Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. — Article 13.2, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Castro dictatorship was determined to prevent Cubans from commemorating International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
And, really, it wasn't a surprise. After all, human rights get no shrift from the dictatorship, since they represent everything — freedom and respect of individual liberties — that Cuba under its tyranny is not. In fact, if the rights promulgated in the Declaration were allowed to be promulgated in Cuba, the dictatorship would wither away.
So if only for its own survival, the dictatorship is dedicated to stamping out any attempts by Cubans to exercise their human rights.
For instance, it has refused to grant Oswaldo Payá, head of the Christian Liberation Movement, permission to travel to France for ceremonies this week commemorating the 20th anniversary of the European Parliament's Andrei Sakharov Freedom of Conscience Award, of which he is a previous recipient.
Europe, which has bent over backwards to accommodate the Castro dictatorship despite its atrocious human rights record, must demand that Havana reverse its decision and allow Payá to travel.
If Europe remains silent, it is not worthy of Payá's company.
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