They're at it again...Czech vs. Cuba [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]

From:	"Karen Lee Wald" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>



Subject:	They're at it again...Czech vs. Cuba

Date:	Wed, 13 Mar 2002 19:20:35 -0800

HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
---------------------------

Ex-Catholics and Ex-Communists can be

the bitterest foes of their former

belief system....of course, in the

case of the Czechs there's a lot

of opportunism mixed in...

Czech Rep considering submitting anti-Cuban

resolution again.

PRAGUE, March 13 (CTK) - The Foreign Ministry is to decide

by the end of the week on whether the Czech Republic will

submit a draft resolution criticising the state of human rights

in Cuba to the U.N. Human Rights Commission this year, the

daily Lidove noviny writes today. The U.N. commission's

meeting is to start in Geneva next Monday.

"At this moment we cannot say that we are preparing the text

of the resolution or that we are not preparing it. A resolution is

only one of possible tools. We are consulting our partners on

further steps," Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Vosalik told the

paper. If the Czech Republic decides to submit the draft

resolution, it will be based on the last year's one, Vosalik said.

Vosalik headed a delegation which visited Mexico, Chile and

Peru in February. However, ministry spokesman Ales Pospisil

declined to say directly that Vosalik was seeking support for

the anti-Cuban resolution. Presidential Office political

department head Pavel Fischer did not want to comment on

the trip first, but later admitted that the resolution was one of

its reasons.

Foreign Ministry press department head Karel Boruvka said

in mid-February that a decision on whether the Czech Republic

would submit the resolution again had not been made yet.

Foreign Minister Jan Kavan said last year that the Czech Republic

would not draft the resolution next time.

Cuba last week condemned the U.S. effort to push through an

anti-Cuban resolution in the U.N. commission and also blamed

the Czech Republic for willingness to submit a draft of such a

resolution if there is nobody to do so.

The Czech Republic submitted the draft resolution annually

in the past three years and it was always approved by the

U.N. commission. Last year the Czech draft resolution

prompted sharp reactions both on the Czech political scene

and abroad, as it contained, for the first time, criticism of the

U.S.-initiated economic sanctions against Cuba.

==========================
Karen Lee Wald
2175 Aborn Road, apt. 164
San Jose, CA 95121
telephone 408-532-6147
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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They're at it *again*...Czech vs. Cuba [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]