Canada at the Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba in Washington DC

Rosa María Payá, Cubadecide International Coordinator and President of the Panamerican Foundation for Democracy and Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces in the US Congress at the conclusion of the 2nd Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba. May 12, 2022

Democratic Spaces is honoured to have participated in the Second Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba that took place in the United States Congress in Washington DC on May 12, 2022. For us, Canada´s participation in this global coalition has been of great importance.

We would like to warmly thank Rosa Maria Payá, her great team at Cubadecide and the Panamerican Foundation for Democracy for their invitation and for their hard work in making possible this transatlantic coalition for Cuban freedom that significantly strengthens international solidarity with the cause of democracy in Cuba. This coalition is a crutial step in the direction of what Oswaldo Payá called the globalization of solidarity. In particular when he said:

¨The cause of human rights is a single one, just as we have one single humanity. While we talk today about globalisation, we declare that if we do not globalise solidarity, we do not only endanger human rights, but also the right to continue as a human race. ¨

Felipe Kast Senator of the Republic of Chile and Michael Lima, Director of Democratic Spaces at the Parliamentary Transatlantic Coalition for a Free Cuba held in U.S. Congress in Washington DC.

The coalition was attended and supported by 15 legislators from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. Members of civil society organizations offered their testimonies to legislators about the human rights violations perpetrated by the regime. It concluded with the reading of the Declaration of Washington DC. It was then followed by a ceremony in recognition of Carl Gershman, former president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as the winner of the fifth edition of the Oswaldo Payá Award. After receiving the award, Gershman expressed inspiring words about the legacy of Oswaldo Payá and the relevance of his ideas and how his faith informed his struggle for rights and democracy. For Gershman, Osvaldo Paya is Nelson Mandela, Vaclac Havel and Andrei Sakharov in one human being.

Our organization, Democratic Spaces, is a member of this international Coalition for Cuba´s freedom since it was inaugurated in the City Hall of Miami on November 20, 2021, and we support both declarations in Miami and Washington DC. Democratic Spaces is once again honored to work with Senator Leo Housakos and his dynamic team on this important project that seeks to strengthen the Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a free Cuba.

Nicole Malliotakis, U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 11th District and Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces at the Cuba Libre Restaurant during the Washington DC premiere of the short documentary, ¨The Truth about the Murder of Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero¨

The valuable work of Senator Housakos was presented as an example by Rosa Maria Payá for his commitment and solidarity with the points of the Miami Declaration, agreed upon after the first session of the Transatlantic Forum in Miami on November 20, 2021. In a historic speech, the senator recounts his work in solidarity with the cause of democracy in Cuba in recent months.

He made reference to how freedom loving Cuban Canadians are the best ambassadors of those fighting for democracy in Cuba & how the motion presented by him and promoted by our community in the Senate of Canada on March 24 sought to put into practice the central points of the Miami Declaration: Denounce the illegitimacy of the Castro regime; recognize the opposition in Cuba as valid interlocutors in the Cuba-Canada relations and ask the executive in Canada to advocate for the right of the Cuban people to free demonstration and that their human rights be respected.

One of the highlights of his speech was his call to the Trudeau government to take advantage of the 11th Summit of the Americas to be held in Los Angeles in June of this year to urge the government of Justin Trudeau to use the framework of the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June to urge the dictatorship in Cuba to stop the use of repression against the Cuban people. The senator also recalled the Cuban regime’s involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recalled how in Cuba the media is used to reproduce the Kremlin’s propaganda narrative.

The voices of all Cubans must be heard. We exhort the Government of Canada to use the important platform provided by the Summit of the Americas to denounce that the arbitrary arrests and detentions as the one taking place in Cuba are a violation of international human rights law, including Article 9 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest [or] detention,” and Article 9 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which states, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.” Arbitrary arrest and detention is also prohibited in various regional human rights instruments.

In reference to the double standards of Canadian Foreign Policy on Cuba, Senator Housakos called on the Trudeau regime ¨to be consistent in its defense of human rights and democracy around the world and in the same manner it condemns repression in Venezuela, Belarus, Iran, Zimbabwe and sanctions corrupt officials and human rights abusers in 21 countries, it should do the same with the Cuban regime.¨

 Senator Housakos also reiterated its commitment to continuing sensitizing Canadians about the moral and ethical implications of investing and vacationing in Cuba and how it helped prop up the repressive apparatus of the regime. Furthermore, he condemned the links of the dictatorship in Cuba with Vladimir Putin and its participation in Russia’s asymmetric disinformation war.

The moment when Senator Housakos´s speech is presented at the Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba in Washington DC. May 12, 2022.

We believe that in the current global context, and due to the close relationship of the Cuban regime as a key ally of dictator Vladimir Putin in Russia, vacationing and investing in Cuba is tantamount to giving support to a human right’s predatory regime that in addition to unleashing repression against its own people, uses all its state-controlled media in the island to reproduce the Kremlin’s disinformation machine on the invasion of Ukraine.

Carl Gershman, president and founder of the National Endowment for Democracy and former US Ambassador after delivering one of the most inspiring speeches ever on the legacy and ideas of Oswaldo Payá receives an award via Cubadecide and on behalf of the Latin-American Youth Network for Democracy.

Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba. US. Congress. Washington DC, May 12, 2022.

From left to right in this photo: Michael Lima Cuadra, Dir of Democratic Spaces; Mario Diaz Balart, U.S. representative for Florida's 25th congressional district. Felipe Kast, Senator of the Republic of Chile, Nicole Malliotakis, U.S. representative for New York's 11th congressional distric. Maria Elvira Salazar, U.S. representative for Florida's 27th congressional district. Victor Guido Gonzalez Coello, member of the Congress of Deputies for the VOX party; Armando Ibarra, President of Miami’s Young Republicans, Antonio Garratzú, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Republican Institute, John Suarez, Director of the Centre for a Free Cuba, Rosa María Payá, international coordinator of the Cubadecide citizen initiative and President

Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces and Pastor Mario Felix Lleonard Barroso at the entrance of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC.

Second Session of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba held in the U.S. Congress in Washington DC on May 12, 2022.

At Democratic Spaces we will work to fulfill the objectives of the Washington DC Declaration. Among key points:

- The expansion of a coalition of nations in support of the Cuban people's demand for freedom.

-The imposition of political, diplomatic and financial sanctions against those responsible for serious human rights violations.

-To support national and transnational enforcement of laws prohibiting human trafficking practices by the Cuban regime.

-Not to negotiate with the Cuban regime without first demanding the unconditional release of political prisoners, respect for free speech rights, and internationally supervised multiparty elections.

-To urge the OAS to take advantage of the IX Summit of Angels for member states to express the grave human rights situation in Cuba.

Michael Lima, Dir of Democratic Spaces and Mario Díaz Balart during his presentation on gross human rights violation and repression in Cuba. U.S. Congress. Washington DC.

 We feel the urgency of the situation in Cuba and the human rights catastrophe that Cubans are experiencing. We assume the moral duty and our commitment to seek solidarity in Canada with those in Cuba who are fighting for rights and freedoms. We will continue to advocate freedom and democracy for the People of Cuba as they face the worst wave of repression in decades leaving a human toll of over 1,000 political prisoners including women and children. We understand the vital importance of initiatives such as those of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Alliance in seeking to internationalize the cause of democracy in Cuba.

The WASHINGTON DC DECLARATION. MAY 12, 2022

The Transatlantic Parliamentary Coalition for a Free Cuba ended with the reading of the Washington DC Declaration.

See also, The MIAMI DECLARATION during the inauguration of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Forum in Miami on Nov 20, 2021.