Delegation of Free Cubans Meets with Hungarian Foreign Minister and Leaders of Opposition Parties in Budapest

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Delegation of Free Cubans Meets with Hungarian Foreign Minister and Leaders of Opposition Parties in Budapest
By Cuban Democratic Directorate

From left to right: Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Tomás Rodríguez, Joel Brito, Angel de Fana, Rolando Behar, Kinga Goncz, Ramón Colás, María Eugenia Cosculluela, José Ignacio Rasco, Calixto Navarro and Húber Matos Benitez.

Budapest, June 26, 2007. Representatives of Cuban pro-democratic organizations in exile held official meetings yesterday with members of Hungarian opposition parties in order to establish relations and lay the groundwork for future efforts for Cuban freedom with Hungary. Today, the delegation met with the head of the opposition, Viktor Orban, President of FIDESZ-Hungarian Civic Union (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége), the Hungarian Christian Democrat political party. Orban spoke about the experiences of Hungary’s anti-communist democratic forces. The Cubans were also able to meet with Government ministers in the Hungarian Parliament and Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz, speaking about democracy and freedom issues of mutual interest.

The activities began with a solemn visit to the cemetery where the heroes of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Union are buried. A floral offering was placed at the tomb of Pal Maleter, former Minister of Defense of Hungary’s communist government who united the forces under his command with the people and stood against the Soviets. Maleter was executed by the Soviets after many weeks of resistance against the Red Army. The offering displayed the following words: “In the name of all Cubans in the democratic opposition in and out of Cuba”.

“The Hungarian political parties and the government are committed to helping political prisoners and the Cuban opposition. This is a historic moment; all those who love freedom have united to support a process of democratic change in Cuba,” said Calixto Navarro, member of the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

The delegation of Cubans was comprised of: María Eugenia Cosculluela from Mothers Against Repression (MAR por Cuba), Joel Brito from the International Group for Corporate Social Responsibility in Cuba, Rolando Behar from the Cuban Liberal Union, José Ignacio Rasco from the Cuban Christian Democrat Party, Natalia Bellusova from Ibero-American Association for Freedom, Peter Kolossa and Nora Szego from ICDT in Hungary, Tomás Rodríguez from Agenda Cuba, Commander Húber Matos from Independent and Democratic Cuba, Ángel De Fana from ‘Plantados’ Until Freedom and Democracy in Cuba, Ramón Colás from Independent Libraries in Cuba, Dr. Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat and Calixto Navarro from the Cuban Democratic Directorate.