17 October 2004	Sunday	02 Ramazan 1425

HAVANA, Oct 16: Cuba's communist government barred three European lawmakers from entering the country on a visit to support Cuban dissidents, a foreign ministry statement said on Saturday.

Spanish deputy Jorge Moragas and Dutch legislators Boris Dittrich and Kathleen Ferrier were told to reboard their Air France flight and go back to Paris when they arrived in Havana on Friday night.

Moragas, an opposition party member who led the trip, had planned to meet opponents of President Fidel Castro in a show of support after the new Spanish government announced it would try to mend relations between the European Union and Cuba.

"The publicly declared objectives of his visit are a flagrant violation of our sovereignty," the ministry said. "This is a gross political provocation for Cuba."

The Cuban statement said Mr Moragas was illegally entering Cuba on a tourist visa. Two representatives of non-governmental organizations accompanying the legislators also were sent back to Europe.

Spain's foreign ministry said the treatment of Moragas was unacceptable and called in the Cuban ambassador in Madrid for an explanation.

Relations between the EU and Cuba deteriorated last year over European criticism of human rights abuses in Cuba.

Foreign ministry doors have been closed to EU diplomats and their calls seldom returned since they began to invite dissidents to EU national day receptions in June last year in response to the jailing of 75 Castro opponents.

Spain's new Socialist government seeks to restore dialogue with Havana, arguing that the EU policy based on human rights priorities has led to a dead end.

Recently arrived Spanish Ambassador Carlos Alonso Zaldivar regretted the absence of Cuban authorities at the Spanish national day party on Tuesday, which was attended by dozens of pro-democracy dissidents and wives of political prisoners.

Leading dissident Oswaldo Paya left early in disgust.

In Madrid, Mr Moragas demanded Zaldivar's resignation and announced he was flying to Cuba to meet Paya and Blanca Reyes, wife of journalist and poet Raul Rivero, who is serving a 20-year prison term for his writings.-Reuters