EU minister says Cuban "gestures" needed on rights

By Rosa Tania Valdes

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba needs to make "gestures" on human rights if it wants the European Union to treat it like most other nations, an EU official said on Wednesday at the end of a three-day trip to Cuba.

Cuba is pushing the EU to abandon its current "common position" that calls for a transition to pluralist democracy and the respect for human rights on the communist-led island as the two enter a new era of cooperation following a five-year rift over Havana's treatment of dissidents.

EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Karel de Gucht told reporters that a new "political format" for EU-Cuba relations would be a "very fortunate evolution," but Cuba will have to give something in order to get it.

"On the part of Cuba, it implies that gestures should be made with respect to fundamental rights," de Gucht said.

"Although opinions on fundamental rights can differ from one country to another, there's also a nucleus of fundamental rights that is undoubtedly universal, and we should further discuss how we make progress in this respect," he said.

Cuba is a one-party state with no free press and tight travel restrictions, but it says it fulfils basic human rights by preventing hunger and providing such things as free medical care and education.

Human rights groups say there are 200 political prisoners in Cuba, but the government says it has none because all those behind bars were found guilty of crimes in a fair legal process.

The EU imposed diplomatic sanctions on Cuba after 75 political opponents were jailed in March 2003. Last year, the sanctions were lifted as the 27-nation bloc and Cuba agreed to political dialogue and renewed cooperation.