Sweden and Cuba in diplomatic spat
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| Published on Thursday, March 22, 2007 |
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STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP): Diplomatic relations between Sweden and Cuba were tense on Wednesday after the Scandinavian country criticised comments by a Cuban official as "unacceptable", the foreign ministry said.
Sweden last week summoned the Cuban ambassador to demand an apology and explanation, Swedish foreign ministry spokesman Christian Carlsson told AFP.
Although the affair dates back more than a week, it was only revealed by the Swedish press on Wednesday.
According to Carlsson, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on March 12 accused Cuba of violating human rights, in a speech given to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
"Following the speech, the Cuban delegate (Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez) accused Sweden of being imperialistic, colonialist and having a bloody history... This was the main message, this was an unacceptable reaction," Carlsson told AFP.
Bildt had also named other countries in his speech, including Iran and Belarus.
Questioned by tabloid Expressen on Wednesday, Bildt said the affair could be qualified as a diplomatic crisis.
"These are the comments of a desperate regime," he told the paper.
Carlsson said Bildt had summoned the Cuban ambassador to Sweden for talks on March 14 to demand an explanation and apology. He was received by the ministry's political director and was told that the comments were unacceptable.
Sweden also claimed that some of its diplomatic mail had been opened in Havana.
The Cuban embassy in Stockholm refused to comment on the affair.
Bildt addressed the Geneva incident on his blog on March 13, quoting the Cuban delegate as saying: "Cuba, unlike Sweden, does not persecute migrants or carry out ethnic cleansing that only allows those who skin and hair colour fit with the racial patterns of former Viking conquerors to remain in the country."
Bildt then wrote: "Obviously, this Cuban outburst will not go unanswered."
Carlsson said the issue was broached again with the Cuban ambassador on Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting with Latin American ambassadors.
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