Top Cuban human rights campaigners have slammed Lord Cameron’s first agreement as Foreign Secretary: a Political Dialogue and Cooperation agreement with Havana. Americas & Caribbean minister David Rutley flew to Havana last week to sign the agreement, watch events at “British Culture Week” and meet with “local entrepreneurs“. There is no indication Rutley met with human rights campaigners or victims of the communist regime. Meanwhile, Cuba sends its citizens to fight for the Russians in Ukraine…

Leading Cuban human rights campaigner Rosa María Payá spoke to Guido:

“Establishing political dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Cuba is immoral and futile. Immoral because it validates a totalitarian regime that holds more than a thousand people imprisoned for having ideas different from those of the Communist Party of Cuba, subjecting them to torture, persecuting, and harassing their families. Futile because there is no benefit for the United Kingdom in such an agreement. The only beneficiary is the regime, which will receive resources without any conditions to continue strengthening its repressive apparatus.

We hope that the British Parliament rejects this agreement that does not benefit the interests of its people but serves the narrative of the Cuban dictatorship to whitewash its image internationally”.

Boris Gonzalez Arenas, pro-democracy campaigner and journalist, told Guido:

“Just reading the references to the meeting between Mr. David Rutley and the vice president of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs is enough to anger Cubans who demand respect from the international community, for the cause of our freedom.

The date of the signing of the document could not be more scandalous, when the communist regime faced the greatest international rejection for having allowed the death in prison of Luis Barrios Díaz, a political prisoner who had suffered for months from severe lung conditions without any medical attention, a crime that Mr Rutley and the FCDO help to cover up.

The Castro Foreign Ministry thanked, according to the text of the news published by Cubaminrex, the support of the United Kingdom for the Resolution against the United States embargo that Cuba presented at the United Nations. We Cuban activists pointed out years ago this European support for the Cuban dictatorship is a strategy favourable to European businessmen who wish to take advantage of the ban on American companies dictated by the embargo, to do business with the dictatorship.

This collusion between the authorities of the United Kingdom and the communist dictatorship, against the Cuban people, is undoubtedly bad news for Cuba“. Shortly after Guido spoke to Boris, Cuban state police blocked the exits to his apartment…

If the agreement is anything like one signed by the EU, it will agree to strengthen “political dialogue, cooperation, and economic and trade relations“, affirm the “principles of democracy, good governance and the rule of law“, and “strengthen political relations“. The text of the agreement won’t actually be published until spring when it is laid before Parliament, despite it being signed by both parties. Leaving no chance for MPs to scrutinise its contents for months…

UPDATE: An FCDO spokesman responds:

“An open dialogue with Cuba allows us to frankly discuss areas of serious concern, such as human rights, as well as areas of mutual agreement. During his recent visit to Cuba, Minister Rutley raised human rights, concerns about political prisoners and the transparency of the judicial process in his meetings with ministers, including with the Cuban Foreign Minister, and met with a range of Cuban human rights experts”. Not that they’ll provide any actual details…