Thank you very much, sir. I am very happy to hear that you will visit the most beautiful country in Europe. You are most welcome there.
Allow me to give one small example from the time before the Velvet Revolution in my country.
There was a very symbolic gesture made by the former President of France, who was visiting Czechoslovakia at that time, when he decided to host a very unofficial breakfast at the French embassy with the representatives of dissidents in Czechoslovakia. Of course, to say the Communist Party and the Communist government weren't happy would be quite a big euphemism, because they were furious when he did it. But the support, the symbolic support, was extremely important, and it started a new era, a new chapter, in the way of thinking of the whole population. It was easy to do, and it was maybe more important for Czechoslovakia than just for dissidents, because suddenly the visit of the French President to Czechoslovakia was not a triumph of the Communist Party and the Communist government but actually a terrible disaster for them. They couldn't use it as part of their propaganda about how they are treated by the democratic world, that they weren't treated as partners.
This is the way to support the Cuban people, the Cuban population, to talk to them, to talk to the opposition. That doesn't mean we have to necessarily agree with everything they are saying, but they have to be our partners.
Talking about dialogue, it's connected as well to economic cooperation. I agree with my colleague that the economic embargo is not the way to go, and definitely not what we should use for promoting democracy and human rights, simply because the people who will be affected by this embargo are not the political establishment of the country. It will be the people on the street.
But on the other hand, when we decide to do business with Cuba, we should answer the question, “Who are we doing business with? Are we really doing business in favour of the people, or are we helping the Communist Party to finance their propaganda in the third world?” If we do business, we have to be responsible for that business. We can't simply say, “You see, we're just doing business.” We have to see where the finances, the investments we're bringing into the country, are going. It's the same when we talk about tourism, and so on.
I think the dialogue is not just dialogue between the Czech Republic and Cuba. It's dialogue between Cuba and the democratic world.
Canada could help in your communication with Cuba, which is very open and, from our point of view, very friendly. It should really force the issue of human rights, not just discussions for friendly conversation but discussions on the issue of human rights, closely connected with other activities by Canada in Cuba. Interlink your business activities with promoting these essential principles—which are actually maybe more important and more essential principles for Canada, because you have a longer history in human rights and democracy protection than we have. So that's one thing.
The third thing is dialogue between Cuba and international organizations. I really think Canada, with the respect it has all over the globe, should use all mechanisms to force the Cuban government to accept Mrs. Chanet as the personal representative of the UN High Commission for Human Rights and really start the real dialogue between Cuba and this organization.
Of course, it's going to be very tough because of what we could hear. This dialogue is not just going to be about the UN impact on political rights, but maybe also about the international agreement against torturing people. But this mechanism has already been established. It was established by a body in which Canada is playing a leading role, the UN Commission on Human Rights, or, today, the UN Council on Human Rights.
I'm sorry, I may not be very diplomatic, but I don't feel this is a task for Canada; I feel it is a Canadian commitment, because Canada plays the leading role in international human rights protection. So from this point of view, it's not your right; it's your commitment to this body to do it.
I would like to even offer the possibility of cooperating with Canada in terms of sharing with you our experience of the transformation of Czechoslovakian society, from a totalitarian regime to democracy. I can understand, and I really do understand, the bitterness that the Cuban government obviously feels toward the Czech Republic, because from their point of view we left the communist regime, we left the communist ideology, so we betrayed this ideal. So for the Cuban government, we could be the betrayer.
But still there is a way to use Canadian influence in Cuba, for Canada to be the intermediary, maybe, to bring our experience to Cuban civic society and to talk to them about this. When it is not possible for direct dialogue between the Czech Republic and, say, the post-communist countries and Cuba, maybe Canada could be the channel through which to share with the Cuban people our experiences.
So there are two things. One is to better the dialogue, Canada-Cuba, but I would see the biggest role, a much bigger role, for Canada in the international community. The first thing I would like to suggest to you is to work towards acceptance of Mrs. Chanet, the representative of the High Commission for Human Rights, by the Government of Cuba, and to start real, substantial, and constructive dialogue between Cuba and the UN.
Thank you.