By Anita Snow, .c The Associated Press, Sept. 29
HAVANA (AP) - An opposition coalition presented a detailed plan Wednesday for a peaceful transition to democracy in communist Cuba, with new freedoms for independent groups and an economy controlled by markets rather than the state.
In a lengthy document, the Reflective Roundtable of the Moderate Opposition said that the transition it envisions would be ``a gradual, peaceful, thoughtful and deliberate process of changes, from one state of society to another.''
The document, signed by members of the illegal Democratic Solidarity and the Democratic Socialist Current political parties, was delivered last week to Cuba's Council of State, which is headed by President Fidel Castro.
It is among the most serious written proposals made by the opposition in recent years.
The new movement recalls that of Concilio Cubano, an umbrella group of opposition organizations that was crushed when four top leaders were arrested in 1997. The four are now serving sentences of up to six years for inciting sedition.
Their sentencing behind closed doors earlier this year created an international uproar. Canada, the Vatican, the United States and the European Union have demanded their release.
The government, which generally does not comment on opposition groups, had no immediate response to the recent proposal. All such independent groups are illegal under Cuban law.
Unlike some dissident groups, the Moderate Opposition demonstrated respect for existing Cuban institutions, and said it wanted to work with them and all sectors of Cuban society toward democratic change.
The Moderate Opposition said that the Cuban Revolution that brought Castro to power in early 1959 was an economic, political and social necessity. But with the collapse of the former Soviet Union a decade ago, it became apparent that another change would be necessary, the document said.
``So-called real socialism no longer exists,'' the document said. Neither does a market economy in Cuba, nor guarantees for individual liberties, ``which are necessary for the prosperity of countries and individuals,'' it said.
To succeed, such a transition would require the participation and cooperation of the government, peaceful opponents and Cubans living outside of the Caribbean island country, it said.
AP-NY-09-29-99 2010EDT
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. |