The International Committee for Democracy in Cuba

The International Committee for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC)

To mark the last brutal crackdown on the opposition by the oppressive
regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in March 2003, the International
Committee for Democracy in Cuba (ICDC) was founded in September 2003 by
prominent international statesmen and intellectuals to assist those
struggling for democracy in Cuba. The ICDC seeks to show political
solidarity with fellow democracy activists in Cuba and channel economic
support to Cuba’s democratic opposition.

At the Towards Democracy in Cuba conference held in July 2003 in Madrid,
Vaclav Havel encouraged nations to reach out to those working to bring
freedom to Cuba. In response, the ICDC decided to assist human rights
initiatives in Cuba and to alter the approach of European and western
hemisphere countries towards Castro’s government.

Headquartered in Prague and with secretariat in the People in Need
Organization
For more information about ICDC, its members or activities, please visit
www.icdcprague.org or contact:

Human Rights and Democracy
People in Need
Sokolská 18
120 00 Prague
icdc@peopleinneed.cz

ICDC Objectives:

* The promotion of activities to support Cuban prisoners of
conscience and their families;
* The support and promotion of the Varela Project, the Independent
Libraries Movement, independent journalists, independent labor activists
and other civil society groups inside Cuba;
* The formation of an international network of non-governmental
organizations that have expressed solidarity with democracy in Cuba;
* The creation of an international network of parliamentarians in
support of democracy in Cuba;
* The establishment of a President’s task force in support of
democracy in Cuba;
* The establishment of an international commission of experts that
will pool resources from the transition experiences in Europe and Latin
America to aid the Cuban people in their own transition to democracy;
* The sensitization of European and Latin American public opinion
to the topic of Cuba.

ICDC Activities:

* The nomination of Cuban activists for the Nobel Peace Prize -
Oswaldo Payá in 2003 and 2004 and Oswaldo Payá, Raúl Rivero and Elias
Biscet in 2005;
* The use of continuing pressure on the Cuban regime for the
release of political prisoners and the opening of dialogue between the
regime and the opposition;
* The creation of the European Fund for Democracy in Cuba;
* The issuing of public statements analyzing events that affect
Cuba from a critical perspective;
* The channeling of funds and information to democratic activists
who struggle inside Cuba;
* The organization of trips of parliamentarians and journalists to
meet representatives of the Cuban opposition;
* The production of a Cuban radio “newscast” to be transmitted via
shortwave radio by official networks such as Radio Exterior in Spain,
Radio Prague, and Radio Netherlands;
* The organization of seminars on the Cuban situation, especially
on the critical issues of trade, tourism, and investment in the island
in light of the “Arcos Principles;”
* The creation of an award to be given to a person or entity that
best contributes to Cuban freedom.

ICDC Members:

* Marcos Aguinis, Argentina, writer
* Urban Ahlin, Sweden, Member of Parliament
* Madeleine Albright, USA, former secretary of state
* Patricio Aylwin Azócar, Chile, former president
* José María Aznar, Spain, former prime minister
* Elena Bonner, Russia/USA, former Soviet dissident and widow of A.
Sacharov
* Kim Campbell, Canada, former prime minister
* Armando Calderon Sól, El Salvador, former president
* José Ribeiro e Castro, Portugal, Member of European Parliament
* Vinicio Cerezo, Guatemala, former president
* Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Nicaragua, former president
* Chang Chun-hsiung, Taiwan, former prime minister
* Philip Dimitrov, Bulgaria, former prime minister
* Eduardo Frei, Chile, former president
* Ján Figeĺ, Slovakia, European Commissioner
* André Glucksmann, France, philosopher
* Arpad Göncz, Hungary, former president
* Václav Havel, Czech Republic, former president
* Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Estonia, Member of the European Parliament
* Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, USA, former ambassador to the UN
* Enrique Krauze, Mexico, writer
* Mart Laar, Estonia, former prime minister
* Luis Alberto Lacalle, Uruguay, former president
* Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania, former head of state
* Mario Vargas Llosa, Peru, writer
* Cecilia Malmström, Sweden, Member of the European Parliament
* Edward McMillan-Scott, United Kingdom, Vice-President of the
European Parliament
* Markus Meckel, Germany, former minister of foreign affairs, GDR 1990
* Adam Michnik, Poland, former dissident and editor-in-chief of the
daily Gazeta Wyborcza
* Luis Alberto Monge Alvarez, Costa Rica, former president
* Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Republic, Senator
* Arnold Vaatz, Germany, Member of Parliament

The Czech Committee for Democracy in Cuba

In May 2003, the Czech Committee for Democracy in Cuba was formed in
reaction to the March 2003 crackdown in which 75 members of the
democratic opposition and independent journalists where arrested and
imprisoned. The aim of the committee is primarily to highlight the
growing repressions on the part of the Cuban government, but also to
elicit financial help for Cuban political prisoners and their families.
The committee works together with organizations in other European countries.

The members of the Committee are:

* Jan Bubeník, former student leader
* Jan Dobrovský, consultant
* David Dušek, consultant
* Václav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic
* Radek Janeček, lawyer
* Svatopluk Karásek, Governmental Commissioner for Human Rights,
Czech Republic
* Daniel Kroupa, former senator
* Ivan Lamper, journalist
* Jan Macháček, journalist
* Václav Malý, Auxiliary Bishop of Prague
* Ivan Pilip, vice-president of the EIB
* Jan Ruml, former minister of the interior of the Czech Republic
* Karel Schwarzenberg, Senator
* Marek Švehla, journalist

http://www.clovekvtisni.cz/english/humanitarnipomoc/cuba/international.php