Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t be attending Fidel Castro’s funeral on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed.
Instead, Gov. Gen. David Johnston will travel to Havana on Tuesday for a ceremony commemorating the former Cuban president, who died on Friday at age 90.
Trudeau drew widespread criticism and social media mockery over the weekend for his glowing tribute to Castro. In a statement, Trudeau called Castro a “legendary revolutionary” and a “remarkable leader.”
Trudeau’s critics, including several Conservative Party leadership hopefuls, called the prime minister’s comments offensive.
In a series of tweets, Maxime Bernier said he couldn’t believe that Trudeau expressed “deep sorrow” over Castro’s death. Bernier called Castro “a despicable dictator who killed and imprisoned thousands of innocents.”
Another Tory leadership candidate, Lisa Raitt, said Trudeau “placed himself on the wrong side of history” by praising Castro and called on him to retract his statement and apologize.
On Monday in the House of Commons, Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent demanded to know whether Trudeau would revise the “ill-advised condolences” posted online.
“In expressing his personal sorrow at the passing of Cuba’s communist dictator, he has nothing to say about the Cubans tortured and oppressed,” Kent said during daily question period.
“Is that because the prime minister never met the victims of Castro’s tyranny? Or is it because the PM was only wined and dined by Cuba’s communist one per cent?” Kent added.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, echoing comments he made Sunday to CTV’s Question Period, said the prime minister will not “antagonize even more the past,” and that his government “encourage(s) the people of Cuba to unify all together and work hard together to give a better future for their children and more freedom and go step by step toward democracy.”
Dion added that “people-to-people” links built between Canada and Cuba have been maintained “not because we agreed with their regime but because we wanted to support the people of Cuba …”
Kent continued to criticize the prime minister, adding that he “not only expressed personal sorrow at Fidel’s passing, but described as a ‘real honour’ his recent meeting with Fidel’s successor, the equally ruthless Raul.”
“Why will this naive prime minister not address democracy, human rights and the rule of law?” Kent demanded.
Dion responded that “the leaders of the world without exception, or maybe some exceptions, very few exceptions” had refrained from calling Castro a dictator in their statements. He quoted a statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who said Castro will be remembered “for advances in the fields of education, literacy and health.”
Trudeau’s statement was also condemned by some U.S. politicians, including senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
Under questioning from reporters during the summit of La Francophonie in Madagascar on Sunday, Trudeau said that Castro was a “polarizing figure” and acknowledged that there were “significant concerns around human rights” under his rule in Cuba.
When asked directly whether he thought Castro was a dictator, Trudeau replied, “Yes.”
Cuba’s ambassador to Canada, Julio Garmendia Pena, told CTV’s Power Play Monday that Trudeau’s statement was “very sincere” and that “in Canada there’s freedom of speech so I give honour to the possibility of the prime minister to say what he thinks about it.”
Pena defended Castro, saying he put an end to a “very bloody dictatorship” and fought against racial inequalities, illiteracy and gaps in health care.
The ambassador said he doesn’t know “about the brutality that some press … speaks about” in relation to Castro, adding that “Cuba has been very much mistreated by the big press.”
Pena said Cuba is not disappointed that Trudeau will not attend the funeral, noting that “world leaders have their priorities and they have their agendas.” He added that Gov. Gen. David Johnston will lead “a high-level delegation” to the funeral.
Human Rights Watch states that “short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and others have increased dramatically in recent years” in Cuba and that the government also represses dissent among Cubans using “beatings, public acts of shaming and the termination of employment.”
With files from The Canadian Press
