NEW SOCIALIST OPPOSITION PARTY ESTABLISHED IN CUBA

HAVANA, July (APIC)

A social-democratic party has been established in Cuba to demand the democratization of the country.

According to the party's president, Vladimir Roca, a well-known leftist opponent of the Castro government, the organization will struggle for the fundamental civil rights inherent in any State of Law. Roca granted an exclusive interview to the Independent Cuban Press Agency in Havana.

"The Cuban Social-Democratic Party (PSC) emerges within the international social-democratic movement and shares its goals and ideological principles", said Roca. "It distinguishes itself from the Cuban Democratic Socialist Current (the principal leftist opposition group inside Cuba) in that our immediate goal is not the establishment of a democratic socialist state in Cuba, but rather peacefully and legally pressing for a transition to a democratic society and a state of law."

Roca, who presides over the party's organizing committee, adds that "the basic idea is to open up a political space where we can demand of the Cuban government, and not just of the Communist Party, that democracy be established."

According to Roca, the PSC will energetically work in alliance with all the opposition organizations inside Cuba to seek solutions to the country's current problems and to strengthen the role of a unified political opposition. One of its most pressing plans is to seek the government's legal recognition as a non-governmental organization (NGO).

When asked if he really thought that the government would register the new political party, Roca replied "No, I don't think they will accept our petition. But we're going to do it anyway, and we're going to keep insisting constantly for recognition. We're going to press the matter every possible way that the current Constitution technically allows it."

The famous human rights activist went on to state that an important element in the PSC's platform is the struggle for economic freedom for all Cubans, especially self-employed workers. He criticized the government's policy of punishing these workers with tax increases, harassment by the political police, and raids.

He emphasized that in this phase of Cuba's struggle, the key point is to strengthen the people's organizations, usually referred to as the civil society, so that the people can begin to hold the government accountable for its actions. The party's goals will include subordinating the State to civilians, as opposed to the current situation where the government is subordinate only to a small, all-powerful clique.

When asked how the PSC regards the human rights question, Roca stated that "one of the party's founding principals is the struggle for full human rights. That is why it's so critical that we win the rights to free speech, free press and freedom to associate and to establish independent organizations. Without these four basic freedoms for all Cubans, one can't even speak of a process of democratization here."

APIC: "Do you preside over the new Social Democratic Party?" Roca: "Not exactly. What we have right now is the Organizing Committee for the Party, of which I am president. Within that group is a 5-member Executive Committee, but the Party's over-all governing body won't be established until we hold our first Party Congress. We deeply respect intra-party democracy."

APIC: "Why has this group split from the older Cuban Democratic Socialist Current?
Roca: "We issued a statement this week about that. The CDSC's current leadership has decided to ignore the rights of Cubans living in political exile, which is something that is strangely in accord with the policies of the Cuban government, which has always categorized exiles as not being part of the Cuban nation. But such discrimination is in violation of the spirit of the Cuban Council (the national front of opposition groups in Cuba, to which the CDSC belongs). The Council clearly states that the Cuban nation is one and indivisible and all Cubans must participate in the tasks of national problem-solving. As a result of this, Council supporters abroad have started to question the validity of the current CDSC leadership, because the organization's statutes have been violated, an injustice is being committed and the will of the members has not been respected."

APIC: Last question: Do you have any hope for a political opening in the near future in Cuba? Will the government allow the internal opposition to join the political process?
Roca: "No. In the short and medium term, I don't see the government allowing the opposition to participate politically in any way. On the contrary, they are acting with gross intolerance. They are proceeding with their campaigns of repression, maybe not against all the dissident groups but certainly against a majority of them."

Asociacion de Periodistas Independientes de Cuba -- Association of Independent Journalists of Cuba