EU Sacharov-prijs beïnvloedt mogelijk relatie Cuba-EU (en)
EUOBSERVER i / BRUSSELS - Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas has been named as a top contender for the European Parliament's 2010 Sakharov Prize in a move that could have an impact on Spain's ambition to normalise Cuba-EU relations.
The 48-year-old psychologist and journalist, who has to date taken part in 23 hunger strikes against the Communist government, has won the backing of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the chamber, the anti-federalist European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group and 91 other MEPs - over half the EU assembly - in the run-up to the award in October.
The last time a Cuban nominee won the prize, the NGO Ladies in White in 2005, Fidel Castro himself was quoted as criticising the EU for its choice.
The centre-left Spanish administration during its time as the EU presidency earlier this year proposed the union should lift what remains of its punitive measures against Cuba. The move failed in the context of the death in custody of hunger striker Orlando Zapata Tamayo. But Spain, which has strong commercial ties to Cuba, has since negotiated the release of 52 Cuban political prisoners, raising fresh prospects for a rapprochement.
Names from Africa and the Middle East dominate the rest of the Sakharov nominations.
Syrian human rights lawyer Haytham Al-Maleh is also on the list, as are Western Sahara human rights worker Aminatou Haidar; jailed Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak; Ethiopian politician Birtukan Mideksa; Vietnamese priest Nguyen Van Ly; online communications NGO Access; Israeli army transparency NGO Breaking the Silence; and Open Doors, an outfit trying to protect the rights of Christian minorities around the world.
Three Sakharov finalists will be chosen by a committee vote in mid-October. The winner will be decided at a behind-closed-doors meeting of parliamentary political group leaders on 21 October and presented at a ceremony in Strasbourg (in absentia if need be) in December.
The €50,000 award has a much smaller profile worldwide than Sweden's Nobel Peace Prize. But past Sakharov laureates say the EU award is an important contribution to psychological well-being and personal safety.
Belarusian opposition politician Alaksandar Milinkievic, who won it in 2005, told EUobserver by phone from Minsk on Thursday (23 September): "It was very important in terms of moral support for all of those fighting for change in Belarus, often in difficult circumstances."
"It also offers a certain protection. Not just myself, but Belarusian opposition activists in general suffered fewer infractions afterward. It's a very important prize."