Post date: Jul 30, 2012 7:58:39 PM
HAVANA, CUBA (JULY 30, 2012) (REUTERS) - A young Swedish politician, Jens Aron Modig, who survived the traffic accident in Cuba last week that killed two Cuban dissidents including leading dissident Oswaldo Paya, apologized on Monday (July 30) for partaking in "illegal activities" while on the island and said, as far as he could recall, their car was not struck leading up to the accident.
A Swedish politician who was a passenger in a deadly car crash in Cuba apologises for taking part in "illegal activities" on the island and says he has "no memory of there being another car involved" in the accident that killed dissident Oswaldo Paya.
Paya, the 60-year-old leader of the Christian Liberation Movement, and fellow dissident Harold Cepero were killed in the crash on Sunday (July 22) when their car reportedly went off the highway and hit a tree in the eastern Granma province, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of Havana.
Both were riding in the back seat and neither wore a seatbelt, a government report indicated.
In addition to Modig, the chairman of Sweden's Christian Democrats' youth wing, and the two dissidents, the driver of the car was Angel Carromero Barrios, the vice president of Spain's ruling Popular Party's "New Generations" movement.
Modig said he was sent to Cuba to give Paya 4,000 euros and to meet with Paya and others in his movement and give travel aid if needed.
"The first one was to meet with Mr. Oswaldo Paya and hand over some money. The second goal was to meet with some young people of Mr. Paya's movement and to exchange experiences with them. And the third goal was to ... if Mr. Paya wanted to travel we should help him, we should travel with him. I've understood that these activities are illegal in Cuba and I would like to apologise for coming here and doing illegal activities," Modig said.
The Cuban government considers dissidents mercenaries working for foreign powers, especially the United States.
A Cuban government report blamed the accident on the driver, but suspicions among oppositions and some foreign governments have been raised.
Paya's family has repeatedly questioned whether his death was due to an accident, and alleged that the car may have been run off the road.
Modig, who says his memory is vague because he was sleeping for much of the trip, said he could not recall the involvement of any other cars in the deadly wreck.
"I have no memory of there being another car involved," said Modig.
The report cited a tractor driver and cyclist who were travelling in the same direction as the ill-fated vehicle. Both said it was moving at excess velocity, passed the tractor, hit the unpaved part of the highway and crashed.
The report estimated the car was travelling at 75 miles per hour (121 km per hour) at the time of the accident. The posted speed limit was 37 mph (60 kph).
In a video presented to journalists Carromero, who had been driving for eight hours at the time of the accident, said he lost control of the car.
"The last time I had checked (the speed-o-metre), I was driving at 80 kilometres per hour but when I had the accident I did not look at the speed-o-metre. I can't say exactly how fast I was going. I braked because I saw the change [from pavement] to sand. [OFF CAMERA: ANIMATION OF CRASH] So I pressed on the brake, lost control of the car because we were going into a gravel area and I lost stability and the direction wasn't working and I couldn't keep control of the car and, that's all I remember. We weren't hit by any other car from behind," Carromero said.
The report indicated possible criminal charges were being considered and Carromero used the opportunity to send a message abroad.
"As far as the news reports I've been able to read, I ask the international community to please focus on getting me out of here and don't use a traffic accident, which could have happened to anyone else, with political ends," added Carromero.
The report's conclusion that Carromero was to blame for the accident suggested that he could face charges of reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter.
Both survivors remain in Cuba.
According to a Cuban official, they are being held on the island during the investigative process but it was not clear if charges had been filed against either.