueo, Andrés Zaldivar Diéguez (2003)
The Dissident, Rosa Miriam Elizalde, Luis Baez (2003)
Chavez-Castro, l’Antiamerica, Limes, rivista italiana di geopolitica (2007) Dissident ou Mercenaires? Hernardo Calvo Ospina, Katlijn Declercq (1998) Economia en Cuba, PIPA (2007)
¿Cuàl es el Futuro de la Educaciòn en Cuba? PIPA (2007) Cuba: Revolución o Involución, Oscar Espinosa Chepe (2007)
Internal report on the activities of the European Commission in Cuba, PIN (2007)
Country Report on Human Rights Practises in Cuba, 2007, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100635.htm
Background on the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) - http://ec.europa.eu/
europeaid/where/worldwide/ eidhr/index_en.htm
USAID, Cuba, http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin_america _caribbean/country/cuba/
National Endowment for Democracy, Cuba grants in 2006
http://www.ned.org/grants/06programs/grants-lac06.html#cuba International Republican Institute - http://www.iri.org/
National Democratic Institute - http://www.ndi.org/globalp/gov/governance.asp Directorio Democratico Cubano - http://www.directorio.org/
Center for a Free Cuba - http://www.cubacenter.org/
People In Need, Cuba - http://www.clovekvtisni.cz/index2en.php? parent=404&sid=404&id=522 People In Peril Association, Cuba - http://www.peopleinperil.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=
blogcategory&id=122&Itemid=312 Pontes - http://www.i-pontes.org/
Pontis Foundation, Cuba - http://www.nadaciapontis.sk/en/kuba Problems also arise concerning the electronic goods. They arrive without essential
com-ponents needed for their use, like flash memory cards or battery chargers. In other cases, they are delivered without the necessary information to allow the recipients to properly use them.
In addition, Cuban recipients often complained that they are rarely given the opportunity to participate in the definition and design of the projects run on the island. The foreign org-anisations come with their own agenda, and the Cubans feel they do not have any say.
This is clearly a problem of lack of communications, but it is also due to the structure of the funding chain. The programmes and the funding are indeed in some cases suggested in Washington in the form of guidelines and objectives, and decided in the implementing and financial details in Miami by Cuban-American organisations. In such a complex proc-ess, it is not surprising the Cubans feel left out.
Furthermore, the V4 lobbying activity in Brussels, where the ultimate decisions on the common EU foreign policy are taken, is still not co-ordinated and remains intermittent.
The outcome is the regular reiteration of a scaled-down EU common position towards Cuba that has proved to be ineffective, and that in its latest version presents new signs of openness towards the regime. The political stalemate has also had a financial side-effect as it has so far prevented the European Commission and the European Parliament, which manages the EU budget, from allocating funding in favour of the support of democracy in Cuba. The V4 governments of course bear the main responsibility for the lack of organ-ised lobbying activities, but the NGOs also must accept their share of responsibility. No V4 NGO operating in Cuba has a representative office in Brussels. The lobbying has thus been limited to the final stages of the decision-making process, and personal contacts with the relevant actors have not been developed enough.
The recent launch in April 2008 of the Brussels-based European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), promoted by a number of V4 NGOs, partially funded by the Czech government, and with a founding board including Czech, Polish and Slovak NGO representatives, clearly opens a new chapter. However, EPD is unlikely to undertake any project concern-ing Cuba durconcern-ing its first year of activity. The Czech Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2009 represents another opportunity to put Cuba on the EU democracy agenda.
Projects selected for study
Training programme and support to Cuban independent journalists (PIN)
‘SOS Cuba’ to support political prisoners and their families (PIN)
‘Transition Project’ to deliver handbooks about the Czech political transition process (PIN) Documentary films on Cuban issues (PIN)
‘Hotel Cuba’ to inform European tourists travelling to the island about the political situation in Cuba (PIN)
Part II Visegrad Four Democracy Assistance Policies in Target Countries Cuba: Forging Alliances Across the Transatlantic Divide - Francesco Guarascio Lech Wałęsa Institute, Solidarity with Cuba - http://www.solidarnizkuba.pl/en/index
Freedom House Europe, Hungary - http://www.freedomhouse.hu/
International Centre for Democratic Transition, Hungary -
http://www.icdt.hu/index.php?lang=en