Member of the European Parliament Edvard Kožušník (Civic Democrats – ODS), a long-time campaigner for democracy in Cuba, has dismissed as a slur and propaganda reports in the Cuban media that he is an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the famous civilian intelligence agency of the United States
“My visit to Cuba in February was in no way intended as a provocation as is claimed by Cuban propaganda. The aim was purely to express my personal support for the representatives of the Cuban opposition,” Kožušník said in a press release sent to Czech Position on Thursday. “I have never cooperated with the intelligence services of any country in my life.”
During his visit to Cuba in February, Kožušník met with Guillermo Farinas and Oswaldem Payá, both recipients of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which was established in December 1998 by the European Parliament in honor of Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. The Czech MEP also met the speaker of the Cuban parliament, Ricard Alarcón de Quesadou.
The official state Cuban media reported that the Czech charity People in Need and an anti-communist Cuban organization based in Miami, Directorio Democrático Cubano, helped coordinate Kožušník’s visit to Cuba. The reports said that both organizations are financed by the CIA.
“Personally, I consider the false report by the Cuban propaganda to reflect the struggle within the Communist Party between the so-called hardliners, and those who realize that the current system in Cuba is untenable and who are searching for a way to make a non-violent and peaceful transition to a pluralist democracy,” Kožušník said.
