Thursday, April 12, 2012

Cartagena summit should not reject “democratic clause”

Posted on Wednesday, 04.11.12

In My Opinion

Cartagena summit should not reject "democratic clause"
By Andres Oppenheimer
aoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com

When I asked Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos about the ongoing
U.S.-Latin American spat over Cuba's absence in the 33-country Summit of
the Americas that he will host in Cartagena this weekend, he gave an
answer that many civil rights advocates find troublesome.

Referring to Cuba's absence because of a U.S.-backed rule stating that
only democracies can attend inter-American summits — an issue that is
likely to figure prominently during the weekend discussions — Santos
suggested that Washington and Latin American countries should
re-evaluate their definitions of concepts such as freedom of the press,
elections and democracy.

Under a clause of the Summit of the Americas Declaration of Quebec on
April 22, 2001, which was adopted by consensus and is being invoked by
the Obama administration today to oppose Cuba's attendance,
participating countries agreed that respect for the rule of law and
democracy are "an essential condition of our presence at this and future
Summits."

Now, Ecuador says it will boycott the Cartagena summit if Cuba is not
invited. Several other Latin American countries have said they will
attend but agree with Ecuador's stand that Cuba should be there.

During a recent interview, I asked Santos which side is right. "It's not
only Ecuador that wants Cuba to be here,'' he responded. "A majority of
Latin American countries would want Cuba to be at the summit." He added
that the Cartagena summit should "discuss the way" in which Cuba could
be present in the future.

Ok, but what about the summit's democratic clause? And what about the
U.S. argument that if Cuba is invited, the summit would not only violate
its own rules but would set a dangerous precedent for the elimination of
agreements for the collective defense of democracy in the region?

"All of that is subject to discussion," Santos said. He added that
Colombia defends and will continue defending democratic principles, but
stated that "each country has its own way of perceiving and defining,
for instance, freedom of the press."

There should be a "discussion'' about concepts such as freedom of the
press, he said, because "there are no values or positions that are
totally static, frozen. These things evolve."

Most human rights and pro-democracy advocates disagree. Fundamental
rights are universal values, which were enshrined in the United Nations
Charter after World War II to prevent totalitarian regimes from doing
whatever they want without violating international rules, they argue.

Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias
says it would be wrong to open a discussion on Cuba's interpretation of
freedom of the press and democracy. Cuba "is a dictatorship that has
left thousands of Cubans in cemeteries over the past 50 years for having
dared to disagree with the government,'' he says.

Added Arias: "There are things that remain valid over time, such as
freedom and democracy. If Cuba wants to call what it has a democracy,
that shouldn't be acceptable. We must maintain the democratic clauses,
and demand their compliance."

Ricardo Trotti, an official with the Inter-American Press Association
press freedom advocacy group, says that if countries leave the
definition of fundamental freedoms up to each president's
interpretation, "we run the risk of legalizing the violations of the
most fundamental human rights.''

In diplomatic circles, many say that if Cuba were invited to the
Cartagena summit, it would amount to a further erosion of the region's
agreements for the defense of democracy. Latin America has already
largely turned a blind eye to rigged elections in Nicaragua and
crackdowns on independent media in Venezuela and Ecuador, they say.

If the summit's democratic clause is weakened to invite Cuba, "we would
lower the standards even further," says Peter Romero, a State Department
head of Latin American affairs during the Clinton administration.

My opinion: Santos is right in trying to find a way to bring Cuba back
into the inter-American diplomatic community. But the way to do it is
inviting Cuba as an observer, and urging its military regime to accept
some minimum standards of respect for civil, political and human rights
in order to become a full member.

If the presidents at the Cartagena summit decide to change the rules and
do away with the democratic clause, they will be setting a dangerous
precedent for the collective acceptance of dictatorships throughout the
region.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/25/2743249/cartagena-summit-should-not-reject.html

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