On the 18th and 19th of October Vilnius was the place for the Baltic Working Forum on Cuba which should link the Baltic experience in developing democracy after the collapse of communism to the future of democracy in Cuba. As Vytautas Landsbergis said: "A lot of people decided that life after Castro will be different; perhaps the island will flow with the stream of freedom and perhaps then Lithuania would be able to contribute by hoisting the sail.” The event was organized and co-sponsored by the International Republican Institute, the Institute of International Relations and Political Science (Vilnius University) and the Institute for Democratic Politics.

Parliamentarians, state officials, political analysts, NGO representatives and academics from Europe and the United States were present. Together with leading Cuban oppositional figures who were exiled after being imprisoned, they discussed what work has to be done to cause further democratization in Cuba.

The major topics of the panel discussions were the realities of Cuban life under the Castro regime, how to mobilize support among European partners for Cuba and evaluating the importance of Baltic policy on Cuba. The main reason for linking the Baltic experience to the promotion of democracy in Cuba is its own experience, in transforming successfully from communism to a full democracy. Sharing this knowledge and combining it with the experience of governments, parties and NGOs working on Cuban solidarity programs, the forum's aim was to be prepared for the moment of inevitable change in Cuba.

The aim of the first discussion was to give the forum an overview about the situation in Cuba and about the realities of the real "Socialismo”; particularly on perspectives of political prisoners, the press, workers rights, and the opposition movement. Cuban exiles and members of Cuba's internal opposition led the panel discussion. Manuel Vázquez Portal and Osvaldo Alfonso Valdes, former Cuban prisoners of conscience, Joel Brito from the International Group for Corporate Social Responsibility in Cuba, and Carlos Saladrigas from the Cuba Study Group shared their experiences directly with the forum's participants. Their views were completed by a live video conference with exile Cubans from Miami.

An interesting part of the forum was the presentation of an opinion poll conducted in Cuba in September 2007. Rasa Alisauskiene, from the Gallup organization demonstrated how much work needs to be done in Cuba before a democratic government could be established. The polls were conducted through personal interviews in 14 out of Cuba's 15 provinces between September 5 and October 4, 2007 with 584 adults and are considered to have a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. In general, the poll showed that Cuban overwhelmingly believed that the current government will be unable to solve the country's problems (78.6%), and that they should be allowed to vote on who succeeds Fidel Castro (73.9%). However, when asked about what kind of government would be best able to solve Cuba's problems only 32.1% responded with a democratic one, while 42.7% had no answer. The figures pointed towards a desire for change, but a greater uncertainty about what that will look like.

The second panel discussion focused on mobilizing support for Cuba among European partners. Parliamentarians, state officials and academics from Spain, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia discussed the experience of transition from communism to democracy. The main focus of the discussion was to bring the experience together into a network supporting democracy in Cuba. Particular policies of their countries and the European Union were analyzed. Also the role of NGOs in supporting civil society was highlighted. The representatives from the Czech NGO People in Need and the Slovak Pontis Foundation explained what they have done to foster the creation of a civic culture necessary for a democracy to flourish. The panel discussion led to the conclusion that greater support by the individual countries is needed first and as a second step a coordinated policy within the EU.

The highlight of the third panel discussion was the words of Mart Laar, former Prime Minister and now Member of the Estonian Parliament. He made clear that the Baltic experience is essential to promote democracy in Cuba and that the Baltic States and their population are very able to understand what communism means and causes. It was highlighted, that especially those experiences and the successful transition from a single-party Communist state to multi-party democracies should lead the Baltics to encourage the individual state and the EU as well as NGOs to transfer their knowledge.

The Baltic Working Forum on Cuba was an important opportunity to show the democratic minded Cuban opposition that they are not alone. It was also a good opportunity for all actors trying to promote democracy in Cuba to meet and communicate, and exchange experience. The examples of many transition from communism to democracy has shown the problems which can arise and at the same time offered solutions. This may help to prepare Cuba for a life after Fidel Castro. The forum has also shown that on the networking level much more can be done. The unity among former Soviet republics towards a policy concerning Cuba is not yet achieved and also the lack of a common policy within the EU should be overcome to unify support. Nevertheless the meeting was a step forward in including the Cuban issue in the agenda and to propose solutions and ways towards democracy.

Nico Rausch
The EESC