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Slovak MPs Hold Meeting With Cuban Dissident in Parliament
Tuesday 23 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 23 (TASR) - Cuban dissident Jose Paneque, who despite spending seven years in prison in his homeland and now living in exile in Spain, is continuing his fight for democracy, including by looking for support in the Slovak Parliament on Tuesday.
During a meeting with Slovak MPs, Paneque spoke about the current situation in Cuba, about government policies aimed against the Opposition, and about the level of awareness of what a civil society entails.
"I was imprisoned because I dared to write against the regime, because I dared to express my opinions and we tried to break a kind of mental barrier," Paneque told journalists.
He views his current life in freedom with mixed feelings - both sadness and happiness. "These are the feelings of a person who is free but, at the same time, the feelings of a person who is in exile," he said.
According to Tomas Zalesak, political advisor to Parliamentary Vice-chair Pavol Hrusovsky, the meeting in Parliament was an opportunity to "realise certain things that we sometimes tend to forget about in everyday situations".
"Our experience after 21 years is a certain source of experience for people who are currently fighting for democracy, while their experience reminds us of something as well," added Zalesak.
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