For some in the British press, The Police's upcoming concert in Havana is a glaring example of hypocrisy, and it seems as if Sting's old buddies at Amnesty International may agree.
From the Telegraph's Spy column, April 14:
Hypocrisy is a regular pitfall for the worthy modern pop star - who could forget Mick Jagger's tactless visit to freedom-loving Burma last year? - and it now seems that 1980s rockers The Police have also wandered into this perilous territory.The re-formed group has received an invitation from the Cuban government to perform on the island in December, Spy hears, and the band has accepted.
The invitation stems from a recent visit to Havana over the 2006 Christmas holiday by Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler.
And yet it seems odd that Sting, a vocal member of Amnesty International - "I lend my voice in support of Amnesty International so that others now silenced may soon be free to sing theirs" - would be so ready and willing to accept the invitation from a government that, in the words of his beloved organisation, imposes "severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association".
While Amnesty refused to comment specifically on the band's decision, the organisation makes its views quite clear. "People are locked up in Cuba for expressing their views," says a spokesman when I call.
"A number of journalists, teachers and human rights activists are in prison. Amnesty has been campaigning against these violations for 40 years."
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