The Unstoppable Cuban Spring

The Unstoppable Cuban Spring
2006-07-02 Washington Post, Saturday, July 1, 2006; A25.
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas

HAVANA -- In March 2003 dozens of leaders of Cuba's Varela Project and
other human rights defenders were detained, subjected to summary trials,
condemned to many years in prison, and confined in the most inhumane and
cruel conditions.

They were treated like -- and held in cells with -- dangerous common
criminals. In this way the regime attempted to suppress the rebirth of
the Cuban Spring initiated by thousands of Cubans who overcame a
debilitating culture of fear by including their names, addresses and
identification numbers in the text of the Varela Project, a document
later presented to the National Assembly asking for a referendum on its
human rights principles. Despite inhuman treatment and illegal
detention, the regime could not stop the rebirth of the Cuban Spring:
Many Cubans continue to support the Varela Project even amid repression
that includes death threats and physical assault.

Later in 2003 we announced that we had developed a working document of
about 50 pages that would serve as a guide for a National Dialogue (a
discussion in which all Cubans could freely express their thoughts,
desires and goals for Cuba). At the same time, state security forces
persecuted us throughout the country. Moreover, individuals inside and
outside Cuba used whatever means were at their disposal to attack and
discourage us from bringing this dialogue to fruition. Once again Cubans
persevered, and thousands of them, in Cuba and in exile, participated in
the National Dialogue.

In doing so, despite the repression, the Cubans involved in this
democratic dialogue developed a program for change. We worked to take
control of our future. Cubans, as individuals and as teams, wrote their
opinions and contributed to enriching this process. Some 12,000
participated, and many more read the working document. We created eight
committees that worked together to synthesize our citizens'
contributions in such areas as social security, health, the economy and
property rights, reconciliation and amnesty, and institutional changes.
In this way, Cubans pointed out their goals for improving Cuba and
suggested paths for accomplishing these goals.

On May 10 this year we publicly presented the Program for All Cubans
(Programa Todos Cubanos). It is the product of the National Dialogue and
contains proposals for a number of endeavors, including modification of
the constitution, a new electoral law, a new law of associations and a
plan for changes (titled "Cuba First"). The editing of this document was
done by Cubans, completely within Cuba.

The Program for All Cubans is more than a document; it is an expression
of the will of Cubans to achieve changes peacefully and by our own hand
-- changes that involve and include all Cubans. In this National
Dialogue, Cubans have demonstrated that we know where we want to go and
how to get there.

We want to preserve the right to free health care and education, and to
expand our rights to include freedom of religious education and freedom
of expression. We do not want change if it comes at the cost of paying a
ransom to those in power, allowing them to take control of the country's
resources, to define its values, to become millionaires and to leave the
people of the country in distress.

In Cuba, there will be no lynchings, no revenge, no exclusions. Those
now in power will have the same rights as all citizens. There will be no
uncontrolled privatizations, but there will be a guarantee for the right
of all Cubans to a free economy, the right to have private enterprise
and to trade freely. No one will be forced out of his home; the law will
prohibit evictions. All Cubans in exile will regain their rights as
Cuban citizens.

This program is and will remain a proposal until Cubans approve it in a
referendum; in the meantime, it is open for dialogue and for further
development.

The Cuban Spring has been reborn; hope has been reborn. Through this
"dialogue without borders," Cubans themselves have built and continue
building our path toward democracy, toward a free society that is more
just and humane. What Cuba needs is many voices around the world that
demand the freedom of political prisoners and support this path for Cuba.

The writer is a leader of the human rights movement in Cuba.

http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=5946