
"Mitterand Breakfast" with human rights advocates from the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan communities in Canada
09.12.2024 / 21:59 | Aktualizováno: 09.12.2024 / 22:18
The state of human rights in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela was the topic of Ambassador Martin Tlapa's meeting with representatives of the exile communities of these Latin American countries in Canada. The event was held on the occasion of International Human Rights Day to support activists who advocate for human rights in their countries of origin and seek the release of political prisoners. It was inspired by a breakfast hosted by President François Mitterrand at the French Embassy in Prague in 1988 for Václav Havel and other democracy activists in Czechoslovakia persecuted by the then communist regime.
On Monday, December 9, 2024, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day (observed on December 10, to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948), Czech Ambassador to Canada Martin Tlapa hosted a breakfast on human rights.
Ambassador Tlapa opened the meeting by recalling the Czech history of the country's emergence from totalitarian communist rule and the return to democracy and the related challenges of political transition and economic transformation. He recalled that today's meeting was inspired by a working breakfast hosted by French President François Mitterrand during his visit to Prague in 1988, when he hosted at the French Embassy for Václav Havel and other democratic activists in Czechoslovakia persecuted by the then communist regime.
The guests were representatives of exile communities from three Latin American countries where the ruling undemocratic regimes have long violated the basic human rights of the people. The participants were Ms. Kirenia Carbonell and Mr. Eugenio Landeiro Reyes for Cuba, Mr. Federico Aguado Matuz and Mr. Luis Quiroz for Nicaragua, and Ms. Aymara Agreda and Ms. Alessandra Polga for Venezuela.
The participants, some of whom were political prisoners in their home countries before emigrating to Canada, shared their personal experiences, described the human rights situation and the situation of human rights, respectively. They also described the systematic violations of human rights by the ruling regimes, including the unjustified imprisonment, torture and killing of political and human rights activists, the totalitarian control exercised by the regimes over communication and the lives of citizens, as well as the economic decline of the countries and the lack of basic necessities such as electricity, health services, fuel, for the vast majority of the society, in addition to the preferred regime elites.
Participants praised the Czech Republic's long-standing support and activities in favour of human rights around the world, including the Václav Havel Human Rights Award and the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Forum 2000.