MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo in Cuba

8.3.2010

to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Willy Meyer, Jacky Hénin, Ilda Figueiredo, Patrick Le Hyaric, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Sabine Lösing, Jürgen Klute on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

B7‑0177/2010

European Parliament resolution on the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo in Cuba

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Council common position of 2 December 1996 on Cuba, established at the request of the former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar,

–   having regard to the sanctions imposed by the European Union in 2003, which were suspended in 2005 and definitively lifted in June 2008,

–   having regard to the Council Conclusions of 24 June 2008, which state that 'the EU stands ready to resume a comprehensive and open dialogue with the Cuban authorities on all topics of mutual interest. (...) This process of dialogue should include the whole range of potential fields of cooperation including the political, human rights, economic, scientific and cultural spheres and should take place on a reciprocal, unconditional, non-discriminatory and result-oriented basis',

–   having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

–   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, after going on hunger strike in a Cuban prison, the Cuban citizen Orlando Orlando Zapata Tamayo unfortunately died in a Cuban hospital, despite receiving suitable medical treatment,

B.  whereas the common position prevents the EU from maintaining comprehensive, open relations with the Cuban Government on the basis of bilateral interests, and whereas Cuba is the only State in the world towards which the EU adopts this exceptional attitude,

C. whereas the Spanish EU Presidency has declared its interest in opening a debate on the advisability of trying to reach an agreement so that the EU's relations with Cuba could be based on a bilateral legal instrument,

D. whereas, with a view to normalising relations with the EU, the Cuban authorities have repeatedly expressed their readiness to hold exhaustive talks on any issue of mutual interest, including human rights, on the basis of mutual respect and a dialogue between equals,

E.  having regard to the severe consequences of the economic, commercial and financial embargo which the US has been imposing on Cuba for over 50 years, in flagrant breach of international law, and to the threats and attacks of all kinds against Cuba, some of a terrorist nature, and the repeated attempts to destabilise Cuba, most of which emanate from the US,

F.  whereas the embargo is having a damaging effect on Cuba's economy and on Cubans' living conditions; whereas, despite this, the Cuban Government is continuing to guarantee free access for its citizens to healthcare and education,

G. whereas since 1998 five Cuban citizens have been imprisoned in the US without a fair trial, and whereas, in contrast, the US Administration is still sheltering a Cuban national who was the instigator of the bomb attack on a civil aircraft in which 76 people were killed,

1.  Deplores the death in a Cuban hospital, after a hunger strike, of the Cuban citizen Orlando Zapata Tamayo;

2.  Calls on the EU to withdraw the common position and to engage in a comprehensive political dialogue with the Cuban Government, applying the same criteria as it does to all countries with which it maintains relations;

3.  Welcomes, in this connection, the Council's 2008 decision to lift the sanctions against Cuba and asks the Council to stand by this decision;

4.  Reiterates its strong condemnation of the embargo and calls for it to be lifted immediately, as demanded on 18 occasions by the vast majority of UN member states in the General Assembly;

5.  Supports the efforts of the Spanish Presidency to normalise EU-Cuba relations, a process which would culminate in the complete withdrawal of the common position, and hopes that Orlando Zapata Tamayo's death will not undermine this process;

6.  Calls for closer dialogue and the establishment of a lasting basis for a genuine partnership between the EU and Cuba to deal with matters of common interest, including human rights issues;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and applicant countries, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the EUROLAT Assembly and the Government and National Assembly of the Republic of Cuba.